episode_0127

“Alright. Let’s go meet Cornelia.”

“······Okay.”

The harvest was quite bountiful.

First of all, Solara obtained the information that she is not yet one of the Four Kings.

Meaning, there is still one vacant position left.

And secondly, we found out that Velfegor is currently not in the Holy Empire.

Solara mentioned that she went to meet Haeryong at sea······.

So, the likelihood of her being at the San Francisco Maritime Fortress is high.

I can’t shake off this ominous feeling.

There’s no way for me to intervene from the inland region of Cologne.

When I eventually make my way to the maritime fortress, I’ll find out what kind of scheme she has set up.

“Why did Magi send communication here?”

A question arises here.

Velfegor’s Magi clearly sent signals in the western direction, towards Hameln and Cologne.

If Velfegor’s main body is not here, then who was the signal sent to?

Perhaps there might be more than just Velfegor in the Holy Empire.

If the remaining one of the Four Kings is a Necromancer······.

I need to stay alert.

And finally, the long-awaited third.

I obtained the Mana Eye.

[Eye of the Originator]

[It is the right eye of the first sorcerer. It can intermittently see 1 second into the future. Staring at it for too long may cloud your mind.]

In simple terms, it’s a one-second glimpse into the future.

It may seem insignificant, but it’s a very valuable item in battles between giants, where victory can be determined by a 1/1000th of a second difference.

Although there is an issue of taking quite a long time to adapt.

Once adapted, it provides a tremendous advantage in one-on-one combat.

But is it worth gouging out my healthy eye and implanting this ominous item?

“······It’s creepy.”

“I think the same. Ugh, I feel nauseous.”

Absolutely not.

It stares back at me, and every time our eyes meet, it feels like the baguette I had this morning is coming back up.

Staring at it for too long clouds the mind.

Even a brief glance makes my head spin.

I feel like sticking my nose into Cornelia’s forehead and taking deep breaths to calm my mind.

How could I have had this abomination in my eye······.

If I help remove it, maybe Solara will come back to her senses?

Or not.

“Should I attach it to the Magi Sword? It seems to communicate only with the outside.”

I briefly considered implanting this Mana Eye into the Magi Sword.

But I quickly shook my head and discarded the idea.

An eye stuck in a sword.

The thought alone is dreadful.

“So, now the issue is how to deal with Solara······.”

I may have disposed of Solara by burying her underground, but it’s too early to relax.

The place where I imprisoned her is a specially created ‘Celestial Gauntlet’.

It reflects all physical forces applied from the inside and outside, providing an extremely strong defense.

Since Solara specializes in electric magic, she can block all physical forces with this defense.

Furthermore, the Celestial Gauntlet does not emit mana or magic, making it impossible to detect unless someone digs up the ground.

However, the Celestial Gauntlet is a feature that operates by consuming mana.

In other words, we cannot keep Solara locked up forever.

Considering the amount of mana consumed, it seems like it can last roughly 24 hours.

In other words.

After 24 hours, I’ll have to face an enraged and frenzied Solara.

“I’ve already used the Four Kings impostor card······.”

It seems like there’s no way to prevent Solara’s hostility towards me.

The best option is to leave the Holy Empire before Solara escapes and runs away.

I’m not sure if I can achieve all my goals within 24 hours and leave the country.

“If things get tough, I might just use his younger brother as a hostage.”

I’m not particularly worried.

Because I have a last resort.

“Mijung, bring out the communication device. I need to contact Keren.”

“Sure.”

Just in case.

I should contact Keren through Linda.

In the worst case scenario, I might need his help.

***

“Sigh…”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of nails being bitten in the room echoed continuously.

The saintly Jill looked outside anxiously, exhaling sighs repeatedly.

“It’s getting worse…”

The white smoke covering the entire city of Kuren.

The smoke, visible only to Jill, still hadn’t dissipated at all.

No, it seemed even denser than yesterday.

Despite mobilizing the Holy Knights to find the source of the smoke, they had no success.

Despite instructing them to search for anything suspicious, the knights seemed to be conducting investigations.

After searching the entire city with no results, they eventually had to withdraw.

Continuing the fruitless search indefinitely based on just the ominous nature of the smoke was impossible even with the power of the saint.

Even when Jill talked about the white smoke, everyone pretended to believe outwardly.

No one truly believed her.

Jill felt frustrated to the point of madness.

“Eugene… He believed in me without questioning…”

Before returning.

It was a day when Jill was close to Eugene.

Jill and Eugene went on a volunteer activity together.

There, they saw a strange smoke.

When Jill mentioned that there might be a body nearby, everyone was surprised and started searching.

But as time passed and nothing was found, one by one, they gave up.

However, even after everyone left, there was someone quietly searching the surroundings until the end, even after the sun had set.

It was none other than Eugene.

Eugene dug up the ground, tore off the roofs, and endured the villagers’ accusations to continue the search.

Late at night, he finally discovered a human skeleton curled up inside a wine barrel.

As soon as the body was removed, the white smoke disappeared immediately.

However, even though a body had actually been found, few believed Jill’s story about the “white smoke.”

Everyone thought it was just a coincidence.

The only one who believed it sincerely was Eugene.

“Why? Why did you search so hard? It could be my mistake. It could be a lie.”

