episode_0068

When a soldier said that the tent needed to be vacated, he went outside and found Linai standing outside.

“Ah, over there…!”

“Ah, thank you earlier.”

“Oh, no. I really appreciate it.”

After exchanging words of gratitude with Linai, I listen to her main point.

“Well, I want to talk to Astesia after work today. Can I come see you?”

‘Well, since it’s been a long time since we last met, there are probably a lot of things I want to talk about.’

I wondered if it would be that difficult to say something, but it wasn’t that difficult.

Astesia was found to be free of any charges due to the arrangements made by Hygenic, who temporarily assumed command, and it was concluded that Astesia was ostensibly under surveillance by the Church of Deshade.

So even if Linai and Astesia meet, there won’t be any problem.

“Well, I’d like a favor too.”

Above all, Astesia, like Rinai, had no choice but to grant this request.

“Sure. First of all, I’m going to take Astesia to a lodging outside the base, but I think you can come find her there. The Gaia Church finished work about an hour later than the military barracks, right?”

“Yes. There is a separate time for the evening prayer of thanks. Then, when I’m done, I’ll come straight to where you are.”

“Yes. Well then, let’s see later.”

“Thank you. Well then, Astesia. Let’s see.”

“Uh, yes.”

‘That’s cute.’

The two people showed a slightly awkward look as they hugged each other earlier, wondering where the passionate relationship had gone, as it had been quite a while since they had parted ways like normal people.

It was said that the two people had not seen each other for about 3 years, so it was understandable, but I couldn’t help but laugh.

I found Deshade, who was standing outside and distracted again, and left the unit for a moment to take Astesia to the dormitory first.

Then, instead of walking away, Deshade spoke again.

“Anyway, I feel really good.”

“What else?”

“Didn’t everything really end perfectly? Didn’t I spread the popularity of this body widely and, not knowing that I stopped the devil who was trying to climb up to the earth, did I make the devil’s favorite descendants my followers? There is no god who could inflict greater humiliation on the devil than this. It’s truly a feat.”

‘It ended perfectly? ‘Am I sane?’

What I noticed was that Deshade was self-absorbed with the things he had accomplished.

Deshade seems to have no idea what kind of situation I was in after that because of the hive of evil he touched.

‘I want to see this scene’s embarrassed expression at some point.’

As I was thinking about that, something came to mind and I sang Deshade.

“Ah, Deshade. Please take a look at this.”

“Bishop. Why do you suddenly take off your clothes? I am not interested in the male body.”

“I also don’t have any hobbies that I show off to others. But seeing you look so arrogant, I thought it would be a good idea to show it to you now.”

In one corner, he shows the mark of Asmodeus on his back.

When Deshade looked at the tattoo, he seemed to be at a loss for words, and was silent for a long time before finally speaking.

“… When did this happen?”

This is the first time I have seen Deshade, who always acts at his own pace, embarrassed.

“Shortly after the ceremony with Deshade? When Mongma’s castle was separated, didn’t I move along with it? Because God abandoned me.”

“No, you’re throwing it away. You’re speaking strangely. Since you were resurrected, I thought it wouldn’t matter.”

‘Was it real?’

For some reason, I opened my eyes and I was the only one there, so I expected it to be like that, but I’m a little angry because I heard right before my eyes that I was really thrown away by the mouth of God.

“They say they threw it away. What were you thinking, putting me with the devil?”

“It was difficult to protect the two people, so even though you saw them being dragged away, you just left them alone. But what had to happen for this to happen?”

“Uh… To put it briefly, just as God gave taffy to the devil, the devil also wanted to eat some of God’s taffy. Both the devil and God, both thought and acted the same.”

When Deshade heard that sound, he raised his voice and started to get angry.

“No, I also gave you the title of bishop, so why did it become like that! Well, it must have been a fierce fight anyway! Yes, I believe that as a human being who serves me, I would have given at least one hole in that devil’s body.”

