Chapter: 380
‘Stupid Papa. I’m going to the social circle.’
Lucy, who had been afraid to step away from her parents’ arms, suddenly declared to Benedict that she was going to the social circle.
If this were a heroic tale, you would imagine a child who had lost their protector breaking out of their shell to face the world, but reality was different.
The child, with a heart rotted away, just wanted to express her hatred for the world. She merely sought to inflict the same pain she felt on the world that had only given her suffering.
If, by any chance, Benedict had noticed his daughter’s pain, the story might have changed. Had he tried to protect her as he usually did, Lucy wouldn’t have thrown herself away.
But Benedict, drowning in despair over losing his wife, didn’t look at Lucy.
“Do as you please.”
“Yes, fool… Father.”
Thus, the child abandoned her salvation.
As the illusion crumbled, the despair Lucy held etched itself in my mind. The darkness that even a worn-out adult could hardly bear weighed down on my heart.
I clenched my teeth to endure it, and only after some time did I wipe the cold sweat from my face.
<...Did you see old memories again?>
“Yes.”
[You look quite troubled. How about taking a little break?]
“It’s fine. This much is nothing.”
I replied numbly to Grandpa and tried to force myself up, only to topple forward again. With a thud, I frowned and lifted my face.
“Not nothing, huh?”
“…Shut up.”
I could see the shield I had dropped rolling away in the distance. With a sigh, I reached to pick it up, and I caught a glimpse of my own face reflected on the white shield.
Anyone could tell at a glance that the face of the haggard child wasn’t normal.
If I went out like this, Karl would surely scream in fright. Karia would pretend to worry, too.
Huh. I guess I need to stay here until I can at least put on my usual expression.
With a long sigh, I sat on the ground and looked at the dark ceiling.
Why does the Shoddy God want to show me this?
If that guy’s goal is to save the world merely against the Evil God, then he doesn’t need something like this. It’d actually be a distraction. Who knows what variables could arise if I get confused?
It’s hard to even say it’s to comfort the now-gone Lucy. He’s the one who bestowed the curse of being a Mesugaki upon this world after all.
The Shoddy God, who should understand his own mistakes and feel ashamed, wouldn’t commit such hypocrisy.
Then what is it? What does the Shoddy God want? Lost in thought about him, I realized that Mira’s memorial day was approaching.
As I thought of him, my heart inexplicably grew heavier, and I hugged my legs.
*
“It seems this incident was orchestrated by Lasha to protect Lady Allen.”
With the Jushin Church event starting soon, Johan, who visited the holy land, shared what he had discovered while sipping tea.
“Lady Allen?”
“Yes. That girl loves the sprout that will become a strong person. She must have been careful to ensure it doesn’t get broken as it grows.”
“Even so, how can you be sure it relates to Lady Allen? There are other strong people in the Empire’s arena, right?”
“There are several reasons, but the main one is that all those Lasha killed were people trying to imprint Lady Allen’s uniqueness on their eyes.”
Phoebe understood why only those who wielded black magic and clergymen were killed.
The black wizards would surely see the Apostle of God as a fine sacrifice, so they must have killed her. The clergymen of the Jushin Church wouldn’t acknowledge the existence of an Apostle of God, so they would have been killed too.
So…
“Did Lasha notice the truth about Lady Allen?”
“That’s likely. She’s an Apostle of the Evil God of Destruction.”
“…Really?”
“Didn’t you know? Everyone who knows is well aware.”
At Johan’s nonchalant words, Phoebe blinked in surprise.
“Lasha serves the Evil God?”
“That expression is ambiguous. She has no faith.”
When they realized Lasha was connected to the Evil God of Destruction, the church moved to hunt her down.
Lasha, who didn’t hide her actions at all, faced those coming to hunt her with a menacing laugh, willingly taking them down. If they wanted to kill her, they should bring someone stronger.
But Lasha’s wish didn’t come true.
“When His Holiness the Pope said, ‘It’s good news for the church that someone with no faith holds the position of an Apostle. There’s no need for further sacrifices,’ he meant it.”
“That’s typical of His Holiness. After all, he’s a very pragmatic person.”
“Lasha herself was furious, but what could she do? After that, Jushin Church only monitored Lasha’s actions and didn’t intervene.”
It would likely be the same this time. Johan would manipulate things accordingly.
Lasha would provoke the church again to achieve her goals. So they must ignore her.
Having built up a certain level of influence via conversations with those who noticed Phoebe’s changes, Johan was confident he could lead the church’s opinions.
“Today, I should pray for a long time.”
Phoebe gazed at the center of her teacup with sorrowful eyes. Johan was sure that her prayer today would include mourning for the deceased.
After about a minute of silence, when Johan was about to change the subject, someone knocked on the door.
“It’s Kiran. May I trouble you for a moment?”
“What’s going on?”
“His Holiness has sent a letter for the Saintess.”
Why was that busy person sending a letter to the Saintess with such sporadic contact with the church?
Johan felt puzzled, but the letter handed over by the priest had the Pope’s seal clearly stamped on it.
