86
Chapter 86
Rubia has been acting strange.
Well, it was always normal for her to act weird.
But lately, it had gotten much worse.
I sat on the edge of my bed and recalled what had happened a few hours ago.
-Y-you know what? I've actually respected the God of Light for a long time.......
It was a day after the incident related to Sian broke out.
Rubia suddenly came to me acting all fidgety and said that.
Without any context, she started an abrupt religious talk, appealing to me about her faith in the God of Light.
I was flustered, wondering why she was acting like that....
Wondering if she misunderstood and thought I had some kind of connection to the God of Light because of my wings, I said.
-I think you're misunderstanding something. I have no relation to the God of Light.
I'm neither the Apostle of the God of Light nor the God of Light himself. I'm a complete stranger to that guy.
-Of course, Rubia is free to believe whatever she wants.
I thought that maybe I was overthinking things, and Rubia had simply come to talk about religion.
As a modern person, I made sure not to forget to respect her freedom of religion.
But as soon as she heard my words, Rubia,
-I, I'm sorryyyy.... I actually don't believe in the God of Light! I just said it in case! You're the only one I believe in.......
Made such a burdensome declaration and burst into tears.
Wondering why she was like that, I stood up to check on her condition, but Rubia freaked out, grabbed my ankle, and sobbed sorrowfully, begging me not to leave.
It seemed she misunderstood and thought I was going somewhere and leaving her behind.
-I, I was all wrong. Please don't abandon meeee....
It was a situation where a fully grown Noonim threw herself to the floor, begging me like that.
Flustered, I had no choice but to somehow reassure Rubia.
What kind of nonsense is that.
I have absolutely no intention of abandoning you.
I rambled on with whatever words came to mind.
I was so flustered that I think I overreacted, saying things like you are the most precious person to me.
Given the situation, it couldn't be helped.
After somehow calming Rubia down like that, I sent her back to her room, which brings us to the current situation.
Even at this very moment sitting on the bed, recalling what just happened naturally makes my head spin.
Rubia is making a fuss.
This is something that happens all the time, but no matter how you look at it, hasn't this gone way too far?
'It seems like she's been pushing herself too hard lately.'
Such worries naturally come to mind.
Of course, since I'm not an Entrepreneur myself, it's impossible for me to fully understand the hardships an Entrepreneur goes through. But I do know that running a business is no easy feat.
Running a single store would be incredibly difficult, yet Rubia manages all of her businesses by herself.
Not to mention, she isn't simply running a business; she has to carry everything out while hiding her true identity.
The exhaustion she must feel is beyond words.
She says she's fine, but she must have accumulated an immense amount of fatigue.
No matter how overpowered Rubia might be, she's only human, so it's only natural for her to get tired.
Those bizarre actions might have been a sign that Rubia was overworking herself.
Thinking of it that way, feelings of apology and gratitude naturally welled up inside me.
'I really need to take good care of her.'
If Rubia were ever put in danger, I would do everything in my power to help her, regardless of the circumstances.
Even if I had to take on a massive risk to do so.
That was what I resolved.
'Well, honestly, it's best to avoid such dangers from the start.'
Of course, this is just a hypothetical. It's always better if dangerous things don't happen in the first place.
So I should just treat her well on a regular basis.
Like telling her to let me know whenever she has any worries.
Or telling her that if she has a problem troubling her mind, I'll immediately step up and "handle" it for her.
That's how I'll become a source of strength for Rubia.
Reaching that conclusion, I turned my thoughts back to the main issue.
'The Fool's Society, and the death of Sian Ludbes.'
And the Holy See on top of that.
With massive events breaking out one after another, the political landscape was shifting in all directions.
The Holy See, which had maintained its prestige for hundreds of years, was crumbling, a new organization had emerged, and a heavyweight who had shaken the Empire's economy had fallen overnight.
It was no exaggeration to say that a wind of change was blowing through the Empire.
'This is a time to stay alert.'
Even though most of the recent events ended up being quite favorable for us.
And even though the Empire was currently wasting its time chasing the wrong person, I couldn't completely let my guard down.
There were at least three Sword Masters affiliated with the Empire alone.
Not to mention, they were bound to be hiding some formidable weapons.
