Volume 5, Chapter The Seventh Misdeed of an Undying Lich: “Dragging Others Down”

Azakura

When I once again woke up and used my sensing ability, I nearly scared myself to death. That fellow Leaf was actually bent over by my bedside, crying, though he was only weeping quietly…

I shot up from my bed and shouted, “What happened? Don’t tell me Judgment slipped out and got himself killed again?”

“Sun?” Leaf lifted his head and squealed, “Sun, you’ve finally awakened! That’s great!”

Finally awakened? I somewhat began to understand. It seems that I have been sleeping for too long again. “How long did I sleep for?”

“Five days.” Upon finishing his sentence, he stressed greatly, “You slept like a log. Everyone was worried to death! We took turns looking after you and were to notify the Pope if anything abnormal occurred.”

I nodded my head and gathered a bit of holy element. After that, I slowly got out of bed, stood up, and walked a few steps to loosen my muscles. My limbs were a little stiff at first. It does seem like I’ve slept for too long, but other than that, there aren’t actually any abnormalities.

“Aside from my hair turning white, are there any other problems with my appearance?”

Leaf examined me carefully and then shook his head.

I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Then, I’m fine. Perhaps I slept a bit longer because I was more tired than usual. I’m a little hungry. Could you get me something to eat, please?”

Leaf hesitated for a moment before nodding, pushing open the door to leave soon after. However, not too long afterwards, it was Earth who came in with the food. It was a bowl of fish congee, and there was not even any cilantro in it.

I received the bowl of congee forlornly and grumbled, “Remember to add cilantro for me next time.”

“Cilantro?” Earth stopped to think for a while and then asked, “The thing that’s milky white in color, needs the skin to be peeled off for each piece, and has a very spicy taste to it?”

“That’s garlic… Forget it. It’d be better if you didn’t add anything.” I’m afraid that if I eat congee that has condiments that Earth added, I’ll just fall back unconscious for another five days. I can’t even say for sure that I would wake up from that.

“Listen to me while you eat. A couple of things happened in the past five days.” Earth sat down nearby. I nodded my head, listening obediently as I ate my congee.

“Silent Eagle has been placed under house arrest.”

“Ptooey!” I spat out the congee in my mouth and looked toward Earth in disbelief. However, he did not look like he was joking at all, so I hurriedly demanded, “Who put him under house arrest?”

“We did.”

“You did?!” I was in such a bewildered state that I did not know how to react and was only able to ask stutteringly, “W-Why did you arrest Silent Eagle? He’s the head of the Cathedral of the Shadow God! D-Don’t tell me you’re intending to wage a war on them? I was only asleep for five days. Whatever farce you may pull, you shouldn’t go as far as setting off a war between two churches in just five days! What about Judgment? Didn’t he say anything to stop you?”

“Judgment was also asleep for three days.” Earth shrugged as he said, “Silent Eagle had already been arrested by the time he awoke.”

I was dumbstruck. It was quite a while later before I managed to squeeze out the words, “Why on earth did you arrest him?”

“To protect him.”

That was unexpected. Arrest him to protect him?

Earth stated simply, “Because the number of undead creatures within the city has not decreased even by a bit, it has alarmed the king. He sent Elijah to the Holy Temple to inquire about the current situation, and they even pushed all the blame onto our visitor, Silent Eagle, claiming that it was his doing. They wanted to take him away. Silent Eagle was, of course, unwilling to go. They were locked in a stalemate and almost ended up in a fight.”

To think something so grave happened! I cried out in alarm, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Disgruntled, Earth glared at me and replied, “You think you could be woken up? You and Judgment both slept like dead men. If it wasn’t for the fact that you were still breathing, I fear that Leaf and Metal would have cried themselves to death.”

I really hadn’t sensed anyone calling for me. I had just lain in bed and then woken up. It certainly did not feel as if I had slept for five whole days.

“With both you and Judgment asleep, we did not have anyone with enough authority to say anything. All we could do was tell Elijah that this was the business of the Church and that we would take care of his arrest.” Earth shrugged as he said, “Silent Eagle was originally so outraged that he looked as if he was going to draw his sword and hack through us. However, once I dropped your name, he looked rather reluctant but submitted to being taken away in the end.”

I see. I pondered over it. This is indeed the best approach we could have taken. Just by us agreeing to arrest Silent Eagle, Elijah would most likely stop making things difficult for the Church. What’s more, since Silent Eagle somehow seems to be complying with what I say very obediently, using my name to put him under house arrest in the Holy Temple was an arrangement he very possibly would have accepted.

Nonetheless, the others are unaware that Elijah is actually… It should be said that even the former Hell Knight has no idea that Silent Eagle would obey me so willingly… I don’t actually know why myself.

It is rather remarkable to come up with such a method when they had no information on the situation at all. I gave a word of praise, “That was handled well.”

