Chapter 545: Burning(1)
Chapter 545: Burning(1)
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After receiving the oath from Kate, I went straight to find Elena and her group.
Once I caught up with them, I gave them a general rundown of what had happened—from the vengeful spirits haunting the palace to King Morgan, who remained bound there as an earthbound spirit.
I didn't mention that King Morgan was my ancestor or the truth about the gods. I didn't see any particular need to bring it up.
Elena and her group had a fascinating reaction to the news that the spirit of King Morgan, the last king of Gerios, still lingered.
It was a mix of surprise and understanding. Naturally, they were surprised by King Morgan’s existence, but they also found it made sense.
When I asked why, Elena and Cindy explained that they had encountered various vengeful spirits during their past adventures across the world.
They told me stories of how they had gained clues by resolving the grudges of those spirits, and how they had occasionally been stabbed in the back by them as well.
"There might be other spirits besides King Morgan. Not just in the palace, but in the areas we've already passed through. We’ll have to conduct a thorough search."
"Do we have to resolve their grudges?"
"It’s best to. Otherwise, it makes things difficult for the gods. Souls are supposed to be reborn into new lives under their care."
In other words, the cycle of reincarnation could be disrupted.
Elena further explained that when it came to vengeful spirits, it was better to have a follower of Mora handle it rather than one of Luminous.
The Mora Sect was responsible for 'rest'—specifically, funerals. Unlike the Church of Light, the Mora Sect specialized in funeral rites and exorcism.
"Anyway, you want us to contact you before the expedition enters the royal tombs, right?"
"Yes. I need to go in once before then. It might be dangerous if people just barge in now."
"Understood. I'll send word through Ms. Siris. Are you heading back immediately?"
"I need to get back to serializing Blood and Iron as soon as possible."
According to the schedule, it would take at least half a year for the expedition to reach the capital.
As I’d mentioned before, the territory of the Gerios Kingdom was vast, and the cultures of the occupied regions varied wildly.
Furthermore, with various dangers like monsters lurking about, the excavation work was proceeding slowly.
My plan was to finish Blood and Iron by then and use a small window of time to sneak into the royal tombs.
If I run out of time, I’ll just have to write in that room again.
I still had the Room of Spirit and Time. I’d had a rough time there due to that absurd ascetic training, but that shouldn't be an issue anymore.
I had managed to write up to the part just before the German-Soviet War during my month-long stay there.
If I went back in, I could probably write all the way to the Battle of Stalingrad.
"Then I’ll be taking my leave. Professor, Cindy, you’ll be continuing the exploration, right?"
"Most likely. I’d love to head into the palace right now, but based on what you said, I should hold off for a while. Dealing with a cranky spirit is a nightmare."
"He is a bit eccentric."
His personality was one thing, but his mere existence was more terrifying. He had spoken to Luminous as if they were old friends.
That alone was enough to give me a rough idea of what kind of being King Morgan truly was.
"Please contact me if any trouble arises."
"Will do. You take care as well. The demon worshippers have been quiet lately, but stay on your guard."
"Thank you."
After saying my final goodbyes, I headed back to the rest area to teleport.
When I arrived, I saw Kate waiting for me, deep in conversation with Cardinal Deimos.
"Ah, you’ve arrived, Sir Xenon. Are you ready to return?"
"Yes, I am."
"Understood. However..."
Cardinal Deimos trailed off, staring at me intently. I looked back at him in silence.
It was hard to read his expression because of his thick, bushy eyebrows. However, I could guess what was on his mind.
There was a high probability that he knew at least some of the truth. After all, I had entered the palace, met King Morgan, and even visited the royal tombs.
"...No, it is nothing. This, too, must be the will of Lord Luminous. May the blessing of Luminous be upon you."
After hesitating for a moment, Deimos spoke in a voice tinged with complexity.
He added the blessing as an afterthought, tracing the sign of the cross—the signature gesture of the Church of Light.
Deimos was likely the one with the most on his mind right now.
"Thank you. I pray that the blessing of Luminous is with you as well, Cardinal."
"Yes. Now, Cardinal Kate? I leave Sir Xenon in your hands."
"Understood. May the light of Luminous be with you."
After exchanging the formal greetings of the Order one last time, we returned immediately.
Our destination was the Minerva Empire—specifically, the teleportation facility installed within the Imperial Palace.
Since the Imperial staff were already on standby, I made it back to Halo Academy without any issues.
"Oh, by the way, Sir Isaac."
"Yes?"
Kate called out to me just as we were arriving at the dormitory, as if she had just remembered something.
"Pardon me, but if you have time later, could you call for Cherry?"
"Cherry...?"
"Yes."
I couldn't help but look puzzled at her request. I had no idea why she wanted to see her.
