Ch.37Chapter 37 – The Price

The golden energy vanished from the sword, and as my body rapidly cooled, the smoke disappeared.

I barely won.

“Phew…”

I tried to move while feeling intense fatigue.

My body suddenly began to collapse forward.

“Benefactor?!”

Thanks to Christina quickly catching me, I avoided hitting the ground.

“Are you alright?”

“Feeling dizzy… a bit…”

Christina took out a water flask from her sleeve and handed it to me. I weakly accepted it and drank.

The thirst subsided a little, but I was still exhausted.

‘Did I overdo it….’

I fought longer than I did against the centipede.

It seems I can’t fight like this for extended periods.

Just as I thought I might lose consciousness from fatigue, something entered my field of vision.

“What’s that…?”

“Why is the monster’s corpse… Huh? What?”

From the monster’s corpse, a purple jewel was glowing.

What could that be?

“…No…not now…”

My mind couldn’t process anything more.

“Benefactor?!!”

With Christina’s voice as the last thing I heard, I lost consciousness.

+

When I came to my senses, Sera was beside me.

“Ah, you’re awake?”

“…When did you get back?”

I clearly remember collapsing at the cemetery, but I don’t know when I returned.

Sera spoke up.

“Three days ago.”

“Three days?”

I was unconscious for three days?

I sat up in surprise.

“That Christina person who went with you carried you back to the guild. I happened to be there, so I brought you here.”

“…I’ve been a burden. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Sera said with a smile.

“I need to report…”

“Christina said she would take care of all that, and that you should rest for now.”

“I’m curious about what happened afterward…”

“She did say she would come here to let us know once things were settled…”

That’s what Sera said.

It seems there had been no news since then.

“Maybe I should go to the guild.”

“Are you feeling okay?”

I got up and tried moving my body.

Fortunately, everything seemed fine.

“I think I’m okay.”

“Still, let’s go together just to be safe.”

I nodded at Sera’s suggestion.

I was curious about how things had unfolded.

I got dressed, armed myself, and was about to put on my helmet.

“Wait.”

I remembered that my helmet had been broken during the fight with the golem.

But it had been repaired.

I turned my head to see Sera smiling awkwardly.

“Did you repair it?”

“Yes.”

“How much was it?”

“I paid from my savings for now…”

It seemed Sera had visited the blacksmith on my behalf while I was unconscious.

I expressed my gratitude and put on the helmet.

The familiar view appeared, and in that state, I looked at Sera.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

Sera also got up and put on her outer clothes.

+

“Ah, Benefactor?”

As soon as we entered the guild, we ran into Christina.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“I think so.”

“Thank goodness…”

Christina offered a small prayer with her hands clasped together. I waited for her to finish.

Shortly after, we moved to the café in front of the guild with Christina.

While ordering and drinking simple beverages, I heard about what had happened from her.

“First, Nina asked me to tell you that the mission was successfully completed by submitting the core obtained from the golem that you heroically defeated.”

That was a relief.

If they had claimed the mission failed after all that, I might have turned everything upside down out of indignation.

“And while you were unconscious, investigation teams were dispatched several times.”

“Several times?”

“Yes. You could say they sent teams multiple times each day.”

Christina took a sip of her drink before continuing.

“The situation is serious. The cemetery is a place where people from the capital come and go. Everyone is anxious, asking if their parents’ or lovers’ corpses have become undead, barging in everywhere…”

“It must have been quite chaotic.”

Christina gave a bitter smile at my response.

Though she didn’t say it, she might have been called around to various places.

“You must have had a hard time.”

“No, this much is fine.”

Christina said with a smile.

“The investigation teams discovered more undead.”

“Hmm…”

“So they completely abandoned the idea of entering the crypt.”

Christina added that they had gone prepared to abandon entry if necessary.

“Instead, judging by the condition of the undead, it appears that not only the corpses from the cemetery but also victims and corpses from other regions rose and gathered here.”

“This has gotten bigger…”

Christina nodded at Sera’s words.