“Well of course!” Earth was beyond triumphant. He proudly said, “Judgment said the same when he woke up, though he refused to tell us what to do next. He would only handle the problem if we let him out.”

“You guys didn’t really let him out, did you?” I narrowed my eyes at him warningly.

“We didn’t!” Earth immediately denied it and then said rather embarrassedly, “With the way Blaze, Metal, and Roland guarded the place as if the only way to pass were to step over their dead bodies, no one would dare release him!”

I nodded my head, feeling a lot more relieved, but I could not repress my discontent toward Judgment. “I really can’t figure out what Judgment is trying to hide from me. If he would just spit it out, things would be a lot simpler. Honestly, what is this thing that he has to hide even from me? Hiding it from me just adds one more thing I have to investigate…”

“You’re just like Judgment as well!”

I faced him blankly. Suddenly, Earth grabbed my shoulder agitatedly and hollered, “You refuse to tell us anything and always shoulder everything by yourself! What? Are we that hard to trust? Or are we just as weak as princesses, having to rely on you two great knights to protect us?”

“Earth, aren’t you being a little too critical? It’s not like I intended to finish these things all by myself.” With widened eyes, I frantically tried to clarify the situation. “It-It’s just that I only did a few things by myself…”

“A few things? Why don’t you count for yourself how many times you’ve hidden things this year from all of us and went off on your own?” Earth grated out ferociously, “Now, even Judgment is acting like this! If you and Judgment finished eliminating every single danger by yourselves, you might as well abandon having Twelve Holy Knights! What do you think, huh?”

I was at a loss for words. I didn’t mean it that way, but I can’t quite find the words to refute him…

“I just don’t want to see you guys get hurt!” I blurted out.

At this time, the door was pushed open slightly. Behind the door stood the rest of the knights. All of them.

They looked toward me, each with an expression slightly different from the others’: anger, worry, but most looked like they were unwilling to accept what I had said… Seeing their expressions, I suddenly recalled the feeling of being completely helpless every time there was a battle. I could only hide behind their back. That feeling of being protected by others so that I wouldn’t get hurt… It feels so damn horrible!

Judgment had only kept things from the rest of us to protect us just this once, and I was already very pissed off. Yet, how many times had I done the same to everyone else?

What on earth was I thinking!?

I dropped to the side of my bed and buried my head in my knees, feeling greatly vexed. Wasn’t I the one who said to never let one of the Twelve Holy Knights get hurt? In the end, the one who kept on hurting everyone was essentially me!

“Sun, are you alright?” Leaf rushed over and asked concernedly.

“Don’t think too much! Rest first!” Storm’s voice followed after.

“I’ve already slept for five days. There’s no point in resting even more,” I said in a muffled voice. After I lifted my head silently and looked at the people around me for a while, I started speaking, “The fact is that I don’t know much myself. Scarlet is inexplicably trying to harm me, but I don’t even know who she is in the first place. Silent Eagle also worships me for some reason. Although it seems to be because I defeated him once, I still feel as if there may be other reasons behind it…”

From the moment I began speaking, everyone had a vacant expression on their faces. However, as I continued to speak, their faces looked as if– as if they were starting to glow.

This made me even more positive that I should have done this a long time ago, but I still hesitated for a while before explaining to them in full detail the information that I had gotten from Awaitsun that the Demon King that was about to be born in Leaf Bud City.

When I finished speaking, I was a little worried that everybody would be angry at me. After all, hiding such a great issue from them was honestly very wrong of me… Hold on! Why is nobody reacting? Their faces didn’t even change… Don’t tell me they’ve been scared stiff?

“Is it too much of a shock to take in?” I asked carefully.

“Too much of a shock?” Earth snorted and spoke doubtfully, “Is there anything in the world more shocking than the fact that you locked Judgment away?”

After what Earth said, everyone around nodded their heads.

The fact that I locked Judgment away… Ah! He’s right! There is nothing in the world that’s more severe than that!

Oh my God of Light! It wasn’t until now that I realized the full extent of what I had done! I locked away the Lesus Judgment! Even though he was still confined at the moment and had no way of punishing me, it wasn’t like I could confine him forever. He would definitely come out sooner or later. When that time came, I-I…

I wailed loudly, “I’m so dead! I’ll definitely be slaughtered this time around!”

Everyone around nodded their heads with serious expressions. Earth gave me a pat on the shoulder and made some attempt at consoling me. “You certainly are dead meat, but at least let me say something ––– Well done! That was the gutsiest and manliest thing you’ve ever done in your life! Even if you were to be cut down by Judgment later on, it would have been worth it!”

Go to hell with your ‘it’d have been worth it’! I’m only twenty-four years old! There’s no way I want to go see the God of Light so early!

It doesn’t matter. After I explain the current situation to Judgment, he’ll forgive me for sure. Erm… probably?

