Ch 262
The Saint and the Fairy were having an unexpected time of mutual understanding.
They.
The civilians who cried out miracles while watching their Hero Party.
Would their feelings have been like this?
When looking at the Hero Party that nonchalantly dismissed it, saying it wasn’t a miracle, did they also feel this way?
“Ah, yes. I don’t know the principle well, but demons seem to be particularly vulnerable to my energy.”
Lisir summarized the series of events like that.
The situation where he rolled up a giant snake, as large as a pillar supporting the heavens, like a ball of thread and put it in his pocket.
The situation where, after briefly fumbling in place, he sealed away a high-ranking demon!
No.
In the first place, is it right to call that sealing?
“So now that demon… is going to stay like that forever?”
The Saint and the Fairy’s fingers simultaneously pointed to one spot.
On Lisir’s palm.
The small snake—that demon—that had undergone ‘something’ there and was incapacitated.
“Well… actually, I’m quite worried about that part too. I’m not in a position to guarantee how long this state will last.”
Lisir showed anxiety on his face.
But why?
The Fairy and the Saint could not empathize with his anxiety at all.
-Pyaaaaaat! Piaayyat!
Even while Lisir was speaking, the cute little baby snake was too busy rubbing its face against Lisir’s thumb.
Along with its flicking tongue, pleasant cries kept leaking out.
It seemed quite happy.
Can that baby snake really be called the ‘coiling shadow’?
Even after denial was replaced by divinity, can it be called the demon that still possessed malice and tried to cause confusion?
Absolutely not, for now.
Then, in the future?
The possibilities inherent in the future are infinite, but even so, it was unimaginable for that demon to regain its original form.
By now, the Saint and the Fairy were convinced.
The coiling shadow.
Or the purified darkness.
That it had finally met its true ruin this time.
Along with the attributes of unfathomable power and immortality that protected it—
“Is this right…? Is this okay…?”
Tara grabbed her head and cried out in confusion.
The days she had spent as a Saint, opposing all kinds of demons, flashed before her eyes like a life flash.
Demons.
How much hardship had she endured to oppose those unfathomable beings?
How many sacrifices had she made to drive out those immortal beings?
Opposing demons.
That achievement occupied a considerable part of the pride residing within the Hero.
But look at that man.
Look at that snake.
“What have I been doing until now…”
“Tara!!!”
The Saint, who clearly regained her vitality along with her energy, weakly collapsed onto the ground.
The Fairy, who had been bickering with the Saint, hugged her, crying out.
“Tsk…”
Lisir felt unnecessary guilt.
It was something he had become accustomed to.
-Pyaaaaaat!!!
It was summer.
✦✦✦
Fortunately, Lisir didn’t have to apologize for ‘sealing the demon’.
Tara suddenly regained her energy.
“Ehehe… Uhhahahaha!!! Kyahahahaha!”
Quite excessively.
-Ah!!! Master!!! That woman, the Saint, has become a madwoman!!! Caution seems appropriate!!!
“Oh, Dangaleon—please say something to the Saint…!”
Even as he said that, Lisir unconsciously took a step back.
“Ta, Tara…? Wh-what is it—did she get cursed or something!?”
Her appearance was enough to horrify even her comrades.
“Ha, hahaha!!! Hahahahaha!!!!!”
Clutching her stomach, she vomited all her breath in laughter.
The Saint’s laughter continued for quite a long time.
“Haa—”
At the end, the sight of her catching her breath and wiping her eyes looked as if she had just burst into tears.
It was a truly relieved face.
Lisir, having confirmed that the Saint’s condition was less insane（?） than he thought, cautiously approached her.
-Master!!! Just in case, use the purifying power on that madwoman…!
“Oh, Dangaleon, please just—”
Lisir barely overcame his desire to adopt Dangaleon’s opinion and said.
“Tara, are you alright…?”
“…Ah.”
“Yes?”
“How could I be alright!!! It feels like my whole world has been denied!!!”
“Huck…!”
The Saint vented her resentment.
While wearing a very cheerful smile.
“Really… what is this! If this is the case, what about all the people who worked hard and sacrificed themselves to seal demons until now!!!”
“No, uh, what… I’m sorry…?”
Lisir apologized, fidgeting.
At that sight, the Saint belatedly came to her senses.
“Ah. No. Apology—…don’t do that. I was just momentarily excited, I never intended to blame you.”
“Was that so? It almost seemed like Saint was about to unleash a new curse power.”
When the Fairy snickered from the side, the Saint frowned.
“…That’s right! I just got a little angry! That demon! I’ve been running around like crazy trying to seal that thing, and suddenly my past feels ridiculous!!! And, actually, nothing has changed, and I’ve been boasting about performing a miracle, and suddenly my past feels embarrassing, so I just vented my anger!!! Why! Do you have a complaint!? It’s okay to do this much, right, huh!? Do you have a complaint!?”
Hoo!
Hoo!
After venting her anger once more, the Saint glared at Lisir, then burst into laughter.
