Chapter: 382
Wherever she went, Lasha felt unwelcome, so she packed all sorts of items into her space pocket and changed into other clothes after curling up her body.
Giving up on getting rid of the old man, Lasha, who had been suffering from him for a long time, knew too well that he was not the type to listen to reason.
Instead of wasting energy, it would be better to quickly fulfill the old man’s wishes and send him on his way. That was Lasha’s resolve, but she couldn’t shake off the discomfort caused by the old man humming next to her.
“What’s so special about this island that a big shot like you came all the way here?”
Suppressing her awkwardness, she asked the question, and the old man grinned.
“There’s a miracle left by the Lord Jushin.”
“Ah, I see.”
This guy hasn’t changed a bit since becoming the Pope. Well, I guess only a crazy person would reach the Pope’s seat.
“But old man, can’t we take a little detour around the city before entering the dungeon? I’m looking for someone.”
“If you’re looking for Heyshan, who recently reached B-rank adventurer, he’s not here right now.”
“…Really?”
“I heard he was taken by a noble from the Soladin Kingdom. He must have become useful somehow.”
“Ugh, damn it.”
After swimming for dear life to reach the archipelago, she finds not the person she wanted but a headache instead. I don’t know who took Heyshan, but if I find them, I’ll make them pay.
“Let’s head to the dungeon right away. I’ll arrange for a ship once we’re done.”
Listening to the old man’s words, Lasha contemplated. What’s worse, sharing a boat with this creepy person or swimming back to the continent?
The conclusion was quick. No matter how tough Lasha was, her experience crossing the sea had been terrifying.
“Is there really a miracle left in this shabby place?”
While examining a crumbling cave that could collapse at any moment, Lasha tilted her head. No matter how much she looked at it, it seemed like there wouldn’t be even a wild bird living here, let alone a miracle.
“Why don’t you give it a try?”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“Just try it. You’ll find out.”
Though Lasha was half-skeptical, she readily followed the old man’s suggestion. And she was blocked by something mysterious.
“What is this?”
“This is one of the miracles of the past. Those without qualifications cannot pass beyond this point.”
Lasha chuckled at the old man’s proud tone.
“Old man, you can go in, right?”
“Ha! You just complained first. Are you afraid you can’t break it?”
“No, of course, I could smash it. But then the cave would go flying!”
Lasha, who loved fighting strong opponents, was reluctant to oppose the old man. The moment she earned his wrath, it wouldn’t be a battle but a hunt.
Imagining herself dying miserably without gaining any happiness, she scratched her prickly skin.
“Isn’t it enough to control your strength…?”
“Enough. I brought you for a reason anyway. Just open it!”
“Haha, with such impatience, you ought to be able to appreciate the beauty the miracle holds.”
“That’s not something you should say to an Apostle of Evil God, right?”
“Just because I’m an Apostle of Evil God doesn’t mean I’m blind.”
“Argh! Really!”
As an exasperated Lasha shouted, the old man chuckled.
“Alright, I’ll stop joking.”
“The fools of the church should have seen this.”
Ignoring Lasha’s muttering, the old man approached the barrier and stroked it with his divine grace.
What lay within the barrier was a miracle that had been laid to waste during the war between the Evil God and the Good God. It was something the modern clergy couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
However, for the old man, all those words were exceptions. He was one of the few survivors who had come through the Age of Myth.
“Wow, it’s truly disgusting no matter when I see it.”
“Disgusting? What I just showed you was…”
“Ugh, shut up! Don’t explain.”
“No, I can’t do that. I have a duty to preach the miracles of God.”
“Please, I’m sorry. I messed up.”
“Listen well. This is…”
Even when Lasha was going off on every tangent, the old man continued his explanation, proving that sometimes only a greater lunatic could win against a lunatic.
Even though she didn’t want to hear it, Lasha grew fatigued by the voice ringing in her ears, and when she suddenly saw the barrier flicker and disappear, she shot up.
“Alright! Let’s go inside quickly! You came here for that too, old man!”
“Huh? No, that’s fine. I need to explain a bit more to you.”
“Argh! I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you! I’ll go in first!”
Lasha stomped into the cave, while the old man, who had been laughing, slowly got up to follow her.
“What’s this? This isn’t an ordinary dungeon, is it?”
Upon entering the cave first, Lasha tilted her head at the entrance of the dungeon. Usually, dungeons exude ominous vibes right from the entrance. It’s only natural since all dungeons in this world are prayed to the Evil God.
However, this dungeon was different. The entrance of the dungeon within the cave emitted a faint divine presence, the same one Lasha had felt when facing Lucy.
“Ooh!”
The old man, who arrived late, seemed to feel it too, and he looked at the dungeon entrance with a joyful expression.
“See, my senses aren’t wrong! This place is definitely prepared by the Lord Jushin!”
