Chapter 74
Chapter 74.1. Lancelot’s Adventure (3) Part 1
At around lunchtime, Hillis got up while holding her head. After standing up and looking around, Hillis realized why she was back in her room, lying in bed.
She had slept in a little before going down to the first floor for breakfast. As she thought that they needed to leave soon to go to the holy place of Zaharam, she saw the paladins having a drinking party, so she scolded them. Her memory ended there.
"Uh, my head."
Hillis woke up feeling like she was hungover. When she came to her senses, she noticed how thirsty she was.
As Hillis scratched her head and thought about going downstairs for some water, she found a glass of water on the table in the room. Since it was already daytime, the room was getting hot. Hillis believed the water would, unfortunately, also be warm and decided to drink it as quickly as possible.
"Huh?"
Contrary to her expectations, the water was cool. Her thirst seemed to be quenched by the refreshing water that was not too cold nor lukewarm.
How could the water remain so cool? When she looked carefully at the glass of water she was holding, she found that it had magic applied to it. Hillis knew holy magic well, but this was not holy magic. As such, she wasn’t sure of the exact type of magic applied to it.
Still, she could guess who cast this magic; it was Leisha. She was the only magician capable of using magic on the glass of water in Hillis’s room.
In the first place, not just anyone could enter her room due to the paladins’ heavy vigilance. Even if there were other magicians in the oasis village, the paladins wouldn’t have recklessly allowed them to use their magic.
"Huhuhu.”
Hillis laughed as if she were plotting. Come to think of it, she needed a magician to cool her down in the heat. It was for a selfish reason, but she decided to suggest that they travel together with the Crows.
Besides, the Crows said they were going to hire a guide to get out of the desert anyways. It would be a satisfying give-and-take transaction with each other.
Hillis hummed as she walked down to the first floor but couldn’t help but be surprised at the scene awaiting her.
In the middle of the first floor, Mac was bound by a rope and was hanging upside down.
"What is this?" Hillis exclaimed, shocked by the unexpected sight.
A servant rushed over and asked, "Are you feeling well, Miss Saintess?"
"Huh? Yeah, I’m fine, but what’s going on here?”
At Hillis’s question, the servant’s eyes widened as she asked, "Do you not remember?"
"Remember? Now that I think about it, I have a slight headache,” Hillis said.
The servant quickly poured some water and offered it to her. "You will feel better if you have some water."
"Thank you. Huh?" Hillis had a strange sense of deja vu when she received the glass of water from the servant.
For some reason, she felt like she had received a glass just like this. Thinking it was just a passing whim, Hillis drank the water she received. Through the years, too much tea and drinks had been poured for her to call it a feeling of deja vu.
On the contrary, situations where she poured her own drinks were rare.
"What’s wrong?" The servant asked.
Hillis laughed, "It’s nothing, but why is that person hanging like that?”
The servant replied awkwardly, “That’s, he is being punished.”
“Punishment? Who’s punishing him?” Hillis asked.
"It is that person,” The servant said, pointing.
Hillis looked to where the servant was pointing to see Leisha, who bore an angry expression that even Hillis could easily notice.
"Eeya, Miss. Please, could you untie this now!” Mac asked.
Despite hanging upside down, Leisha was stunned to see that Mac’s smiling complexion had not changed one bit.
"More than anything, didn’t Miss say you were curious too? I’m only guilty of relieving your curiosity,” Mac tried to reason.
"Is that what you should be saying in front of them right now?”
When Leisha pointed this out, the paladins began cheering for her while groaning.
“That’s right! Miss from the Crow Tribe, please punish him a little more!”
“Miss, Fighting!” (1)
Upon seeing this display, Hillis asked the servant, "What’s wrong with those guys?"
The paladins were charred in various areas, almost as if they had been struck by lightning. The servant avoided her gaze while answering.
"I am not sure... Well, I suppose you could say causal retribution."
"Causal retribution?" Hillis tilted her head at the servant’s incomprehensible reply.
