Chapter 370

Chapter 370

For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Episode 370: False? Accusation (2)

“Hmm…”

I stared at the framed painting hanging above the Circulating Life’s head. It was my face in the frame—wearing an expression so smug and punchable that I couldn’t even begin to describe the emotion bubbling up inside me.

“Heeuuuum…”

What should I say? I know it’s definitely my face, but that smile bothers me.

“Doesn’t it look too evil?”

“What…?”

The Circulating Life, who was smiling brightly and expecting my reaction, blinked blankly.

“No, it does, doesn’t it? How can you draw this handsome face like such a corrupt noble?”

“What…?”

This time, it wasn’t the Circulating Life, but a voice from my party. When I turned my head, Faye was quickly covering her mouth.

Faye, who met my gaze, wiggled her fingers in front of her chest and turned her head to the side.

“Ah, haha… Yeah? It really is strange, huh? I mean, when I first saw you, I did wonder if you were some shady sponsor or something because your expression was so sharp. But not this bad. Yup.”

What, she was on my side?

I put my arm around Faye’s shoulder and nodded vigorously.

“That’s right. Look at that expression. He’s just a thug whose head is full of fighting and women.”

“I-Is that so???”

“That’s right. He looks like he’s going to ask rude questions like, ‘Do you want to put a leash on yourself? Or should I put it on for you?’”

“U-Um, you know. I’ve been thinking, Junior. Maybe this is just… self-loathing? Or internalized bias against your own kind—”

“Tssss.”

“…Right! Totally! You’re absolutely right! Oh wow! You look terrifying in that! If they’re gonna turn it into a statue on display, they should’ve made it more refined… or no, more idealized? Wait—no, not that either… A-anyway, it should’ve looked way cooler!”

Faye, who was startled, answered quickly just by inhaling.

She looked like she was shrinking from me as I put my arm around her shoulder because of her small stature and hunched posture. Anyone would think I was bullying her.

Anyway, Faye is talented and good-looking, but her lack of confidence is a problem. Of course, she’s improved a lot lately, but seeing her show this side of her from time to time, she still has a long way to go.

As I was shaking my head, Elisha, who was watching from the side, sighed deeply and patted the back of my hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, I know it’s cute that Senior Faye gets crumpled up like this sometimes, but stop bullying her.”

“Ahem. Bullying? This is all an expression of affection!”

“Hiiiik!”

Perhaps because I put strength in my arm without realizing it while I was talking, Faye crumpled up even more and curled up.

…Was my joke too much?

I released my arm and stroked her disheveled hair once. Then, Faye glanced at me and ran away to hide behind Carla.

Carla gave a troubled smile and hid Faye, opening her mouth.

“Don’t be like that, Master. I really like this expression of yours.”

“Carla, I feel like even if I took a dump in the town square, you’d still like it…”

“If that’s what Master wishes… I’ll try my best to appreciate it!”

“No. Don’t take it seriously. I’m just saying.”

“Phew…”

Carla was openly relieved. I smiled at the sight and asked the Circulating Life again.

“By the way, who drew this? I heard that Alfheim was going to build a statue, and that the Church of Righteous Radiance was going to draw a sacred painting in the main church. Did a priest from the Church of Righteous Radiance draw it?”

“It’s me.”

“What?”

The Circulating Life, who had a very disappointed expression for some reason, said again clearly.

“I drew it.”

“…?”

“I was bored of being stuck inside the World Tree since the War of the Gods… but I thought my skills had improved a bit after drawing for about 300 years.”

“Ah…”

“I see. It seems it wasn’t good in the eyes of the person involved.”

“Aaaah…”

“It can’t be helped. Since you hate it so much, I’ll have to discard this painting, which is really sad.”

“C-Circulating Life? That’s… it’s not that I really hate it…”

“Huuu. I drew it all night for the past few days. I was looking forward to seeing what kind of reaction you would have if I showed it to you before you left… I’ll have to throw this away and ask a professional painter.”

“NOOOOO!!”

Tact check… failed!

I quickly ran to the Circulating Life, who was giving a bitter smile, and started to rub her shoulders carefully.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! It looks exactly like me! I’m just happy and embarrassed that my statue is being built, so don’t worry!”

“Hmm, is that really so?”

“Of course! Look at this!”

I said that and turned to the Circulating Life, making the same smile as the painting.

“How is it? It’s the same, right?”

“How’s this? Identical, right?”

“Uh…”

But for some reason, her eyes widened—and then she looked away.

“…It’s worse than the painting.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, nothing. Since it’s come to this, could I take a closer look? Maybe make a few touch-ups while I have the chance…”

She muttered to herself, but before she could finish, Solari suddenly stepped between her and me.

“That’s enough nonsense. If you don’t want to screw up titles and relationships even more, you’d better stop here.”

“…Your words are a bit harsh, but I’ll admit—this time, you’re right, Radiance.”

The Circulating Life nodded and scooted her chair back to put some distance between us. Only then did Solari sit back comfortably and pull me over to her side.

Back at a safe distance again, the Circulating Life let out a sigh—her face slightly flushed, perhaps from the heat of the hearth.

“Sigh… I can see now why you’ve become so smitten with that child, Radiance. For a god who always received prayers and granted salvation to be on the receiving end… it’s quite a powerful experience. I was just reminded of that again.”

“If you understand, that’s enough.”

“Oh my, don’t glare at me like that. I’m sure the feelings I experienced are different from yours. Regardless, I do feel a certain sense of responsibility for that child, you know?”

The Circulating Life, who was giggling at Solari’s grumpy appearance, asked me with her usual warm smile.

“Anyway, it’s okay to make a statue based on this painting, right?”

