Chapter 230: East, Hwaseong (18)
A fox cub has a jelly on the bottom of its paw.
It’s not just foxes, it’s dogs and cats, even Sheddie, but Miho’s fluffy jelly is in a different league.
Miho’s retrieval was successful.
Predictably, Miho was forced to reveal her fox core and run wild, but thanks to the relentless rain, she was subdued without casualties.
The traitorous Wen Yao has yet to be recovered, but with three of the four divine beasts successfully recovered, barring anything else, Wen Yao should not be a problem.
Afterward, I returned to Hua Yu Temple and took care of Miho for a while.
As for why I was in such a sacred place, taking care of Miho, it was because she had no intention of getting away from me.
“I see you’re still here.”
A woman said, cautiously approaching me, her gait is classical yet dignified.
The voice belonged to Hino, a shrine maiden.
“This one won’t fall off.”
“Hmm, you’ve been playing well with Miho. She’s been going around harassing visitors, but she seems to like you.”
Hino flashed me a faint smile as she looked at Miho, who was lying on her stomach in my lap.
It was a very brief smile.
When Hino said he had to go take care of something, she didn’t look happy.
Staring at the ash-colored sky as the rain poured down, Hino’s face was as thoughtful as ever.
“Is something wrong?”
“…Why?”
“The succession ceremony is coming up, and you don’t sound too happy about it.”
“Well… I had some bad news.”
“Hmm…”
“I apologize. It’s not something that should be made known to outsiders, let alone the people of Hwaseong.”
I thought I knew what the news was.
Apparently, Volk had succeeded in assassinating Lord Bakura.
Judging by her reluctance to mention it, Bakura is dead, but his death may have revealed some of his more sinister plans.
‘I wonder if they found any traces of state subversion, or of the taboo law.’
I didn’t kill Bakura during this time, so I can’t predict exactly what happened, but I’m guessing that’s what happened.
It’s a good thing for me that it didn’t blow up in my face.
For now, all I could do for Hino was to be by her side, listening to the rain.
The past few years must have been rough for her, too.
I handed Miho into Hino’s arms, who looked up at the sky with wistful eyes.
[Cough…]
Sierra’s fingertips tremble as she finally gets to touch Miho. She had been trying to touch her since earlier, but alas, Miho was beyond her reach.
Sierra wistfully picks up Sheddie, who is lying on top of my head.
‘Well, at least she’s no longer a halfpenny shrine maiden.’
Miho curled her tail and body into a ball as she relaxed in Hino’s arms, then yawned as if she was about to fall asleep.
What was clear now, though, was that Hino had the qualities of a shrine maiden.
“I have to thank you for this.”
“It would have happened even if it wasn’t me.”
“…You’re very humble.”
“It’s not like that, it’s true.”
That one thing was true.
I don’t have to help Hwaseong recover the divine beasts, ninjas and people would die in the process of doing that.
The retrieval is successful, but not without consequences.
The anxiety and hatred of the divine beasts grows stronger by the day, until the king finally takes action and destroys the Hua Yu Temple, and the kingdom no longer possesses the divine beats.
I don’t know exactly what happens to Hino in the process, but it can’t be good.
Part of the reason why the nations of the East could never ignore Hwaseong is that ninjas have been trained from birth in the art of manipulation and murder, but war with the divine beasts is a different story.
For me, the loss of divine beasts was a huge blow, as I wanted to gather their strength for the future war against demons.
Hino, who was stroking Miho, who had fallen asleep, spoke up.
“Oh, by the way… do you have a destination in mind after the academy?”
“Destination…”
“I can’t get rid of the thought that you’re the kind of person Hwaseong needs.”
“Haha, Hwaseong is a nice country, but I have some work to do, so I don’t think I’ll be able to stay there.”
“…I see. Perhaps Hwaseong is too small to hold you.”
“You’re too kind.”
Hino and I talked like that for a while.
I didn’t miss the slightest sound from within my coat, and immediately took out my crystal ball.
‘Suddenly at this hour…?’
It was Bernice, calling after a long time.
I took out the crystal ball, which was ringing nonstop, and pondered. There was only one reason for Bernice to contact me at this time of day.
“Zetto, is that…?”
