Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Drifting Apart
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“We’ve grown apart.”
“Yeah, it’s like there’s no next time—as if we’re drifting further and further.”
“…Saintess.”
Kazari, along with Alon, Mary, and the holy knights under Adelia, all hesitated to speak up.
Swoosh…
“Everyone, step back for a moment.”
“Understood.”
Mary gave a nod to the soldiers who had come to provide support. She might seem scatterbrained, but she was a holy knight with a solid position of her own. At least, it didn’t look strange for her to give orders to the soldiers.
Mary glanced around cautiously before shifting her gaze to her fellow holy knight, Kazari. He looked like he had something to say.
The burly man with a stern face began laying out his points one by one, his expression grave.
“Lady Adelia. May this fool speak a word?”
“…Of course.”
“First, I doubt Grimhal’s backer will stay quiet.”
“The backer… hasn’t been revealed yet, has he?”
“It’s clear that orders were given to Grimhal to infiltrate the Beth Church. But since the Grimhal of that time was such a pathetic wretch, the incident wrapped up at this level.”
Adelia and Faust each had information they were withholding. Faust had his dungeon and name; Adelia had the background of the Grimhal incident.
In truth, if Lanford Grimhal had been a patient man, he would have hidden his claws and infiltrated the Beth Church over a long period.
But he was a young wolf who had only recently inherited the family after his predecessor’s sudden death—he wasn’t clever enough to conceal his fangs.
He hadn’t even gauged the extent of his backer’s power and instead rushed to flaunt it impatiently.
By now, Lanford Grimhal’s backer must have collapsed from sheer rage upon hearing of this incident.
“Why not think of it as fortunate? We’ve crushed Grimhal’s forces, who could have harmed the Church, and done it easily this time.”
“That’s… not wrong, but…”
“And saving even one life is a stroke of luck.”
“…I suppose so.”
It was regrettable they hadn’t exposed Grimhal’s backer definitively, but expecting that much would be greed. It had been a situation where their lives could have been at risk.
“Then, one more thing. Lanford was an idiot, but he still rules one territory. The events at his manor might draw unnecessary attention from the nobility.”
Adelia replied without a change in expression.
“This is the outskirts of the outskirt in the Aslan Empire. With the Great Forest’s interests at stake, there will be those who try to intervene.”
“That’s what concerns me.”
“That’s precisely why it’s fine.”
“Pardon?”
“With the central authority so endlessly weakened right now, their order is practically crumbling. The more people gunning for Grimhal’s territory, the deeper their chaos will get.”
“You mean the greater the chaos, the better?”
“Better than a hyena like Grimhal holding power. When a winner emerges later, the Beth Church can just extend a hand then, right?”
“Hmm… If that’s possible, it’s not wrong.”
Since Solomon’s ascension, Aslan had been rotting away. Warlords and wealthy clans were rising, stabbing at the crumbling Aslan cake with forks and scooping chunks onto their own plates.
What Adelia meant was that this chaos would continue, and there would be more hyenas chasing personal gain from the chaos itself than from its causes. Keeping those hyenas in check wasn’t all that hard for the Beth Church.
The incident would probably be buried more easily than feared. Especially if they mobilized the Church’s hidden influence in the political sphere.
“One last thing… I trust you know this without me saying.”
“Von… you mean.”
“Yes. A demonkin who commands devils.”
“Hmm…”
“Lady Adelia. We serve the Curtain God Beth, but at our core, we are faithful believers. Even if Beth Church doctrine embraces all things, joining hands with devils is…”
Mary nodded vigorously from the side, unable to hold back.
“Exactly! Devils have been bringers of disaster to this land since ancient times!”
“……”
“Saintess?”
Adelia pondered for a moment before smiling brightly.
“If not for him, who would have saved us from the jaws of beasts?”
“That’s true, but…”
“Devils! Devils!? They can’t be subjects of deals or compromise!”
“…And who decided that?”
“Well…”
It wasn’t in the Beth Church doctrine.
“The doctrine of the Ruber Church, Aslan’s state religion… right?”
“…Yes.”
“You all know why the Beth Church decided to arm itself in the past.”
“The demonkin… massacre.”
“Yes. They gathered under Solomon’s banner and mercilessly slaughtered tens of millions of demonkin across the Solaria Continent. Aslan’s citizens and churchgoers—humans—all condoned it or stayed silent.”
“……”
“Can we truly say they’re any different from devils?”
Mary clamped her mouth shut.
Were devils truly beings opposed to good? Or rather, who even decided what good was?
“Everything may be hazy, but the one who saved us that day was a devil. That’s an undeniable truth.”
“…You’re right.”
“We don’t need to forcibly embrace him. He’ll slip away on his own anyway. But…”
The saintess smiled.
“Who knows when Beth might visit my dreams again.”
“We’d best postpone talk of devils until then.”
* * *
After giving a report in Liudira, I headed back to the dungeon.
According to the informant, only a handful had entered the Great Forest while I was at the black market, and even they were nobodies.
