episode_0080

“So, I just need to purify the evil stone for you?”

From the time in the cave until now.

The result was explained in a way that did not cause the curse of limited disclosure as much as possible.

The saint got to the point.

“Yes.”

“That wouldn’t be difficult.”

“… Wouldn’t it be okay to call another priest besides the saint?”

Unlike Aurora, who just nodded obediently.

Zero, who was behind, expressed his doubts.

“I don’t know any other priests besides the saint.”

“Oh my. Now that’s… .”

“It doesn’t mean I’m going to the Holy Land.”

Aurora lowered her head sullenly.

Even if you are not a saint, a great priest might be able to purify the gemstone.

The problem is that Luke doesn’t know anyone who would be a good fit.

If you call an ordinary priest for no reason, the purification will fail.

From the beginning, I summoned the saint with great determination.

… I do regret it a little now though.

“So where is the stone?”

“I’ll get it.”

Tristin quickly entered the tent.

He kept his head down, fearing that he might make eye contact with the saint.

“Where on earth did this stuff come from… … .”

Aurora’s brow furrows as Tristin brings in the raw stone.

“It’s amazing that a scroll can hold this much divine power.”

Aurora held the stone carefully.

Aurora’s touch heals minor wounds with just a touch.

Even in hands filled with divine power.

Saaaa-

The stone continued to emit darkness as if in rebellion.

“The energy contained in this stone is even more amazing.”

“… Is that a problem?”

Aurora lifted her head as Luke asked cautiously.

“Are you asking me?”

“I said something unnecessary.”

“Huh huh… .”

That was such a stupid question.

No matter how evil the stone may be, it cannot remain unharmed in front of the saint.

“Then, may the warm goddess’ mercy be with you… … .”

Aurora closes her eyes and holds the gemstone with both hands.

The clouds part above the heads of those who pray silently.

The light pouring down from the sky was like a painting.

“ and… … .”

A soldier let out a gasp.

There was no one around to criticize him.

It’s because everyone equally forgot what they were saying.

“But is the saint still a saint?… .”

“That’s definitely great.”

Aurora’s appearance was so sacred that it made me erase from my mind the shameful display she had just shown me.

They probably think they’re helping Luke out of good intentions.

But Luke knows.

How clever Aurora is.

An attempt to gain the upper hand by clearing the debt before presenting the terms.

That’s probably the goal.

Aurora slowly raises her eyelids.

Even the clouds that had split apart return to their original state.

“It’s all done.”

Aurora showed a stone that had completely lost its darkness.

No, it wasn’t just a rock.

“It was a magic stone.”

Magic stone.

A gem that can store mana.

It was no different from a normal magic stone used for experimental purposes or to stockpile mana.

in other words.

“Was it mana that was contained?”

This means that the mana that was consuming the surrounding mana and spewing out darkness was someone’s mana.

“Probably so?”

“… … ”

I don’t know whose mana was contained in the magic stone.

One thing is certain.

That it is absolutely not human mana.

It’s probably something from an ancient being or a demon.

In that case, the curse placed on Elin is also… .

“Your Majesty?”

When I turn my head, I see Elin nodding and banging her head on Luke’s leg.

“You fell asleep the moment you purified yourself.”

The saintess spoke with a kind smile.

It didn’t seem to have anything to do with the purification of the magic stone.

I think I just fell asleep because I couldn’t handle the fatigue.

Shu-

I tried flowing mana into the sleeping Elin’s body.

“!”

Every time it reacted with the magic stone inside the cave, the curse would recover like crazy.

This time, that wasn’t the case.

Hopeful thoughts began to roll in on their own.

The fact that the curse can no longer be restored means that it can be completely erased.

Then there is no need to collapse while using magic, or to be forced to drink tasteless potions…

“Can we talk a little now, Luke?”

“… … ”

The excitement subsided in an instant.

I guess I should be grateful now.

What should I say when I see that smile?

After dealing with the troublesome ore, it seems another trouble has arisen.

Now, even Elin, who was supposed to stop it, has fallen asleep.

Luke nodded, holding Ellen in his arms so she could sleep comfortably.

“Please speak.”

“If you don’t change your citizenship to a foreign country, how about renting?”

“… ?”

Rent?

I didn’t mean to say things like, “People are objects!”

Elin must have fallen asleep too.

I thought Aurora would just tell us to come over to the Holy Land.

I was just surprised that a compromise of sorts emerged.

“Even the knights of the Empire can be rented from the Holy Land, right? I want to rent Luke in that sense.”

There are knights though.

It is true that the small nation-state lacks a military.

So, there were many cases of knights being leased from the empire or neighboring countries.

“How long are you thinking about?”

The period of time that knights visit the Holy Land is usually one month.

Actually, even if we were apart for just a week, Elin would hate it.

Luke had been intending to visit the Holy Land for up to a month.

If you do that and sort out your relationship with the saint again, it will be neat.

but.

“10 years.”

“I don’t like it.”

It was immediately dismissed.

It was such an absurd number.

There are less than ten years left for me to be Elin’s tutor.

But now I’m being tied up in the Holy Land for 10 years?

He’d probably be bullied a lot within the family while Luke was away, and then found dead.

No, it would be fortunate if at least a body was found.

Looking at the condition of Duke Bertain, I’m worried that he might be locked in a deep basement.

