I carefully set Adele, who I was holding, down onto the grass. Standing on her own two feet, she wobbled, her legs trembling.
I lent her my shoulder to support her. She shook her head at my sudden action and said,
“Oh, I’m fine.”
“I don’t think that’s true at all.”
I frowned and looked at her, interrupting her words. Adele chuckled and soon averted her gaze.
“Looks like you can’t fool Abel.”
“Thinking you could fool me is the real problem.”
It seemed she had trouble shaking her habit of saying she was fine. She had suffered because of it in the original story quite a bit.
For me, it would be much easier for her to just admit it when she was struggling instead of pretending otherwise.
Maybe she saw my serious expression because she closed her mouth again.
“Well… I am a little tired.”
After a moment of silence, Adele finally admitted, leaning partly against me.
I grasped her shoulder and looked up at the sky again.
Whooooar!
The Forgetting Whale was flailing painfully in the clouds. The mist it had been spraying everywhere was now quite murky and faded.
Grrr… The creature that had been emitting boiling sounds soon began to struggle to escape in the opposite direction.
Well, it did get injured inside, so I guess it makes sense.
No creature can train its insides.
That’s why I couldn’t miss this chance to take it down.
I aimed my staff with my other hand.
‘Prepare the spell.’
I had been using magic by regulating the output since there were people inside earlier.
My magic was focused on control, so it had been tough to manage it…
‘But now, there’s no need to hold back.’
Whoa…
I felt vibrations from the gem at the tip of my staff.
It was an artifact that not only amplified the power of the magic cast by its user but also increased the total amount of mana.
I was reluctant to use it since it was something I acquired from the Royal Auction House.
Using something like this within the Empire would immediately reveal my identity.
But this was the site of a Monster Extermination War.
There was no need to be cautious now.
‘Let’s go.’
With this power, I should be able to take down the Forgetting Whale easily.
Zzzzt!
Dozens, if not hundreds, of magic circles unfolded in the air.
The Forgetting Whale seemed to have noticed their presence and stopped struggling, glaring at me. But it made no difference.
Snap.
With a flick of my finger, chains sprang forth, piercing its skin.
Whooooar!
The whale ascended quickly to escape. However, chains made from spatial magic wouldn’t break that easily.
Whooooa!
The creature roared in fury, probably enraged, and released a bellow of wrath.
I smirked at the bone-chilling sensation overwhelming me and flicked my finger again.
“Is that all you’ve got to confront me?”
Monster Fear.
A skill commonly used by monsters of catastrophic levels. It paralyzes the body by tapping into the primal feeling of fear.
Of course, it was meaningless defiance for me, who felt no fear from it.
Whoa…
Hundreds of magic circles appeared again in the air. My total mana now seemed to be running low.
If I had been fighting without my staff, I would have had to let the whale go. But I had my staff now.
Hundreds of spears began to rain down from the magic circles.
The whale, in a desperate attempt to swallow the chains, screamed again as the spears pierced its body.
The Forgetting Whale, writhing and trying to escape, definitely wouldn’t be left unattended.
A huge magic circle was drawn in the air.
“Hoo…”
I was starting to feel pretty exhausted by now. I had used quite a bit of mana trying to subdue it earlier.
I chuckled at this feeling of fatigue I hadn’t felt in a while. Then I hastened to complete the magic circle.
Whoa…
A massive vibration that resonated with the ground emanated from the magic circle.
The whale, with its red eyes wide open, struggled desperately to escape.
But with hundreds of chains binding it, that was impossible.
“It’s over.”
Finally, a colossal hammer emerged through the clouds.
It was large enough to easily dwarf the size of the whale, making Adele’s eyes go wide with astonishment.
As I tightened my grip, the hammer dropped.
Boom!
With a deafening crash that rang in my ears, it fell straight down.
As the tremors spread out, the Holy Knights and soldiers standing on the prairie swayed.
Whoooooar!
The creature, roaring like a scream, seemed to have given up its strength, breathing weakly.
It survived that blow somehow.
‘What a stubborn creature.’
One of the Holy Knights, quietly watching, rushed toward the Forgetting Whale. The fire of anger burning in his eyes was quite impressive.
