The Warmest Light
“An unknown event has occurred! A hostile will is trying to interfere with the timeline. Time-stop will be lifted shortly!”
“Huh? What’s going on now? Is the pose just going to break on its own?”
On top of that, the way the paused world resumed was completely different from before.
“B-because before, the world brightened gradually, didn’t it?!”
The gray that had put the world to sleep began to crack apart in pieces.
While Ho-yeong’s face turned pale at the unprecedented situation, color seeped back into the world.
“Count of the Border Region? Your face has gone white all of a sudden. Are you all right?”
“Why did you stop speaking halfway through that moving speech?”
Those who had no idea about time-stop muttered among themselves.
Two minutes remain until the reward is decided.
Shit. I still haven’t finished sorting out my thoughts!
But whether he was ready or not, the clock kept ticking, and Ho-yeong felt that cruelly.
“L-look over there. Something’s in the sky!”
“Where did that suddenly come from?”
Even the mythic-grade items hanging in the air were enough to make people gape. And they were still wrapped in that dazzling radiance effect, too.
“What on earth is that light?!”
“Count of the Border Region, what in the world is going on?”
The uproar only grew louder.
Fine. If it’s come to this, I’ve got no choice.
Ho-yeong decided to force his way through it head-on.
“Everyone, calm down! I’ll explain, so listen closely for a moment. Those things floating in the sky are the venerable relics Haria’s Tear and Salia’s Well. They’re not fakes. They’re the real thing.”
Instead of calming down, everyone only grew more excited.
“Haria’s Tear?! The relic no one could ever find? Why is it here now? So the legend was true!”
“We all trust the Count of the Border Region, but that’s still a story that’s hard to believe….”
“I-I can clearly feel the power of the archangel. To think such vast divine power is contained in that tiny earring….”
The holy knights were stunned by Haria’s Tear.
“Salia’s Well?! There was still a well left?”
“Is that the very well known as the Spring of Wisdom? Good heavens.”
The mages showed intense interest in Salia’s Well.
One minute and forty seconds remain until the reward is decided.
“Will you all calm down already? I know it’s sudden. I’m surprised too. But we don’t have time for this right now. I have to choose one of these two, quickly. So no more whispering and muttering for the moment.”
The excited crowd ignored him.
“Choose? You mean the Count of the Border Region is going to receive those relics?!”
“Wait, how does the Count of the Border Region know about Haria’s Tear when he’s neither a holy knight nor a priest? It’s not in the scriptures, nor in any history book.”
“I’m curious too, Lord Tamer. I can accept that you know of Salia’s Well. You are quite knowledgeable in magic. But how could you, a non-mage, determine that those relics are genuine?”
One minute and twenty seconds remain until the reward is decided.
“...Ah, this is noisy. Let me speak. Be quiet, will you? Conversion! Conversion! Conversion!”
Unable to hold out any longer, Ho-yeong used Area Conversion and forced the atmosphere to settle.
“I’ll explain simply. These relics were gifts from the archangels to me. They’re power granted so we can stand against those fanatic bastards of the Cliad Sect, who aim to wipe out every race in this land. Judging by how enthusiastically everyone’s reacting, I probably don’t need to explain what these relics do. Still, I can’t receive both. I have to choose one.”
He was speaking fast because he barely had time to choose an item, let alone explain it.
One minute remains until the reward is decided.
“If I choose one, the other will disappear. Whether I can get it again, and if I can, when or how, I don’t know. No more questions! I’d love to hear everyone’s opinion, but we don’t have that kind of time. So give me exactly fifty seconds to think, no, forty-five seconds. Time sure feels like it’s flying.”
Ho-yeong poured the words out like a rap verse, then steadied his breathing and closed his eyes.
Across the peaceful plain, only threads of light raced about noisily and restlessly.
The brightest of them was sunlight; the clearest, water light.
As three streams of light poured down, Ho-yeong made his choice.
“I’ve decided.”
The warmest light.
Which of the two items will you take?
“I’ll take Haria’s Tear.”
