Chapter: 14
Inside the Vice Commander’s office.
I tilted my head and looked at Antonio, who was carrying a huge stack of catalogs.
His eyes were sparkling with anticipation.
“What are all those?”
“Dresses.”
Well, I could tell that just by looking at the covers.
The names of the dress boutiques were printed across them in giant letters.
“They say fashions in the capital are outdated after just a month. Kids are sensitive about that kind of thing.”
“Some are.”
“The dress the Vice Commander gave you is probably already out of style.”
“That may be true.”
The dress Marina had owned was flashy enough to make people’s eyes widen, but in the capital it was already beginning to fall out of fashion.
Grinning, Antonio held out the catalogs.
“So pick one.”
“A dress?”
“Yeah. I’ll buy you one.”
Ah.
So he wanted to buy me something to wear to the selection test.
But…
Letting out a quiet groan, I glanced at the catalog covers.
These were all from some of the most popular boutiques in the capital.
“Sir Antonio, last time you bought steamed potatoes at the market. You kept complaining about how expensive they were.”
“Yeah.”
“How much were they?”
“Four copper.”
I accepted the catalog and flipped to the back pages.
Then I pointed at a tiny ribbon listed as an optional dress accessory.
“This ribbon costs the same as 2,200 potatoes.”
“What?!”
Antonio let out a shriek.
His eyes looked like they were about to pop out.
Even on Earth, slap a luxury brand logo on a T-shirt and it could cost over a million won.
How expensive would a handcrafted dress be if it was made by apprentices personally trained by a famous designer?
People didn’t joke when they said families bankrupted themselves just to debut their children into high society.
In other words, it was absurdly expensive for someone living on Antonio’s salary.
Antonio looked at the Vice Commander with a sorrowful expression.
“Please give me a raise.”
“Think about how much money disappears every month cleaning up the disasters you cause.”
His expression clearly said, If you want to afford even a single potato, keep your mouth shut.
Come to think of it, not long ago he’d apparently destroyed the town square and the repair bill had been enormous.
Antonio was lucky he got paid at all.
The Vice Commander sighed before looking at me.
“Please choose whatever suits your taste. I’ll purchase it.”
“Really, it’s fine. I like the clothes I already have.”
When the former lord’s assets had been confiscated, all of Marina’s clothes, accessories, and shoes had become mine.
I honestly wasn’t lacking for clothes.
“More importantly, about removing the Bright Crystal barrier…”
Removing the barrier required human blood.
I’d been using my own blood to dissolve it.
Naturally I couldn’t continue while I was unconscious, and I’d tried to resume immediately after waking up…
…but the Vice Commander confiscated it.
He’d said I wasn’t even to look at it until I’d fully recovered.
“It’s already been a week. Thanks to the healer you summoned, my bones healed a long time ago. So could you please return the Bright Crystal?”
“About that. I was actually planning to discuss it with you. Does it absolutely have to be the blood of one specific person?”
Antonio interrupted.
“It isn’t something like… the blood of a pure maiden, right? If the blood of an impure middle-aged man works too, then the Commander could— Ack!”
Antonio yelped as someone kicked him squarely in the shin.
The Commander glared at him.
“I’m still in my twenties.”
“Why’d you leave out the part where you’re in your late twenties? Ack! Why do you always kick the same spot?!”
Leaving the grumbling Antonio behind, the Commander walked over to me.
“If possible, I’d like to help.”
“But the barrier should already be gone.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I fed it blood for over two weeks. The barrier should have completely melted away by now. I meant we should hurry and lift the curse.”
The Commander had spent an entire week drinking Myeongjeong Herb, despite hating it.
For the past few days he’d been complaining that he was sick of smelling that old-man-like herb even more than the scent of blood.
His complexion had improved dramatically.
It was finally time to move on to breaking the curse.
I smiled brightly.
“Commander, it’s time for you to be free from your curse.”
“…!”
The Commander’s and Antonio’s faces lit up.
Inside an abandoned building without a roof.
I stole a glance at the Commander.
The curse’s markings had already spread up to his collarbones.
If we’d wasted just a few more days, this would’ve become dangerous.
The only reason he could still move was because the Myeongjeong Herb was suppressing the curse.
In truth, he should have been in too much agony to move at all.
I flexed my hands, then stood up and sat down a few times to check my condition.
Good. I’m ready too.
There was a reason I’d obediently waited a whole week despite every day being precious.
The one performing the curse removal—that was me—also needed to prepare thoroughly.
Besides…
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes. All members of my squad are prepared.”
“My squad is ready as well.”
This wasn’t something only one or two people could handle.
The Commander stood at the exact center of the magic formation I’d drawn across the floor.
The Vice Commander stood to the east.
