Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Lifelong Companion Reunited Across Time
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The divine artifacts lining countless display shelves silently turned away from me. There were hundreds of them, yet not a single one welcomed me. Past life or this one, it seemed I just didn't have any luck with lotteries.
I scratched the back of my neck and slowly made my way toward a dim corner at the end of the Bronze Hall. My gaze kept drifting to the oak barrel there. Yojjo lay inside it, discarded among artifacts that had lost their teeth or served their purpose.
I was scared. Terrified that Yojjo might turn me away. I'd come this far, but things were so different from my past life. The time I'd entered back then was different, and the person with me wasn't some doddering high priest—it was Princess Ignatius.
Standing before the oak barrel, I closed my eyes tightly.
Brrrrum, brrrrum.
The barrel rumbled noisily. Yojjo was calling to me. Even in this life, it had chosen me as its master. Eyes still shut, I reached inside, gripped Yojjo's hilt.
'Yojjo...'
I opened my eyes and beamed down at it, my smile radiant. A double-edged sword stretched out straight as my pinky finger. It was definitely the same Yojjo I'd sent off with my death in my past life.
Yojjo hummed ceaselessly in my hand. My hand trembled in response. Just as I hadn't forgotten Yojjo, it hadn't forgotten me either.
I wrapped my arms around its blade in a warm embrace and sank to the floor, overwhelmed with emotion. I wouldn't be alone in this life either.
"Um, excuse me? Are you... crying?"
I turned my head away from Princess Ignatius's call.
"No!"
I wiped my eyes, slung Yojjo over my shoulder. This life, I'd face it together with Yojjo. I had nothing left to fear.
As I strode confidently toward the exit with buoyant steps, Ignatius suddenly blocked my path.
"You can't!"
"What's the problem?"
"If you don't keep me as a hostage, the moment you step out that door, you're dead."
"Hah. Forget it. Now that I have Yojjo, no one can kill me."
I brushed past Ignatius and stepped outside. Blinding midday sun greeted me, along with the plaza below the stairs packed with knights and castle guards.
Over a thousand guards ringed me with spears pointed my way, while even more archers behind them drew bows on me. Had Ignatius not been trailing close behind, a storm of arrows would have blotted the sky by now.
A faint smile played on my lips as I plopped down on the stairs.
How gratifying.
In the era of ruin, no matter how much hell I'd raised, everyone ignored me. But here in this life, I'd already amassed thousands of die-hard fans. You have to pick your spots when causing trouble—that's how you earn real recognition.
"Ah, this damn popularity never lets up, no matter where I go."
"This isn't the time for jokes! Escape now! Once you're out of the holy city, come to our Kingdom of Lumen. We'll protect you."
Ignatius's tone was frantic. She really wanted to save me somehow.
I tilted my chin up to look at her. Come to think of it, she was famous as a singer too.
"You. Good at singing, right?"
"Pardon?"
"You've got a huge audience gathered. Why don't you belt out a proper requiem for them?"
Ignatius's eyes widened. A requiem soothed the souls of the dead.
"N-no, are you planning to end your life here?"
"No!"
"Then why ask for a requiem...?"
I awkwardly scratched my head with Yojjo's guard. After hemming and hawing for a bit, I finally answered.
"Far in the future... way, way in the future. When I finally lie down and die on some nameless patch of earth, no one will sing a requiem for me. So I'm listening to one in advance. Don't want to? Fine, forget it."
Ignatius gazed at me with distant eyes for a long moment. No clue what she was thinking. I didn't understand women's hearts anyway, nor did I care.
"Got it."
"Okay."
Soon, her voice flowed out on gentle notes, spreading around us. It was a requiem dedicated to the grave of some nameless soldier called the "Rusty Sword." The lyrics were trite, but the melody carried the soft lullaby calm of a cradle song, laced with the poignant sorrow of a tragic fairy tale.
"When will I return to my family~? When will I return to her~? Oh wind, carry my wishes far, far away~ Tell them I'm coming home soon."
Her emotive melody brushed past me and reached even the guards radiating hostility.
The guards blinked in confusion, glancing at their commanding holy knights. They clearly had no idea what was happening.
Suddenly, a brilliant hexagonal light burst from the Shaia in Ignatius's hands, raining down endlessly onto the ground where the guards stood.
One guard, startled by the warm, holy glow, stammered with wide eyes. This sacred light, bright enough to outshine the noon sun, could only come from Shaia.
"I-is that... the Radiant Vice Shield Shaia?"
"It's Shaia! The Grand Saintess of Light has descended!"
The guards prostrated themselves in ecstasy. The holy knights dropped to their knees without hesitation, bowing low. The Grand Saintess of Light had been born. Failing to show respect before her was blasphemy.
"If I'm reborn once more~ If I'm born again~ I'll become nameless grass beneath the sky..."
Ignatius stretched her hands gently toward the distant sky, finishing the final lyrics.
"Bravo!"
I clapped wildly. As expected of Ignatius. It was the best requiem I'd ever heard.
"Glory to the Grand Saintess of Light!"
But my admiration didn't last. The soldiers surrounding me were up to something utterly bizarre. What were they doing with a hostage criminal right in front of them?