The light spilling from Salia’s Well gradually turned pale, then vanished altogether.
You have acquired the mythic-grade item Haria’s Tear. Congratulations!
The relic slowly descended from the reliquary. It was a single earring, not a pair.
A single earring means... it symbolizes Haria’s one and only wing.
When he slipped the earring into his left ear, the light spilling from the reliquary gathered toward Ho-yeong. The condensed mass of light wrapped around the left half of his body, then unfurled into the shape of wings.
“A wing of light... then this really is a blessing bestowed by the archangel!”
The holy knights stared with awe. Ho-yeong turned and looked behind him, but he could not see the wings on his back.
“I can’t see them. Did they disappear that quickly?”
“No. We all clearly saw them. Those wings of light….”
Even Demis Ezef’s usually unchanging expression was full of surprise. For Ho-yeong, the fact that Demis had been shocked was somehow even more surprising.
“A wing with only one side, and a left wing at that. The power of the archangel is unmistakable.”
“Left wing? I’m not really interested in politics….”
“I mean it literally. The left wing. So too was the wing that remained with the archangel.”
Starting with the vice-commander, every holy knight dropped to both knees.
“A relic that only a human may touch, and even then only the noble few who follow the archangel’s will may wear. You truly are Haria’s….”
“No, no, get up. It’s not what you think. Seriously, it’s not. Up. I’m just an ordinary person.”
Not wanting to cosplay as a saint, Ho-yeong panicked and waved both hands wildly.
“I’m only keeping this relic for now. Once I’ve finished what I need to do, I’ll return it to the church, so understand that much.”
Important quest alert! You must proceed with Meeting the Cliad Sect Leader. Time remaining: 10 hours 20 minutes.
“Duty. Right. We have duty. We need to crush the fanatics and rescue the people they dragged off! We’ve got about ten hours left... we can’t take it easy, but we can’t rush blindly either. Can everyone follow my lead?”
“We will!”
The thunderous roar shook the green blades of the prairie.
Influence has risen dramatically! Soldiers, nobles, and civilians alike all hold deep trust in the Guardian.
New title acquired! The Guardian will now also be known as Heir to Haria’s Will, following One Who Received Haria’s Revelation. RP +200 has been awarded.
Thanks to obtaining Haria’s Tear, the morale of the allied forces had shot up like a spear.
Your excellent speech and ceremony have calmed your allies’ anxieties and lifted their morale. If you fully restore your allies’ condition before planning the operation, it will be even better.
“The first thing we need to do right now is!”
After dragging it out for a beat, the order the Count of the Border Region gave was:
“Let’s eat first.”
Nothing less than a meal.
“Eat...?”
“Yes. Why are you all so surprised? If we’re going to fight, we need strength. To get strength, we need to eat.”
“Well, yes, of course, but….”
“And thinking uses energy too, doesn’t it? If you understand, then hurry up and get ready!”
* * *
The holy knights took out their field rations, but Ho-yeong waved them off.
The biscuits they had brought were mixed with fruit, cheese, and meat, but they were brutally hard.
“Wow, this hardtack is incredible. It feels even harder than dandanum. If you swung this at something, you could probably crack a giant troll’s skull open. I suppose that makes it combat rations.”
The thing boasted a hardness and density that even Berneval Luntin would have trouble cracking.
“How exactly do holy knights eat this sort of thing? Do you wrap your teeth in aura? Even for holy knights who don’t shy away from asceticism, I didn’t expect meals to be this painful….”
He’d have to brace himself hard to get through this hardtack.
“If you boil it in milk, it becomes edible. It may not look like much, but it’s nutritious and restores vigor.”
“Well... I suppose it wouldn’t taste bad if prepared that way. Either way, let’s use combat rations for combat and cook a proper meal.”
Peach and the soldiers brought unusual ingredients from the Tamer estate’s wagons.
“Is that... what kind of meat is this?”
The holy knights were startled by the enormous slab of meat.
“Foghog meat. Apparently it’s great for stamina recovery and muscle growth. Now then, please rest for a bit. I’m off to cook.”