I took several deep breaths and eventually managed, with great difficulty, to stop imagining being cut down by Judgment. Looking around at the crowd, I already knew what I should do next.

“The incident this time around is quite complicated. I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it all by myself…” I spoke in a small voice, “Are you guys willing to help me out?”

“What?” Earth shouted loudly, “What did you say? It’s too soft. Nobody can hear you.”

“Help me,” I said in a slightly louder voice.

“Ah?” Earth raised his voice once more.

“Help me, okay!” I bellowed, “Is that loud enough for you?!”

Everyone looked at me and laughed together. They replied one after another with “That’s enough.” “Don’t be so hard on yourself!” and “Of course we’ll help you.”

I was somewhat angry at being so humiliated, so I tossed my head to face the wall. It was only after everyone had stopped laughing that I was willing to turn back around and start assigning work to them.

“Storm, while Judgment is still being confined, you are in charge of ensuring that the Holy Temple continues its operations normally. I will send Adair and Vidar to help you out. Stone, you are to explain the current situation to the king. Don’t try to fool him. The current fake pig king simply cannot be fooled. Just tell him the truth straightaway! Say that we believe that a lich has entered the city, and we are leading the holy knights to give chase. Nonetheless, we will not allow Silent Eagle to roam free until we uncover the truth behind this.”

Storm revealed a totally disheartened expression but looked like he had resigned himself to his fate as he nodded.

Stone was also quite familiar with diplomacy. He actually nodded his head rather straightforwardly.

“Ice and Moon, the two of you are in charge of this month’s patrols within the city. Bring a few more holy knights with you. Also, be sure not to scatter the platoon members too far apart. If you have to split them up, at least ensure that there are two or more experts of swordsmanship or holy magic within each group.”

Ice nodded, and Moon… For a guy who suffers from long-term stiffened neck muscles, nodding is quite a bit of an issue, so he blinked in place of a nod.

“Earth, Cloud, you guys are to follow me for the time being to investigate.”

Earth responded with only an “Umph.” As for Cloud… he appeared at the corner of the room, nodded his head, and then “disappeared” once again.

“Leaf, Metal, and Blaze, you three are to stay behind at the Holy Temple, and you’re also in charge of watching over Judgment.”

All three of them nodded in unison.

Roland was stunned for a bit, quickly asking, “What about me?”

“I’m putting Silent Eagle under your care. You absolutely must not allow him to leave,” I emphasized, “If necessary, you may use ‘any and all methods,’ but just make sure not to kill him.”

Roland nodded and promised in full seriousness, “I got it. I definitely won’t let him escape.”

I firmly declared to the crowd, “Let us work together as the Twelve Holy Knights to resolve this issue. Let the world witness the camaraderie amongst the Twelve Holy Knights and make the brilliance of the God of Light known to everyone!”

When I finished my rousing speech, everyone raised their eyebrows and looked as if they found the speech objectionable. Not an ounce of passion was sparked in them.

I fell silent for a while and then changed my speech. I fiercely declared, “Let us work together to locate the murderer that dared to kill Judgment and send her to hell to repent over what she has done to the Twelve Holy Knights!”

The Twelve Holy Knights nodded in unison, and then each revealed an expression… Wait, Judgment isn’t here, so it’s the Eleven Holy Knights who each revealed an expression so sinister that it did not befit what a noble knight should look like.

I walked into the Pope’s study. I knew before I even walked through the door that he was sitting next to his desk, holding a quill pen and writing stuff that I could not make out. So the moment I walked in, I did not even spare a glance at him and simply turned around to shut the door while getting straight to the point, “Teach me how to attack with magic that has no physical shape.”

The Pope put down his quill pen and had a conflicted expression on his face. He grumbled, “I’m wondering whether or not I am digging my own grave. For goodness’ sake, you are a holy knight! Wouldn’t having a holy knight so profoundly skilled in magic make mages want to jump into the mouth of a dragon?”

“In any case, you are not a mage, so it does not concern you whether they jump or not.”

“I am an amateur mage.” The Pope shrugged his shoulders.

If you’re an amateur, then all the professional mages out there would have to jump into the mouth of a dragon too.

“Just teach me already!” I could not quite bear it any longer as I said, “I don’t know how long it will be until Judgment is driven mad and escapes. I need to at least resolve the situation before he gets out.”

The Pope shrugged and said, “Actually, the shapeless magic you speak of should be called by its correct name, psychic magic. This is a veeery difficult type of magic. You could say that an ordinary mage would not even dream of using such a magic in his entire lifetime…”

He looked me in the eye and spoke in defeat, “Fine. I suppose you have no relationship whatsoever with the ordinary mage.”

Duh! I am a holy knight!

