The Tale of the Teapot Hero’s Revenge - Chapter 100 Saint

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Chapter 100 Saint

 

"How are you feeling?" she asked, and only then did I notice. All the injuries engraved on my body were completely healed. Mentally, it might be another story, but in terms of physical condition, it felt like my health was perfect.

"Um, I just had a bad dream..."

"I'm glad. I was worried that the healing magic failed."

"Um, where is this... and who are you?"

I asked, but I could sort of guess.

A face almost identical to Beato's. The only noticeable difference is that she has slightly slanted eyes compared to Beato's round eyes. Even so, it's a subtle difference that you wouldn't notice if you weren't familiar with Beato's face.

"I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I am Leiche Tinarie, serving as the Holy Maiden of Paladis."

As I thought, this girl is the Holy Maiden. She introduced herself with an angelic smile. Well, I still think Beato is more angelic.

"This is my room on the fifth floor of the Grand Temple. I found you collapsed with injuries in the chapel and brought you here."

The explanation seemed truthful. The girl in the vision before I lost consciousness was not an illusion; it was this girl.

However, I couldn't easily trust her. After all, she was the head of the organization that had been trying to sacrifice Beato, conducting suspicious experiments underground, and handing dangerous things to the Taltus Army's leaders. Even though she had healed me and brought me here, it wasn't enough for me to trust her, and I didn't want to mention Beato's name.

"Why did you help me? I was covered in blood, and collapsed in such a suspicious place. It's quite reasonable to think I might be a bad person."

"Are you a bad person?"

"Well... no, I can't say for sure that I'm not..."

"Hehe."

She chuckled.

"I'm sorry; I already know. I know who you are. I was surprised when I saw your face."

Oh, right. I'm the Hero, after all. I had been cross-dressing precisely to keep that fact hidden.

"The current Hero, Kyrie Minaret-sama. Once again, welcome to Paladis."

 

△▽△

 

"Hey, wake up, miss."

"...Ngh."

Oh no, for a moment, I lost consciousness.

"You're finally awake. You managed to sleep for about two hours in some ventilation duct."

"Huh, was I asleep that long?"

"It's already morning."

Oh wow, he's right. The pocket watch Balge showed me pointed to six in the morning. We spent the night crawling through the ducts searching for Kyrie. Even though we peeked through the wire mesh all night, we still did not find her.

"Well, damn. I'm prepared to get scolded, so let's head back at once."

We've been searching all night but had no luck. Maybe she managed to escape on her own.

"I'll head back too. Thanks to you, I've achieved my goal."

"The experiment with the red stone? That was freaky."

The red stone, similar to the one in the depths of the mine. A researcher held it up to a small lizard, and the stone vibrated like it was scanning the lizard. Right after that, numerous tiny dragons, resembling the lizard, crawled out of the stone, making me almost scream in horror. Somehow, I managed to hold back.

"Is that stone for creating monsters?"

Could monsters be born like that? Absorbing information from living organisms into the red ore... The rocks there stopped blinking after Kyrie touched them, and the monsters stopped coming out of that tunnel.

Did I unwittingly turn something tremendous into a sword?

"What's wrong, miss? You look pale."

"Don't call me miss. Our ages aren't that different."

Well, for now, the sword didn't seem harmful. Besides, if the blinking had stopped and the monsters had ceased to appear, it should have been neutralized by then.

"All right, let's head back."

"Yeah, my business is done, and I'm worried about the kids back home."

If I recall correctly, Balge-san helped the people who were experimented on and lived with them. When he mentioned kids, he might have been referring to the children who were also used as subjects... Paladis were really doing some awful things.

"This way. It's a secret shortcut, come along."

Balge-san, instead of jumping down the hallway towards the hidden staircase, once again began advancing through the ducts. Could it be that he didn't use the hidden staircase in the chapel for entry and exit?

When Balge-san removed the mesh at the end of the duct, it revealed the bottom of a dried-up well. He climbed the wall and peeked out of the well. It seemed to be a hut standing alone on the outskirts of the Grand Temple. I see, so this was how they were getting fresh air.

"If it were a regular entrance, we might be ambushed, but it's safe here."

"They're quite careless."

I had never seen a place with such a mechanism, and it might have been a blind spot in the security. Well, there was no time for chatting.

"I'm heading back to where Beato is."

"I'm still in this town. I can't go with you, but feel free to visit anytime."

A small note from Balge-san. It had an address written on it.

"Our hideout."

"Thanks for trusting me this far."

I stashed it away in my bag, this time for sure. Balge-san and I left the hut and dashed towards our respective destinations.

 

***

 

Leiche told me to take it easy, but I couldn't afford to do that. My belongings, including the sword, were neatly placed by the bed. Just to be sure, I checked the contents, and even the box containing the [Water God] Gift Sphere was safely intact... I wondered if they really weren't enemies.

When I finished packing my things and left the bedroom, a spacious living room unfolded before me. Leiche, sitting on a chair, looked a bit surprised when she saw me.

"Oh? Are you leaving already?"

"Sorry, but I can't afford to stay for too long."

"I see, that's a bit disappointing. I wanted to have a leisurely conversation with you."

She raised her eyebrows, looking genuinely disappointed. Then the bell on the table rang as Leiche summoned someone.

"Berna, please escort her to the entrance."

"Yes..."

A woman in a sister's outfit came over. Wait, Berna, could she be the one who took care of Beato as a wet nurse?

"I'll guide you to the entrance of the Grand Temple."

"Ah, thank you..."

I wanted to ask, but it wouldn't be good to inquire here. For now, I decided to pretend not to have any particular thoughts and went along with her.

"Well then, I'll take my leave. Thank you for the treatment."

"No problem. Let's meet again soon."

Saint Leiche waved and smiled at me until the end as I left the room.

 

●●●

 

After Kyrie left the room for a while, Leiche, still wearing a smile, rang the bell again.

"Noah, you can come out now."

"Yes, Leiche-sama."

The woman in ceremonial robes called Noah knelt beside Leiche. Taking Leiche's offered hand, she affectionately pressed her cheek against it.

"You're such a good girl, telling me about Kyrie-san and Beato's relationship."

"It's for Leiche-sama's sake. I swore to dedicate everything to you, the one who rescued me from hell..."

"Hehe, a truly obedient pet..."

While tickling Noah's chin, the saint gently smiled and took a sip of her tea.

"...But, is it really alright? Letting Beato go..."

"It's fine. Letting them use the Gift Sphere in exchange for catching that girl is part of the contract with the Taltus Army. If we catch her here, it would damage their reputation, and I wouldn't want her wreaking havoc in this beautiful city, right?"

"Then, was there any particular reason for not retrieving the Gift Sphere [Water God]?"

"Because it would raise suspicions against me. For now, staying quiet is the right move. Besides, the seal on that box can only be undone by the chosen saint of Empyrean, which is me. There's no issue. And, hehe..."

Setting the teacup gently on the saucer, Leiche continued,

"Stealing the sacred Gift Sphere of Paladis would make for a good 'excuse,' don't you think?"

Leiche wore a radiant, angelic smile on her face.

 

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