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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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Rue exclaimed in a surprised voice, “E-Edan… was the Warmonger?!”
The fairy’s delicate face was painted with shock.
As if to express her utter astonishment, she even jumped up and down in place.
It was understandable for her to be surprised.
After all, she had been searching for the Warmonger all this time.
He recalled Rue’s frustrated outburst, complaining that the Warmonger, a late addition to the Saintess Party, hadn’t even greeted her, a senior member.
“I’m your senior! I joined the Saintess Party first, as the mascot!”
“I understand, Senior Rue.”
“Ehehe! If you have any questions about the Saintess Party, feel free to ask me anytime!”
“……”
He could confidently assert that he possessed far more knowledge.
He was a reader who could recite the original story fluently, and also a transmigrator.
Moreover, even before being pushed into joining the Saintess Party, he had acted as a supporter, offering advice and guidance to Maximilian.
However, he didn’t want to crush Rue’s excitement as she hummed a tune and smiled brightly.
So he decided to play along as a clueless junior member.
“I’ve finally realized it!”
“What?”
“You always told me stories about Bea and Max so smoothly from the moment we met! That’s because you had adventures with them a long time ago!”
“S-Suddenly, you’ve become so smart… Did you eat something wrong?”
He almost burst into tears at Rue’s boastful demeanor as she began her insightful explanation.
She had become incredibly intelligent.
For a fairy with the intelligence of a slug to make such a complex deduction…!
He felt like he understood the heart of a father raising a child.
He clapped repeatedly, expressing his joy at Rue’s unexpectedly sharp deduction.
‘Actually, it’s because I’m a transmigrator who has read the original story… but Rue’s deduction isn’t wrong.’
If the doting goddess had been present, she would have surely made a fuss.
That’s how remarkable Rue’s growth was.
“I thought you must have suffered a lot because of that sudden jerk… I’m glad you’re okay, Rue.”
“Max will come back! I believe it!”
She hadn’t just become intelligent.
She had also matured.
Rue smiled brightly, showing a resolute demeanor.
“Ahem…!”
As he was stroking the head of the bold and admirable fairy, celebrating her growth,
He heard the sound of the door opening, followed by an awkward cough.
It was Zebeline.
The silver-haired girl entered the room with a flushed face.
“Saintess.”
“Y-Yes…”
They had been awkward since last night.
He felt momentarily embarrassed by Zebeline’s shy demeanor, like a bride on the eve of her wedding night.
The smile that spread across her lips.
The gentle touch as she embraced him.
And the warmth of her plump lips as she bestowed a blessing-like kiss on his forehead.
The more vividly he recalled the situation, the more blood rushed to his head.
“Why? Did something happen?”
“N-No, nothing.”
In contrast to Rue, who had matured through painful farewells and reunions, he and Zebeline had become like adolescents agonizing over first love.
His face burned.
It seemed Zebeline, who was clutching her cheeks, felt the same.
They cleared their throats awkwardly, trying to compose themselves.
“As I mentioned before, I’ll be going to the Powder Keg Peninsula. Please take care of Rue.”
“Of course, don’t worry and go.”
Powder Keg Peninsula.
A land of war where only fighting and slaughter existed.
A cursed region where even the benevolent Earth Mother refused to bestow her grace.
He couldn’t take the saintess and the fairy to a battlefield reeking of blood and lead them to a living hell.
So he told Zebeline that he would go alone.
“Sorry, I have to go for a while.”
“I’m okay! I believe in you… like I believed in Max!”
How admirable.
She was indeed the fairy he had cherished and raised.
If Maximilian had continued to care for her, she would have surely become a spoiled brat.
Her cute and charming face would have turned into an indifferent mask.
Zebeline, who had sent Edanant off like a wife accepting her husband’s departure, let out a heavy sigh filled with melancholy and grasped Rue’s slender hand.
She felt like a tragic heroine.
No,
She was practically a tragic heroine.
If the heartbreaking romance between the saintess of the Holy Kingdom and the apostle serving a Disaster God were to become widely known, it would surely receive much attention and love from countless people.
Moreover, the presence of that wicked old hag as the antagonist would make it even more popular.
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“Where is Edanant? I have to leave soon, so please summon him quickly.”
“Ugh! Speak of the devil…”
As Zebeline was writhing in ecstasy,
The golden-haired princess encountered the First Saintess, who had returned to the Holy Kingdom’s garrison.
Indeed, she was the Empire’s Red Dragon.
To fly such a vast distance in an instant.
Zebeline clicked her tongue, openly expressing her displeasure as she stared at Ludmilla.
“He left this morning.”
“…He left?”
Could she be lying?
Ludmilla gazed at Zebeline with suspicious eyes.
However, the saintess’s words were the undeniable truth.
Edanant’s presence could not be felt anywhere in the Boemon Kingdom.
“How did you get here, Auntie?”
“……”
Rue, who had returned with her arms full of snacks offered by the paladins, tilted her head in confusion as she looked at Ludmilla.
