Chapter 36
Light novel: Episode 36
Manhwa: Chapter 15
“There was only a single short sentence saying the Relic of Light held the power of healing. But to me, that alone was hope.”
So much so that he clung to that one sentence, wandering in search of the relic.
At Lute’s words, I swallowed a sigh inwardly.
The Relic of Light, which had been utterly shattered and reduced to ashes, was not from the Sun God but from the final villain.
But then, could an ancient book that had false information about the relic even be considered reliable?
“Where is that old book now?”
“It no longer exists.”
I had intended to snatch it away from Lute immediately, but an unexpected answer came back.
“It doesn’t exist?”
“Maybe it was too old, but right after I read it, the paper crumbled and turned into powder. What a shame. If the book had remained intact, I could have studied it more.”
…Strange. No matter how old it was, would a whole book really disintegrate like that?
Still, it didn’t feel like Lute was lying.
Knowing what the relic truly was only made it more suspicious.
“Where did you find that old book?”
“In the royal archive, which only members of the imperial family can access. I received special permission from His Majesty the Emperor to take a look.”
The royal archive.
Hearing that word only made me feel more uneasy.
“…The royal archive sure has everything. There are even books about our sacred relics.”
But I decided to stop there for now, as I thought Lute would become suspicious if I continued to pry.
The book was gone anyway, and I couldn’t just walk into the imperial palace. I’d have to get closer to him before asking again.
“It’s really fortunate the relic ended up being helpful. Of course, my blessing also did its part.”
“That’s right. I was so surprised when the Saintess said she would create a potion combining alchemy and divine power, right when we no longer needed to hire Wolfgang Schmidt.”
“Not a bad plan, right?”
I shook the potion Zenrick had left behind.
“Yes. I’ll admit that.”
For once, Lute nodded without complaint.
“People may not be familiar with the Sun God, but if it contains alchemy, which they are familiar with, they will accept it more quickly.”
…Okay, never mind. This guy’s totally throwing shade at the Sun God and the grand temple.
Seriously, does his mouth sprout thorns if he fails to even once give a sarcastic remark?
“Alright then, I’ll cast the blessing now. Hand over the relic.”
Annoying as he was, I couldn’t just leave the patient suffering, so I held out my hand.
Tap.
“……?”
No, I said give me the relic, why are you placing your hand on mine?
“I really don’t want to hold onto this.”
“I didn’t give it to you so you could admire my pretty hand, either. I’m asking for the potion.”
Lute gestured with his chin toward the potion I was holding in my other hand.
“Shouldn’t we test the potion’s effects? Conveniently, I, the patient, will drink it myself and verify it for you.”
Good grief. Don’t tell me that’s why he didn’t accept the blessing?
“No matter how much divine power it contains, it won’t do much for your condition, Your Grace.”
“Well, it’s not like we have other options, do we? Unless you’ve got a better way to verify the effect?”
At Lute’s retort, I naturally glanced at my left forearm.
The very spot I’d slashed with a knife back when the first sample was made.
It hurts a bit, sure, but this really is the most reliable method.
“Wait. You’re not seriously thinking of something stupid like hurting yourself again like some brute, are you?”
Sharp, as always.
Yeah, I know it’s reckless. But what can I do? Nothing’s more accurate than this.
When I kept quiet and grumbled, Lute let out a hollow laugh.
“You really were thinking that?”
“I mean, I can’t exactly go wounding someone else. So it’s best to use my own body.”
“You’re talking like you’ve done it before, but I won’t ask any more questions. I feel like hearing more will just ruin my mood.”
Lute smiled. Not that constant, dazed grin he always wore like a screw was loose—this one was different.
For some reason, it felt chilling.
“Anyway, just give me that potion. I’ll be the one to verify the effects.”
With that, Lute took off the divine relic he was wearing before I could stop him.
The moment he did, his eyes tensed, and the hand still holding mine began to tremble uncontrollably.
“What do you think you’re doing—?!”
As if waiting for that moment, the black blotches swelled rapidly, and I, startled by the grotesque transformation, yanked my hand back.
Then, in a hurry, I shoved the potion bottle into his mouth.
“Are you insane?!”
The moment the potion slid down Lute’s throat, I couldn’t help but curse out loud.
I was so shocked, there was no way I could speak nicely.