“I am actually not very familiar with psychic magic.” The Pope frankly admitted, “I am just a mage in my spare time. The magic I am more familiar with is water magic because it shares a similar nature with holy magic. The psychic magic which you speak of, I only know in theory and do not have the ability to use it.”

“It does not matter. The theory is enough.” I shrugged and said, “The Chains of Water that you talked about the other time is some kind of composite magic. I did not even know the correct name for it, but I still could use it, right?”

“Keep up your arrogant act, why don’t you?” The Pope finished his sentence fiercely and shook his head as he said, “Sigh! Alas, humans are not made perfect! After being trained by Neo for so many years, your swordsmanship is still so bad that it is worse than mine, and I am a cleric. That’s quite remarkable!”

“…”

The Pope continued to add insult to injury and spoke mockingly, “What a time this is! A holy knight’s swordsmanship is even worse than the Pope’s.”

Upon hearing this, I darted a look at the Pope. Chains made of the water element started to gather beside his body… He immediately started explaining, “You actually already know a bit of psychic magic. That’s your sensing ability.”

“Sensing is psychic magic?”

He nodded and explained further, “In truth, the basic principles of magic are not exactly difficult. People use their psychic ability to maneuver all kinds of magic, drawing out the original properties of the elements. However, psychic magic is different from that. In fact, the name ‘psychic magic’ suggests the direct use of psychic attacks. It does not make use of any elements. Up to this point, do you understand what I have said?”

“…I don’t get it.”

The Pope fell silent for a while and then muttered, “He can’t even understand the tiniest bit of theory, yet he can use a whole bunch of high level spells. The other mages should have jumped into the dragon’s mouth a long time ago just to avoid seeing the way you use magic ever again. They’d be so pissed they’d die of anger.”

“Isn’t that quite an exaggeration?” I was rather upset as I spoke. “I am a practical type of person and not a theory type of person. Magic should just be sent out to attack and that’s it. I am not an actual mage after all, so why should I be studying the theory behind it?”

Contrary to my expectations, he shook his head and said, “This is a very grave matter. The way you use magic is just like someone using a sword as a broom. It’s as if a little kid is playing with a sword, but the truth is when that little kid goes all out, he can defeat a master swordsman in a single blow.”

“How is that true!?” I did not agree with him one bit.

Every single master of swordsmanship I’ve seen would have an aura of impressive power the moment he unsheathes his sword. Judgment explained to me before that it’s because they’re highly guarded; every movement made is the result of a wealth of experience built up until then. If the opponent so much as raises his hand, the swordsman can readily attack or defend… In short, he said a whole bunch of stuff and simply told me that if I ever see someone with an aura of impressive power, I better remember to stay far away from him, otherwise I’d easily be killed in a single second.

The Pope nodded and said, “Now you know how I feel!”

“I know nothing of the sort!” I proclaimed boldly, completely confident in my own convictions, “So I use magic like I’m using a broom. Whatever! Hurry up and teach me psychic magic. I’ll give you ten minutes of my time to teach me. Cloud and Earth are still outside in the hall waiting for me. We’re setting out to find the murderer who killed Judgment.”

When the Pope heard this, he was on the verge of vomiting blood. He growled, “People usually spend ten years, and you only spend ten minutes. That’s just breaking the rules! Fine. Whatever. Dispel your composite magic, I’ll teach you… However, you should actually be asking Aldrizzt instead. The last time we had a chat about magic, he did not seem to be all that good at psychic magic, but he at least has a better understanding of the theory than I do. Psychic magic is very different from other kinds of magic. It is very dangerous to use. If you do anything wrong, it may very well come back and bite you.”

“Bite me? Like the headache I felt the other time?”

“Headache? That at most would be a side effect.” The Pope sounded rather upset as he said, “The ‘bite’ I’m talking about is that you can become brain dead!”

Oh… I guess I should just be obedient and go find Aldrizzt.

“Aldrizzt is residing at the inn in the left section of Leaf Bud City.”

“Is Teacher there as well?” I suddenly recalled that I had forgotten to greet my teacher. This is catastrophic!

The Pope shook his head and said, “I asked Aldrizzt. He said he had a task to complete in Leaf Bud City, so he took the opportunity to visit the Holy Temple while he was at it. Neo went to a different location for a mission, so he did not come over.”

Teacher really is a piece of work! His student went missing, and Aldrizzt was concerned enough to personally come over and see me, yet he did not even bother to come with him!

“Okay,” I nodded and said, “I’ll go find him now.”

“Hold on. While you’re learning magic from him, ask him to come to the Holy Temple to speak with me.” The Pope explained, “I have a question pertaining to magic of the dark element that I want to ask him.”

“… You are the Pope,” I said expressionlessly, “With your entire body full of holy light, shouldn’t the word ‘darkness’ be as separate from you as the distance between two churches of different beliefs?”

