The Saintess's Escort (4)
"A proposal, you say?"
"Yes."
Gulp.
At my words, Raman straightened her posture.
"My mission is to escort you, Saintess, to a safe zone. So where exactly is this safe zone?"
"The Drake County of the Idel Kingdom, quite nearby. My uncle resides there."
"Your uncle?"
"He serves as the head butler of Drake County."
She was apparently already acquainted with Count Drake as well, and going to him would guarantee her safety.
True, they'd given her the title of saint, but she was still the Saintess all the same. Though her standing and influence within the Order had diminished considerably, every nation was still obligated to welcome her and guarantee her protection.
"That's not exactly being honored right now, but Count Drake can be trusted."
"Very well. Then here is what I propose. Even if I give up what's inside you, I lose nothing."
"That would be true... you've already saved my life countless times."
"So what I want is the sacred relic inside you. All you have to do is tell the Order it's gone."
"Th-that's..."
"I've heard that when an evil god obtains a sacred relic, it grows stronger. In my view, that's a far better outcome than everyone here dying and having the relic stolen anyway."
"...All right. Then I will entrust my fate to you."
Snap.
We shook hands.
The hand of a woman who had only just become a saint trembled faintly, but within it burned a fierce will to survive.
"First things first—we'll need to take that fortress."
"Correct. But before that..."
Chu.
She stepped in slowly and pressed her lips to my forehead.
"Wh-what was that!"
"...Huh?"
Pitasha, who from the outside looked like a massive mechanical knight, spoke up, her voice practically smoldering. The saint flinched for a moment at her sudden movement, but when I gestured that it was fine, Pitasha slowly backed off.
"It is a blessing from me. Nothing tremendous, but... a blessing of good fortune. It will remain active as long as I live."
"Thank you."
Frankly, it was hard to feel any difference in my luck from her blessing. Either way, though, her fate and mine were now bound together in the same boat.
"Monkey. Take the sacred relic as part of the contract terms."
[Fine by me. A sacred relic is welcome anytime.]
That left just one more term to deal with. Somehow or other, I had to shrink the number of contract conditions until the whole deal came free.
"Master's very first forehead kiss... uuuuuugh!"
I had chosen to contract with Sun Wukong because I'd judged that he was the only one capable of going toe-to-toe with a god like Omnissiah. So he watches my back, and in return I hand over whatever he feels like collecting along the way.
Only one condition remains now. If Sun Wukong takes it, I walk away from Omnissiah's dominion without losing a thing. And when that time comes...
"Master. You need to get moving."
"Ah, right."
The holy knights had all finished their rest and were already on the move. Beyond the barrier, the enemy forces, having spent the last of its power sniffing out our scent, were gnashing their teeth just outside.
"Hahahaha! Hey, I told you to stop teasing her!"
"But how could I resist?"
"You should've known when to quit. Well, it was fun, I'll give you that."
Apparently the reason they'd been making such a racket earlier was because the monsters inside the barrier had been teasing them. I suppose holding back the smell of bibim noodles and grilled pork belly would be hard on anyone.
Clank.
Clank.
Whirr...
The barrier's glow gradually faded, and the knights began to advance, one measured step at a time. The moment it shattered, goblin war-brutes came charging at the holy knights, weapons flailing.
"O God! Grant me glory!"
"O God! Light my path forward!"
"Clear them out!"
"Waaaaaaargh!"
The holy knights burst forward, radiating holy power far brighter than before. The same men who had been too exhausted from the grueling journey to summon their true strength had overcome it on the power of spicy noodles and grilled pork belly.
CLAAAANG!
Skrrk.
"Master. A horde of orcs is coming from the rear."
"I'll take them."
"Good. Pitasha, go support Rune's side. Better safe than sorry."
"Yes, Master!"
Rune headed out to deal with them alone, and battles large and small continued to erupt throughout the fortress. Then, not long after—just as we were about to head up to the second floor—
Thud...
KRAKOOM!
The fortress began to collapse around us. The dust from the crumbling walls swallowed everything in sight.
"I'll handle this. Hnngh—!"
Whoosh.
Shhhhhiiik!
The moment the knight commander swept his sword, the fog simply stopped. And through the parted mist came a monster—a kobold. Far stronger than any ordinary kobold, one that wielded the power of darkness.
"Damn wretches... so you've finally crawled your way here!"
"Why is it that whenever lackeys like these lose all their men, they always show up late just to strike a pose? Are they stupid or something?"
Wouldn't it make more sense to show up while your underlings are still fighting and actually pitch in? One look was enough to tell he was one of the evil god's apostles the saintess had mentioned—but maybe being a kobold made him an idiot.
"You're barely an eighth-rank apostle, and yet where does all that confidence come from!"
The evil god's apostle ranks ran from ninth to first. Anything above that wasn't even graded by number. An eighth-rank was something everyone gathered here could handle just fine.
Grin.
"Because I have THIS! The Dragon Slayer's Dagger!"
What the kobold drew was a dagger radiating an aura that was obviously anything but ordinary.
"That's...! A fragment of the one who transcended as the Dragon Slayer! How can a sacred relic and a fragment be in the same place?!"
"...Fragment?"
[Kid... hand that over instead. It's no sacred relic, but I want it.]
"Then tell me what it's used for. Otherwise, it stays as the relic."
[Hrmm... if YOU keep it, that's a different story. I use them to smooth out causality. Just think of it as slipping someone a little under-the-table bribe.]
"If I keep it?"
[Fragments are useless on their own. You have to gather them into the complete original... one that size, hmm, roughly a hundred pieces? Complete the original and you gain power. What kind, even I don't know.]
"Fine. Take it."
I already had one, after all. And I had no pressing need for a massive power-up at this very moment.
"And the relic?"
[I'll inspect it first, then decide. That fragment is MINE, no matter what. Hahahahaha! To think that thing's fragment would land right in my palm!]
"You're loud. Hey, Saintess."
"Yes?"
I called over the saint, who had been busy strategizing with the knight commander about how to fight the thing. She hurried over, and I spoke.
"I'll deal with that thing myself. In exchange, give me that fragment."
"...You mean the fragment? Understood. But may I ask a favor of you in return?"
"What is it?"
"Um... well, you see. These men have fought for me for months, and they looked so happy earlier, and... so, um... could we possibly do it one more time?"
Pfft.
"Sure. I'll keep them fed the whole way to the safe zone."
Flash.
Her face lit up, and she seized my hand in both of hers.
"Thank you so much!"
"Don't mention it. First, let's deal with that thing."
"Ah—yes!"
The saintess rushed off to relay the plan to the knight commander. When he heard I intended to face the apostle myself, he moved to stop me—but apparently recalling the display of strength from earlier, he raised his hand and let it fall again.
"Rune. How's it going over there?"
<Mostly cleared.>
"There's an apostle here, and he's a bit tough. Up for a duel?"
<That's my specialty. On my way.>
"Pitasha, clean up the rest of the orcs."
<The leftovers are all second-tier, so it'll be quick!>
"Good. Yikes, that was fast..."
Rune arrived in the blink of an eye. And with her appearance, the entire battlefield flipped on its head in an instant. She'd already carved through the orcs on her way over, her body fully warmed up, and she approached the apostle with unhurried steps.
Gulp.
Seeing her coming, the apostle hurriedly tried to swallow the fragment. No—tried being the key word.
Skrrt.
"...Huh?"
Thump.
"What the? Why is the fragment down here?"
Rune bent down and picked it up off the floor.
"Th-that's MINE!"
Skrrt.
FWOOOOSH!
"Shut up."
Thud.
The arm fell first. Then, as the eighth-rank apostle lunged forward, Rune severed his neck with a single stroke of her blade. The knights who witnessed it stood gaping, jaws hanging open. The saintess was no different.
"Wh-what in the world... even a Sword Master couldn't do that so... no, could Sir Lucian manage it... but even so, this is... too, too..."
Overwhelming.
He couldn't finish the sentence, but everyone present knew exactly how it ended.
The battle had ended in the blink of an eye, and now the fragment sat in my palm.
"Take it."
[Good. Kheheheh... I'll put in extra effort for you from now on. Oh, and word from the front—Omnissiah's lot have been very active lately.]
"I know."
[You know how greedy they are for you. So spend generously on ME! That's the only way I'll work hard to block them!]
"I don't need to worry about mortal-realm affairs. Whatever comes, I'm confident I'll win."
That left exactly one contract condition. And the sacred relic I'd obtained this time was a good one.
Tears of Aria
Once, and only once, nullifies every attack directed at the wearer.
"...It really is a sacred relic. No question about it."
A relic capable of nullifying every attack, exactly once. If even a throwaway relic like this could be had without a second thought, what kind of power would a top-tier one hold?
"I wouldn't mind getting my hands on other relics, honestly."
"N-no, you can't!"
Saintess Raman, walking beside me, cried out.
"Ah—I wasn't saying I'd steal them or anything."
"I-I didn't mean it that way either...!"
"Of course not?"
Teasing the saint, I slowly collected the magic stones as we moved on. After that, the journey passed without incident, and we arrived at Drake County in the Idel Kingdom.
Naturally, I had reverse-summoned the massive Machine Legion before crossing into the kingdom. And so we reached Drake County at last. But the quest wasn't over yet.
Creeeak.
"The Count will see you. Please, come in."
We arrived at the Count's castle and were escorted inside by a butler. There waited an elderly gentleman and a middle-aged man whose massive frame and powerful build were obvious at a glance.
"Aah... Raman! You were alive!"
"Uncle!"
Thump!
Count Drake watched the two embrace for a moment.
"Ahem... what a beautiful reunion this is... Ohh, Raman! Come here, child!"
"Yes, Uncle!"
Thump!
Reward: Commander Summon Token (1)
"Hooooly sh—"
Countless materials, magic stones, and a sacred relic. Plus one contract condition erased... and a Commander Summon Token on top of it all?
"This is absurd..."
Anything else left to grab?