“The black blotches were only held back by divine power—do you even know what kind of side effects you could’ve triggered by letting them run wild like that?!”
Sure enough, with the obstruction gone, the black stains surged joyfully and intensified their presence.
The aura was so horrifying, it chilled my chest.
Lute could’ve died from shock if things had gone just a bit worse.
“You’re just as reckless as I am.”
I set down the now half-empty potion and let out a long sigh.
It would’ve been better to wound myself instead. At least I wouldn’t die from something like that.
“Let’s not blame each other when we’re both the same.”
The way he smiled while wiping the potion from his lips was unbearably irritating.
If he weren’t sick, I would’ve punched him.
“Still, we did get a meaningful result.”
With orange-tinted fingers, he tapped the potion bottle lightly.
“Maybe it’s because of the divine power, but the pain did lessen a bit. Not nearly to the level of when I was wearing the relic imbued with a blessing, though.”
“……”
“If I had to quantify it, maybe less than one-tenth of that. It’s not a dramatic improvement, but considering the unique nature of my illness, it’s a fairly effective potion.”
“You really have the mental space to analyze that right now?”
Still, I was relieved that we got something out of this.
But for some reason, I couldn’t let myself be completely happy about the situation.
“Oh, were you that worried about me?”
Is he seriously asking that?
Lute might not know, but the truth was he was the one whose fate I had personally twisted with my own hands.
He was the first person to deviate from the original storyline, so of course I wanted him to keep surviving and living a normal life.
“I just couldn’t believe the stupid thing you pulled, that’s all.”
But I couldn’t very well explain all that, so I let it drop.
Clicking my tongue, I grabbed the potion instead of slapping that smug grin off Lute’s face.
It was an unexpected turn of events, but since things had already come to this, I might as well make the most of it.
【Activating skill: ‘Blessing’.】
My golden divine power gently melted into the potion.
Just like last time, the orange potion gradually began to take on a red hue.
But maybe because this potion’s original color was darker than the last one, the red tint bloomed like blazing fire this time.
Radiant, beautiful, and powerful.
It was a color that drew the eye without effort.
“The color…”
“It’s a potion containing my blessing.”
I handed the half-filled potion back to Lute.
“Drink it.”
Lute, marveling at the potion that looked like a sunset or a flame accepted it without resistance and drank.
Then he opened his eyes wide in surprise.
“This… is really effective. I feel noticeably better.”
“How does it compare to when you were wearing the relic?”
“It’s not quite at the level of the relic’s effects when the blessing was still active.”
That’s to be expected. What Lute was wearing was a divine relic specialized in healing, after all.
“Still, compared to the potion before it was blessed, I’d say it’s about three to four times more effective.”
“That’s great.”
At that level, it’ll definitely sell well. It was the right decision to put blessings in the potions.
Now that the experiment was over, I re-applied a blessing onto the divine relic Lute had taken off earlier.
“Here. I’ve re-blessed it. Come back in a month for the next one.”
This time, Lute obediently placed the relic back around his neck.
From the moment he drank the potion, the black stains, which had been flaring up just moments ago, now drooped limply like a machine that had lost power.
Seeing that his complexion had clearly improved compared to earlier, I added,
“From now on, don’t go doing anything reckless. Come back regularly for your blessings before the month’s up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“If something urgent comes up and you can’t make it, then drink the potion like you did today. But I’ll be preparing a separate batch just for you, so don’t go sneaking any off the ones being sold in the market.”
Lute immediately drooped his eyes in exaggerated offense.
“What do you take me for? You think I’d do something that petty?”
“Not exactly, but we’ve become a bit sensitive about embezzlement. Just last month, we caught a few embezzlers.”
The embezzlers, including Kento, were still locked up in the underground prison.
Since crimes committed in the grand temple are punished according to temple’s own law, not imperial law, that was allowed.
Count Kiris hadn’t tried to ask for their release either, probably not wanting to stir unnecessary trouble.
“The underground prison has basically become the quarters for embezzlers.”
If you mess up, we’ll prepare a room for you too.
“…Don’t worry. If I ever urgently need one, I’ll buy it at the regular price.”
Lute raised his hand in a pledge, clearly understanding the meaning behind my words.
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
If there are any errors, whether it be grammatical, spelling, translation, or website-related issues, feel free to let me know. (´◡`) Anyway, thank you for reading!