The Pope said in an even flatter tone, “You are Knight-Captain Sun, the representative of the God of Light. You should be as separate from the word ‘darkness’ as the distance between two knight-captains from different churches, but with regards to magic of the dark element, you’re certainly better than Silent Eagle, who specializes in the dark element, by at least tenfold.”

“…I’ll tell Aldrizzt to come over.”

When I returned to the hall, Earth and Cloud seemed to have waited for me for a long time… Although I did not know where Cloud was, I did tell him to come over. In light of his personality to always do as he was told, he should have come over obediently.

“Let’s go.”

Despite the fact that I did not give any explanation whatsoever, Earth followed along without asking a thing. When I walked out the main entrance, I also “saw” Cloud, though it was only for a split second. After that, he disappeared again to some unknown location.

The three of us (though it looked more like just two) walked out to the streets. The mood there felt very different from normal. The number of holy knights and royal knights on patrol seemed to be about three times more than usual. Moreover, each of them sported a serious expression.

The serious expressions of the royal knights were not much of a big deal. After all, the fact that their faces were always “just as stiff as their armor” is not something that has been known for just ten or twenty years. It is, in fact, an over-a century-old tradition of stiffness!

On the other hand, holy knights are known to have smiles as bright as the sun’s radiance and movement as gentle as the blowing wind. Even saying that they are madam killers is an understatement. As long as they are human, women will love such a pretty boy… Cough! What I mean to say is that holy knights are famous for their elegance and grace, having a smile spreading across their entire face and being so courteous that every single person would love what they do.

But now that even the holy knights look serious, the very moment they pass by, the citizens around would start whispering, especially the women who were mothers. They looked like they were almost scared to death.

I wrinkled my brows. When I get back to the Holy Temple today, it seems like I will have to warn the holy knights not to frighten the townsfolk. However, the number of undead creatures is not dwindling at all. I can’t have them smiling and giggling while they’re out capturing undead creatures, can I? That would be asking too much. What should I do then…?

“He’s so handsome!”

“Super handsome! I like the one over there! He’s an icy-cool kind of handsome!”

“The one on the left is hotter! The look in his eyes is so cool!”

Being surrounded by screams from young women, the holy knights gradually became embarrassed. It was now a very difficult task for them to prevent the sides of their lips from rising, let alone try to act serious.

… What’s going on now?

Earth sighed. “Young females these days no longer want good men who they have great affinity with. Instead, they like cool guys. Guys only need to demonstrate their coolness to get a girlfriend!” Upon finishing his sentence, he darted a glance at me and sighed once again, “By my estimates, you probably won’t ever have a youthful girlfriend in your entire lifetime. You should probably consider someone about ten years older than you instead. That smile of yours is most definitely a super madam killer!”

“When we get back, order all of them to never put on such a face ever again!”

“You can’t get a girlfriend, so you’re dragging down the rest of the Holy Temple with you to be virgins?” Earth coldly said, “Sun Knight, is what you’re doing quite right?”

“I am the Sun Knight, the head of the Holy Temple. My words are always right… Ah! We’re here.”

Earth lifted his head to see Leaf Bud Tavern. He clicked his tongue twice and then said, “Going drinking in broad daylight? Sun Knight, is what you’re doing quite right?”

“Shut up with the ‘right’s!’ We’re heading next door!”

I brought him over to the inn next to the tavern. Only then did he gain a slight interest and asked, “Looking for someone?”

“My teacher.”

“Neo Sun?” Earth asked in shock.

I nodded.

“… Can I go over to the tavern next door for a drink and wait for you there? I’ll even help you sneak away one bottle. My treat!”

In spite of the fact that Teacher has been gone for around four years already, it seems that his reputation has not faded one bit. At this moment, even the current Earth Knight is willing to treat me to a bottle of wine just to avoid seeing him!

For the wine’s sake, I nodded my head and replied, “You may go! But don’t drink too much. I’m just here to learn a type of magic. I’ll find you guys again soon to get down to business.”

“Finding Neo Sun to learn magic?” Earth’s face looked odd as he muttered, “The two of you are famous for being a teacher who’s omnipotent with the sword yet an idiot with holy magic and a student who’s omnipotent with holy magic yet an idiot with the sword. Now the idiot at the sword is finding the idiot at holy magic to learn magic?”

…Can’t you just say ‘the one who’s omnipotent with holy magic is finding the one who’s omnipotent with the sword to learn magic’ instead?

“Say any more and you’ll be tagging along with me to find Teacher Neo!”

Before I could finish my sentence, Earth had already disappeared. Although his speed was still far from being a match for Storm’s, it was already comparable to Cloud’s.

And this guy is supposed to be the sincere and honest Earth Knight… I shook my head. When I turned to enter the inn, Cloud suddenly materialized little by little behind my back. This is no different from how spirits manifest!

