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Chapter 114
Meanwhile, at the Magic Tower, Howell spoke to Elegia.
“Father has gone to the palace… but they might call you again to hear your side of the story. Actually, they probably will call you again. Those priests who came with the saintess today probably snooped on you too, just to check the relic.”
“What?”
Elegia hadn’t noticed because she had been focused solely on Prillien, but apparently, while they were talking, they had quietly confirmed whether the relic was being tracked. Still, they hadn’t stepped forward to interrupt Prillien, who had come to apologize.
‘They probably just checked quietly and intended to report to the archdeacon.’
They were exceptional people in every sense. Elegia felt deflated at having missed this detail while focusing on Prillien. She realized Prillien seemed to have a subtle ability to ease people’s tension. Howell added:
“Judging from how they just left, looking confused… it’s confirmed that it’s gone. Otherwise, they would have intervened to argue or stop it.”
‘They even checked that?’
Surprisingly competent. Elegia felt she might have underestimated Howell until now.
‘It was Howell who said I should check the mansion’s letter too.’
Though she had often felt hindered by him, sometimes he did offer reasonable advice. In fact, Elegia wondered if her lack of trust went both ways. Feeling complicated, she nodded.
“So, eat something properly before you get dragged to the palace again. You’ll need to be sharp from now on.”
Howell lightly tapped a cake box and nudged it toward her. Elegia squinted.
‘Hearing that in front of our family’s cake doesn’t motivate me at all.’
The Semperion family’s “poisoned or not poisoned cake”!
The cake’s appearance left her unsure if it would tempt her appetite. She just nodded. Howell continued:
“For now… if a situation comes where you must testify, I think it’s fine to say, like you told me, that you don’t know who gave it. You could even say it came as an anonymous letter. That should be okay.”
Howell’s quick arrival was helpful in many ways. They could coordinate their story with the duke’s household before proper questioning. For Elegia, who didn’t know much about the duchess, it was especially useful. She nodded, thinking this through.
“Phew. You worked hard today.”
After finishing her conversation with Howell, Elegia let out a long sigh as she returned to her room. Howell seemed to have more to ask, but when Elegia said it had been a long day, he reluctantly told her to rest and left.
Surprisingly, both Howell and Prillien didn’t return immediately to their homes or the temple. Perhaps because it was late, or for some other reason, they decided to stay a bit longer at the Magic Tower.
Previously, she had thought there were no guest rooms, since Prillien had “nowhere to stay,” but it turned out that long-term stays weren’t allowed, but one-time stays were fine.
“This must be Prillien’s first time at the Magic Tower.”
He probably wanted to look around out of curiosity. There was a lot that would fascinate him. Elegia herself had been amazed when she first came here—the countless items, the beautiful Magic Tower scenery, and the magnificent library.
It really was a stunning place. Elegia admired the sunset through the window. Eating dinner leisurely and resting afterward felt like paradise.
‘The relic incident was resolved well too.’
Thanks to Prillien destroying the pendant, the temple no longer had grounds to watch Elegia. And with the ray gun gone, there wasn’t much left to investigate. She felt she should actually thank Prillien.
“I hope you don’t worry too much and just live well…”
Seeing him cry had made her feel a little sympathetic. After all, he came here alone and worked as a saintess without knowing anyone—how hard must it be?
‘Of course, it’s hard for me too!’
Suddenly thrown into this place, fighting monsters, being misunderstood as a villainess!
‘Everyone, keep going. Anyway, keep going.’
No time to worry about others. Take care of yourself first. After finishing dinner, Elegia retrieved the cake Howell had brought and placed it on the table.
Soft whipped cream topped with ripe strawberries and syrup, sprinkled with gold dust.
‘It does look really delicious.’
I like strawberry cake too. I wonder if Elegia would have liked this one? He must have prepared a cake she liked, so maybe their tastes are similar.
Elegia took a fork and nibbled at the cake. Fortunately, no alert appeared.
‘No poison alert this time.’
It seemed the culprit had been cautious since the attempted poisoning incident. Feeling relieved, Elegia happily ate more of the cake.
‘Wow, they really put effort into this. It tastes much better than usual!’
