Chapter 430
Swooooosh—
A beautiful sea with emerald-colored waves.
A gently warm day, slightly humid.
This was the true appearance of Coola.
And standing against the backdrop of Coola's sea were Simon and Israfil.
“Here it is.”
Clink.
What she handed over looked like a platinum-crafted bridle. Holiness shimmered softly over it.
“I heard the report from Lete.”
Israfil, as always, smiling with her eyes closed.
“The objectification of the divine beasts. And the chariot of light and lightning. I’ve prepared a holy artifact worthy of it.”
With a moved expression, Simon accepted the artifact.
It clinked like metal but wasn’t heavy. It had a soft, fibrous texture with a sticky resilience that didn’t feel like it could ever tear.
“I thought a lot about what kind of artifact to gift you. It will help you control the speed of the divine beasts.”
“Thank you so much, Lady Israfil!”
Simon bowed his head.
“You completed your mission safely, so I’m the one who’s grateful.”
“For me too, it was a meaningful time beyond the mission! I learned so much in the Holy Federation.”
“Hohoho! I’m glad.”
While the two exchanged pleasant conversation in a warm atmosphere, Lete, pushed to the sidelines, wore a somewhat sulky expression as she stared at the sea.
Then, suddenly standing up, she stomped hard on Simon’s foot.
“Lady Israfil, if it’s okay with— Aaaagh!”
A star pinged off from the top of Simon’s foot.
Lete, pretending not to notice, stretched her arms with a yawn.
“Lete!”
“What happened?”
Israfil gently covered her mouth with a graceful laugh.
“You two seem to have gotten closer while I wasn’t looking.”
Lete spun around, flaring up.
“Closer my ass! And Lady Israfil! I’ll never forget what you did with the lodging!”
“Oh my, what happened?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know!”
Israfil simply brushed it off with her usual innocent smile.
Then she promised Simon that the 10,000 gold reward would be sent to Leshill via a broker. Apparently, a currency exchange process was required.
“Well, let’s leave the rest of the cleanup to the priests.”
Israfil lightly tapped Simon’s shoulder.
“My nephew, make sure you return to the Dark Alliance tomorrow.”
Lete’s eyes widened.
“A-Already?!”
“Oh my~ Lete. Are you feeling regretful?”
“Stop saying weird stuff!”
Lete screamed.
“Sister Anna said she at least wanted to see Simon’s face for the New Year. New Year’s is meant to be spent quietly with family. And more importantly,”
Israfil turned to Lete.
“Lete must resume her duties as a Saint.”
Lete winced and stepped back.
“The first year after awakening is the most important time in a Saint's life.”
With a smiling face, Israfil began her nagging.
“Even though Lete is a rookie Saint, she’s already been away for half a month. The high-ranking figures in Efnelle are furious. From tomorrow evening, wear your Saint robe and attend the events. It’s important to let all the people know your name and face and start building influence.”
With a droopy face, Lete mumbled, “...Yesss.”
Simon gave her an encouraging smile.
“Hang in there, Saint.”
Instantly, a furious spinning kick flew toward his face.
* * *
“Goodbye! Saint! And Priest Shaun!”
“Thank you for saving our village!”
Bidding farewell to the now-familiar people of Coola, Simon stepped onto the teleportation magic circle.
Upon reaching the border, he said goodbye to Lete and Israfil and parted ways.
A little later, inside a secret warehouse near the border.
“...This again, huh.”
Simon gave a bitter smile as he prepared to climb into a wooden crate on the supply wagon.
“We’ll depart for the Dark Alliance in 10 minutes!”
Said the broker disguised as a merchant.
He was used to it by now. Or maybe he had just accepted his fate.
After a bit of vigorous stretching to warm up and prepare his back for the upcoming hardship—
Tap tap tap tap!
A suspicious figure in a black robe burst into the warehouse.
“Wh-Who’s there?!”
The broker spread his arms to block the person.
“This area is off limits to unauthorized—!”
But the person slipped ghostlike under the broker’s arm and rushed toward Simon.
“Who are—Mmph!”
Simon’s face was grabbed in an instant and shoved into the wooden crate.
“Move over, quick!”
As the robe fluttered with the wind, the face of a girl with white hair and golden eyes was revealed.