‘Looks like I won’t need to finish it off.’
Many others followed him. The Holy Knights, wielding their respective weapons, mercilessly sliced and tore into it.
As I watched those attacks filled with resentment and sorrow, I withdrew my staff.
“You still amaze me, Abel.”
I chuckled in response to Adele’s admiring voice from beside me.
“Isn’t this just what a Grand Wizard should be capable of?”
“Ugh, that was a rather unlucky thing to say.”
Despite saying that, Adele leaned against me more.
Her silver hair, still not used to the touch, brushed against my shoulder. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her sleepy figure, blinking her eyes repeatedly.
Who would have thought I’d single-handedly go inside the Forgetting Whale and rescue people? She must have really grown a lot in such a short time.
Teaching her spirit magic really was a good decision.
As I ruffled her hair, she shook her head, signaling me to stop.
I found it adorably cute; maybe it was because I’d grown attached to her.
“Ahem. May I interrupt for a moment?”
“Oh. Your Holiness the Pope.”
“Enough with the titles, just call me like usual.”
The Pope waved his hand as if to brush off the formality. I sighed and nodded in response.
Even if I try to show him respect, he acts like that, making it hard for me to treat him with any formality.
By the way, I wonder what brought him here first.
Adele, who had been leaning against me, flinched at the Pope’s appearance and straightened herself out.
He waved his hands at her and said,
“Feel free to relax.”
The Pope chuckled with a gentle smile.
“I’m not such a bad old man as to impose manners on someone who’s tired.”
“Oh…”
Adele relaxed at those words and leaned against me again. Then she pulled out a leather bag attached to her waist.
Untying the rope at the entrance, she revealed it was filled with wooden crosses.
Seeing the stunned expression on the Pope’s face, Adele spoke up.
“These are keepsakes of the departed.”
Frowning, she continued,
“I wish I could have brought the remains if I had more time.”
“…No, that’s more than enough.”
The Pope took the leather bag filled with crosses and looked at it with a solemn expression.
As he touched each cross, he noticed a red one and paused.
“This cross is…”
As he examined it closely, the Pope returned it to the bag.
“Thank you. I’d like to express my gratitude on behalf of everyone in the Holy Kingdom.”
As he said that, his head bowed. It was a rare sight, surprising both Adele and me.
I never expected to see that shrewd fox, accustomed to politics, bow like this, and he even added representing the kingdom.
“Uh… Thank you?”
Adele, probably exhausted and dazed, replied like that. The Pope smiled gently at her and turned back to the Holy Knights.
After quietly watching his departing figure, she asked me,
“Did I do well?”
“Yes, you did just fine.”
“Hehe.”
She blinked sleepily, wore a satisfied smile, and then fell asleep.
I adjusted her tousled hair and carefully picked her up.
Turning my head, I spotted Arin, grinning from ear to ear.
I sighed, knowing I didn’t need to ask the intention behind that smile. She approached me and whispered softly.
“See, she’s really your mother, right?”
“Think whatever you like.”
There’s no point in denying it now.
After all, given that I was to protect Adele, succeeding Evan, she was aware of our contractual marriage relationship.
“What about casualties?”
At my question, Arin’s expression hardened, and she glanced around.
Maybe due to Pei appearing in her hand, she quickly replied,
“There are none.”
“That’s a relief.”
“But… it seems many were affected by the Forgetting Aroma.”
“Amnesia doesn’t last long, so it’s fine. We’ll send back those affected to the House of Duke and finish this extermination with only the remaining ones.”
“Understood.”
Nodding, Arin replied, then stepped back.
In situations like this, she’s quite trustworthy, but she acts strangely when it involves Adele.
“Oh, and are we taking my mother back too?”
At her question, I hesitated, feeling it would only cause more trouble to reply. So I simply nodded.
“Yes, let’s. She must be tired, so it’s best she rests.”
“Haha. Alright.”
She smiled and took Adele from me.
Seeing Adele fast asleep without even twitching an eyebrow made me chuckle.
Well, considering how active she had been in this extermination, it made sense she would be exhausted.
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