CH 81

“How am I going to defeat all those monsters?”

I said it honestly and in a calm voice. He was the kind of person who would understand even a clumsy lie anyway.

“So, does that mean someone assisted you?”

At his words, I hesitated for a moment.

‘Can I say that Baron Diego Vester is actually the heir to the Demon Realm?’

And what will Kyle do if he finds out that I made a contract with the demon?

I could feel Kyle’s gaze staring at me as I closed my mouth. There was a deep suspicion in his eyes.

“You always had a secret.”

After a while, his low voice was heard.

“But if you want to keep a secret, you’d better be careful what you do.”

I looked back at him.

An overbearing force was felt in his red eyes.

“If anything had happened to you, I would have dug it out like a wild dog. Regardless of your will.”

Is it a worry-like threat or a threat-like worry?

Only the deep eyes in the darkness stared at me for a long time with disapproving eyes.

The direction of the answer, whether I could tell him the truth, slanted in one direction.

It was when I finally opened my mouth to say something.

” I…”

It was an instant when something suddenly reached out from behind me.

Kyle immediately drew his sword, and I held out my hand toward it ahead of him. It was an instinctive act to protect myself.

I could feel the expression of Ciel’s blessing, which still had a strong effect.

Then, with a crackling sound, I saw it collapse, spewing sap. It was a plant-eating monster that probably came out of the mine.

Kyle’s eyebrows twitched as he drew his sword.

Soon, he looked at me with dark eyes and slowly inserted the blade into the scabbard.

The ground was bursting with monsters as messed up as the trolls he had killed before.

“Did holy power originally also have attack skills?”

I stood still as my mind went blank on how to explain it.

So, this was because of the hidden mission reward. The effect of Ciel’s blessing’s amplification.

I heard his low voice.

“A while ago, you asked me what kind of ability you would use to defeat monsters.”

He seemed to be misunderstanding.

“It’s different from before… So, this isn’t a big deal.”

Embarrassed, I shook my head, and in a daze I pointed to a thick tree standing next to me. Then the enormously thick tree tumbled over with another roar.

“…That’s not a big deal, you say.”

Because I wasn’t able to control the strengthened Ciel’s blessing.

“There was a reason for your confidence.”

It seemed that he had already concluded it as my own achievement.

His eyes darkened as he looked at me. Deep curiosity that touches me desperately.

“Who are you?”

It was a different question from when the rock was purified.

The night wind was blowing over the lake. It gently tickled my hair.

***

The next morning, I was walking alone in the lord’s castle.

Currently, I’m in a very disturbed state. The reason was that I was misunderstood as a munchkin who hid my power so far from the most ferocious male lead in the original story I had read.

I explained that this was also a type of holy power, yet Kyle didn’t believe it.

“Good night. When I return to the Imperial Palace, I will ask for sparring.”

Told you, not in that category!

I’m a saintess, not a munchkin.

Jumping up, he took me to the inn.

Kyle seems to be strangely isolating himself even among people, though he seems to have looked at me with the kind of eyes he uses to see his own people.

Phew, I sighed and shook my head, trying to shake off yesterday’s events.

[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, is curious about what happened in the mine.]

[The God of Justice, Hetuse, is curious about what happened in the mine.]

Then, looking at the floating oracle window from earlier, I said sternly.

“If you don’t intend to tell me the second part of the prophecy, don’t even ask.”

Then the oracle window went silent.

I don’t know whether they’re angry or they shouldn’t talk about it.

The only clue to the ‘prophecy’ given by the Gods was the illusion seen through the emotion at that time.

However, I hadn’t yet been able to conclude that Camilla was the woman in the fantasy.

“…You will have to take responsibility for half of the loss.”

It was when I was immersed in complicated thoughts and was frowning at the oracle.

A man’s voice was heard from somewhere.

I looked in the direction where the voice came from and turned my head. Then I saw two men sitting at a tea table in the garden. One was the lord, and the other was the neatly dressed Cass.