Simon’s mouth fell open.
“L-Lete?”
“Shhh! Shhh! Lady Israfil might hear us! Scoot over quickly!”
Before Simon could even move, Lete roughly forced her way into the crate.
‘Aaack!’
How can a Saint be so reckless?!
As she squeezed herself into the tight space, their whole bodies were pushed into full contact.
Simon froze like stone. Her blushing, panting face was right in front of his.
“Here’s your tip!”
Ting!
Oblivious to the situation, Lete flicked a coin toward the broker.
He caught it and made an impressed expression, “Ooooh!”
“I’ll close the lid now.”
Lete grabbed the lid of the crate.
“W-Wait a minute, Lete! What about your Saint lessons and upcoming schedule?”
“Who cares!”
Lete was completely unrelenting.
“At this point, I might as well go to the Dark Alliance too, and see Sister Anna’s face—!”
Sssshh—
A white line coiled around Lete’s waist and, with a scream, lifted her into the air.
“You mustn’t be stubborn like a child, Lete.”
Clack, clack.
Sharp high heel sounds rang clearly through the room.
The broker instantly dropped flat to the floor, and Simon rose up from the crate.
“Lady Israfil!”
Walking forward was Israfil, and floating in the air, Lete struggled in place.
“L-Let me go! Lady Israfil!”
“I knew it was suspicious how smoothly things were going. Didn’t I say no?”
Israfil sighed deeply and pressed her forehead.
“What should I do with this wild child?”
With a beet-red face, Lete shouted,
“I said let me go!”
Snap!
With a flick of Israfil’s finger, the string holding Lete vanished. Caught off guard, she failed to land properly and crashed to the ground.
“Lete.”
Israfil’s high heels echoed as she walked across the floor.
Lete, clutching her bruised butt, looked up and saw Israfil’s face—eyes open, black pupils showing.
“...!”
For Israfil to show her eyes meant she was seriously angry. Lete reflexively shrank back.
But—
“Don’t make a decision in the heat of the moment that you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”
Her voice was gentle, coaxing and soft.
“If you disappear without notice again, your position as Saint might truly be at risk.”
“I don’t need that stupid position—!”
“Without the power of a Saint—”
Israfil turned her gaze to Simon.
“Could Lete possibly defeat my nephew?”
“......”
Lete went silent.
With a gentle smile, Israfil closed her eyes again and turned to the broker.
“How long until departure?”
The broker bowed even deeper and shouted,
“Five minutes remaining!”
“Good.”
Israfil gestured for the broker to rise and continued speaking.
“Use this time to say your final goodbyes.”
Israfil and the broker walked out of the warehouse together. The broker cautiously spoke.
“I-I know it’s not my place to say anything, but… are you sure this is okay? She didn’t seem like she’s given up yet…”
“It’s alright.”
Israfil’s eyes curved into crescent moons.
“If she doesn’t understand after all that, then she’s not the Lete I know. She’s a smart girl.”
* * *
“Haaaah.”
After the door closed, Lete let out a deep sigh. Simon climbed out of the crate and followed her.
“I figured you’d get scolded.”
“...Shut up.”
Lete muttered, face flushed. Simon chuckled softly and crossed his arms.
“I’d like to be on your side, but just this once, I agree with Lady Israfil. This is the most important time in your Saint career. You shouldn’t be disappearing.”
“...I know that.”
Lete lifted her chin with a pout.
“Just knowing is good enough.”
An awkward silence passed between them.
Five minutes wasn’t long, but the words they wanted to say didn’t come easily.
“If a war ever breaks out between the Holy Federation and the Dark Alliance someday…”
Her eyes reflected Simon.
“We’ll have to fight each other, won’t we?”
“...Probably.”
Lete smirked.
“Then I’ll be the one to defeat you.”
“I won’t go easy either.”
The two looked at each other and quietly smiled.
“Well, putting that aside. Thank you for cooperating in this mission as a Saint representing the Federation.”
“Then next time, why don’t you come to the Dark Alliance?”
“Huh?”
Simon continued with a grin.
“Next time, I’ll be the one to make a request. Honestly, our Dark Alliance struggles a lot without priests.”
