Taming the Evil Saintess

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“There’s news.”

Hell Duke Derabilice approached One-Eyed Knight Geldmier, who was polishing his cherished sword, Sangwyn, the usual way.

Uncharacteristically, he was dressed in formal black attire, clean-shaven and without his glasses, looking quite sharp.

Geldmier frowned and sheathed Sangwyn.

“What’s the news? And why the fancy getup?”

“It’s a rather sad piece of news, hence the attire.”

“If you’re going to dawdle, just leave. When did we become so chummy anyway?”

“Haha, true enough.”

Derabilice chuckled, leaning on a nearby shelf.

With a serious demeanor, he conveyed the information.

“Vermina has died.”

“….”

Even Geldmier, no matter how tough, had to remain silent at those words.

Even his hands, which were oiling the sheath, paused.

After a moment, Geldmier slowly spoke.

“I see. That is sad news.”

The executives of the Demon King’s Army didn’t share strong camaraderie, but they did have a fragment of belonging working toward a common goal.

Thus, Vermina’s death inevitably struck a bittersweet chord within them.

With a sigh, Geldmier stood up.

“Then again, I didn’t expect that Elf to live long. She settled in the northern Ice Palace.”

“Being the youngest probably didn’t help either.”

Derabilice shrugged, picking up on the trailing statement.

“So, was it the Hero who killed Vermina?”

“Seems so. According to Oksana, she was killed along with the Saintess.”

Hero.

The very word brought a flicker of new excitement to Geldmier, whose body felt half-dead already.

Since fighting Hero Elliot in the north, nothing had given him that thrill of a warrior again. If there hadn’t been a Hero, he might have challenged the Black Dragon ravaging the area near the Demon King’s Castle.

“Well, it’s not all bad news.”

Derabilice grinned wildly at Geldmier, who seemed lost in thought.

“What’s the good news?”

“The Black Dragon has left the Demon King’s Castle.”

“Left, you say?”

The very creature that had torched several small fortresses and chewed on thousands of demons for months had departed?

Geldmier couldn’t wrap his head around it.

“Why did it leave?”

“From this point, it’s all speculation, but it seems it sensed Dragon Fear.”

Dragon Fear.

An intangible power beyond description, it was also a language among dragons.

“Surely that Black Dragon is….”

“Searching for its offspring.”

“Does that mean it’s found them?”

“Indeed.”

Derabilice nodded, raising a finger.

“And it seems that dragon is now following the Hero.”

“…What?”

“It’s all that Elgore’s fault.”

Geldmier scowled at Derabilice, who looked ready to gnash his teeth.

The Hero travels with a dragon. And there’s the Black Dragon looking for the dragon.

“Right. What we should hope for here is….”

Derabilice folded his outstretched finger.

“That the Black Dragon tramples the Hero.”

“….”

In that brief moment, One-Eyed Knight Geldmier found himself feeling concern for the Hero.

*

After the Plague Lord’s death and the extermination of the subordinate demons and monsters, patches of greenery began to sporadically appear in the Erosion Zone.

Water started to flow in the once-dry river, and vegetation poked through for the first time.

The final touch was the fluffy snowflakes descending from the sky, which seemed to surprise at least one figure who had never seen snow before.

“Elliot! This is amazing! It’s snowing, snowing!”

“We saw it in the Ice Palace.”

“That was snow piled up! This is snow falling down!”

Ophelia was reveling in the snowfall like a child.

Since she appeared to be having so much fun, it made sense to let her be.

In fact, Blackie was fluttering his wings excitedly next to Ophelia.

“Are you feeling any better?”

Albrecht casually tossed a piece of fruit as he asked.

I nodded while munching on the fruit.

After weeks of rehabilitation, I could now walk around without much trouble.

Of course, without Ophelia’s treatments, even that wouldn’t have been possible.

For reference, ever since I was able to walk, Ophelia visited me every night. Not that I particularly needed the treatment; she would just chat with me until late at night before heading back to her tent.

It felt a bit embarrassing, but I had no choice since I welcomed it.

