Ch.208208. Miracle

I wiped the spittle from my body as I left the dean’s office.

Seeing the dean who sprayed saliva and welcomed me with teary eyes made me feel both sorry and a bit embarrassed.

[…..]

Outside the dean’s office.

The Dark Spiritmaster was leaning against the wall next to the door with folded arms, staring intently at me.

I hadn’t expected such a reaction, but I didn’t want to ruin our long-awaited reunion.

“It’s not a bad name, is it?”

When I affirmed the name Jenny, her face immediately turned red and she shrieked.

[D-don’t call me by that name! I have the cool name Dark Spiritmaster!]

“Hah, so you thought that was cool.”

[I-isn’t it?]

“Jenny is better than Dark Spiritmaster.”

[You said it again! Don’t call me by that name! A summoner named Jenny! It sounds so plain!]

“Hah, I don’t get it.”

[What don’t you get! You know! And where did you learn my real name?! No, where have you been all this time?!]

“Ask one question at a time.”

As I walked past her down the corridor, she hurriedly followed.

[Where did you go? Do you know how much chaos there’s been?]

“I went to Lemegeton.”

[Leme-what?]

“…..”

I had my suspicions, but.

Of course, it was expected.

The 18-year-old Dark Spiritmaster would have had her memories of Lemegeton and Learic taken away too.

After a moment of regretful silence, I continued.

“You could say I fell victim to a great demon’s scheme. Unfortunately, I couldn’t save the souls trapped in his grasp.”

I had gone there because of Ophelia’s daughter and the incident at Claire’s General Store, but I couldn’t resolve it in the end.

This visit to Lemegeton was that difficult.

But.

Remembering Learic who said we’d meet again, I renewed my determination to save the souls he had captured.

[That’s… quite unfortunate.]

“Yes.”

The Dark Spiritmaster shared my disappointment.

Comparing her now to the 18-year-old who didn’t understand the weight of souls and saw them merely as tools, I could see she had definitely grown.

[Next question. How did you learn my name?]

“I found out by chance.”

When I added that it wasn’t important, the Dark Spiritmaster continued to follow me, squawking.

[Do you know how long it’s been since I even mentioned that name? And you say you learned it by chance?]

“…..”

[Tell me how you found out! I’m really going to get angry!]

My footsteps, heading back to the research lab, came to an abrupt halt. I slowly turned my head to look at the Dark Spiritmaster, and her previously confident demeanor shrank.

[…I was about to get angry, but I held back!]

“It doesn’t matter. More importantly, where is Stella?”

The Dark Spiritmaster, who thought I was looking at her because she threatened to get angry, puffed her cheeks and answered curtly with folded arms.

[She went to Lucia. She said since you disappeared and some man was calling himself the spiritmaster, she should help.]

“I see.”

Of course Stella could see Lucia, who could handle holy power.

Before I came, she was the only woman in the Griffin Kingdom who could solve spiritual problems.

“I’ve already contacted the royal family, so for now…”

Having been absent for a month, there was too much to do.

As I was thinking about organizing the situation first—

Whoosh!

I thought I saw something at the end of the corridor, and then it rushed at me with such speed that it left afterimages.

When Owen or Professor Per had clung to me, I could at least react with physical enhancement, but not this time.

It was truly swift.

Unable to respond properly, I fell backward, and I could see a black-haired girl sitting heavily on top of me.

“Professor! Professoooor!”

“…Aria.”

Aria, who had come to the academy early because of the general store.

“You’re back. You’re really, really back, Professor.”

I could feel warm, moist tears on my chest where she had buried her face.

Normally, I would have pushed her away, but.

“I really… really held back. I wanted to go out and overturn everything, and I wanted to tear apart and kill the guy who claimed to be the spiritmaster and insulted you.”

“…..”

“But because you said not to kill anyone for your sake…”

Grip.

Aria clutched my shirt as if crumpling it. It was pulled so taut it seemed about to tear, but.

I couldn’t push away or remove her trembling hands.

“So I held back. I waited right here. I believed you would come back.”

“…..”

“Please don’t leave me behind again. Wherever you go, I’ll follow, so please take me with you.”

As Aria sobbed, I looked up at the ceiling and stroked her head.

“Hic! Hiiic!”

“I’m sorry for being awa—”

“Sniff… sniff sniff.”

“…..”

“Hic. I-I missed you, Professor! *slurp*”

Watching her sniffing like a dog with her face buried in my chest while crying—

Any hesitation about pushing her aside completely vanished.

“Kyaang!”

“Sigh.”

Now that I looked, not only were there tears, but it seemed some saliva and snot had gotten on me too, making me grimace.

