Chapter 82
After moving to a different location, Kaien handed something over before continuing with the detailed story.
[The end has come.
I will send down one who will save everyone.]
It was just two very short sentences.
But the meaning contained in them was significant.
“So, to summarize in one sentence.”
Philome calmly continued speaking.
“The ‘end’ refers to the monsters, and ‘the one who will save everyone’ refers to the saint, right?”
Kaien nodded.
“Yes. And according to this prophecy, the monster has indeed awakened and the saint has appeared.”
“Is it certain?”
“From what Sebastian has discerned, the saint is indeed real. There are signs, and she possesses divine power.”
The expressions of Theodore and Natasha were also grim.
The appearance of the saint meant that monsters would rampage just as they did hundreds of years ago, which would lead to great suffering.
Having learned through records how many people died back then, they understandably did not welcome the existence of the saint.
It would have been better if she hadn’t appeared at all. At least that would mean there wouldn’t be sacrifices as great as those from that time.
“Do they know who the saint is?”
“It seems they haven’t figured that out yet. The temple is quite closed off and operates very cautiously.”
The saint appeared just when the power of the temple began to fade and crumble without a sound.
From the temple’s perspective, the saint was evidence that they had not yet been forsaken by the divine, which is why they had to act so secretively to protect her.
“This is why they have been ignoring all our communications.”
Theodore swallowed his anger.
He was furious at the temple for not caring that the monster had awakened just to ensure their own survival.
Natasha placed her hand on Theodore’s fist, which was tense with veins bulging.
“Dear, let’s wait for the person we sent to the temple to return today. We shouldn’t make hasty judgments.”
“Fine. I understand.”
Theodore let out a sigh mixed with anger.
Just then, his subordinate, Kay, urgently knocked on the door and entered.
Knowing that his entrance without permission indicated an urgent situation, Theodore chose to ask instead of scolding him.
“What is it?”
“The person we sent to the temple yesterday has returned.”
As Kay slightly turned his body, someone who looked flustered entered and bowed.
Theodore immediately asked, “What did they say at the temple?”
“Here it is, Lord Theodore.”
Taking the letter from the man, Theodore quickly read through it.
After a moment, he looked away from the letter and said, “…They are sending the saint to the north.”
Kaien quickly processed the information in his mind. The arrival of the saint in the north was undoubtedly a good thing.
But he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling he had.
“That’s good news. It seems the temple isn’t completely turning a blind eye after all.”
“Of course. The temple needs to use this disaster as an opportunity to reestablish their position.”
Theodore nodded in agreement with Natasha’s words.
It was certainly a very reasonable decision for the temple to send the saint to the north. Kaien tried to shake off his unease.
“When will the saint arrive?”
“Presumably, she will come in a grand and noisy manner, so it should take at least a week.”
“We can’t let our guard down until then.”
“Kaien, by the way, how was the snowfield?”
At that question, Kaien met Natasha’s gaze and pulled something out from his coat.
“I found traces of a spell.”
What he placed on the table was a rag.
The rag looked so tattered and emitted such a foul odor that one could believe it had been taken out of a trash bin.
As Kaien brushed off the ash on the rag, faint patterns were visible etched onto its surface.
“It seems they burned it after drawing the spell to leave no traces. This part looks like it didn’t burn completely.”
“Did they draw the spell on this?”
Philome lowered her head to examine the rag closely.
“Yes. Sorcerers draw spells with their own blood. If we’re lucky, we might be able to identify what kind of spell it is. However, this is too limited, so it’ll be impossible to identify the type of spell.”
Indeed, at a glance, the patterns on the rag looked like a very small part of a large spell.
While looking at the rag, Philome cautiously rubbed her fingers over it.
Seeing this, Kaien was startled and grabbed Philome’s hand.
“Philome!”
He then checked her hand.
“You shouldn’t touch it carelessly. Is there anything strange? Do you feel unwell?”
“Uh, no. I’m fine. It doesn’t feel like anything.”
Without any sign of caution, Philome thought it would be safe to touch, but she shook her head in embarrassment.
At this, Natasha made a displeased expression.
“Kaien, you’ve already confirmed that there is almost no magical power left in this rag.”
“Still, you never know.”
Kaien held Philome’s hand with both of his and carefully examined it from side to side before letting go.
“I’m sorry for touching it suddenly, but it’s softer than I expected.”
Philome rubbed her hand that had touched the rag, recalling the texture.
At her words, Kaien rubbed the rag once more.
As Philome said, the rag was indeed soft. Despite being stained with blood and looking dirty, it had an unexpectedly pleasant texture.
Given the urgency of the situation, he hadn’t had the time to consider the material until now.
“Mother, Father, do you recognize this rag?”
Natasha and Theodore also touched the rag.
“……I know it very well.”
Theodore muttered blankly.
“It’s the cloth distributed to the northern territory residents earlier this year.”
“So… does that mean there are sorcerers among the territory residents?”
Having heard about the territory residents just a few hours ago, Philome murmured in confusion.
Based on the story she heard from Theodore, it seemed nearly impossible for there to be sorcerers among the territory residents.
Kaien answered her question.
“Not all of the territory’s residents have been living here for hundreds of years. Some were outsiders who became residents.”
“Then, Lady Natasha, has there been any outsider who recently entered the castle?”
“……”
Natasha had a serious expression, as if she was deep in thought.
And it was Theodore, not Natasha, who answered Philome’s question.
“……There were two.”
“Lady Philome, do you remember the ones who were first attacked by the monsters.”
“Could it be that they were outsiders?”
Philome asked in surprise.
Since they needed to awaken the monster, they must have been near the snowfield, so she naturally deduced that they were attacked by the monster that had just awakened because they couldn’t escape in time while trying to erase their traces.
Kaien, who had the same thought, suddenly stood up.
At that moment, urgent footsteps and the sound of someone knocking on the door could be heard.
“Lady Natasha.”
Natasha hurriedly allowed her subordinate to enter. When the door opened, the servant appeared, drenched in blood.
“William…”
“Is he dead?”
It was Kaien who interrupted and asked the servant.
The servant nodded with a pale face.
Philome instinctively realized that this William was a survivor who had been attacked by the monster and rescued.
“First, don’t remove the body; just tidy up the surroundings. It seems we need to confirm something.”
“Yes, Lady Natasha.”
After giving the order, Natasha issued a summoning spell.
As the door closed, Kaien muttered.
“It seems he committed suicide out of fear of being discovered.”
“But how could it align so perfectly?”
Philome had suspected foul play when they found the trace of sorcery and the man was dead.
“It could just be a coincidence. He might have been anxious and ultimately made that choice.”
“Kaien is right. According to the report, William showed significant signs of anxiety during treatment.”
Natasha sighed and rubbed her temples.
“I thought it was just a simple aftereffect, but it wasn’t.”
A dark silence settled in.
Each person continued to think quietly. So much had come at once that the silence stretched on for quite a while.
It was Theodore who organized the situation.
Theodore added that they should remain vigilant in the snowfield until the saintess arrived.
It seemed that day was coming to a close like that.
After finishing her bath, Philome lay in bed and opened her eyes.
She simply couldn’t fall asleep.
‘Now that the saintess has appeared, the original story has truly gone completely off track.’
