episode_0133

“We’ve finally arrived! It’s the Holy Kingdom!!”

“Ooh~!”

Far in the distance, a white fortress wall comes into view.

In the game, the pure white fortress wall, called ‘The Barrier Built by the Goddess,’ is known to be protected by a powerful divine power, and it’s said to have never fallen in any case until now.

Whether it’s actually protected by divine power or not, I can’t say for sure, but anyway, it’s an impregnable iron wall and bulwark that has never been captured by the Demon King’s army.

“If it weren’t for a certain someone, we could have arrived three episodes ago.”

“Oh my, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Lucy lightly deflects my words with a smile.

Her actions themselves haven’t changed much from before, but at least now, I feel like she’s ‘acting sincerely.’

“Then, before we cross that fortress wall, let’s go over what we need to do in the Holy Kingdom again.”

“Is there anything particularly special to do? Meeting the Pope, meeting the Saintess, teaching Levia how to wield divine power so she can work as a Saintess, that’s all, right?”

Lucy shrugged her shoulders at my words.

Hmm… well… that’s true, I guess.

“Yeah, frankly, I don’t care about meeting the Pope or the Saintess, but the important thing is just two things.”

“Isn’t that important?”

Ignoring Lucy’s words, I looked at Levia.

“Honestly, I think Levia is fine as she is, but there’s no reason not to use the power she has. If Levia can exert power as a Saintess, it might make future travel easier. So, I’ll leave the choice up to you. If you want to receive teachings about the Saintess, you can, and if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

“Ah…, th…, uh…”

Hmm, I thought she fixed not being able to make eye contact with me, but I guess I was wrong.

She quickly averted her gaze.

“I, I will…”

“Really? If that’s what you want, okay. Then secondly, Lucy, there’s one thing I want to confirm. The Grand Library in the Holy Kingdom, it’s certain that it has information about the fragments of the Demon King, right?”

“Yes. I can’t say it’s perfect… but at least it contains the most accurate information in this continent.”

Hearing Lucy’s confirmation, I nodded and said to the others.

“The second goal is to gather information about the fragments of the Demon King.”

“Hmm? But doesn’t Lord know about the future to some extent?”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, that’s how I explained it to Baekryeon.

Lucy looked at me at Baekryeon’s words, tilting her head, then shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know what that means… but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t investigate the enemy. That’s right. There’s a saying in the East Continent, right? Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.”

“Hmm…, that’s true.”

“And aside from everything else, the investigation isn’t just about the fragments of the Demon King. We need general information about the entire Pilgreah continent right now. Since we’ve been in the East Continent for so long, we’re a bit short on information about this place.”

It wouldn’t have mattered if we had done it in the Magic Kingdom, but because of the Witch’s situation and, more than anything, because Baekho didn’t want to stay there for long, we rushed out, so we didn’t have time to investigate such things.

“Baekho, how is it this time? Is it okay there?”

“It’s okay there. Rather, it feels cozy… like that.”

Then it’s decided.

“For now, there shouldn’t be any fighting in the Holy Kingdom. If you’re talking about the safest place in this central continent, it’s definitely the Holy Kingdom.”

“I really hope so.”

Seollin shuddered as if she was sick of it.

…But we didn’t fight in Gold Road, did we? If I remember correctly, they had a staycation in Gold Road…

“Hoo, anyway, we’ll be resting for the first time in a while when we get to the Holy Kingdom. Ah, Hero. When we arrive in the Holy Kingdom, should I give you a tour? Let’s have a leisurely date together ♥”

“What date? Didn’t you hear what I said earlier?”

But still… When we arrive in the Holy Kingdom, we’ll be able to act a bit more relaxed.

.

.

.

That’s what I thought back then.

Clang!

“A, a contractor of the Witch!!”

“For a contractor of the Witch to appear so brazenly!”

“Seize him!!!”

“…Shit.”

What is this, I feel a sense of deja vu?

* * *

“…”

I was currently locked up alone in a prison.

It’s kept relatively clean, but in the end, a prison is just a prison.

“…This, I feel like I experienced something similar when I arrived in Yeomguk.”

Back then, I was caught by the government troops not long after arriving.

What was the reason I was caught back then?

Ah, right. It was because I was looking for Giant Root Pills.

I didn’t know, but at the time, Giant Root Pills were designated as prohibited items, and it was forbidden to distribute or search for them.

Because I was looking for such items, Baekryeon and I were arrested by the government troops, and we ended up participating in the Dragon Phoenix Gathering as soldiers in exchange for being released.

“…But why was I caught this time?”

Let’s recall what happened back then.

After we finished talking, we headed to the fortress wall. Of course, there were soldiers and paladins guarding the gate there.

