Chapter: 267
The night before heading to Burrow Territory, those of us who decided to join in defeating the evil god were all gathered at the Artea family estate.
The reason was simple.
We were planning to strike Burrow Territory right at dawn.
No one knew how long it would take to take down Taliki. My guess was that if everything went according to plan, it shouldn’t take more than half a day, but fighting against an evil god always requires considering unexpected variables.
If the fight dragged on and night fell, who knows how things would turn out then?
Thus, we would kick off the operation the moment the sun rose, ensuring we could wrap things up while the sun still ruled the sky.
With these plans laid out, it would be wise to get some rest to prepare for tomorrow, but instead, I found myself staring out the window as the moon ascended into the night sky.
[Feeling anxious, are we?]
‘…Yes.’
I just couldn’t relax enough to lie down in bed.
[It’s the first time you’ve looked like this since the entrance exam at the academy.]
‘Is that so?’
[Yes. You’ve always been someone full of confidence and composure.]
Thinking about it, that seemed to be the case.
I hadn’t felt this on edge for a while.
The crises that had come my way until now were either ones I felt confident I could overcome, or they appeared so suddenly that there was no time to worry.
‘Hey, Grandpa.’
[What is it?]
‘What did you do in times like this?’
What would Grandpa have been like in a situation like this?
Considering his usual personality, he didn’t seem like the type who would be overly tense.
[Me? I was super anxious.]
‘…You, Grandpa?’
[Yes. I couldn’t sleep at all on nights where I prayed to the Lord until dawn.]
He laughed heartily as he recounted the many times he made blunders due to lack of sleep.
Imagining a hopelessly nervous Grandpa is not something I can quite picture.
[It’s normal, you know. Girl, if you’re in a life-or-death situation and not feeling nervous, what kind of person would you be?]
‘…That’s true?’
[Exactly. So don’t worry. You’ve done everything you could. Now it’s time to think about how you’ll crush Taliki’s face and what insults you’ll throw at him.]
‘Why is insulting him the primary objective?’
[Weren’t you planning to do that? ]
…Well, I was going to insult him.
When Taliki gets angry and curses, I can picture him getting super agitated, spewing out whatever nonsense comes to mind.
But still, just assuming I’d insult him feels a bit much!
I can’t just let it make me look like a crazy psycho!
[Well, that aside.]
‘What is it then?’
[If you’ve got nothing else to do, you might as well practice.]
‘But you said to rest before doing something big!’
[It’s more practical than tossing and turning in bed, isn’t it?]
That… makes sense. Staring out the window like this isn’t going to help me sleep, so I reluctantly laid down in bed.
As soon as I closed my eyes, the familiar, albeit annoying, training grounds reappeared. Dressed in armor, Grandpa looked at me with a trustworthy smile.
*
Early the next morning.
It was still a time when the moon and stars held a faint watch through the hazy clouds.
With all her preparations completed, Phoebe was silently praying to the Lord with a solemn heart.
Her prayer was long and complex, but the content within was simple.
Oh, Great Lord, please watch over those trying to carry out your will. Protect them. Help them.
The prayer was finally interrupted when someone knocked on the door.
“Saintess.”
Phoebe jumped in surprise at Johan’s voice from outside the door. Rushing to the mirror for a quick touch-up, she opened the door.
“Good morning.”
Even at this early hour, Johan looked impeccably neat, enough to head straight into a sermon.
“Of course, Bishop Johan. Did you sleep well last night?”
“Though it would be polite to say so, unfortunately, I didn’t get much sleep. My heart races every time I think of tomorrow.”
Despite his age, Johan spoke sheepishly with a soft smile.
Phoebe’s eyes widened slightly. Johan was typically strict with her, maintaining a stern expression and often scolding her with little emotion.
Thus, she found it challenging to relate to him.
While she knew he was a good person, sincerely striving to approach the Lord, he always seemed so formidable.
But this time, Johan was different.
