Ch.535The Last Task

As the day of my return to the Empire drew near, I often engaged in light sparring matches with my companions to loosen my stiffened muscles.

Mock battles where we relied solely on technique without using the power of Karma. It had been quite a while since I’d held an ordinary sword instead of Durandal.

“That’s enough. I win.”

I smiled as I pointed my practice sword at Leonore’s upper chest.

“Wait, what was that technique? It was like your sword suddenly got longer.”

“It’s a skill I learned in Landenburg. It’s difficult to use without considerable grip strength.”

Since you have to slide the hilt through your hand in one smooth motion, attempting it without sufficient grip strength and reflexes would be practically suicidal.

One slip and you’d lose your sword pathetically.

Right after the match ended with my victory, Lacy, who had arrived at some point to watch, approached me.

“Mausoleum?”

I wiped away the sweat that had trickled from my cheeks down to my chest with a towel and asked back.

I wasn’t unfamiliar with the term “mausoleum.” It’s like a burial place for great figures. In games, they were typically treated as dungeons.

Dungeons where you’d defeat guardians protecting the mausoleum, or undead monsters that appeared in poorly maintained mausoleums, and collect the belongings of the deceased.

…Come to think of it now, that’s basically grave robbing.

Maybe it was acceptable for adventurers who were essentially mercenaries, but should a hero be doing such things?

Perhaps it didn’t matter since the bereaved families had long since died as well…?

“Yes. It’s the mausoleum where the relics and remains of the Great’s Twelve Knights are enshrined. Though not all of their belongings are there.”

So it’s a burial place for my ancestors… no, Hersella’s ancestors. I didn’t know there was such a facility beneath the Holy City of Alhebron. This was the first I’d heard of it.

“So, why bring this up?”

“Do you remember what I said when our journey to the Holy State was decided? We agreed to officially recognize Baron Median as a descendant of the Twelve Knights.”

…Isn’t that common knowledge by now?

I handed my sweat-soaked towel to Hush who was standing nearby and tilted my head in confusion.

The fact that I was a descendant of the Twelve Knights seemed to have become as obvious as the fact that the limping man was the culprit, so was there any point in getting official recognition now?

“To record it officially, we need clear evidence. That’s why we need to visit the mausoleum. Until now, the situation has been too unstable to spare time for this, but things have settled down enough now. It’s time to complete what we’ve been postponing.”

Seeing my expression, Lacy explained in more detail why she had brought up this seemingly random topic. I still found it difficult to understand.

What was the connection between visiting a mausoleum full of skeletons and having my bloodline recognized? Would some sealed area open if I went there?

“What am I supposed to do there?”

“In the mausoleum of the Twelve Knights, there’s a facility called the Stone Gate of Swords. These are gates protected by blessings that can only be opened by oath-bound swords that have found their masters.”

…So it’s real. The security technology from eight hundred years ago was impressive.

“You just need to open the gate with Durandal, face the remains of your ancestor, and return. Beyond that… I’m not sure myself.”

“You don’t know?”

If you don’t know, who does?

“This is the first time we’re officially recognizing a descendant of the Twelve Knights. I only just learned about this procedure myself.”

Lacy confessed that this was her first experience with such a matter, her ears turning slightly red with embarrassment.

…Well, if it’s the first time, I guess it can’t be helped.

—-

And so my visit to the mausoleum was confirmed.

The date was set for four days later, considering the schedules of the remaining cardinals in the Holy State and the rate of my recovery.

Until then, I focused solely on resting and recovering my strength as much as possible.

While I didn’t expect monsters to appear in a mausoleum managed by the Church of Elpinel, there might be unforeseen dangers lurking behind the Stone Gate of Swords.

You know, like the spirit of an ancestor charging at me to test if I’m worthy as a descendant, or guardians protecting the relics of the Twelve Knights.

Lacy said my concerns were excessive—this wasn’t some ancient ruin but an ordinary mausoleum built by former church members—but it was better to be cautious.

Since falling into this world, I’d been caught off guard and paid the price more than once.