Kate and Cherry had only met once before, and that was when they first introduced themselves.
They were a combination as volatile as nuclear fusion, but there was no obvious reason for Kate to seek her out.
Still, it was a request, so I should fulfill it. I nodded and readily agreed.
"I don't mind calling her. When should I do it?"
"Anytime is fine. However, I must return to my home country next week."
"Then I'll call her today. It happens to be the weekend."
"Thank you."
I didn't know what they were going to talk about, but I figured they’d handle it. I smiled and pushed open the door to my quarters.
I hadn't even been in the Grey Desert for a full day, yet it felt like I was returning after a long absence.
Click—
"I'm back."
"Daddy!"
As soon as I stepped inside, someone came sprinting toward me with a vigorous shout.
It was a young girl with long red hair fluttering wildly behind her. As expected, it was Ariel.
Oof!
I lightly caught her as she leaped into my arms. Seeing as I didn't feel any impact, it seemed she had finally mastered her strength control.
I then came face-to-face with Ariel, whose chubby cheeks were her most charming feature. Just looking at her brought a warm smile to my face.
"My little Ariel. Were you waiting for Daddy?"
"Uh-huh! I missed you, Daddy!"
"I haven't even been gone for a day."
"I miss you every single day!"
How does she always say the sweetest things? This must be the joy of raising a daughter.
Feeling my heart melt, I walked further into the dormitory.
Inside, I saw Kate’s successor, Lora, standing there blankly. Beside her, Adelia greeted me with a bright face.
"You're back sooner than I expected. I thought it would take a few days."
"There wasn't anything that required a long stay. Where are Marie and the others?"
"They stepped out for a bit. I don't think anyone expected you to be back this early."
Well, that made sense. I had gone because Luminous himself told me to.
Of course, I wasn't disappointed or anything. I was perfectly happy to play with Ariel until the others returned.
Still holding Ariel, I sat down on the sofa. Adelia sat down gracefully beside me.
Meanwhile, Kate approached Lora and began chatting with her. Watching them, I opened the conversation.
"I'm sure everything was fine, but did anything happen?"
"Of course not. Ariel and Lora have become friends, too. What about you? Did anything happen?"
"A few things. I'll explain later."
It might actually be a bigger deal than my reincarnation confession. It would be better to explain it to everyone at once rather than one by one.
"Sir Isaac."
Kate, who had been talking to Lora, called out to me.
I stopped kneading Ariel’s soft, dough-like cheeks and turned my gaze toward her.
"May I go see Cherry now?"
"Right now?"
"Yes."
"Didn't you just ask me to call her?"
"I did, but I think it would be better if I went to her directly."
I didn't mind that. The problem was whether she knew where Cherry was.
"That's fine, but do you know where she is?"
"Couldn't I just ask the President?"
"..."
Ah, right. This woman was a Cardinal and a Grand Inquisitor. In terms of rank, she was equivalent to a Marquis or a Duke.
Furthermore, Kate held the highest position in the Holy Nation of Savior after the Pope. Not that she cared much for it herself.
Her status aside, she was my primary link to the Church. For the President, if she gave an order, he had to follow it.
The President won't go around blabbing about it, either.
If people saw Kate and Cherry meeting, they might get suspicious. But if they met secretly like this, there would be no problem.
Even if someone saw them and spread rumors, I didn't care. I had already planned to meet Cherry once a week anyway.
No matter how oblivious someone was, if they saw Cherry frequenting my dormitory, they could probably guess the nature of our relationship.
"Understood. Are you going with Lora?"
"Yes. I want to introduce Lora to Cherry as well."
It seemed Kate had a fairly deep fondness for Cherry.
In fact, they had shown a level of harmony bordering on nuclear fusion since their first meeting. It was a bit dangerous, actually.
Soon, Kate took Lora and left the dormitory, leaving just me, Ariel, and Adelia.
"Shall I bake some cookies if you're hungry?"
"I'd love that."
I was just starting to feel a bit peckish. I hadn't put a single thing in my mouth while I was in the Grey Desert.
I figured I’d spend some time coordinating my future schedule and waiting for the others.
Once I double-checked the 'ring' safely stored in my desk drawer, my daily routine would be complete.
"Me too! I want to bake too!"
Ariel, still in my arms, raised her hand and made a cute request.
Her wide, golden eyes were so incredibly lovely.
"Is Ariel going to help Mommy?"
"Uh-huh! I want to see the squishy stuff turn hard!"
"The squishy stuff turning har—"
Adelia glanced at me for a split second, as if she’d had a dirty thought, before shaking her head vigorously.
Ariel could read minds; if Adelia thought of something weird, it would be a disaster.
Fortunately, it seemed Adelia’s thoughts hadn't gone that far. Ariel didn't say anything, which confirmed it.