His relaxed smile resembled that of a boy dreaming of adventure.
The kind of face Phoebe remembered from her childhood.
“Saintess?”
“…Yes? Ah.”
It’s okay, Phoebe.
You’re fine.
You’ve already accepted this in your heart.
Seeing Phoebe panic, Johan raised one eyebrow slightly.
“I apologize, I might be a bit sleep-deprived.”
Did my mistake bother him? As Phoebe braced herself for reprimand, Johan simply let out a small sigh and said nothing.
“I came to see you because Lady Alrn is asking about you. There’s only a little time left before the operation, yet I hear you’re still resting in your room.”
“Understood. I’ll go see the Lady now.”
“Please do.”
Once Johan left, Phoebe released a long sigh.
And the moment she stepped outside her room, she didn’t hesitate to walk.
Though she didn’t know where Lucy was staying, that was no problem.
Her divine presence, radiating warmth like the sun, was unforgettable to anyone who had stood beside her even once.
So as soon as Phoebe reached the door of Lucy’s room, a voice came from inside.
“Come in, you pathetic saintess.”
It seems she sensed my presence. As expected of Lady Alrn, the moment Phoebe opened the door, she froze.
The window was wide open, and the cold breeze trickled in, causing the curtains to flutter.
And there, dancing in the wind, were Lucy’s long, red hair.
Tiny hands folded together, reverently at her heart.
Slowly moving lips, eyes softly closed.
And a subtle, warm divine presence emanating from her, making even the chill of early winter feel forgotten.
Lucy was in prayer.
Ah.
What a beautiful sight.
Captivated by the scene, Phoebe unknowingly began to clasp her hands.
But soon, she came to her senses.
She realized she was interrupting Lucy’s prayer.
…How rude is this, Phoebe!
To disrupt the Young Lady’s prayer!
Should she close the door again right now?
But she had been invited in by the Young Lady, didn’t that mean it would be even ruder to leave?
In a blind panic, Phoebe was at a loss for what to do when Lucy opened her eyes, and the divine light around her swirled away with the wind.
“What are you doing? Pathetic saintess?”
“…I-I’m sorry!”
*
No matter how much I think about it, Phoebe seems to regard me more as someone to respect rather than a friend. She’s making a big fuss over barely interrupting a prayer.
[In a case like this, her reaction is quite normal. Disrupting the morning prayer, especially the one where the apostle speaks to the Lord, would be quite a big deal.]
‘Is that so?’
Grandpa explained that Phoebe’s reaction wasn’t out of the ordinary, but I still struggled to understand it.
After all, isn’t prayer just talking to that pathetic deity?
Can’t you be a bit casual without any issues?
Look.
[Daily Quest Complete!]
[Divine Power Slightly Increased!]
[Dignity Slightly Increased!]
Even when I half-heartedly do it, that pathetic deity is satisfied enough to reward me.
Don’t the church folks think too highly of that mediocre deity? Sure, he’s a petty pervert, but he’s not that finicky.
[…I think you are underestimating the Lord too much.]
Ignoring Grandpa’s indignant tone, I calmed Phoebe and sent her on her way before pulling out armor from my inventory to put on.
When I first donned this armor, I had no idea what to do, but now my hands move faster than my thoughts.
I mean, it’s been a while since I wore this armor.
Once fully geared up, I headed toward the reception room only to find everyone but me already gathered.
“Welcome, Lady.”
The sword I had gifted was now back in its display case, nodding at me.
“I apologize for earlier, Lady.”
Despite my earlier disapproval, Phoebe again offered her apologies.
“Good to see you.”
Johan greeted me with a bow while clutching his holy book.
“All preparations are complete.”
Alsetin nodded sternly.
“I’ve really lost it. Giving in to desire and abandoning the forest…”
The Clumsy Fox, seated on the sofa, covered its face with its hands as it berated itself for being foolish.
It’s been whining about that since yesterday.
