Chapter 317: translated
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 317
Gloria's mind went blank.
"What...?"
A saint? Is he referring to the highest honorary position in the Royder Order, the virgin beloved by all people? And that's me? Roland handed the Holy Grail to Gloria with both hands.
"Saint. 100 million Royder believers are anxiously waiting for you. Please come with us. We will ensure your safety."
"Wait a moment. I am a saint now?"
"That is correct."
Roland pointed to the ruby embedded in the center of the Holy Grail.
"This jewel is known as the Eye of the Holy Grail."
Roland moved the Holy Grail from side to side. The end of the Eye of the Holy Grail remained fixed on Gloria.
"The Eye of the Holy Grail points only to its one true master who can use this Holy Grail, only to the Saint. Therefore, only you, Saint, can inherit the power of the Goddess Royder and use the power of healing."
Gelman was so surprised that his mouth wouldn't close. He remembered what he had said earlier about her appearance. Just for speaking such disrespectful words to a saint, he would be oiled all over by the heresy inquisitor and burned alive at the stake.
Roland raised his head toward Gloria.
"More importantly, Saint. If possible, may I see your face? I would like to confirm the Saint's face."
Gloria didn't know what to do.
Suddenly being told that she was a saint. When this reality that she had never even dreamed of unfolded, her mind went blank. Gloria automatically turned to Caesar.
Whenever there was such a difficult problem in front of her, Caesar had always helped her make decisions. Caesar placed his hand on Gloria's shoulder.
"Hey."
"...Master."
Gloria couldn't see Caesar's face.
What expression would Caesar be making inside that helmet?
Would he be surprised like her?
Or would he think lightly, suggesting she might as well try being a saint now that things had come to this? More than that, what Gloria wondered was whether she would be able to see Caesar if she went with the Holy Grail Knights.
Caesar stood next to Gloria and whispered.
"Get ready to run."
"Huh?"
Caesar kicked Roland's head forcefully.
Since Roland hadn't expected to be ambushed at all, he could only cover his face with both arms.
Roland was thrown out the window.
"You! What are you doing?!"
The other five Holy Grail Knights drew their swords.
"Raven!"
"I really can't live like this!"
As Raven prepared magic, Caesar charged toward the knights. When the knights thrust their swords, Caesar swung Thunder.
Ding!
His range of motion was limited due to the cumbersome diving suit. But Caesar's strength and the lightning power contained in Thunder remained intact.
Bang!
Caesar immediately electrocuted two Holy Grail Knights.
Following that came three swords. As expected of the Holy Grail Knights, the highest military force of the Royder Order, their response was incredibly fast.
'Damn, I absolutely can't parry with the diving suit.'
Although the diving suit is made of metal, it's not sturdy enough to withstand the swords of the Holy Grail Knights. The moment even a small hole appears in the diving suit, diving in the Eileen River becomes impossible.
At that moment, a hideous greatsword dug into Caesar's side.
Bang!
Gloria rushed in with her whole body to block the Holy Grail Knights.
"S-Saint!"
The Holy Grail Knights were clearly flustered, having not expected the Saint to intervene directly.
More than that, they seemed afraid of the very fact that they had swung their swords toward the Saint. While they hesitated, Raven's magic was completed.!
The bodies of the Holy Grail Knights were forcefully pushed back, and they all broke through the wall and were thrown outside the city hall building.
"Caesar, what are we going to do?!"
I don't know. Even though he had given money to the collector to prevent this kind of situation, it seems the guy didn't do his job well. This is why one shouldn't entrust tasks to others.
"Raven, can you teleport?"
"What are you trying to do now?"
"What do you mean what? I said let's run away."
"But why are we running away?"
"Then what should we do?"
Raven couldn't answer Caesar's question.
From a principled perspective, sending Gloria away would be the right thing to do, but personally, she didn't want to part with Gloria like this.
While Raven would have agonized between the principled choice and the personal choice, Caesar seemed to have almost immediately decided not to give up Gloria. Roland emerged from the collapsed wall.
"Do you not understand what you are doing right now?"