Healing, recovery, purification of undead—those were all fields where priests excelled.
And in cursed, toxic areas like the Deathlands, if they had priests, most problems would’ve been solved long ago.
Lete lowered her eyes at the suggestion.
“...The Dark Alliance.”
Back when she crossed the border carrying Anna’s medicine, it felt like walking straight into hell.
But now—
“I’ll think about it.”
Her thoughts had changed a little.
“Well then.”
“Yeah.”
Lete smiled sweetly.
“Take care, Simon.”
* * *
The severe cold had subsided, and Coola had regained its clear skies, but the peaks of the tall snowy mountains were still swept with natural blizzards.
And inside a cave in the snowy mountains—
The entrance of the now-vanished Karisa Dungeon was being investigated by the Holy Federation’s paladins and scholars.
“Who would’ve guessed there was a dungeon in a place like this.”
“Seriously.”
Paladins dispatched from the capital grumbled, wrapped in fur over their armor. One of them turned his head.
“Scholar. Did you find anything?”
“Yes.”
The scholar set down his magnifying glasses and replied.
“...We found a very interesting trace.”
“Interesting trace?”
“This dungeon’s barrier. Is it true it was created by the magicians of the Mizenashi family?”
“Yes.”
“But it’s impossible for them to have made this barrier with their own power.”
The paladin turned sharply.
“What do you mean?”
“Surprisingly, this barrier is a complex magic formation composed of both holiness and darkness. You need both attributes to dispel it.”
The paladins’ mouths fell open.
“Did you just say darkness? A darkness barrier in this northern mountain valley...!”
“I can hardly believe it myself, but it’s true.”
The paladin’s face turned pale with thought.
“We need to re-investigate the Mizenashi people who were taken to the capital. And contact the Saint of Stars to ask how the barrier was broken—”
The paladin who had been quietly listening turned his head.
“Captain, why did you stop talking mid-sentence?”
But—
The captain who had been speaking was gone.
“C-Captain?!”
Srrrrrk!
Srrrk!
The bodies of the paladins guarding the cave began to distort as though space itself twisted, and then vanished without a trace.
In the blink of an eye, all the paladins were erased from existence.
“Ah… ahhh!”
The terrified scholar collapsed to the ground.
All the paladins had disappeared, and someone was entering the cave.
A being in a robe.
No—more than wearing it, it looked like the robe completely engulfed their entire body, the ends dragging along the floor.
From the darkness beyond the robe, only two gleaming eyes shone.
[I made that barrier.]
Not human.
The scholar’s lips trembled from a horror he had never experienced in his life.
“Wh-Who are you!”
“Curious?”
Suddenly, a voice came from beside him. The scholar jumped and turned.
A woman with long, wild hair cascading down.
But her face was invisible—like a shadow clung to it.
“Not telling~”
Thud!
Crack!
Blood splattered.
The scholar’s neck and spine twisted in impossible directions before he collapsed to the floor.
“So what now, old man?”
She turned around.
“First the Blood Heaven Cult, now dungeon master Karisa. One by one, all the pawns you laid are getting smashed.”
Eyes gleamed from within the robe.
[…There are still many pieces left. But—]
Sssss…
A withered arm emerged from the black robe.
[Keyzen and Efnelle.]
From the palm, a dark blue glow shimmered and vanished.
[Looks like those two must be eliminated first.]
* * *
After promising that Lete would come over next time, Simon crossed the border.
They say humans are creatures of adaptation, and Simon now dozed off comfortably in the horribly bumpy supply wagon. He wasn’t just used to it, he actually found it relaxing now.
After crossing the border into the Neutral Zone, he teleported into the Dark Alliance’s territory, rode a wagon to Leshill and from there, ran through the mountains on foot, arriving home before sundown.
“Simon! Welcome home!”
“You did well, Simon! Your sister-in-law told me everything.”
Simon reunited with Anna and Richard with warm hugs.
Anna immediately reached for her apron.
“My son, you must be starving!”
“Ah, no! I had some snacks on the way…”
“I’ll make you something delicious, so wait just a bit.”
Of course, Simon had no right to refuse.
While Anna prepared the food, Simon went up to his room.
“…Ah.”
But then—
There were quite a few letters stacked on his desk.
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