However, before hearing the details, it was time to leave for the holy place of Zaharam, as they were very behind schedule.
Hillis went straight to Lancelot and his party to ask them to go with her.
"Excuse me.”
As Hillis approached, Lancelot flinched, surprised. The hellish experience from the morning had not yet disappeared from Lancelot’s mind.
Hillis noticed something was wrong when Lancelot showed signs of being afraid of her. She felt somewhat uncomfortable seeing Lancelot hide behind Leisha.
"Did you just wake up?” Leisha greeted, wearing a slightly guilty expression.
With how odd everyone was acting, Hillis wondered what happened during the period where she lost her memory. However, she decided to put aside her curiosity.
"Yes, I gratefully drank the water in the room. I noticed that there was magic on it. It was Miss Leisha who applied the magic to it, right?” Hillis asked.
Leisha waved her hands and acted modestly. "Well, it’s not a big deal.”
"Oh, come to think of it, didn’t you say that you were looking for a guide to get out of the desert?”
Leisha nodded, "Yes, the merchants I previously hired as a guide suddenly turned into bandits, and so we got lost in the middle of the desert.”
Hillis clapped her hands as if they had come across a great fortune and gave Leisha her suggestion. "Then how about coming with us? There is no uncertainty about our identity, and we know the road well because it’s a pilgrimage route. Above all, we have camels and desert carriages so that you can travel through the desert more comfortably.”
Hillis spoke as if she was being considerate, but in reality, she was eager to use Leisha’s magic to keep her cool from the heat.
"That’s a very generous offer... But, I’m not the decision-maker," Leisha said as she sneakily looked at Lancelot hiding behind her.
In the first place, Mac and Leisha were to blame for falling into that situation in the middle of the desert, so they had agreed to follow Lancelot’s instructions.
Hillis only knew the rough details of their plight and not the full story, so she was surprised to hear that Doomstone’s daughter, Leisha, was not the decision-maker.
Hillis’s gaze naturally turned to Mac, who was hanging upside down from the ceiling.
"Hahaha, it’s not me either."
"Then?" Hillis looked at Lancelot, who was slightly sticking his head out from behind Leisha.
So you’re saying that Mac pushed Lancelot forward last night because he really was the decision-maker and not because he thought it would be bothersome?
Hillis couldn’t help but be surprised.
"What do you think?” Leisha asked, turning to Lancelot as he pondered over it.
"Well, to start with my conclusion, I think the offer is okay. First of all, it is a great merit that your identities are credible and can be trusted, in addition to you knowing the way, as you said. However, Miss Saintess’s group is on a pilgrimage route, so you will probably go around the shrine, not directly out of the desert. However, considering the speed at which guides from ordinary villages move, it is unlikely that there will be a significant difference in time compared to traveling around on camels and carriages. Therefore, I think it’s better to go with Miss Saintess’s group, who does not need our protection."
Hillis shot a surprised glance at Lancelot upon his cool-headed analysis, which prompted Lancelot to quickly hid behind Leisha again.
"Well, I think it’s decided. Won’t you let me down now?" Mac asked.
Leisha simply ignored Mac.
"When are we leaving?”
At Leisha’s question, Hillis smiled gracefully. “As soon as everyone is ready?”
“I’ll quickly go get my stuff and bring it down.”
Leisha and Lancelot went to their separate rooms.
"Wait, hold on! Miss! Please untie me before you go!” Mac struggled as he hung upside down from the ceiling, but no one listened.
* * *
Malecia led his direct subordinates to the nearest oasis village from where the bodies were found.
He couldn’t trace the trail of the black-haired people who stole the carnelian crystal in the desert, but he was certain of one thing. The criminals were the ones to approach his subordinates, who had dressed up as merchants. There were two reasons why Malecia was so certain of this.
Firstly, all of the luggage his subordinates were moving was gone. The other reason was the last report from his men. According to the final report, the criminals gave them a gold coin under the pretext of hiring a guide.
