Chapter: 382
Wherever Rasha went, she was not welcomed, so she stuffed all sorts of things into her spatial bag and dried herself off before changing into a different outfit.
She had given up on driving off the old man. After enduring his nonsense for so long, Rasha knew all too well that this guy wasn’t someone who listened to others.
Rather than wasting her energy, it was better to quickly fulfill his desires and send him packing. With that resolution, Rasha still couldn’t shake off the discomfort from the old man humming next to her.
“What exactly does this island have that someone like you decided to show up in person?”
Suppressing her irritation, Rasha asked a question, and the old man grinned.
“There’s a miracle left by the God.”
“Oh, figures.”
This guy hasn’t changed at all since he became Pope. Well, of course, a lunatic like him would end up in such a position.
“By the way, old man, could we take a short detour to explore the city before we dive into the dungeon? I’m looking for someone.”
“If you’re looking for the recently promoted A-rank adventurer, Haishan, they’re not here right now.”
“…Really?”
“I heard they were taken by a noble of the Soladin Kingdom. Seems like someone found them useful.”
“Ugh, damn it.”
After swimming hard and finally reaching the archipelago, instead of meeting the person she wanted, she ended up with more headaches. Whoever took Haishan better watch out; she’d make them pay.
“Let’s head straight to the dungeon. Once we finish, I’ll arrange a ship for you.”
Rasha contemplated the old man’s words. Which was better: risking the same boat as this grotesque man or swimming back to the continent?
The conclusion came quickly. No matter how robust Rasha was, crossing the sea was a terrifying experience.
“Are you really telling me there’s a miracle left in this shabby place?”
As Rasha examined the crumbling cave, she tilted her head in confusion. It looked like there wouldn’t even be a sparrow living here, let alone a miracle.
“Just go in and see.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“Just try it. You’ll understand.”
Despite her half-hearted doubts, Rasha obliged. But she soon found herself blocked by something unknown.
“What is this?”
“One of the miracles of the past. Only those deemed worthy can pass beyond this point.”
With the old man’s prideful tone, Rasha couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Old man, you can get through, right?”
“Oh? Are you saying you’re suddenly worried? Don’t tell me you can’t break it?”
“No way. Of course, I can smash it. But won’t that just blow the cave away?”
Rasha loved the thrill of fighting strong opponents, but she wasn’t going to antagonize the old man. The moment she earned his ire, it would be a hunt, not a battle.
Imagining herself dying miserably without gaining any happiness made her skin crawl.
“Even I can control my strength…”
“Enough. You brought me here for a reason, so just open it.”
“Haha. If you’re that eager, you should learn to appreciate the beauty of what the miracle holds.”
“Isn’t that something you shouldn’t say to an apostle of the Evil God?”
“An apostle of the Evil God isn’t blind to beauty, you know.”
“Argh! Seriously!”
Rasha’s exasperated shout made the old man chuckle.
“Okay, okay. No more jokes.”
“Too bad the church morons couldn’t see this.”
Ignoring Rasha’s mutterings, the old man approached the barrier and brushed it with his divine light.
Inside the barrier was a miracle that had been destroyed in the war between the Evil God and the Holy God. Modern priests couldn’t even grasp its structure.
However, for the old man, all of that was an exception. He was one of the few survivors from the mythical era.
“Wow. This is so revolting every time I see it.”
“Revolting? What I just showed you was…”
“Ugh, enough. Don’t explain.”
“No, I can’t. I have a duty to proclaim the miracles of the gods.”
“Please. I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”
“Listen well. This is…”
While Rasha was throwing a fit, the old man persistently continued his explanation, proving to the world that only a greater madman can defeat a madman.
Even though she didn’t want to, Rasha was getting worn out by the persistent voice in her ears until the barrier shimmered and vanished, making her spring to her feet.
“Alright! Let’s get in quick! You came here looking for that, didn’t you?”
“Huh? No, wait. It’s not okay for you to go in first! Argh, damn it!”
Despite Rasha grumbling, she didn’t worry about things going wrong.
With a powerhouse like Rasha, who was hard to find even on the continent, together with the current Pope, what dungeon could they not conquer?
“…Wow. Damn.”
