Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Microwave Oven (3)
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Golden locks of beautiful hair, melancholic eyes, a rosario around her neck, and a curvaceous figure revealed beneath her pallium.
"Shall I go to the next booth? Or this one?"
Caroline momentarily lost her words at the encounter with this unexpected figure.
But she quickly regained her composure and pointed to the adjacent booth.
"This one's too cramped."
"Sounds good, then."
The sound of a rusty door opening echoed.
Soon, in the now-silent confessional, the saintess's voice rang out.
"You've been chosen by the Goddess."
"...How did you know?"
"Obviously from looking at your chest. Mine's quite uncomfortable too~."
"... ."
"Oh, is that not it? Then you're truly blessed......"
"Yes, that's it, so stop talking about it!"
A question arose in Caroline's mind as she responded so nonchalantly.
"I have something I want to ask."
"Ah, how to manage sweat buildup under your breasts in summer? In my case, I apply a powder made from a mix of lavender and pearl every morning. Especially under the lower breasts, thoroughly......"
"N-not that!"
Caroline caught herself slipping into informal speech and took a breath, glaring toward the other side of the confessional.
"Doesn't it seem strange that I'm a saintess? You should be the Empire's saintess."
"Not really? There's no rule that says there can only be one saintess. The Goddess must have had a reason for choosing you."
"...What could that possibly be."
There was only one thing Caroline wanted to ask.
It wasn't the trivial revelation, or the inexplicable expulsion from the church.
"I don't have the qualifications to be a saintess. I've killed a lot of people, and I'm not particularly devout."
"In an era where war is everyday life, who hasn't gotten blood on their hands? Are you still like that now?"
"Not anymore, but...... I mean I have no idea why the Goddess chose me."
"... ."
No response came from the other side for a long while.
Even the Empire's saintess couldn't fathom the will of the gods, it seemed.
As she rose in disappointment, a voice sank in like a vibration from the ocean floor.
"At least by Lady Hella's standards, you are a good person."
"Pardon?"
"If you've truly stained your hands with so much blood, to the point where even heretics would frown, then the Empire's future would be worrisome indeed."
"What are you saying?"
"Saintess."
The Empire's saintess posed a question.
"Are you truly a person of this era?"
"...!"
"I don't predict Asetaria will fall in the short term. The church always hides something, but it's not decayed enough to lose the people's hearts."
"The Empire falls? Such......"
This place was merely a page in history, far removed from the Empire's fall.
Yet the saintess replied to Caroline's doubt in a somber tone.
"From the gods' perspective, human existence is as fleeting and intangible as fireflies glowing in a misty summer valley. Thus, our inner karma is evaluated holistically across our entire lifetime."
"I don't quite understand......"
"Do you grasp the doctrine contained within by reading just one page of scripture?"
With those words, Caroline grasped the saintess's intent.
And the answer to her own question.
"Why someone like you, steeped in evil deeds, was chosen as a saintess. The reason is that in the near future, you will perform a monumental act of good that overturns all your past sins."
"That means......"
"In other words, a colossal calamity will arrive—one too great for ordinary human strength to overcome."
The Goddess of Light was saying:
To overcome that calamity, befriend Louis somehow.
Stay by his side and support him.
"Soon, you will face a choice."
The facts remained: Louis sold Magic Cubes at exorbitant prices and was a swindling canteen owner.
"And that choice will alter the fate of the continent."
But the goddess's revelation, the women around him, his overwhelming strength that subdued her, and inexplicable magic made it impossible to see him merely as a canteen owner anymore.
The next evening.
I bought the medicine to soothe Erzebet's stomach and holy water as usual, then prepared to head out immediately upon arriving at the hotel.
Showing the entry permit Liv had forged to the guards in front of the Grand Library, they verified it with magic and let me in without a fuss.
It was already late, and Uzet was in a half-festival mood due to Marquis Elvin's birthday party overlapping with the saintess's visit.
Most Empire nobles with access to the library's interior, where 2nd-class security magic tomes were stacked, were drunk at the party venue.
"Baroness?"
"Ah, Boss......! Over here."
In short, in the dead of night library, only Liv and I were reading.
It could even be seen as our first time truly alone together.
Liv quietly reading was just as beautiful as when I'd first met her at the academy.
"How was your day?"
"I took the theory book you interpreted yesterday back to the hotel and studied it all afternoon. These are the tricky passages I sorted out after arriving a bit ago."
If she hadn't handed me a stack of parchment taller than the three-tier dessert tray from Marquis Elvin's party, she would've been even more endearing.
