Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: I Respect the Saint (2)
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What a strange guy.
He felt incredibly familiar even though it was our first meeting.
He even seemed like a immature little brother.
That's why I was treating him so casually right off the bat.
"You want me to come with you to the Church?"
"Yes, that's right."
Alard's expression had hardened, as if this was something pretty important.
I'd heard he'd come on the orders of old man Klein, whom I'd met last time...
"Hmm..."
No matter where I looked with divination, it led to a fiery hell.
I wondered what the Church had to do with fire, but in the end, both paths led there.
And it wasn't just that—going along with him felt off to begin with.
A subtle intuition was telling me the time wasn't right yet.
"I think we should wait for now?"
"...Wait for what?"
"You said there were more guests coming."
Speak of the tiger, and he appears, they say.
I could feel mana swirling in the corner of the courtyard.
"Here they come."
Flash—
"Already so dazzling..."
They appeared in a burst of light.
Every one of them wore flowing robes.
Some were even holding staffs.
"...?"
I'd expected nobles, but wizards?
"They are nobles... sort of."
Those who arrived via warp magic were all wizards.
A little under twenty of them.
There was an auntie mixed in, but mostly uncles and grandpas.
"It's been a while."
Old man Closel waved his hand.
"Curiosity, huh..."
I could see why it felt like curiosity.
The wizards' sparkling eyes were all fixed on me.
Rumble—
"Are you the one with those Spiritual Eyes?"
"They say you use a power that's not magic?"
"Can you explain exactly what this spiritual energy is?"
"..."
They swarmed me in an instant, bombarding me with questions.
My eyes were one thing, but now my ears were starting to hurt too.
As I stood there with my mouth agape at the sudden situation, old man Closel smirked proudly.
"What did I tell you? The magic world is in an uproar, just like I said."
"...Pardon?"
Wizards in front.
Wizards to the side.
Even behind me, as far as my Spiritual Eyes could see, wizards.
"...Um... excuse me..."
"Are you using those Spiritual Eyes right now with your eyes closed?"
"No mana at all. Incredible."
"What in the world is that wooden statue planted there? It doesn't look ordinary."
"Heavens... faint mana is flowing from that statue."
They were real chatterboxes.
In that short time, a flood of questions poured my way.
"First, can we see this spiritual energy of yours?"
They talked so much it was making my head spin.
Maybe if I just showed them, they'd quiet down?
They probably couldn't sense spiritual energy anyway, so they'd give up once they realized there was no way to study it—that was my thinking.
"Hold on a second! I'll show you, so please be quiet for a bit..."
"..."
"..."
The wizards fell silent all at once, as if they'd never been talking.
Yep, this method worked.
"This is the spiritual energy..."
Swoosh—
Spiritual energy spread out around me.
I glanced at the wizards, and they all looked baffled.
Of course they did.
They couldn't feel a thing.
"You don't feel anything, right?"
"..."
"..."
They seemed to concentrate intently, but their faces only showed subtle confusion.
"This can't be."
"We really can't feel anything..."
"A power we don't know about...!"
Contrary to my expectations, the wizards were getting even more excited.
They looked like they couldn't stand having discovered an unknown realm.
The wizards, who had been murmuring among themselves, approached me again.
"We've pooled all our money to study your divination."
"...Pardon?"
I wasn't the only wizard who'd brought money, apparently.
They all pulled out pouches and held them out to me.
"Only coppers and silvers, right?"
One wizard turned his pouch upside down, dumping coins onto the table.
Clink clink clink—
"...?"
Clink—
Silvers and coppers kept pouring endlessly from the pouch.
Clink—
Before long, the table was full, and coins were rolling onto the ground.
"We have plenty of money, so keep doing divinations for us. A hundred times as a sample should do for starters."
Clink clink—
"...Pardon?"
"Wasn't it max five silvers per reading?"
Clink—
"Help us with our research."
Even as they spoke, the money kept pouring.
How much is all that...?
I swear I'd never seen this much money in my life.
Silvers were piling up like a treasure hoard from a fairy tale.
"Does it hit five silvers each time?"
"...It does, but... you can't do multiples on the same thing..."
To handle all this, it'd take years at least, wouldn't it?
As the money from one pouch stopped, another wizard opened his.
"Wait a minute! I get it, so stop...!"
"We'll pay whatever you ask."
The courtyard grew noisy again.
They weren't even listening to my response, just pouring out words nonstop.
Their voices overlapped so much I couldn't make out what they were saying.
