Volume 9, Chapter 12 – The Saviors’ Amazement

“Lin, I think this is Gore’s scheme. You shouldn’t accept the invitation to the Empire, no matter what.”

“I don’t know why Purple is saying that, but I also think you shouldn’t go to the Empire, Lin. That Gore guy doesn’t look like a good person at all.”

Having left the Divine Religion’s base early in the morning, Lin, walking with Purple and Red through the noble district, tilted her head up slightly. Although she had woken up before dawn for the morning meeting, it was already ten o’clock. The early autumn sun, having lost its scorching heat, hung high overhead, and the spots of warmth it cast on her skin dispersed the cold wind.

Looks like the weather is nice today.

Just as Lin came to this conclusion internally, the purple-haired and red-haired girls walking on either side of her continued to chatter relentlessly.

“He clearly invited you to the Empire for a ‘Hero’s Pilgrimage,’ Lin, but he won’t let me and Red accompany you. I’m not complaining because I want to use this opportunity to get famous, but it’s just too strange. Also, even if Gore is just passing on a message from the Empire as an imperial envoy, given his nasty attitude of mocking you in the past, his merely cold expression today is unbelievably polite.”

“Ah? So that’s why you said to refuse? But what’s the Empire’s objective in inviting Lin?”

“Well…” The maturely-figured purple-haired girl frowned in thought. “I can’t draw a conclusion without sufficient evidence, but judging from the fact that the previous generations of Popes insisted on moving our headquarters out of the Empire, perhaps they already foresaw that the Empire would bear us ill will. They might be seeing our gradual growth and want to put us in our place, to tie us to their ship. After all, the Gospel is a threat to secular regimes.”

“But if they just want to put us in our place, why ask for Lin?”

“They don’t dare make demands of His Holiness the Pope, so they can only look for the next best thing. More important than the Bishops, we have the irreplaceable existence of the Hero. So, as long as they make the Hero witness the Empire’s prestige, it’s equivalent to putting us in our place.”

Even so, Purple still hadn’t explained the initial question: if they just wanted to put the Divine Religion in its place, why wouldn’t the Empire allow her and Red to accompany them? If the goal was really a show of force, then they should have invited a couple of Bishops as well; the effect would be much better. However, if she voiced these doubts, Red’s reaction would probably be intense. This was likely why Purple avoided the topic. If she wasn’t mistaken, Purple was probably looking at her face right now, shaking her head to signal her not to say anything. Lin glanced at Purple, who was walking on her left. Just as she’d thought, Purple was shaking her head slightly.

Of course, Lin also knew that Red wasn’t a fool. Give her a little time to think, and she would realize that Purple had talked her in circles. So, she needed to cooperate with Purple to change the subject. Lin said flatly, “Gore gave us plenty of time. We just came from the meeting, so there’s no need to rush into a decision about accepting. It’s not too late to discuss it after Atwood and the Bishops have a preliminary decision. We and the Empire are just partners, not vassals. If it comes to it, we can just refuse the Empire’s invitation.”

“That’s true. They’re not going to fly into a rage and send troops just because we refused an invitation, are they?”

Red nodded thoughtfully, and Purple quickly followed up.

“And as long as the reason for refusal is reasonable enough, for example, that the Hero left overnight for a mission in the Kingdom, it won’t leave the Empire with no way to back down gracefully.”

“So if we refuse the Empire, they’ll just find another way to put us in our place and choose a Bishop to go to their territory instead?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmph, I’d hope Bishop Gran gets sent. Even if he pisses his pants in fright, I wouldn’t feel like he’d disgraced us. That foul look on his face during the meeting today… I almost couldn’t stop myself from punching him. To actually say ‘The Hero’s failure to complete the Gospel’s assignment means we chose the wrong Hero,’ and even recommend that Yisi Enya replace Lin. Just because Yisi Enya snatched the Angel and the Dryad’s Nectar, he dismisses everything we’ve done. And he said all this in front of that Gore. I really don’t know why His Holiness the Pope made that guy a Bishop. No one even listens to him.”

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“His Holiness the Pope has his own difficulties. You know that too, Red, right? About how he was originally the Hero.”

“Even so, appointing Gran as a Bishop is going too far. That’s not how sympathy should be shown.” Dropping the resentful comment, the red-haired girl suddenly exclaimed as if remembering something, “Ah, right, I heard that you took that Yisi back to your ‘nest’ yesterday, Lin. Is that true? That woman hurt you, and you’re still so nice to her? You don’t even let me into your room whenever I want.”