"Okay. Then let's make cookies with Mommy. Got it?"
"Yay!"
"Then I'll wait at my desk."
While the mother and daughter were happily making cookies, I went to take care of my business.
The first thing I had to check was, of course, the ring hidden deep in the drawer.
If nothing else, I made sure no one touched my desk. It was my strictly personal space.
Slide—
Thank goodness no one touched it.
I let out a sigh of relief upon finding the ring still tucked away in the drawer.
It had only been a day, but I had been worried someone might look through it. It seemed my fears were groundless.
It wasn't that I didn't trust the women; it was just that this was a truly important secret.
This was an event that would happen only once in my life... well, no, it was an event that would happen only once in Marie's life.
How should I plan the date? Should I have asked Marie what kind of proposal she wanted? Dammit. I'm starting to regret this.
After pushing the drawer back in, a wave of regret washed over me.
Because I was involved with so many women, it was difficult to focus solely on Marie.
The only silver lining was that Marie wasn't expecting a proposal. This was partly because we had been dating so openly.
Usually, nobles had to deal with political marriages, making it hard to date publicly. Even if they did, they had to endure countless stares.
In this era, the concept of a 'fiancée' was much stronger than that of a 'girlfriend.' In other words, dating was synonymous with marriage.
The confessions Marie and I had made to each other just before we started dating were, in fact, no different from a proposal.
At the time, my common sense from my previous life was so deeply rooted that I hadn't thought that far ahead.
Of course, that didn't mean I had entered the relationship expecting it to end. My feelings for Marie had always been sincere.
There is a proposal culture here, but...
But this damn proposal was messing with my head. I knew Marie would happily accept, but I was worried she might be taken aback.
Even though marriage was already a settled matter, the influence of my previous life remained too strong.
I felt that, at the very least, I had to do a proper proposal.
"Daddy. Daddy."
"Hmm?"
While I was brooding over the greatest dilemma of my life, Ariel’s voice reached my ears.
I looked up to see a warm, fragrant cookie being thrust right in front of my face.
"Try this. Ariel made it."
Ariel was handing me a freshly baked cookie. Strangely, it had only a single chocolate chip embedded in it.
I blinked, looking back and forth between the cookie and Ariel, before letting out a chuckle.
My heart warmed, making my previous worries seem trivial.
"Ariel made this?"
"Uh-huh!"
"Thank you. Daddy will enjoy it."
I couldn't refuse a cookie my daughter had personally made for me. I picked up the cookie with a gentle smile.
Usually, I’d prefer a cookie loaded with chocolate chips, but the one Ariel made had only one.
Moreover, it was stuck right in the center of the cookie, making it look a bit funny. Even the chocolate chip itself was perfectly round.
Nom.
Without a hint of suspicion, I popped the cookie into my mouth and started chewing.
The savory aroma of the cookie and the sweet taste of the chocolate chip...
Crack!
"Hmm?"
...Wait, something was wrong. The savory scent was there, but when I bit into the chocolate chip, I heard something shatter.
A normal chocolate chip wouldn't break like that. The taste was strange, too.
A cool, refreshing sensation spread through my mouth—and not just down my throat, but through my entire body.
I felt a sense of unease. A massive one.
I stopped chewing and looked at Ariel. She was beaming at me, looking incredibly pleased with herself.
"...Ariel?"
"Yeah. Is it yummy?"
"It is, but... what did you put in the cookie?"
Please don't let it be what I think it is. I had hidden it deep in my desk drawer because I was afraid of losing it in the Grey Desert.
Unaware of my growing dread, Ariel answered brightly with a huge grin.
"A chocolate ball!"
"...What chocolate ball?"
"The chocolate ball that was on Daddy's desk! It smelled so good, so I wanted to give it to Daddy!"
Upon hearing that, I scrambled to search my desk drawer. Cold sweat poured down my face as a sense of impending doom washed over me.
And as the saying goes, your worst fears always come true. My prediction was spot on.
It was gone. The 'Divinity' of Mora, which I had hidden even deeper than the ring to make sure no one accidentally ate it.
Come to think of it, Ariel was an angel. A representative of God and a transcendent being who had once even rebelled.
To such a being, nothing would be more fragrant or sweet than 'Divinity' shed from a god.
I truly felt like crying. A wave of profound disillusionment hit me, making my body go limp.
Regardless, Ariel was just smiling brightly, thinking only of the fact that she had given me a 'delicious cookie.'
She was a truly filial daughter.
"...My Ariel is so kind. Knowing how to share something delicious with Daddy."
"Really? Hehe."
A daughter of fire, indeed.
And what happened next?
"Cough! Hack! Ugh..."
"Daddy. Are you okay?"
"No, I'm not..."
I was bedridden for two weeks.
I thought I was going to die.