Chapter 363

Chapter 363

For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Episode 363: Reorganization (3)

What?

This was a story I couldn’t just brush off.

Build a statue of me in Yggdrasil? Paint a sacred portrait in the Great Church of Solaris?

I understood that my reputation had increased, and my affinity with Alfheim and the Circulating Life had improved. Helena and Solaris were probably just bragging, as usual…

However, even considering all that…

“Isn’t a statue and a sacred painting a bit much?”

“Hmm? I thought it was rather normal?”

It was Iris, dangling upside down, who responded to my involuntary mutter.

“Think about it. Master, though weakened, defeated an Evil God. An achievement that even the Good Gods and Hero Rahim couldn’t accomplish 300 years ago.”

“Well, that’s true…”

“Even Iona, who only fought conspicuously, was painted in a sacred painting. There’s no reason to leave out Master.”

“Okay, let’s say the sacred painting is fine. But isn’t a statue too much?”

“Does Master know what a statue means among elves?”

“No. Is it different from other races? Does it have a meaning beyond just commemorating someone?”

“The meaning is the same. But the weight is different. Elves, being a long-lived race, don’t leave many records for historical transmission, let alone knowledge transmission.”

If a grandfather tells his grandson stories from his youth, that’s at least 500 years ago. ‘Back in my day’ means 500 years ago.

If that grandfather tells stories he heard from adults when he was young? Then stories from 1000 years ago will flow out.

Why would they need records? They don’t feel the need to leave anything unless it’s truly important.

“Statues are especially so. They’ll live for hundreds more years, so why bother carving their face in stone? Besides, no matter how great a hero is, it’s hard to stay spotless even a hundred years down the line.”

“But my case is different.”

“Exactly. Master is human. Though it seems you’ve half-stopped being human this time, in appearance, you still are.”

Moreover, what I accomplished this time saved Alfheim from the crisis of destruction.

It was a major event that would be remembered in the long history of the Great Forest. Considering its importance and the short lifespan of humans, it wasn’t strange to say it should be left in a material form, not just oral tradition.

After hearing that, I had no choice but to resign myself. Honestly, building a statue of me and painting a sacred portrait was a bit embarrassing… but it wasn’t something I’d stop them from doing by spoiling the mood.

“Ahem. Then it can’t be helped. Let’s go to the training hall quickly. There’s a lot to test.”

“Master, your lips are twitching, aren’t they?”

“……”

To be honest… I’m a little, just a tiny bit, pleased.

When I arrived at the training hall, everyone was finishing their warm-ups and about to leave. We came at the perfect time since the entire training hall was empty.

Thanks to that, I could test everything I wanted, using magic of considerable scale.

The results were beyond expectations.

It wasn’t just the increase in mana; it was more like a step up in the level of a magician.

Thanks to the strengthened control, magic control became easier. Not only that, though not written in the status window, the quality of mana became purer, improving efficiency.

Besides, thanks to the enhanced vitality, the number and output of blood magic use increased, and I realized that the three traits synthesized to create the Dragon Heart hadn’t completely disappeared.

For example, the mana capacity of Endless Mana and the mana recovery speed increase were replaced by the Dragon Heart’s own performance. Of course, the effect was much stronger.

And Resonance, the secret of the Lintblum Core, became a passive skill. The Dragon Heart automatically made surrounding mana fluctuate whenever I used magic, without needing to concentrate.

Of course, using it consciously improved the Resonance effect.

Lastly, Return to Origin. Honestly, I was quite worried about this. What if I couldn’t use Dragonization, which I’d been using effectively?

Turned out, all of that worry had been for nothing. I could still use it. In fact, it had become even more powerful.

Before, Dragonization gave me horns, slit pupils, and patches of scales across my body.

Now, after acquiring the Dragon Heart, not only did the horns and eyes transform more drastically, but I also grew wings and a tail. The scale coverage had increased, too, as a bonus.

Just like the changes in appearance, my stats had improved dramatically—though I didn’t unleash my full power in case I brought the whole training hall down.

“Well, this should be enough. Let’s call it a day.”

I’d be testing it in real combat soon anyway.

As I dispelled the Dragonification with a satisfied smile, I saw the stunned faces of the women staring blankly at me.

For a moment, I wondered if I’d have to explain everything again, but thankfully, Iris had taken care of all that while I was running my tests, so I was off the hook.

“Master is truly becoming a dragon now…”

“Oh my. That’s natural for my partner.”

