Chapter 47
Light novel: Episode 47
Manhwa: Chapter 20
“I heard you coughed up blood. Are you feeling alright?”
I was about to approach him but stopped mid-step at his sudden question.
What’s this? His tone was no different than usual, but the atmosphere he gave off was completely different.
An expression completely blank, without the slightest hint of a smile, green eyes gleaming sharply, and an aura filled not with warmth, but a cold, ruthless intensity.
Was it because this part of the grand temple of the Sun God was unusually dark and chilly? Airek felt utterly unfamiliar.
“Are you still not feeling well?”
While I was distracted, studying this unfamiliar Airek, I missed the timing to answer. Then he suddenly closed the distance between us with long strides.
But when I saw him up close, Airek seemed no different from usual.
Did I just imagine it?
“Ah, my body is fine. I slept soundly and woke up feeling perfectly normal.”
It wasn’t a lie, yet the look in Airek’s eyes as he watched me held a trace of doubt.
“Please excuse me for a moment.”
After asking for permission, Airek took my hand and raised it. Soon, his divine power began to flow into me.
“…Ah.”
The fullness of the sun enveloped my entire body. A soft sensation slowly filled me, like facing the gentle warmth of spring sunlight.
It was so slow and tender that it felt almost ticklish.
This was Airek’s healing power.
“Just checking. Whether the Saintess had properly healed herself.”
He spoke to me as I stood there in a daze.
Since Seth didn’t know that I was a fake Saintess with no healing power, Airek deliberately covered for me with lies and then healed me himself.
I didn’t resist Airek’s power. I never even considered refusing it in the first place.
The divine power filling my entire body was simply too warm and comforting.
“The High Priest’s divine power is truly… warm.”
Perhaps intoxicated by the sensation, I blurted it out without thinking.
I meant it sincerely enough that I didn’t particularly regret saying it out loud, yet for some reason, Airek’s eyes widened in shock.
Even the flow of divine power abruptly stopped.
Wait, was calling divine power ‘warm’ some kind of insult?
“…Ah, so your body truly is well. That’s a relief.”
Airek, who had been frozen for a moment, hastily released my hand and retreated. Even farther back than when he had approached.
It was as fast as a lightning strike.
“Have you come to see the prisoner, Saintess?”
Though puzzled by his strange behavior, I didn’t answer and instead stepped beside him.
Beyond the iron bars, in the dimly lit cell, Jeremy sat with his head hanging low, his arms shackled to the wall.
Even his legs were bound to the floor with heavy restraints.
“Upon investigation, we discovered how this man managed to slip past the guards and reach the Saintess’ bedchamber.”
Airek’s lips twisted grimly.
“His entire body is covered with marks of the Great Sea God. It’s truly astonishing.”
Oh, as expected of the High Priest, he figured it out quickly.
“Marks of the Great Sea God?”
Seth asked in surprise, and Airek nodded.
“Yes. It’s not the simple divine power that we use. It’s definitely divine force.”
Divine Force.
If divine power was the special blessing that humans received to wield power granted by the gods, then divine force was the very power that gods themselves wielded.
Even a Saintess or a Saint couldn’t easily receive such power. And yet, here it was, wrapped around someone sent to assassinate me of all people. It was ridiculous.
“With divine force cloaking him so thickly, it’s only natural that you, Captain, didn’t notice. There’s no need for you to blame yourself.”
Airek offered words of comfort, but Seth’s expression didn’t improve in the slightest.
“Then does this mean the Great Sea God himself tried to kill our Saintess?”
It was an absurd conclusion, but understandable given the circumstances.
Still, the Great Sea God probably didn’t even know I existed, so that worry was unnecessary.
Airek seemed to share the same thought, for he shook his head.
“No, I don’t believe so. Most likely, the Great Sea God’s Saintess and Saint dispatched someone they highly valued and granted them divine force to ensure success.”
It was an accurate deduction. But there was one bitter truth that soured my appreciation of his intelligence.
Jeremy was by no means someone highly valued.
The Great Sea God didn’t bestow divine force upon him because he recognized his abilities.
He was merely a branded slave, used by the Great Sea God’s Saintess and Saint to carry out their tasks more easily.
Even the heroine, Idella, only realized this point much later, so of course, Airek wouldn’t know that much either.
“Seems this potion business really got under their skin.”
“Such outrageous…!”
Seth clenched his fists tightly.
