Chapter 164
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Fallen Flower (2)
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"We're here!... Huh?"
"...This place..."
The spot the saintess pointed to was the entrance leading to Carnea Academy's basement.
Though calling it a basement was a bit of a stretch—it was more like an underground sewer system.
Most of its structure consisted of waterways rather than rooms.
But what was bothering me right now wasn't some trivial naming issue.
'...So Granny Yangho was telling the truth?'
─It seems there are evil spirits in Carnea Academy's basement.
When Granny Yangho first told me this, I never imagined it would turn out like this—I just laughed it off.
"...Lilith! We're going back!"
The saintess suddenly changed her attitude and tried to bolt the moment she spotted the sewer entrance.
I stretched out my arm and grabbed Lilith by the scruff of her neck as she tried to flee.
"...Saintess, where do you think you're going?"
"T-Teacher, let me go! This Lilith can't go in there!"
I looked at Lilith flailing her arms and legs.
"...Is something wrong?"
"This Lilith! The place I got commissioned for by Sir Albus Singledoor is here!"
The moment I heard Lilith's words, I nodded.
In the first playthrough, the commission Lilith received was to purify a graveyard.
But since the gathering spot for demonic energy had shifted from the graveyard to the sewer, her commission had naturally changed as well.
...That said, there was one thing nagging at me.
'Why would demonic energy that should be in a graveyard gather in the sewers...'
And so discreetly that no one but Lilith would notice.
"S-So let me go, Teacher! If this Lilith completes this commission, they'll send me back to the Parthenon!!"
I got what Lilith was worried about.
Simply put, she wanted to keep hanging out in Carnea and wasn't ready to go home yet.
Of course, if this were a dire situation, Lilith would act differently.
She's not the type to let others get hurt just because she wants to play.
'But...'
The concentration of demonic energy seeping from inside the sewer right now was faint.
At this level, the worst that could come out would be some low-grade demonic beast.
I grabbed Lilith's shoulder and spoke in a low voice.
"Saintess, don't you want to get that chastity belt off?"
"I do... W-Would you take it off for me, Teacher?"
"No, if you want it off, you'll have to work for it."
"...Th-That's... N-No! I want the chastity belt off, but I don't want to go back to the Parthenon!"
This lewd saintess was fretting over needless things.
'As if I'd let her go.'
From here on out, I'd need Lilith's power for a ton of things.
Now that she'd caught my eye, even if Lilith begged to return to the Parthenon, I wouldn't let her.
"I'll make sure you don't have to go back to the Parthenon, so don't worry."
"...T-Teacher. Really?"
"I swear it on my name."
"...Teacher..."
As our eyes met for a moment with Lilith.
─Poke
Bianca prodded my side, as if demanding some attention.
"...."
I admitted I'd been focusing too much on Lilith, but I couldn't just let the saintess leave.
'To keep Lilith around... I'll have to spend some money.'
If the sewer disturbances were the issue, I could just buy a bunch of slimes and release them.
Slimes were pricey, but given their trait of not attacking living creatures, they'd be far safer than other demonic beasts roaming around.
Of course, if too many gathered, they might clog the sewers with slime...
But a bit of sewage splashing around was a hundred times better than people getting hurt.
"Alright, let's go in! Teacher!"
Lilith, whose attitude flipped in an instant, started marching forward confidently.
"...It stinks..."
Bianca, walking through the sewer, groaned as she covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief.
The stench was so foul that "stinky" didn't even begin to describe it.
No matter how much the Beatrice family was declining, they were still nobles.
Bianca had surely never experienced anything like this since birth, so the fact she wasn't vomiting was praiseworthy.
...My situation wasn't much better, though.
'Dizzying.'
The stench was so bad it was hard to even think straight.
The only one totally fine here was that lewd saintess.
She was even humming a tune, completely unfazed.
"..Hehehmm~"
Unless her brain was a flower garden immune to smells, she was definitely unconsciously using one of her innate abilities: Purification.
