Chapter: 671
*“Cough. Sniff.”*
After a while, Visi finally calmed down and buried her crimson face deep between her hands.
*“Are you okay?”*
Her mother’s worried expression was full of concern.
– Visi.
For some reason, Adri was clinging to her and not planning to let go anytime soon.
*“Puhuhuh.”*
Lucy squinted her eyes as if she found something amusing.
Surrounded by these three, Visi felt humiliated and couldn’t bring herself to look up.
Her cheeks felt like they were about to burst from embarrassment.
But there was no helping it.
Just the memory of the scene from earlier made her eyes well up with tears again.
Her mother stepped forward to protect her, even after learning that Visi was a dark sorceress.
And Lucy, who told her mother that Visi was a good person.
Then there was Adri, thinking she might take the blame for everything if it came to the worst.
All those warm moments made Visi feel so small that she didn’t know what to do.
*Knock, knock.*
Just then, someone knocked on the door from outside the mansion.
Lucy instinctively blocked her mother from rising and kicked the door open like a wrecking ball.
*“Hehe. You’ve come a long way.”*
The Pope was standing a step back, as if he had expected this.
*“You’re quite busy for a plump little pig, huh?”*
*“I’ve gotten used to living diligently.”*
Lucy’s tone dripped with hostility, but the Pope looked at her with such affection it was almost creepy.
That lovey-dovey expression sent shivers down the spines of the people standing behind Lucy.
*“So what do you want? If you want a beating, I can gladly oblige.”*
*“While that’s a tempting offer, regretfully, I can’t agree this time. I wouldn’t want to appear ugly in front of my subordinates.”*
Grinning at the knight bound before him, the Pope clapped his hands together as he continued.
*“I propose a deal. If you hand that child over, I’ll withdraw without doing anything. I pledge your safety in the name of the God.”*
*“Why would I? You’re just a pathetic loser who can’t do anything to me.”*
*“Ah, I can’t do anything to you, true. To you.”*
Hearing the Pope’s words, Lucy bit her lip and tossed the knight she was holding toward him.
The Pope casually caught the knight with a show of strength and politely set him on the floor while thanking her.
*“Before I leave, let me give you a piece of advice, Apostle. Do you think I’ve only caused trouble in this one place?”*
At that, Lucy flinched and frantically tried to dash outside.
Seeing that, Adri seized Lucy’s shoulder.
*– I’ll let her go! Just tell me where!*
*“You…”*
*– Just say it! Right now!*
Immediately allowing Lucy to rush ahead, Adri fixed her gaze on the Pope, teeth gritted.
The Pope, under the weight of that ominous glare, merely scoffed and shrugged.
*“You don’t have to worry; I’m not planning anything. I just made a deal with the Apostle.”*
*– I know. So this little brat must have left you and ran off on her own then.*
*“How amusing that a spirit who rejects the Almighty places trust in the God’s Apostle. Is this also the grace of the God?”*
A being, refusing to remain in the Almighty’s bosom, trusting the God’s Apostle while risking possible dangers on her behalf.
The Pope felt a swell of emotion and briefly closed his eyes to send a short prayer.
*“Why did I come to believe in the greatness of the Almighty?*
*Because He is so merciful and graceful, I have chosen to love Him.”*
Suddenly curious, he wondered if the Almighty would embrace a person who brought misfortune to the Apostle He loved.
*“I swear to the God, this place will never be threatened again. So, you may rest easy.”*
With that, the Pope closed the door behind him.
Those left inside sighed in relief as they heard his footsteps fading away.
* *
*Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.*
I really took things too easily. How can I feel reassured when everything’s been going so smoothly?
This isn’t a game. This isn’t a world where the variables are all predetermined.
I should have sent my friends here.
No, then the Pope would have probably caused something to happen.
So what was the best course of action?
What choice should I have made back then?
*
*“Grandfather. Was my choice really the right one? Wasn’t there another good way? Or rather…”*
*
*“…Yes!”*
I pushed down harder with my feet. I gave it everything to run as fast as I could, even draining out my last bit of energy.
Ignoring the burning in my lungs, I stamped the ground and thought about how I could run faster even during brief moments to make my way ahead.
*“Lucy.”*
When I finally arrived, the dungeon had already been cleared.
The warriors fighting against the monsters outside were healing their wounds and laughing, while my friends were blushing at the cheers they were receiving.
*“Oh, Young Lady! You’re early!”*
*“Lucy, why do you look so frantic? Were you that worried about us?”*
My friends, spotting me gasping for air, rushed over with smiles and tossed a line each.