Gold coins were too much for just hiring a guide. Even the ignorant children of nobility knew the value of gold coins. His men should have been suspicious from the moment they were readily offered a gold coin to serve as a guide.
Furthermore, the criminals carried bags of silver and gold coins on their waists as they were traveling. No matter how you looked at it, it was an act to provoke the men into attacking.
Most importantly, if they had just wanted to hire a guide, they wouldn’t have taken all the luggage, which would have been cumbersome.
If they wanted to rob the men, they would have just taken the gold-plated totem or the money pouches. However, not only the carnelian crystal but all the luggage that the men were transporting disappeared. The carnelian crystal was the most important item among the things his men were carrying, but it didn’t mean that they didn’t need the other luggage.
They were items for the ritual at the altar. They weren’t strictly necessary, but it would be best if they had it. The overall preparation of the ritual was being delayed because of the luggage’s disappearance.
The bandits had obviously approached with the aim of stealing the carnelian crystal and delaying the ritual.
He had briefly turned his attention to the news that the saintess’s pilgrimage had been decided, but then this happened. Such a pain in the neck was really too troublesome.
Even if he tried to guess who was trying to disrupt the ritual, the possibilities included three, no, more than five organizations, so he couldn’t figure out who did it.
"Damn it." Malecia frowned and cursed in a low voice.
All they had to do was just push the ritual back, but the old magician in charge of the ritual was afraid of unexpected occurrences, so he was pushing forward despite the unnecessary risks.
Malecia believed that the old man guarding the altar was overconfident in his skills.
When Malecia looked unhappy, the men who were accompanying him became very nervous. Malecia hated venting his anger on his men, but his men feared his anger itself. Malecia thought that maybe he should make a joke to ease his men’s nervousness, but he stopped. He didn’t know why, but his jokes always made the atmosphere worse and gave the situation a bad ending.
Malecia and his men wouldn’t arrive in the oasis village until much later than noon.
Malecia pointed at his men and ordered, "You, and you, start investigating the general store. You, you, and you go find the village head. And the rest of you will go to the inn with me."
"Yes!" The men answered Malecia’s orders with a bang and scattered.
Chapter 74.2. Lancelot’s Adventure (3) Part 2
Personally, Malecia thought the criminals would have stayed at the inn if they came to this village. The desert night was not easy to endure, no matter how well-trained a warrior might be.
"Captain, by the way, is it possible that the saintess is staying in this town since it is near the Holy Land, Zaraham?" A subordinate asked with a nervous tone.
Malecia shook his head at the subordinate, "No, the saintess will probably take a few more days to get here. Thinking logically, the saintess will be moving with a large group of paladins as escorts, which will inevitably slow her speed. You don’t have to worry about the saintess as long as she isn’t moving with a small group. If the saintess notices us now, the ritual and everything else would be ruined."
"Even so, don’t we still have the captain?" The subordinate believed that if it was Malecia, even the saintess could be defeated.
That belief made Malecia smile bitterly. "Don’t look down on the saintess. Saintess Hillis is the most powerful user of holy magic. Even the famous battle priest Fernando must take a step back before the saintess."
The subordinates swallowed their saliva as their mouth became dry. This stemmed from the fact that more than just a few of their colleagues had died at the hands of Cardinal Fernando.
In the temple’s eyes, they were pagan enemies, and the rituals they were attempting to perform in the holy land were also evil deeds that should never be performed. Therefore, the temple was Malecia’s prime suspect among the organizations behind the criminals.
With the unannounced pilgrimage of the saintess, the temple should be placed first under suspicion.
"I’ve heard rumors that the saintess can compete on equal footing against William of the Butterfly Tribe."
"You mean that white devil!"
The men were astonished at Malecia’s words. Some of the men became cautious as they had met Willam on the battlefield in the past.
"Don’t be too nervous. It’s simply a rumor. Just be careful,” Malecia said.
"Yes, we understand."
