Taming the Evil Saintess

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“You’re trash.”

“….”

“How could you hit such a well-behaved and cute child?”

For some reason, Blackie was obedient only to Ophelia.

Just looking at how he was nuzzling against her nose spoke volumes.

Of course, Blackie was enormous, and it was somewhat unbalanced for the petite Ophelia to cradle him…

“Anyway, you need to reflect.”

“Mm.”

A girl in holy garments was petting a gigantic dragon.

Just that scene alone radiated a kind of divinity.

“Since it’s come to this, I think it’d be better if you took charge of Blackie’s training, Ophelia.”

“Why are you even asking that?”

“If he causes any trouble, just let me know. I’ll correct him.”

“Are you planning to hit him again?”

“It’s for appropriate education!”

At those words, Ophelia grimaced and stuck out her tongue.

I wanted to tug at that tongue, but I figured she would let out a roar even bigger than the dragon’s, so I gave up.

“You really need to cherish that child, you know.”

“That thing is a child?”

“Of course. It looks cute to me. Don’t you think?”

Meow!

As I looked at Blackie meowing like a cat, Ophelia covered his eyes.

“Don’t look. Don’t look at the bad daddy. Close your eyes.”

“….”

“Why? Were you planning to hit Blackie again?”

“No, well….”

There’s a saying about carrots and sticks.

Rewarding with carrots and punishing with sticks. When raising a child, you shouldn’t just scold them.

Even a dragon wouldn’t be much different.

It’s just that I was faithfully carrying out the lessons I learned back on Earth, so why was I receiving such sharp glares?

“Well, it’s true that Blackie has been causing trouble.”

“He’s our child!”

“Why does that make him our child?”

Ophelia was particularly fixated on the keyword ‘our child.’

Given her personality, I thought she’d be completely indifferent to child-rearing, but she seemed to have some talent as a mother.

With a sigh, I said,

“If Blackie is our child, does that make you my wife? Are you trying to be a wife who’s getting hit?”

It was meant as a joke, but the moment I said it, Ophelia’s hand that was petting Blackie came to a sudden stop.

Slowly, Ophelia turned her stiff neck to look at me.

As if she were staring at a ghost.

“…What’s with that look?”

“Ugh, no….”

Ophelia struggled to find her words before finally shouting,

“G-get lost!”

“What?”

“Stop spewing weird things!”

She yelled angrily and then tucked her small body right between Blackie’s wings.

Suddenly burdened with Ophelia in his embrace, Blackie let out a whiny roar, but…

“Shut up already!”

Ophelia smacked his back.

“…He sure knows how to hit back.”

“I told you to get lost!”

*

The issue with Blackie was more or less settled.

However, that didn’t significantly reduce the amount of food he was consuming.

In the end, the only ultimate solution was to leave the Ice Palace soon.

If we didn’t, Cecilia’s expression, which had been growing darker by the day, would turn even grimmer.

We had dismantled the Purification Church, and the possessor there had fled. There was no longer any reason for us to remain here.

“Let’s leave, slowly.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”

Once I conveyed that to Albrecht, his face lit up with joy.

To be precise, it seemed he felt a little guilty about staying in the Ice Palace just like me.

“Are we crossing the Erosion Zone right away?”

“Yeah. I’ve got the Rulier siblings stationed there.”

“I don’t know what kind of people they are…”

“They’re trustworthy.”

“If you say so, I’ll take your word for it.”

Since the Rulier siblings and their resistance army had set up a forward base, it would be better to sort out our supplies there.

The only problem was…

“But are you really planning to take that dragon, no, Blackie with you?”

“…Probably. Ophelia is being stubborn about it.”

“It’ll be quite noticeable…”

Black Dragon Blackie was massive.

Of course, he was expected to grow even larger.

When he fully matured, he’d be as big as an average mansion.

So, Blackie was in direct conflict with our stealthy plan to take down the Plague Lord.

To solve this problem, I had recently suggested to Emily, who had her house arrest extended, to try using Shrinking Magic on him.

‘Are you insane?’

‘Insane, you say.’

‘You want to cast Shrinking Magic on a fantasy creature whose dark magic level could seriously injure someone? Even our master couldn’t do that.’

That was the response I got.

True, the common trait of fantasy creatures, Phantasma, offers considerable magical defense against most forms of magic.

“Well, this is tricky.”

Albrecht chuckled wryly as he sheathed his sword.

“We’ll have to pray that there are no eyes watching us in the Erosion Zone.”

Anyway, as long as Ophelia continues to obsess over Blackie, the option to release him was off the table.