“Then… 9 years and 11 months?”

“I believe you didn’t take a month off just to be considerate.”

“Um… .”

Aurora closed her eyes tightly.

But to others it looked like a holy expression.

Luke knows.

Just trying to avoid eye contact because it hits the nail on the head.

“Then… 5 years.”

Aurora opened her eyes again as if she had made up her mind.

“Not more than one month.”

He said it bluntly.

If we left it like this, it was obvious they would keep trying to haggle.

“… This is really too much.”

“Since the saint is having a hard time deciding, I will give you a choice.”

“No, I’ve never had a hard time making decisions… .”

“First, I will serve the saint in the Holy Land for a week.”

“Wait a minute. Why a week instead of a month… .”

“Second. Go on a day trip to the Empire.”

“… … ”

Aurora’s lips, which were about to refute, stopped.

“I didn’t mishear, did I?”

“I dare not lie to the saintess.”

“I think the Empire Tour would be nice, don’t you think so too, Sister?”

Aurora looked at Zero with a smile.

That smile was far from that of a benevolent saint.

Much purer than that.

It was the laughter of a child waiting for a picnic.

“Yes, but, Your Majesty, I think you should think carefully about your schedule and adjust it accordingly.”

“Ah… .”

Aurora, the child, drooping as if she had heard that it was going to rain on the picnic day.

He closed his eyes and rested his hand on his temple as if looking through a calendar in his head.

“… I might not have time until next year, or maybe even the year after.”

This is why Aurora was taken aback by the words Imperial Tourism.

The saint’s schedule is tighter than anyone else’s on the continent.

Since there are some inconveniences in movement, there are some parts of the schedule that need to be planned in advance.

It would be no exaggeration to say that traveling freely anywhere was a lifelong wish.

“What if someone so busy suddenly rushes north?”

The shock still hasn’t gone away.

I’m sure you won’t have time.

They say he arrived in the North in one day.

Your schedule has probably been pushed back twice due to work right now.

“I’ll lend you my day any day you want.”

“… Is there no deadline?”

“Of course.”

So this was the best Luke could do.

“You shouldn’t be lazy even after 10 years, even after 20 years.”

“I don’t think it’ll be that bad… Okay, I understand.”

There are only a few ears listening here.

Even if you want to be gentle, you can’t be gentle.

“Okay, we’re going to visit all the famous tourist spots, so you’d better prepare some mana potions―”

Before Aurora could even finish her excited words.

Kuung-!

A huge explosion was heard.

“!”

The soldiers in the north immediately took up a state of alert.

The sudden attacks of mutant creatures have become all too familiar.

“Is this a dangerous situation?”

Zero, who had been silent, looked at Luke.

“If there is a scratch on the saintess’s body… .”

“I don’t know if it’s a dangerous situation, but I don’t think it will happen.”

Starting with Zero himself, and everyone else here… .

Luke.

Victor.

Gailan.

Anne.

There are only 4 advanced forces that can engage in direct combat.

At this level, we can defend ourselves even if the Chimera invades again.

“I see.”

Zero nodded, realizing that it was safer than he thought.

Then a soldier came running from afar.

“The sound came from where the cave was.”

“Cave?”

There’s no way a solid cave could have collapsed from being blown away by the wind.

All we did on this side was purify the magic stone.

“Wouldn’t it be better to go and see for yourself?”

“I think that’s what it should be.”

We can’t know the truth by guessing here.

I headed straight to where the cave was.

* * * * *

“What is this…?”

Let’s arrive at the entrance of the cave.

Tristin opened her mouth dumbly.

The barrier blocking the entrance should not be made any stronger.

“It’s gotten a lot bigger.”

This is because the cave has become huge.

… maybe 5 times.

“It didn’t just get bigger. The barrier structure completely changed.”

Tristin bit her lip.

Every time I knocked on the barrier, a string of characters I had never seen before rippled.

“This is going to take quite some time to unlock… .”

If even Tristin, a barrier magician, could say something like that, then it must be a really complicated spell.

“This is not a barrier set in modern rune language.”

“Are you saying that a barrier like that suddenly appeared?”

When you purify the magic stone, a much larger cave appears.

The barrier there was made of ancient runes.

“I heard it was a different place before. What was it like?”

Aurora asked, blinking.

“Originally, it was a cave where the undead were buried.”

“Huh? You don’t feel any evil energy around you at all?”

“That’s the weird part.”

It was clearly a cave where just approaching it would suck out mana.

How did it change into this form in an instant?

As if it were a polymorph.

“First of all, it will take time to decipher the barrier… .”

“Can I try it?”

“Yes? Yes, of course.”

Tristin stepped back with a question mark in his eyes.

It was because I didn’t want to talk to the saint for no reason.

“Saint. Have you ever studied ancient runes… .”

Before even asking the question, “Are you scared?”

Kwaaang-!

The barrier was shattered mercilessly by the gust of wind.

This happened just because a saint touched it with her finger.

Aurora looked at Luke with a bright smile.

“No? I just injected some divine power into it.”

“… … ”

What the heck is that?

The amount of divine power that the saint could handle was too much to be called that.

“Luke.”

“Yes?”

“Please add one more day.”

“… Okay.”

So, the itinerary for the imperial journey of the saint with such extraordinary abilities became two days.