“If it’s what the saint says, I’ll believe it all. No matter how absurd and groundless it may be. Even if everyone in the world turns their backs and doesn’t believe in the saint, I will stay by her side until the end.”

Thinking back to the past, tears streamed down Jill’s cheeks.

She missed Eugene.

She wanted to go back to the way things were with Eugene.

But now, with a warrant out for her arrest on attempted rape charges, that future would never come.

If Eugene gets caught in this warrant, she felt like she would never receive forgiveness.

To uncover the source of the white smoke covering Kuren, she needed Eugene.

But if she found Eugene, it would be an ironic situation where she would inevitably incur his resentment forever.

Jill became confused about which path to choose.

“I need to seek counseling…”

With a troubled expression, Jill roughly brushed her bangs aside and walked out of the room.

At this time, Cornelia would probably be working in her office.

Just as she was about to knock on the door.

The door suddenly thudded and shook.

And then fell silent again.

“Cornelia…?”

Feeling a strange unease, Jill cautiously called out.

Just now, she was thinking about Eugene.

I was praying to the sky that I wanted to see him.

And then, at that moment.

“Huh?”

“Long time no see, Cornelia.”

“······!”

As I turned my head at the sound of the window opening, I froze in place.

There, Eugene was awkwardly smiling as he squeezed his body through the small window.

I was momentarily shocked, but my heart was filled with joy, and I couldn’t think of anything else.

I almost screamed out of excitement, but Eugene brought his index finger to his lips to caution me.

“There are wards in the mansion. I came to see him secretly. No loud noises.”

“Then how about a ward······.”

“No wards either. If he senses any magic being cast, he’ll notice it like a ghost. It’s best to just quietly have a conversation.”

“Got it······.”

That guy?

There was a strange sense of familiarity in the way he addressed the saint.

What kind of relationship did they have before, that even after parting on bad terms, he could still address her like that?

I felt a bit mischievous.

“Are you okay? Has the ward been bothering you or anything?”

“No. We’ve become very close. The saint has been very kind to me.”

“Good to hear. I was worried that my spy might be in trouble for being caught.”

“Haha. I’m not that incompetent.”

Seeing Cornelia’s confident smile, Eugene couldn’t help but smile back.

There had been a case where things had gone haywire after being caught spying.

“But how did you manage to break through the wanted list?”

“Uh… it’s a bit complicated. Someone noticed the saint’s distress and tried to help me, so I buried that person in the ground.”

“What?!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll dig them up tomorrow. But more importantly, about this wanted list. It’s not just because Jill wants to see me, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“There must be another reason. A reason why he urgently needs to find me.”

“······.”

Eugene’s tone was firm in his conviction.

Cornelia fell silent at this.

Eugene was convinced that the saint had put out the wanted list not just for her own selfish reasons.

Without absolute trust in the saint, it would have been impossible.

Cornelia replied with a smile.

“Do you know about the white smoke?”

“White smoke? It sounds familiar.”

“The saint told me about it······.”

Cornelia relayed the story she heard from the saint to Eugene.

The saint claimed that she could see white smoke from a dead body.

And that white smoke was now spread all over Cologne.

Eugene’s expression became serious as he listened to this.

Rather than being skeptical, he seemed to completely trust the saint’s words.

“I’m starting to feel a little jealous.”

What kind of relationship did these two have to have such a strong bond of trust?

How deep was their connection?

Feeling the unbridgeable gap between them, Cornelia couldn’t help but feel mischievous.

“Eugene. I missed you.”

“Me too. I was starting to feel lonely.”

“Are you meeting me because of the wanted list?”

Eugene was about to answer, but he fell silent.

Swiftly, Cornelia’s hand reached up and caressed Eugene’s cheek.

And slowly.

She turned his head towards her.

Eugene had known that Cornelia drew a line with him.

But it seemed to be for reasons other than not feeling any romantic attraction towards him.

“You seem very aloof. But that’s not the truth. You just pretend to be aloof. You don’t intentionally share affection with people. Why is that?”

“······.”

“Is it because we’re all people who will eventually part ways?”

“I won’t deny that.”

“Every meeting is followed by a parting. In the end, it’s just a matter of whether it’s short or long. It’s all the same. So, Yujin… Don’t suppress your feelings too much. Most likely, you’ll end up with a heart disease. Acknowledge that partings make meetings valuable, and be honest with yourself.”

Yujin’s pupils trembled.

It was evidence that she was being convinced.

Cornelia was not one to miss this confusion.

Slowly, Cornelia exerted force and pulled Yujin’s neck towards her.

Yujin didn’t resist and went along with it.

Their heads tilted towards each other.

As they came close, Yujin hesitated.

Cornelia lifted her chin and pressed her lips against Yujin’s.

Yujin couldn’t bring herself to push her away.

She held Cornelia even tighter.

For a while, their mucous membranes touched and rubbed against each other.

After exchanging saliva, their lips parted.

Yujin’s pupils were still trembling in confusion.

“Hehe. Aren’t you familiar with this kind of thing?”

“…”

A remark that subtly scratched her pride.

Yujin, feeling a surge of anger, grabbed Cornelia’s shoulder.

And with a thud.

She pushed Cornelia against the door.

Nowhere to escape.

As she held her cheeks and leaned in for another kiss.

“Cornelia?”

A familiar voice came from beyond the door.