“Senior! This time, just a little bit of your wing membrane and tail tissue!”

“Dragon Heart… Student Yandel has become tastier!”

“God! Maybe Brother Yandel can really defeat all the Evil Gods like this!”

“Husband…! Were you really planning to bring me the heads of the Evil Gods as a dowry?”

Each of them congratulated me in their own way.

…Were they really congratulating me?

At least in Faye and Iona’s cases, it seemed they were more interested in the side benefits.

With a small laugh, I put my staff away and shrugged lightly.

“Well, then next, let’s go catch the Boiling Silence.”

“Huh?”

Carla, who was clapping her hands cheerfully, tilted her head.

“I meant exactly what I said. Next time, we’ll go after the Boiling Silence.”

“…Right now? And just by ourselves, Master?”

“Of course not. I’m not saying we go right this instant or by ourselves. I mean next time we target a major threat, it should be the Boiling Silence, not some other Evil God.”

I explained the Boiling Silence’s power based on what I’d seen in H&A, along with the current situation, and pointed out how nothing had happened despite multiple clear opportunities for surprise attacks. But everyone still tilted their heads, unconvinced.

Even Helena, who was always eager to destroy Evil Gods and their followers, felt the same.

“Hmmm. I understand your point, Brother. But the problem is, we don’t know where the Boiling Silence is, nor what traps await us in their stronghold.”

“That’s true.”

The Hero Rahim had sealed the Evil Gods. So why was nobody maintaining those seals now?

The answer was simple: they couldn’t, even if they wanted to.

During the latter half of the Great War, the alliance was clearly losing. The hero’s party barely managed to infiltrate the Evil Gods’ strongholds and seal them, acting like assassins.

But since they lacked the strength to protect those seals afterward, the imprisoned Evil Gods eventually fell into the hands of cultists, disappearing somewhere.

Now, only the highest-ranking cultists of each cult—and only a select few at that—knew the seals’ locations.

Capturing them was difficult enough, and even if captured, powerful magical restrictions would prevent extracting information.

But there was one exception—the Boiling Silence.

In H&A, as befitting an Evil God representing the sin of sloth, the Boiling Silence never bothered leaving their vicinity even after breaking free. Instead, they simply sent Fiona, empowered with tremendous authority, to lead their forces.

Thus, battles against the Boiling Silence naturally took place around their sealed location, which I remembered clearly.

“Of course, just knowing the location doesn’t solve everything. Normally, hurting a god is impossible.”

“Yes. And we can’t exactly repeat the method we used this time. While I don’t know exactly where the Boiling Silence’s seal is, I doubt it lies within the World Tree’s domain.”

“That’s why I’m planning to ask for help from the Chairman and Sir Havel.”

“…Ah!”

Helena opened her eyes wide, realizing something.

A seal was both a prison for an Evil God and a barrier preventing external interference. If that weren’t true, the cultists would have released the seals long ago.

But if Rebecca, who had originally cast the seal, got involved, she might know a way to attack the sealed god without breaking the barrier.

And if it was Sword Master Havel, he’d be capable of cutting down the Boiling Silence.

“Well, we won’t do it right away, but since it’s important, I figured I’d mention it now. Besides, we have other tasks to handle first.”

“Tasks, you say…?”

“First, since Chancellor Milone laid the groundwork, we need to restore Elisha and Iris’s honor. Afterward, we have a dungeon to clear, as promised earlier. Senior Faye has lots to research lately, so we should at least get her some reference materials.”

“You mean you planned to clear a dungeon for me, Junior…?”

Faye’s eyes sparkled through her messy bangs, touched.

I wondered how she’d react once she discovered the dungeon was the lab of the great alchemist Paracelsus… but surprises were always more fun.

Suppressing a grin, I continued.

“There are plenty of other things to do, but there’s one thing that’s most important.”

“Oh my? And what’s that, darling? Teacher and I would be happy to help.”

Elisha’s voice had become noticeably sweeter since I’d emerged from the time warp. Smirking, I replied bluntly,

“Sex.”

“…Eh?”

“I’ve been holding back way too long. You said you’d help with anything, right? I’ll look forward to it.”

“……”

Elisha froze completely, her imagination clearly running wild. Sensing danger, Iris quickly hid behind Elisha, shouting urgently.

“I-I never said that! Please, spare me and torment only Elisha!”

Nope. They came as a set.

How dare she try to sell out her student?