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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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‘It can even corrupt sacred relics, so what?’
I didn’t think leaving this place intact would earn me any favors.
Therefore, I destroyed everything without hesitation.
‘Come to think of it, there were also murals.’
I had only glanced at them briefly, but they were probably depictions of the Earth Mother Church’s mythology.
‘I need to erase those too.’
That’s what Tildi would want.
Thanks to the golem’s continuous work, the building itself crumbled quickly.
I then erased the murals and completely sealed the small cave entrance.
In the previous round, they had meticulously erased everything, leaving the cave open up to a certain point.
But I lacked the confidence to erase the traces so thoroughly, so I took the drastic measure of sealing the cave itself.
After completely finishing the cleanup, we returned to the territory.
Annelise woke up on the way back, but she couldn’t speak due to my curse.
She struggled to break free, but Athena knocked her unconscious again.
“Even if you hadn’t helped, I would have handled it myself.”
“I just wanted to do it. She’s annoying.”
Athena curtly responded to Baldur’s words.
When we stopped by the Mercenary Guild, Servisso greeted us with a surprised expression.
“You’ve returned. But where are your companions…”
“Most of them died.”
Servisso’s gaze turned to Tildi.
“That’s right. Most of them died during the mission… And Annelise attempted to abandon her companions and flee.”
“…Are you saying there was a betrayal? Surely not because…”
Tildi didn’t answer.
To be precise, she had fled because all her comrades were dead and the situation was hopeless, but he didn’t seem to want to defend her to that extent.
“I’ve decided to leave the punishment to Inha’s party. He said he would handle it officially through the Mercenary Guild.”
“…I understand. I’ll inform the higher-ups.”
We reported the completion of the mission and received the remaining payment, along with a bonus for our efforts.
“What are your plans? You can work with us for a while if you wish…”
Tildi shook his head at my suggestion.
“I’m fine… I plan to return to the temple and focus on my training for a while. I also need to hold funerals for my companions.”
Then, he looked at me and said,
“You don’t have to worry about that place. Since you kept your promise, I swear in the name of the Goddess that I will remain silent until my death.”
The temple had been destroyed, and he had confirmed that all of the sacred relics were corrupted.
There was no reason for him to speak up.
“I’ll trust you.”
He wouldn’t be able to speak up now that he had sworn in the name of the Goddess.
In a way, swearing in the name of the Goddess was similar to a mana oath.
If he spoke, some of our information would reach the Goddess Religion, but Tildi would surely die.
‘Because he would have defiled the name of the Goddess.’
Considering his own life, and the fact that he had a relatively flexible mindset for a priest, it was highly likely that he wouldn’t betray our information to the Goddess Religion even at the cost of his own life.
And even if he didn’t betray us, I would inevitably catch their attention eventually.
‘Because my growth rate is faster than expected.’
Even though the Goddess Religion operates within the six-kingdom alliance, they wouldn’t be able to directly harm me.
However, there was a high chance they would consider me a person of interest.
The Goddess Religion, which hates warlocks more than imaginable, has always criticized the system of authorized warlocks and frequently demanded that the six-kingdom alliance officially expel warlocks.
‘The six-kingdom alliance scoffs at them, though.’
The Goddess Religion was undoubtedly present within the six-kingdom alliance.
They couldn’t suppress every single religion.
However, their influence wasn’t as strong as in the Holy Empire or the kingdoms of Maladin and Malikos, which followed the empire.
‘They allow multiple religions, and while the nobles might be different, the royal families aren’t close to the Goddess Religion.’
I also knew that a considerable number of key nobles kept their distance from the Goddess Religion, even if they followed other religions.
Naturally, not all nobles were like that.
Therefore, I would inevitably attract their attention once I became an authorized warlock.
By then, it wouldn’t matter if they knew.
It was only dangerous if they find out right now.
It didn’t really matter if they find out in the future.
Plus, my skills would continue to grow, further shortening the period of danger.
After Tildi left with his payment, Servisso spoke to me.
“The branch manager would like to schedule a meeting with you, Inha. When are you available?”
He inquired cautiously, perhaps feeling that it would be burdensome to invite me immediately after we returned.
“Hmm… let’s meet tomorrow.”
I was planning to rest a bit, but I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
“Tomorrow… I understand. I’ll send someone tomorrow evening. You’ll be at the Sleeping Bear Inn, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’ll send someone there. Oh, and Annelise…”
“Leave her to us.”
She was under a silence curse anyway.
She couldn’t speak.
Servisso looked slightly surprised when I told him this.
“A silence curse… a permanent curse…”
“I reached 5th class.”
Servisso’s pupils dilated rapidly.
“…I’ll make sure to relay that information.”
Servisso was quick-witted.
The treatment of a 4th class and a 5th class mage was different.
Especially for warlocks.
‘Even if I’m a warlock, or rather, precisely because I’m a warlock, the treatment is even more different.’
The branch manager would probably be quite eager.
After briefly bidding farewell to Servisso, we returned to the Sleeping Bear Inn.
I took a proper shower and a short rest, even Kayla didn’t bother me today.
The next day, after breakfast, I gathered my companions.
On the table were an ordinary-looking armor and sword.
“So these are the armor and sword the Minotaur used…”
Athena looked at the armor with a bit of curiosity.
“It can expand to that size…?”
“It’s an artifact.”
“But it’s sealed, right?”
The method of unsealing it wasn’t difficult.