Antonio stood to the west.
The rest of the Order members completely surrounded the abandoned building.
Antonio asked,
“But why’d you gather everyone stationed in the fortress?”
“Because we’re going to need an enormous amount of mana.”
“You said you’re using the Commander’s mana too.”
“Even that won’t be enough.”
The Vice Commander looked worried.
“Mixing another person’s mana into the human body is dangerous. Mana poisoning could kill everyone involved.”
“All the mana will be sent into the Bright Crystal. It won’t pass through anyone’s body, so don’t worry.”
Antonio and the Vice Commander nodded.
The Commander silently watched me from inside the magic circle.
I knelt opposite him and placed my hand on the formation.
I can’t cast grand magic, but this much…
The magic circle drawn across the floor would replace the work of a mage.
The Commander and the other members would supply the mana my tiny reserve couldn’t provide.
All I had to do was guide their mana like steering an oar through water.
“I’m starting.”
The moment I activated the formation, light surged outward from where everyone stood and flooded the entire magic circle inside the building.
Eventually it transformed into an indescribable color before shooting toward the Commander.
Then—
“Around the Commander…!”
“What is that?!”
The Vice Commander and Antonio cried out.
It wasn’t surprising.
Countless crimson letters had suddenly appeared in midair.
The curse’s spell.
The Dark Abyss curse, an ancient form of sorcery, was incomparably more sophisticated and intricate than any spell formula I’d ever known.
One by one, the spell arrays surrounding the Commander began shattering with crisp cracking sounds.
It’s actually working.
I’d expected it would.
But seeing it happen with my own eyes was different.
After all, this was my first time using magic.
Or rather…
My first time using any magic at all.
My mana reserves were tiny.
My mana outlet was no bigger than a grain of millet.
Put simply…
I had absolutely zero talent for magic.
Still, I’m glad I never gave up studying magical calculations… Wait.
Something felt wrong.
The amount of mana wasn’t normal.
At first it obediently flowed where I guided it.
Then, little by little, it began increasing.
“Huh…?”
“My lady?”
“What’s wrong?”
I had no time to answer the Vice Commander or Antonio.
Panicking, I searched for the point where the mana had suddenly begun multiplying.
Where did my calculations go wrong?
As my eyes frantically traced the formula upward—
I froze.
The Commander.
Mana was pouring out of Commander Arslan like a flood.
As the Dark Abyss curse breaks apart, the mana it had been suppressing is returning.
The amount far exceeded my expectations.
Hadn’t I said even the Commander’s mana wouldn’t be enough?
I was wrong.
The Commander alone has more than enough!
I immediately forced the clockwise flow of mana to reverse.
At this rate, the spell would collapse.
What do I do?!
If the spell broke…
It wasn’t only the Commander and I who would be in danger.
The Bright Crystal would shatter.
We couldn’t lose the precious crystal we’d worked so hard to obtain.
People could recover.
Objects couldn’t.
Then I have no choice…!
Prepared to risk everything, I redirected the overflowing mana straight into my own body.
Like I’d said, I was just an ordinary person.
My mana outlet was smaller than a grain of millet.
The mana entering my body wouldn’t be able to escape properly.
The spell formation would stabilize.
I only have to endure until the curse removal finishes.
But before long…
Agony swept through my entire body as if I were an overinflated balloon about to burst.
“My lady, is this really working?!”
“This isn’t right. We need to stop the spell immediately—!”
Antonio and the Vice Commander started moving toward me.
“Don’t move!”
I shouted desperately.
Judging from the curse spell surrounding the Commander…
Three minutes remained.
Just three more minutes.
I gritted my teeth and endured the overwhelming mana.
My head…
It’s going to split open…!
Two minutes.
“Ah… Ugh… Aaah…!”
One minute.
I… can’t breathe…
“My lady!”
Just as I reached my absolute limit—
Antonio shouted.
“The curse spell disappeared!”
I jerked my head upward.
The countless spell arrays surrounding the Commander had vanished without a trace.
The Commander slowly opened his eyes.
Only then did I finally collapse onto the floor.
Drip.
Warm blood trickled from beneath my nose.
Ah… This is still the best possible outcome…
That was what I thought.
Until—
KRAAAAAASH!!
The earth shook violently.
“W-What is that?!”
“What happened?!”
The Order members screamed in panic.
Inside the building, Antonio and the Vice Commander also looked around in shock.
But I had no time for that.
Because…
Second Advancement Successful!
[The Purifier]
※ This system has been reconstructed using a familiar interface for the user’s convenience.
…What is this?
The earth cried out.
Flocks of birds covered the sky.
The wind shook heaven and earth.
The stained-glass windows shattered, and everyone inside the cathedral screamed.
“Your Holiness!”