“Yeah, it kinda looks like that.”
“Come on, Lasha! Let’s go in! We need to engrave what’s at the end!”
“Huh? Hey! Old man! Wait a minute! It would be troublesome if you go in first! Argh! Damn it!”
Despite her grumbling, Lasha didn’t worry about anything going wrong.
With the powerful Lasha, who was hard to find a match for in the current continent, and the serving Pope following alongside, what dungeon could possibly resist them?
“…Wow, damn.”
Lasha realized how arrogant that thinking was when she faced near-death experiences about ten times after entering the dungeon.
As she watched her arm, shredded by magic traps, restored by the old man’s magic, Lasha opened and closed her hand while speaking.
“Hey, old man. Did you get something wrong? Is this really a place the Lord Jushin left behind?”
Usually, the old man would scold her for being impudent, but he couldn’t bear to refute her criticism this time.
He himself thought this dungeon was filled with wicked evil to the extent that it was unimaginable for the Lord Jushin to prepare something here.
“Even the depths of a large dungeon aren’t this bad, you know?”
“I know.”
“It’s impossible to move forward any longer. It would be quicker to retreat than to see the end of the dungeon.”
The old man bitterly smiled, agreeing with Lasha’s words.
They had only walked for an hour but faced countless threats of death. In the process, they hadn’t even properly explored the dungeon. Right now, it was impossible to conquer it.
“Let’s retreat. I feel like I missed something.”
“Phew, thank goodness. I was seriously thinking about charging in.”
“I may be crazy, but I’m not crazy enough to waste my life meaninglessly.”
The old man looked regretfully beyond the dungeon but soon turned his head.
He didn’t fear death, having lived long enough, but he wouldn’t throw away his life in a worthless place.
“Let’s move. We need to board a ship before nightfall.”
As the old man retraced his steps, Lasha stretched and followed him.
The hellish path that took them an hour to traverse was completed in just a few minutes on the return.
*
The next day after returning to the Allen family from the archipelago, snow was falling from the gray sky.
“Damn it. If it’s going to snow, it might as well pour so hard that I can’t train instead of coming halfway.”
“…If I had better skills, I would have intentionally created a storm.”
“Third Prince! Ducal Young Lady Partlan! Don’t complain about just one day! While you were resting, I’ve been stuck in this hell!”
The one who welcomed their return more than anyone was Jack. Abandoned by the Knights, his eyes were full of venom as he continued his relentless training.
“And do you think the Allen Knights will back down just because of a snowstorm?!”
“What kind of crazy talk is that? There’s a degree to vigorous training.”
“You’re right. If the weather worsens too much, there’s a chance of accidents.”
Arthur and Joy offered very reasonable comments, glancing at Lasha. It was as if they were hoping for quick agreement with their words.
Sadly, Lasha could do nothing but back Jack’s words. The Allen Knights were a place where ordinary people’s logic wouldn’t apply.
“Though he usually spouts foolishness, he’s right this time. The Allen Knights’ thick-headed knights don’t know the word rest.”
Thinking about this brought back memories of the midterm exams. Training with the Knights even amid storms was truly horrific. At one point, when the wind swept me off the ground, I thought I’d be reincarnated in another world.
Seeing Lasha smile, Arthur and Joy’s faces turned pale as they realized Jack’s words were no joke.
“Joy, can you cast a spell to clear the blizzard?”
“If that were possible, I wouldn’t be a student at the Academy; I’d already be in the Mage Tower.”
“…That’s true. Damn. Is there really no way but to pray?”
The two quickly changed their words to praying for the blizzard to clear, and I absentmindedly fiddled with my necklace.
In a few days, it’ll be the anniversary of Mira’s death, Lucy’s mother.
Last year, I couldn’t prepare anything as I didn’t know, but this time it’s different.
While looking into Lucy’s past, I saw how much Mira loved her, and I decided to visit her grave.
Though I had doubts about whether it was right for me to visit her grave now, every time I thought of Mira’s grave, the pain that throbbed wouldn’t let me ignore her memorial day.
“Come on in. I’ve been waiting, Lucy.”
“It’s okay. Someday, someone will come by who knows your true feelings.”
“Everyone doesn’t realize how kind you are. They’re not intentionally hating you.”
“Lucy, it’s alright. This mother will always be by your side.”
“Lucy, our daughter.”
From the flood of painful memories that crashed in on me, I gradually felt melancholy, but I remembered I wasn’t alone and quickly pulled out of my reverie.
“What’s wrong? Why does everyone look so weird? Are you imagining rolling around in the blizzard and getting teary-eyed? Hah! I’m just laughing. How pitiful.”
I tried to smile as trained, sensing the awkward stares from those around me, but my friends’ complex gazes remained unchanged.
Feeling uncomfortable under that gaze, I hastily stood up and hurried out of the cafeteria.
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