Chapter 217: For Elize (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 217: For Elize (2)
While Rin and Alfia dealt with the clergy at the city gates, Karami used Rin's magic to enter the city.
The inside was no different from the outside.
A considerable number of clergy were positioned throughout.
“Miss Mirabelle, how does it feel to be in the Holy Kingdom?”
“Hm. I don’t think it’s anything that special.”
“It feels like just yesterday she was trembling and hugging me whenever a priest so much as walked by.”
She used to show symptoms similar to a seizure.
Considering she had unconsciously clung to me even when her affection level wasn't particularly high, it was clear just how terrified she was of the clergy.
I could still remember how she trembled back then.
And yet, here was that same Mirabelle, standing tall and undaunted in the heart of the Holy Kingdom, surrounded by countless members of the clergy.
It was a fresh reminder of how much she had grown.
“It’s all thanks to you, Master.”
“As pitiful as the Mirabelle of back then was, I quite liked how she relied on me. It’s a shame I won’t be able to see that anymore.”
“Hehehe. I’ve always relied on you, Master, then and now. I’m just a fool who can’t do anything without you.”
Karami stroked Mirabelle’s cheek with the back of his hand, and Mirabelle, beaming, quietly accepted his touch.
“Do you want revenge?”
Mirabelle had the power.
She, who had lost her family, had the right.
But Mirabelle shook her head.
“A slave doesn’t need personal feelings. She doesn’t need to think. The only thing a slave needs is her master's command.”
Nothing about a slave could take precedence over her master’s command.
It was an absolute value that Mirabelle held.
“Excellent.”
A satisfied smile spread across Karami’s face.
Mirabelle no longer needed any convincing.
Just then, a flash of light erupted from the city gates.
It seemed they had started over there, too.
Karami placed his hands on Mirabelle’s shoulders.
“Now, Miss Mirabelle. The moment you’ve so eagerly awaited has come. Let’s create a world where witches no longer have to live in hiding.”
*
While various nations had risen and fallen since the distant past, the Holy Kingdom of Kassilon had always stood firm.
Though most of its members were human, their loyalty to the kingdom and the bonds between them were on a different level from other kingdoms.
United under their god, they were not a group of individuals, but a single entity.
Stronger together than apart—two are better than one, three than two, and four than three. The followers of the Order of Balance grew exponentially stronger the more they gathered.
And this was Kassilon, the holy land of the Order.
From the captains of the Holy Knights to the high priests and the manufactured apostles, facing them all was not just reckless, but unimaginable.
It was enough to make even the Demon King, the ruler of the demonic beasts, shake his head and flee.
And Mirabelle was now undertaking that very reckless act.
The Holy Knights were enhanced by divine power.
On top of that, they had the blessings of the priests.
The armor and weapons of the Holy Knights, blessed by the priests, shimmered with a brilliant light.
Each one of those blessings would be considered overpowered on its own, yet they were layered on top of each other.
The Holy Knights, slathered in what could only be called an absurd amount of blessings, charged at Mirabelle, but they couldn't even get close.
Mirabelle tapped her staff.
Boom!
It wasn't magic, just a simple explosion of mana.
But the result was anything but simple.
No one may approach.
The charging Holy Knights were scattered like fallen leaves.
“We can’t get near her!”
“Ugh! What is that monster…! Casualties?”
“Zero fatalities! Once they recover, they can rejoin the fight!”
To suffer no deaths from an attack like that was lucky.
With so many priests on their side, as long as they didn't die, they could get up and fight again and again.
But if they couldn't even get close, it was just a meaningless charge. They desperately needed someone with enough skill to open a path.
The problem was that Leonhardt, Captain of the White Knights, was guarding the city gates, and Nox, Captain of the Black Knights, had vanished overnight.
Not only that, but Cardinal Marcenus and several other high-ranking clergy members were also gone.
For such a monster to attack just when their main forces were missing…
“Stand down. If you intend to block my master’s path, I’ll get angry too.”
“Do you think we can back down! Charge without fear! If we just hold on a little longer, reinforcements will arrive! Protect the Saint! God is with us!”
“Waaaaaah!”
Mirabelle sighed, “Hah,” at the enemies who charged without a thought of giving up.
“This is why I hate the clergy. They don’t even think for themselves about what’s wrong.”
“Didn’t you say the same thing just now, Miss Mirabelle? That a slave doesn’t need to think.”
“Oh, Master. It’s natural for me since I’m a slave, but those people aren’t slaves.”
Is… that so?
He supposed it was.
A slave did have to listen to her master.
Karami was convinced.
Mirabelle summoned the Reaper.
The Reaper swung its death scythe.
An indigo flash cut through the enemies.
Slice.
