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Chapter 80
The Duke frowned in displeasure at how desperately Elijia argued back.
“Hah, so you’ve already been swayed to Sir Ende’s side? Don’t let yourself be won over just by a face and some gifts.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“You should’ve secretly sent that dress back in the first place…”
“Why would I send it back!”
Thanks to that dress, she’d even been able to use the magic bomb! He didn’t even realize how rare and valuable that gift was.
Hearing Elijia’s outburst, the Duke scowled and turned back toward her. It seemed he was annoyed that she contradicted every word he said.
“So what now—you’re just going to take Sir Ende’s side because he happened to save you?”
“Well, saving me was a good thing, wasn’t it!”
“…I suppose that’s true.”
Yes, it was true that he had saved her from the monsters, and for that she was grateful. The Duke couldn’t deny it either, so he fell silent for a moment. Seizing the chance, Elijia pretended to yawn and then murmured softly,
“Anyway… fine, Father. I’ll be more careful, just like you said.”
Maybe because she yielded first, or maybe because he noticed how tired she looked, the Duke’s sharp tone softened slightly. He quickly added,
“Good. Don’t trust people too much. Especially Sir Ende—be cautious of him. Honestly, I don’t even understand how he managed to take down those beasts. That wasn’t any kind of ordinary magic.”
Well, that’s because…
She’d dealt with them using pure mana explosions, so of course there wasn’t any known spell to match it.
Feeling guilty, Elijia just nodded as if she didn’t know.
“…Alright.”
“Good.”
Since she was being obedient, the Duke finally turned away with a look of resignation.
“It’s late, so I’ll go. Anyway, after this incident, Sir Ende will draw quite a lot of attention. Some things might come to light soon enough.”
“What?”
Startled, Elijia lifted her head. The Duke explained at her questioning look,
“Until now, he’s been overlooked because he devoted himself to academic pursuits, but after this, many are becoming interested in him. The Magic Tower will soon be conducting a reassessment of Sir Ende’s abilities.”
“Uh…”
Elijia awkwardly averted her eyes.
Wait, what?! He’s going to be investigated because of me?!
A reassessment of abilities? She doubted Ende would welcome that. Though, to be fair, he had been suspicious. For a so-called ordinary librarian and healer, he was far too capable—appearing by teleportation, defeating monsters in a single strike…
There must have been a reason he’d kept that hidden. Just like Elijia herself.
She clenched her hands, trying to hide her troubled expression. She was the one who had actually used her power, and now an innocent man was being thrown into scrutiny because of her. Guilt twisted in her chest.
What should I do? Should I just admit it was me, even now?
Ende had said confidently he could handle it, and she had believed him. Jerome’s questioning would be nothing to worry about, he’d claimed, since he had an excuse prepared—something about borrowing an artifact, which would pass since the investigation would fall under Jerome’s jurisdiction anyway.
…But what if this wasn’t something Jerome alone could settle?
What if Ende ended up stuck in a situation he never wanted?
…It’s my fault. I have to fix this myself.
The next morning.
Elijia woke up early and opened her status window. Yesterday she’d been interrupted by the Duke’s unexpected visit, so she hadn’t been able to continue her stream properly. She figured more people would be around in the morning than at dawn, so today she planned to turn on her camera and chat again.
∥“Everyone… is the stream working fine now?”∥
Yesterday, when she entered that suspicious area of the temple, the signal had gone bad and the chat had cut off. To make matters worse, the admin had been fired on charges of leaking secrets.
And that wasn’t all.
∥“And when the High Priest suddenly caught me yesterday, I didn’t even get to show you the quest completion properly.”∥
As soon as the quest completion notice popped up, she’d panicked, hit “close,” and just ran for it. Looking back, it really had been a crazy day.
Did it actually count as completed?
She remembered seeing she’d earned another skill view ticket, but hadn’t checked the rest of the rewards. To show her viewers, she pulled up the quest completion notice again.
Congratulations! Quest Complete!
You have received your quest rewards!
Skill View Ticket ×1 obtained!!
Warning: Quest not completed through normal access.
Due to an error, the following outcomes have occurred:
Success reward “Favor of Prillien” — unavailable.
Partial failure penalty “Suspicion of the High Priest” — added.