“It may be unfortunate for God, but we just talked. Because the devil said he had no motivation. Ah, but after that, I turned the target of the devil’s anger and transferred it to where the devil king was… and then we ended up fighting.”

“Don’t believe me when I say that I bravely aimed my sword at the devil and the devil.”

“You must be disappointed once again. It is true that I fought the devil, but I received strength from the devil and fought with him. This imprint is the imprint that I received when I was possessed by the devil.”

“I’m going to turn.”

“I also agree with that.”

Deshade covers his forehead with his hand.

Since this has already happened to Deshade, I tell him all the complaints that have been building up.

“Honestly, the devil has better skills than Deshade? They gave me a lot of magical power and made me a sword, and thanks to that power, I was able to pierce the heart of the devil and blow up a city. But what did Deshade do for you? Every time we fight, he watches from behind and threatens us at the end, and even after completing the ritual, he only gives us a little bit of divine power.”

“No, it’s still true! Why on earth are you doing this? Did you just let it go like that? If you serve me, then of course if you are a devil, you will have to turn on the light in your eyes and be prepared to die! What on earth should we do so that we can fight together!”

“No, of course, it’s the path I chose, so I don’t have much to say, but I also have nothing. I didn’t join the church because I was truly religious, but because Deshade deliberately held back until the end and passed on that option, I reluctantly chose it. And I didn’t break my oath. After weighing all the conditions, I avoided the fight because it was a situation where there was no need to fight. Isn’t it natural for humans to try to live in situations where they are sure to die?”

“You who are soul sick will be resurrected anyway, so what does it matter! It’s my reputation, but if you act like that, how much the devil would laugh at me!”

“I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but I hate dying painfully. Is there any need to go through the trouble? If there is a way that ends well, of course we choose that way. And if I didn’t do that, humans, not demons, would be the targets, so there was only one option.”

“Oooo

Deshade screams.

It’s ugly. You have to let them know at least once that they are always trying to get their own way, but if they keep doing this, something like this may happen.

Seeing him shaking his head back and forth makes me feel relieved.

“Huh?”

At that time, Astesia came towards me with a dazed look on her face as if she were possessed, and placed her hand on the emblem on my back.

Flash-

There was a moment of light, and Astesia’s eyes illuminated something, albeit only briefly.

And I saw exactly the scene reflected in those eyes.

Asmodeus, in Astesia’s body, kissing me passionately.

The memory of me being confused and falling for Asmodeus just flowed into Astesia.

“…Ah. I’m sorry.”

Astesia, who remembered those images and the memory of the devil taking my lips with her body, quickly blushed and got away from me, covering her face with a blanket.

And then he started making excuses.

“Well, I don’t know what it is, but I suddenly feel like I have to touch it. But what is it? I can’t believe I shared a kiss with Lee Rim like that. Did Asmodeus show me an illusion to play a prank on me?”

‘No, it’s not an illusion. ‘It really happened.’

Now I understand what the devil said.

This crazy devil kissed his descendant, saying it was a gift or something, and it seems that the gift was to pass on his memories to Astesia.

I don’t know what they meant by giving a gift as a gift.

So I tried to get over it somehow.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to type it in numbers.”

“Yes?”

“It wasn’t you, it was done with Asmodeus, so you don’t have to think it was you who did it. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Well, it’s still a very clear memory…”

“Forget it. Let’s forget each other. Promise not to tell anyone?”

‘Kissing a succubus, and a succubus much younger than me.’

If this gets to other people’s ears, I don’t know what kind of teasing I’ll get. Especially Peria.

“I understand.”

“Deshade, please stand up. Let’s go quickly.”

“Ugh…consciousness. I have to do the ritual again. A ritual to completely eradicate traces of the devil…”

“It’s a mess, really.”

——————————-

“Then let’s toast to our safe return!”

Everyone in the restaurant climbs up on their chairs and shouts a toast according to Enin’s energetic command, and everyone gulps down their drinks.

