episode_0092

“So, this is really the best method you could come up with?”

“You’ve barely been here long enough to complain. It’s not even that uncomfortable.”

“Exactly. Weren’t you the one who said any method was fine as long as we infiltrated the church? Stop whining and keep moving. You’re being suffocating.”

“Ugh…”

“Eric, you’re slowing down. Move faster.”

“How am I supposed to move quickly in a place like this?!”

Cecilia, Chris, and I were crawling through the cramped pipe on our stomachs. Thanks to the protective magic cast on all three of us—and Cecilia’s unwavering pace—my knees and hands weren’t sore, but it was still stifling.

Not to mention, the protection spell didn’t keep my body from wearing out.

Huff… Huff…

“When you said ‘backdoor,’ I assumed you meant a secret passage only the Saintess knew about. I never expected such a brute-force method.”

“Can people live without water? And if there really was such a backdoor, information about it would’ve leaked by now.”

“Using the aqueduct was a clever idea. You should praise Sis Cecilia a little more, Eric.”

It was undeniably ingenious. No one would ever suspect we’d infiltrate through a place like this. If there had been a passage, guarding it would’ve been obvious. But no one would bother protecting a path they didn’t even know existed.

“I won’t deny that, but it’s still uncomfortable.”

“Then, should Chris and I go on ahead without you?”

“…No. My bad.”

There was no denying this was the safest method available. So, despite my occasional grumbling, I kept moving forward, sandwiched between Cecilia and Chris.

“Urgh, so… Wait—ah!”

Cecilia, who had been advancing smoothly, suddenly stopped.

“What?”

I tilted my head to peek past her and saw Cecilia frozen in place at a three-way fork ahead.

“We’re here. If we go straight up from here, we’ll be right under the church’s restricted area.”

“You’re absolutely sure no one’s there? If anyone sees you breaking through the church floor, it won’t end well.”

“I’m prepared to erase their memories if needed. They’d curse me, sure, but I can handle that much. Chris, set up the soundproof barrier again.”

“Wait. The mana here is densely layered—it’s risky to carelessly deploy a new barrier.”

“Wasn’t magic use prohibited inside the church?”

“Not here. This aqueduct is reinforced with mana. Given Sister Elia’s personality, she probably designed it to alert her if there’s any mana intrusion or damage. She won’t immediately rush over, but if we’re unlucky…”

“…We might run into her on our way out. Got it.”

I waited while Chris carefully manipulated the aqueduct’s mana to weave the soundproofing spell without disrupting anything.

“Hah… Done. Sis, you can break it now.”

“Thanks, Chris. Then—”

“Hold on.”

Seeing Cecilia clench her fist, I interrupted her with a sudden thought.

“We just went through all that effort not to disrupt the aqueduct’s mana, and now you’re going to smash it? Shouldn’t we have been caught the moment we made the hole to get in?”

“It’s the difference between inside and outside. External impacts are expected out there—plus, Chris masked it perfectly. But if a mana fracture suddenly appeared inside a dormant pipe… I don’t need to spell it out, do I?”

Ah, a matter of tact. I nodded in understanding, only to realize Cecilia couldn’t see me. Flustered, I quickly muttered,

“Makes sense. Got it.”

“Good. Saves me from repeating myself later. Hup—!”

Cecilia, clearly unwilling to waste any more time, threw a punch straight upward without hesitation.

——!!

The impact was just as violent as when we entered, but the sound was incomparably quieter. Only the dull shudder under my palms conveyed the sheer force behind Cecilia’s strike.

Hmph.

“Ugh…”

Cecilia climbed out effortlessly, but when it was my turn, I struggled. My lack of regular exercise left me floundering pathetically.

Ahem…

“Here, Eric. Grab my hand.”

“Thanks.”

With Cecilia’s help, I barely managed to haul myself out. Behind me, Chris hopped up with irritating ease and shot me a disapproving look.

“Maybe you should exercise a little? Even in emergencies, you should at least be able to handle your own body.”

I silently glanced back at the hole we’d just crawled out of.

“Normal people can’t just hop out of a pit nearly as deep as they are tall.”

“But you don’t plan on staying normal, do you? If you’re raising us as a hero party, you need to train accordingly. If something goes wrong—”

“Oh? Chris, are you worried about Eric?”

“Of course I am! After he forced himself into this mess with us.”

“Then we’ll simply watch over him until there’s no danger left. Though, the next steps still mostly depend on him.”

Cecilia reached into a small pouch at her waist and handed me a rod.

“Here, Eric.”

“What’s this?”

The rod she passed me glowed faintly, just enough to illuminate our faces in the church’s darkness. I gave it a few experimental swings but sensed no special power. Still, if Cecilia gave it to me, it had to mean something.

As I wound up for a full-force swing to test it further, Cecilia snatched my wrist to stop me.

“Ah!”

“Sorry! But if that breaks, the plan ends here…”

“Ends?”

Rubbing my wrist, I frowned.

“This is a fragment of a Sacred Relic—one capable of sealing the source of Fairchild’s power. It’s only a piece of the full artifact, but it’s more than enough to suppress a single ‘miracle.’ Once you’re certain you’ve broken free from Fairchild’s illusions, press this against their body. You don’t even need to stab—just making contact is enough.”

“That’ll work?”

“Yes. The relic is merely a conduit. The one sealing Fairchild will be you. Their specialty—their very origin—lies in illusions. The moment you shatter that fantasy, their ‘miracle’ loses all power over you.”

“So just confirming the touch seals it?”

If I truly believe I’ve escaped the illusion, Fairchild becomes harmless to me.

“Exactly. Which also means… if you lose your will and succumb, or worse, lose your sanity, this rod becomes worthless.”

“Understood. Then let me say one thing too: If I fail—though I shouldn’t—kill me on the spot.”

“…What?”

“You said Fairchild copied my appearance, right? Then they’ll likely think like me—and try exploiting Eric Grave, the ‘original,’ for information they lack. That’d make defeating them infinitely harder. Hell, if Fairchild uses my prophecies to evade you, how will you catch them?”

“That’s…”

“Enough. If things look dire, just kill whoever’s at risk—me, the guards, anyone. Then call Elia immediately. She must have contingency plans for worst-case scenarios—ones that exclude me. Given her meticulous streak, she’d have prepared for Fairchild’s rampage. And aside from the Empire, the Beastkin Alliance might also—”

“Wa-wait! Why are you explaining this in such detail? It’s like you’ve already assumed you’ll fail—”

“No. Just habit. When strategizing, I always account for the worst case—it’s the only way I can relax. Let’s see, where was I?”

I had zero intention of failing, losing my mind, or dying.

I wanted to return to my world alive, live luxuriously, and brag to Cecilia and the others about how well I’d thrived.

The odds of failure this time were next to none—far lower than any previous plan Cecilia and Chris had devised.

But that didn’t mean I could ignore the possibility.

I owed it to them—to everything—to take responsibility. Blindly gambling on shaky assumptions would make me no better than them.

Fools who deluded themselves into thinking they knew everything, only to fail at the simplest tasks and lose it all.

That—I’d sooner die. No, worse.