[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, is relieved to see Cass’ healthy complexion.]

Several servants and maids were seen around them.

“B-But the damage to the territory is great…”

“I remember asking the lord for the protection of Lloyd’s assets in the estate and paying the appropriate cost.”

The lord was at a loss at Cass’s resolute words.

“I did, but I never imagined something like this would happen.”

“It’s not a monster, is it?”

“Yes?”

“The guys who raided our merchant were bandits.”

“T-That can’t be…”

Cass’ eyes were cold.

“This has already been confirmed at the Merchant. Those soldiers who became bandits because you exploited them without paying them properly.”

Cass’ words made the lord’s face pale.

“That means it isn’t a ‘special case of natural disaster’ in our contract.”

“But the reward…”

“Then we have no choice but to reduce the handling of lord’s specialties. Because there are many mines to replace.”

[The God of Justice, Hetuse, shakes his head at Cass’ inhumanity.]

[The God of Benevolence, Oman, shines in his eyes, saying that it’s more fun to subdue a person who has no mercy.]

[The God of Art, Mond, agrees with Oman.]

Ah, the Gods are starting another useless percentage debate.

The lord was seen to be taken aback by Cass’ knife-like words.

“M-Marquis!”

“One-third of the estate’s revenue is from ore, so wouldn’t it be difficult?”

It was as if it were measured with a ruler, without an inch of error.

Looking at Cass, I remembered him from the original story that I had forgotten until now.

Yes, Cass was such a man.

He wasn’t a bad guy like a vile loan shark, but he was a cold-hearted merchant who put the best interests of the Merchant at the forefront, prioritizing capital over people.

“T-Then… We will take care of half of it.”

In the end, the lord lowered his face and said so.

A third of the estate’s revenue comes from ore, and if the Lloyd, who controls virtually all of the region’s ore exports, doesn’t cooperate, the finances will be in jeopardy.

That’s why he had no choice but to accept Cass’ words.

“It’s fortunate that I had a conversation with the lord more than I thought.”

“Yes.”

Cass drank the tea gracefully, ignoring the lord’s expression, which looked like a bamboo statue. He looked like a nobleman without the slightest disturbance.

I stared at him unconsciously, but I belatedly stepped back.

‘He’s going to find out I’m here.’

And I started going back the way I came.

I plan to stay in the lord’s castle until today and return tomorrow. I don’t know what kind of schedule Cass or Kyle have.

It was time to slowly walk back along the stone walkway. Suddenly, a, thud, was heard from behind.

I glanced back.

“Why are you running away?”

It was Cass’ voice.

It seemed that I had been caught looking too closely.

Ehm, I cleared my throat and said.

“I’m just going back because I feel like I’ve gone too far.”

[The God of Art, Mond, laughs at your excuses.]

Be quiet. Mond

He looked at me and put a small smile on his lips. It was a different look from the serious look without a smile in the conversation with the lord earlier.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop… I haven’t heard anything.”

“I’m glad. It wouldn’t have been interesting anyway because its content was pointless.”

He replied.

I nodded. And after a while, I opened my mouth again.

“However… Is your body okay?”

I could still see him groaning in bed.

He then nodded.

“Thanks to the Saintess, I was able to easily shake it off and get up.”

I was going to ask if he was overdoing it because of me, yet I decided to stop.

“Is the Saintess all right?”

I smiled at Cass’ question that followed.

“You heard the news.”

“I heard that you blocked the gate and even killed the monsters.”

Neither of which I did, but I nodded awkwardly.

His gaze turned to my eyes and scanned my body. As if to see if there were any injuries anywhere.

And again, he looked into my eyes.

Cass seemed to notice that I didn’t want to talk much about it.

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, and soon he turned the conversation to the other side.

“But yesterday at the banquet…”

“Ah, that’s right. You didn’t come to the banquet.”

“I went to the banquet hall late.”

I opened my eyes wide at his words. I thought he didn’t attend because he wasn’t feeling well.

Yet he said he came late?