“That’s enough.”

“Hiing.”

Still, she seemed genuinely happy to see me, as she had a faint smile despite looking disappointed.

Sitting on the ground, Aria raised both arms like a child asking to be picked up.

“I’m so glad you’re back, Professor!”

Her innocent and sincere welcome was quite pleasing, so as I helped her up, I replied:

“Running in the corridor and tackling a professor are grounds for demerits.”

“…That’s definitely the real Professor.”

* * *

A vast plain.

Though it was crowded with people as if for a festival, they were all standing with their mouths tightly shut and hands clasped together.

Usually, when so many people gather, small noises accumulate into one massive commotion.

But these people were just quietly praying without making the slightest sound.

An inhuman atmosphere despite the dense crowd.

Then.

“The spiritmaster is coming.”

With the disciple’s announcement, a man wearing an iron mask stepped onto a large rock placed in front of the crowd.

“Waaaaaah!”

“Spiritmasterrrr!”

“We love you! We’re happy to see you!”

“We’re not afraid of death! Thank you for being with us!”

Cheers erupted as if the previous silence had been a lie.

Deia and Findenai frowned at the sudden noise that made their ears ring.

“Goodness.”

“Crazy bastards.”

The man who called himself the true spiritmaster, Mule.

Having heard about his gathering, the two had infiltrated among the disciples and were now glaring at the man standing on the rock like strict examiners.

Wearing a white robe and an iron mask, he gave the impression of someone enduring hardship.

As Mule bowed and slowly removed his iron mask, pure white hair cascaded down to his waist.

Another wave of cheers.

A beautiful face as if God had deliberately created it to be gorgeous. His appearance could be called a blessing from God.

A smile that felt mysterious, warm, yet also cold.

His diverse aura was already touching many hearts with his appearance alone.

“They say looks help recruit believers. It’s true.”

While Deia analyzed Mule coldly, having come for investigation purposes—

“Damn, no matter how I look at it, the master is better. These bastards must be blind.”

Findenai, who had witnessed firsthand the citizens’ subtle aversion to Deus, expressed his displeasure.

In truth, citizens kept their distance from Deus not because of his appearance or his role as spiritmaster, but because he was a Black Mage.

Anyway.

A month had already passed since Deus Verdi disappeared.

Seizing this opportunity, Mule had risen up claiming he was the real spiritmaster and that Deus Verdi was a false entity.

They had ignored him at first, but his actions over the past month were concerning.

He was winning over citizens’ hearts, quietly doing his work while not hesitating to sharply criticize corrupt officials.

Now that the religious community had officially recognized him and decided to pursue a path of coexistence, he had become the hottest figure in the Griffin Kingdom.

After a wave of cheers swept through like a tide, Mule slowly began to speak.

“Everyone, today in this place, we have those who have met truly unfortunate deaths.”

A voice like sweet music.

Like a siren’s song that enchants sailors, Mule’s voice contained something that strongly attracted people, but.

“The kid’s music is better.”

Findenai grumbled.

“Hey. Shut up, I get it.”

Deia snapped at Findenai. Having come to spy, she was getting increasingly irritated by his constant muttering all day.

“I’m just as annoyed as you are. But we need to see what kind of fraud he is.”

“If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have come. I thought we were going to split his head open, so I even brought my axe.”

Findenai sighed as he slightly revealed his axe, still in its single-staff form.

“Hah, why did you bring a weapon?”

Shaking her head, Deia refocused on Mule.

By now, three corpses had been placed on the rock where he stood.

“These are people who sadly closed their eyes at such a young age. Peter, Ronnie, Charles.”

A tear rolled down Mule’s cheek as he looked at their bodies.

Seeing this, as if contagious, others began to empathize with his sorrow.

“Would the families please come forward.”

The families of the three young men rushed to the front of the rock. All were in tears, praying with clasped hands as if pleading.

“Today I will guide these children to God. The compassionate ones will receive them in their warm embrace.”

“Ah! Spiritmaster!”

“We believe! We believe!”

Receiving the prayers of the people, Mule slowly extended his hand toward the corpses.

Brilliant white light burst from his hand, illuminating the surroundings.

Soon, the light transformed into the figure of a beautiful goddess with wings.

“O God, take these unfortunate souls into your embrace.”

As Mule’s prayer, which sounded like a plea, flowed out—

The white light enveloped the corpses.

And then.

The souls of Peter and Ronnie emerged from their bodies.

“…!”

“What the hell?”

While others were erupting in exclamations and cheers, Deia and Findenai couldn’t help but be shocked.