It was natural to be furious at them for attempting murder over something so trivial. But unfortunately, we couldn’t confront them about this.
Not only was our grand temple at a lower rank, even the Sun God himself was much weaker than the Great Sea God.
The only consolation was that we had captured the weapon the Great Sea God’s faction poured everything into creating.
A weapon like Jeremy wouldn’t be easy to reproduce. Naturally, they would want to get him back at all costs.
So if we take him as a hostage, never mind the apology. It’d be best to squeeze out a hefty compensation…
‘The problem is, I don’t want to send Jeremy back.’
I looked at Jeremy, who didn’t so much as twitch, though I didn’t know why.
If he goes back to the Great Sea God’s grand temple, he’ll undergo horrific training again, receive assassination orders, and once more be drenched head to toe in blood.
He’ll live like a machine with no will of his own, carrying out orders alone, and end up branded a murderous fiend.
At least until he meets Idella, the heroine, and is saved.
I can’t stand by and watch that happen.
Sure, Jeremy’s salvation by Idella was an important event in the original story but… why should that matter to me?
You want me to leave a kid to be tortured for the sake of romance?
I could never do something like that.
Anyway, neither the Sun God nor even the AI has ever stopped me from gleefully wrecking the original plot. So this time, I’ll do exactly as I want.
“High Priest, is he conscious? He’s awfully quiet.”
“Yes, his eyes are open. But strangely, he hasn’t moved at all. There’s no reaction even when I use divine power.”
That was definitely strange. With his innate homing instinct, he should be desperately trying to return to the Great Sea God’s temple.
Was it because he hadn’t succeeded in assassinating me yet?
“Could you please open the door? I need to go in and check.”
“That’s out of the question!”
“I absolutely cannot permit that.”
Seth and Airek immediately objected in unison.
In the dark dungeon, Seth’s blue eyes and Airek’s green pupils flashed so fiercely that I gave up right away.
Fine, I can just do it from here.
I extended my hand and sent a burst of divine power toward Jeremy.
Since Airek was right beside me, I drew only the smallest amount possible. It was so weak that it merely trickled out like faint wisps of smoke.
Just as I thought it might be too weak—
“Graah!”
Just then, Jeremy, who had been lying limply as if dead just moments ago, suddenly went berserk.
Clank! Clank!
The chains rattled violently as he thrashed wildly.
His unfocused pink eyes locked directly on me.
“…He looks like a zombie.”
I meant it.
“My divine power clearly had no effect on him, so why is he reacting to the Saintess’ power…?”
“Could it be because I’m the target? He could be lashing out since I’m the one he was ordered to kill. Last night too, when I used divine power, he went on a rampage.”
Even amidst this chaos, Jeremy was staring solely at me. As if Airek and Seth didn’t even exist.
Faced with that, Airek couldn’t help but accept my explanation.
“The blood you coughed up last night must have been caused by the Great Sea God’s divine force. Their energies must have clashed.”
“Please stop using your power.”
Seth, deeply unsettled by Airek’s accurate deduction, gently pulled my hand away.
Hmm, but if I want to save Jeremy, I can’t just leave things like this. What should I do…
Ah! Right, there was that!
“The jewel box! I need the jewel box immediately! The one that used to hold the Relic of Light!”
Airek’s eyes widened at my sudden outburst.
“But didn’t you say you destroyed it…?”
“I actually didn’t! I hid it under my pillow, and now I need it right away!”
“I’ll retrieve it.”
Without even asking why, Seth immediately rushed off. Thank goodness he was such a loyal holy knight.
“Saintess, what do you intend to use for…?”
Seeing Airek’s confused expression, I held off on answering.
“I’ll explain the details later. Just watch for now.”
Fortunately, Airek didn’t press me further.
How fast did he run? The distance from here to my bedroom is considerable, yet Seth returned almost instantly.
“Here it is.”
His breath was perfectly steady too as he handed me the jewel box, not a hint of fluster.
Sword Masters really were monsters. I envy their stamina.
“What are you planning to do with this…?”
“Just watch closely.”
I gripped the jewel box tightly and turned toward Jeremy.
Jeremy, who had been staring blankly at me with unfocused eyes, flinched the moment he saw the box in my hands.
Yes, you recognize this, don’t you? What’s coming next is even more familiar to you.
I grinned at Jeremy and then… hurled the jewel box.
Where?
At his head, the very same spot I had smashed last night.
Thwack!
The familiar sharp, satisfying sound rang out clearly within the prison.
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!