episode_0085

“Leones, Estil, and Sieta. Thank you for letting me know. I had a vague idea about Vidia’s emotional wounds…”

At that moment, it was none other than Milicia Airgrants who spoke up and changed the mood.

Glenn felt uneasy for no reason because her face was quite full of worry.

‘Millie…by any chance…’

With Milicia’s next statement, Glenn’s guess was instantly confirmed.

“The warrior… Yes. He was always like that. I knew he was pursuing something, but because of that, he looked around and didn’t really accept the truth. As if… that was good, but he wanted to get his hands on something more noble right away… Yes, perhaps… The warrior rejected Vidia’s indirect confession because of me. The responsibility for this situation… definitely lies with me. ”

“Eh, huh? Me, your maid?”

Sieta couldn’t hide her bewilderment at the attitude of the saint who was suddenly performing a kind of confession. Leones was the same. Just a moment ago, the saint, who had been as beautiful as an elf, had a dignified demeanor, and had both confidence and gentleness, now looked like a weak girl.

But Glenn felt something rising inside him at the sight. So…

“Truly… I feel like I want to blame myself for not even knowing the feelings of those close to me, even though I have the title of saint. Until recently… I firmly believed that the warrior would care more about others than me… But I never thought that I would actually hurt others… I once again feel disqualified as a saint… Glenn? ”

“Milli?”

He couldn’t stand it. Glenn held back Milishia with a smiling face.

Then he was silent. With his expression, with his smiling face, he hinted subtly.

“Ah…I’m sorry. No…I’m sorry, Glen.”

Although slightly embarrassed, Milicia soon smiled faintly.

And then he answered in a whisper, his voice getting smaller and smaller.

Yes, I will not tolerate any more self-reproach.

The problem of the mind is his own problem. It doesn’t change anything just because others feel guilty.

It all depends on your own mind. You don’t have to feel responsible for it.

Glenn wanted to make that point again.

“I’m sorry for just talking about my circumstances…Can you guys continue?”

“Ah, um…yes. That’s right!”

Sieta, who happened to be ahead of her parents, gave a dumbfounded look to the saint who had returned to her usual self, but soon came to her senses.

After shaking her head from side to side several times, she also cleared her throat.

“Well… ahem, let’s put my brother’s problem aside. Matters of the heart are something that you have to deal with on your own, and a year or two spent in a corner of a room with an elf isn’t that long. ”

As expected from two races with completely different concepts of time, the human saint and Glenn suddenly became pale.

To say that it was only a year or two was a bit much. However, Glenn, who had wasted nearly a year and three months, wanted to express a little bit of sympathy.

“Rather than that…let’s just focus on purifying that energy that will hit our house within a week if we do something wrong. Father, can you tell me the plan?”

“Hmm, okay.”

Leones, who had taken his daughter’s question with a slightly hesitant tone, continued his explanation.

“Saint, we would like to ask you to purify the forest where the ancient elven altar is located. If the altar is destroyed in the process, we will not hold you responsible.”

“Yes, I will do that.”

“Oh… Ahem, you made a quick decision. Is that okay?”

As Milicia concluded without a moment’s hesitation, Leones asked back as if he had not expected it. The reason he had such a trembling and difficult-to-explain expression was probably because he thought that the humans, including Glenn, who knew the danger this incident contained, would show reluctance and refuse the request for help.

“If you hadn’t tried to help, you wouldn’t have gotten to this point. No matter how great the difficulty, even if it’s the remnants of the Demon King, just as we once overcame the direct crisis of the Demon King, we will overcome this and move forward. As someone who once fought directly against the Demon King, I can tell you this.”

And then, the saint’s unhesitating determination continued. Then, Sieta spread out both her arms.

“Wow, that’s cool! The saint is cool!”

Those words and actions were not all. He came over and hugged the saint. Enjoying the sudden contact, the saint was dumbfounded, and Sieta confidently shouted to her parents behind her.

“See, Dad. Mom! What did I tell you? I told you there was no way you could refuse! Such a strong, cool, confident person! You seemed like a different person a moment ago, but anyway!”

“Hoo…”

“I wish my daughter didn’t inherit that side of her…”

Although the parents of a healthy daughter continued to lament over Sieta’s confident behavior, she herself paid no attention to it and was busy enjoying her communion with the saint.

“Let’s tear that damn altar down together, Saintess! My magic and holiness! Your holy power! Combine these two and you’ll get a 1+1=3 level effect!”