My heart was feeling quite weak when I said, “Cloud, why don’t you go with Earth to have a drink?”

Cloud shook his head and said, “I don’t know how.”

“You don’t know how to drink wine? Come with me, then!”

Cloud nodded his head and did not disappear anymore. He followed behind me and stepped into the inn.

The instant I walked in, I felt the crowd’s gaze upon me. By reflex, I immediately put on a bright smile befitting of the Sun Knight…

“Knight-Captain Sun!”

The innkeeper shouted out of the blue and dashed toward me. That gave me a dreadful fright… That plump, nourished figure of his really resembled that of that previous pig of a king. It caused me to think for a moment that the fake pig king wanted money so badly that he even sent his own father out to work.

After he had dashed over, he spoke in a quick and panicky voice, “My lord, Sun Knight, you finally came! An uninvited guest arrived at the inn quite a few days ago!”

I elegantly made a shocked appearance and spoke softly in a tone of disbelief, “How could an uninvited guest arrive in a city as enveloped in radiance as Leaf Bud City?”

The innkeeper seemed as if he was going to speak in a low voice and wanted me to come closer to listen. However, his voice was only softer than Blaze’s by a tiny bit. “H-He’s a dark elf!”

“Ah!” An understanding expression immediately flashed across my face. Then, I smiled and nodded, “Yes, and he is also a dark elf that has received the blessing of the God of Light to repent for and change his old ways. Oh, praise the forgiving nature of the God of Light!”

The innkeeper looked stunned. I took the opportunity to start a long-winded speech, “Ah! Although even a ray of light cannot penetrate deep underground, the God of Light’s benevolence is all-encompassing. Even if blocked by a boulder, shrouded in darkness, surrounded by malevolent people, the God of Light continues to hold an open heart as long as the party feels remorseful over his actions and does not refuse to take in the procession of light… This dark elf has received the blessing of the God of Light and has bravely endured risks that might have even caused him to lose his life. He has finally reached the surface and walked under the light brimming within Leaf Bud City to pay his respects to the great and humble God of Light!”

“T-That’s just so touching!” The innkeeper had tears and mucus falling unhindered down his face as he said, “When he checks out, I will definitely give him a twenty percent discount! Definitely! So I’m begging you, please do not continue your speech! The guests have all run away…”

Twenty percent discount? But I was certain that I could at least slash forty percent off… Nonetheless, it is not my money being saved anyway, so I shall not try so hard. It’s fine as long as I’m free from the troubles that may come from Aldrizzt being a dark elf.

“Haha, Grisia. Y-You’re really something else… Hahaha!”

Aldrizzt was resting his upper body on the staircase railing. He laughed so much that even the hood of his cloak fell off. His black skin immediately caught the attention of most of the guests that were on the verge of being scared off by my speech. However, more of them wore curious expressions rather than ones that were shocked. They even stopped what they were doing to examine the skin and hair of a dark elf.

“Aldrizzt, my friend. Long time no see.” I smiled and walked up to him, also observing the expressions of the crowd in the meantime. Everyone seemed to be quite shocked, but most of them became incredibly curious after that, especially after I had spoken. The people who originally intended to escape from the inn all snuck back to their tables, as if they were having tea while watching a play.

Good! It looks like Aldrizzt is less likely to be discriminated against in Leaf Bud City, much less pursued.

“Didn’t we just see each other a few days ago? Did you forget already?” Aldrizzt asked, sounding slightly confused.

Of course I remember. I just rambled on for a while to let everyone know that you are indeed a friend of the Holy Temple.

“My friend,” I smiled as I said, “Though we are speaking under the bright radiance of the God of Light and the darkness has nowhere to hide, and furthermore, Sun has no need to conceal any discourse of information, for now, the matter stands such that there are certain things that make it difficult if others came to know of them. Could you perhaps provide a helpful chamber in which to allow our conversation?”

Aldrizzt stared wide-eyed at me, obviously not understanding a thing I had said.

Behind me, Cloud started to speak, “Sun said, ‘Let’s head over to your room to talk.’”

Whether it was Aldrizzt or myself, we let out a sigh of relief. I’m so thankful that Cloud followed me.

Aldrizzt brought us to the upper floor. When I entered the room that he was staying in, I felt a bit puzzled that there were two beds. Wasn’t Teacher not around?

“Are you staying with someone?” I began to ask, although I felt entirely sure that no one else would dare to sleep in the same room as a dark elf.

Aldrizzt stared blankly for a while. I pointed to the other bed, and then he swiftly replied, “No, it’s just that this room originally had two beds… Do you want some fruit juice? I just squeezed some fresh juice.”

I nodded, but before I sat at the table, I eyed Aldrizzt pouring the fruit juice while continuing to ask, “Why did you split up with Teacher in your journey? I’m sure that there are many inconveniences if a dark elf like you acts on his own!”

