episode_0153

Episode 153

The place where Leelia took me was a store located on a backwater street.

Is it an antique store? But it doesn’t seem like a very luxurious place. Sometimes treasures lie dormant in places like this.

The owner was a small, older man. He recognized Leelia and greeted her first.

“Isn’t this Leelia? It’s been a while.”

“How have you been, Mr. Ryotsu?”

The man greeted Leelia with a smile. Soon his eyes turned to me, his companion. He was surprised when he saw my face as I took off the hood.

“Uh… Are you… Princess Sera? How could it be in such a shabby place…!”

The man hurriedly got out of the counter and looked like he was about to bow. I stopped him with a wave of my hand.

“Please don’t worry about me. Because I’m just Leelia’s companion.”

“Are you sure? Ah, I see. Ugh, hmmm. Yes, Leelia. What brought you here?”

Your voice is shaking a little. Well, it wouldn’t be easy for an ordinary person to remain calm when a princess is right in front of them.

“I came to retrieve the items I had left. Holy sword Drald. Are you still keeping it?”

Holy sword Drald. As soon as those words came out, the man’s face quickly became serious. He looked at me for a moment and then spoke to Leelia.

“Is the curse bad enough to warrant using it? Has something happened to this city? If even the princess came forward…”

It seems that the presence of the princess accompanying the saint is causing him to have terrible imaginations. Leelia shook her head and said.

“No. I can’t tell you everything because it’s a top secret… but for most people, it probably won’t be a big deal.”

“Well, I’m glad if that’s the case… Um, okay, I’ll get it right away.”

Ryotsu entered through the door behind the counter. It seems that the place is probably connected to the warehouse.

When I had some free time, I asked Leelia.

“Rielia, what kind of sword is Drald?”

“It is a holy sword that wards off curses. Well, it’s not as great as it appears in old stories… but it can be said to be quite powerful in its own way. This is something I received in return for doing something for a nobleman in the past. I had nothing to use right away so I left it here.”

Well, with Reelia’s divine power, most curses could have been easily resolved. There was no need to mobilize a holy sword or something like that.

“If you have that, can you help Mystilia?”

“Yes, probably.”

Just before answering, Reelia had a moment of hesitation. I couldn’t figure out exactly what that hesitation meant.

Soon the inner door opened and Ryotsu reappeared. He was holding a wooden shell.

It’s a bit small to say it contains a sword. He put it on the counter and opened it, revealing an object that was short enough to be a sword but long enough to be a dagger.

“This is Drald…”

It is an object that is likely to be used for ceremonial purposes rather than practical use. The silvery handle had a delicately crafted image of a goddess. The sheath of the blade is also engraved with various designs symbolizing faith.

There was no phenomenon of seeing sacred mana from the sword, but its appearance looked quite sacred.

Well, as long as Leelia said, it can be said that performance is guaranteed. After checking the drald, Reelia closed the lid and took the case.

“Thank you, Mr. Ryotsu. I’ll stop. Please say hello to your daughter too.”

“Umm, yes. ah! Goodbye to you too, princess.”

Reelia and I stopped Ryotsu, who was about to leave the counter and say hello, and left his store.

* * *

When we returned to Carmel’s door, it was already starting to get dark. The temperature dropped sharply, creating a gloomy atmosphere.

No, it’s not just the weather. Leelia seemed to have noticed, too. Mystilia’s curse had already been activated while we were there.

“Are you mentally prepared, princess?”

“Yes. Enough.”

“Then please take this.”

Reelia opened the case and handed me the drald inside. I received it without thinking, but I couldn’t understand the meaning.

“Uh, why are you doing this to me…?”

“During the purification ritual, it will be difficult for me to move my body. I will leave the role of using the holy sword to the princess. Is it okay?”

“Of course it’s okay. But how and where do you use this?”

“That… I’ll tell you as we go along. There may not be a situation where you can use it. That would be the best thing.”

For some reason, I felt an inexplicable sense of uneasiness from Reelia’s attitude, as if she was deliberately not giving important explanations.

“Shall we stop, Leelia?”

“Yes? Why suddenly?”

“I have an ominous feeling. I don’t think Reelia can handle that curse… It’s not too late. If you are looking for a different way…”

“That’s not possible, princess.”

“Yes?”

Leelia was smiling softly. Riellia continued speaking in a saintly voice that made me want to lean on her without realizing it.

“That’s not an ordinary curse. It’s amazing that the queen has maintained her original personality until now. But you said you felt like the curse’s effect was gradually weakening, right? That’s not a positive sign. The more the queen’s heart resists, the more the curse will flow into her mother’s head. You can’t be lucky forever. The next opportunity may not come.”