I never said I would destroy it. Glenn was so shocked that he groaned inwardly. It wasn’t a matter of compatibility, but he couldn’t like the way Sieta freely touched the saintess in front of others.

Suddenly, Glenn felt a sting and looked towards Sister Esther. Hey, aren’t you going to stop me?

Then, as if she noticed his gaze, Esther glared at Glenn with a stronger gaze. It was as if her gaze was warning him.

‘I saw you touching the saint’s hand earlier. What are you looking at?’

Glenn looked away with a rather dissatisfied expression, though his conscience was not pricked. So what? Each other… That… Ugh, it’s embarrassing to even think of the words in my mind!

“Hey, Leones, sir? Then…what’s the plan?”

The saint stammered a question to Leones while holding him in Sieta’s arms.

“Oh, yes. That’s…”

“Yes, Saint! I will answer you!”

At this point, Glenn, whose name is Sieta, could be called a synonym for intrusion.

“The plan is very simple! First, drink the medicine that Estil developed! It’s the first line of defense! ”

First, Sieta stretched out her hand and pointed at Estil. Estil returned a rotten smile to Sieta, who was pointing at herself in a comical manner. With a small sigh.

“Sigh…”

“And then, for the second time, I will grant a protective shield with the holy power of the saintess and I! Next, the people who have been granted the shield will go inside the black area to identify and solve the problem, or if it is difficult to solve, they will return and prepare the next plan. The end! ”

“Oh, it’s really too simple.”

The saintess couldn’t help but react so tremblingly to Sieta, who was still chattering away while holding her in her arms. No, Glenn also had doubts about the plan itself. So, Glenn lost his patience and stepped forward.

“Just a moment, Priest Sieta. Then…”

“Just call me Sieta, little escort knight! So, what’s your question? Ask me anything!”

Leave out the ‘small’!

“Sieta. Isn’t that a very fragmentary plan? Leaving aside Estil’s medicine…”

“What are you talking about? Hey.”

Although Estil’s voice was filled with anger, Glenn ignored it for the time being and continued asking questions.

“How long can the shields you two grant last inside that black area? Also, there can’t be many people to receive the shields, so how many people can be deployed? If it’s a small number…is it really possible that a small number of people can explore inside and come back?”

“Wow, so many questions!”

Ask me anything. Glenn narrowed his eyes and glared at Sieta, demanding an answer. Sieta looked deeply in thought. Suddenly, when he realized that everyone’s eyes were focused on him, the elf priest broke out in a cold sweat.

“Um…Estil’s medicine is guaranteed by Estill, but honestly, I don’t know either, so let’s just leave it aside…”

“What? Sieta, what did you just…”

“First of all, the person who grants the shield needs to go in too! We need to utilize the holy power and maintain the shield. So me and the saintess are confirmed! And in order to minimize the influence of that dark energy, the shield needs to be formed with strong holy power to withstand it, so we need to minimize the number of people receiving it as a priority! Then, we need at least three people to deploy! Including me and the saintess! Lastly, in order to smoothly explore, we need people who are strong and have a high chance of survival! Then…”

then…?

Glenn didn’t like the attitude of the elf priest who was mumbling and answering, so he unconsciously crossed his arms and leaned forward to demand an answer.

The elf priest’s expression became a little anxious. Not only Glenn, but the others were also staring blankly, waiting for the final answer. His eyes were moving left and right, and his gaze was not fixed. He looked quite troubled.

“Um…then…then…”

‘This is kind of refreshing.’

Glenn honestly wanted to frown at Sieta’s anxious appearance, but he knew how to consider the situation, so he held back and only urged her with his expression. Finally, Sieta finally responded.

Srrrr, her arm rose.

It was his right arm. He raised his index finger. It was to point at someone.

Her arms were straightened because she had decided who to point at.

The gaze was also somehow fixed. It was to properly observe the other person.

“The right person is…”

The person being pointed at uncrossed his arms. His chin dropped slightly. “Huh?” he muttered in a meaningless voice.

“There’s no one else but you!”

“Only one!”

Glenn, without realizing it, found himself protesting at Sieta’s answer.

It was a complicated and dull night.

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Marzadan Stormbreaker was one of the oldest elves among the elves, known as the Elder.

His life was idyllic. He lived a similar life to his own, with Margareta Shadowkeeper, and now, having finished the struggle that had lasted since ancient times, he was now spending the rest of his days leisurely, doing things as an elder of the elves.

