episode_0141

This place is Snow Mountain, located in the northern part of the central continent of Pilgreia.

Covered in pure white snow 365 days a year, this place is a treacherous location where monsters are incredibly tough due to the extreme environment caused by the intense cold.

Along with Gold Road, it’s known as a perilous place where party play is essential.

And a group of people has come to this place.

“Indeed, it’s an extremely cold region as I’ve heard. Marie, are you sure the Sword King is here?”

“Y-Yes, yes!… I’m sure!…”

“Hmph… Good. Then, everyone, spread out and find detailed information about the Sword King.”

“Yes! Understood!”

It was easy to see the hero Ragna’s party as a so-called elite gathering. The party he formed with talented people recruited from various groups was certainly reliable in skill, so Ragna watched them and nodded lightly.

“We even found the Incompetent Hero, so we should be able to find him easily.”

If he could learn the Sword King’s techniques, he could perform even better than the Incompetent Hero. And the more he performed, the more solid his position in the kingdom would become, and furthermore, he would gain the authority to rule the world.

“For now, that guy is slightly… just slightly ahead… but that gap will be overturned soon.”

The fact that he thinks there is only a slight difference despite dealing with a fragment of the Demon King well shows Ragna’s arrogance, but unfortunately, there was no one here to point out Ragna’s arrogance.

No, in fact, most of the people here don’t really believe that the hero Leon defeated a fragment of the Demon King.

That’s because they knew better than anyone else about the Incompetent Hero Leon’s skills.

An incompetent hero whose skills were so weak that he couldn’t even protect his own party. That was the Leon in their memories.

“Marie, make sure you search properly too.”

“Yes, y-yes. I understand.”

Of course, Marie nodded cautiously as well.

But how on earth are they supposed to find just one person in this vast and huge mountain?

Marie sighed deeply and walked towards a village that could be seen not far away.

And, there was someone watching that scene from a very far distance.

An old man with a sword on his back.

The Sword King stroked his beard as he looked at Ragna’s group moving busily.

“Tsk tsk… It would be good to move places soon…”

Once can be passed off as a coincidence.

But twice cannot be dismissed as a coincidence, and the third time it is inevitable.

Since there are already two people trying to find him, it would be right to leave now.

“I can’t let the mirror be found by someone who is not qualified.”

At the same time, one person flashed through the Sword King’s mind.

A hero with divine talent who had excited his heart very recently.

His figure, wanting his swordsmanship only as a means to catch the Demon King, flashed through his mind.

It was only his intuition, but the Sword King, sensing that the day he would meet his disciple again was not far off, laughed heartily and disappeared.

*

*

*

“Haa…, haa….”

A pure white wall.

The woman wearing tattered clothes in front of the Goddess’s built-up barrier took a difficult step.

She looked like a beggar, or a sinner on a journey of repentance to atone.

But in any case, the woman’s appearance, which seemed as if she would collapse at any moment, was so precarious that even the paladins guarding the castle walls were horrified.

“H-Hey! Are you okay?!”

“Were you attacked by a thief? But there shouldn’t be any thieves around here?”

“Quick, take her inside!”

Tiris, who had started walking without a penny from the Kingdom of Prune, quite far away, and finally arrived in the Holy Kingdom, eventually collapsed in front of the castle walls.

It was quite a long time before she who had collapsed got up again.

“Ugh…”

She feels very thirsty.

So deeply thirsty that she can’t even speak properly.

Philia coughed and barely raised her body.

‘W-Where am I….’

She clearly saw the Holy Kingdom’s unique white castle walls…, but she has no memory after that.

However, what is certain is that her physical condition is very good, except that she feels very thirsty.

At the same time, for her who had always slept outdoors, or in the empty stables of an inn, the soft touch of the bed she was currently lying on was quite nostalgic and unfamiliar at the same time. As she was confused, not knowing what had happened, a voice was heard.

“Here, it’s water. I was able to heal all the wounds with divine power, but I can’t do anything about the body’s physiological reactions, even with divine power.”

