Taming the Evil Saintess

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“Let’s just leave.”

As discussed with Albrecht, we decided to leave the Ice Palace just as Emily’s house arrest ended and the Purification Church’s situation was coming to a close.

Tsar Ryudmila wanted to lend substantial support, including troops from the Imperial Guards, but we refused.

Supply would not be possible in the Erosion Zone. Thus, it was better to minimize our numbers for various reasons. Moreover, the Plague Lord Vermina specialized in one-on-many confrontations, so to her, the Imperial Guards would be no different from potions.

In the end, the only thing we gained from the Ice Palace was Ice Warrior Cecilia.

But that was more than enough.

Cecilia was renowned as one of the top three warriors on the continent.

“Hey, Elliot, look at this!”

Of course, Ophelia diligently filled her belly even in the Ice Palace.

Just like in the Great Forest, Ophelia had a knack for plundering rather than being saintly.

The day before we intended to leave, she stormed into the underground treasury and practically came out with an artifact.

“This is something like a telescope. Doesn’t it look super expensive? There are jewels embedded in it too; we can just take them off and sell them.”

“What does it do?”

“It says it can read magical power. It’s a high-performance detector.”

“Oh.”

Honestly, with Emily around, it wasn’t something we specifically needed, but having one more measuring tool was never a bad idea.

But that was not the only issue.

“By the way, did you get permission to take that?”

“No?”

“…Then isn’t that a problem?”

“It’s fine. I left a note saying I’m taking it in the name of a hero.”

Ophelia snickered.

I couldn’t bring myself to laugh.

*

The Erosion Zone was land where no life could grow. Crossing such territory seemed like an act only a madman would dare to attempt.

As we arrived at the boundary of the Erosion Zone north of the Ice Palace, old memories naturally resurfaced.

A land completely shrouded in gray.

The monsters that roamed beyond the barrier and the demons that licked their lips at the prospect of devouring us.

This was what it meant for the very space to be dead.

And…

[Garooooo!]

“…”

The roar of Blackie pierced my thoughts, and I sighed deeply.

I had intended to sneak closer to the Plague Lord’s domain, but this Black Dragon was holding us back.

“Way to go, making this a public service announcement.”

Erwin muttered sarcastically.

Of course, Ophelia pretended not to hear.

Erwin sneered as if he expected that and picked up a stone, throwing it beyond the Erosion Zone. The moment it hit the ground, the stone eroded into dust.

“So we’re trying to cross this place barehanded?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you know? In elf society, the only idiots who cross the Erosion Zone barehanded are Dark Elves.”

“I know.”

In the game, Dark Elves were immune to consumable damage due to their race traits.

Of course, we weren’t Dark Elves. However, we had our own equivalent of a secret weapon.

That was the card of Saint Ophelia.

“Ophelia.”

“…Yeah.”

Ophelia gulped and raised one hand.

Waves of divine power began to converge at a single point, soon enveloping us gently. The divine mark of the heavenly god inscribed on Ophelia’s shoulder glowed brightly, its outline visible even through her thick fur clothing.

Taking a deep breath, Ophelia looked at me.

Naturally, she appeared a bit nervous since it was her first time.

To reassure her, I placed my hand gently on her head.

“You can relax. I’ll come to your aid if anything happens.”

“Elliot, you’re responsible for this, right?”

“Of course.”

“Hmph. You always say things so smoothly.”

Ophelia grinned mischievously as she took her first step into the Erosion Zone.

“…Oh.”

At that moment, a miracle occurred.

The gray land transformed into a shimmering golden hue, the land of death morphing into a glistening land of life.

The divine light sparkling above death resembled a lighthouse standing firm in a stormy sea.

“The purification of the Erosion Zone. I never thought it would be possible…”

“This is truly a miracle of the gods.”

Even Azar, the Golden Lion, who had no faith to speak of, clapped his hands in surprise. Cecilia, moved, placed her fist over her left chest.

