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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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The Imperial Palace of Clarice, a majestic structure at the heart of the Imperial City.
Within its walls lay a sanctuary, a place where the continent’s sacred and sublime energies converged. A serene and tranquil space, resembling a dreamlike, azure forest, with a moon-shaped structure at its center.
Countless shooting stars, frozen in time, shimmered in a kaleidoscope of colors, creating an aura of mystique.
Into this peaceful sanctuary…
…a flash of light appeared.
Psyche, the Saint, had returned…
…accompanied by a small fox.
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“Th-The Saint has returned…!”
“She’s returned from that hell, Pandemonium!”
“It’s a miracle… a miracle…!”
“Thank you, God!”
The Imperial City of Saint was abuzz for days with the news of the Saint’s return. A festive atmosphere permeated the city. The Saint’s position was absolute.
Her presence alone strengthened the power of sanctuaries across the continent, bringing psychological stability and increased faith to the citizens of the Empire, and significantly hindering demonic incursions, thereby restoring the Empire’s national power.
Therefore, the Imperial Family, who had kept a low profile during Psyche’s absence, welcomed her enthusiastically.
Several days passed.
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In Psyche’s personal temple within the Imperial Palace…
“Saint, Saint. May I ask you something?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
A maid, assisting Psyche with her toilette, looked at the ash-grey fox and asked, “Is the animal you have with you… a divine beast?”
“Oh, no, it’s not. This little one was beside me when I awoke.”
“I see… how strange…”
“……”
As the maid’s gaze lingered on the fox, Psyche spoke, “I-I can manage the rest myself…! Why don’t you take a short break, Sophie?”
“Oh, alright…”
Sophia, the maid, who had been a little excited to serve the admired Psyche, reluctantly left the room. Psyche sighed in relief.
‘W-Well, it’s not a lie…’
As the Saint, she couldn’t lie. But she had to make excuses. This little fox was her lifesaver. Psyche knelt down, meeting the fox’s eyes.
“I’m sorry. I have a lot more appointments than expected… I want to go to Cynatis as soon as possible, but… I probably won’t be able to return to the academy until the day after tomorrow…”
Rrrr…
The fox whimpered softly, as if understanding.
“Come to think of it, you said you also needed to go to Clarice Academy, right?”
“?”
“There’s an awards ceremony tomorrow at the Imperial Palace to honor the Clarice cadets who performed well in the entrance exam.”
Psyche continued, smiling, “I’m presenting the awards… and my successor will be there, too. Oh, that was a secret… uh oh.”
She stood up abruptly and hurried to the door.
“Anyway, I’ll go and… adjust my schedule. It’s inconvenient, but please bear with me a little longer…”
Arr…
“And… this hallway is my private space… so feel free to roam around if you feel confined. But you must come back before the moon rises. The blessing will wear off before then.”
Psyche hurriedly left her room.
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‘This is taking longer than expected.’
…Somehow, I’d become an animal. An ash-grey… fox. The reason was simple. The plan to return to the sanctuary using Psyche’s power was good, but…
‘You said you wanted to return as quickly as possible, right?’
‘Yes, Saint.’
‘But… the only sanctuary I can return to in my current state is the one in the capital, Saint…’
Psyche looked at me with concern.
The Imperial Palace’s security is very tight. Civilians aren’t allowed inside… So, we’ll have to say we returned together through the sanctuary…
In other words, we would be questioned. The Saint was the Empire’s treasure, and I was an outsider…
Moreover, the Saint couldn’t lie. If she revealed that she had returned from Pandemonium, I would have to explain how a mere first-year cadet like myself ended up in the heart of Pandemonium.
It would be a headache.
‘Of course, I’ll vouch for you… but the Imperial Family is very conservative…’
In short, I could be detained as a suspected demonic spy until everything was verified.
‘How annoying…’
It was no wonder Regillus quit as Knight Commander and founded Crow Fey because he was frustrated with the Imperial Family. Even in , to highlight Caelan and the protagonist, the Imperial Family was portrayed as indecisive and concerned only with their own position.
“I need to return quickly to ease their worries…”
I doubted they’d forgotten me already, but I wanted to be scolded by Aria and Yeriel as soon as possible.
In the end, all I could do was…
…use the skill I chose after defeating Marchosias.
It was a simple tactic: disguise myself as another creature to avoid suspicion. It was black magic, and using it could get me branded a heretic. But fortunately, just like with the Great Demon Bune,
I was able to create another combination skill.
Since Marchosias’ transformations were based on wolves and foxes, there were only two options.
‘An omnivorous fox would be better.’
But perhaps because the skill level was 1… Fortunately, or unfortunately, I became a small fox the size of two palms.
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Back to the present.
Drip… drip… drip…
‘…’
Early evening. Psyche was gone, and twilight had deepened. The sound of the fountain was soothing, and a pleasant breeze blew. Psyche, overwhelmed with duties since her return, said she would be free the day after tomorrow.
She promised to take me to Clarice then. The awards ceremony in the Imperial City was likely for Yeriel, Aria, and Edwin, who had defeated Marchosias and saved Mystic Island.
‘Perhaps I can meet them before then?’
I couldn’t just sit still.
Ding.
Thanks to Psyche’s blessing, even high-ranking mages couldn’t detect my transformation.
But, perhaps a quirk of the closed beta classic version, I couldn’t undo the transformation while the blessing was active, and the transformation would be undone when the blessing wore off. A frustrating bug.
‘Well, that’s not a problem…’
I could just ask Psyche to renew the blessing before then.
Trot… trot…
I jumped out the window and headed towards the fountain in the temple hallway.
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Sophie, Psyche’s maid, was busy.
The Saint had returned, there were various events, and tomorrow was the awards ceremony for the cadets from the academy. She’d just heard that the heroes of the ceremony had met with the Emperor.
Traditionally, those visiting the Imperial Palace for a positive reason first greeted the Emperor in the audience chamber and then received a blessing from the Saint in the sanctuary. Sophie, in charge of this area, was to receive them.
She greeted the three cadets formally in Psyche’s temple hallway.
“Welcome. You must be tired from your journey.”
“It wasn’t much trouble. There’s a portal directly to the Imperial City at the academy.”
Edwin replied with a slight smile. They’d been welcomed warmly everywhere since arriving in the festive Imperial City, but…
‘Lev…’
This achievement came at the cost of his sacrifice. It made him feel a little melancholic. He glanced behind him.
“Are you alright, Yeriel?”
“Yes… I’m fine.”
“Aria?”
“I’m alright.”
The two women smiled faintly, as if understanding his feelings.
“I’ll bring the Saint. Please wait here for a moment!”
Sophie said and scurried off.
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“Huh…? The Saint was here just a moment ago…”
There was no response when Sophie knocked on Psyche’s door. She’d heard that Psyche would occasionally sneak out of the palace to care for children, so it wasn’t unusual. But the cadets from Clarice had arrived earlier than expected, disrupting the schedule. She returned to them to apologize.
“I’m sorry. The Saint is currently unavailable… my apologies…”
“It’s alright. We arrived early… This is a beautiful place, by the way. Do you mind if we walk around while we wait? The hallway is so lovely.”
“Of course!” Sophie readily agreed, delighted by Edwin’s words.
The temple hallway.
Although Psyche had been away for a long time, Sophie had cleaned the hallway every day, hoping to be her successor. Her efforts were finally being rewarded.
As she was basking in the moment…
-Drip… drip… drip…
-……
By the elegant, moon-shaped fountain, Aria, the silver-haired girl, was watching a small fox.
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Reunion time