A very kind voice.

It was a reassuring voice, even though it was the first time she had heard it.

When she turned her gaze, there was a nun with pink hair handing her a glass of water.

“T-Thank…, you….”

“Please drink slowly. You can get indigestion even with water.”

Glug, glug.

The water is incredibly cool.

It was just plain water, but to Tiris right now, it was like sweet honey that she couldn’t trade for anything else.

After hastily emptying the glass of water, Tiris was finally able to make a proper voice.

“W-Who are you?…”

“I am one of the lambs guided by the Goddess.”

A lamb guided by the Goddess….

Does that mean a normal nun? Tiris decided not to think deeply about her. In fact, she didn’t have the luxury to think deeply.

“T-Thank you. I don’t know how to repay this kindness…”

“Don’t worry. The Goddess told us not to abandon those in trouble.”

“B-But…”

“More than that…, don’t you have something you need to do here?”

Only then did Tiris barely remember why she had come here after suffering so much.

Tiris, who hurriedly got up from her seat, could see that her clothes had also changed.

“Huh?”

“The clothes you were wearing were very old, so I found some suitable clothes and changed them for you.”

“O-Oh, even clothes…”

Is this the Holy Kingdom?

Thinking that, Tiris bowed 90 degrees and said goodbye before leaving her seat.

At the same time, the nun who came in looked at the woman sitting down and said.

“Saintess. Is it okay to send that person away like that?”

“Is there any reason why it wouldn’t be?”

“She is…”

“It’s okay. She is the only one who can repay the sins in her heart.”

The Saintess smiled and said before getting up from her seat.

* * *

“T-Thank you for allowing such a sudden meeting. Your Holiness the Pope.”

“It was, as you said, a very sudden meeting. If you weren’t a member of the former hero party and it wasn’t a request from the Saintess, I would have questioned your rudeness first.”

“Ugh…”

Tiris flinched at the Pope’s thorny words.

The Pope stared at Tiris for a moment before letting out a faint sigh and said.

“So. What is the reason you came to the Holy Kingdom? I heard that you were punished for leaving the hero party without any consultation.”

“Yes…. And, I have taken steps to atone for that.”

“Atonement…. Everyone commits big and small sins. But…, the sin you are talking about seems a bit different.”

“….”

Tiris couldn’t say anything.

She couldn’t dare say that she came to repay the sin of causing great pain to Leon.

But the Pope’s eyes seemed to see through her heart.

“The hero Leon is not here.”

“!”

“I’m sorry to hear that. He left this place three days ago.”

“Ah…”

They passed each other.

If only she had arrived three days earlier, three days earlier…. She could have met that child. She could have asked for forgiveness. Even if the end result was humiliation and unforgiveness, she could have conveyed this feeling.

“The hero is heading to the Western Continent.”

“!”

At that moment, she heard the voice she had heard just a moment ago.

When she turned her head, the nun who had cared for her a little while ago was walking with other nuns.

“Huh?…”

“Saintess. I told you there’s no need to overdo it.”

“!!!”

Saintess.

The Saintess, along with the Pope, is one of the two pillars that make up the Holy Kingdom.

The Saintess, who directly hears and conveys the voice of the Goddess, is said to be rarely seen….

No matter how you look at it, her appearance is no different from an ordinary nun….

“S-Saintess?”

“Yes. I am Saintess Bathory.”

“Uh, uh?…”

“But me being the Saintess is probably not very important.”

The Saintess said that and said to Tiris.

“The hero Leon went to the Western Continent…, more precisely, he set out to resolve the Orc invasion from the Western Continent. So…, if you are going to meet the hero, you can go there.”

“…Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

With that, Tiris left.

The Pope frowned as he faced the Saintess.

“Haa…. Really, you too…. Did you hear another prophecy?”

“That is the reason for my existence.”

“Are you saying that knowing that it is something that shortens your life?”

“I have lived for a long time already.”

Looking at the stubborn Saintess, the Pope let out a deep sigh.