The Empire keeps fumbling, but we can absolutely never underestimate them.
The countless impersonations we've committed so far.
If our luck runs out, we could be framed as Black Fang at any moment and become the Empire's target.
So right now... I needed power.
Power that wouldn't get caught up in the intentions of others.
Power that wouldn't be swayed by the flow of things, but rather one that would create the flow itself.
'It's true that the forces we've gathered right now are quite formidable, but....'
Military might was always in short supply.
Bone and Blood.
The Final Boss from the previous work was the Demon King of Dominion.
The Demon King of Dominion, who had absorbed the Beast's Power to possess the strength of two people.
Then who could be the Final Boss of its sequel?
This was purely my guess, but... they would at least be as strong as the previous one, if not stronger.
So it was better to be prepared to face a much stronger opponent than the last.
'In any case, I need to prepare thoroughly.'
Whether to prevent the destruction that would come in the future, or to gain the power to not be shaken by other factions.
Bolstering our strength was essential.
And I had somewhat of an idea of how to do it.
'The Holy Sword.'
I had no idea what was going on.
It was a situation where I, who didn't even believe in a god, had gained a Stigma and an immense amount of Divine Power.
Originally, Divine Power and Stigmas were specialized for healing and exorcism, so they didn't help much in increasing offensive power....
With the Holy Sword, it was a slightly different story.
As long as I had this Divine Power, drawing out the full power of the Holy Sword wouldn't be an issue.
I might even be able to produce more power than the complete Holy Sword the protagonist used, even with this half-broken one.
'They said the restoration was half successful, didn't they?'
The restoration of the Holy Sword attempted using the remaining Artifacts. The Blacksmith had certainly told me that the restoration was half successful.
He was crazy about money, but his skills were undeniable.
I figured a complete restoration might be possible if I waited a bit longer, so I had left it alone.
'But I guess it's better to bring it back.'
There were a few things I wanted to test out.
Most of all, it would play a solid role if an emergency actually broke out.
This might be overthinking things, but you couldn't exactly say there was zero chance of a Sword Master suddenly bursting in here.
'Besides, if it's about restoration, I could always just do it myself.'
I had commissioned the Blacksmith for the Holy Sword's repair since I had many other things to worry about, but...
I knew the game's system better. When it came to theory, I actually knew it more thoroughly than any Blacksmith out there.
There was also the option of hiring a few people, building a smithy, and attempting the repairs myself.
Or I could just use my overwhelming wealth to hire that Blacksmith and bring them in as a Subordinate.
Since the importance of the Holy Sword had increased, I was more than willing to make that kind of investment.
Well, regardless of the choice I ended up making, what I needed to do right now was set.
'It seems my destination has been decided.'
This time, my destination was Blacksmith Street.
I quickened my pace.
Of course, that didn't mean I was physically walking all the way there.
It would take over a month to reach the Dwarven Village where Blacksmith Street was located if I were to walk on foot.
'...I could arrive in less than three days if I flew, though.'
Unless I wanted to advertise to the Empire that I was suspicious and they should arrest me, it was best to avoid doing that.
Fortunately, my wings could be adjusted in size to some extent. If I shrunk them as much as possible, I could hide them under my clothes.
Let's just take the train like a normal person.
-Knock knock!
With those thoughts in mind, I knocked on Rubia's door. However, no matter how long I waited, no answer came.
Wondering what was going on, I opened the door and went inside, only to find Rubia sleeping and drooling.
Judging by her appearance, it seemed she had dozed off while reading a book.
[How to Overcome Fear]
[Ancient Monsters, Demons, and Gods.]
[Terrifying Beings from Beyond the World.]
Why she was reading such books was a mystery, though.
[Adult Diapers. Old Age is Nothing to be Ashamed Of!]
I didn't think there were any elderly people in this mansion. I had no idea why she had a flyer like that on her desk, either.
But seeing her sleeping so peacefully...
I didn't want to disturb her, so I carefully closed her door.
It was true that you couldn't board a Mana Train without a Noble accompanying you, but fortunately, there was another Noble right here.
I headed to that young girl's room.
"You're here."
A blue ponytail.
Lucy Valiere greeted me in a calm tone.
It seemed... I would have to bring this girl along on this journey.