Volume 7, Chapter 37 – The Sealed Chamber Beneath the Palace

“Saint-sama. No, fake Saint Fiene Argentata. You will come quietly with us.”

Khalid-san appeared from among the soldiers and spoke to us.

“Khalid-san, did you know this was going to happen?”

“Yes. Taking the Defiled out of here is unthinkable. They are defiled, after all.”

“You would turn your blade against Fiene-sama for something so trivial!”

“Those wretches are insolent fools who do not pray to God correctly. A Saint who shows mercy to such people is no true Saint!”

Um? So in the end, the reason for the persecution is just that they have a different sect?

“I see. Then it cannot be helped. I am the shield of Saint Fiene Argentata-sama. I will show no mercy to anyone who points a sword at Fiene-sama.”

“It would be a problem if you forgot about me. For I am the sword of Saint Fiene Argentata-sama. I wonder if the likes of you can even defeat me?”

Shizuku-san also stepped forward and took a combat stance.

“Shizuku-san, Chris-san. I can’t release the Barrier protecting the Luma people, so I can’t put up another Barrier right now. We’ll have to manage with just the Defense Wall.”

“Oops, that’s right. Then I shall annihilate them as quickly as possible.”

With that, Shizuku-san dove into the soldiers and carved out a path in an instant.

We sprinted through that path.

“Ah!”

Sara-san cried out. When I looked back, a fallen soldier had grabbed Sara-san’s leg.

“You…! Let go of Sara-san—now!”

I grabbed Sara-san’s hand and pulled, then kicked the soldier holding her with all my might.

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The soldier let out a strange “Gueh!” and went flying dozens of meters away.

“H-huh?”

Not only me, but the surrounding soldiers were also stunned by the turn of events. Additionally, the foot I kicked with was throbbing. Actually, it hurt a lot.

“Fiene-sama, please be careful. Your STR is already on a completely different level from that of an average Warrior. Even without any vanguard Skills, that’s what happens when you put your full strength into a blow. More importantly, if you don’t attack with proper form, you’ll only end up injuring yourself.”

Chris-san explained that while knocking out the stunned soldiers around us.

Ah, come to think of it, my STR has already exceeded 500 and is higher than Chris-san’s.

Yeah… that’s embarrassing. And more than anything, I’m sorry for making you worry.

“Um, Healing.”

I lightly healed the soldier—who had crashed into several others—so he wouldn’t die, then treated my own foot.

“N-now. Let’s escape.”

And so, we once again sprinted through the path Shizuku-san had opened.

◇ ◇ ◇

While being chased by the soldiers, we somehow ended up in an unfamiliar place.

“Where are we?”

“My apologies. To think it was a dead end.”

“But why is there such a useless dead end here when there aren’t even any rooms?”

“Ah, could it be that there’s actually a hidden room, or maybe it’s a secret escape route?!”

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“Ahaha. There’s no way it’d be that convenient—”

“Saint-sama. According to my divination, there seems to be something important to you beyond this wall.”

Oh. Apparently, that was the case.

If it’s Sara-san’s divination—the one that correctly predicted Bird Calamity—it has to be right.

“But how do we get through?”

“Saint-sama. Leave it to me. I may not look it, but I am an Earth Attribute Mage, so I can do something like this easily.”

Hmm?

Sara-san said that with complete confidence, but I suddenly had a really bad feeling about this.

“Hyaaaaaaaa!”

Sara-san wrapped her fist in a mass of rock and drove a full-force straight punch into the wall.

With a dull thud, the wall collapsed.

Aaaah… I knew it!

“Um, what exactly is an Earth Attribute Mage…?”

“Eh? All the Earth Attribute Mages in my country fight like this. Is it different for the people of the White Moon Kingdom?”

“Eeeeh.”

No, that’s not it! That’s not what I meant at all!

Beyond the wall Sara-san had destroyed with her fist, a pitch-black space indeed stretched out.

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“Fiene-sama. Could I have some light?”

“Ah, yes.”

I adjusted my Purification Magic to create a sphere of light in my hand.

“There is… something placed inside.”

Guided by Shizuku-san’s voice, we entered the room, and there, a single curved blade was enshrined.

It wasn’t adorned with gaudy decorations like the Holy Sword Lufiqar we saw earlier, but it had simple yet somehow mystical ornamentation.

“Ah, this is…”

I instinctively reached for it, but my hand was blocked by something invisible and snapped back.

However, since I took no damage at all, this must be sealed with Dark Attribute Magic, just like with Kirinagi.

However, since it didn’t try to cast a curse on me like that time did, I wonder if it’s considerably weaker than Suikyou’s?

When I thought “Seal Release” and activated Holy Magic, the seal was released easily without much resistance.

I reached for the curved blade and gripped the hilt to lift it.

Yeah. Holy Attribute Mana is flowing into me, and it’s incredibly light.

No matter how I look at it, this feels more like a Holy Sword, but I wonder why?

“For some reason, this sword, which possesses holy power, seems to have been sealed with Dark Attribute Mana.”

“I see. Then our ending up here must have been God’s guidance.”

“Eh?”

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“In other words, God must have guided Fiene-sama to this spot in order to entrust her with that sword.”

“Um? Isn’t it stealing if I just take it?”

“In this case, there is no problem. Under the World Saint Protection Accord, a Saint is granted the right to confiscate the assets of those who have pointed a blade at her without just cause.”

“Eeeh?”

“The act of harming a Saint is an act of hostility toward God and all of humanity. Therefore, to prevent such foolish acts, the Saint is revered and protected in countries across the world.”

“But then, couldn’t a Saint do anything if she wanted to do something bad?”

“One who thinks such things would not be chosen as a Saint.”

Hm? No? Um… yeah. Well, whatever.

Since they say it’s fine, I’ll just take it as a nuisance fee without thinking too deeply about it.

I tried to put it in Storage, but for some reason, it wouldn’t go in, so I had no choice but to hang the curved blade at my waist.

“Saint-sama. It suits you very well. I’m sure you look wonderful wielding that sword.”

“Eh? Um, thank you.”

Well, it’s dangerous because whenever I swing a sword, it somehow slips out and flies off somewhere.

But wearing a curved blade that’s kind of katana-like at my waist does feel stylish—kind of like Shizuku-san.

“Now, let us escape.”

At Shizuku-san’s voice, we began walking through the palace once again.