Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Minerva's Revelation
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“We meet again, child.”
It was Minerva.
The first thing that caught my eye was her stark white hair, like a snow-capped mountain under the blazing sun. It even seemed faintly silver in the surrounding light.
Her straight silver hair cascaded down to her ankles, parted evenly down the middle of her forehead. Her eyes gleamed the same silvery white as her hair.
She wore something like a bathrobe. The fabric felt like luxurious fur, and it was pitch black.
Truth be told, I wasn’t entirely sure what it was. It just reminded me most of a bathrobe.
The collar gaped wide open at her chest, exposing most of her breasts, which were just a touch smaller than her head. It was so precariously loose that a little more slack would reveal her nipples.
Below the hem, her alluring thighs contrasted sharply with the black fabric, plump and inviting, the kind that would sink fingers deep into their softness if touched.
A glimpse of black lingerie underwear peeked between her legs. Nothing was visible at her chest, which meant she was only wearing underwear below.
As if adjusting her attire, her right hand casually lifted the edge of the bathrobe from her opposite thigh, revealing a black cord tied around her waist.
It wasn’t hard to guess what that cord was for.
Only after taking in her appearance and outfit did I realize the bizarre magic that had prevented me from recognizing her presence, even though she was right there, had finally lifted.
“……Lady Minerva?”
At my murmur from this utterly unexpected visit, I heard the mages behind her whispering among themselves.
—Did you hear that? She said Minerva.
—Seriously? She’s already calling Lady Skiantia by name?
—Lady Skiantia isn’t saying anything, so she must have given permission.
—Honestly, with someone like that, we’d profit if he called us by name right away too. I’d love to.
—First time meeting her today? Well, with a guy like that……
They seemed to be keeping their voices down, but they were loud enough for me to hear everything clearly. Were they not even trying to hide it, or did they not realize I could hear? So carefree.
Still, I gleaned something useful. Minerva’s family name was Skiantia. In the game, she was just the Eternal Mage Arcana, with no surname mentioned, so I’d assumed she didn’t have one.
“Quiet down, dears.”
Thud. Minerva lightly tapped the floor with the staff in her hand. The chattering mages instantly shut their mouths and snapped to attention.
With the room silenced, Minerva flashed a bright smile.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, I’ve been fine. Thank you for your concern, Lady Minerva.”
“Kaikilia summoned you, didn’t she?”
“Yes. What brings you here?”
At my question, Minerva glanced sideways. The rest of her group came into view. Exactly ten in total.
“I’ve come to help. Children?”
“Yes, Lady Skiantia!”
The mages behind her surged into the room in a rush. Aurora and the knight commanders watched in bewilderment.
Two mages per knight commander. Eight bustled around the commanders, while the remaining two stuck close to Aurora.
Aurora awkwardly pushed away the hands fiddling with her uniform.
“What’s this all of a sudden, Lady Minerva? These are mages from the Magic Tower.”
“You weren’t planning to meet Kaikilia like that, were you, Aurora? More preparation is needed. These children will assist.”
Aurora looked like she had more to say, but she held her tongue, figuring there was no need to pry when the Eternal Mage herself was offering to help with her appearance.
“It won’t take long. Just a few minutes, so relax. They came fully prepared, and we can’t dismiss their hard work, can we?”
“Don’t worry! We’re pros at this!”
“Lady Skiantia personally picked the top ten for this—do you know how brutally we fought for those spots? We made it through, so we’ve got this!”
The mages chattered nonstop as they drew magic circles with their staves. The nuns who’d helped pick dresses in the Holy Kingdom were the same—anyone involved with outfits or adornments seemed to have that bubbly personality as a default.
Fortunately, I’d managed to stay a step removed from that chaos, keeping quiet, when Minerva tapped my shoulder.
“Child, come with me for a moment?”
I followed her out of the parlor without protest. Click. The door shut on its own, and I trailed her to a secluded corner of the palace corridor.
Her silver staff glowed faintly as it absorbed mana, enveloping us in a translucent barrier. At the familiar sight, I flinched instinctively.
It was a pattern I’d seen endlessly in the Arcana boss fight.
“I’ve isolated the space for now. No one can see or hear us.”
“Why cast that spell now……?”
“Just know that what I’m about to say is that important.”
If she put it that way, something big was coming. I tensed up.
“I analyzed your body based on the data you provided last time. The results were quite intriguing. There are two spells on your body. One is down to mere traces now, but the other is still fully active.”
I’d long known there was a spell on me. The ‘Abandoned One’ was born under a witch’s curse that regressed all stats to 1.
That curse was just another term for black magic, so it was magic nonetheless. ‘Witch’ was simply another name for a black mage.
I already knew all that—
‘Wait.’
What had Minerva just said? It felt like something I absolutely couldn’t let slide.
“One moment, Lady Minerva. You said there are two spells on my body?”
“That’s right. One reduced to traces, and one still exerting influence. Why?”
“……Do you know why there are two?”
Minerva’s expression shifted slightly.
“So you thought there was only one until now. Which one did you know about?”
“The one affecting physical abilities.”
I answered in a slightly shocked voice. The idea that there were actually two spells on me was beyond imagination.