Fortunately, once my body had fully recovered, my strength began to return rapidly. Within just two days, I recovered to the level of a Master.

Moreover, I could intuitively feel that once my power was fully restored, I would be even stronger than before, perhaps because I had accumulated deeper Karma by defeating a devil.

At this rate, I might rightfully claim to be not just the strongest in the Empire, but the strongest among humanity.

The strongest woman among humanity—it sounded strange and somewhat amusing when I said it aloud. Really, I was just someone who played games, how did I end up like this?

—-

While I was resting, Lacy also began preparations for our return to the Empire.

She handed over her duties to Richard, concluded discussions with cardinals from other denominations about future state affairs, and worked with Agnes to address the final concern: the matter of Paulus.

Paulus Eisen Hindenburg. A former cardinal suspected of being the 2nd Apostle of the “Church of Forgotten Gods,” a shadowy figure who served ancient deities.

Though he was supposedly killed by Agnes, it was difficult to believe that someone like him could be eliminated so easily.

The fact that he hadn’t shown himself despite all the chaos in the Holy State after his death was announced suggested he was hiding very thoroughly—which was truly regrettable.

If he had only revealed himself, I would have tracked him down and killed him like a dog.

For me, not having dealt with him felt like a thorn in my mouth. There was no telling what he might do after we left the Holy State.

However, we couldn’t stay in the Holy State until we found him. Having already exceeded our expected return schedule by nearly a month, Leopold must be desperately waiting for my return by now.

Whether he has any hair left to pull out is another question.

Anyway, Agnes and Lacy’s solution was to issue a wanted notice throughout the Holy State to restrict Paulus’s movements.

The notice stated that an evil cult priest wearing the face of Cardinal Paulus had attempted to assassinate Agnes and fled after failing, and anyone who saw his face should immediately report to the nearest church member.

It was slightly distant from the truth but not exactly a lie.

It was undeniably true that he was a priest of ancient gods, and since his identity was Paulus himself, he was indeed wearing Paulus’s face. Given their objectives, they would have eventually tried to kill Agnes.

It was too late to announce that Cardinal Paulus’s true identity was a priest of ancient gods, and such news would only destabilize the Holy State that had just barely been calmed, so this was the best option.

—-

Two days before visiting the mausoleum of the Twelve Knights, I went to the Cathedral of Astraea to meet Cardinal Ernliter and Ceylon.

I felt I owed Ernliter for all his help, and I also felt a sense of obligation toward Ceylon, who had been seriously injured after getting caught up in our affairs.

While it was his duty as a paladin, I couldn’t simply ignore the help we’d received.

And within 10 minutes, I regretted my decision.

“Could that be… Lord Median?”

“To think the Sword of the Starry Sky would come here…!”

As soon as I entered the Cathedral of Astraea, I found myself the center of attention from countless people.

The paladins and priests working in the cathedral immediately gathered around me like fans at a signing event, bombarding me with various comments.

Most of the paladins had been dispatched to deal with monster subjugation and other issues, so the church members who remained were mostly priestesses… their reactions were so favorable that I wondered if my secret identity as the Saint of Order had been exposed.

“Oh my! Have you come to visit Ceylon? Lord Median coming to visit—Ceylon will be so pleased!”

“Indeed.”

He’ll probably jump up in astonishment.

“Um, Lord Median. If it’s not too much trouble, could I touch your unicorn just once? It’s my wish!”

“You know the rumors about unicorns, right? Feel free to touch it if you’re okay with that.”

It won’t stab you if you’re truly a virgin.

“Is it true that you cut the sky?”

“It’s true, but I can’t do it right now.”

I’d like to test if I could do something similar, but this isn’t the situation to waste Karma power, so I’ve postponed it for now.

In this manner, I made my way to Ceylon’s room while answering the questions of the priests gathered around me.

The fact that I had come to see Ceylon seemed to be of great interest to them; some priestesses looked at the fruit basket I was carrying and then at my face with sparkling eyes, like girls immersed in romance novels.

Their expressions were full of blooming pink flowers. I decided not to think too much about what they might be imagining.