Rasha realized the foolishness of her thinking after narrowly escaping death about ten times the moment they entered the dungeon.
Watching her arm, which had been sent flying by a magic trap, repaired by the old man’s magic, Rasha clenched and unclenched her fist, finally speaking.
“Hey, old man. Don’t tell me you were mistaken? This place – is it really where the God left something?”
Normally, the old man would scold her for such disrespect, but he couldn’t refute Rasha’s criticism at this moment.
Even he thought this dungeon was filled with malice far beyond anything the God would prepare.
“The depths of a great dungeon aren’t even this vicious, you know?”
“I know that.”
“Advancing any further is impossible. It’d be faster to backtrack than to reach the end of this dungeon.”
With a bitter smile, the old man agreed with Rasha’s statement.
They had only walked for an hour, yet faced life-threatening situations countless times. In the midst of that, they hadn’t even properly explored the dungeon. Continuing forward was not an option.
“Let’s turn back. I think I might’ve missed something.”
“Phew. Thank goodness. I was really going to think about charging in recklessly.”
“I might be a lunatic, but I’m not crazy enough to throw my life away meaninglessly.”
The old man gazed longingly beyond the dungeon but soon turned his head away.
Having lived long enough, he didn’t fear death, but he wasn’t about to discard his life on something worthless.
“Let’s move. We need to get on a ship before nightfall.”
As the old man retraced his steps, Rasha stretched and followed him.
The hellish trek that had taken an hour felt like just a few minutes on the way back.
*
The day after returning to the Alrn family from the archipelago, snow fell from a gray sky.
“Damn. If it’s going to snow, it should at least pour down enough to stop training instead of doing this half-heartedly.”
“…If my skills were better, I could’ve stirred up a storm on purpose.”
“Third Prince! Lady Partran! Don’t complain about doing nothing after only one day! While you all were resting, I was stuck in this hell!”
The first to welcome our return more than anyone was Jackal. His eyes, fueled by resentment, were intense from being left behind training in the knight order.
“And do you think the Alrn Knights would ease their training just because of a snowstorm?!”
“What kind of nonsense is that? There’s a limit to how harsh training can be.”
“Exactly. If the weather gets too bad, the chances for accidents increase.”
Arthur and Joy spoke with common sense while checking my reactions, seemingly looking for my agreement.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t add weight to their side and had to support Jackal instead. The Alrn Knights functioned on an entirely different level of logic.
“Usually, the idiot doesn’t say anything except stupid stuff, but this time he’s spot on. The Alrn knights don’t even know what ‘rest’ means.”
As I said that, memories of the mid-exams flashed in my mind. Training in that storm was horrendous. I thought I was reincarnating in another world when the wind swept me off my feet.
Upon seeing my smile, the two realized Jackal was serious and turned pale.
“Joy, do you have any magic that can lessen the snowfall?”
“If I could do that, I would have already entered the Magic Tower instead of being an academy student.”
“…That’s true. Damn it. Is praying the only option left?”
While I absentmindedly fiddled with my necklace, I listened to the two as they shifted to praying for no blizzards.
In just a few days, it would be the anniversary of Mira, Lucy’s mother.
Last year, I didn’t know anything, so I couldn’t prepare, but this time, it was different.
Having seen how much Mira loved Lucy while looking into her past, I decided to visit her grave.
I had doubts about whether I should visit the grave, but every time I thought of Mira’s grave, the ache in my heart made it impossible to ignore her anniversary.
“Come now, Lucy. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“It’s alright. Someone will come to understand your heart someday.”
“Everyone just doesn’t realize how kind you are. They’re not purposely hating you.”
“Lucy, it’s alright. This mother will always be by your side.”
“Lucy, our daughter.”
Amidst the flood of unhappy memories threatening to drown me in gloom, I remembered I wasn’t alone and quickly pulled myself out of those thoughts.
“What’s with you all? Why do you all look so strange? Are you imagining rolling around in a snowstorm that’s making you teary-eyed? Haha, I think it’s just sad for you guys.”
As I put on a forced smile due to the scrutinizing looks, my friends’ complex gazes didn’t change.
Uncomfortable under their stares, I hurriedly stood up and exited the dining hall.
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