Chapter 426
Lete revealed her identity as a saint.
Some people immediately dropped their weapons, prostrated on the ground, and worshipped Lete, while others hesitated and glanced around, unsure.
It was a situation made possible because this region was not strongly influenced by central Efnelle.
“We, we can’t just back down like this… sir!”
A man from Escaille Village raised his voice, then glanced sideways at Lete.
“We must remember those who suffered at the hands of those trash from Coola…!”
“We’re the ones with far more casualties.”
The lord of Coola gritted his teeth and stepped forward.
“Forgive me for speaking, Saint, but we feel the same! Blood has been spilled, there’s no way we can simply back down here…!”
[Ahhh, your speech is so damn long, you bastard!]
A profane outburst burst forth from the saint’s voice, which had been resonating with holiness.
As Lete swung the arm she’d raised to the sky, the stars in the heavens shimmered.
The people who looked up instinctively flinched and lowered their posture.
‘Tch. Seriously, I’d really like to just wipe both sides out.’
A political issue within the region.
And more importantly, Lete, who was still just a rookie saint, had the sense that if she stirred up too much trouble, it would cause a headache even for Efnelle.
—Keep this in mind, Lete. If you’ve already used the power of a saint, you must fulfill what everyone expects from a saint.
She recalled the voice of her mentor, Israfil.
With a sigh of “ugh”, Lete lowered the arm she had raised toward the sky and activated white magic.
<Meta Great Healing>
Hwaaaaaaa!
A dazzling flash of light exploded from the center around Lete. The wounds of those who had been lying on the ground, bleeding, began to heal at an astonishing rate.
Even those gravely injured by weapons were no exception. Flesh filled in the gaping wounds, and their damaged organs and bones were realigned.
With every swing of her arm, the wounded from both villages began to stir, rising one by one.
[Happy now?]
Lete shouted, hands on her hips.
[No more victims from Coola! No more spilled blood!]
“……”
The lord and the young man from Escaille stood frozen with dumbfounded expressions. Lete turned her back on them sharply.
[Get inside. Let's go into the village and talk.]
“B-but the Coola bastards tore apart our village barrier, and now the cold is—”
Snap!
The crisp sound of Lete snapping her fingers rang out clearly. The space where the barrier had been torn was instantly cloaked in holiness, forming a new screen.
[Happy now?!]
“…Ah.”
Lete, white hair fluttering, began walking toward the village. While her back was turned, a few people subtly reached for their weapons.
[I’ve done everything required of me as a saint now.]
Their movements froze.
[From this point on, whoever starts anything first… I’ll annihilate them in the name of the Goddess.]
At her chilling declaration, both the lord and the Escaille faction paled and hastily ordered their men to lay down their weapons.
* * *
The next morning, early dawn.
By Saint Lete’s order, the people of Escaille Village had to prepare food. However, when she told them to prepare meals for the people of Coola as well, some voiced complaints.
Lete planned to smile with the saintly grace she’d been practicing lately, and say something like, “I’ll explain shortly, but this harsh winter is partly your responsibility too. Isn’t it only natural to serve guests who have come to your village?”
But what actually came out of her mouth was—
[Just do it, you bastards!]
Even those who had been grumbling furiously scampered off to follow the order.
In truth, Lete hadn’t really reconciled the two sides. Rather, she had seized control of the village and was suppressing both factions with brute strength.
“Here you go.”
“Th-thank you.”
Yet despite how the morning had started with death threats and hostility, the mood began to thaw a little as food was passed around and shared.
After all, people are people, and in the end, most things are done to survive.
Lete, who had been watching warily in case fighting broke out again, finally withdrew her saintly power and turned away.
“Petria.”
The only person in the village she had been close with, Petria, approached her trembling.
“I-I’m sorry, Le—no, Saint Lete! I didn’t even realize you were a saint!”
Lete waved her hand dismissively.
“I was hiding my identity too, so let’s forget that. More importantly, go fetch the people of Escaille. I’ll speak to the ones in Coola.”
Thus, Lete gathered the people of both villages in the village hall. It was the same spacious building where she had first met Nenia Mizenashi.
Lete, who had arrived first, glanced around the room.
“Hul hul hul!”
She jumped in surprise.
Standing there was the woman Simon had dealt with—Nenia Mizenashi—looking around curiously.
No, on second glance, it wasn’t Nenia.
“You… you’re the old lady who read my fortune in Coola, right?”
The elderly woman nodded politely.
“Gratula mi Kibillis. I greet the closest daughter of the Goddess.”
“…You scared me. How’d you make it all the way up this snowy mountain?”
“I was carried. The lord said he needed someone who knew the way to the village.”
Lete cleared her throat awkwardly, slightly blushing.
“…The future you saw in that fortune. It wasn’t about raising undead, but just about saving people and raising them up?”
The old woman merely smiled.
“I only read the signs. How they’re interpreted is up to each person.”
That was all she said before she went off again to look around. Perhaps it was because she’d returned home, but her expression was filled with nostalgia.
Lete watched the old woman’s back and thought,
‘So when do I get to fly in the sky again?’
* * *
Soon after, both Escaille and Coola, all their people had gathered in the hall, and Lete stepped forward. Now that she no longer had to hide her identity, she had changed back into her Efnelle school uniform.
“This has been a conflict of more than several decades.”
Lete said as she slowly walked along the podium.
“I’m not going to tell you, as an outsider, to ‘just get along, shut up and move on’. But if there are misunderstandings, we should at least clear them up.”
She stopped walking and looked straight at the villagers.
“Let me tell you the truth. The cause of the harsh winter wasn’t some wrath of a snow maiden. It was an anomaly in the dungeon.”