"I understand very well."
Caesar's Thunder contained aura and sparked lightning.
"Running away."
"You say you'll run away? Do you speak such words without knowing how much the Saint is needed in this land right now?"
Roland showed the Holy Grail.
"Thousands die every day for lack of holy water. Only when the Saint creates holy water can those who would die be saved."
"Ah, I don't understand such complicated issues, but rather, there's one simple thing, you know?" Roland's eyes narrowed. "If I want to take the Saint, I’ll have to get through you first, is that what you're saying?"
"Correct answer, Grail Knight Roland."
In the blink of an eye, Roland arrived in front of Caesar.
Neither Gloria nor Raven had expected him to move so quickly while wearing such heavy armor.
Caesar's Thunder and Roland's sword collided.
BAAAANG!
They were both thrown back simultaneously.
Caesar was wearing a diving suit so it was difficult to move his body properly, and he was wearing a helmet with a narrow field of vision, making it hard to properly counter Roland's attacks.
On the other hand, it wasn't easy for Roland to withstand Caesar's Thunder either.
The journey to find the Saint was long, and Roland's body was tired and weary.
The surprise attack just now was nothing short of Roland's best and last resort.
At the same time, since it was not a surprise attack premised on Caesar's defense, a large gap was revealed.
Caesar and Roland delivered kicks toward each other's abdomen. Roland fell from the building again. In contrast, Caesar was caught by Gloria and barely managed to stand.
"Raven!"
Raven used the prepared teleportation magic. Roland saw green magic pouring out through the broken wall.
"......I will find her."
I will find her no matter what.
Roland promised himself as he fell to the ground.
***
The place where Caesar, Raven, and Gloria arrived was a familiar one.
[General Store That Makes What It Doesn't Have]
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
"Where else but the City of Sin, Grezawa? We don't have time."
Caesar walked with large strides. Raven and Gloria hurriedly followed behind Caesar.
"By the way, don't we have something to talk about?"
"That Gloria is the Saint?"
"Yeah, that."
"Fine."
Caesar stopped in his tracks.
"Gloria, from now on it's your choice. Will you become the Saint, or will you follow me?"
"That's......"
"I'll respect your decision. So think carefully and decide."
Gloria had never once imagined herself becoming the Saint. How could she imagine such a thing?
"What happens if I become the Saint?"
"You'll never see us again."
"......Never see you?"
"Yes. Never. Have you ever heard of a Saint engaging in outside activities or meeting outsiders? And the Royder Order people don't exactly like me. If I say I want to meet you, they'll have a fit and absolutely prevent it."
Gloria's heart was pounding.
At the thought of not seeing Caesar, it felt as if the diving suit was tightening around her.
"......What do you think, Master?"
"About what?"
"Do you want me to become the Saint?"
"If I tell you to do it, will you?"
"......I don't know. But it seems like you don't want me to become the Saint......"
"You call that an answer?"
Caesar tapped Gloria's helmet.
"I will absolutely not send you to the Royder Order. Even if you say you want to go, I will talk you out of it."
Gloria's heart beat loudly.
"......Why?"
"If you become the Saint, I'll never be able to see you again."
Gloria felt her heart beating so fast it might jump out of her mouth. And she felt grateful for the diving suit that had constrained her just now.
If not for the diving suit helmet, Gloria's expression would have been completely exposed.
"Why is it a problem... If you can't see me?"
Gloria mustered a bit more courage.
There was an answer she wanted to hear from Caesar. This was different from her desire as a knight who simply wanted to protect Caesar for life.
"I've given you so many precious elixirs and paid so much attention to you, and now I'm supposed to lose you to the Royder Order of all people? Does that make any sense to you?"
"......Eh?"
"Those Royder Order people, they've got it all wrong. If they want to take you, they should first ask me if it's okay, shouldn't they? Then they can ask you next."
Caesar was huffing, seemingly truly angry.
"Anyway, absolutely do not become the Saint. If you want to, get my permission first. Understand?"
It wasn't the answer she had hoped for, but Caesar's words made her feel so good. It was because it seemed that to Caesar, Gloria had become someone irreplaceable.