Because it wasn’t poisoned, the freedom to eat made it taste perfect! Before she knew it, she had eaten half the cake.
‘Eating alone… maybe that was the right choice.’
It really did taste amazing. Howell had brought it well! She wanted to praise him for this.
Just as Elegia was enjoying the cake, a light knock came at the door.
“…Who’s there?”
“It’s me. Finn.”
It was Finn.
“Sorry to bother you while you’re resting… but it’s rather important.”
‘Important?’
Elegia cautiously opened the door. Finn stood there in a hood, slightly tired, as if coming straight from work, but smiled at her as if nothing had happened.
“Remember the potato sample you requested? The results are in.”
“Oh!”
She had asked him to analyze a poison. She had given him a potato she kept in her inventory. Now the results were ready. Nervously, she asked:
“Did you find anything…?”
Despite both the Magic Tower and the temple studying it, the mysterious poison’s origin had remained unknown. Elegia had nearly lost hope. She had assumed checking the potato again would yield nothing.
“…Let’s sit and talk.”
She guided Finn to the guest sofa and placed the half-eaten cake and tea on the table.
“By the way, this cake came from our house, so it could be poisoned. I ate half and it seemed fine, but just in case.”
“I see… wait, do you always suspect the duke’s household food?”
Finn murmured, embarrassed, as he was about to nod. Elegia calmly nodded back.
‘It was served every meal before. Well.’
“It’s fine. These days it isn’t served. I’m glad there’s no poison in the Magic Tower food.”
“….”
Finn stayed silent for a moment, his expression a mix of shock and anger. Then he spoke carefully.
“I’ll warn you, this isn’t an ordinary poison.”
“Oh?”
Elegia’s eyes lit up. The poison had clearly been detected.
“What is it then?”
“First, this result is hard to disclose, even within the Magic Tower. Only Jerome, the tower master, and I know. Since you requested it, I’ll tell you, but don’t tell anyone else.”
‘What came out that’s so serious?’
Elegia frowned. Given its elusiveness and that even the saintess was affected, it was indeed top secret. Finn’s serious expression matched the gravity of it.
“…I don’t know how it was made, but…”
He hesitated, then spoke slowly and cautiously.
“This seems to be a poison that affects people related to dimensional travel.”
“Eh?”
At that moment—
Nyahhh?! (What?!)
The Silvertail beast, quietly listening, leaped up and ran over. Elegia looked at it. Hilaire Silvertail, a beast from the Seiros Saga. Since it wasn’t native to Remegol, it made sense that it had been poisoned.
And naturally… Elegia, being possessed, would also have been affected by the poison.
‘Prillien too. He descended from the void—he must also be from another dimension.’
“Then…”
Elegia paused, realizing the implications.
It wasn’t just the saintess; now it could reveal that ‘Elegia Semperion’ came from another dimension! If someone asked when she had traveled to another dimension… what would she say?
While she struggled with this thought, Finn spoke first:
“So I think it might also affect people like me who have traveled to another dimension using a relic. Good thing you didn’t eat it.”
“What? Eating it would have been dangerous! Don’t ever think about eating it again!”
Even the saintess couldn’t resist this poison. Elegia panicked, but Finn chuckled softly.
“Yes… it really is a frightening poison.”
He regained his serious expression.
“From the mechanism, eating too much doesn’t just kill—it can completely annihilate the consumer. I don’t have enough samples to know the exact details, but it’s a terrible poison.”
“….”
Elegia glanced at Finn.
‘He’s not asking?’
The fact that this poison affected her meant she might also be someone connected to another dimension. Yet he didn’t question her about it.
‘Well, he did see me use the relic before…’
Maybe he assumes she has traveled to another dimension once, just like before.
‘Actually, I’m a possessed person from Earth…’
“Ah, by the way…”
Thinking this through, Elegia asked curiously:
“Why would someone use this poison? For what purpose?”
A poison to kill beings from another dimension, or those who have traveled to one. And they had placed it in her food. For a long time, consistently.
‘Could it be… they know I’m possessed?’
Is that why they want to kill me?
A chill ran down Elegia’s arm at the thought.