“And, if you do that, sometimes your energy recovers and your rank increases?”
“…I, I’m sorry?”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“I felt like I should…”
“…That’s right, you thought well. You might want to apologize to some other people.”
The Saint’s laughter continued.
However, unlike before, her laughter had a distinctly calm tone.
“Haa…”
And, the sight of her catching her breath.
Lisir and Shuyen belatedly realized.
Saint Tara Dorin.
How healthily she was expressing her emotions.
She was a Saint who had ultimately met her demise after endless sacrifices.
In that process, all she had gained was the solace that she had done what only she could do, and that she had accomplished a noble achievement.
However.
Through Lisir’s demon purification ritual, even that solace was denied.
Instead, what was given to her was a small doubt.
The doubt, ‘Perhaps my life was meaningless?’
Lisir, who understood the Saint’s feelings, felt dizzy.
If he had been in the Saint’s position, how would he have felt?
How would he have acted?
Perhaps, he would have reproached him for appearing only now.
So Lisir tried to comfort the Saint.
Saying he was sorry.
Saying he was sorry for not appearing before her sooner and helping her.
“Thank you…”
“Yes?”
However, the Saint’s voice came out first.
Lisir unconsciously asked back.
“Thank you, what…”
She grabbed Lisir’s hand and cautiously continued.
“I’m grateful for everything. Because of your existence, the will and effort—and sacrifice—of the heroes who sought to confront the darkness will be rewarded.”
“…”
Lisir was speechless and stammered.
He had momentarily forgotten because of her friendly and approachable demeanor, but he remembered again.
How great a will she possessed as a hero.
The Saint did not oppose the demons for her own honor or prestige.
Even the darkness that seemed eternal and absolute would one day recede.
By the light, brighter than anything else, that exists in this world.
The Saint had never done anything for herself.
Her purpose was only one.
To perform a miracle.
And thus, to prove the existence of God.
And thus, to widely spread the existence of hope that would not be obscured by any darkness in the world.
In short, the salvation of all mankind.
Therefore, the Saint, while momentarily resenting Lisir’s existence, could ultimately feel infinite gratitude.
“As long as you are here, all sacrifices and faith will never be in vain.”
Lisir thought.
That it was too grand a meaning for him to understand.
But he could clearly understand one thing.
Tara Dorin.
The reason why she was called a Saint.
-Pyaaaaaat!!!
Seeing the Saint happy, the baby snake made a pleasant sound.
The demon the Saint knew was no longer there.
It was the moment the Saint, who wished for the salvation of all, was saved.
✦✦✦
Lisir recalled what the Fairy, Shuyen, had said before.
Saint Tara Dorin.
That she had a very meticulous personality, unlike her appearance.
Now, Lisir fully understood the meaning of those words.
“Concentrate!!! You were thinking about something else again!?”
“Yes! Instead of concentrating, I was thinking about concentrating incredibly hard!!!”
“Shut up! Don’t talk back!!!”
“Yes!”
“I told you not to talk back!”
“!!!”
“Oh, are you glaring at me!?”
“No! I answered ‘Yes’ with my eyes! You told me not to talk back—”
“I told you not to talk back!”
“Kuhk… This is the first Saint… I can’t see any way to approach her…”
Before.
She had been so embarrassed to have poured out her inner thoughts and expressed her gratitude that whenever she was in front of Lisir, she couldn’t leave him alone.
Tara’s repeated kicking of the blanket while sleeping!
Lisir had to take the place of that blanket.
Separately.
The Saint’s Divine Magic guidance, having cast off all illusions, proceeded very smoothly.
“I want to show this to the priests of the Order.”
That was the Fairy’s reaction after observing the lesson.
As a comrade of the Saint, Shuyen, who had seen and heard about Divine Magic, could only be astonished by the progress of the lesson.
The divine rank Lisir newly obtained through a series of events.
Added to that was his inherent sensory embodiment ability.
Lisir’s Divine Magic achievement was made at an unreasonable speed.
“The Healing Power I learned yesterday. That’s the application. If you use divinity like this, you can recover bodily damage.”
“…”
“Divinity is the manifestation of will. Believe firmly. That you can heal that wound.”
“…Huh! I, it worked…!?”
“…Good, let’s move on to the next one.”
“Yes!? Already!?”
“Or what, you’ve already perfectly mastered lower-level healing, so are you going to keep holding onto lower-level healing?”
“Your lower-level healing is now perfect, so it means you can move on to the next level.”
“Shut up, Shuyen!!! It’s none of your business! Get out!”
“Ah, then now—intermediate healing… learning how to recover damaged energy!”
“No, we’re moving on to advanced healing.”
“Yes?”
“The power you just displayed is intermediate healing.”
“…”
“What’s that expression? It’s the expression I want to have, actually?”
Tara, already accustomed to that irrationality, could proactively adjust the content of the lesson to match Lisir.
The unimpeded progress of the embodiment of divinity.
Thus, it was fifteen days and two days since Lisir had received Divine Guidance from the first Saint.