Aldrizzt forced a smile as he said, “It‘s not like it would be any better with the two of us together. Neo has such a fiery temper.”

… I suppose that’s true. It’s fairly likely that Teacher would flip the moment anyone exclaims “dark elf!” and think of it as some sort of discrimination, immediately sending that person flying.

Aldrizzt poured a cup of fruit juice for both me and Cloud. He then sat down and asked, “What did you look for me for? Do you want the gem back?”

When he finished speaking, he really pulled out the chain on his neck. The pendant was the Eternal Tranquility.

Eternal Tranquility…I did not even stop myself as I stretched out my hand. Suddenly, someone grabbed my hand. I was utterly shocked. It was Cloud who had grabbed me.

He looked at me and then slowly let go of my hand.

I wordlessly retracted my hand as well, not paying attention to the gem anymore. I simply explained, “No, I’m not here for the Eternal Tranquility.”

Aldrizzt hesitated for a moment. Although I could tell that he had something he wanted to say, he still chose not to say anything in the end. He wordlessly put the necklace away and then asked, “Then, what is it that you came to find me about?”

“I want to learn psychic magic.”

Aldrizzt looked at me strangely and said, “But you already know it. And you use it better than anyone else. I have never heard of anyone who can use sensing in place of his vision.”

I continued to explain, “I want to learn how to attack with it.”

“Attack with psychic magic?” Aldrizzt looked stunned. His expression changed to one that was extremely stern. He growled, “Y-You plan on learning that kind of attack?”

I was taken aback and promptly asked, “Is there anything wrong with that kind of attack?”

“Such an attack is extremely malicious!” Aldrizzt frowned as he said, “Your attack has a high chance of causing permanent brain damage to the other party. Also, such damage is impossible to heal with holy light. If there is no need for it, then you should not use such an attack. It’s far too sinister!”

So using Hell’s Fire to burn the other party into a pile of ash is not sinister? I was somewhat unable to comprehend the ethical standards Aldrizzt had.

Still, it would be very troublesome if he doesn’t teach it to me! I quickly explained, “I have an enemy, and she knows how to attack with psychic magic. For the purpose of capturing her, I must learn psychic magic as well. If not, I must at least learn how not to be attacked by it. Aldrizzt, this is most unfortunate, but as my friend, you would not want to see me reduced to a vegetable just because I did not know how to use psychic magic, would you?”

“So that was the case. I definitely would not want that to happen.”

Aldrizzt seemed to have relaxed, but he subsequently frowned as if burdened. He explained, “I am not all that proficient in psychic magic. I only learned a bit of magic used for interrogation. I can teach you how to attack, but I have no way to demonstrate for you. Such a method of learning is very dangerous… Can’t you think of any alternatives?”

“I can’t!” I immediately refuted him, “Just teach me and don’t worry about it. I have not failed to learn any magic yet.”

Aldrizzt sighed as he nodded. “Alright! But I have to do some preparations first. We need an animal as our test subject…”

“Why look for an animal?” An awfully sharp female voice resounded, “The fastest way to learn magic is to experiment with it with your own body!”

“Who are you?” Aldrizzt abruptly looked toward the door, extremely astonished as he spoke.

However, the person who was more in shock was me. At the moment when Aldrizzt began to speak, I suddenly realized that there was a woman standing at the door! That woman sounded as if she had materialized from thin air, suddenly appearing in front of the door.

If she can suddenly appear at the door, then can she also suddenly appear right next to me and even render me incapable of sensing her presence?

Perhaps sensing cannot be a complete replacement for vision. It was the first time I had ever thought that way.

At this point, Cloud drew his sword. Aldrizzt also began gathering elements. The reaction from the two of them is quite staggeringly excessive. The opponent is only a woman… N-No, this woman seems to be a little strange. Her dark element is unusually high, and yet it is also not that high. Still, I suppose she’s not that peculiar.

“What are you guys so worked up about? Is she that strange?” I was not quite able to make heads or tails out of the situation. I simply could not understand why Cloud and Aldrizzt would react so excessively.

Aldrizzt rolled his eyes at me and spoke disdainfully, “Can’t you see?”

“Sun can’t see,” Cloud immediately responded.

Aldrizt was startled, seemingly embarrassed. He quickly explained, “Her skin is pink in color.”

… Pink in color?!

“Ehh? It’s only been a short while, yet you’ve already forgotten about me? But even if you’re pretending to forget, that huge debt you owe me is not going to disappear!” The woman laughed. Although her appearance was very mature, her mannerism was actually rather childish. She spoke in a sweet and delicate voice, “Sun, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten? You promised me yourself, that your body belongs to me!”

“Ah…” Aldrizzt exclaimed, revealing a slightly awkward and shy expression, “The Cloud Knight and I shall t-take our leave first, alright?