“I’m thinking of giving these to Kayla.”
“…Both of them… you mean?”
Kayla said, as if she found it unexpected.
“You contributed the most. I’m thinking of going to a place where there’s a shield next time, and if it’s still there, it will probably go to you as well.”
Now that I could logically persuade my companions, I had to make the most of it.
Honestly, I felt grateful to the person who wrote the diary.
Although I brought back the bones of the person presumed to be the author.
They must have been a truly remarkable person during their lifetime, as their bones, unlike those of the guardians and Minotaurs, still retained their divine power and remained intact.
“All of them… are a bit burdensome…”
“Well, I obtained the robe (Mother’s Embrace) and the chalice (Chalice of Abundance), and Athena has the Wind Dragon’s Fang.”
Besides, Athena couldn’t even use the armor or a sword of that size.
“Plus, you’re the most skilled, so it would be the most beneficial for the party if you used them.”
Although I had reached 5th class, I was a necromancer, so it would take some time to achieve the full power of a 5th class mage.
It probably wouldn’t take too long.
As she still seemed hesitant, I was about to try to persuade her further when…
“Just accept them.”
Baldur spoke up.
“If you’re concerned about me, it’s fine. Honestly, you’re right, and our contributions are incomparable. Besides, your shield and armor were both destroyed this time…”
Kayla finally nodded at the words of Baldur, who could be considered her disciple.
“Don’t worry about Baldur. I’ll take care of him later when the opportunity arises. The diary I obtained mentions quite a few ruins.”
Even without that, it wouldn’t be difficult to take care of Baldur.
‘Compared to Kayla and Athena, he might be lacking, but Baldur is still talented.’
“And the first thing I’ll do for Baldur isn’t giving him an artifact.”
Athena and Kayla looked puzzled at my words.
“First, I’ll remove that damned slave mark.”
“Ah, right. I forgot about that.”
Baldur also looked a bit surprised.
Well, he was technically a slave, but I had never treated him as one.
Honestly, the chances of Baldur becoming a master were low.
It was true that he was objectively talented, but becoming a master wasn’t easy.
‘It’s dangerous for me to remove it.’
In that case, it would be better to have the slave mark officially removed through the magic tower.
‘It costs several times more than when it was inscribed…’
It could cost tens, perhaps even close to 100 gold.
But it was worth it.
‘It’s just money.’
I didn’t have that much money right now.
But there were many ways to earn it.
We could loot ruins and sell the ruins themselves to the magic tower if they weren’t closely related to the Earth Mother Church.
We could also sell any unnecessary items obtained as rewards.
There were also ways to earn money using some of my future knowledge.
‘The Duke’s jewel incident, the famine in the south, the epidemic in the swamp…’
If used well, there were countless opportunities to make money.
That was one of the reasons why I didn’t worry too much about money.
Plus, as a mercenary of our level…
‘There are many ways to earn money.’
Especially since I was a warlock.
It would be a bit dirty, but there were ways to make money with the tacit consent of the Mercenary Guild or Doriem.
Of course, there was no need to resort to such methods.
“Well then, since it’s decided that these will go to Kayla… let’s unseal them. Kayla.”
“First, apply your blood to both weapons.”
“…You mean my blood?”
“Yes. Oh, don’t worry, applying blood doesn’t involve any magic or anything like that. Think of it as a kind of ownership recognition.”
It was a temporary binding, so it could be broken at any time if the owner died or willed it.
The sword and armor were stained with Kayla’s blood.
“Afterward, when you infuse mana into them, the seal will probably try to repel your mana. Ignore it and forcefully break it. Then it will react to your blood. After that, just keep infusing mana as usual.”
“…Is that the answer?”
“Yes. I told you it was simple. But it won’t be that easy, right? Try the sword first.”
It was a method I had used when I couldn’t find the solution at the magic tower, and it turned out to be the correct answer.
‘Honestly, it’s more of a test than a seal.’
It could be seen as a way of saying that those who weren’t qualified could never use its true power.
After all, only Kayla could use them.
They weren’t legendary ancient artifacts for nothing.
If Baldur hadn’t stepped in, I would have told her this information as well.
Kayla seemed to concentrate for a while at my words, and soon beads of sweat started to form on her forehead.
A faint heat haze could be seen emanating from her body, as if she was pouring in an unimaginable amount of mana.
After a considerable amount of time had passed…
As if a shell was breaking, fine cracks appeared on the sword, and then it shattered with a flash of light.
Athena seemed surprised, but it wasn’t anything unusual.
Kayla let out a sigh and put the sword down.
“…It’s certainly amazing. This is… honestly, hmm… it might be close to a cursed sword.”
“What do you mean? A cursed sword?”
‘In a way, it could be seen that way.’
“It has the ability to repair the user’s wounds by absorbing the blood of living beings they cut. It can even store a certain amount.”
Athena looked surprised at Kayla’s explanation.
“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to affect the mind…”
If it did, it would have been a true cursed sword.
If it hadn’t been sold to a powerful noble family, it might have been treated as a real cursed sword.
For reference, it had many other functions besides that.
It could self-repair using the life force extracted from blood, and it was a convenient sword that required little maintenance as long as it regularly consumed the blood of living beings.
‘Now that I think about it, it really does seem like a cursed sword.’
It was a fine sword that readily accepted the user’s mana and wasn’t easily scratched even by ordinary aura.
Kayla let out a sigh of relief after successfully activating the armor as well.
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