Well, I'd already agreed to help, so no helping it.
Liv stayed serious as long as I didn't touch her 'sensitive areas,' so I sat beside the reading sofa, acting as a moving dictionary.
"Let's see...... This means 'foreseen peace.' The following is an active voice imperfect past indicative, so the whole passage is an indirect critique of Homer's priests who foresaw peace. What's this magic?"
"It's called Reverse Sequence Nullification (???行??), an advanced high-tier dispel. It's negative magic that cancels spells not before casting, but after."
Her calm voice by my ear, her hair brushing my shoulder teasingly.
The musty smell of yellowed paper mingled with Liv's fragrance, softly tickling my nose.
"Do you even reference etymologies?"
"Understanding magic isn't easy."
"Wow, impressive......"
"Next chapter's here. What's this word?"
"Bartholomew. Common noun? Can't read it, so probably a person's name."
"Then we can skip it. What about the last phrase here?"
"Let's see, here...... Huh?"
But then, from the right where Liv had spoken, and from the opposite left, the same voice called out, and another hand extended.
Turning my head, I witnessed an unbelievable sight.
"Baroness Liv?"
"Shh, it's Lev here, Boss."
"What's with that name you like so much? More importantly...... two?"
There were two Livs.
One on the left, one on the right.
Both Liv Lavre de Greenwoods grinned, having successfully startled me.
The first baroness who'd been beside me moments ago spoke.
"It's the first magic I mastered from the library yesterday. A kind of clone implemented with imagery magic."
The second baroness from the left added.
"Efficiency doubles, so it's much better, right?"
"Can it multiply more or merge?"
"No, this is the max. You can't have more reflections than on a lake's surface."
"So which one's real?"
"Me."
"This one."
The clone lifted the first baroness's hand.
"This is the real Liv, and I'm Lev."
"That'll make it easier for you."
I was too stunned for words.
While Adella was freezing ducks on the canteen floor, Liv was spinning dual cores to read in the library.
She'd clearly been influenced by Adella mastering her unique magic circuit.
The only minor issue—
"I can't tell them apart at all. Who’s who."
They looked identical, impossible to distinguish visually.
Using Ether might make the non-original vanish, but that defeated the purpose.
At my words, the two Livs leaned in with different reactions.
One with a sly, fox-like smile, the other with a thoughtful, shy expression.
"Distinguish like this?"
"Distinguish like this......"
They guided my arms around their waists to touch their stomachs and explained the difference.
"The clone made of magic doesn't need much mana investment~."
"It's like not eating food or drinking water...... Eut!"
It depended on sensitive reaction to belly touches.
Too embarrassing to use reliably.
At dawn, I left the library with Liv.
I woke Erzebet right away, ate a disgustingly tasteless breakfast, and our schedule was tight since we had to attend the party.
"I'll head back now. What about you, Boss?"
"Now I have to escort the princess. See you this evening."
"Pardon? Right now......?"
Liv, planning to return to the hotel for about four hours of sleep, was startled by my words.
I was a bit tired, but not unbearably so.
The longest I'd gone without proper sleep was nearly a month in a daze.
In Helzev, I'd stood watch for comrades' rest during harsher forced marches than this.
"Aren't you pushing too hard? You could skip tomorrow."
"No, as you said, only five days left here. How many more books do you plan to read?"
"Hmm...... These aren't for skimming, so maybe twenty at most. If staying till the final teleport, maybe three more......"
As Liv counted on her fingers, a sudden idea flashed.
"Baroness."
"Yes?"
"How do we exit here?"
"I heard it's like waking from sleep. When the carriage passes Skandal and turns toward Pharenchia."
"Then...... we can see it, right?"
"See what?"
"That deepest 1st-class security document in the library."
Liv's mouth fell open slightly as she understood.
"No need to exit—just show the emperor-stamped permit and enter......"
"We have a few hours' leeway...... right?"
"Exactly."
Impossible to grasp all magic tomes in short time, but it'd help.
Uzet Grand Library's classified docs were treasures of immense value, capable of shaking the continent.
Hero summoning rites, steel hounds, ironclad production tech, forbidden tomes—all inside.
"Want to try? I'll go with you."
"I'm fine, but you have princess escort duty."
"Last chance. I'll ask for permission."
"But it's risky...... Why help this much......?"
Why? Obviously.
The reason I came here was in that library from the start.
"I need the microwave production tech."
"Pardon?"
Leaving behind Liv who didn't understand, I rubbed my sleepy eyes and walked.
"I have to get it."