The one who performed the miracle only scratched her cheek, looking shy.

“It’s just a simple blessing I usually use during mass…”

Though she said so, Ophelia’s mark and talent turned even simple blessings into miracles.

She truly deserved the title of saintess.

Though she might not have wanted it, her miracle gave enough reasons to believe in the existence of a god.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm?”

Meanwhile, Ophelia was staring at me with a somewhat pouty expression.

“Let’s go.”

“Right. We need to go.”

“I’m not going to lead alone; you’re coming with me, Elliot.”

“If that’s the case, the vanguard should be Azar…”

“No. I chose you, Elliot.”

“…Me?”

“You are my knight before you are a hero, right?”

“Hmmm.”

As I frowned, Ophelia grabbed my arm and pulled.

“You promised to take responsibility, right?”

“…”

I won’t mention the sparkles in Emily’s eyes.

*

Crossing the Erosion Zone was not exactly smooth sailing.

The carriage we brought got stuck in the mud, causing significant delays, and while we did bring a map, the endless expanse of gray plains rendered it useless since we couldn’t find any landmarks.

The only thing that worked was the massive mountain range to the north to orient ourselves, but even that was impossible at night or during foggy mornings. Even more so, the northern continent had short days, leaving us with only half a day at most to march.

Still, we managed to gather a few pieces of good news.

“Alright! Pull harder!”

[Groooar!]

In a stretch of the Erosion Zone where even horses wouldn’t dare enter, Blackie turned out to be an extraordinary laborer.

The issue was that he ate three times more than he worked, but at least he was sure to pull the carriage. While it felt a bit dissonant to think of this great Black Dragon as a pack mule, it was undeniably true.

Another piece of good news was that we could procure food even in the Erosion Zone.

“…Are you really going to eat that?”

“What else can I do to survive?”

“I-I don’t want to eat it.”

“Suit yourself. Even if you don’t eat, Blackie will enjoy it.”

[Kyiiinnn….]

“If you’re picky, I’ll make sure you don’t survive.”

“Hey! What are you saying to a baby!”

By disassembling the corpses of monsters and removing their organs, magical cores, and poison sacs, we could obtain edible meat. Thanks to our experience of nearly losing our minds from hunger during our time with the Northern Mercenary Group, we knew how to do it.

Ophelia and Emily were horrified, but we should be grateful for the opportunity to replenish protein in this barren land.

“It tastes like crap.”

Of course, it didn’t taste good.

We also found assorted supplies from abandoned houses in the Erosion Zone.

Firewood was a prime example, and preserved food like salted meat had become usable due to the harsh northern climate combined with Ophelia’s purification.

“So where is this so-called forward base?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then are we just wandering around like this?”

But our journey through the Erosion Zone wasn’t all good news.

On the fifth day, we faced a serious problem.

“This is troublesome.”

“I told you charging in without a plan would lead to this.”

We had lost our way.

To be precise, we weren’t completely lost, but we were having a hard time locating the forward base set up by the Rulier Siblings.

In hindsight, we should have gotten at least some hints about where the safe zones were.

I bit my lower lip and surveyed our surroundings.

“It’d be good to scout from a high place, but there’s no high mountain around here…”

There were none.

Just a hill at best.

I glanced at Cecilia, who was familiar with the geography, but she just shook her head without saying a word.

“Hmm…if only there were somewhere high…”

Ophelia sighed and looked around until her gaze stopped at a single point.

I followed her gaze and suddenly froze in disbelief.

No way.

“Hey, Elliot.”

Ophelia’s lips curled into a mischievous smile.

She had somehow pulled out the telescope we snatched from the Ice Palace.

“You thought of the same thing, didn’t you?”

“…”

“Blackie.”

Ophelia’s sights were on Blackie.

We had lost our sense of reality while treating him like a mule all this time, but…

“Now that I think about it, he’s a dragon.”

That was right.

Black ‘Dragon’ Blackie.

He could fly.