Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: The Stirring Viper
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Clatter clatter.
A long procession of carriages stretched out along the unpaved road.
Escorted by knights clad in pristine white armor, the line advanced through the forest path.
With the Holy Kingdom's emblem fluttering, the carriages quietly traversed the woods.
Rustle.
From the carriage in the center of the procession, a girl wearing a veil of pure white softly recited from the scriptures.
"All the produce of this land is from the grace of heaven, thus thou shalt offer half of the fruits of thy lifelong labors to the Proxy Saint King."
Rustle.
The girl turned to another page marked with a bookmark.
The silk-like fine paper, framed in gold, flipped over without resistance.
"Love thy neighbor as thyself, and thou shalt give food and clothing to the stranger..."
The girl's head lifted slightly.
On the seat opposite the girl.
A woman in a nun's habit soiled with dirt sat with her scarred hands clasped and eyes closed.
Rustle.
She flipped to yet another page marked with a bookmark.
A page near the very end.
"O kings of all nations, fear and pray. The forbidden staff shall topple your thrones; ye foreigners, repent. Beneath heaven, the only shelter from the torrents is under my wings."
Rustle.
"On that day, the duplicitous beings with forked tongues and hearts of stone shall all burn in the flames of sulfur, their wails piercing the heavens."
Thud.
The girl closed the book.
The girl silently stroked the scriptures.
At that moment, the nun in the dirt-stained habit, who had been facing the girl, opened her eyes.
The nun's crystal-like shimmering purple irises met the veiled girl's golden ones.
"Sa... Saintess, have you finished reading?"
"...We're alone here, so you can call me sister."
The nun with purple irises slowly shook her head.
"How dare I."
"Rosalyn."
"I... I'm sorry, Saintess!"
The girl let out a deep sigh as she watched the trembling nun.
"Once we arrive in the Providence Kingdom, we won't even have time to talk. Is this how it's going to be?"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."
The purple-eyed nun suddenly convulsed.
The white of her right eye began to be stained black by ink.
"Rosalyn!"
The girl in pure white urgently rose and grabbed the nun's shoulders.
White mist rose from the pure white girl's body.
Her veil slipped off, and her neatly braided platinum hair floated lightly, defying gravity.
"Rosalyn. Calm down. It's not a command. You don't have to if it's hard."
The black ink that had been gradually staining her right iris stopped.
Soon, the ink was sucked back into the pupil, and the purple iris regained its light.
"So... sorry, sister."
"No. You're not at fault at all. Not at all."
"It's because of me."
"Don't say anything. Don't think anything."
The girl in pure white embraced the black-haired nun in the dirt-stained habit.
"It's okay. Everything will be okay now."
While inhaling the earthy scent from the crown of the black nun's head, the girl in pure white stroked the back of her head.
"The kingdom is near. Don't worry."
The girl in pure white stroked the black nun repeatedly.
Soon, the soft breathing of the black nun came from within her embrace.
Only then did the girl lay the nun back against the seat and lean back in her own chair.
Her pristine white priestly robes, adorned with gold thread and crystals, were soiled with dirt.
The girl in pure white looked down at her clothes with coldly sunken eyes, then
rub rub.
rubbed at the dirt with the stole bearing the Holy Kingdom's emblem.
Instead, the dirt smeared further, staining even the relatively clean stole.
Only then, satisfied, did she lean back in her chair and close her eyes.
"Everything's fine, so go back."
The girl spoke toward the shadowy figure reflected on the curtain over the carriage window.
The silhouette of the person on horseback beyond the curtain faded and vanished.
Gazing at the ceiling, the girl murmured with half-lidded golden eyes devoid of light.
"This place is a viper's nest."
Rumble rumble.
Listening to the vibrations of the shaking carriage on the rough forest path, the girl closed her eyes for a moment.
Several hours had passed since the girl closed her eyes.
Rumble- roll- creak.
The bone-rattling vibrations of the carriage suddenly smoothed out.
The girl instinctively realized they had reached the paved road.
"The kingdom... so the rumors were true."
It is said that the King of Providence dislikes extravagance and prefers to invest in growing the kingdom.
It is said that the kingdom's upper echelons are uniformly frugal, forcing other nobles to restrain their own luxuries out of consideration.
It is said that the kingdom's people genuinely revere nobles and priests.
And all this is possible because the kingdom's people read one religious text,
"The kingdom has the most noble guardian deity..."
It was then.
Commotion began outside the carriage.
- "It's a magical beast!"
- "Why a basilisk?!"
- "Holy Knights, to the front! Protect the Saintess with your lives!"
The Saintess showed no particular emotional fluctuation amid the uproar from the front of the procession.
She merely gently covered the ears of the black nun sitting opposite her and murmured quietly.
"It's not your fault. It's their karma."
With coldly sunken eyes, she stared only at the carriage wall from which the sounds emanated.