A man dressed in a priest’s ceremonial robes rushed into the prayer hall.
“Please evacuate! It’s an earthquake!”
He hurried toward an elderly woman.
But she stood frozen, her trembling eyes fixed only on the World Tree sealed inside the crystal chamber at the center of the sanctuary.
“Your Holiness!”
“An earthquake? No. This is a revelation.”
The panicked priests stopped.
The elderly woman exhaled a trembling breath.
No one had ever seen the always-composed woman so excited.
Even amid the chaos, the priests who remained quietly prostrated spoke.
“Bow your heads. The World Tree is singing.”
Indeed.
The branches and leaves of the World Tree—which had never moved through any calamity—were swaying.
Just as described in the sacred scriptures.
The moment of revelation.
“Then…!”
Even the younger priests stared at the World Tree with trembling eyes.
The elderly woman declared in a voice overflowing with emotion.
“Inform His Majesty and all believers. In the name of God’s First Servant, I proclaim this: the Saintess has descended.”
“Waaaaah!”
An enormous uproar erupted throughout the holy land of Teretsa, the Empire’s state religion.
The scene shifted to the Imperial Palace.
A white dove of Teretsa arrived before Emperor Augusto, carrying a branch from the World Tree.
It was the signal announcing the Saintess’s appearance.
After reading the Pope’s letter tied to the dove’s leg, Emperor Augusto rested two fingers against his temple.
“People who invoke the gods at every turn are always troublesome.”
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
The heads of the Seven Great Houses looked up at him.
Burning the Pope’s letter, the Emperor spoke in an even tone.
“They always assume that everything the gods bestow exists solely for their benefit.”
Rising to his feet, he gazed out the window.
When the earthquake had begun, the sky had been bright.
Now thick clouds had swallowed the heavens, making it as dark as night.
“The Saintess is one who will protect the Empire. She shall be welcomed with the highest honor into my castle. Move quickly.”
The heads of the Seven Houses bowed.
As they left the audience chamber, one of them said,
“The Pope and His Majesty will both be desperate to find her. If we delay the search, His Majesty won’t be pleased.”
An elderly patriarch walking with his hands clasped behind his back chuckled.
“Do you think only the Pope and His Majesty are eager? Your own eyes are gleaming just as brightly.”
“Well, whoever finds her first will become her patron. It’s only natural to be ambitious. Though perhaps some people feel differently.”
…
The patriarchs glanced backward.
The face of the always-smiling master manipulator had turned as cold as ice.
“Who knows?”
His voice remained gentle.
Yet the others swallowed dry laughs.
Rumors had long spread that a Saintess was being raised in that man’s estate.
A miraculous affinity for divine power.
Even the ability to heal small wounds in the blink of an eye.
Because of that, both Teretsa and the Imperial Palace had watched her closely.
And now…
The real Saintess had appeared.
Considering he even drove out his own biological daughter after trying to protect that adopted girl… this must sting.
That man…
Marquis Andres.
Well, there’s no point worrying about him.
Finding the Saintess comes first.
Just then, the aides waiting outside hurried over.
Each patriarch gave immediate orders.
“Mobilize the Intelligence Bureau to its limit.”
“Go find the Sage of the Four Castles. Spend whatever money it takes. Just find the Saintess.”
Thus began the frantic search for the Saintess that would one day be recorded in history.
San Miguel Fortress.
The Vice Commander, Antonio, and every Order member crowded around me.
“Are you alright?”
“Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
I shook my head.
A moment ago I’d thought I was dying.
Now I just had a nosebleed.
More importantly…
I can feel mana overflowing inside my body.
It wasn’t that my mana reservoir had been small.
Only the amount of mana I’d possessed.
Like a water dispenser with only a little water sitting at the bottom.
This is all the Commander’s mana, isn’t it? Incredible.
Then I suddenly came to my senses.
“Commander!”
I hurried to my feet, pushed through the crowd, and rushed over to him.
He stood there blankly staring at the ground.
“Are you alright?”
He slowly nodded.
I immediately rolled up his sleeve.
“Ah…!”
The markings were gone.
What about elsewhere?
The curse always began from the heart.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
I quickly unbuttoned his shirt.
Nothing over his heart either.
It had disappeared completely.
“The curse removal worked!”
“Yes.”
The moment the Order members heard our exchange—
“WAAAAAH!”
Cheers erupted simultaneously.
I slowly sank to the ground again.
This time it wasn’t from shock.
It was because relief and joy had finally drained all the strength from my body.
I only redirected all that mana into myself because I had no other choice…
But how was that even possible?
Normally, accepting another person’s mana was impossible.
Could it have been because of that?
[The Purifier]
The thing I’d seen during the final moment of breaking the curse.