“That’s just because you like to rummage through things, Red.” After answering for Lin, the purple-haired girl turned her gaze to Lin. “I heard about that too. And yesterday, Yisi apparently even chased Gran away for you… I see. Because Yisi was with you yesterday, they ran into Gran, and Gran just had to bring up the Angel and the Dryad’s Nectar being stolen. As a result, Yisi, in order to get rid of Gran, revealed that she was the one who did it. So that’s why Gran proposed in the meeting today that Yisi should be the Hero? That guy is insane. Even if his proposal was approved by His Holiness, the person who becomes the Hero in the end wouldn’t be him. He’s been blinded by jealousy. As long as Lin isn’t the Hero, he’d support anyone else.”

“So, that Yisi was just an innocent bystander dragged into our mess? She’s actually a good person?”

“There was no good or bad to begin with. From her perspective, we are the bad guys. We suddenly appeared and said we were going to kill her acquaintance. She doesn’t know about the Gospel.”

“That’s true…”

Without making a defense, the red-haired girl fell silent on her own. The purple-haired girl continued to mutter as if to herself, “But why did His Holiness invite her? When we asked him at the meeting, he only said we would know when the time comes. Could it be that His Holiness actually gave Yisi a mission, but deliberately kept it from us?”

“Yeah, I think you’re right, Purple. Why don’t we go see what she’s doing? Speaking of which, where is she staying?”

“Master, is it okay to just put this on? It’s a little small.”

“That’s because you’ve grown, Mary. Wait, don’t change in the yard! What if an outsider sees you? Even though it’s a two-piece, it’s very form-fitting. It will show off your body’s curves.”

“Okay~”

A familiar voice reached their ears.

Purple and Red looked at each other and, as if by agreement, both nodded and stopped.

“Looks like she’s right here.”

“Lin, let’s climb a tree and take a look, shall we?”

A rare, girlishly mischievous—or rather, playful—expression appeared on the purple-haired girl’s face.

Although she wanted to stop her companions’ voyeuristic behavior, she was also curious about what kind of mission Atwood had entrusted to Yisi, and what special magic Yisi had used to defeat her that night. Lin still believed that it wasn’t Yisi’s true strength. The reason Yisi had been able to defeat her was because she had used a sacrificial magic that could drastically enhance her physical and magical abilities for a short time.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin nodded.

“Yes. Be careful to stay far from the yard. She’s very vigilant.”

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“Eh? Lin, you actually agreed to let us peek? I thought you were going to ditch us and leave on your own, like you always do.”

“Just shut up. Lin and I are going up first.”

Chanting a flight spell, the purple-haired girl and Lin flew to the roof of a nearby noble mansion.

…

In a wide, open backyard, Yisi and Mary stood facing each other. Although they were more than twenty meters apart, the three Heroes could still clearly hear their conversation.

“What are they doing? Is that a magic weapon in the half-elf’s hand?”

“It’s too small. It’s not a sword or spear for close combat, nor is it a staff or magic book. It’s probably a magic item with a special function. But a magic item that’s only the size of a fingernail… I think it must be a trigger-activated magic item.”

“A trigger-activated magic item?”

Red tilted her head in confusion.

Her face filled with exasperation, the purple-haired girl sighed.

“Lin, you explain it. You’re the captain; teaching Red is your responsibility.”

Lin explained seriously. “Haven’t you seen one before, Red? Two months ago, when we were assassinating that duke, it was because he had a trigger-activated magic item on him that the Reaper I summoned failed to kill him in one blow. The duke reacted and called a bunch of soldiers. It’s a good thing you reacted quickly and finished him off, or our identities would have been exposed.”

“Ohh, you mean the remnant from the neighboring country a while back? So that’s the life-saving item they’re holding. Hey, Lin, can’t we get one? It could save us from a lot of danger at a critical moment.”

“Trigger-activated magic items are expensive. If we were to purchase one that’s actually useful, it would cost at least a thousand gold coins, and that’s for the lowest grade. The life-saving item that duke used probably cost a gem coin. It was a magic item from the hands of Master Avis. This is also why I spent so much to buy a favor from Master Avis when I was in the Kingdom. The Chloe Kingdom’s treasury is tight right now. We don’t have that much spare money to buy things we don’t need. Every single iron coin must be spent wisely.”

“Being poor is so painful… Tsk. So you’re saying all those things laid out around Yisi are trigger-activated magic items?”