Even with Malecia’s words, his men could not relax. As he entered the inn, this made Malecia think that he shouldn’t have bothered saying them at all.
"Welcome!" The innkeeper greeted them while hard at work cleaning the tables.
As Malecia entered the inn, he frowned when he smelled something faint, "Strangely, there’s a burnt smell.”
The inn was clean without a sign of any soot despite the burnt smell. As such, Malecia assumed that they burnt some food in the kitchen and just let it slide.
Looking around the inn, he couldn’t sense any sign of anyone other than the innkeeper. It seemed that the saintess had not yet arrived at the village. He was worried about it for no reason. There was no way the saintess could have been this fast.
Now that he had left the altar due to the carnelian crystal being stolen, it was difficult for him to respond immediately to the saintess’s movements.
The pilgrimage of the saintess was a sudden decision. Due to this, he was not able to bring along someone capable of deceiving the paladins for this mission. Therefore, he couldn’t keep an eye on the saintess properly, but it wouldn’t matter.
"Owner, let me ask you something,” Malecia said.
The innkeeper smiled broadly and said, "Yes, yes, of course. How much it costs per night is-”
"No-" Malecia cut off the innkeeper. "We have no intention of staying here."
At Malecia’s words, the innkeeper changed his smiling face to an expressionless one, then sighed and went back to wiping the tables.
Malecia’s men were instantly outraged.
"You bastard!"
"Stop," Malecia ordered.
When Malecia waved his hand, his men lowered their fists. Malecia approached the innkeeper.
"Hey. Owner."
When Malecia’s only eye glared at the innkeeper, the innkeeper dropped the rag he was holding.
"Did you see a black-haired trio consisting of a young man, boy, and a girl?" Malecia asked.
As soon as he saw Malecia’s eyes, the innkeeper felt his hair turning white.
The innkeeper stammered in fear as if he was facing a wolf. "That, that is.”
Malecia looked at the innkeeper with warm eyes.
"Take your time," Malecia spoke politely, but the innkeeper’s legs gave out, and he fell onto his butt from fear.
"Heeek! There, there was! A black-haired three- I mean trio!"
Looking at the blue-faced innkeeper, Malecia reached his hand out to help him stand. "When did they leave?"
When Malecia extended his hand, the innkeeper shouted while covering his face with his arms as if asking not to hit him.
"Uaack! Noon! They left around noon with the saintess’s party. Spare me!"
Malecia hardened his face before his awkward emotions were revealed by the innkeeper’s reaction. Feeling urgent, Malecia raised his voice, "What! Saintess?! Where did they say they were going!"
"The Holy Land! The Holy Land, Zaharam! Heeuk!"
Leaving behind the owner of the inn, who was trying to crawl away, Malecia shouted urgently, "We are returning to the altar immediately!"
Malecia clenched his fist. He thought he was paying close attention to her movements, but the saintess’s traveling speed was too fast.
According to Malecia’s logic, there should have been a few more days time before she arrived here due to the large group of paladins escorting the saintess on her pilgrimage.
No. More than that, how could he not have noticed when the saintess had been so close by?
In a desert’s open environment, Malecia thought it was impossible to be able to hide a large group of paladins escorting the saintess.
"Yes!" The men replied in unison, and as soon as they went out of the inn, they sent out an emergency signal in the sky.
Red smoke embroidered the sky, and Malecia brought his scattered men back to his position.
Malecia and his men went towards Zaharam at full speed.
* * *
In Hillis’s carriage to the Holy Land, Zaharam, there was not only Hillis and her servant but also Leisha and Lancelot. Mac said that not moving didn’t suit his nature and decided to ride a camel with the paladins instead of sitting in the comfortable carriage. Perhaps it was due to the paladins’ magnanimity that they got along with Mac, even after they went through Hillis’s drunken hell because of him.
Lancelot was dumbfounded at the sight of the paladins and Mac.