After the priest left, Phoebe opened the letter.
“…Bishop Johan, His Holiness was certainly pragmatic, but he wasn’t a cold person.”
“That’s right. He’s a major figure in shaping the church as it is now. But why all of a sudden?”
“His Holiness intends to send a warning directly to Lasha.”
“His Holiness is saying that?”
Surprise laced Johan’s voice. Did he truly take this matter so seriously?
…Wait. According to the information I obtained not long ago, Lasha was currently heading toward the military islands.
That means, it’s highly likely that His Holiness’s purpose for moving is also the military islands.
And not long ago, the person from Karia’s side said that Lady Allen was also definitely at the military islands.
His Holiness was a good person, but he wasn’t just good. He was someone who could cut anything without hesitation if he deemed it reasonable.
If he saw the current Lady Allen, what kind of judgment would he make?
With that thought, Johan furrowed his brow and got up from his seat.
“Bishop Johan?”
“I’ll be stepping out for a moment. I have an urgent matter to attend to.”
Now is not the time.
“I’ll be back before a week has passed.”
It’s still too early.
It’s still too early.
*
The declaration from Lucy about going to the social circle was what I encountered yesterday in the dungeon.
If that’s the case, what I would witness today would be even more somber than yesterday. I shouldn’t eat dinner tonight. The moment I face the illusion, I’m sure I’ll puke.
“Lucy Allen!”
Hearing Arthur’s shout, I snapped back to reality. In that moment, I saw a crab claw flying towards me.
Too late to evade. The situation wasn’t good for defense either.
Then, what should I do?
I smash it.
With mace raised instead of a shield, I struck down right in the middle of the claw, shattering it into countless pieces, scattering them around.
Realizing I had made a mistake when I saw the dungeon boss writhing in pain, I felt a rush of regret.
Oh no. I was only planning to play the shield role adequately, but now we’ve rushed the progression.
What should I do? Should I treat it without the others noticing?
It feels rather petty, but it’s still better than losing the bet.
[Don't worry. The time for the bet has already passed.]
“Really? Phew. That’s a relief.”
[And, you won’t have time to treat that claw.]
“Huh? What do you mean…”
My question didn’t get to finish. Before it could, I felt a surge of enormous magic from behind me.
“Awesome! Lady! Thanks to you, we have an opening!”
Following the magic, I turned my head to see a massive magic circle shimmering behind Joy.
A gigantic magic circle made by linking several smaller ones. It was so intricate that I couldn’t possibly understand it now, but somehow, I could sense what kind of magic was about to be unleashed.
There was an endless chill emanating from the magic circle.
“Be frozen!”
Crack! The massive shell, which felt like a small hill, suddenly became encased in ice, filling the entire cave with cold.
With her magic power completely drained and her body having no strength to warm itself, Joy trembled, but her face was actually bright.
“I did it! I wasn’t sure it would succeed, but I did it!”
It seemed that for her, expressing her joy was more important than following the noble etiquette she was supposed to observe.
As I looked at her absurdity with disappointment, I covered her with divine power. Instantly, Joy stopped shivering.
“Oh. My lady. Thank you so much…”
“Dummy. Just to check, do you not know the term ‘confirm kill’?”
“What?”
“Are you serious? I thought you were smart, but now I’m quite disappointed.”
“No! It’s not that I don’t know the term! But that’s definitely…!”
Crack! A sound of ice shattering echoed within the cave. Even stuck in the ice, the beast was still clinging to life.
“…Huh?”
Seeing Joy blink, I couldn’t hold back a sigh. That stubborn foolishness just won’t go away.
“Joy! Lucy Allen! It’s not the time for that! That thing will revive soon!”
“It’s fine.”
With Frey’s nonchalant voice, her sword swung.
The colorless slashes, muddled together and appearing to be nothing yet capable of anything, sliced the ice-covered shell in half, ending its life.
Boom! With a sound, the shell’s head fell, revealing the door leading out of the dungeon.
“It’s over now.”
Frey said nonchalantly as she sheathed her sword, but that didn’t include the three of us.
Ha. That bastard managed to exhibit his power before even becoming a second-year.
There are limits to talent, you know.
At this rate, she might challenge Benedict before the second year ends.
“Prince! Prince! We don’t have time! Time!”
“Ah! Time! Right!”
Snapped back to reality by Frey’s urging, Arthur rushed outside the dungeon with Joy in tow, ready to check with those waiting outside for the result.
Having already received the result from Grandpa, I leisurely followed behind, pondering how I should scare them today.
As expected, the three were in despair over losing the bet.
“You fool! If you hadn’t messed up!…”
“Prince also said it was the right move at the time! It’s not all my fault!…”
As I giggled watching their squabble, Karia, who was in disguise, approached.
“Lady Allen. It seems we need to leave the military islands immediately.”
“Why? Did we get caught? Which poor fool fell for you?”
“…It’s news that the Pope is coming here. Bishop Johan relayed it personally, so it can’t be wrong.”
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