I closed my eyes for a moment, pondered, and made up my mind.
'It's a shame to waste the saintess's mana in a place like this, but...'
At this rate, Bianca and I would collapse before we even found the "host."
"...Saintess."
"Yes! Teacher."
"...Can you purify the inside of the sewer?"
Hearing me, the saintess nodded vigorously.
"Of course! It's time for this saintess Lilith to show her power!"
With that, Lilith pulled a pure white outfit from the bag on her back.
'...Saintess robes...?'
I'd wondered why she was lugging around a bag, but to think she'd brought her saintess robes.
Swish—
Lilith pulled out the robes and immediately started lowering her skirt without hesitation, at which Bianca's eyes went wide and she rushed in.
"What are you doing, you crazy bitch!"
"Wh-Why? What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?! Why are you taking off your skirt!!"
"....?"
Bianca freaked out trying to stop her, but Lilith looked utterly confused about the problem.
"...Teacher and Bianca have already seen my pussy, right? So showing the chastity belt should be fine, no?"
"What do you mean 'fine'?! And don't say 'pussy' like some saintess! Besides, that was different! This is outside!!"
Bianca found three counterpoints for every word from Lilith.
"...But there's no one around!"
"Eugene's right here!! And even if no one's around, there's such a thing as shame...!! Ugh! Whatever, do what you want!!"
Bianca started to say something to the saintess but gave up in frustration.
She'd finally accepted that no rational conversation was possible with her.
"...What are you looking at! Turn around!!"
"Like Lilith said, we've already seen your—"
"Shut up and turn!"
Bianca growled through gritted teeth, so I had no choice but to turn my back.
"This Lilith is ready!"
A moment later, the saintess shouted, having apparently changed.
'...Oh.'
Lilith in her pristine white saintess robes truly looked the part of a "saintess."
Even standing still, she radiated holiness.
But the gaze-magnet that was her massive holy power storage pouch—ill-suited to her small frame—was unavoidable.
"Here I go!"
With her declaration, mana surged from Lilith, making the robes' sleeves flutter as the tips of her brown hair gradually dyed a deep pink.
"...!"
And the moment Lilith opened her eyes again, purifying energy spread from her center.
Whoooosh—!
First, the air freshened like stepping into a lush forest, and filth and sewage touched by the energy purified instantly, cleaning the sewer floor until the bottom was visible.
'...Probably safe to drink right now.'
...Though the mental hurdle meant I wouldn't.
For Lilith to handle purification at this level so effortlessly was impressive.
"Whew...! How was that!"
Lilith thrust out her chest—huge despite her small stature—with a proud expression.
"...Tch, it's pretty good."
Bianca clicked her tongue softly, admitting it grudgingly.
"...Hehe! This is this Lilith, chief of the Parthenon and the servant who attends the goddess closest!"
After the saintess used purification, our sewer exploration went smoothly.
Aside from the intense contamination inside, there were no other obstacles—and above all...
"...Found it! It's here!"
What the saintess showed us was a technique weak in power but wide in range.
So the filth mixed with demonic energy hadn't been purified.
Like finding black lines on black paper is hard, but easy on white—like that.
Searching for filth in the now-purified sewer was a breeze.
"...Good work."
I said, staring at the wall caked in filth.
Focusing my senses, I could feel faint but definite demonic energy leaking from inside.
Tap, tap—
A light knock on the wall produced a hollow echo, like it was empty inside.
I checked around for mechanisms, but found nothing.
"...Gonna have to break it down."
As I prepared to blast the wall with magic, Bianca tapped my shoulder.
"Move. I'll do it."
Was she refusing to be outdone by the saintess's performance?
Bianca stepped up, smirking.
"Bianca, be careful."
"Hmph, just stay back so you don't get hit by debris."
I stepped back half a pace as she said, and Bianca let out a short sigh.
"...Hoo..."
Thud, thud. After a couple light hops in place, Bianca punched the center of the wall.
BOOM—!
The instant her fist connected, the wall crumbled with a deafening roar.