People of various races who wanted to cross the gate were lined up, receiving entry permits from the paladins, so we waited our turn along the line.

Of course, since I’m a Hero, I probably could have used that to go straight through…

…Now that I think about it, should I have just done that?

“And it was our turn.”

Lucy is also there.

Of course, it would be a free pass, but the paladins who saw my face suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

“A contractor of the Witch…”

I’m a contractor of the Witch? What on earth does that mean? Why am I a contractor of the Witch?

“I guess it’s fortunate that I’m the only one who was caught…”

Clack, clack, clack

At that moment, the sound of someone walking into this prison could be heard.

And there, Lucy’s figure could be seen walking in, guided by the paladins.

“Oh my, you were here. Are you comfortable?”

“Does it look like I’m comfortable…”

When I frowned and looked at Lucy, Lucy chuckled and looked at the paladins standing behind her, saying.

“Ah, it’s okay now, you can go back.”

“Are you really okay? The opponent is…”

“It’s okay. Don’t you trust me?”

“Ah, no. Then I’ll be on my way.”

When Lucy’s red eyes shone coldly, the paladins were startled, bowed their heads, and hurriedly left.

Only after seeing that did the warmth return to Lucy’s cold eyes as she looked at me.

“Prison suits you quite well~ Our Hero~”

“Don’t joke around and get me out of here.”

“Yes, yes~”

Lucy took out a black key from her bosom and opened the prison door.

“But you stayed still. Such a prison, with the Hero’s power, it’s no different from paper.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong, so I don’t want to unnecessarily increase my wrongdoings.”

“Hmm~ I guess that’s true.”

“More than that, what on earth happened? A contractor of the Witch? And are the others okay?”

Lucy shrugged her shoulders at my question.

“The others are fine. I proved their identities. The problem is the Hero… Well, to put it simply, evidence came out that you’re a contractor of the Witch.”

“So why am I a contractor of the Witch?”

When I looked at Lucy, Lucy started to laugh gleefully while meeting my eyes.

Seeing that, I realized something and said quietly.

“Lucy.”

“Yes, Hero.”

“Is there something on my face?”

“There’s your handsome face… and there’s no bluish kiss mark on your forehead.”

You little…

That’s the problem.

Come to think of it, before parting ways with the Witch Tamiel in the Magic Kingdom, that girl seemed to have kissed me on the forehead…

“There was nothing said to Baekryeon or the others?”

“Only those who use divine power can sense the Witch’s mark.”

“And you knew?”

“Yes~!”

…Should I hit her?

My fist is clenched, but I barely managed to calm myself down.

“Actually, one of the reasons I tried to kill you was because of that? Because you made a contract with the Witch.”

“I didn’t! …You read my memories!…

“Hey~ I said it was one of the reasons~ You forgave me for the biggest reason I said back then, right?♥”

Thwack!

“Ouch!”

I couldn’t help but smack her on the head.

“So, the reason Tamiel could come when I was messed up in your dream world was…”

“It was probably because she made mental contact through the Witch’s Kiss as a medium. Generally, those who receive the Witch’s Kiss become something similar to the Witch’s slave.”

Witch’s Kiss.

It is said to be a blessing and a curse given by the Witch to those who have made a contract with her.

It never disappears until she dies, the Witch dies, or the contract with the Witch ends.

At the same time, those who receive the Witch’s Kiss can obtain strong magic power, but the Witch can freely control those who have received the Witch’s Kiss, so basically, those who have received the Witch’s Kiss are suppressed or killed in the Holy Kingdom.

“That’s really dangerous!…”

“Well, in the Hero’s case, the Holy Sword’s protective function completely nullifies mental interference regarding the evil. Unless it’s an exceptional case like me, you should assume that the Witch will never be able to invade the Hero’s mind.”

“Then why did you lock me up?”

“Well, a Hero who’s a contractor of the Witch, what if he betrays us? It seems they locked you up out of that thought.”

Betrayal…

“Then the misunderstanding about me has been resolved, right?”

“I explained it hard.”

“…Okay, thank you.”

I followed Lucy out of the prison.

I didn’t know when I was being dragged here because my eyes were covered, but apparently this place is…

“A cathedral?”

“Hmm… It’s a large church like a cathedral. The center of this Holy Kingdom. A large church built on the spot where the Goddess first set foot on this land, Crua.”

Looking around, I saw some nuns gathering and heading somewhere, and priests talking to each other. The important thing is that, compared to the various countries I’ve seen so far, it’s a place with a strong impression of ‘peacefulness.’

“Where are the others?”

“They’re in a room for travelers in Crua. The Pope said he definitely wants to see the Hero, so let’s go quickly.”

“Okay, let’s do that.”