R4STWH - Chapter 137
Chapter 137
I was overjoyed to finally find the Saintess, but it was still too early to relax.
“It’s okay, it’s all over now.”
I reassured the Saintess, while quickly undoing the magic barrier.
‘Just a little more… just a little more….’
Knowing that time was running out, I tried hard to calm my anxious heart. As soon as I managed to undo the barrier without making a mistake, I reached out to the Saintess. I pulled her out just as another 'tinkle' echoed through the castle.
“Haa... that was really close.”
“Close, hiccup… What do you mean…?”
“There's no need to ask about that.”
There was no need for this kid to know how dangerous the situation had been. She was already timid and tearful enough.
As I tried to carry the Saintess, who was stumbling due to trembling legs, a translucent window blurred my vision.
Quest ‘Qualification Proof (3)’ has been cleared.
Influence in World E-17ACEM has increased by 1 level. (Current: 7/10 levels)
Once a day, stat restrictions will be removed for 70 seconds.
Due to reaching MAX+ affinity with the Amern Order, you have gained access to the Order's relic storage.
Thanks to safely rescuing the Saintess, the quest was completed, and a series of information windows related to the reward appeared.
“The god you serve must really cherish you.”
“Uh… of, of course, that must be true…?”
“As a reward for saving you, they’re telling me to pick any one thing from the relic storage?”
I felt the Saintess, who was clinging to my back, tilting her head.
“For someone affiliated with the Order, this would be enough to make them ecstatic and faint, but I don’t know if there’ll be anything meaningful for you, Lady Ilesha.”
“There must be something, probably. It can't just be something they're giving me.”
As the god of this world, they’d have to do their best in each quest and reward. If they failed this time as well, this world would really end.
After clearing the jumbled windows, I was about to head for the stairs to descend the tower when I saw Elias staring outside the lord’s castle.
“What's wrong?”
The moment I went to his side and looked where he was looking, I couldn’t help but groan.
Knights and soldiers were setting fires everywhere they passed while retreating from Protia.
Crow and Clea, who had arrived a little later, also witnessed the scene.
“How could it get this bad….”
As the disaster ravaged people's lives, how foolish were those who acted more like monsters than monsters, just because they had received orders.
“This is nothing.”
I turned at the sudden voice and saw Yumi walking casually in the air as if it were flat ground. In her hands, she held what looked like human heads.
“Father…….”
Clea quickly identified the head’s owner, thanks to Yumi's skillful cutting. Which led me to roughly guess who the head in Yumi's other hand belonged to.
‘Could it be that she never intended to kill those kids in the first place?’
It might just be my wishful thinking, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Yumi was looking out for me.
“Soon the whole continent will be a sea of fire.”
Yumi casually wrapped the two heads in her hands around the lord's castle flag, then created a large water droplet and washed her hands.
“Well, this world is still lucky, since there are no nuclear weapons here yet. Don’t you think so, Ilesha?”
“……”
I kept my mouth shut and stared intently at Yumi's face.
‘You know better than anyone that you can't beat me unless you give it your all.’
I couldn't fathom her intentions. She neither took my side nor acted completely malicious.
A smile briefly touched the corners of Yumi's lips as she gazed at me for a long time without breaking eye contact. It was so fleeting it could have been a trick of the light, but I didn't miss the emotion behind it.
[I'm glad, really.]
It felt like I could hear her whisper.
“Then, see you again soon.”
Even after Yumi’s figure, who waved her hand playfully, vanished like the wind, I couldn't easily tear my gaze away from the phantom-like traces she left behind.
In the meantime, Clea summoned spirits to bring rain clouds over the Protia territory. The rain falling from the rapidly darkening sky wasn't strong enough to put out all the fires at once. It just ceaselessly pounded the edges of the fiery flames, gradually diminishing their power.
But was that enough to change despair into hope for some? People began to appear one by one from the corners of the seemingly empty city, and started busily running around to put out the fires. At first, it was a chaotic mess, but gradually they coordinated their efforts, drawing water from wells and carrying it to extinguish the flames.
Watching them, Clea, who had already pushed her mana to its limit, didn't let up until the end. I watched the girl’s talent, which I thought had already fully bloomed, shine and grow once more, and caught her as she collapsed, losing consciousness.
This mana exhaustion would take quite a long time to recover from.
Meaning, we could no longer rely on Clea for full strength.
Even so, I felt no regret or disappointment. This girl had finished her fight, and the rest was up to those who remained.
Elias carried the unconscious Clea down since I had the Saintess on my back. The woman who had been waiting below led him to what I presumed was Clea’s bedroom. I had enough sense to not follow them inside and waited outside.
“Is that the Duke’s mother?”
The Saintess whispered.
“Yes.”
I could have listened to what they were talking about if I wanted to, but I deliberately shut off my senses. I had already interfered enough. So, it was right to not meddle between mother and son any further. Even if they ended up never seeing each other again like strangers, that would also be Elias’s choice.
About five minutes later, Elias came out of the room alone. When I quietly took his hand, he gently stroked my hair.
“Let's go. We've lingered too long.”
“Okay…….”
I glanced at the door and left the castle with him, the Saintess, and Crow. Deciding the next destination wasn’t difficult.
It was as if there was a hidden clue in the previous quest.
“Saintess, you’re safe!”
Behind Cardinal Melder, who was running towards us with a face full of joy and relief, was a large and magnificent building that shone brightly, seemingly untouched by the disasters plaguing the continent.
‘What's in the relic storage that made them call me here?’
While I thought there would be a reason, I was also skeptical. I wondered if there really would be anything among the Amern Order’s relics that I needed.
“If there's any information I should know, including news about the Lucendria Imperial Family, please tell me.”
The Saintess requested, while walking towards the central building. “Ah… do you happen to know that the First Princess has succeeded to the throne?”
“Yes, I heard.”
“Since the situation is so unusual, starting from the assassination of the late Emperor… it seems a considerable number of nobles in the capital have rebelled.”
It was understandable, so I was quietly listening when Melder’s next words shocked me.
“It is said that His Highness Leonard, who ascended to the position of Archduke, has executed nobles who came to protest for treason. Along with all their families.”
“……What?”
“Oh, that’s…!”
After glancing at me, Melder continued. “Because of the situation, local nobles are also turning against the current Imperial Family. Well, even so, nothing can be done right away since disasters have suddenly spread all over the continent.”
‘Zero, that damned bastard…!’
I ground my teeth.
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