Chapter 135
Chapter 135
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: 12. Survival Competition (11)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A little dizzy. With that thought, I opened my eyes and saw the sky.
How did things end up like this? I'd overexerted the goddess's power, cracks had spiderwebbed across my right arm, and I'd been bleeding buckets.
I propped myself up on my surprisingly pain-free arm, and with a soft mung, the golden furball hopped down from on top of me.
And Big Sis Mina, who'd been giving me a lap pillow until now, rose with a faint smile.
"Uh, the situation?"
"It's sorted."
"Good. No more problems, right?"
"Yeah."
The demon army that had poured out at the end was anything but normal, no matter how you looked at it. The Demon God Cult treated even fellow demons like trash if they didn't worship the Demon God, so they'd probably dragged in some brainwashed ones by force.
They must've smuggled them in bit by bit on wagons or something.
Well, the idea of freeing that massive force without killing a single one was absurd anyway, so we had no choice but to wipe them out.
And as for my problematic right arm, while it was crisscrossed with golden lines, it looked fine now.
I clenched and unclenched my fist, but there was no pain or discomfort.
"The arm's all healed."
"Seems like it."
"We'll know for sure once we check with the Theocracy, but it's got stigmata."
"Without even doing anything special."
"You resisted the Demon God Cult right up until your body started breaking down from the goddess's power."
Put like that, it almost sounded impressive.
Anyway, since the emperor was the official representative, I decided to dump this mess on him. Right now, all I wanted was to head back and crash.
Mental fatigue had my legs giving out, and as I plopped down onto my butt, the golden furball waddled over and snuggled against me.
Now that it was fully purified, it was kinda cute.
It showed goodwill toward me, Big Sis Mina, and even my holy sword—probably reacting to the goddess's power.
I handed over the sheathed holy sword, and it happily chomped down on it and started bounding around.
"We should take it with us."
"Huh? Really, Mr. Dras?"
"I don't know who it belongs to, but they probably tossed it in to purify the sludge infused with Demon God power. Looks like it likes the shopkeeper, so take it along."
"Gonna need some pet supplies."
"The backyard should work fine."
"Right?"
It was a fairly sizable furball, so we'd need a spacious area—not too hot, maybe with a fan for cool air.
I petted the puppy after it returned from frolicking with the scabbard in its mouth, then extended my right arm. It rubbed against it extra affectionately.
Definitely. This thing was like the goddess's divine beast.
"No matter how I think about it, it's gotta be the goddess's divine beast."
"Anyone can see that."
"Can we really tie it up in the backyard, though?"
"The shopkeeper's its owner, so it's up to you."
Then I'd just raise it without worry.
I beckoned the puppy over, had it sit in front of me, told it to follow, and headed to His Majesty the Emperor.
It followed nicely.
"Your Majesty."
"Ah! Hm. Glad to see you're in one piece."
"Yes. Almost fully recovered."
"You did well. I didn't mean to throw you into such grueling fights."
"No helping it. No one else could do it."
I wasn't really angry. In an environment where raising a large army was tough, we'd operated with a small elite force, and the three best fighters had handled the enemy—that was the result.
More than that, I was curious if talks with the Dwarf King and such had progressed while I was out.
"Any progress on discussions?"
"Surprisingly, the king really knew nothing."
"Huh."
"But in turn, that human child among the dwarves vanished. Probably that one's doing."
"High-ranking demons can disguise themselves indistinguishably from humans."
"Doesn't that mean parts of the empire could be demons? Just thinking about it gives me a headache."
"That's why I always tell you to be careful."
"Ahem. Still, it doesn't feel bad having you worry about me. Anyway, time to wrap things up."
"And prepare to head back."
As soon as I mentioned leaving, the emperor cleared his throat with a kem. He leaned in close, whispering something he clearly wanted.
"Uh, when you go back... mind if I tag along?"
"Don't you have a ton to do when you return?"
"No, I've been away too long. Heading straight back, who knows what threats might be waiting."
"Not wrong, but still..."