Because he was truly extracting the souls of the dead and delivering them to his god.

The two felt something similar to when Deus Verdi had resolved the grudge of Emily, the flower-loving girl.

[Ah, God.]

[Mom. Dad. I’ll be waiting.]

Smiling brightly, the two souls were embraced by the pure white goddess and disappeared.

After embracing the two souls, the goddess smiled benevolently and then pointed to Charles’s remaining corpse.

The goddess whispered something to Mule.

Upon hearing this, Mule shed tears, repeatedly expressing gratitude to the deity, and then called Charles’s parents up onto the rock.

“It seems Charles and the believers’ faith was very deep.”

At Mule’s smile, Charles’s parents nodded vigorously, shedding more tears.

“We prayed from dawn till evening every day! We sold all our worldly possessions to donate! But Charles…!”

“Spiritmaster. It’s so unfair. Will Charles not be embraced by the goddess?”

The parents worried, seeing that unlike the other two, Charles’s soul had not emerged.

But Mule smiled gently and shook his head.

“Your faith and Charles’s belief have reached God.”

Saying this, Mule approached Charles, took her hand, and pulled as if helping her up.

“Huh!”

Charles’s eyes flew open, and she sat up with a harsh breath.

A moment of silence.

In that gap, Mule pointed to Charles and shouted.

“Faith has reached God! Ah! What a glorious day this is! Believer Charles still has work to do on this earth!”

“M-mom? Dad?”

Charles, realizing she was alive, ran to her parents.

Witnessing this dramatic reunion firsthand, people soon erupted in thunderous cheers and expressed gratitude to God and blessings to Mule.

A true miracle.

A supernatural act not permitted to humans.

“Is this for real?”

“Interesting bastard.”

The boundary between the living and the dead is clear, and regardless of how tragic the circumstances, the dead should not cross that line.

That had been Deus Verdi’s unwavering belief until now.

But now, a scene directly contradicting his belief was unfolding before their eyes.

Findenai and Deia felt complex emotions they couldn’t easily express.

After the miracles, blessings, and prayers ended—

Mule looked at the crowd with a serious expression.

“Everyone, the royal family has invited me. It seems they are quite displeased that I call myself the spiritmaster.”

Normally.

It would be an act deserving immediate arrest by knights.

How dare someone claim a title bestowed by the king?

But because his followers were growing exponentially, the royal family needed to calmly assess the situation.

“But I will not yield. No, rather, I will go to His Majesty the King and plead: Do not be deceived by the wicked Black Mage!”

Waaaaaaah!

Emboldened by the roaring cheers, Mule criticized more harshly.

“Sending the dead on their way? Death is the end? Do you know how foolish and irresponsible that is! I cannot bear it! How many souls has Deus Verdi, under the name of spiritmaster, allowed to depart from God’s hands!”

“That’s right!”

“Curse you, Deus Verdi!”

“God will judge you!”

Despite the flood of curses and condemnations directed at Deus, Mule did not stop them.

No, rather, he encouraged them more by nodding.

“Even the Saintess was deceived by that wicked necromancer! But I, Mule, who listens to God’s words! Who follows His will! As one who acts accordingly! I will protect the continent from the evil one who treats souls as tools! Who extorts them at will and uses them as byproducts of magic!”

“Hmph.”

They didn’t want to hear any more.

Findenai’s forehead vein was bulging from how tightly he was clenching his teeth.

His hand holding the axe was twitching with the urge to use it, but.

“To judge the villain Deus Verdi! Today, God, I, we move to—!”

Bang!

A gunshot interrupted his declaration.

Smoke rose from the gun barrel pointed skyward.

Below it stood Deia, unable to contain her anger.

“This son of a bitch…!”

Click.

Reloading, Deia aimed the gun at Mule. Startled disciples around her tried to subdue her, but.

“Come closer and get cut! If you’re confident, ask that bastard to attach you back together!”

Swish!

Findenai’s single staff transformed into an axe, which he swung widely to drive them back.

“Waaah!”

“B-back! Step back!”

Though they drove the disciples back, they were essentially surrounded. Nevertheless, Findenai grinned.

“And you brought a weapon too.”

“A servant should watch how they speak to their master.”

“My only master is the master.”

Ignoring Findenai’s snide remark, Deia glared at Mule in the distance.

He responded with a smile.

“Deia Verdi. The sister of the wicked and vile necromancer, I see.”

“Hey.”

Gritting her teeth, Deia offered sincere advice.

“Only I get to criticize him. Talk nonsense without qualification again, and I’ll put a hole in your head.”

“…..”

“Let’s see if your god can fill bullet holes too.”