Without turning to look at the incessantly questioning Red, Lin observed Yisi and Mary, who had put distance between them, and nodded.

“Yes, I think so. Given her status as a Cardinal, those magic items combined should be worth five gem coins.”

“Dammit, the Ymir Church is so rich! Five gem coins is enough to buy all three of us. Er, I mean, all the possessions we have on us.”

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“Rather than the trigger-activated magic weapons that can be bought with money, you should focus on the clothes that girl is wearing, Red.”

“Clothes? Isn’t it just a normal short-sleeved—huh?!” Halfway through her sentence, Red’s eyes widened as if they would fall out of their sockets. “How is that possible! Am I seeing things? Isn’t that normal clothing? Why can it block a fireball?”

“That’s clearly not normal clothing. Its flexibility is about the same as leather armor, but it has magic resistance. Although Red and Purple can’t sense it, I can see traces of magical elements on the clothes, and they are very dense. That level of elemental barrier should be able to withstand a direct hit from a Tier 3 magic spell.”

“Tier 3!”

Embarrassed by her companion’s outburst, Purple turned her head away, pretending not to know Red.

“Red, quiet down.”

Red’s voice immediately got quieter. “Doesn’t that mean even our magic would have a hard time working on it?”

“I don’t know. I can’t make a definite conclusion without trying it myself.”

You couldn’t blame Red for overreacting. Magic armor that could resist Tier 3 magic was incredibly rare. Crafting armor was much more difficult than crafting weapons, and the number of high-quality pieces passed down was extremely scarce. Due to material constraints, most high-tier armor was heavy, rigid plate. A soft, form-fitting undergarment like this was a godsend for girls like Lin and Red. The proof was that even a composed lady like the purple-haired girl couldn’t take her eyes off Mary, staring intently at the Eternal Angel’s Blessing.

“Hey, Lin… if we go and fix our relationship with Yisi now, can we ask to buy this…?”

“What nonsense are you talking about, Purple? That’s not like you. How can we ask an enemy for something? Isn’t that the same as surrendering?”

“But didn’t you just say it yourself, Red? That Yisi and the others aren’t bad people.”

These two are too noisy.

Lin frowned and quieted them down.

“Purple, you’d best give up that idea. Looking at the specifications of that soft armor, it was specially made for a half-elf’s small frame. Even if you bought it, you couldn’t wear it. And I don’t think we have the money to buy it anyway.”

“Hasn’t that half-elf been saying she’s a slave this whole time? Why does she get to wear something so good? Are we Heroes worth less than a slave? This is absurd! Is the Ymir Church really that rich?”

Anyone who didn’t know better might think her companions were about to defect to the Ymir Church.

Lin rubbed her forehead, exasperated.

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“Look at the half-elf’s eyes.”

“What about her eyes?”

It was Red again who was confused. Lin explained patiently.

“Purple.”

“Aren’t your eyes purple too, Lin?”

“No, my eyes look purple at a glance, but they’re actually more of a purplish-blue. It’s different from true purple. You both remember the preface to the Gospel, right? ‘Do not provoke the great race with purple eyes.'”

“Are you saying the Ymir Church has found a way to communicate with the great race?”

“I don’t know. I only know that it’s best not to anger the half-elf. If we can communicate with the great race recorded in the Gospel, we might be able to rely on their power to drive off the Demon Lord in the future. It’s said that the one who created the Gospel came from that very race.”

Stunned for a moment, an unaccepting look on her face, Purple frowned and bit her lip. “This is… truly fantastic news. No wonder the Ymir Church would accept a half-elf, which is unheard of, and even give her such good armor. That’s great. I wish I had purple eyes, too. Then I could go to the Ymir Church and get a set of clothes. Dammit, forget the top, even just a breastplate would be fine. It could save a life at a critical moment. Can’t we just buy it with money? I’m serious.”

“Then you’ll have to go beg Yisi for it.”

“Ugh… Why did it have to be a female Cardinal.”

The annoyance on Purple’s face deepened. This time, it was Red’s turn to look disgusted.

“Purple, you’re not thinking of using seduction, are you?”

“So what if I am? When we’re on missions, most of the time my job is to lure those fat pigs anyway. With my charm, I can easily coax those men into giving me the moon. Unfortunately, this one is a woman.”

“Tsk.”

“Alright, shut up for now. They’re about to start. Let’s just watch and see what they’re doing.”

Lin’s words made the other two immediately turn serious and nod grimly.

“”Um.””