Chapter 94: A Short Break – 1

Chapter 94: A Short Break – 1

…After being held by Christie and getting an earful for a while, the situation finally started to settle down.

First, the Inquisitor Commander was dragged off to the Empire’s underground prison, and I quietly chugged a stamina potion beside them.

Fortunately, this time, perhaps thanks to the Saintess showering me with all sorts of buffs, I didn’t faint.

……To be precise, I didn’t *just* faint; I was completely drained of all strength and being held by Christie.

Even so, I never expected to be ‘princess-carried,’ as they say, by Christie, but…

Anyway, though it was a bit awkward, I comfortably chugged potions and watched the situation unfold.

…Until the system popped up again.

*Additional quest unlocked!

-> You have successfully persuaded the Saintess and, beyond that, laid the groundwork for a deeper relationship in the future!

=> Accordingly, the rewards for this branch point will be temporarily postponed, and you can receive additional quests related to the Saintess!

=> In this case, rewards will be greatly amplified!

+> There is no time limit, and it is not mandatory. You can receive the branch point rewards now. The choice is yours, user-nim.

*

It was a notification window that felt very ‘system-like’ for not even telling me what the quest was.

…Well, it doesn’t lie, so the part about the rewards must be true.

The line below it, saying it’s not mandatory, would also be true.

……The problem is, this system subtly has a preferred direction for me to act in.

‘It’s common sense that if you just take the rewards in situations like this, you’ll lose out, you know.’

*Well… it seems we want your ‘narrative,’ after all. It’s better for us if things are more dramatic and cause more trouble, isn’t it?*

‘If I create such a good narrative, do I get anything good out of it?’

*…Actually, this business of reviving dead people and demanding a ‘narrative’ in return is a trial business that we’ve just started.

So, we’re quite desperate for results. Otherwise, it might just become a business that never was, you know?*

……For a moment, I wondered if I had fallen into that trial business, but I decided to just accept it.

I didn’t dislike this life I was living, and there were many fun parts to it.

Of course, that’s probably not something someone who almost died just now should be saying.

Therefore, my answer to that additional quest was… to accept it for now.

Not getting the rewards immediately stung a bit, but well, I probably didn’t need to receive those rewards urgently for anything.

“The cleanup seems to be almost done. Are you feeling a bit better?”

“…I think I’d feel better if you’d just put me down, Christie.”

“Heal that blatant wound on your thigh first, then talk. It looks like the bone might be cracked. It’s a miracle it didn’t break.”

“So, please let me go?”

And then, my thoughts were momentarily interrupted by Christie.

Indeed, looking around, I saw that the chaotic surroundings were being tidied up.

The park, now cleared of debris with nothing left, the Inquisitor Commander completely bound and restrained, disappearing from sight,

And finally, Christie reluctantly putting me down.

…Everything was like that, except for one thing: this Saintess-nim next to me.

“By the way… you’ll need to explain the current situation, Saintess-nim.”

“……Um, well…”

“From the situation, it seems the Saintess-nim cast a barrier for that mad old man, didn’t you?”

Christie’s voice was dry, and also chilling.

……It was hard to believe she was the same person who had just been dealing with me.

Naturally, she was, in a way, an accomplice in attacking me.

The difference from the Inquisitor Commander was that he had clearly attacked me openly, so he was immediately imprisoned, while the Saintess-nim, though only at the end, had helped me.

“……”

“Well, I roughly understand the situation after seeing it. You were probably used. Even without knowing the detailed inside story, I can guess that much.”

“…What should I do?”

“We intend to officially protest this incident to the Holy Kingdom. Well, it’s a given. Therefore, we must imprison the Saintess-nim along with that madman.”

Before I could say anything to Christie’s words, Christie continued.

“Well, by principle, yes.”

“……Huh?”

“Eh?”

At Christie’s unexpected reaction, both the Saintess and I let out dumbfounded sounds.

And for good reason… it wasn’t something the current defense Commander, soon to be the Knight Commander, would typically say.

……Of course, it was also something only such a person could say.