In the meantime, it’s cute to see Enin take off his military boots and go up to show consideration for the restaurant owner.

“For surviving! Cheers to stopping the devil’s descent!”

“Wow! After all, the taste of alcohol after coming back from death is the best!”

“If this were considered a feat, it would be incredible. I’m looking forward to the day when I sublimate my next feat.”

Mercenaries, military soldiers, and adventurers who participated in the operation gather together without distinction and drink while boasting about their little dance moves.

Although there are quite a few people who have died, it is not uncommon for people to die.

Everyone curses that General Terraim, who planned such a reckless operation, has been arrested, but they fill each other’s glasses with relief that they have not lost their hometown that they have protected for several years.

After the big battle to stop the ritual that will bring down the devil, the entire city is in a festive mood.

The 3rd Legion may still be fighting in the palace far away, but that side is that side and this side is this side. I think we deserve to congratulate ourselves on our victory.

Survival deserves to be celebrated for that fact alone.

Terraim is probably the only person in this city who can’t smile.

He is locked in a solitary cell in a prison where visits are strictly prohibited, preventing him from doing anything until the corps commander arrives to personally interrogate him.

Except for him, the inns and restaurants are filled with everyone who participated in the war, drinking and eating.

We gathered together with the members of the strike force and occupied a table.

The strike team’s table had a similar atmosphere.

Knights, high-ranking adventurers, and soldiers from the security forces and legions, respectively, smile at each other without distinction and talk about their gratitude for being alive.

Vincent, a knight, continues to accept drinks even though he feels awkward around others, and Winnet, an adventurer, is sipping from one side, as if he likes to enjoy drinks alone.

However, seeing as they didn’t make any moves to leave, it seemed like the atmosphere wasn’t all that bad.

Everyone has injuries, including Vincent, who has a broken arm, but alcohol is something that cannot be given up.

It’s a feat that’s enough to attract attention wherever you go and talk about it, so it’s worth enjoying for just this moment.

I think that most of the souls of those who remained at Grace Estate will grow significantly after the upcoming memorial day.

After some time had passed and I thought the atmosphere had warmed up, I got up.

“I’ll go out for a while.”

He pretends to leave, saying he wants to get some fresh air, then goes up the stairs and enters an empty room in the corner.

“Now, where… shall we check?”

Then take out the artifact and reveal the soul vessel.

A sphere with a completely turbid color due to the mixture of ordinary magic power, divine power, demonic red magic power, and devil magic power.

‘It’s a bit of a hodgepodge.’

What used to be the size of a fist now appears to be several times the size of a human head.

This time, I create an image of the weapon in my mind.

The cloudy colored sphere turns into a long sword in about 2 seconds.

A gray sword similar to the color of Master’s hair.

‘good. To this extent, the goal I had in mind has been achieved.’

It was satisfactory growth.

Compared to the long swords usually carried by knights, it appears to be similar in length.

Now it has become a sword that cannot be defeated even if it collides head-on with the knights’ swords.

Since I can’t circulate magical power through my body, I may be a little behind in terms of strength.

“Let’s go into the room over here.”

“Yes.”

At that time, two women’s voices are heard outside the door and hurriedly disarm the magic sword. Immediately after that, the visit opened.

“Ah, that…”

“Oh my, you were using the room. sorry. I’ll go somewhere else.”

Linai and Astesia came into the room holding hands, as if they had just finished the evening prayer at the church.

“No, I finished my business. I’ll leave now. The room is for two people.”

There will be a lot of things to talk about among the convent’s classmates, so I can’t interrupt them. I decided to back off.

‘Shall we go somewhere else? Still, wherever I go now, it seems difficult to find a place where people don’t notice.’

Still, since I had just confirmed the growth of the artifact, I was a little itching to explore.

So, I decided to try some more things, so I went into the next room.

But Deshade was in that room.

At one point, I said I couldn’t see God, and he entered this room before me.