Taming the Evil Saintess

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The sun had already set.

The nights in the desert were nothing to overlook. Azar had given us a summons, ordering us to leave the territory at dawn in exchange for a room.

And now, after a long time, Ophelia lay on a luxurious bed, rubbing her bare belly and yawning lazily.

“So, what are you thinking?” Ophelia asked.

“There’s no other choice. With Azar being like this, we have no option but to leave. If we don’t, he might forcibly kick us out,” I replied.

“Really?”

“After all, Azar’s wife will die sooner or later. We can come back to persuade him then.”

In the game, Azar was notoriously inflexible. Reality was no different. For now, we had no viable options.

If it were up to me, I’d love to catch that dark mage—namely the possessor—hiding somewhere in the castle, but that would turn Azar into our enemy.

It was a tactical retreat. I concluded.

Ophelia frowned at my words.

“Are you really going to just watch your wife die slowly? That’s too cruel.”

“Is it worse than the terrible things Ophelia has done to her attendants?”

“…Shut up, you bastard. You’re the same!”

Seeing her eyes widen, I couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“Well, some things just have to be cut off. Old friendships, family feuds, or even the wife you loved more than the world.”

“But…”

“You’re still young, Ophelia. It makes sense you wouldn’t know. But when a comrade falls in battle, removing the one trying to harm them has a higher survival rate than treating them. The wedge in Azar’s heart is Aria.”

“That’s true.”

Laila, who had been quietly listening, nodded her head. The reason I wielded my sword against Geldmier was to save the mercenary group.

In the end, Azar had to prepare to let his wife go.

With Laila on board, Ophelia seemed to have run out of counterarguments and sealed her lips.

An awkward silence fell.

Feeling the prolonged silence was uncomfortable, Laila stood up, saying she’d fetch some snacks.

Once we were left alone, Ophelia opened her mouth.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Do you really think gods are nice beings?”

When I looked at Ophelia at those words, she was staring into the darkness outside with a strange expression.

It seemed like Azar’s remark from earlier was bothering her.

“I… didn’t want this damn Mark. But they gave it to me without asking and now want me to roll around for God. Even telling me to sacrifice my life. Really… is that for our sake?”

“God is just God.”

“Is that so?”

“They’re a bunch of idiots.”

“…”

Ophelia turned her gaze to me. Her round green eyes looked adorable.

“What’s so surprising? I hate God too. Really a lot.”

“…But you’re a saint, aren’t you?”

“And you’re a hero, Ophelia.”

I spread my arms wide.

“Look at this. Both Ophelia and I are far from being pious. But what’s the outcome? Instead of rewarding us, they gave us divine punishment in the form of Marks. Marks of a hero and a saint, even. And even Azar, who has become part of the Demon King’s army, bears a divine mark.”

“…That’s true.”

“How ludicrous is this? Whether they’re kind or not, one thing’s for sure: they have terrible judgment.”

To be honest, I didn’t want the Hero’s Mark either.

Defeating the Demon Lord? With my skills? That’s impossible. I’d just be flailing around.

Ophelia was listening to me and let out a small laugh.

“Well, yeah. Gods are idiots.”

“Exactly.”

I sat down on the bed where Ophelia had been lying.

“We just have to fulfill our duties and live happily. Enjoying everything we can.”

“…Yeah.”

“Of course, we have to turn the cathedral upside down first.”

Thinking back, Ophelia had once mentioned that if she became free, she’d invite me to be her attendant. It sounded horrifying, but now that I was a hero, it didn’t seem so bad. After all, now that I’d become a hero, I was bound by similar restraints as Ophelia.

“After everything ends and Ophelia becomes free, I’ll take care of you, even if I can’t be your attendant.”

“Huh, huh?”

“I’ll just find a house in the sunny side, with you as a hero and me as a saint, living our lives extravagantly. We’ll be heroes who defeated the Demon Lord. With that reputation alone, money will come rolling in. How does that sound?”

“…”

Ophelia blinked, her body quivering slightly.

At last, with a fiercely reddened face, she buried her nose in the pillow.

“Ophelia?”

“Don’t call my name, you crazy bastard…”

“What now? Did I do something wrong?”

“I’m not angry.”

“…”

“No, I’m not.”

And with that growl, there was nothing more I could say.

I shrugged and looked back outside.

Before I knew it, it started to rain.

Clang.

“Oh no.”

Laila hurried into the room.

Her vertical-shaped pupils were trembling slightly.

“I feel something strange.”

“Strange how?”

“The magic… it’s a little… stronger…”

As I watched Laila stutter, my expression hardened.

The Dragonkin had a weak but mixed blood of dragon blood. After all, dragons were the former nemesis of the Demon Lord.

An instinctive resistance to magic. Bloodline cannot be deceived. Even in the game, Dragonkin companions had a passive skill to sense magic.

In other words, in this situation, the instincts of a Dragonkin were rarely wrong.

“Hey, hey! Outside!”

At Ophelia’s shout, I looked outside, and the rain-soaked desert landscape had disappeared.

An opaque black veil was stuck to the window.

In other words, someone had trapped us inside the castle.

“…A barrier.”

The dreadful existence that had many times thrown the Black Eagle Mercenary Group into the depths of death.

The dark mage.

That was the magic they were best known for.

“It seems like they have no intention of letting us leave comfortably,” I said.