“Oh, yes. If it’s made based on a painting drawn by the Circulating Life, not anyone else, it will be a meaningful statue in many ways.”

“Hehe. Then let’s end this story here and move on to the next topic. I’d like to chat a little more, but… Radiance’s eyes are scary, and you all have a lot to do, right? You’re planning to leave today, right?”

“That’s right. I’m planning to clean up a dungeon on the way, so I’ll leave the Great Forest a little later, but I’m planning to leave Yggdrasil today.”

“You’re in a hurry.”

“Alfheim may be more stable now, but the rest of the world is still deep in war. More importantly, once we’re fully prepared, I intend to head straight to the Boiling Silence to settle things once and for all.”

“…Do you know the location of the seal?”

“Only for the Boiling Silence.”

When I shrugged my shoulders and said that, the Circulating Life started to worry about something with a serious face.

Since she already knew the information had come from Fafnir, she likely wasn’t wondering where I’d learned it or how I knew it.

Then what was she pondering so deeply?

Just as I tilted my head in curiosity, she finally spoke.

“You won’t be able to use the same kind of loophole this time. You’ll probably have to bring the Empire’s Swordmaster. Or get help from the Academy’s Archmage.”

“We don’t have much of a choice. None of us can actually inflict any real damage yet.”

“No, that won’t be necessary. Not if you have this.”

With a determined expression, she pulled a small branch from her robes.

“This is…”

“A divine relic I crafted at the end of the Great War, pouring all my divine power into it. It’s called Mistletoe.”

“…???”

Never heard of it. And I could say with certainty—it never appeared in H&A.

Which meant Fafnir’s predicted future didn’t include the Circulating Life bringing this out.

“You’re aware that we originally planned to seal the Evil Gods with the help of Rahim and his companions, yes?”

“Yes, it’s a well-known tale.”

“Right. Naturally, we also made plans for maintaining the seal afterward. The Righteous Radiance intended for her followers to guard it. Unyielding Steel planned to create a prison no god could escape. And I… I cultivated a mistletoe that could continuously drain divine power.”

“…Don’t tell me…”

“Yes. This is that mistletoe.”

Suddenly, it seemed a lot more impressive. It looked like an ordinary twig, though.

“Looks plain, doesn’t it?”

“Ah—yes. Honestly, I was a little confused.”

“That’s to be expected. This relic only reacts to sealed gods. But rest assured, its effect is real.”

The original plan had been for the good gods to oversee the sealed Evil God—but just as dungeons had scattered across the continent, the seal had drifted far from the hands of the gods.

That must have been why it was never used—just thrown into storage and forgotten.

And in H&A, where the story began only after all the seals had already broken, there was never a need for it to be brought up.

After all, to an unsealed Evil God, a relic that only worked on sealed ones would have been nothing more than a simple twig.

But this time was different.

Thanks to the present diverging from Fafnir’s vision of the future, the Evil Gods were only just beginning to stir and break free from their seals.

And at least in the case of Boiling Silence, whose divine power, apostles, and even high-ranking believers had all been obliterated—they would be unable to escape the seal on their own.

“If we can absorb even the last scraps of the Boiling Silence’s remaining divine power while they’re weakened… we won’t need anyone else’s help to defeat them.”

“That’s… honestly amazing.”

Hopefully, neither the Emperor of the Levantine Empire nor Havel would try to use this as leverage to make me owe them something. They weren’t that foolish.

At most, they’d just want to share in the glory of subjugating an Evil God.

Still, getting to that point would take considerable time.

I’d have to contact the Empire, convince the now highly cautious Emperor—burned once by the Evil Gods—to lend me his greatest asset, Havel, then rendezvous with Havel and head together to the Boiling Silence’s seal…

But if I had Mistletoe, I could skip all that. Not only shorten the timeline, but claim the achievement of defeating the Boiling Silence entirely for myself.

I didn’t particularly care for fame, but the system definitely rewarded such accomplishments.

In that sense, the Circulating Life’s gift would be far more helpful than expected.

Accepting Mistletoe with polite hands, I watched as she gave a bittersweet smile and added,

“I’d love to give you something better, but… I’m not quite in a position to do that yet.”

“This is more than enough. Though… if it’s not too much trouble, could you perhaps grant my party and me your blessing later on?”

“You’ve already received the World Tree’s blessing, haven’t you?”

“Not that one. I meant the Blessing of Life.”

“…Ah? Because of lifespan?”

While the World Tree’s blessing enhanced the body, the Blessing of Life extended one’s lifespan.

And with our party being made up of different races, it was something we needed for a proper happy ending.

At last, as if a weight had been lifted, the Circulating Life smiled brightly and nodded.

“Of course. If I ever recover my strength, I’ll grant it without fail.”

“Then I guess I’d better go defeat the remaining Evil Gods before then. You might not know, but…”

“You said you’d give Radiance an Evil God’s head as a wedding gift, right? She bragged about it so much it’s burned into my memory. I’ll prepare something else for the occasion too—so look forward to it.”

“Now I’m wondering how much bragging she’s done… But I’ll admit—it works out for me. I’ll look forward to it, excited.”

When I glanced her way, Solari was pretending not to notice, gazing off into the distance. The Circulating Life saw the two of us and began giggling softly.

Then, as if something came to mind, she clapped her hands.

Clap!

“Oh! That reminds me, I have something to boast about to the other gods… Would that be okay?”

“Huh? Why would you need my permission? If you want to brag, feel free.”

I tilted my head, puzzled. The Circulating Life answered in an eager voice.

“It’s about my son. I wanted to brag about him. I mean, I even painted a picture, didn’t I?”

“…”

What are you talking about, Ma’am Circulating Life…?