Albrecht nodded in agreement and shifted the topic.

“So, have you talked to that Yosif guy?”

“I haven’t spoken to him directly, but it seems Cecilia and the Imperial Guards interrogated him separately.”

Stalin, I mean Yosif was thrown into the underground prison of the Ice Palace that very day.

He had no marks on him and his combat power was non-existent, but the fact that he was a possessor and that the Purification Church was affiliated with the Demon King’s Army proved valid.

However, the information gained from the interrogation didn’t go any deeper than what I had already heard from Yosif.

Considering he was essentially a puppet, he couldn’t have had any real information.

“…The possessor, was his name Ian? Did he manage to escape after all?”

“He lost a leg and an arm, but he did manage to get away.”

Possessor Ian.

He seemed to be in the same category as Daniel.

Conforming to this world and indulging in evil deeds.

“The problem is, he knows my identity.”

Ian knows that I am a possessor and descended from rebels through Maleficarum.

He could reveal that fact to the entire continent at any moment.

If Cecilia was right, and the news reached the Empire, a hearing might very well be called.

A public enemy of the continent, so to speak.

“Albrecht, I hear the Previous Sword Saint participated in quelling the great rebellion at the Ice Palace.”

“Right.”

“So what do you think about the descendants of those rebels?”

Albrecht rested his chin on his hand, placing one hand on the table.

“Ellyott, the chain of hatred doesn’t break easily.”

“People still harbor a lot of resentment?”

“It’s only been fifteen years since the incident.”

It was an answer similar to Cecilia’s.

Sighing, I asked Albrecht,

“And you?”

“Huh?”

“What do you think about those rebels?”

“If you’re asking if I resent them, then yes, I do. Many senior knights of the Imperial Knight Order were killed because of that incident. That’s why there are so many young knights in the capital’s knight order.”

His expression darkened.

Albrecht likely felt a sense of camaraderie since he had lost subordinates to the Plague Lord as well.

“However, I don’t resent their descendants. Ellyott, you should think the same.”

“Thank goodness for that.”

“Indeed.”

That was all there was to say.

A subtle silence descended, prompting Albrecht to add something briefly to lighten the mood.

“It’s a tough issue.”

Indeed, it was a tough issue.

*

In a dimly lit secret room.

A long passageway resembling a cave.

“Cough, haah… ugh.”

Gasping for breath, Ian dragged his body with one arm.

His lower body had already vanished. The left arm, which bore no mark, had been severed.

In other words, Ian was currently clinging to life with just his upper body, which was barely hanging on.

In ordinary circumstances, it would be surprising if he didn’t die immediately. The only thing keeping him alive was the mark, breathing life into him.

“I’ve… let my guard down…”

For Ian, it was undeniably frustrating.

No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t pinpoint the blunder.

Was it greed leading him to attempt kidnapping the Saintess that had been the issue?

No, that was the right judgment.

The problem was…

“Black, dragon…”

A dragon of divine stature residing at the edge of the world.

Who would have thought an outlier like that would appear?

“Cough.”

Blood poured out like an ocean, soaking the ground.

He could distinctly feel that his life was running out.

Yet Ian tried to calm himself.

It’s fine. This is the Demon King’s castle, so I won’t die here.

“Oh my, is that you, Ian? I heard the church fell; I guess that’s true.”

As expected, the door creaked open, and a man with a sorrowful expression stepped out.

The very reason Ian had decided to escape the Demon King’s castle.

He was the most distinguished physician among the Demon King’s army’s executives.

“Letting my guard down was a mistake, cough.”

“Yeah. I can tell just by looking at you.”

Chimera Sorcerer, Idmien.

Upon seeing Ian, he seemed pleased, chuckling as he dropped to one knee.

“So, you came here because you want to live, right?”

“Y-yes. If it goes on like this….”

“Yeah, you’re going to die.”

With a sly voice, Idmien clapped his hands as if he’d had a good idea and activated magic, lifting Ian’s body.

“I have several bodies prepared just for you.”

“Bodies…?”

“Yep, very good ones.”

Bringing Ian into his workshop, Idmien opened a hangar.

A chilly mist spilled out, and soon, Idmien’s ambitious creations were revealed.

“What do you think of my works?”

“….”

“Why the face?”

“W-well…”

Upon seeing the ‘works’, Ian couldn’t help but descend into despair.

However, whether Idmien was aware of Ian’s despair or not, he whispered into his ear with a grin.

“Walking on your own legs isn’t too bad, is it?”