The High Priest now harbors slight doubts about you.
…Suspicion of the High Priest.
She hadn’t expected even that to be reflected in the system. Probably because she’d skipped the banquet and secretly lingered near the Saintess—that must’ve registered as an “error.” Or maybe the system was simply reflecting this reality.
And then there was that angel’s warning…
“What the Saintess gives you… beware… it’s a trap…”
What exactly am I supposed to be careful of?
Was something from the Saintess really a trap? Of course, the pendant Prillien gave her immediately came to mind. But how much could she really trust the angel’s words?
Was it true? Should she distrust Prillien—or should she distrust the angel instead?
…There was nothing but suspicion all around.
Elijia folded her arms, frowning deeply in thought—
“Hey! What are you still doing in there!”
A loud voice boomed as her door burst open. The one barging in was Howell. Elijia shot back without backing down,
“Excuse me, ever heard of knocking? It’s rude if you don’t.”
“Oh. Right.”
Howell faltered, as if he really had forgotten. Elijia added,
“And it’s way too early right now. Why are you yelling at me to come out already?”
She’d woken early on purpose to stream without disturbance. Did he actually have something urgent this morning? It didn’t sound like he was calling her to breakfast.
Puzzled, she looked at him. Howell seized the moment to shout,
“The temple and the imperial palace both sent people demanding to see you! What on earth happened?”
What?
The temple sent someone?
After she’d snuck around there last night, they were sending people to her house first thing in the morning? That couldn’t be good.
The penalty “Suspicion of the High Priest” flashed across her mind.
“…What do you mean?”
Trying to hide her unease, Elijia stood up. Maybe noticing her wavering, Howell cried even louder,
“You… you did come straight home yesterday, right? You didn’t sneak off to a banquet or anything, right?”
“Y-yes, of course.”
She had gone out at night, but apparently the Duke had kept that from Howell. Who knew her father could be so tight-lipped? Tilting her head in slight surprise, she continued,
“So, what reason did they give for coming?”
“How should I know? They said they wouldn’t say until you came down. Just hurry up and get out here.”
“….”
It was clear Howell wouldn’t provide any more information. Instead, he just looked at her suspiciously, frowning as if convinced she’d done something wrong.
“You really didn’t cause any trouble, right?”
“I didn’t! Now get out, I need to change!”
Elijia practically shoved him out of her room.
Why would both the palace and the temple send people to me?
The temple was one thing—but the palace too?
The more she thought about it, the less sense it made. Quickly, she changed clothes and went down to the reception room.
There she found Howell and the Duke waiting, both glaring sharply at her as if demanding, “What have you done to bring this on yourself?”
Elijia cautiously turned her gaze toward the visitors. From the palace side…
“Your Highness?”
She froze at the sight of the Crown Prince. What possible reason could he have to come here personally?
She glanced at Howell, who clearly hadn’t expected the prince himself to show up either. His glare toward Elijia sharpened even more. The two exchanged a silent look.
What the hell is going on?
I told you, I don’t know either!
She wasn’t sure if he understood her silent protest, but she resisted the urge to shake her head in frustration and instead turned to the other guests. The temple side.
This is the real problem.
If the High Priest himself had come to drag her off, she’d be in serious trouble. She looked across the room—
“Lady Semperion!!”
A clear, ringing voice filled the mansion the moment their eyes met.
“Prillien?”
Elijia’s eyes widened in shock at the unexpected face. The temple had sent Prillien herself.
Should I be relieved it wasn’t the High Priest?
She had thought they would send someone to investigate the intruder from last night, but Prillien’s presence here was a surprise. For Elijia, who had braced herself for interrogation, it was a small relief.
But I can’t let my guard down.
Prillien could easily be here for questioning too. And that suspicious angel had warned her to beware of the Saintess.
Until she understood Prillien’s intentions, caution was best.
Elijia calmly offered a greeting.
“It’s an honor to meet His Highness the Crown Prince and the Saintess. May I ask what brings you both here…?”
“I heard everything!”
Before she even finished speaking, Prillien cried out excitedly. Elijia flinched and instinctively stepped back.
Heard what, exactly?
Surely she hadn’t heard about an intruder in the temple last night—right?!