-Kuaaaak!!! Lisir!!! This can’t be!!! I’ve regained consciousness at your waist!!! This isn’t a dream, is it!?! I thought I would be abandoned by you when I collapsed and lost consciousness…!!!
“…What kind of person am I inside Zallak?”
The battle with the rotten swamp, Astrogue.
In the process, the Rapid Advancement Holy Sword, Zallak, who had lost consciousness, regained consciousness.
Tara, who watched their reunion, nodded and said.
“It’s done now. Shall we go back?”
“Yes?”
Lisir felt it was sudden—
He quickly changed his mind.
‘Ah. Come to think of it, everyone might be worried.’
He recalled the circumstances of coming here and the party left behind.
‘It’s been fifteen days and… about a week?’
Lisir suddenly recalled his respect for his Master.
‘This anxiety and guilt… even guidance isn’t easy…!’
Lisir, having organized his thoughts, spoke to Tara.
“Yes. I understand. As Tara said, I think it’s best for me to go back now.”
She extended her hand towards Tara.
“Tara. Thank you for everything until now. This teaching. This grace. And this bond. I will never forget it. We will be able to meet again, won’t we?”
Lisir’s voice was soaked with considerable emotion.
Tara stared at Lisir and tried to say something.
“…”
However, she soon became embarrassed and coughed— khm .
“Go.”
“…”
A moment passed.
Lisir and Shuyen looked at Tara and burst into laughter.
She clicked her tongue and turned her head.
Afterwards.
Lisir’s preparations for his return proceeded smoothly.
✦✦✦
“Oh, Lisir.”
The real world—
The sight Lisir first witnessed upon returning to his room in his Illathein house.
Ratsil.
She, who had been lying comfortably on Lisir’s bed, slowly got up and said, rubbing her eyes.
“You’re back?”
That’s not the reaction I expected?
As if she had sensed Lisir’s thoughts, Ratsil said.
“For the first few days, everyone was worried about Lisir—but then they came to this conclusion.”
“What… conclusion?”
“That since it’s Lisir, there’s no need to worry, right? That was the conclusion.”
“Ah…”
Lisir wondered whether he should feel proud of their complete trust or feel disappointed.
Oh my.
Meanwhile, Ratsil got up from the bed and said.
“Well then! Now that Lisir is back, I should start preparing!”
“…Preparing, what do you mean?”
“Expedition preparations!”
“Yes?”
“The Verdant Star said she sensed the presence of the World Tree! In a human city outside the Great Forest!”
“…!”
“Because of that, there’s a commotion in the city right now!? Really, did the World Tree grow somewhere other than Illathein!? If that’s true, why!? Why!? This expedition is to find that out.”
Lisir’s eyes widened.
His pupils shook violently.
The World Tree grew in a human city?
Could it be?
No, it can’t be.
He tried to calm down all his anxiety and said to Ratsil.
“Ratsil.”
“Yes! What are you curious about? Tell me. Ah! Come to think of it, shouldn’t I be the one asking questions!? What happened to Lisir while you were there!? No, what was it in the first place!? What happened to make Lisir all alone there—”
Uuuaaaah.
Lisir was given a chance to ask questions a long time later.
“If… if the World Tree is really found in a human city… what will happen then?”
“Um… I don’t know?”
That’s right.
Come to think of it, I wonder?
What will happen.
Um. Um! Um!!!
After the noisy pondering ended.
Lisir’s heart sank as if it were falling down, at the playful words Ratsil uttered.
“Great Migration?”
✦✦✦
The Saint’s Village.
Tara and Shuyen remained there, watching the dimensional gate Lisir had entered slowly close.
The lingering feeling of parting.
And—
The Fairy, who had been immersed in various feelings, spoke in a playful tone as if to shake it all off.
“Saint. What was Lisir like?”
“What do you mean?”
“Saint, what were Lisir’s qualities as a priest? He doesn’t seem to fit the image of a priest, but he does, doesn’t he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
Shuyen looked at Tara, thinking she was strange.
After teaching Divine Magic all this time?
At that moment, Tara pointed to something.
A bird in the tree.
A bird created by Tara with the same power she used to create the village to help Lisir master divinity.
The bird, originally born injured, was a kind of illusion and was supposed to disappear as soon as it had served its purpose.
Tara said with a serious expression.
“Why isn’t it disappearing?”
✦✦✦
Translator’s Blog
Blog
- My Gacha Gaming Habit is Bleeding My Bank Account Dry: How to Stop Before You Go Broke
- Your Crush is With Someone Else? Channel Your Inner Samurai, Not a Sad Puppy Dog.
- Who’s Your Waifu? Why Choosing Your Anime Spirit Animal Is Deeper Than You Think (And Who I’d Pick)
- Kakashi Hatake: The Ultimate Husbando? A Deep Dive into the Sharingan of Our Desires
- The “I’m So Deep in This Light Novel I’m Living It” Blues: When Your Waifu Gets NTR’d and You’re Not Even Mad (But Kind of Are)
Leave a Reply