"Heh heh. I wanna spend some time with you too."
Sigh.
I nodded for now. Just as she said, with power struggles between her and the court officials, leaving the palace for so long could lead to who-knows-what.
If someone harbored treason, this was the perfect timing.
Leaving her with a noticeably brighter expression, I pondered which demon had built this lab.
In the game, the creator wasn't explicitly revealed. But crafting such powerful weapons through this tedious, laborious method was pretty eccentric.
Among the demons I'd sent packing so far—excluding Karsis, Danil, and Svetlana. Hm.
And the voice transmitted remotely had a childish feel too.
"Inquirer Chen..."
"Hm?"
"Nothing. Just musing on who orchestrated this."
"Got a suspect?"
"Yes. Not certain, though."
"Who?"
"Name's Chen. Epithet: the Inquirer. Loves making things."
Sounded reasonable for a weaponsmith, but unfortunately, no. True to her Demon God Cult executive status, she had bizarre hobbies—like weapons made solely from human arms, guns studded with hundreds of plucked eyeballs. A real monster.
She looked like a cute little girl, but her aesthetic tastes and mentality evoked an Outer God from Cthulhu mythos.
"A real nasty one, so watch out. I don't wanna see Your Majesty turned into a human instrument."
"Human instrument?"
"Yeah. Leave only the head alive, press a button for sound."
Her expression management failed as she imagined it, her lips trembling as she spoke.
"Ghastly."
"That's why I'm telling you to be careful."
"Mm. I don't want anything worse than death."
We finished talking, and I was about to head back to my lodgings. Even if there was more, I wanted to handle it tomorrow.
Maybe from pouring out the goddess's power, I felt abnormally sleepy and exhausted.
As I blinked to fight off drowsiness, the puppy wedged between my legs and barked.
It struck a pose like it was offering a ride, so on a whim, I climbed on and relaxed.
"Whoa."
The puppy dashed off like it was climbing a mountain, tracking my scent, and quickly found my lodgings. As soon as I flopped onto the bed, it hopped up and pressed right against me.
Nice and warm. Feels great.
Nothing beats body heat for that perfect soothing warmth.
"Gonna sleep more. Feels good."
For the first time in my life, I fell asleep with an animal on the bed.
The warm, soft sensation right next to me was pure bliss.
**
"It's stigmata."
"Needs official judgment from the Theocracy."
"It's just formal recognition."
"True, but still."
Saintess, saint, holy one. Even if it was just a title, you couldn't use those words without the Theocracy's permission.
Ermina had only earned the title "Saintess of Light" after passing their proper trials.
The wound on the shopkeeper was obviously stigmata too, but it still needed judgment.
"More importantly."
"Hm."
"Golden blood came out."
"Shopkeeper's blood is red, though. Right?"
"Yeah."
Even with stigmata, blood there is usually red. Golden blood meant that, in that moment, part of his body had essentially become something else entirely.
"Karin's bracelet is weird too. A tool to reach higher realms."
"The shopkeeper and Karin are turning less human the more they fight? Doesn't sound good."
"Elves can become part of the World Tree after a pure life. Or servants of the goddess."
"Ascension while alive? Sounds like mythology."
Dras pondered for a moment. There was someone he wanted the shopkeeper to meet, but regretfully, the shopkeeper needed rest now more than anything—and was busier than ever.
Postpone to next time? There might not be a next time.
After some thought, he approached the emperor, removed his hat, and bowed.
"Your Majesty."
"Ah, Dras, was it? You did well."
"My apologies. That aside, might I ask about the schedule going forward?"
"Departing the day after tomorrow."
"Does the shopkeeper have anything tomorrow?"
"Briefly in the morning. Afternoon's free."
"I'd like to introduce someone to him then, if I could borrow a bit of time."
"Of course. If he agrees."
Dras bowed and withdrew, passing Mina—who was stroking her thigh and sniffing her hand from the lap pillow duty—and headed to where the dwarves were staying.
If his guess was right, it was a dwarf who could definitely help the shopkeeper.