“Here’s what I could discern—three things, mainly. First, two spells on your body. Second, a very high chance they were cast by the same person. And third……”
She paused dramatically, then continued with a light laugh.
“They’re spells that help you, never harm you.”
“……Never harm me?”
“More precisely, I surmise they’re harmless to you, though I can’t say about others.”
It only grew more baffling. Harmful to others, but fine for me alone? What kind of spell would prompt that? I couldn’t make sense of it.
And it was just a guess, not certainty, leaving the truth even murkier. As far as I knew, no active skill in Bren 4 matched this.
“…….”
I racked my brain blankly.
The witch’s curse regressing all stats to 1 was clearly negative, yet another spell from the same person was helpful to me? Did that even add up?
Even if true, I needed to know why.
You could meet the curse-casting witch in a side quest, but she didn’t start off fond of the protagonist.
Did she? You’d tilt your head, mention a few choices, and she’d go, “Oh, right!” brushing it off casually.
She’d just grabbed a random passerby as a black magic test subject, and it happened to be the protagonist. Forgetting made sense.
You could build a friendly relationship with choices, but it required unconditional submission from the player’s side, so most just fought the boss out of annoyance.
The point was: at this timing, she had zero reason to do anything positive for me.
“……Could I hear a more detailed explanation?”
Questioning was my chosen path. My head couldn’t solve this alone.
“I can tell you what I know, but they’re not just spells—they’re black magic. Even I can’t fully analyze them, so keep that in mind.”
“Any explanation would suffice.”
Right. I didn’t need Minerva’s answer specifically.
“I can ask her myself later.”
“Delta!”
Her call snapped me back. Lize, her face far more radiant than before, looked at me worriedly.
“You’ve been spacing out. You okay?”
“I’m fine. Just had something on my mind.”
“You don’t look fine at all.”
“That’s because you’re too beautiful, Lize.”
“……Such a smooth talker.”
Lize shot me a pouty glare before facing forward again. For all her words, her lips curved up in a grin.
Before us loomed the door to the palace’s central hall, massive enough to dwarf me four or five times over. According to the knight commanders, it was solid gold.
Not content with that, it bore powerful protective magic, enough to withstand even a direct hit from Minerva’s top-tier destruction spell.
‘…….’
But I had no mind for such things. Minerva’s words were burned too deeply into my thoughts.
‘So that’s why…….’
Why, from the moment I possessed this body, I could face grotesque monsters without fear and fight.
It was all thanks to the black magic on me. Now Minerva’s words—helpful, never harmful—made sense.
Without it, I’d have frozen in terror at my first human butcher, trembling helplessly until captured and killed.
‘Time to reprioritize.’
Bloody sword next? Combat fatigue debuff rune? Main story? All irrelevant. Finding the witch who cursed me was top priority.
Minerva was intrigued and offered help. I knew her location. Instant travel would take minutes.
I had so much to ask that woman.
Rumble……
“Alright. Everyone ready? No mistakes if you don’t want your heads rolling, got it?”
As the golden door began to creak open, Aurora spoke in a highly tense voice, far from her usual relaxed tone.
The knight commanders squared their shoulders, checked their attire once more, straightened their backs, and stared ahead. I shoved my thoughts aside, focusing on the moment.
Safely navigating the audience with Kaikilia came first. Daydreaming before the emperor could doom everything after.
The immense door took ages to open fully. Over a minute passed before we glimpsed Kaikilia.
Massive marble pillars upheld the central hall, illuminated by sparkling chandeliers. A red carpet crossed its heart.
At the far end, opposite us, rose stairs leading to a solemn jade throne.
Kaikilia sat upon it.
Her holy sword leaned slantwise against the throne’s left side, one leg crossed over the other.
The setup naturally forced us to look up at her. No—this place was designed for it.
To inspire awe for the emperor.
—Enter.
At Kaikilia’s permission, Aurora stepped inside first, at a measured pace—not rushed, not sluggish.
The vast hall, able to hold thousands, contained only us. As I entered last, the door began closing.
Aurora approached to a proper distance from the stairs, dropped to her left knee with her right bent at ninety degrees, and placed both palms flat on the floor to either side.
The knight commanders mirrored her, save for bending their right arms to hold them horizontally near their hearts. I hurriedly followed suit.
After a pause in that position, Aurora bowed her head deeply.
“I see the Sun of the Empire.”
“I see the Sun of the Empire!”
Her quiet voice blended with the commanders’ resounding chorus, echoing through the hall. Heads bowed, we awaited orders.
“Last. Raise your heads.”
“…….”
Something felt off as I lifted mine. Aurora and the commanders kept theirs down—no permission yet.
The heel of Kaikilia’s boot tapped the red carpet before the throne. A summons closer. I rose and approached as bidden, ascending step by step.
Reaching her, I knelt and bowed as before.
“I said raise your head.”
I jerked it up in surprise. Kaikilia slowly scanned me from head to toe. I masked my unease, awaiting her next words.
Her chilling golden pupils swept over me before she tossed out a single line.
“Did you enjoy your time with the Pope?”
A words that sent my heart plummeting.