“Even if we protest to the Holy Kingdom with the Saintess-nim involved, the Holy Kingdom would just use the Saintess-nim’s reputation and say it couldn’t be true.

Most importantly, ordinary citizens would think the same.”

“Th-then…?”

“Today’s incident will be officially concluded by the Empire as a case where a mad Inquisitor mistakenly attacked an innocent Imperial citizen, believing them to be a heretic.

The Saintess-nim merely felt something strange from the divine power in this vicinity and saved that Imperial citizen.”

“…What must I give the Empire in return?”

However, the Saintess, whose expression was initially surprised, regained her composure.

She even asked back, expecting Christie to demand something else.

“Well? It seems today’s incident won’t be fully investigated and restored for a few more days.

…We have plenty of time, so let’s talk slowly, shall we?”

“Hmm… Hang in there, Saintess-nim.”

And at Christie’s subsequent words, I unconsciously uttered words of encouragement.

Honestly, looking at Christie’s expression now, and considering what kind of country the Empire is… well, I don’t know.

Whatever happens, it won’t be impossible, but it was obvious she would demand something terribly difficult.

“Oh, and you have to come too.”

“…Me too? Why?”

“Well, we need the victim to be present to get proper advice, don’t we? Various agreements are also needed.”

“……Please make it as late as possible. I need some rest too.”

……Of course, it turned out I wasn’t in a position to worry about others.

***

“Ughhh…”

*…You’re not falling asleep, are you?*

“I’m about to fall asleep, so just tell me what you need quickly. If it’s not important, do it tomorrow.”

Leaving Christie and the Saintess behind, I returned home and immediately collapsed onto my bed.

…Honestly, the fatigue accumulated in my body was enough to make me fall asleep instantly.

*Even without the branch point rewards, some other rewards came in.*

“…What are they?”

*One is more of a potion-making skill being activated, and the other is the provision of various resistance-related potion ingredients.*

“……That means I should make and sell various resistance-related potions, right? No, it just means I should make potions, right?”

*In addition, one of the ingredients for the ‘Wish Potion’ has been provided.*

“‘Wish Potion’…?”

Come to think of it, I remember a potion crafting recipe like that being one of the rewards after the first branch point.

It had the ability to grant wishes, albeit degraded like Christie’s pendant.

*Well, it’s not like you can craft it right now, so let’s move on… The real thing is the skill that was turned into a potion, and it’s quite surprising that it was turned into a potion, you know?*

“Was there any other skill to extract from that damn old man?”

*No? But there was a skill worth extracting from the Saintess-nim next to him.*

At those words, I quickly pushed myself up from where I was lying.

…No, honestly, I don’t know about anything else, but one of the Saintess’s magic or skills, which was called a ‘miracle’ in the latter half of the novel, was turned into a potion?

This was definitely something I couldn’t ignore.

……Unfortunately, my will, mind, and body were separate, so I collapsed back down.

*…Pfft*

“Don’t laugh, just show me the potion information.”

And at that sight, Ria immediately sent a laugh, but I deliberately ignored it.

There was something more important than that right now.

Immediately…… was impossible, but I had something to do as soon as I woke up tomorrow.

*

-> Miracle Potion

=> A divine magic created by the Saintess to focus all buffs on one person, including various buffs.

+> Basically, all physical injuries are healed, and fatigue is greatly reduced. Additionally, all attacks and potions are greatly enhanced.

+> Additionally, all negative statuses are removed.

+> Cannot be registered in ‘Alchemist’s Treasury’, and can only be used once per battle.

*

…And my reaction to seeing this was just one thing.

“This is just a portable Phase 2!”

This wasn’t even a boss monster; I now had a potion with effects like complete physical injury recovery + all debuff removal + subsequent attack enhancement + significant fatigue reduction.

…Of course, I’d have to craft it myself, and the ingredients required for such a potion would probably be terribly difficult to acquire… but this was practically a portable Phase 2.

Therefore, that thought came to me before any feeling of joy.

……Just how many utterly messed-up enemies did they plan for me to encounter to give me something like this?