Historia was still trying to protect me from Heater, because she did not have even the slightest idea that her Master—that is, me—had now also become a Paragon. Just then, I noticed that Historia reached into the bag she had received from the Royal Knight Headquarters. She was preparing to pull out some kind of weapon. The moment I sensed danger, I tried to stop her, but Historia had already started bombarding Heater with questions.
"Who are you, and where did you come from? If you don't leave from here, I will finish you right here!"
There was a new strength in Historia's voice.
On the other hand, Heater was completely confused. He helplessly looked toward me and said in a low voice,
"Master…"
as if asking what he should do now.
The moment the word "Master" reached Historia's ears, she was shocked. Then, in a heavy voice, she said,
"Hey, evil spirit! Have you possessed the Master?"
Then she turned toward me and grabbed me with both hands, shaking me violently. Her face had turned pale with panic.
"Master! Master! Are you conscious? Has this spirit taken control of your entire body? Don't worry, I will definitely free you from this evil spirit's grasp!"
I shouted and stopped her,
"Historia! Calm down and listen to me!"
For a moment, silence spread. I quickly made a decision in my mind—whether I should tell her about my Paragon powers. The truth was, there was no solid reason left to hide it anymore. And if I kept hiding the truth now, it could create a crack in the trust between us.
I took a deep breath and said,
"Historia, you don't need to panic. I am completely fine."
Then I told her about Heater as well, and that this was not an evil spirit.
Historia looked at me with disbelief.
"Master, what are you saying? And can you even see this spirit?"
There was no room left for lies. Looking straight into her eyes, I said,
"Historia, I have become a Paragon."
After hearing everything, Historia narrowed her eyes and immediately asked her first question,
"Master, what are you saying? And why is this spirit here? And how did you become a Paragon?"
I took a long breath and told her everything in detail about that full-moon night—how I stole that mysterious notebook from the basement, how Den appeared before me, and how he helped me obtain Thunder Nature powers. I also told her how this spirit, whose name is Heater, came to me, and then I told her about that Dark Energy as well.
After listening to everything, Historia replied,
"Oh… so Master, you have already become an unofficial Sequence 1 Thunder Nature Paragon. But why did you hide all this from me?"
Hearing this straightforward question, I got a little flustered. Composing myself, I replied,
"That's actually… I wanted to test you first. That's why I gave you that math formula yesterday. Winning the reward was just an excuse—the real purpose was to test you. I had decided that after that, I would tell you everything. But on the very same day, your joining request from the Royal Knight Headquarters arrived. Then I thought that if you joined the Royal Knights, you would get better information about Paragons and their powers, and through you, I would also keep receiving information about the capital's internal affairs."
Suddenly, a bell rang in my mind.
"Oh, Historia, leave all that… have you also become a Paragon now?"
Hearing this, Historia hesitated. Seeing her pause like that, I was surprised—was she trying to hide something from me? I asked again,
"Hey, Historia! Answer my question. Are you not hearing me?"
After thinking for quite some time, Historia finally said,
"Yes, Master… I have also now become a Sequence 1 Water Nature Paragon."
But now my mind was not stuck on the fact that she had become a Paragon. Instead, it was stuck on why she thought so much and took so long to answer. I asked directly,
"Historia, did something happen to you? Why aren't you giving me straight answers?"
Since Historia is an AI, she could not avoid my direct questions nor twist them much. She began explaining,
"Master, actually, I signed a contract to become an official Royal Knight."
I listened carefully. She then explained what was inside that contract:
Oath of Loyalty: The Knight must remain completely loyal to the Empire and the Royal Family. Any betrayal will result in the death penalty.
Secrecy: Any information, technology, or Paragon-related secrets within the headquarters must not be shared with common people.
Hierarchy: Within the Virangana Vahini regiment, Historia will report directly to Captain Victoria.
Training and Aurum: After signing, Historia must undergo the secret stages of Royal Aurum Cultivation to awaken Paragon powers.
Salary and Protection: As agreed, 4 gold coins per month and full royal protection for her family.
This contract prevented her from revealing the headquarters' secrets. If she disclosed those things, she herself did not know what her fate would be.
But then a question arose in my mind—if there was such a restriction, then how did she tell me that she was a Paragon? Historia herself cleared my doubt. She explained that while signing the contract, she had found a loophole in it.
The contract stops her from sharing secret information with "Normal Humans," but it does not restrict her from sharing that information with a special-powered individual or a Paragon.
Since I was no longer a normal human but a Paragon, the contract could not restrict Historia in my case.
But Historia was still deep in thought.
"How is it possible that such a big loophole exists in the contract? Was it made in a hurry? Even then, such a huge mistake doesn't make sense. So could it be that this contract was intentionally designed this way?"
Expressing her suspicion, she said,
"If that's the case, then the Chief of Staff, William Windsor, might have his own intentions behind this. Since he made the contract, does he want to use me in some way? Whatever it is, there could be many deeper reasons behind this. And I should not jump to conclusions so quickly."
After all this, Historia said,
"Alright, Master, let's go home now. I will tell you more things, but right now we are getting late."
I replied,
"Alright, let's go,"
but before that, I ordered Heater to return to the underworld.
As soon as Heater disappeared, Historia and I started walking forward on the calm evening road, enjoying the setting sun. There was a strange silence and peace in the atmosphere. Then, on the way, I saw that tree—the one where we had transmigrated into this world. Seeing that place refreshed memories from a few days ago.
I looked at Historia and said,
"Hey Historia, let's go and sit near that tree for a while. And there, you can also show me the things you received after becoming a Royal Knight."
From Historia's face, it was clear that she was in a hurry to go home—perhaps Alisha's dinner was on her mind. But despite that, she did not refuse, and we turned toward the tree.
We went and sat under the light shade of that tree, which would disappear soon as the sun set. Then, while sitting there, Historia opened her bag and started taking out the items one by one to show me.
First, she took out a uniform. This was not heavy metallic armor (iron armor) that Royal Knights are usually seen wearing. Instead, this was their actual outfit, which is often worn under the armor, which is why most Royal Knights are not seen in this uniform. Its fabric and build looked extremely premium and royal.
Then she took out the next item—a very sharp and fast dagger. Its grip was golden in color, but it was not real gold. Its design was very shiny and sharp, and just by looking at it, one could estimate its deadly power.
After that, she took out a magnificent pistol. Its silver and golden color was so bright that it was shining even in the fading light. Its grip looked even better than my gun, and the balance while holding it felt exceptional. I noticed that its bullets were also bigger and stronger than mine.
After all this, Historia took out one final item—a notebook. The notebook was merlot red in color. On it was engraved the royal symbol of the Royal Knight Headquarters. This was probably the notebook in which information after becoming a Paragon is stored, including Paragon-related knowledge and things related to Historia herself.
The last rays of the sun were falling on those weapons and the notebook, making them look even more mysterious.
After all this, Historia and I started walking back toward home.