On the other hand, however, to the paladins who sincerely revered and followed Hillis, Mac’s unwitting hell-raising actions may have just seemed trivial to them.
Of course, the theory that the paladins were perverts with strange tastes did not diminish one bit.
"Ah~ Feels nice."
Hillis was moved by the cool air that filled the carriage as she said, "Thank you so much!"
Leisha felt a little uncomfortable when Hillis held her hand and looked at her with moist eyes, saying, "No, it’s just simple magic."
For Leisha, this level of magic was as simple as breathing. Teacher Mirpa’s spartan training allowed you to use magic more difficult than this as easily as breathing. Furthermore, there was stable mana everywhere, unlike when she was learning under Mirpa. To exaggerate, Leisha would, at times, sit dazed in the comfort of the carriage and forget that she was using magic.
"I’ve heard that Miss Saintess can use holy magic, but is there no magic like this in holy magic?”
Hillis smiled and shook her head. "No, as far as I know, there is. It’s just that I haven’t mastered it."
To be exact, during the time when Charlot was coming into power, he had banned many spells that were developed to make people more comfortable. The reason given for the ban was that these spells would be disruptive to the capital. In reality, it was to prevent citizens from remembering the remnants of the temple’s past glory.
This reasoning was officially a secret, but anyone who knew the history of the Empire could easily infer it.
"Oh, I see.”
Leisha moved on without thinking, but Lancelot was well aware of the Empire’s situation because he had been educated in many ways as a diplomat.
Lancelot smiled awkwardly and avoided Hillis’s gaze. Hillis recognized Lancelot’s realization as soon as she saw his expression, but she pretended not to know.
There was no need to let people know of the Empire’s situation. Still, when she saw Lancelot, she felt like messing around. "Is there anything Mr. Lancelot is curious about?"
"Yes?!" Lancelot, who had been avoiding her gaze, was surprised when Hillis spoke to him.
Seeing him get so flustered, Hillis laughed inwardly.
"Well, I have been thinking of one question. Aren’t there too few paladins escorting Miss Saintess?” Lancelot asked.
Hillis’s party had 15 people, including Hillis, her servant, and 13 paladins. This was too small of an escort considering the ranking of the saintess in the Empire. If the 13 knights were in accordance with the imperial regulation, each of the 13 should also have two squires attached to them. In other words, the actual number of guards for Hillis was only one-third of what it should have been.
Leisha thought 13 people were a lot and tilted her head.
The question was raised because 13 strong men from the Crow Tribe could exterminate a monster colony before a warm glass cooled down. For reference, if a monster that "adapted" to the Olympus Forest formed a colony, the basic population was considered to be at least 1,000.
Therefore, Leisha didn’t ask her question. It was because the world outside Olympus Forest had so many stories that went beyond common sense. Perhaps in the country called the Empire, 13 people could be considered a small amount.
Leisha waited for Hillis’s answer as she had answered her own question and also respected cultural differences.
Hillis made an unexpected face as if she had not expected him to ask this kind of question, but she quickly returned to her graceful smile and replied, "Honestly, I ditched the normal knight division that would be attached to me because it’d just be bothersome."
The knights that Hillis was referring to were not the unofficial platoon of knights that were currently escorting her. At least two more platoons would have to be added to be an official knights division, which included squires.
The knight division of the Empire normally consisted of five platoons. However, a knight division was a special unit, and so the formation could differ depending on the commander leading the division.
"Huh? Is that okay?”
Leisha did not know the size of a typical knight division, but she wondered if it was alright for a person of the saintess’s stature to trek through a desert after ditching her escorts. Still, if there were regulations, she would not be able to do as she pleased, no matter how high a position she had.
"Of course not. Huhuhu.”
Leisha thought that Hillis laughing looked like Denburg.
With a thought that would surely make Lancelot protest if he heard, Leisha looked at Hillis with curious eyes.
Notes: 1) Fighting is a cheering phrase in Korea that is basically the same as, “You can do it” or “You got it.”