Immediately, murmurs broke out among the villagers. Escaille’s side especially reacted with outrage.
“That can’t be! We definitely saw the snow maiden!”
“Then have you ever even been inside the dungeon?”
Lete said sharply.
“Me and Si—no, Mr. Shaun went all the way to the cave at the mountain summit and confirmed the dungeon’s true nature. We also verified that it was the source of the cold. And when we came out… the Mizenashi people surrounded us and tried to kill us.”
“…!”
Lete smiled.
“Think about it. When your village was in danger, where were the Mizenashi?”
“C-come to think of it…!”
“Yes, they came to silence us. They couldn’t let it be known that the Snow Maiden’s wrath was actually just a dungeon anomaly. Better for you all to be wiped out instead.”
The people of Escaille quieted, and Lete turned to the people of Coola.
“They fabricated the legend of the Snow Maiden as a smokescreen and concealed the true nature of the dungeon. The reason they went so far as to maintain the anomaly by guarding the dungeon? Just one. Revenge against the people of Coola who had driven them out long ago.”
A few of the residents of Coola lowered their heads.
The fury they held toward one another had nearly led to mutual destruction. If it hadn’t been for the intervention of outsiders like Lete and Simon, it might have actually come to that.
“I-I still can’t believe it!”
“This is just the saint’s one-sided claim. Without concrete proof…!”
Tap, tap.
At that moment, an old woman with a cane stepped up onto the podium.
“The saint is telling the truth.”
It was the fortune-teller elder from Coola. Her presence stirred up both sides.
“I am Anzia Mizenashi, younger sister of Nenia Mizenashi.”
Thud!
Just like her sister, she struck the floor with her cane and looked out at the crowd.
“About fifty years ago, my sister and the family told me they would take revenge on Coola using the dungeon’s anomaly. I opposed them… and was banished from the village.”
“Th-then it’s true…!”
“In the name of Mizenashi, I guarantee the Saint speaks the truth.”
A heavy silence settled over the room. Lete crossed her arms with a satisfied smile.
Bang!
Then, the back doors swung open, and Simon appeared, snow still dusting his hair.
“Apologies for being late.”
“M-Mr. Shaun!”
“Priest!”
Lete’s face lit up brightly.
‘What took you so long, you idiot!’
Simon gave Lete a small wave and began to speak.
“The Mizenashi magicians have all been subdued and tied up near the dungeon. We can all go verify it soon. But more importantly—”
Simon looked around at everyone.
“This situation isn’t over yet.”
“It’s not?”
“Saint Lete and I entered the dungeon, but we never saw the most important part—the dungeon master.”
He continued with a serious expression.
“Unless the dungeon master is killed, the dungeon and the cold will never disappear.”
“…Ah!”
“And the dungeon master… is here among us right now.”
Murmur murmur murmur!
The crowd panicked and began to rise from their seats.
“Wh-who is it, Mr. Shaun?!”
“Tell us!”
Simon slowly closed his eyes.
“Those from Escaille Village may know this—Mizenashi performed sacrificial rituals, offering people to the Snow Maiden. But because sacrificing young villagers could lead to revolt, the Mizenashi family set an example by offering up their own successors. Only those who survived were allowed to bear the Mizenashi name.”
Everyone swallowed nervously as they listened.
“A girl once offered as a sacrifice by the Mizenashi, the only Mizenashi currently in this village. A person whose bones were discovered in the dungeon, someone who, by all rights, should no longer exist.”
Simon’s gaze shifted.
“It’s you, isn’t it? Petria.”
All eyes turned in shock to Petria. Clearly flustered, she frantically waved her hands.
“W-what? Wh-what are you saying all of a sudden…?!”
“Nenia Mizenashi confessed to everything.”
Simon said coldly.
During several hours of battle, Simon had subdued all the Mizenashi mages using the power of Chaos.
And Chaos had a special effect:
When hit properly, it disrupted rationality and induced hallucinations and madness.
—Tell me where the dungeon master is.
Simon had asked. But even under Chaos’ effect, none of them answered.
He was just about to rise, tongue clicking at the Mizenashi’s stubbornness, when—
—Run! You must run!
Nenia Mizenashi had reacted.
—Petria! No, Lady Petria! You must escape!
Petria was her granddaughter.
There was no reason for her to address her like that—unless…
More than anything, there had been that draconic monster in the ancient dungeon, one that had transformed into her late teacher.
If that’s the case—
“I’m human! There’s no way I’m that kind of monster!”
Petria shouted angrily.
“Besides, even though I’m a Mizenashi, I can’t even use ice magic! I’m just a failure who wasn’t taken in, this is nonsense…!”
“Petria?”
Lete squatted on the podium, smiling sweetly. Seeing her, Petria cried out desperately.
“Le-Lea! I mean, Saint Lete! You believe me, right?!”
“Mm-hmm.”
Lete smiled.
“After you prove it, with your death.”
Shreeeeeeeeeeeeek!
Even before she finished speaking, a holy arrow shot out from the side with a flash of light.
“Lete!”
Even Simon recoiled in alarm this time. The holy arrow pierced Petria’s body and launched her, blasting through the wall.
“That was too much!”
Simon protested, but Lete stood from her seat with a bored expression.
“How about you take a look at that before saying that?”
“What?”
Simon turned his head.
Petria stood, expression cold, gripping the holy arrow in her right hand. Her right arm was covered in ice-like scales.
“You said you couldn’t use magic?”
Lete stepped down from the podium, continuing.
“Oh, and that spell? It’s not strong, just fast—and it’s got a healing function as part of holy magic.”
“……”
Petria bit her lip hard.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters