Chapter 70
Chapter 70
Ch. 70 .｡.:✧ The Helpers (2) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Flap.
At the top of the spire of Cologne City Hall.
To the right of the main entrance, the Holy Kingdom’s flag was hung.
“It’s done…”
The important things were only the position and height of the flag.
Originally, no particular meaning was placed on the direction it faced.
But for Cornelia, the direction of the flag had great significance.
It was because of the promise she had made with Yoo-jin.
If the flag was raised on the left side, all was well.
If raised on the right side, it meant there was danger of being discovered by the Saintess, so do not approach.
And today was a day when the Saintess was at the City Hall.
“So this is where you were.”
“Ah! It’s dangerous here…”
At the gentle voice from behind, Cornelia’s body trembled.
Jill Diner.
The Saintess of Hameln had come up to the rooftop, holding her hair that was blowing in the wind.
“Do you raise the flag yourself every time?”
“Yes. It’s like the start of my daily routine.”
“That’s impressive. I thought mayors just sat at their desks giving orders to subordinates.”
“Hahaha… I only have a handful of trusted aides.”
Cornelia hurriedly finished raising the flag and dusted off her hands.
Jill’s gaze was fixed on the Holy Kingdom’s flag flying high.
For a long while, she couldn’t take her eyes off the flag fluttering in the wind.
Feeling suddenly uneasy, Cornelia gently grasped Jill’s shoulder.
“It’s dangerous, so let’s go back inside quickly.”
“Hehe. Alright.”
Only then did Jill smile faintly and lower her head.
Cornelia led the Saintess back inside and started descending the stairs first.
Worried the Saintess might have trouble with the stairs, she looked back, but saw the Saintess was wearing neat flats instead of high heels.
‘Indeed, she’s certainly different from previous Saintesses.’
In the past, there had been negative views of Saintesses.
There was always criticism that they just went around to various events, serving only as figureheads to prove the existence of the Benevolent God.
But Jill Diner was different.
She often refused to attend important events, saying she had to go do volunteer work and provide medical support.
She inserted herself as an overseer into traditionally corrupt pet projects of officials, earning much resentment.
Enemies created by this attempted to assassinate the Saintess whenever they had a chance, but her stubbornness never wavered.
The Saintess’s choices had been correct.
As days passed, the forces following her grew far larger than those who envied and hated her.
By that point, the Saintess was no longer just a mascot of the Holy Kingdom.
She was proof that justice lived and breathed in the world.
And evidence that the Benevolent God existed.
“Thank you again for agreeing to give me legal advice.”
“Not at all. If my limited knowledge can be of help to you, Saintess, I’m the one who’s honored.”
Cornelia had ended up giving legal advice to such a Saintess.
As she guided the Saintess to her seat and brewed tea, Cornelia felt dazed.
Why on earth had she chosen me?
I only studied law briefly, so it was puzzling why she had picked me.
‘Could she be subtly pressuring me…?’
The situation was strange.
The Saintess had come seeking advice to pursue Yoo-jin.
And her counterpart turned out to be someone who knew Yoo-jin.
It seemed like an unbelievable coincidence.
Perhaps the Saintess was subtly threatening her.
Telling her to quickly reveal Yoo-jin’s location.
With that thought, Cornelia suddenly felt chilled.
“Saintess. Could you first tell me the personal details of the person you’re looking for?”
“Alright. His name is Yoo-jin. He’s human. Male. Early 20s in age. About 180 cm tall, and his build is… rather thin for his height. But when you touch him, he feels firm, like he has a lot of lean muscle. Black hair and brown eyes. And…”
With each detail listed, Cornelia had to struggle to maintain a neutral expression.
It gave her goosebumps.
Most of these were things one could know just from meeting Yoo-jin, but some of them were things one couldn’t know unless they had been extremely close to Yoo-jin.
“What is your relationship with him?”
“…”
Cornelia asked with difficulty, parting her lips.
More than anything else, she was most curious about what kind of relationship the Saintess and Yoo-jin had.
A wandering mercenary and the Saintess.
They seemed like two people who would have no points of contact no matter how you looked at it.
“He’s someone I can’t do without. Someone I must find no matter what. I could give up anything to find him.”
“…”
Someone she couldn’t do without?
It was a rather unkind answer.
It didn’t explain their relationship at all.
Seeing that she didn’t seem willing to elaborate further, Cornelia decided not to probe any more.
“The court can only act if we can at least prove his existence. First, we should try other investigation methods…”
“I’ve tried everything. Census surveys, stop and searches, various crackdowns, and so on. I’ve used every method available with a Saintess’s power. I’ve investigated every resident within the Papal State’s sphere of influence at least three times, but couldn’t find Yoo-jin. He must be constantly moving without leaving traces, or in the lands of heretics. Now it’s time to use methods beyond a Saintess’s authority. I couldn’t think of such methods myself, so I came to you, Acting Mayor.”
“…”
Cornelia was at a loss for words.
To go that far to find one person, without any proper justification.
It was clearly an abuse of power.
But there wasn’t a hint of regret in the Saintess’s eyes.
‘What kind of weakness could he be holding over her…?’
Yoo-jin had said he held the Saintess’s weakness.
How fatal of a weakness must it be for the Saintess to be so desperately searching for him?
Cornelia swallowed nervously and continued her advice.
“You’ve tried more than I expected. To not be caught even in census surveys and stop and searches. At the moment, I can’t think of any other methods. Unless you cooperate more…”
“Cooperate how?”
“Tell me more details about this Yoo-jin person. Then we can devise strategies.”
“…”
She decided to be a bit brazen.
This seemed to be the only way to hear about the relationship between the Saintess and Yoo-jin.
At this request, the Saintess kept her mouth shut and drank her tea for a while.
After a long time passed, she finally sighed deeply and opened her mouth.
“Alright. I’ll tell you, believing you can keep a secret. Yoo-jin is a precious person to me. To me, who has no family, he’s more precious than anyone.”
“…”
Cornelia felt her breath catch.
Though she had roundaboutly expressed him as someone as precious as family,
This was clearly talking about a beloved partner.
What she had desperately hoped wasn’t true was becoming reality.
“But I hurt him due to my mistake. He’s hiding his whereabouts as if telling me to never find him… I don’t know what to do. I want to find him and apologize, but Yoo-jin won’t even give me a chance. I want to find him somehow and tell him I’m sorry. I want to return to our previous relationship. I want to go back… to the good times…”
The Saintess murmured with a precarious expression, as if about to cry.
This side of the Saintess was unheard of and unseen before.
To think that even the Saintess could love someone passionately, and cry for love.
That she was a human who could be selfish when it came to love.
This came as quite a shock to Cornelia.
And at the same time, Cornelia made a decision.
‘This woman really won’t do.’
She couldn’t let the Saintess find Yoo-jin.
‘She’s already lost her mind.’
The meaning of hiding one’s whereabouts and running away was clear.
It meant he didn’t even want to see her face.
Any sane person would interpret it that way.
By this point, it would be normal to give up.
She should accept that the relationship was over.
But the Saintess was searching for Yoo-jin as if she would kill him when she caught him.
Cornelia could understand why Yoo-jin was running away so desperately.
There would be nothing good about getting involved with such a woman.
‘Please give up already. What Yoo-jin needs is not a persistent woman like you, but someone who can make him comfortable.’
She had almost wavered seeing how desperate the Saintess looked, but Cornelia quickly firmed her resolve.
She couldn’t let such a woman approach the man who had saved her life.
“Don’t worry too much. I have a few ideas.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We should be able to find him soon. Just trust me.”
Cornelia held the Saintess’s hands with a gentle smile.
For Yoo-jin’s happiness, she had to throw this woman off track no matter what.
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Elvenguard.
In the huge cavity inside the base of the World Tree.
Mia crouched in the “World Tree’s Eye” and concentrated quietly.
‘Another prophecy…?’
It had only been a few days since the last prophecy came down.
Already the next prophecy was trying to come down.
This was the third prophecy in such a short interval.
Normally, once a year was the usual interval.
This was an unprecedented situation.
‘I’ll have two prophecies to tell Yoo-jin, including this one.’
Mia felt quite regretful.
The more prophecies she had to tell Yoo-jin, the better.
That way, Yoo-jin would visit Elvenguard more often.
But if a new prophecy came down before she could even tell him the accumulated ones, it would be useless.
She had hoped it would come down after she told him the previous prophecy at least.
Mia grumbled inwardly like this, but still earnestly interpreted the prophecy.
“Huh?”
But soon the World Tree’s prophecy stopped abruptly.
As silence enveloped everything, Mia realized something was strange.
The air around her seemed to have gotten slightly colder.
“You…”
“…”
And the moment she turned around,
There stood a figure wearing a hood, hiding their face.
This was the World Tree’s Eye, where entry was strictly controlled.
There was no one else who could enter here at will.
“Lady Yulia…?”
“Sigh. Th-that’s right.”
The former priestess who had been dismissed.
Elvenguard’s prodigal daughter.
Yulia Petenburg lowered her hood and revealed her face.
“How did you get in here?”
“I, I snuck past… the g-guards…”
Though she had stepped down from the priestess position, she had once been chosen by the World Tree.
So as long as she avoided the guards’ eyes, the World Tree didn’t block Yulia’s entry at all, allowing her to come here without resistance.
“Is something wrong? Was there a problem with the lifespan sharing method I taught you last time…?”
“N-no. That’s not, not a problem at all…”
Yulia stammered, unable to meet Mia’s eyes.
Though Mia had known her since childhood, she was still difficult to deal with.
They had seemed to laugh and chat normally when handing over the priestess position before Yulia left Elvenguard.
But since leaving Elvenguard, it felt like she had forgotten how to have normal conversations with people.
She had completely cut herself off from the world for over 200 years in that state, so her social anxiety could only have worsened.
“I w-won’t talk long…”
She took a deep breath in and out.
Then Yulia looked Mia straight in the eye.
Though she was still stammering, her gaze was firm.
It wasn’t the appearance of a bumbling socially anxious gloomy loner.
She wore the face of the mistress of Petenburg.
The face of the cold-hearted witch.
“The man who cleared the dungeon under the World Tree. Where is he?”
“…”
The chilling sentence was uttered without any stammering.
At this, Mia’s body stiffened.
It wasn’t a question.
It was a demand.
Yulia was now boldly demanding that Mia hand over Yoo-jin.
Mia’s lips quivered briefly before she spoke.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“…”
And then she smiled faintly, playing dumb.
He might become the priestess’s groom.
She couldn’t carelessly hand him over to a dismissed former priestess turned witch.
“You, Mia…”
At this brazen attitude, Yulia’s expression twisted.
She regretted not having burned Elvenguard to the ground and destroyed it completely back then.
Such regret surged within Yulia.
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