Raphaella Holy Kingdom – 1

[Stats]

[Level] 25

[HP] 1

[Mana] 1

[Faith] 1

[Stamina] 1

[Proficiency] 1

[Strength] 1

[Magic Power] 10

[Divine Power] 10

[Durability] 7

‘This is enough.’

After allocating stat points to Durability up to 7, I took my hand off the ability confirmation orb. As the blue light faded, the letters and numbers that had appeared like a status window in the air vanished without a trace.

It was worth clearing out trash mobs whenever I had the chance. Compared to the Abandoned One’s severely low stats, which were a feast of 1s when I first arrived at the Silver Dawn Knights, I had truly made great strides.

From now on, I just needed to raise Faith to about 3 or 4, and then allocate Strength and Mana in an appropriate ratio. Or, depending on the situation, I could put a few points into Stamina to replenish it. That was up to my choice.

HP is a completely meaningless stat in Dark Lord mode, and Faith is sufficient if it’s enough to cast one or two spells. Proficiency wasn’t a necessary stat either, unless one was a magic user or a faith user.

To be precise, even for a melee character, the necessary stats differ depending on the weapon type and build, but in the build I chose, there was no particular reason to put points into Proficiency instead of Strength.

‘Now, the only thing left is how to obtain that weapon.’

I left the room, deep in thought. The conditions were perfectly met, but there remained a blind spot: how to obtain the weapon I would use after the blood-stained sword.

That was because the quest required to obtain it was infamous for being an utterly terrible quest.

It wasn’t because it was difficult, but because it was incredibly time-consuming and boring. It was similar to, yet different from, the Rock Centipede, which also got endlessly cursed for being long and boring.

If the Rock Centipede was the type that made people ask, ‘Why was this made like this?’, then that quest was the type that made people exclaim, ‘They made this to screw us over!’ Its purpose was obvious to anyone, so it was a case where it actually received less criticism.

Even in the game, it was a quest that took well over 10 hours of real-time to fully clear. Now, if I wasn’t careful, it could take several months.

“Are you all ready?”

As I turned the corner of the hallway, deep in thought, Rije, clad in silver armor with her helmet tucked under her arm, greeted me. Her armor gleamed, as if she had meticulously maintained it more than usual.

“I was ready ages ago. What about you, Rije? No, no need to ask. I can tell just by looking at your armor.”

“I’m glad my efforts paid off. And our Delta even noticed right away.”

“It’s obvious at a glance. You could use it as a mirror. Why did you polish it this much?”

“I can’t help it, since we’re going to meet someone as important as the Pope. In the Holy Kingdom, the Pope holds a position equivalent to our Emperor 폐하 to those people, so I couldn’t prepare carelessly.”

‘The Emperor…….’

Hearing that, a bitter taste lingered in my mouth. Two days ago, on the day I heard Selene’s shocking statement that the Emperor was very concerned about me, I truly stayed up all night with my eyes wide open.

Now that some time had passed, my emotions had calmed down a bit, but I still didn’t understand what he liked so much about me that he would care so deeply for someone he had only met once.

“Are you really going like that? Without armor? Aren’t you nervous?”

Rije scanned me up and down. I was dressed as usual in cloth clothes and leather pants, wearing appropriate sneakers, with the blood-stained sword at my waist.

Nothing else was needed. It wasn’t as if we had to take care of our own food, clothing, and shelter in the Holy Kingdom.

Armor? If I wore that, I couldn’t roll. Nervous? Although it was in a game, I had already met the Pope hundreds of times. All I could do was pray that his personality hadn’t changed much.

“Armor is a hindrance, I tell you.”

“……That’s not the point.”

Rije looked at me with a pouty look.

“Delta, you must reveal that secret later. No matter what.”

It was an even more persistent reaction than before, but there was a reason for it.

After Selene returned, I confessed that my stats had increased while recounting what happened during the subjugation of Arachnainera. I also said that was probably why the Inquisitor had detected my Divine Power.

I had also thought of an excuse in advance. That as I gradually regained my past memories, my physical abilities were also gradually returning in accordance with them.

But I didn’t want to lie again, so I gave up on the excuse and just brushed it off as a secret. Then, Aurora and the Knights Commanders glaring at me as if they wanted to kill me was just an added bonus.

‘I absolutely couldn’t let the Emperor find out, so there was no other way.’

Honestly, I had even thought about whether I could tell those five the truth now. The Knights Commanders were allies I could trust unconditionally, and Aurora wasn’t the type to betray.

However, after hearing Selene’s words, I decided to keep silent a little longer. It was because of the thought that someone might be watching me anytime, anywhere.

If the Emperor hadn’t taken an interest in me, I would have revealed my secrets soon.

At least until I was confident I could handle that attention, none of my secrets should reach the Emperor’s ears. I can’t handle it now, and if I give him more reason, it’ll really be a big problem.

“Of course. I’ll tell you someday.”

“……I’ll keep watching you.”

I gently stroked Rije’s head as she pouted her lips. It was because I could guess what other meaning was implied in that ‘watching’. Rije meekly closed her eyes and accepted my touch.

As I headed towards the castle main gate, the Knights Commanders, clad in gleaming silver armor, came into view. Iris, who was at the very front, saw me and opened her mouth.

“You haven’t worn your armor this time either. Aren’t you nervous?”

“Not really? Rije asked the same thing earlier, but is there even a connection between armor and nervousness in the first place?”