If it lost to desire, it should be sticking to it and find some joy, instead of causing such a scene!
Truly frustrating.
I walked over and swept its hands aside.
Our eyes met.
“Hey, you trashy fox♡ When did you get in such a state of grace? ♡ You’ve only ever displayed disgusting behavior, you perverted thing! ♡”
“…”
“If you want to grovel on the ground with a leash, you better listen to your master, got that? ♡”
“Do your job properly if you want to be punished! ♡”
I whispered teasingly, and that seemed to light a spark in the Clumsy Fox’s eyes.
Being insulted seems to do the trick. Honestly, what a perv.
…Is it possible this creature is intentionally behaving this way to provoke insults?
That might be a rational suspicion, but considering it’s the Clumsy Fox, it feels plausible.
Ugh. Really nasty.
After I shot the Clumsy Fox a dirty look filled with disdain, I lifted my gaze to see that everyone was staring at me.
…The fact that everyone but the spatial mage seemed so unfazed was pissing me off. It makes it seem like I’m the weird one here.
And say, why is Karl looking at me with envy?!
Ah! Seriously! Can’t someone just come back to normal for once?!
Where did the knightly knight who wanted to be all honorable go? You were much better before!
Once I rubbed my temples in frustration and glanced over at the spatial mage, he awkwardly cleared his throat.
“The preparations for teleportation are complete. We can depart whenever you wish.”
Looking out the window, I saw the sky shifting from violet to crimson. The sun was rising.
After confirming that, I looked inside again, and everyone seemed to nod as though they already knew what I intended to say.
Seems everyone is ready?
Alright then.
‘Let’s go right away.’
“Let’s go now. Teleportation slave.”
“…Cough. Yes, understood.”
As the spatial mage tapped his staff on the ground, blue flames began to flicker up from the floor.
Seeing this, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
It’s fine. My plan is perfect enough for Grandpa to say so. All that’s left is to execute the plan and laugh at Taliki, who thought he could win.
“Eh?!”
At that moment, the spatial mage exclaimed with horror.
“Magic is being interrupted!”
…Taliki must have caught on.
“Damn it! I can’t cancel it! I’ll try to stabilize the coordinates, but don’t expect too much!”
How long had it been since that irresponsible shout rang out?
The scenery around us shifted dramatically.
From the tidy reception room of the Artea family to an empty blue sky.
Ha! Seriously?! As if the guests arrived for a skydiving experience?!
I could feel gravity pulling me down as I looked below.
At the very least, we made it to Burrow Territory.
Everyone who had been in the reception room successfully transported together.
Given this, the spatial mage did his job well, even with Taliki interfering.
Now, it was time for the rest to step in.
‘Clumsy Fox!’
“Clumsy Fox!”
“I got it! I’ll handle this!”
Leaving it to the Clumsy Fox, who handles all sorts of mystical arts, I braced myself for the surging ominous energy below and readied my shield.
Dark projectiles of magical energy were being hurled at us.
Wow. After skydiving, we get fireworks too. They really rolled out the red carpet for our arrival?!
“Lady! That’s mine!”
‘Not necessary!’
“Wait! Clumsy Dog!”
If it had been the old me, the me who first faced Naklad, I wouldn’t even think of trying to block something like that.
But this time it’s different.
The me now is not the me from that time.
Only half a year, you say?
No, for this corrupt piece of filth, half a year is like a lifetime.
With determination gracing my lips, I concentrated the divine energy into my shield, shaping it into a gigantic barrier powerful enough to repel the incoming projectiles.
As soon as the projectile collided with the divine-infused shield…
The force was so immense that it felt as though my body was trying to rise against gravity, yet it could only battle in vain.
Even as I stood with light against darkness, I couldn’t even see a glimmer of gold against the oppressive tide.
Hey, Taliki.
If this is all you’ve prepared, I’d say I’m a bit underwhelmed.
You dark, pathetic piece of trash.
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