Kyaaah!
- Petrification! It's the petrifying demonic eye!
- Why a beast like this!
- It's definitely the witches' doing! Damn it!
- Is now the time to blame witches? First... Gahk!
Basilisk.
A magical beast called the king of snakes.
Wild animals also benefit from hierarchies.
A stray dog that eats a human might become a beast called a "stray,"
and a wild dog that devours a superhuman might turn into a bizarre yokai called a "field hound."
Naturally, benefiting from hierarchies, they are also affected by karma.
Having committed the taboo of cannibalism, they typically get caught by passing superhumans at around the 3rd hierarchy and pickled into elixirs.
At that point, the beast becomes a very tasty nutritional snack for the superhuman, unlike demons—since beasts aren't human, eating their hearts and brains doesn't accumulate karma.
In fact, it sometimes even counts as good karma.
However, one must be cautious with animals that speak human language.
Those that speak become spirits rather than beasts, and in such cases, they are usually treated like humans in terms of karma.
'That snake... must be a beast.'
Spirits don't attack humans to begin with.
They know well the risks of cannibalism.
'It must have coincidentally eaten a superhuman nearby... Right, there was a war.'
Typically, magical beasts rampage more in regions where wars have occurred.
There are plenty of trash lords or monarchs who start wars deliberately to exploit that.
No need to look far—the Holy Knights in this very procession incite holy wars partly for such purposes.
'In that sense, whose karma brought that snake here... I wonder.'
Is this heavenly punishment for the snake, or for the Holy Knights?
The girl in pure white could not know.
Despite the Holy Knights' screams, she simply kept the black nun's ears covered and remained still.
No, perhaps her expression had changed slightly.
A faint smile had bloomed on her face.
Meanwhile, the commotion grew louder.
- "Captain. Please help..."
- "Is it to the point where I need to step in?"
- "Then request aid from Lady Grace..."
- "Nonsense! Do you think my niece's power is your personal property?"
- "Captain! Save..."
Crunch.
The sound of ironclad armor crumpling beneath a massive, scale-covered body echoed.
The girl in pure white, Grace, gazed toward the source of the commotion with an unperturbed face.
Whatever happened, it was of no concern to her.
If the basilisk annihilated the Holy Knights, that would be karma's guidance.
If it then attacked her unsatisfied, that too would be karma's guidance.
The Holy Kingdom's recording priests would document it as such.
"Ha... karma."
The girl smirked bitterly.
If karma truly existed, who deserved to survive in such a situation?
Grace kept her hand over the sleeping black nun's ear and closed her eyes.
The aura emanating from the basilisk was 4th hierarchy.
No need to lift a finger for something like that.
It didn't matter if more Holy Knights died, or if her clothes and carriage got dirtier,
but if there existed dharma—good karma—as the opposite of karma (evil deeds),
shouldn't the black nun before her eyes be spared harm?
[Hea...]
But before she could part her lips, a chill swept through from outside the carriage.
Immediately, an ominous aura was felt.
'5th hierarchy... one, two, three... six?'
What? Lords?
Why would lords...?
But Grace soon realized her mistake.
- "Yormungand Knight Order Company Commander, Remesis here. Yes, well. Not the time for such talk... Welcome to the kingdom."
The one with the strongest aura among the six 5th hierarchy spoke.
'High-rank knight?'
In this kingdom, even lords only reach high-rank knight?
But before Grace could continue her thoughts, the outside grew commotion for a different reason.
"The knights of Providence Kingdom are truly prudent. Have our welcoming preparations delayed your reception so long?"
= What the hell took you so damn long to come greet us?
It was the voice of the Dominions-class Holy Knight responsible for this procession's escort.
Having multiple 5th hierarchy knights, including the company commander, was surprising, but the Holy Knight escorting this procession was 6th hierarchy.
A rank that couldn't topple a nation but could aim for count to marquess.
Ideal personnel for escorting an envoy to a foreign nation.
Though whether ideal in personality was debatable.
"You seem to have trouble walking. We have spare horses; would you like one?"
Horses clearly recognize their masters.
Especially trained warhorses.
And the horse the escort captain pointed to were those orphaned by the basilisk.
In other words, that line meant,
'How about you ride the horse of the guy who died because you were late? Then I'll forgive you.'
More or less.
Grace murmured coldly.
"As expected, nothing but vipers here."
At that moment, the black nun who had been leaning against Grace's warmth opened her purple eyes.
"Mmnya... Si... ster...?"
Grace welcomed Rosalyn with a gentle expression as if nothing had happened.
"Yes. Yes. Sister's right here."
"Hic! So... sorry! Saintess!"
"You can call me sister..."
Grace removed her hand from Rosalyn's ear.
"Did I wake you?"
"No. But why the hand over my ear... Huh? Oh... your clothes!"