“The kingdom, guild, and church are planning a large-scale subjugation operation for this incident.”

I wondered why there was another subjugation so soon after the one at the mine.

Still, it’s a cemetery. Considering it’s a place where not only commoners but also nobles might be buried, I thought they would try to resolve it quickly one way or another.

Compared to the monsters in the mine, undead are nothing.

If they’re determined to subjugate them, they’ll handle it quickly.

‘Still, I don’t want to face them again.’

Above all, I didn’t want to face that golem again.

Reading my expression, Christina also smiled bitterly.

“…Both of you look troubled.”

“You’re Seraphina, right? You should have seen that monster…”

“No, it’s better not to see it.”

A monster that pulls in zombies and corpses to repair itself when its body is broken—it’s better to just remove it from your sight.

“Especially the church, due to the severity of this situation, is planning to call in important forces.”

However, Christina said with clasped hands that she didn’t know who would come.

Sera and I exchanged quiet glances, and it seemed Sera didn’t know either.

Noticing our exchange, Christina smiled.

“I believe truly remarkable people will come.”

Christina spoke confidently, but not knowing who these people were, I could only nod.

Fortunately, Sera also seemed not to know and just vaguely nodded her head.

“Ah, when the large-scale subjugation begins, you and I must participate.”

“Why is that?”

“Because we’re the only ones who entered the underground crypt.”

Christina quietly clasped her hands together.

‘Well, they’re not going to let me rest.’

I thought quietly while finishing my drink.

After finishing our drinks, we left the café.

Thinking that work was out of the question today, I said goodbye to Christina and headed back to the inn.

Or at least I tried to.

“Why is she following us?”

“I wonder.”

Christina was following us.

At first, I thought we might be going in the same direction, so I deliberately took a detour, but she kept following all the way.

“Let’s catch her.”

Sera nodded, and we entered an alley to wait for Christina.

Since Christina was openly following us, we were able to capture her without any difficulty.

“So, what’s this about?”

“Ow ow ow ow ow!”

Christina cried out in pain in response to Sera’s question as she held her.

I asked Sera to ease up a bit and then questioned Christina.

“So why were you following us?”

“Well, I forgot to mention something…”

Caught red-handed, Christina answered while darting her eyes around.

This is too suspicious.

“She’s lying. Sera.”

“Hup!”

“Wait, ow ow ow ow!”

When Sera applied pressure, Christina screamed in pain.

“If you confess honestly, you won’t have to suffer anymore.”

“Kay, somehow we’ve become the bad guys here.”

I chatted lightly with Sera, ignoring Christina’s cries of pain.

Eventually, Christina surrendered.

“I, I wanted to see, see, see your burns…”

So that was it.

Christina had already seen my face anyway.

There shouldn’t be any problem showing her.

Instead of going to the inn, we went around the alley, and I lifted my helmet to show her my burns.

Christina looked at my face with a serious expression and soon began to pray with her hands clasped.

“Oh Lord… to this unworthy lamb…”

After muttering prayers for a moment, Christina unclasped her hands and looked at me.

“This is indeed beyond my abilities…”

“Is it impossible?”

“I’m sorry for being useless…”

I consoled Christina as she apologized with her head bowed.

So the burns are too old to be healed anymore?

I had become rather indifferent to them for some time now.

“Not only have they been left untreated for a long time, but there might have been issues during the healing process as well.”

Christina said with a bitter expression.

“Especially, it seems like holy power stuck to your skin during healing, interfering with the recovery. If it was neglected after that…”

Christina went on to explain more details.

Soon, her explanation ended.

“…so, restoring your face to its original state…”

Christina trailed off, but I could understand what she meant.

In short, complete restoration is nearly impossible.

At some point, I had stopped caring about it, but now I wondered if I should give up.

“Thank you. At least now I know exactly what condition it’s in.”

Sera said that and took my hand.

“Sera?”

“You don’t need to worry too much.”

The small girl looked up at me with a smile.

As if trying to reassure me.

“I’ll fix it for you.”

Sera said with a smile.