It had been similar when I first met old man Closel.
Are all wizards like this...?
"Ahem, everyone, quiet down."
"Yes, Lord Closel."
"..."
"..."
At the old man's word, the wizards clamped their mouths shut.
Old man Closel stepped forward to mediate, pushing the wizards back.
"Chris is in a tough spot, isn't he?"
After spending time together, he was taking my side.
For this moment, he felt pretty reliable.
"Even if curiosity as wizards got the better of you... maintain some dignity."
"Ahem..."
Only then did the wizards cough awkwardly and straighten up.
Old man Closel nodded, reading the calmed atmosphere.
"And to add, Chris here is going to be my granddaughter's husband."
Huh...?
Why did a perfectly good conversation veer off there?
"In other words, we're in a sort of exclusive relationship."
"...Old man?"
Swoosh—
Old man Closel's hand landed on my shoulder.
"Right? My future grandson-in-law?"
Murmur murmur.
The courtyard was about to get noisy again.
And sure enough, reactions exploded immediately.
"Even Lord Closel can't monopolize that young man!"
"That's unfair."
"For the sake of our past ties, at least share a little..."
Suddenly, the door burst open with a bang that startled everyone.
Bang—
"..."
"..."
"...Elf?"
Serena emerged, full of wariness.
Serena glared at old man Closel with scary eyes.
"...You're here too."
Murmur murmur.
The wizards began whispering at Serena's sudden appearance.
"An elf here of all places..."
"Isn't this the elf Lord Closel mentioned...?"
"The one rescued from the necromancer...?"
"Then a high elf?"
Silence.
The sudden quiet felt ominous.
"No way..."
Rumble—
This time, the wizards swarmed Serena.
Meeting a high elf was a rare opportunity even for them.
Serena was still wary of people...
Chatter chatter—
This wasn't a marketplace—what was going on?
Stray spirits in heaps, and now noisy people too.
A deep sigh rose from my chest.
"Haa... I wish all these guests would just leave..."
"It's been delayed a bit, but the situation isn't good."
"Hmm..."
From their nonstop questions, I'd thought they came purely for research.
But hearing the old man out, that wasn't it.
Traces of a necromancer discovered at the Empire's northernmost point.
They were an investigation team for that.
"But is it okay to dawdle like this? Shouldn't we head out right away?"
"Redrawing the warp magic circle takes time."
"Anyway, you need me to come along, right?"
"There might be things we can't detect, like last time."
"Hmm..."
Old man Closel and Alard waited for my answer.
"Hold on a sec."
I tried divination again, but the result was the same.
Either way, it led there in the end.
Just that the old man's side felt far more urgent.
"Chris, if it's necromancer-related, you don't have to come with the Church."
"Hm?"
An unexpected statement.
I'd figured he'd insist on going first.
"Escorting you is to dispatch holy knights to aid the Empire."
"And?"
After hearing Alard's reply, I couldn't help but scoff in disbelief.
"If that's the reason... then I can just follow you, Chris."
"...?"
"If I go, a holy knight order will be dispatched to protect me."
"Heh..."
"Lord Klein probably sent me thinking that far ahead."
That old man seemed so straightforward, but he had tricks up his sleeve.
Going around the rules like that.
If old man Closel hadn't come, I'd probably have gone to the Church first and then joined them.
"Then we can head out right away."
Old man Closel began a simple explanation.
"That place has no people."
"...A wasteland?"
With necromancer traces, it could be a deserted spot.
Necromancers would operate in remote areas...
"More precisely, all the people vanished."
"Pardon?"
"Thousands from a barony disappeared all at once."
"...?"
What did that mean?
"Discovered two days ago. Knight orders are already heading there."
It was completely different from the necromancer's movements I'd heard about.
Too blatant, wasn't it?
Well, we'd find out once we got there.
"Thousands vanished... Doesn't feel good."
I had a hunch, but I hoped I was wrong.
It'd be too horrific otherwise.
"..."
The warp magic circle completed, and everyone stepped onto it.
Serena followed me too.
"You okay?"
Nod.
Soon, mana enveloped us, and light flashed.
The scenery changed in an instant, revealing a desolate village.
Truly nothing there.
No people, no souls.
Old man Closel called me in a slightly flustered voice.
"...Hey, Chris."
"Yes?"
"Did you bring that?"
Turning at his words, I saw something that shouldn't be here.
"Why'd these follow me here?"
Guardian totem poles were planted in the ground.