Althea: The Legendary Saintess [Shoujo]

The next morning, as Laila entered Althea's room slightly earlier than usual to prepare for the departure ceremony, she found Althea writhing in a troubled dream.

"Lady Althea? ... Lady Althea?!"

"U-ugh... Hah!!"

With a sudden jolt, Althea's eyes flew open, her breath coming in shallow gasps. She looked around in a daze before asking,

"… This is... the royal castle's... room, right?"

"Yes, indeed. This is the guest room of the royal castle."

Hearing Laila's response, Althea appeared to relax slightly but soon grew frantic again.

"Laila, this is serious! Is my brother awake? I need to urgently convey something."

With an anxious expression, she hurriedly made her request.

After quickly changing her clothes, Althea left her room. In the guest room's living area, her brother, Regalus, was waiting, still looking drowsy from just waking up and stifling a yawn.

Upon spotting Althea, Regalus asked,

"Althea, what’s going on? Laila barged in here looking extremely distressed this morning…"

"I apologize for the early disturbance. However, I need you and His Majesty to be informed immediately. We’ve discovered the initial destination for the expedition."

"Ah, it's good that we found out before the departure ceremony. So, where are we headed?"

"… The Kingdom of Fulltale."

"!!!"

At the mention of the location, Regalus’s sleepiness vanished instantly.

"Is that... really true?"

"Yes. I wish it weren't, but there’s no reason to lie about this. In my dream... the goddess revealed this, and I was tormented by the scenario of what might happen if we proceeded as planned until Laila woke me."

"… I don’t want to know, but... what’s likely to happen if we continue as we are?"

"… Almost everyone will... be charmed."

"That’s to be expected... We’ll have to either delay the departure to prepare or include more members in the magical team who can use mental defense magic. But..."

"Continuous mental defense magic to protect the entire expedition team is impractical."

Regalus pondered Althea’s response, and she continued,

"… Actually, I have a proposal, if you don’t mind."

After hearing Althea's plan, Regalus visited Siegfried's room thirty minutes later, and thirty minutes after that, he had an audience with His Majesty the King to relay Althea’s message about the exploration destination for obtaining the Sword of the Sun.

"Of all places… the Kingdom of Fulltale… What are we going to do?"

The current situation in Fulltale was even more unclear than before. However, the reports His Majesty had received about numerous people being charmed before the world was shrouded in darkness, and some knights sent to Fulltale dying from magical exhaustion, made him furrow his brow in deep concern.

Seeing this, Regalus spoke up.

"… Your Majesty, I have a suggestion."

"What is it? Speak. But I won’t entertain any plan that involves sacrificing anyone."

"This is a plan to avoid casualties. … But first, may I cast a soundproofing spell?"

After exchanging a look with Siegfried, who stood beside him, His Majesty nodded.

Regalus cast the soundproofing spell and explained Althea’s proposal. Both he and His Majesty agreed to the plan.

Another hour later, Althea knocked on the door of the Magic Department.

"Good to see you again, Director Norland."

As Althea performed a lady’s bow, Cassandra Nightshade-Norland embraced her almost forcibly, touching her face with a playful demeanor.

"No need for such formalities. … Oh, has it been six months already? You've grown even more beautiful in such a short time. Girls at your age change daily, so I’d love to see you every day. … Oh, it's a pity for my foolish son, but I’d really like to have you."

After petting Althea for a while, Cassandra’s expression turned serious.

"… I shouldn’t act like usual. This is an emergency. I’ve heard about it from His Majesty. Althea, follow me."

She guided Althea to a private room deep within her office in the Magic Department.

"This place will keep us undisturbed. You can rest if you’re tired, and I’ll check in from time to time. Of course, I’ll bring your meals as well, so you can be at ease. Regarding the magic stones, I’ve prepared everything available in the royal castle, but it’s not enough for the entire expedition team. We’re arranging the rest and expect it all to be ready today. But… I didn’t think we could enchant them all in time. Oh, and I promise to keep it a secret. But… can we manage in three days? I recall there being over a hundred people in the expedition team, and constantly enchanting them in such a short period might be too much…"

After a concise explanation, Cassandra looked at Althea with concern.

"Thank you for your concern. I’ll manage by taking breaks, so it will be fine. I needed a focused and private place to avoid wasting any time… I appreciate your cooperation."

In fact, Althea's magical power had significantly improved since she first performed magic enhancement two years ago. Moreover, due to incorporating special grade magicbook, she had no concern about collapsing from magical exhaustion.

With a smile, Althea responded to Director Norland's invitation. The Director, still holding Althea close, said with half-seriousness and half-jokingly,

"To be both talented and adorable… even if my son can't have you, I'd love to have you at the Magic Department. How about it? Will you join us?"

"Uhm... ha ha..."

...

After the Director left, Althea immediately set to work.

The urgent plan Althea proposed was for her to remain at the royal castle while the expedition team departed. She would create magical stones imbued with mental defense spells for every member of the team. Althea would then join the team midway, distribute the stones, and continue with them.

There are two routes to the first destination, the Kingdom of Fulltale:

1. Travel south by land, take a brief sea voyage to the neighboring continent, pass through the Kingdom of Starry Skies, and enter Fulltale via land.
2. Head west, use a ship from a major port to pass near the Holy Sacrament Principality, and enter Fulltale directly from its port.

If there were no issues with Fulltale, traveling by land would be far preferable. It provides easier escape routes if attacked by monsters. However, for this mission, Althea deliberately chose the sea route, allowing her to join the team later through the port of Fulltale.

While Althea stayed behind to create the enchanted stones, the expedition team would set sail from the major port towards the Holy Sacrament Principality. They would stop in the Principality for resupply, where Althea would meet up with them.

The expected travel time to Holy Sacrament was approximately three days.

Althea would be transported to the Principality using the royal magic circle, courtesy of the Queen. Additionally, to avoid any odd looks from the public, a maid from the Principality would impersonate Althea until she reached the Principality.

A trumpet sounded from a distance, announcing the departure.

“…The time has come. Brother, Siegfried, Laila, everyone, please be careful… please stay safe…”

After praying with her hands together towards the direction of the departing team, Althea returned to her work.

The three days flew by quickly.

During this time, Althea remained in the Director's private office, dedicating herself to imbuing mental defense magic into the stones. She sent magical energy during morning and evening prayers, took light meals three times a day, and rested only when she was exhausted. The cycle continued relentlessly until she finished.

"Finally done…!"

She completed the enchantment of the 108 stones for the expedition team roughly three hours before the agreed time to meet at the Principality.

"…I should be able to bathe and change into my uniform in an hour. …I just need a little nap… just a quick rest…"

As she was about to drift off, she heard her name being called urgently.

"…Little Althea! Little Althea!"

She jolted awake in a panic.

"Uhh... little? Urgh..."

"Are you alright? I came to wake you up because it’s almost time, and you were fast asleep..."

Director Norland peered at her with a worried expression.

"I'm fine, thank you for waking me up… I was about to oversleep if you hadn't come."

Feeling slightly embarrassed, she continued,

"Anyway, it’s a relief you got everything done. The amount of magical energy required was astonishing. I’m truly impressed. …I might even ask His Majesty if we could keep you at the Magic Department… But first, Little Althea, you need to get ready, right? You have to change into your uniform. I’ll take care of delivering the magical stones to the meeting place with the Queen. Hurry and get ready."

"Yes, thank you very much. …Oh, there should be a total of 108 magical stones. Director Norland, please take care of them."

After a brief bow, Althea left the Director’s office to change into her departure outfit.