“Pink!” I almost couldn’t stop myself from jumping. I shouted, “Y-You… I’ve been looking for you!”

To think Pink actually grew up! Even her chest is that of a grown woman’s! A large chest, thin waist and a raised butt… These are really the most beautiful curves I’ve ever seen. Such an impeccable woman… Asides from the fact that she’s a corpse, she is truly impeccable!

Pink asked like a spoilt child, “Really? And I was thinking that you were hiding from me! Since you were looking for me, I feel pretty touched!”

“After you’ve grown up, your personality has become so loathsome.” Wait, that’s wrong! I thought for a while and then changed my words, “I mean, you’ve become even more loathsome.”

“Who asked you to destroy my body? Do you know how long it’s been since I was an adult female?” Pink did away with her seductive manner and snappily finished her sentence. She just kept staring at me as she curiously asked, “Hm, do you intend to change your profession to that of a dark elf? What’s with your hair?”

The moment he heard the term ‘dark elf,’ Aldrizzt immediately asked in confusion, “What do you mean by that?”

I fell silent for a moment. Concealing with elements was really no use in front of Pink. I dispelled the element, and Aldrizzt gasped when I did so.

Pink looked at me and tilted her head to the side. “Sun, it’s not that I want to say this, but your golden hair really suits you a lot better! Your skin is too white, and when you add white hair and pretty much always wear white clothes, your entire character is as white as an apparition. The color coordination is really terrible!”

Pffttt! Having heard her description, it caused me to imagine a picture that made me burst into laughter.

“Ah!”

In an instant, my head suddenly felt as if it was being gripped tightly by something. It was so painful that I cried out involuntarily and was only able to desperately clutch my forehead.

Pink shouted in her sharp adult female voice, “Don’t move. I’m just teaching him magic, nothing more. Don’t blame me if you become the reason why Sun is unable to learn the magic!”

My head hurt so badly that I could not even use my sensing ability. I couldn’t see a thing. I had absolutely no idea what was happening around me. However, several noisy sounds suddenly resounded in my ears… I could not understand the situation. All I could do was shout reflexively, “Stop! Stop!”

Suddenly, the room became completely silent.

Pink’s voice drifted over, “Sun, you’re already using your sensing ability as your eyes, so using psychic attacks would surely be a piece of cake to you. It’d be easier to ‘see’ compared to brandishing your sword! Hurry up and start thinking about how you use your sensing ability!”

Hurts! It hurts like hell. It feels as if a burly man is pressing both his arms against my head to crush it… It feels like my head is about to explode. It hurts, and it hurts like hell! How do you expect me to think like this…

“STOP, I SAY. STOP!”

I put all my strength in shouting, as if the shouting would make my headache go away. Suddenly, I heard a faint scream. But it was not mine, and I also was not sure who exactly it belonged to. It did not resemble a woman’s or a man’s. The sound did not at all resemble any sound a human should make.

At that point, my headache suddenly disappeared. I felt as if I was floating in the air, and then, in sharp contrast, I crashed onto the floor. I momentarily did not know how to react.

“Grisia, are you alright?”

Someone grabbed my arm, causing me to snap out of the trance I was in. I first started using my sensing ability. The one grabbing my arm was Aldrizzt. Cloud was standing in front of me with his sword raised and had an aura of power emitting from him that was so impressive that if anyone moved any closer to him, he would be killed in a single second.

As for Pink, apparently, she had fallen out of the room. The door to the room had been broken into two wooden planks from her crashing into it. She was now leaning against the wall. Her sleeve had fallen off her shoulder, and her skirt was raised up to her thighs. She appeared to be battered and exhausted, but other than that, she actually looked as if she was alright and there was no need for any worry.

What was worse was that many curious citizens had gathered around outside our room. They appeared to have been drawn by the loud noises. I dreaded the amount of thought that I would have to put in to come up with excuses to cover up this mess.

All of a sudden, Pink covered her face and wept. “Waaa, Sun, you’re such a bastard! I knew that you wouldn’t be able to do it with the dark elf, so I came over just to help you, and this is how you treat me…”

Do what… Oh! She means teaching me psychic magic. Still, such words should not be said in public, so it is understandable why Pink would phrase it this way.

“At the end of the day, not only did you not bother to apologize to me, you even caused me to hurt like hell too! Take responsibility for what you’ve done!” She continued bawling loudly, “Waa! Waa!”

Pink did not exactly reveal any specific information about what we were doing and is also speaking the truth, but why do I feel as if her words are exceedingly bizarre?

The whispers of the crowd drifted over…

“The other party is a dark elf, and he’s a guy too, so it obviously wouldn’t do!”

“They’re so strong! To think they did it until even the door broke. How on earth were they doing it?”

“Whoa, there’s two more people inside! Could this be the legendary four-…”

The crowd stared at me with looks full of admiration and disbelief.

“…”