“…I can’t do that…”

“Don’t worry too much. Even so, I am an expert. Trust me… if you follow my instructions, it will be possible.”

Reelia who said that was uncharacteristically trustworthy. But for some reason, there was a lonely smile on his face.

Leelia grabbed the door handle.

“I’ll go, princess.”

With a nervous face, Reelia grabbed the door handle and boldly opened it.

The situation in the room had not changed from when we left.

The room was quiet. Carmel was still sitting on the bed with her arms crossed. The box containing Mystilia also had its lid open.

“You’re late, Sarah.”

It was a voice that made it possible to tell with just one word that Mystilia was activated. Carmel looked at Leelia with sharper eyes.

“I was confident that I would lift Mystilia, so I wondered if there was anything I could do… A saint who received a small blessing from the goddess. Do you think you can oppose Mystilia with that insignificant power?”

A voice that is extremely cold. It is a villainous voice that seems to be made up of cynicism and cruelty. Reelia steadfastly crossed Carmel’s eyes and faced her.

“I will do it, queen.”

Carmel smiled coldly and said.

“Now you have no more women to seduce, so you even seduced a saint? You are a sinful woman, Sarah. Does this child know that he is being used by you?”

Carmel’s harsh words hit my heart more than ever. It could not be easily refuted. When I first approached Reelia, I clearly intended to use her.

“No, I don’t think so. My coming here and trying to lift the queen’s curse were all missions I chose of my own will.”

“Heung…”

Reelia looked at where Mystilia was. Then he turned again and put his hands together towards Carmel.

With a determined face.

“Now, that saint, Leelia, will save you from that terrible curse, Queen Carmel.”

The moment she finished speaking, an overwhelming amount of divine power began to radiate from Reelia.

It’s almost blinding. Transparent white light was enough to fill the room. It was a heart-pounding sight.

But that only lasted a moment.

As if repulsing Reellia’s divine power, black magic began to pour out of Mystilia. The black magic power rising like a swamp was trying to erode Reelia’s divine power.

“Ugh…!”

Leelia stumbled. I could only stare at him while holding Drald tightly in my arms.

I’m trying my best. Reelia’s small body looked too frail to be able to handle that disgustingly deep and dark black magic. Nevertheless, Riellia did not give in at all and was deploying her divine power to its full potential.

Drops of sweat flow continuously from his solemn face. Leelia is doing her best, using all the power she has.

However, my magical power showed a sad sight.

Although Riellia’s divine power was struggling with a brilliant light, it was far from enough compared to the endless depth of black magic that Mystilia was constantly spewing out.

Light is being swallowed up by darkness. The magic power of black magic was gradually reaching towards Garielia, distorting the emitted divine power.

“It’s too bad, Sarah.”

Carmel looked at Reelia and me with a cold face. Carmel was also probably aware of the current situation. Not with your eyes, but with your mana detection ability.

“Soon the magical power of the curse will devour this poor child. If I was lucky, I would have stopped short of becoming a nuisance, but the root of the trouble was that I touched it too hastily. When you are finally pushed out of power, your body will be shattered and you will die in the flood of magical power.”

“…What…?”

“Why? You didn’t expect this result, right? You probably chose this child as a means to achieve your goal of lifting the curse. And unfortunately, it just wasn’t the right method. There’s no way you’ve never thought of the possibility of something like this happening, right? You are smarter than anyone else.”

“No…!”

My hands and feet are shaking. This time it’s not acting. I couldn’t say anything to Carmel except to say no.

Carmel was smiling eerily happily as she looked at me.

“I’m really looking forward to it. What kind of terrible face will this foolish saint make when she dies when she realizes that she was deceived only at the very end? How much resentment must be in the soul of a pure saint? The moment you face death, won’t a curse be placed on you? Aren’t you excited too, Sarah?”

“Shut up… Shut up, Carmel…!”

Carmel’s cruel words prick me up inside. sick. It really felt like an awl was being driven deep into my chest.

Even when explosives exploded in front of my eyes or when I was surrounded by imperial soldiers, I wasn’t afraid at all. But now I was so afraid of the words coming out of Carmel’s mouth.

Because it felt like it was flowing out from somewhere deep inside my heart.

It was that moment.

Reelia’s voice was heard. From the faintly flickering pure white light that seemed as if it would go out at any moment.

“Not yet! Not yet, not yet me and the princess… we haven’t lost…!”