"Don't worry about it."
Grace sprinkled white holy power over her clothes to calm the black nun.
The Saintess's dirtied garments regained their pure white.
"Better now?"
"...Thank you for your consideration, Saintess."
"It's only natural as a sister."
"But what's the commotion outside?"
At black nun Rosalyn's question, Grace finally noticed the renewed uproar outside.
- "I've told you time and again not to use that beggar inch-pound system when reading maps. We're not fruit pickers fleeing; if you don't follow the pre-agreed route, who the hell is going to chase you?
And catering to your whims isn't in my paycheck."
- "Ha! Is this the face of the kingdom they sent? Now I see the kingdom's level."
- "Spit on my face and grin? That's not manners, that's being a pushover. The kingdom doesn't run like that, so if you want to find idiots who take that crap and smile, go visit a brothel."
At the words of the company commander called Remesis, the Saintess involuntarily burst out laughing.
Not just because she liked his words, but because she admired the system that allowed such bluntness.
It meant the kingdom's upper echelons took full responsibility.
Grace spoke to Rosalyn, who had peeked at the curtain with a pale face.
"Looks like the kingdom's honor guard and our escorts are bonding."
"Sa-sa... Saintess? That doesn't look like bonding at all?"
"People originally bond through fights."
As the representative Saintess of this delegation, she should apologize.
But Grace felt no such need.
Why should I?
Why bother saving the Holy Kingdom's face?
As she thought that, the Holy Knight captain yelled with veins bulging in his neck.
"You filthy undead bastard!!"
In that instant, a chill descended upon the space.
The Saintess recalled the preliminary report that the kingdom treats Aians, demons, and even returnees equally.
Even enshrined in their constitution, rivaling royal authority—one of the kingdom's core national ideologies.
The Holy Knight had outright denied it as a delegate.
"Oh dear. This might lead to a duel to the death."
Grace, who had been watching like it was a fire across the river, prepared to step out of the carriage.
However, before she could open the door, the Holy Knight captain suddenly clutched his throat.
"Guhk... Khk..."
"It's a curse! There's a sorcerer!"
The Holy Knights drew their weapons and glared at Remesis.
But Remesis's reaction was odd.
"Your Excellency?"
He withdrew the chill dominating the space and murmured into the air.
"How could Your Excellency... Yes. Yes. As you command, Your Excellency."
Remesis then nodded to another knight behind him.
When that knight presented a crystal orb, a helmet with glowing red eyes appeared within.
The entity inside the orb spoke.
Duke inside the crystal orb slightly crooked his thumb.
With that alone, the Holy Knight captain's carotid artery position caved in.
"Guhk... Khk..."
"Chil-eon, ttil-eo-iss-seub-ni-da. (It was a slip of the tongue.)"
Only after the captain squeezed out the words with all his might did the pressure on his throat release.
As the blocked blood rushed back, the captain's ashen face ripened like a tomato.
Duke addressed the captain, who was bent over, coughing repeatedly and gasping for air.
Having said his piece, Duke cut the communication.
The Holy Knights looked at the crystal orb and the honor guard with fearful eyes, then sheathed their weapons and obediently followed the guidance.
Thus, the stare-down between the honor guard and the delegation ended in the honor guard's overwhelming victory.
"Tch..."
The knight captain, his pride crushed, occasionally vented dissatisfaction on the edge of acceptability.
In that uncomfortable procession,
Grace set the scripture book beside her seat and opened a new one.
The martial arts manual series distributed to all citizens of Providence Kingdom.
Though uninterested in martial arts, she had read all the insights at the front.
Insights thickly infused with one knight's exploits.
"Is that man the one called the guardian deity?"
A faint smile spread across Grace's lips.
*
Meanwhile, still within Kraidel territory.
Duke, who had maintained a 200-win streak against Jane in various games so far.
'Hm. The vision-sharing function is this good.'
Telekinesis relies heavily on imagery, so the target's precise position and appearance must be visualized in the mind.
In the past, he had needed the crystal orb to confirm before using telekinesis for that reason.
Then, while playing chess with Jane, seeing her promote a pawn to a knight sparked an idea.
'If the pawns become my communication magic tools.'
So he tested vision-sharing with Remesis, and lo and behold.
It worked just as well as with the crystal orb.
Well, for face-to-face interviews with victims, he'd still need to turn on the orb.
Fortunately, as luck would have it, the test subject provided the perfect pretext.
Thud.
"Checkmate."
"Gyaack! You bad human! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!"
"What do you mean?"
"Does six knights look normal? Does it?!"
"There are no absolutes on the battlefield, Jane."
"Kyaaack!!"
Duke averted his gaze from Jane messing up her hair in rage and contemplated future matters.
'First, I need to meet the Saintess.'
He needed to gauge in advance what that masochist of destruction might do.