Had she reverted to her original intelligence as soon as Edanant disappeared?
She casually used the title that the Empire’s Red Dragon hated the most.
“Ahahaha! Ahahahaha!”
Zebeline burst into a boisterous laugh, as expected.
“What did you just call me? I pray I misheard you.”
“U-Um, beautiful and pretty… very young sister!”
Ludmilla’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
She sensed a warning, a threat to turn her into a corpse if she dared to speak carelessly again.
Perhaps it was due to the threat to her life.
Rue, who had reverted to her original intelligence, displayed a strong survival instinct and showered Ludmilla with flattery.
Beautiful and pretty.
Young.
Only after hearing the satisfactory titles did Ludmilla’s ferocious aura finally subside.
“I heard he fought against Hero Maximilian.”
“The aftermath of the battle completely destroyed the Immortal Fortress, the capital of the Boemon Kingdom. Currently, the Holy Kingdom’s forces are deployed there, carrying out relief efforts.”
Had Edanant been injured after fighting the Hero of the Ages?
Was his heart alright after fighting his own brother?
He couldn’t be okay.
Even if he hadn’t sustained any injuries, his spirit must be shattered.
Ludmilla grimaced, her plump lips trembling as she expressed her complex emotions.
“They’re all safe, despite the fierce battle. Maximilian and Regnas returned to their original locations, while Edan headed to the Powder Keg Peninsula.”
“…The Powder Keg Peninsula?”
Edanant, who had just fought a life-or-death battle with Maximilian, suddenly left for the Powder Keg Peninsula.
Ludmilla’s eyes widened at Zebeline’s words.
“To encounter the Disaster God of War amidst the bloodshed.”
“T-To summon the Disaster God of War…! Are you saying Edanant plans to bring the innocent calamity to the mortal world?!”
The assault of the hero and the sword saint.
The appearance of the Warmonger.
The shocking events that had unfolded in the Boemon Kingdom seemed like a mere trifle compared to the dangerous plan about to take place in the Powder Keg Peninsula.
Ludmilla shuddered, feeling a chill of foreboding.
Fear surged within her.
At the same time, a strange thrill coursed through her.
Her red eyes trembled, as if foreseeing the events to come.
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Powder Keg Peninsula.
A land where vile greed and slaughter endlessly repeated.
A cursed region where even the benevolent Earth Mother refused to bestow her grace.
Edanant arrived at the battlefield reeking of blood and let out a heavy sigh.
He then tipped over the cart he had painstakingly dragged to the battlefield and began preparations to summon the Disaster God of War.
“Hmm…”
The barren land, trampled countless times by hooves.
The acrid smoke that completely obscured the sky.
Countless corpses, abandoned haphazardly across the battlefield, regardless of nationality.
It was enough.
The echoes of war were overflowing.
Edanant chuckled bitterly, a hint of self-deprecation in his smile, as he cleared away the items he had transported in the cart.
They were dazzling gold and silver treasures, along with various expensive jewelry.
“W-What is he doing…?”
“He suddenly appeared on the battlefield and wiped out all the troops!”
The fierce battle that had been raging on the Powder Keg Peninsula came to a temporary halt.
Because of a single person.
The fighting stopped due to the figure who had appeared, summoning countless firearms into the air.
Tens of thousands of troops hesitated in their advance, aghast.
They feared that the black muskets might unleash another barrage of bullets at any moment, just as they had done before.
“Clear out everyone loitering around. Don’t kill them.”
“Yes, Prophet.”
After ordering the vampire to eliminate the annoying distractions, Edanant sighed and gazed at the figure standing atop a mountain of corpses.
He hadn’t performed the ritual yet.
Nor had he called upon the Disaster God’s name, seeking an oracle.
-How commendable, to personally prepare offerings for your god.
“……”
There was only one being in all of existence who would use a mountain of corpses as a throne, treating it as the seat of a supreme ruler.
The one who regarded the horrors of war as a warm bonfire,
The one who perceived the terrible cries and screams as sweet music,
The one who considered rusted weapons and maggot-infested corpses as the ultimate offerings.
How could he forget that voice?
He could never forget the voice overflowing with a frenzied ecstasy for war.
-Edanant.
“…Lierre.”
He uttered the divine name.
The shadowy figure seated on the throne of corpses smiled broadly.
-My beloved apostle, do you desire the oracle bestowed by the Disaster God of War?
“Yes.”
Snap.
The shadowy figure snapped its fingers.
At that moment, all the surrounding light began to be swallowed up like flickering candles.
Light extinguished.
No brilliance, no matter how bright, could escape.
The black shadow spread like ink, consuming everything in its path.
It painted over all the colors that formed the landscape with the shadow of war.
And the colors stolen from the landscape were used to create the form of a beautiful girl through mimicry.
-It pleases me to descend upon the mortal world after such a long time. What troubles my favored apostle? Ask anything, and I shall gladly answer.
The voice was filled with amusement.
The red-haired girl laughed boldly and granted him permission to ask his questions.
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