Hino asked, staring at the crystal ball in my hand.
“Oh, it’s a crystal ball. It’s a kind of device that allows you to communicate with someone far away.”
“Hoho… I’ll leave you alone for a while then, please feel free to converse.”
Miho wakes up and looks back and forth between me and Hino with bleary eyes, then follows Hino with a stride.
“……”
[You’re afraid to contact her because of what you’ve done, accept it, apprentice, it was going to be found out anyway.]
I’m scratching my head with the crystal ball when Sierra walks up.
She smiled subtly, as if she found the situation amusing but I was not amused at all.
Bernice’s mood, as evidenced by her progress, was not good.
I took a deep breath and poured mana into the crystal ball before it lost reception.
[ … ]
The call goes dead, and the crystal ball goes quiet.
“…Zetto.”
[ …Zetto.]
“Yes, Saint…”
[How are you enjoying the trip?]
“Well, not so much…”
[You made a promise to me the last time you went to the Holy Land, do you remember?]
“…That you wouldn’t follow me when I went to the bathroom?”
[Ha…]
Bernice sighs deeply.
Apparently, it was impossible to defuse the situation with a joke.
“Hmmm… I thought we agreed not to do anything dangerous.”
[Yes, I did, but today I received a letter, and it was from Ishay.]
“Saint, it was…I couldn’t help it.”
[Tell me about it.]
“Somehow, I’ve noticed that the king is a demon, and I’m the only one who’s noticed, so I had to take matters into my own hands because I don’t think anyone would believe me if I told them that a demon who looks and sounds exactly like the king is a demon.”
I made a big deal out of it, like I was in trouble but it wasn’t exactly a lie, because I did get in trouble.
[There’s a lie in there.]
Bernice was not to be trifled with.
Even so, her powers are tricky.
“…I’m sorry. It wasn’t ‘by chance’, I heard that the Princess of Ishay was ill, and I was curious, so I went to see her. Saint, think about it. If a royal family had fallen into the clutches of a demon… what would have happened? I just wanted to save her…”
[I see, that was enough.]
“What about it? I couldn’t help it, could I?”
[ ……You weren’t hurt, were you? ]
Bernice asked after a pause, her voice sweet but concerned.
“I did have a big, gross centipede wrapped around me, but I wasn’t hurt, thank goodness.”
[You never seem to stop traveling, and I know I can’t stop you, but please don’t get hurt. You’re not only my knight, but you’re invaluable to the Holy Land.]
“Yes, sir.”
[Where are you now, and what are you doing? I’d like to hear the latest news.]
“Uh, right now…I’m in the Hwaseong Kingdom.”
[Not much going on there, is it?]
At Bernice’s next question, I glanced over at Hino, who was talking to Miho about something in the rain in the distance, and then thought back to the faces of Volk and Keraph, who must be returning from taking care of Bakura safely.
“Not really…”
I trailed off deliberately.
[…That’s good, I hope you’re well rested after everything you’ve been through, I wish I could have been there with you.]
“Haha, yeah, that’s too bad.”
[Haha, yeah, that’s a shame. What did you do with her magick, because from what I understand, her magick erosion was pretty severe and acupuncture couldn’t have fixed it?]
How did I resolve Kimei’s magick erosion?
Bernice was asking.
“……”
It may have been good for my reputation that an excited Kimei was sending letters all over the place, but it was obviously poison to Bernice.
I had told her that I was related to the saint, and this is what happened.
Naturally, I couldn’t just say, “I’ve been able to absorb magick with my prosthetic, haha.”
[Zetto…?]
When I didn’t answer, Bernice called out to me.
At this point, I have no choice but to use the classical method handed down from time immemorial.
“…Saint… Msgr…? Kite…… is…”
[Zetto…?!]
Bernice called out to me once more, but I quickly disconnected the crystal ball.
[Disciple, are you sure this is okay?]
Sierra, who was looking at me puzzled, asked.
“…Wouldn’t it be okay if I could resolve the magick with acupuncture?”
[ …… ]
Sierra’s mouth dropped open in disbelief.
For the time being, I’ll have to invest my skill points in acupuncture. It’s not like it would be a huge loss, since Volk’s sister needs healing anyway.