*“Haha, even when you wear that sour face, you’re still a girl at heart!”*
*“Lucy, you’re so cute.”*
*“Right?”*
*“While it’s flattering, it might be a little over the top. But Young Lady, you are cute.”*
…Is that really what you guys think when I came rushing in worried sick?
I got fired up, and I grinned as I grabbed Joy’s shoulder and forced him to kneel.
Then, I pointed at the others while signaling with my fingers for them to sit properly.
Only Frey tilted her head, but when I didn’t get mad, she quietly settled beside the other friends.
After messing around with my friends for a while to relieve some stress, I let out a deep breath and asked them to share the details of the dungeon raid.
*“First off, I took charge of the overall strategy, and Joy handled the supporting role.”*
*“Prince has done quite a bit of hard work. You must have learned your command skills somewhere; it showed.”*
*“I can’t say there weren’t any dangerous moments at all, but we managed to sort those out with our power. As annoying as it was, that Frey guy really is a monster.”*
*“Really? It just looks like the Prince is too useless that it makes it look that way.”*
*“…And all those minor curses and injuries were immediately taken care of by the Saintess.”*
*“Nothing too difficult. I even feel a bit guilty for not stopping it beforehand.”*
*“Anyway, the dungeon didn’t turn out to be that hard. Even with a few variables thrown in, it wouldn’t have changed things much. Your dungeon was more hellish than this.”*
The boss battle was not much of a different experience either.
Since I had already given them all the info about the boss and anticipated potential variables beforehand, they easily smashed the boss and returned to the surface.
*“I won’t say you did as well as me, but you all did better than I expected, right?”*
At Arthur’s comment, I almost replied immediately but paused to nod in agreement.
Yeah, they really performed way better than I thought.
I won’t deny that.
But could I really say I could leave it all up to them next time?
Others were fine by themselves. I could gladly leave everyone here except for them.
But I can’t let them go. If anything happened to them because of my mistake, I’d feel like I’d crumble along with it.
The Pope must be aware of that too.
When one of them goes down, I’ll surely be shaken up pretty badly.
So, I’m betting he’ll target them.
If I’m not around when that happens, I don’t know if I could get back up from the guilt.
*“You’ve given up on beating me, haven’t you? I’m glad to see you’ve finally realized your place. You look good like that.”*
*“…Can’t you just conform to the mood sometimes?”*
*“Then maybe try looking a bit better. How can I praise you when you keep showing such a pathetic face?”*
I had a lot to say, but I just shot back my snarky reply at Arthur.
My friends are nice. They’ll think they’re a burden to me if they know I’m worried about them, and they’ll make sure to prove otherwise.
It’s not their problem. It’s just my own anxiety driving me nuts.
After clearing a few more dungeons, we returned to the sanctuary for some rest that night.
Unable to sleep, I thought about needing to move more when a knock came at the door.
Remembering the Pope’s knock from earlier sent a chill down my spine, but I felt relieved by the warm divine presence from the other side.
*“Is that you, Phoebe?”*
*“Young Lady, do you have a moment?”*
*“What do you want? Don’t tell me it’s something pervy? The perverted saint has finally shown her true colors…”*
*“It’s not like that! Ahem, this is a serious matter.”*
*“Come in. I’ll humor you, pathetic saint.”*
Phoebe stepped inside, stared at me quietly, took a deep breath, and then slowly spoke up.
*“You’re worried about us, right?”*
…Oh. Did it show that obviously? I thought I was just acting normally, thinking they did well.
*“Isn’t that obvious? Weaklings like you could crumble at any moment.”*
I wouldn’t change things quite a bit just because I was caught. They getting stronger isn’t the same issue.
*“You’re just like me. I always worry about you, Young Lady.”*
*“You worry about me?”*
*“Isn’t it natural? You always head to the most dangerous places first. You never ask anyone else for help, sacrificing yourself seems like a given to you.”*
That… I didn’t think it was such a noble sentiment. It was just something I did because I could and wanted to, not some grand sacrifice.
*“But you’ve kept silent this whole time because you know that sacrifice makes you, well, you.”*
*“You guys are my burden! I’ll do what I can!”*
Phoebe, who had been smiling, sat down next to me and coughed lightly to clear her throat.
*“Worrying about us is a burden to you too, so I don’t want to talk about it. However, the reason I’m here is that I have a proposition for you.”*
*“What is it? Make sure it’s not something useless.”*
*“Let’s eliminate any situation where variables can occur. Right now, your influence is immense, so it shouldn’t be too hard. Even if various problems arise, I’ll handle them without much fuss.”*
The moonlight reflected off Phoebe’s smile, making her look more like a villain than a saint.
*“For you.”*
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