"Do you understand? Say it clearly."
"Yes, Master."
"Good? Now let's go."
As Caesar walked with large strides, Gloria followed behind him with small steps. And Raven, watching the backs of the two, murmured.
"......Liars."
***
Caesar, Raven, and Gloria headed to the Eileen River.
"Fortunately, the moon is bright."
"What does the moon have to do with it?"
"We need the moon to be bright to go."
Caesar walked toward the Eileen River.
"Raven, can you assist a bit with magic?"
"What kind of assistance?"
"Swimming like this is difficult, isn't it? And we only have one oxygen tank each right now."
"Ah, I understand what you mean. But where are we going?"
Caesar took out the moonflower from his spatial bag.
"This fellow will tell us. Take it."
Raven received the Moonflower from Caesar.
A masterpiece created by Cheche, an artifact known to analyze and reveal all magic existing in the world.
It is not known why Cheche created this artifact and how he made it, nor how it came into Caesar's hands. It's also unknown whether it could really find Grezawa.
"Before we go, I'll tell you just one thing."
"What?"
"No matter what happens, absolutely do not use magic on the way to Grezawa or inside Grezawa."
Raven looked at Caesar as if dumbfounded.
"Don't use magic?"
"Yes. If you use magic, monsters will appear."
"Monsters?"
"Yes. If we meet those monsters in the water, we could all die. So absolutely do not use it."
Has Caesar ever once mentioned the possibility of dying?
Raven found it difficult to understand how terrible these monsters must be for him to speak so seriously.
"Well, you shouldn't have any reason to use it anyway. Let's go. We don't have time."
Raven was slightly dubious but decided to follow Caesar for now. Because Raven was short, water covered her head before Caesar and Gloria.
Since walking underwater was harder than expected, she used floating magic. Raven swam through the water like a fish.
'Why specifically call it a moonflower?'
If it's an artifact that analyzes magic, wouldn't it have a rigid but clear name like ‘analysis rend’ or ‘magic analyzer’? Raven brought the Moonflower close to the helmet.
Then magic unfolded before Raven's eyes.
"Wow......"
Moonlight shattering and cascading down.
The moonlight created different spotlights according to the waves, and flowers, fish, deer, and rabbits receiving the spotlights danced at the bottom of the river.
Raven took her eyes away and looked at the bottom of the river. Although moonlight was seeping in, all that was visible was the pitch-black river bottom with no end in sight.
'It's clearly the same space, but feels like a different world.'
Raven raised the moonflower again to observe the moonlight creatures.
What are they seeing?
Raven looked at the sky. The moon was captured in Raven's eyes.
On the moon was a massive magic circle. It was not a magic circle created by humans. The magic circles developed by the magic tower have geometric, structured forms, but that magic circle was composed entirely of predicates.
What is that magic?
What kind of magic is illuminating beneath this river?
What function is this elaborate yet beautiful magic performing? Raven stopped analyzing.
Just as if entranced, she followed the moonlight down.
Come to think of it, the moonlight creatures were dancing in circles around one central point.
Raven proceeded toward that center.
In the center, there was a flat yet round rock. On that rock were embroidered the same predicates seen on the moon.
Raven instinctively knew. That is the entrance. Raven slowly followed the moonlight. Like a moonflower that only looks at the moonlight.
***
Roland and the Holy Grail knights put on diving suits.
"Did Caesar go in there just now?"
"Yes. That's what they say."
Gelman handed over an oxygen tank while applying an ice pack to his chin.
"Here are spare oxygen tanks. Please kill that damn Caesar."
"We're only looking for the Saint."
Roland checked the oxygen respirator and then spoke.
"Though Caesar will certainly die in the process."
Gelman was satisfied with Roland's words.
"But will you be able to find her? It's pitch black down there."
Roland held up the Holy Grail. The red light of the Grail pointed downward.
"The Goddess will guide our way."
Roland firmly twisted his helmet to seal it.
"Let's go."
Roland strode forward into the depths of the river.
"The Saint awaits."