I’d been tense the whole way to Liudira, worried the dungeon might be attacked, but it seemed fine.
There wasn’t much conversation on the way back.
The carriage couldn’t enter the Great Forest, and the massive crates were transported with Amon’s mechanical arms.
Bill and Mori had to stay in Liudira, so it couldn’t be helped. Neither powerless Lucifer nor I, who tired quickly, could carry them.
‘I wish the goblins or orcs could come greet us…’
If that got exposed, who knows what would happen, so I kept it in my heart.
‘Dying outside the dungeon means real death.’
Death outside the dungeon core’s control meant eternal death.
That’s why only the strong accompanied spy missions.
Anyway, with no chatter, the only ways to kill time were admiring the scenery or lost in thought.
I did need time to think, though.
I had to reflect on the black market deal and my contact with the saintess.
Especially the contact with the saintess—it demanded reflection.
My encounter with her proved that much of what I knew was just the tip of the iceberg.
‘A connection with the Beth Church…’
Meeting Saintess Adelia?
No user had experienced such an event during spy activities.
In other words, I’d engaged in spy activities beyond the scope I knew and understood. I’d only assumed gathering intel and delaying pursuers while probing the dungeon, but this was an unexpected haul.
I needed to judge if this new info was a seed of ruin or a path to a new era.
‘Clearly the latter. Especially now.’
A source for magic stones outside the dungeon, and even weighing the risks, the rewards were huge. How could this be bad?
‘Of course, meeting Adelia was a stroke of luck.’
If it had been someone else—someone prone to betrayal—it might have been worrisome.
‘I need to rethink the importance of spy activities. And the gacha plan too.’
I might have to overhaul the plan of hoarding resources stingily to boost forces when odds were best. Instead, investing early in spy foundations, scraping magic stones, and recouping resources was starting to take shape vaguely.
‘Once I’m back…’
Lost in thought, I realized we’d reached the suspension bridge.
This bridge had collapsed once during a rainstorm but was repaired by Dark Elf Queen Ariel’s power. Handling wood and forests, it was a flick of her wrist.
Reaching the bridge meant the dungeon was right ahead. Soon, a familiar sight appeared.
Sunset-red hair.
Visible from afar.
Phenex. It was her.
“Naaaarriii!”
She cupped her hands and shouted.
“…Phenex, here to greet me?”
She grinned.
“I smelled you from way over there, my lord!”
I breezed past her, resting a hand on her head.
“…I’m back.”
She beamed.
“Yeah! Welcome home.”
Finally, home.
* * *
No major issues while I was away, it seemed.
Ariel said one adventurer party that lost track of us had wandered near the dungeon but hadn’t found it.
‘Lucky.’
It was as good as leaving the house with my heart behind and the door unlocked. I wouldn’t let it happen again.
‘I need more forces.’
The lesson from this: force expansion was essential.
Squeezing every drop to snipe desired devils only worked when the dungeon ran smoothly.
It was feasible while I stayed in the dungeon, but spy missions left it woefully understaffed.
Reinforcing that so the dungeon could run without me was top priority.
‘At least I’ve secured a magic stone source, so no more fretting.’
That’s why I was now at the Hell Gate, before Aje Rup.
“Yes… if there’s tribute, as much as you want.”
Despite my long absence, Aje Rup looked the same as ever.
‘How many stones will it take?’
The answer was set.
Until I get what I want.
So, what do I want?
This pickup’s devil, Forneus?
‘That’d be fine. Performance-wise… if he gets his field.’
Sea devil Forneus.
Not the full sea, but even a lake field would let him shine.
Especially boss fights—even as an early Remegton devil, his underwater chaos was popular with users.
But honestly, I wasn’t expecting it.
With my stones, just over 60 pulls. Dumping them all might snag a devil, but I wanted to save some.
So, not mandatory to get a devil.
‘The key is… a new zone?’
Not Ariel’s forest—a new one. A field of different attribute.
Amon’s lightning or Phenex’s flame would do. With a field, I could use devils as leaders.
Then, I’d need a set number of familiars and traps for the field. Curses or usable familiar gear would be nice, but familiars were more urgent.
‘Gotta gather familiars for the field I need to build first.’
Minimum five.
Lightning or flame—five familiars needed.
Beyond that, urgent needs…
‘Elite familiars. 5-star humanoid.’
Needed more talent for spy work. Bill and Mori were fine, but limited.
‘Long-term, replace most external forces with my familiars.’
Running untrustworthy outsiders had to end eventually.
Alright, sorted.
“Begin.”
“Kekekeke… good…”
Whooooosh…
Magic stones powdered and sucked into Aje Rup. One crate’s worth—gone. 10 pulls.
Zzzzt…
After 10 pulls, the light from Aje Rup’s eyes for the first time matched the highest grade summon in those 10.
Zzzzt…
“…Hm?”
Brilliant orange.
‘…5-star.’
First 10-pull, and a 5-star appeared.