“…What a mess.”
Before I set sail, the Grand Temple was spotless, but now it was covered in moss and seaweed, looking utterly grotesque.
Other houses in the city were in a similar state, but this one felt worse because it was larger and whiter than any other building.
Should I have killed them as quickly as possible somehow?
[Contractor?]
I shook my head at the thought. With three of them, it would have been hard to stop anything no matter what I did. I had no reason to feel guilty. It looked like Karina had managed to minimize casualties.
Still, hundreds must have died…
“Johann!”
“Millia. Are you okay?”
I gently patted Millia’s back as she jumped into my arms, checking her condition. Thankfully, it seemed she wasn’t hurt.
“Yeah!”
“What about Karina?”
“She’s inside, healing people!”
“Did the others get hurt?”
“They got a few minor injuries, but everyone is safe! What about you, Johann?! You’re not hurt, right?”
“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”
“That’s a relief…”
I was a bit tired though. I glanced around the lobby of the temple, where patients were lying side by side, and headed towards Karina with Millia.
As I entered deeper into the temple, I saw Karina using healing magic on an old man.
“Sir Quartz…!”
“Everyone stay lying down. The patients shouldn’t be getting up.”
Why do they all want to stand up and greet me so fiercely? It makes me feel like garbage. I calmed the patients, feeling even creepier than when I fought the godly triplets.
Then, due to the commotion, Karina noticed my presence and looked at me with a happy face.
“Welcome back.”
“Thank you for your hard work. But let’s talk later…”
“Got it.”
I quietly backed away as Karina continued to focus on healing the patients.
“Johann, I’ll head out too. I need to go bandage the patients…”
Millia seemed reluctant to leave, but she wasn’t dense enough to cling to me here. I watched her retreating figure before turning to exit the temple.
I needed to do what I could.
[Where’s the contractor going?]
“Off to work.”
Stepping out of the temple and into the square still smelling strongly of the sea, I shouted softly.
“Crafting.”
——————————–
“Thanks to you, the city reconstruction ended so quickly! You’re the savior of this city!”
Archbishop Pierre looked genuinely moved by my quick city reconstruction project.
“No, I just wanted to contribute…”
I can’t completely avoid responsibility here.
I tried hard to shake off the uneasy feeling and looked at the now restored city, looking even cleaner than before. It was all a result of my skills.
I repaired the broken parts, rebuilt what was beyond saving, and after going around the whole city, Lorelei’s reconstruction was completed in no time.
It normally would have taken at least a month, but I finished it in an instant, so I felt a little lighter in my heart.
“Well then, we’ll be on our way.”
“Take care. When you come next time, I’ll treat you with utmost hospitality. And… I’ll look into the ancient god information as promised.”
After bidding farewell to Archbishop Pierre, we quietly used the portal to return to Kalon Academy.
“How are the patients faring?”
“Don’t worry too much. I healed all the dangerous ones with your magic, and there were priests there, right?”
“I seriously thought I was going crazy. While Karina was praying in the temple, a tsunami swept the city away… and all the bottles I brought got smashed.”
“Oh, it was terrifying…”
“I realized outsiders are really scary. I heard they made it all the way to the Foggy Sea Area; the effects of that battle reached here. Uncle, you suffered so much…”
My companions expressed their thoughts while we headed to Yeomyeong-gwan, dragging our tired bodies along.
We took care of patients and rebuilt the city without much rest due to the tsunami’s aftermath.
I was still lively, but all my companions looked worn out.
“Let’s hurry in and rest. I’m exhausted…”
“I never imagined the last winter vacation would end up like this…”
We walked toward Yeomyeong-gwan, chatting. It seemed snow had fallen in the central area, as it was painted white.
“Wow, it snowed here~”
“Lorelei didn’t have snow; it was just cool.”
“Looks like the first snow came later than expected.”
I blankly stared up at the sky.
Is it time for the start of the third year?
The whole third year would probably be so busy that I wouldn’t think of it as a vacation at all.
“Hehe, soon it’ll be the third year. No seniors above me!”
“I, I’m the top year now…”
“Thank goodness I won’t worry about job hunting. I still have to keep researching and developing though…”
“I’m already employed as Johann’s secretary, so job hunting is a thing of the past for me.”
Job hunting.
At that one word, everyone’s gaze turned toward me.
Why are you looking at me like that?
“I don’t want to be apart from Johann!”
“Me too!”
“Hehe, I’m fine. Johann is my knight, after all.”
Karina and Renny, who could legally stick with me, didn’t seem to care about jobs at all. After all, Karina would mostly just be running religious events or volunteering after graduation, so it didn’t matter much.
And Renny’s a coworker.
“Hehe. I’m going to marry Johann after graduation!”
Oh, is that so?
“Isn’t that marrying into a job instead of job hunting?”
“That’s a good thing!”
At Viola’s remark, Millia puffed up her cheeks while clinging to my arm. They’re having fun. So much fun…
“Oh my, Millia, no cutting in line, you know.”
“Cheh.”
Don’t start a catfight here.
As I took a moment to play with Millia’s puffed cheeks, I said,
“Let’s stop talking about this and go inside Yeomyeong-gwan to chat.”
I still had things to do.
I sighed at the thought of Cidri trapped in Yeomyeong-gwan.
————-
“You seem to have dealt with all the sea gods~?”
“I couldn’t catch one.”
I felt a bit uneasy about not being able to catch the god named Ran, but since he lost a hand, he probably wouldn’t be able to do much. It wasn’t just cut off; it had been burned off!
He’s not a Hydra, so I doubt he could regenerate.
“That’s fine~ He won’t be able to do anything alone anyway. After all, three of them together make one god~”
“Cidri. Can you contact Eligos?”
“Hmm~? Why don’t you rest a bit~?”
“Resting comes after exterminating all the outsiders. And… I’d like to know about the outsider who contracted with Harpas, if possible.”
If my guess is right, he’s likely the mastermind behind the situation of outsiders invading this land. Once I deal with him, I can probably reach the true ending.
I must gather information quickly and either chase him away or eliminate him. Given the damage caused dealing with these petty gods, I can’t imagine what the damage will be when he personally shows up. It won’t just be one city, that’s for sure.
“Oh dear, that sounds tough without any additional trade~?”
“I’ll have to demand it before causing chaos in hell.”
“That seems a bit much~?”
“In that case, I’ll just tell him to spit out the information without being a nuisance.”
“Hmm~ I’ll try to relay it~ But don’t trust it too much~? Among demons, there are quite a few factions advocating for the outsiders~ Eligos is on the opposing side, but~”
So, they’re also struggling with faction wars, huh?
While recalling my conversation with Harpas, I decided I needed another information source.
Fortunately, my information sources weren’t just demons.
“Well then, I’ll go take a break. Oh, there are piles of romance novels here.”
“The human imagination is truly amusing~”
If I took all those books, I might be able to use them effectively. Just as my eyes landed on the chaotic arrangement of romance novels on the shelf, Cidri asked me in a startled voice.
“W-wait a minute~ You’re not planning to take my collection~?”
“I’ll decide based on what I see.”
“Hehe, I’m on your side~”
Cidri’s meek tone made it seem like she was deeply immersed in the romance novels.
Well, I can’t say such words will earn any real trust.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave, so you stay locked up in your room.”
“Take care~”
I left Cidri’s room and headed to mine.
First, I needed to take a nap and consult the status window.
If that doesn’t yield an answer, I’ll try looking for Sabrina.
I had no time to relax.
I needed to push forward vigorously so that the future could be easier.
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