“……You’re going to meet the Pope of the Holy Kingdom, and you’re the only one who can be so nonchalant, besides Emperor 폐하, Delta.”

A reply full of exasperation came back. I thought Iris would maintain her composure, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“Has everyone gathered?”

Poof, Selene appeared right next to us, wearing a robe pulled up over her head, just like when we first met. At her sudden appearance, the Knights Commanders reflexively placed their hands on their weapons, then confirmed her identity and relaxed their stance.

“Is that…… magic?”

“I would be grateful if you called it a miracle. As it is completely different from magic.”

Selene answered indifferently and pulled out a divine catalyst from the sleeve of her robe. It was a deep silver color overall, and at its center was a catalyst with a full moon drawn on it.

“Please gather near me. We will move.”

At the same time as she spoke, the divine catalyst shone brightly. Darkness seemed to descend nearby, then bright moonlight pierced through the gloom. A white light, seemingly half-mixed with silver, spread in all directions.

Chime, the clear and ethereal bell sound unique to the divine catalyst echoed. Light enveloped the surroundings.

When the light enveloping us disappeared, we were standing in the garden of the lord’s mansion. And in front of it, Aurora came into view, waiting for us with her arms crossed.

“Lord-nim?”

Iris, who had confirmed the lord’s presence, spoke in a bewildered voice.

“I asked the Inquisitor to stop by here briefly before departing for the Holy Kingdom. It’s not like you’re just going to subjugate monsters for a bit; you’re going to meet the Pope, so I can’t just tell you to go and come back on your own, can I?”

Aurora uncrossed her arms and strode towards us, then held out a heavy pouch in her hand. Iris took it and opened the pouch.

It was filled to the brim with Imperial gold coins.

“This is……?”

“I put in a reasonable amount. Since Holy Kingdom currency and Imperial currency are the same, you won’t lose anything by having it. I probably don’t think you’ll need it, but I’m giving it to you just in case.”

“Yes. I will gratefully accept it. Can we return any leftover money later?”

“What? Why would you return it? I’m just giving it to you. You can share what’s left, or use it as common property for the Knights, do whatever you want. That pig bastard who was here before stole so much that it’s just pocket change to me, so don’t feel burdened.”

“I understand. Thank you, Lord-nim.”

“…….”

Aurora, having finished speaking, gazed intently at me with her unique golden pupils. It was a gaze that was almost burdensome. It also reminded me of the Emperor, who likewise had black hair and golden eyes.

“……Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m curious. What exactly are you that not just Emperor 폐하, but even the Pope of the Holy Kingdom would take such a great interest in you…… I started wondering. Though, you certainly have a lot of secrets.”

“If I had known that, I would have avoided it long ago.”

It was beyond my expectations that the Emperor or the Pope would be concerned about me when the main story hadn’t even progressed much. If I had known something like this would happen, I would have re-planned everything from the start.

Aurora let out a small laugh at my reply.

“Well, I’m not really in a position to say such things either.”

“What?”

“It means ‘have a good trip’. Don’t recklessly put yourself in danger and die.”

With those words, Aurora spun around abruptly. And then, wiggling her hips, she walked into the mansion. Beside me, the Knights Commanders were all looking at me.

Though their expressions weren’t visible due to their helmets, I felt like I could tell what they were thinking.

“Have you finished your greetings?”

Only Selene, as if nothing had happened, was infusing faith into the divine catalyst, preparing to use teleportation once again.

The Knights Commanders turned their heads back towards Selene, and Rije looked at me a little longer before finally turning her head.

“It seems so.”

“I understand. We will now move to the Holy Kingdom, but there will be a limit to the distance you can travel at once. Therefore, we will divide the journey into several stages and plan to take short breaks in between. Do you have anything to say regarding this matter?”

“Everyone, does anyone have anything to say?”

No one opened their mouth. Confirming that fact, Selene held up the divine catalyst.

“Then I will start. As we have to travel a much greater distance than before, please be careful as you might feel a little dizzy.”

The clear bell sound echoed once again, and silver moonlight enveloped our bodies. Then, I felt my body float up and a sensation of being sucked in somewhere.

Everything spun around. The warning that I might feel dizzy was no empty threat. My sense of direction was lost, and I couldn’t tell up from down. I didn’t even know if I was standing upright.

“We have arrived.”

It felt like I had struggled for almost 10 seconds when, along with Selene’s emotionless voice, my feet touched the ground again. I staggered for a moment in that state, then my balance somewhat stabilized.

I looked around. If I only felt a little dizzy, wouldn’t the Knights Commanders be perfectly fine?

“Th-this…… isn’t just a little dizzy, is it?”

“It seems so…….”

“Ah, wait. My legs gave out…….”

“……Me too, unnie.”

But contrary to my expectations, every single one of the Knights Commanders was trembling all over, sprawled on the ground and staggering. I froze blankly on the spot, wondering what had happened.

“You were less affected due to the divine power you possess. Since they are not like that, it’s natural for them to have a much harder time. This has no connection whatsoever to physical fortitude, so there’s nothing they can do about it.”

Selene, who had silently approached my side at some point, answered my question. It meant I could remain fine thanks to the Divine Power stat I had allocated in advance.

I certainly hadn’t aimed for this, though.

“Inquisitor-ssi, can you tell me how many more times we have to do this to reach where the Pope is……?”

Erica raised a trembling hand and asked.

“If we move the same distance as just now, it will be eight more times.”

“……Ah.”

A single, dying cry, from who knows whom, quietly echoed through the forest.