Ch.280Chapter 280 – I Won’t Hesitate Any Longer!

Etherna, who had been injured by Aegir’s attack.

She was slowly losing her life force due to the demonic energy that was preventing her wounds from healing.

It was only thanks to the holy magic she had cast on herself for battle that her soul remained tethered to her body; an ordinary person would have been completely consumed by the demonic energy.

‘It hurts… please, someone come save me…’

During her struggle between life and death, Etherna desperately hoped for someone to come rescue her.

But could no one hear her voice?

Nothing could be heard except her own voice.

She seemed to have mustered her strength to say something, but would anyone have heard it?

Even if she were to die here, she had no intention of blaming anyone.

After all, it was her own choice to cast holy magic on herself and push herself to the extreme.

Her body was now, so to speak, on borrowed time.

Dozens of holy spells and demonic energy were opposing each other, rapidly consuming what little life she had left.

In that situation, the face Etherna recalled was that of Pathos.

Objectively speaking, his appearance couldn’t be described as handsome enough to be called a flower boy.

However, the more one looked at him, the more approachable and likable he seemed, with a friendly appearance.

The reason his face came to mind was because Etherna had an unfulfilled final wish.

‘If only I could… if I could survive this, I wouldn’t keep my distance anymore…’

Because of her status as a saint, she couldn’t approach him actively, and even when she did, she had to maintain a certain distance.

But if she survived.

If she got another chance.

She would act without hesitation.

“Just hold on a little longer. I’ll fix you right away.”

And then, his voice echoed in Etherna’s mind.

Those words—just hold on a little longer, he would fix her right away.

Hearing his voice, Etherna grasped at that single thread of hope and nodded.

Then she lost consciousness briefly, and when she awoke, she saw people cheering for her and Pathos sighing in relief at seeing her awake.

As she had wished, she had been given a new life.

Now Etherna made a promise to herself.

She would no longer hesitate.

◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈

Alright, let me summarize what has happened so far.

On New Year’s Day, I departed for a kingdom that shares a border with the Oberon Kingdom.

The reason was, of course, because demons had appeared in that kingdom’s border quarantine zone.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, I moved to the area with Cheonhyeryeong.

Then I learned that Etherna was fighting against a demon, and I asked Cheonhyeryeong to help her.

However, Etherna was in critical condition after being wounded by the demon’s attack, but fortunately, since I was in the area, I was able to heal her.

As a bonus, Cheonhyeryeong, whom I had sent to help Etherna, not only drove away the demon but went further and completely annihilated it before returning.

“I felt the complete disappearance of its energy. The creature will never resurrect again.”

Oh, oh, long live the Heavenly Demon! Indeed, when things aren’t going well, just deploy the Heavenly Demon!

Of course, that’s just a joke, but thanks to Cheonhyeryeong, things seemed to be progressing smoothly.

If she had perished while entangled in the demon cult’s schemes, the world would have fallen into greater chaos.

Perhaps the entire Eastern Continent might have fallen into the hands of the demon cult.

Coincidentally, I never expected that my acceptance of the Liu Empire Emperor’s invitation to cross over to the Eastern Continent would become the catalyst for saving the Heavenly Demon.

While I was organizing my thoughts, I heard rustling sounds from outside.

“Ah! Are you awake?”

The person making the rustling sound was Etherna. Her previous silver hair and closed eyes were nowhere to be seen; now she was walking around with golden hair and golden eyes wide open enough to be clearly visible.

She wasn’t originally like this, so when I asked why she looked this way… she said it was a side effect of casting excessive holy magic on herself to fight the demon.

She said she would return to her original appearance after about a month, but it seems the change doesn’t fade gradually—it just disappears with a poof! when the time comes.

“I brought you a meal! The others wanted to come, but I insisted on doing it myself!”

“No, it would have been fine if others had brought the meal…”

“No way! I should be the one to bring it! You saved my life, so I should at least do this much!”

Tsk. Well, it seems like she’s changed somewhat since turning blonde.

Before, even when she tried to get close, she would maintain a certain distance and approach slowly, but now she’s openly trying to get closer.

Did she develop some new resolve while struggling between life and death?

Anyway, on the tray in Etherna’s hands as she entered the tent was a loaf of bread about half the size of my forearm and a bowl filled with vegetables and meat stew.

“Without a proper kitchen, we’re stuck with hard bread and meat scraps in stew again today…”

Wait a moment. I understand the bread, but meat ‘scraps’? There are chunks of meat larger than what goes into curry and plenty of vegetables—and she calls those scraps?

“Well, it’s better than having nothing to eat.”

I took the tray from Etherna’s hands before she could say anything else and placed it on the table.

The bread was a bit hard, but when soaked in the stew, it softened from the moisture and became reasonably edible.

“Is the hard bread alright for you?”

Etherna looked puzzled as she watched me break off a piece of bread and dip it in the stew.

Well, with my abilities, I could make hard bread soft.

Plus, that bread would taste exquisite… which has led to many incidents in the past.

“It’s fine if I soak it in the stew. Everyone else is eating it this way, and I’d feel awkward being the only one with soft bread.”

The reason I didn’t soften the bread wasn’t just because it was troublesome, but also because there was no guarantee that the same situation wouldn’t happen again.

If someone saw me eating soft bread, wouldn’t that news spread to others?

Then they would wonder about the source of my bread, and if it became known that I could turn hard bread into soft bread, people would surely start asking for my bread.

Needless to say, making hard bread soft would mean that I wouldn’t be able to rest properly and would have to keep hammering away.

Oh, I could do it, but the problem is that bread softened through my abilities makes people go crazy for it as if it contained some kind of drug.

The priests are already busy with relief efforts for soldiers near the border and the poor, and on top of that, people would flock here because of bread?

That would 100% turn into a major incident.

And there’s no guarantee that there wouldn’t be demon cult followers among those people.

So I’m just eating what I’m given.

Fortunately, thanks to the Gelebrio Empire’s material support, there wasn’t much inconvenience when it came to food.

However, since we never knew when we might have to lift the blockade and advance into the Oberon Kingdom, the bread was being baked as hard as possible. That way it could be preserved longer, they say.

“If you came hoping for soft bread, give up. I don’t want to use my abilities and cause a major incident.”

“Hmm, is that so? Well, can’t be helped then!”

Etherna responded with a bright smile, as if there was nothing to be done. But instead of leaving the tent, she continued to smile and watch me eat.

“Aren’t you going to eat, Lady Etherna?”

“It’s fine! Right now, thanks to the holy power, I don’t really need to eat anything! And what’s with ‘Lady’ Etherna! Just call me Etherna comfortably!”

Hey, that’s dangerous talk. Addressing the Holy Saint so casually could get me put on trial immediately.

“It’s fine! If I say I permitted it, then it’s allowed! No one in the Solar Order can refuse the word of me, their Saint!”

But I’m not part of the Solar Order.

“Could you come to the temporary shrine after your meal? Now that the demon has been dealt with, they want to discuss the full-scale advance into the Oberon Kingdom.”

“Do I really need to be there?”

I wonder if I really need to be present at a meeting discussing the advance into the Oberon Kingdom.

After all, I’m here in a personal capacity, and I’m completely ignorant when it comes to strategies and tactics.

“Yes, you’re needed. There are reports that a barrier has been placed at the entrance to the Oberon Kingdom.”

Etherna’s gaze as she looked at me was filled with certainty.

Certainty that I was the one who could solve the problem related to that barrier.