"So why are they acting like that? Bunch of morons."
Ignatius let out a small chuckle.
"They're paying homage to Shaia's appearance."
"Yeah? One'll show up tomorrow too—will they do this again?"
"Pardon?"
"Another one tomorrow."
Ignatius stared at me in shock.
"Who? What divine artifact?"
"A blockhead girl gets a blockhead artifact. The Earth God's Chaos Hammer Bermong."
"Really?"
"Oh, right—one last favor."
"What is it?"
"I've got a fiancée, Princess Sierra. She'll arrive here tomorrow morning. If you meet her, tell her I'm breaking off the engagement. Be direct, though. She's dense—beat around the bush and she won't get it."
"Ah... okay."
Ignatius nodded slowly.
With her promise secured, I gripped Yojjo and spun slowly, facing my surroundings. Moments later, as Yojjo's blade quivered, I smiled faintly. It pointed east, toward the wall. Beyond that lay my path.
"Well, stay safe."
"You're leaving?"
"Yeah. See ya."
I leaped away, leaving Ignatius behind. Everyone was still fawning over Shaia. Best to escape now.
"The heretic is fleeing!"
"The villain who kidnapped the Grand Saintess of Light is escaping!"
As I bolted, guards snatched up spears and archers nocked arrows anew. Pointless, though. I'd already broken through the encirclement and vaulted the east wall.
'Heh heh heh. Idiots... Whoa!'
My smirk froze, lips paling. On the road beyond the wall, a woman with lush red hair—munching an apple from her market basket—looked up at me with an odd gaze.
None other than Catrine, wielder of Idrone and the Flame Valkyrie.
My eyes flicked instinctively to Yojjo.
'Hey, Yojjo. No way this direction, right?'
I landed on the roadside and shot forward. Praying Catrine would just ignore me. No matter how fast I was, I couldn't outrun a valkyrie.
I darted into an opposite alley, weaving zigzag through pedestrians.
"The intruder is fleeing! Pursue!"
A holy knight's shout barely registered before a red-haired figure appeared beside me. Catrine had caught up in an instant.
"Hey, kid. You wouldn't be the one who broke into Divinum Temple, would you?"
"Mind your own business and scram!"
I spun sharply, veering into a right alley at the next intersection. Scaling buildings, I reached an inn roof, then leaped to the opposite fabric shop's rooftop.
But I couldn't flee further—I had to stop. Catrine blocked my path again.
"You're that brat from the carriage earlier, trash-talking me, right? Voice matches perfectly."
I stomped my feet, jabbing a finger at her.
"Hey! You firebug bitch! What grudge do you have from my past life to keep harassing me?!"
Catrine swept back her wind-tossed red locks and glared. Firebug was slang for Flame Valkyrie—and an insult to boot.
"Shut your mouth."
"Don't wanna hear it? Then just go! I'll quietly go my way too."
"Can't do that."
"Why?"
"I'm a servant of the gods. I can't just let someone who defiled the sacred go free."
I pointed indignantly at Divinum Temple.
"Plenty of those guys inside. Why pick on me?"
Catrine smirked coldly.
"They deserve death and a trip straight to hell. But you? You've got the talent to atone."
"What talent?"
"Looks like a master swordsman. And pretty quick on your feet too. Useful enough."
I dragged a hand down my face. Who was this woman treating like a pushover?
"So you wanna make me your subordinate?"
"I won't deny it. I've got a lot on my plate lately. Help me out, and you'll get a nice reward."
"What reward?"
"A get-out-of-hell-free card. One of those, and you're heaven-bound."
"Bullshit."
"Pardon?"
I snorted derisively.
"Jeez. Even valkyries are pulling teeth now? Where'd you scam that from? I didn't see any heaven or hell on my way here."
"Of course not. Heaven and hell are where mortals like you go after death."
"Exactly."
Catrine stared at me intently.
"You're insane, aren't you?"
"Already halfway there. So please, just go your own way."
"Guess I need to discipline you first. Then you'll listen."
I gripped Yojjo's hilt tight.
"Oh yeah? Bring it."
"My, my. Know who I am?"
"So you can drop a 'meteor strike' or some massive spell on this city?"
"Nope."
"Kill everyone in the city then?"
"Can't. Our boss lady would flip."
I schooled my expression to calm.
"Then you can't catch me. Valkyrie or not, strip away the big stuff, and what've you got?"
"Oho. Cocky one~"
In a flash, Catrine flinched and drew Idrone from its cloth wrap. A dull clash rang out as our artifacts crossed. I let Yojjo flow, kicking straight for her gut.
But Catrine easily backstepped, dodging. Seizing the opening, I vaulted down to the street, shoving through pedestrians to flee.
Catrine watched me go blankly for a second, took a deep breath, then pursued once more.
Soon, she caught up again.
"Kid. Told you no."
"So you caught me?"
I swung Yojjo at her with all my might. Idrone blocked effortlessly, and I used the rebound to pivot into a side alley.
Catrine was definitely faster. But cornering? That was my edge. Open field, maybe she'd win—but inside Divinum's building-choked walls, I could shake her.