Both Christina and I, who had been quietly listening, stared blankly at Sera.

“That’s not something you can easily say…”

“If it can’t be done, I’ll make it happen.”

Sera spoke firmly.

“Whatever it is, you have to try your hardest before giving up.”

That’s a tough statement.

It also showed a certain maturity.

Somehow, it didn’t seem to fit Sera.

“Is that something your grandmother used to say?”

“Yes!”

I chuckled at Sera’s bold response.

Christina also started laughing.

“That’s a wonderful saying.”

“She was a wonderful grandmother.”

After answering that, Sera quietly fell into thought and began walking around.

She seemed to be contemplating various ideas based on Christina’s words.

I quietly watched her and then looked at Christina.

She was looking at Sera as if envious for some reason.

“Christina?”

“Ah.”

When I called her, Christina shook her head a few times as if remembering something and looked at me.

“Benefactor, I forgot to mention something.”

“What is it?”

“That smoking thing, I kept it a secret.”

Come to think of it, Christina had witnessed that strange state of mine.

I hadn’t particularly tried to hide it, but this was the first time someone else had seen it.

“You can’t tell me what it is, can you?”

“No.”

There’s nothing good that would come from telling her.

Christina looked at me.

“I don’t know what you think, but I felt I had to tell you this.”

Christina paused for a moment before speaking.

“That smoke, there must have been some price for it.”

“Price?”

“Yes. Such tremendous power doesn’t just appear suddenly.”

Christina spoke with concern in her expression.

“The way you suddenly collapsed afterward, and I remember the intense heat from your body. I don’t think it’s normal.”

Christina said.

“At least it seems to put some burden on your body, so please be careful.”

“…I will.”

I nodded.

It’s not like I enjoyed being in that state, so I’ll continue to be careful.

“I’d rather not meet opponents that require using that again.”

“I agree.”

Christina smiled.

‘…A price…’

Isn’t the strange tampering with my body already enough of a price?

Thinking about it, my already considerable resentment toward the Emiris Order grew even more.

‘Making me pay some strange price on their own terms.’

They make me pay a price while they pay nothing themselves.

It was unfair.

I thought that before making me pay any price, they should first pay for kidnapping me into this world.

‘No, I’ll definitely make them pay.’

I unconsciously clenched my fist.

“Uh, Kay?”

“What’s wrong, Benefactor?”

Sera and Christina approached, perhaps sensing something off about my demeanor.

“It’s nothing.”

I brushed it off as they approached with concern.

There’s no reason to worry others unnecessarily.

Just then, I sensed someone behind us.

“Here you are, Kay.”

Thinking that I was meeting a lot of acquaintances today, I turned toward the voice.

“Eve…?”

I approached in surprise at Eve’s appearance, which unlike usual, seemed a bit tense.

Eve took a moment to catch her breath while looking at me and the other two.

“…I have something urgent to discuss.”

Eve said in a serious tone.

+

No one sees more unusual people than border guards.

“Here’s my pass. This is for identification.”

It was a man wearing half a mask.

The guard received the rosary the man handed over.

“…You’re a priest from the Emiris Order?”

“That’s right. Behind me…”

Though covered with what looked like brown cloaks, they were clearly people wearing armor.

Their builds varied.

The armor visible through the cloaks was red.

“They are members of the Order’s Red Holy Knights.”

“Are you their representative?”

“I am.”

The guard nodded and returned the pass and rosary.

“Verified, Father.”

“Very well.”

The masked man passed by the guard.

Behind him followed the knights.

The masked priest, Hudson, later came to a secluded location.

Looking around, he pulled out a scroll from his sleeve.

A scroll for long-distance travel.

He had several of them in his sleeve.

“…My goodness, to provide so many long-distance travel scrolls.”

Even one would be incredibly valuable; in terms of money, it was enough to live leisurely for months.

‘Is this errand that important?’

He tore the scroll without hesitation.

Soon, he and the red-armored test subjects began to be enveloped in light.

Thus, Hudson, a priest of the Emiris Order, was traversing the lands of the Mikea Kingdom.