Knitting, drinking tea, photosynthesising, and sometimes being called to the elders’ meeting and being the biggest adult and giving them a little nagging. It was a routine and boring life, but at the same time, a gentle life. It was a life that was incomparably valuable compared to the time when they were moving back and forth between the lines hundreds or thousands of years ago.

“The altar…hasn’t it been purified yet?”

“That’s right. Huh, tsk tsk…I always told them to work fast…but the young guys don’t listen…”

So, the news that a crisis had come to the forest, which had been quiet and peaceful except for a few occasions during the Demon King’s time, was a difficult and uncomfortable reality for the two to accept.

And of all places, I was confident that there would be absolutely no problems after the death of the Demon King, but I felt the demonic energy in that place.

“Don’t come near me. If kids like you go in without permission…you’ll melt and turn into slime…ugh…you don’t even know this…”

“No, sir. We should know when we were exposed to the spirit of the demons.”

“What did everyone do when the demons were causing chaos?”

“At home…everyone was protecting their hometown.”

“Hey, you guys…you guys are good at packaging too.”

However, I couldn’t turn away. No, I couldn’t turn away. It was because I was so frustrated that I couldn’t stand it.

The Elves, who produced legendary swordsmen and magicians during their heyday, have almost completely lost their former glory.

Except for the Dreamside family, which at best inherited royal blood, or a very small number of families that had formed alliances with humans, everyone else was completely immersed in their idyllic days, and not even a fragment of their past glory remained as a memory.

“Who is that… What does Tirius do? I think Gya used to use a sword a lot.”

“Oh my, old man. He has been six thousand years old for more than a dozen years. He has not held a sword for two hundred years.”

“What? Then… Kelpion? Gya, his fists were pretty strong, right? And he’s tall too. ”

“Isn’t there a 40 year age gap between you and the old man? You’ve gotten thinner recently. You’ve gotten sleepier too.”

“Hehehe, right. Didn’t you guys pass it on to your kids?”

“Silion, the son of Lord Tyrius… It’s me… I’m the assistant to Lord Leones, and you know that Treebeard, the son of Elder Kelpion, only plays the flute? Lately, Treebeard seems to be completely smitten with a human guest…”

Huh. You’re falling for humans while ignoring your own kind… I can see the kid’s future clearly.

“Then, are you just going to let it go and leave it like this?”

“That’s not possible. The priestess of Sieta is going to gather people and go on an exploration together. The saintess of the human kingdom is already on her way.”

“Saint…woman…? You mean that saint? A human? ”

“Ah, yes. Well… I believe Lady Margareta knows about the human saint well…”

Margareta tilted her head at those words and muttered, “A saint…” Instead, the old elf, Marzadan, who had been silent, slowly opened his mouth.

“That saint…no…the saintess…”

“Oh, Elder Marzadan?”

“That saintess and the person coming…that, the person fighting…who is it…”

After saying that, Marzadan lowered his head. He couldn’t remember anything.

No. I definitely saw it a long time ago. About four or five hundred years ago.

I think there was a guy who was standing silently next to that brash woman…

“Uh…by any chance…are you talking about the warrior?”

Perhaps feeling frustrated, Silion told Marzadan, who had lowered her head, who she thought was ‘that person’. In fact, Silion didn’t know exactly because he had only seen it briefly while guiding her. He just asked because he thought there would be a warrior next to the saintess.

Then, with a flash, Marzadan turned his head back. There was a slight liveliness in his eyes.

“Huh? Hmm…yeah. That’s right. He’s the…solution to this problem. So, when everything’s over…bring him to me.”

“Oh, yes. Once…you feel better, I’ll call you.”

It was a strange request, but it was no problem, so Silion nodded and tried to get up from his seat. His original mission was to get some fancy drinks from the room next to where these two were staying. Then, on his way, two old elves happened to see Silion and called him, and since they were elders, Silion had no choice but to pay respect, so he lost time.

“Ah, Leon…”

“Huh?”

But it didn’t end there. This time it was Margareta.

And then, an unexpected question came to Silion.

“Ah…by any chance…that warrior or something…the one who came with the saint…are his eyes red?”

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That’s how the confusing day came to an end.

Each with a different mind and the same purpose, they fell asleep under the protection of the goddess of the night and the moon and waited for tomorrow.

No one knew what hardships and trials would await them.

And so, time passed quietly…

The next day arrived.

The sun rises from the east, signaling the morning,

To bring sunlight to the elves’ realm…

Didn’t do it.