The clergy collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. As they fell, their souls popped out of their bodies and gathered in the Reaper's hand.
“…Mirabelle?”
“Yes? Ah, I’m sorry. It’s a habit.”
A habit of collecting souls?
What in the world kind of habit was that?
“I thought that if I used people's souls to grow my own, wouldn't my value increase~? Then I thought you'd be happier when you liberate me. Hehe.”
“…”
“I didn’t kill them, though! Because you gave me an order!”
“Put them back.”
“Okay…”
Mirabelle returned the souls to their original places with a pout.
The people didn't get up.
It would take time for them to regain consciousness.
“Let’s move. There’s a place we need to stop by before we go to the temple.”
They were in the middle of enemy territory.
A truckload of people, thinking this was their chance, rushed to capture the Slave Reaper.
But as they say, one well-raised slave is better than ten others. With Mirabelle by his side, it was no different from a stroll. He was certainly reaping the benefits of having her.
‘It really is convenient.’
In gaming terms, she was a fully maxed-out, best-in-slot character. MAX affinity. The ultimate end-game unit.
She was even shackled, so there was no chance of being backstabbed.
She was basically a cheat code.
“Master, there are people gathered over there.”
Mirabelle pointed to a narrow alley between the houses. Unsure of what might be there, they decided to check it out.
Though the alley was wide enough for them to walk side-by-side, Mirabelle used the excuse that it was narrow to cling to Karami’s arm.
They entered the alley.
Inside, just as Mirabelle had sensed, a small group of people was gathered.
They were people who had fled from the fanatics.
Supplies were piled in a corner, bedding was laid out, and a few members of the clergy who hadn't been swept up in the madness were protecting the people.
“Huh? You?”
Just then, someone from the crowd approached them. It was the priestess, Myra.
Her eyes widened when she spotted Karami and Mirabelle.
“Little one?”
“Oh? Hello, Priestess.”
“Little one, how are you here…? Weren’t you dead? I heard you went to be with your mother…”
“My mom’s alive, though?”
“Huh? Ah, sorry?”
Myra apologized for her unintentional, and rather grave, insult. But she was still too stunned to grasp the situation, so the apology was reflexive.
“Hey, Slave Reaper. What’s going on? Why is the little one alive?”
“What’s this? It sounds like you’re saying my Mirabelle ought to be dead.”
“No, that’s not it! I’m asking why the Slave Reaper’s slave is alive!”
“I have never once killed a slave. Everyone just misunderstood and gave me that name. Slave Reaper? Where else would you find a gentleman like me?”
Even so, Myra couldn't accept it.
Was it really a misunderstanding?
But slaves would foam at the mouth and collapse whenever the Slave Reaper appeared.
He wasn't a pervert who only took women as slaves?
Then the 'not guilty' verdict at his trial… it wasn't that God was wrong, but that he was actually innocent?
Countless questions flooded Myra’s mind, but Karami had no intention of answering them.
Seeing nothing of importance, he turned to leave the alley.
Myra, who had been staring blankly, hurriedly followed.
“Wait, let me come with you!”
“We’re busy.”
“I’ll just follow you without getting in the way.”
Myra was already displeased with the current state of affairs.
Her perspective had begun to change ever since she learned about Mirabelle during her pilgrimage. She wondered if they had been persecuting people based on their own prejudices.
Myra, whose faith had already been cracked, didn't easily believe in the Saint when she appeared, and thanks to that, she hadn't been swept up in the current incident.
“Let’s say you didn’t kill the slaves. Then what’s your purpose for coming to the Holy Kingdom? In a time like this?”
“You know of the Saint, right?”
“Yes.”
“She’s my slave.”
“Huh?”
“She caused a bit of trouble, so I came to clean it up.”
“…?”
So, to sum it up.
The Slave Reaper wasn't actually a bad guy or a pervert who killed slaves. The recently appeared Saint had thrown the world into chaos by shaking the foundations of order, and that very Saint happened to be the Slave Reaper's slave?
“Perfect.”
“So you’re saying this is all your fault!”
“Is that how it works out? Haha.”
He wasn't a reaper who killed slaves.
He was a reaper who would destroy the world with slaves.
“We’re here.”
After walking for some time, they arrived at a luxurious inn—the place where Karami had been staying.
“Hey, what is this place? What in the world is here?”
What Myra sensed was a massive amount of divine power. She had never felt such pure divine power, not even from a cardinal.
Was there a god here?
Karami didn't answer, simply heading up to the room he was staying in.
“I knew you’d be here, old man.”
“You again. Don’t you ever get tired of this?”
“This is my room that I paid for with my own money, you know.”
The person in the room was the former Pope, Antonius.
In a Holy Kingdom where the balance had been shattered and chaos reigned, this was the only place where order remained.