“Anyway, you took care of the Plague Lord.”

“Isn’t it a bit late to be realizing that?”

“True. It’s hard to grasp until you see the snow.”

“….”

Albrecht smiled wryly while gazing at the thin layer of snow covering the Erosion Zone.

“Aaron….”

As I was about to speak, Albrecht placed a finger to his lips as if to say he knew everything.

Seeing that, I fell silent.

It meant he didn’t need any words of comfort.

After a while of watching the falling snowflakes, I pulled an item from my bundle and handed it to Albrecht.

“What’s this?”

“It’s an artifact that Vermina had. Its name was… perhaps Ether Crystal? It should be more useful for you than for me.”

An enhancement item that could be applied to a sword.

It was particularly suited for a warrior character, especially for Albrecht, who could freely manipulate a single sword.

In fact, in the game, obtaining this artifact would almost always lead to giving it to the Sword Saint.

However, Albrecht simply stared at the crystal and shook his head.

“No, I can’t accept this.”

“Why not?”

“This belongs to you. I didn’t assist in taking down the Plague Lord.”

“….”

With that, Albrecht set down the crystal and shrugged, as if he was done with the whole affair.

“Above all, I’m fine with just this sword.”

“…Hmm.”

“You’d be better off using it or passing it to Cecilia.”

In the end, I could only watch his retreating figure as he walked away.

“Ugh….”

Sighing, I picked up the Ether Crystal.

“Luck’s not on my side, huh?”

That was the moment I somewhat understood the feelings of Knight Aaron.

*

How much time had passed?

When the heavy snow finally calmed down a bit, Ophelia, bundled in furs, rolling in the snow with Blackie, spotted something in the distance and shouted.

“Hey! I saw something amazing!”

In her hands, she held a telescope stolen from the Ice Palace.

She pointed excitedly toward the horizon.

In truth, she was probably just cold, her nose red rather than genuinely excited.

Bouncing around like Rudolph, Ophelia exclaimed.

“There’s steam rising! It has to be a hot spring!”

“Ophelia, you need to make sense. We’re in the north.”

“Really, it’s true.”

She raised a fist, so I instinctively stepped back.

Ophelia handed me the telescope, urging me to check what she was pointing at.

“…It really is.”

There was indeed steam rising.

Heat.

“There’s definitely a hot spring.”

“Hmm….”

I glanced at Cecilia, seeking an explanation, and she wore a proud expression as she puffed out her chest.

“This exists only in the north. It’s called a hot spring. Very effective for recovery. Nobles from other countries frequently utilized it before the Demon King’s army made a move.”

“…Oh.”

Now that I think about it, did the north have such a system?

When the Plague Lord was defeated and the Erosion Zone vanished, the hot spring beneath it must have been revealed.

“A hot spring? What do you do there?”

“You take baths.”

Cecilia said it nonchalantly, but Ophelia’s eyes sparkled.

Right.

During our time at the Cathedral, Ophelia was obsessed with bathing.

Especially after more than a month of staying in the Erosion Zone looking as scruffy as we did…

“We’re going!”

It wasn’t shocking that she would react this way.

Of course, the hot spring turned out to be small, and I had no intention of joining them, so Ophelia, Erwin, and Cecilia, who was acting as the supervisor, decided to go together.

For reference, just before heading to the hot spring, Ophelia turned to me and growled.

“If you peek, I’ll kill you.”

“I won’t look.”

“I won’t kill you, but I will be mad.”

“I said I won’t look.”

“Damn it!”

“Why are you angry?”

Emily, watching the whole exchange, sighed heavily, but I deliberately ignored it.

Lastly, I furrowed my brow as I observed Blackie following alongside Ophelia.

“Ophelia.”

“What is it?!”

I hesitated at her sudden anger but finally spoke up.

“Why are you bringing Blackie?”

“Because he needs a bath too.”

“Why is he allowed to, but I’m not?”

“Huh?”

At that, Ophelia tilted her head and then delivered a shocking revelation.

“Did you really not know?”

“What about?”

“Blackie is a female.”

“….”

That day, my world crumbled.