*

We immediately left the room and headed for the central hall of the castle.

Ophelia, who was following behind, asked, “Hey. Is that bastard Azar trying to kill us?”

“I don’t think so. Even though he’s part of the Demon King’s army, he wouldn’t want to create needless trouble for himself.”

“Probably just the dark mage acting on his own,” Laila added, and Ophelia grimaced.

“Is the dark mage strong? Can we kill him?”

“Usually, the dark mage itself is quite weak. It was like that in Nua Diel and the north. But they are not an easy opponent at all. Why?”

Before I could finish my sentence, a metallic sound erupted from the side.

Clang!

Out of nowhere, a demon leaped from the corner of the corridor, swinging its sword.

I caught the blade with its sheath, and Laila smashed its skull with her axe.

This was merely a low-level demon. Even Ophelia could handle it with ease.

“As you can see, they send their underlings. They gather magic within the barrier and unleash the amplified demons and monsters to engage in a war of attrition.”

The mercenary groups comprised of ex-convicts and slaves could only be helplessly beaten by such dark mages. Thus, I held a considerable hatred for these dark mages. Laila felt the same.

“So what do we do?”

“We kill the one pulling the strings. In this case, it should be in the underground workshop.”

Swish.

Another demon emerged.

This time, it didn’t even require Laila’s help. I drew my sword, and the upper body of the demon was cleaved in half.

“…”

I felt a strange sensation, clenching my hands.

My body felt unbelievably light.

‘This is…’

Gears.

It must be the effect of Gears.

Under the condition of being with Ophelia, my physical abilities seemed to have increased a little. Whatever it was, it couldn’t hurt.

“For now, let’s head underground. That’s where he’ll be.”

“Okay.”

At my words, Ophelia and Laila nodded, and we went down to the first-floor center.

And there stood…

“It seems there was some commotion.”

“…Lord.”

Azar de Elbrecht was standing there.

He was wearing a helmet, but fatigue was deeply etched on his expression, which was barely visible through his long hair.

Before I could say anything, Ophelia marched forward.

“Get out of the way.”

“I cannot. It seems my partner desires your deaths.”

“Shit, are you telling us to die?!”

“…”

Azar sighed deeply and spoke to Ophelia.

“I’ve heard the story. Saintess Ophelia Meredein. And Cathedral Knight Elliot. A considerable figure has come to see me.”

“…”

“However, you cannot move past here.”

“The dark mage is using you, Lord!”

“I told you earlier, I know.”

Azar continued calmly.

“Even knowing that, I must stand in your way.”

“What an absolute moron. Your wife must be saying some pretty words while bathing in the afterlife. Right?”

“Ah, no, if you provoke me like that…”

Ophelia’s sharp insults even startled Laila.

But Azar showed no change in expression.

“Call me stubborn or foolish if you wish. He said that if he gained the favor of the Demon King, he could save Aria. I don’t know whether that’s true or false.”

He slowly placed a hand on the hand axe and shield at his waist.

“Yet, I cannot give up. Even if it’s seen as foolishness by others.”

“I’m going to lose my mind.”

Ophelia shook her head vehemently.

Well, that was Azar’s character.

“Ophelia, let’s give up.”

“What?! That bastard is being stupid!”

“I’m not blaming Ophelia for that. Either way, his will can’t be swayed by words.”

In which case…

I drew my sword.

At the same time, I infused mana into it. The blade ignited in a golden hue, and sword energy surged forth.

I noticed Azar’s eyebrows twitch.

“Laila, I’ll create the opening. You take care of Ophelia.”

Laila nodded, realizing my intent.

I sneered at Azar.

In the end, there was only one thing I could do.

“I’ll thrash you until your rotten brain realizes.”

Violence might not always be the best option for every problem, but it’s often a solid second choice.

“Hah.”

Azar let out a dry laugh.

Afterwards, Laila, carrying Ophelia, descended the stairs leading to the underground, but he didn’t stop her.

If he tried to stop her, he would undoubtedly allow me a strike.

Finally, with just the two of us left, Azar spoke.

“An impressive swordsmanship. Have you surpassed the realm of a Sword Master already?”

“Just a minor skill, really.”

“Before we fight, I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“Are you possessed?”

“…”

At that, I was momentarily speechless.

But soon, I realized the situation.

Azar must have met the dark mage belonging to the Demon King’s army. In other words, he knows about the existence of the possessor.

Furthermore, I, as a member of the Demon King’s army, had come to Azar directly with Ophelia. Naturally, the dark mage, being another possessor, would be on high alert regarding me.

For Azar, this was a perfectly reasonable deduction.

“Just as I thought.”

Silence was an affirmation. Azar accepted it and said to me.

“That figure said that in the world of the game they called a play, I’m a holy warrior of the Demon King’s army who even mocks the gods.”

“Huh.”

It seemed that dark mage had sweet-talked quite a bit.

“Is that true?”

“No. You are not some high-ranking member of the Demon King’s army but a reliable comrade of the hero party.”

“He said the hero is dead.”

“Dead, yes. Thanks to that, it’s a real pain in the ass now.”

“What do you mean by that?”

With his eyes narrowed, Azar stared at me as I threw off my gloves.

There was no longer any reason to hide.

“…That is.”

The moment he saw the Mark engraved on my hand, Azar displayed a look of surprise for the first time.