“Pardon? You mean the Count of the Border Region is going to cook personally?”
They did not seem especially fond of the Foghog meat.
“Using monster meat instead of proper provisions... isn’t that the very definition of ascetic hardship?”
“Knights, you should try the Count of the Border Region’s cooking before you dismiss it. People can’t get enough of it.”
“Exactly. I still can’t forget how that mandragorazberry meat tasted the last time… man. That was the real masterpiece. Dishes made from mandragorani feet. Wasn’t that what they called it? Jokbal.”
The checkpoint guards who had once tasted mandragorani steak and bulgogi were now spreading influence conversion.
“Mandragorani feet? You’re saying you ate meat even goblins would only touch at the edge of starvation? Are you mocking your superior while taking the king’s coin?”
“Lord Moxley, enough. A few jokes traded among soldiers so they can loosen up hardly warrant that kind of reaction, do they?”
“Hm, Lord Berkan speaks rightly, but….”
“The guards really went too far with their boasting. If you’re going to fool someone, at least make it plausible. Telling a lie that even a half-witted child wouldn’t believe... heh.”
The stiff-necked holy knights did not fall for it easily.
“Boasting? It’s the truth. Who in the world lies in front of clergy, and holy knights at that? If you don’t believe us, then check for yourselves.”
“You there! If you’re saying it that boldly, then it can’t be brushed off as a joke... no?!”
They were shocked when they saw the winged cross hanging at his neck rise sharply. It was the mark of truth.
“It’s a shame the giant troll’s corpse is gone... but for now, that’s actually for the best.”
“Best, sir? I don’t quite understand.”
The cook Jesang, who was helping prepare the meal beside Ho-yeong, tilted his head.
“What are we doing here right now?”
“Making sure everyone eats, sir.”
A field kitchen had been set up in the open plain. The inn’s kitchen and dining hall were far too small for a group this large, and there was no large restaurant nearby. It was the only choice.
“Right. So think about it. What if the giant troll’s corpse were sitting right there in front of us?”
The other troll corpses were still lying about, but it wasn’t a serious problem. The kitchen had been set up where the bodies wouldn’t be in plain sight. But the giant troll’s massive carcass would have been impossible to ignore.
“...Just thinking about it makes me want to puke, sir. The smell of blood was insane too.”
“Right? We cooks might be able to force ourselves through it, but what about the people eating while looking at that massive corpse?”
Their appetites would probably vanish completely.
“Anyway, since that risk is gone, let’s get cooking quickly. First, meals for the holy knights and the mages. I’m making foghog stew, and that’ll take time, so let’s serve cream soup as an appetizer first. Peach, I’ll need you to handle dessert. That mandragorazberry pie you made yesterday was really good.”
“Yes, sir! Starting the prep now.”
“Yes, Master!”
No matter how delicious monster cooking might be, people who had never tried it before would still feel a mental resistance. So Ho-yeong decided to serve the holy knights dishes they would find familiar as much as possible.
We’re already using unfamiliar ingredients. If I served it as Korean food, they’d think it was even weirder.
Ho-yeong stoked the wood fire in the furnace and worked the bellows hard.
Was the archangel moved by his consideration for the people who would eat the food first?
Haria’s Tear is being charged at a high rate. Current charge: 75%
The earring gleamed with the sweat trickling down his cheek.
“He really is amazing….”
Even while kneading flour with cold water, Peach did not feel her hands go numb. Watching her lord bend his tall frame like a goblin to light the fire made it seem as though that warmth reached her too.
“Master, I’ll follow you no matter what. I’ll swear it to you, Archangel Haria.”
The lord felt her intense gaze. He flinched and turned around, then recognized that it was Peach and smirked.
“Peach, your hands’ll get cold. You can knead the dough with warm water instead. Or should I ask the holy knights to put a shield on your hands?”
More than the sunlight brushing her rosy cheeks, more than the light pouring down from the reliquary,
“I’m fine! I’m not cold at all.”
the glance they exchanged felt warmer than anything else in the world.