Taming the Evil Saintess

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“Have you heard the news, Geldmier?”

Startled by the sudden voice, the One-Eyed Knight Geldmier paused his sword maintenance and looked up. Behind the iron bars, a pale-faced man stood just beyond a bloodstained door.

Geldmier lowered his sword and spoke to the man.

“Idmien, is it unusual for you to come out of the basement?”

“It’s not a basement; it’s a workshop.”

“To me, they mean the same thing.”

The Demon King’s army was merely a loose organization of lawless individuals stirred by the great Demon King. Even the officers barely understood each other’s intentions, nor did they make any effort to know.

In that context, it was highly unusual for Chimera Sorcerer Idmien, an officer of the Demon King’s army, to approach Geldmier first and strike up a conversation.

Idmien chuckled and waved his hand, prompting Geldmier to ask.

“So, Idmien, what news do you bring?”

“The Saintess has left the Cathedral.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

“This time, she really has left. And it’s not of her own accord.”

“Not of her own accord?”

Geldmier squinted his one remaining eye.

Idmien let out a guffaw.

“The Saintess ran away.”

“Ran away? Does she have anywhere to go?”

“Well, who knows? It could be some plot from someone. Officially, it’s called desertion, but according to the intelligence, there are whispers of abduction.”

“Abduction? Who in their right mind would abduct the daughter of the Cathedral?”

Even the officers of the Demon King’s army wouldn’t dare to assault the Cathedral. The knights there are stronger and more fanatical than those of any knight order across the continent.

On one side, there sits the malevolent Evil God, who curries favor with the Demon King, and completely opposed to him is the Divine Being.

In a sense, the Cathedral stands in stark contrast to the Demon King’s Castle.

“I heard it was the Saintess’s own knight who abducted her.”

“The saint’s knight, huh?”

“You know the name well. I know it, and perhaps we all know it.”

With a sly tone, Idmien spoke, and Geldmier thumped his sword sheath on the ground, signaling for him to get to the point.

“That’s Elliot. Remember him?”

“How could I forget?”

That incident happened years ago.

He was the leader of those pests meddling in the far north where the Demon King’s Castle lies.

They were the Black Eagle Mercenaries, an insignificant group that Geldmier initially had no interest in. However, that mercenary group had changed during that time; the losses inflicted by the Demon King’s army had reached a significant level.

Slave Knight Elliot. The demons raised their voices in unison saying he was the problem. Thus Geldmier personally sought to eliminate him, but the outcome was a stalemate. He even lost his cherished artifact, his helmet. Elliot was the first knight he couldn’t completely crush.

For the first time, Geldmier felt regret over a single human.

If he had received the Mark and joined the Demon King’s army, he might have become one of the greatest knights alongside Geldmier.

That’s why he remembered the name. He thought they would clash blades again someday.

“Of all people, he has become a Cathedral Knight?”

“What’s wrong? Yet another bout of unnecessary pride has arisen? Didn’t you throw the code of chivalry into the gutter long ago?”

“Shut it.”

As a murderous intent seeped from Geldmier, Idmien took half a step back and changed the subject.

“Regardless, I’m planning to track the Saintess down. You have no objections, right?”

“Since when did we have a bond deep enough to seek consent?”

“Haha, that’s not it. I just wanted to let you know; I’m going to kill that knight named Elliot.”

Idmien leaned against the doorframe, chuckling mockingly. Then he twisted his mouth, displeased.

“That guy ruined my toy. My precious animal dispatched to Nua Diel.”

“So that was also the doing of that Slave Knight?”

“Sadly, yes.”

Idmien had dispatched more than five Dark Mages, or rather possessors, across the continent.

Of those, Dark Mage Jake was the toy Idmien had meticulously altered.

And it was Elliot who effortlessly shattered it, leaving it in such pieces that his plan to overturn the Great Forest had been thwarted.

As a wizard, Idmien was quite resentful.

“I’m the type to repay tenfold for what I’ve received.”

“Hmph. Caring for such insignificant souls is just pathetic.”

Geldmier scoffed and kicked at a corpse lying in the dirt.

“Pathetic to the core.”

They were merely weak, fragile souls from another world.

It made no sense to seal them with the Mark and try to make them devoted followers when all that was needed was to gather information.

As a knight, Geldmier couldn’t understand the Demon King’s decisions at all.

*

“It’s probably best to leave now.”

“Why?”

As we had breakfast, I spoke to Ophelia.

We had been sheltered in Shadowhold for almost a week. During that time, the Cathedral had maintained silence. Finally, this morning, they issued an official statement.

I slid the newspaper across the table. It was a weekly publication from the imperial press.

“Ew.”

Ophelia wrinkled her nose at the story about her on the front page. Her portrait was printed large on the paper.

“From now on, it’s crucial to stay as far away from the Cathedral as possible. It seems the pursuers haven’t caught up yet, but we never know when they might send someone again.”

“That’s because while you were on the run, you put every one of them out of commission.”

“I didn’t kill them.”

Well, I had only broken their legs, which was rather mild considering the occasion.

Of course, each Cathedral Knight was a significant asset to the Cathedral. Beating up five of them had surely drawn the Pope’s ire.

In essence, it was wise to abandon the idea of returning to the Cathedral.

Ophelia visibly looked anxious about that. Just the sight of a shadow made her shudder. But after about a week, she had somewhat adapted to life in the Magic Tower.

Hence, Ophelia wasn’t pleased with my suggestion that we leave the tower now.

“Those expressions won’t change anything.”

“Tch.”

“You’re getting quite sulky.”

“I’m just saying we don’t need to rush.”

“Mm.”

I sensed Eldarian’s presence, who was eavesdropping just beyond the kitchen.

To be honest, I felt a pang of guilt seeing Eldarian age rapidly day by day. The Magic Tower was hiding the runaway Saintess from the Cathedral. If that fact were to reveal, the tower, Eldarian, and Emily would all suffer significant consequences. Eldarian had been sighing heavily for the past week.

Following my gaze, Ophelia eventually relented.

“Then where shall we go?”

“I’m not sure. For now, it seems likely we’ll head west or south rather than north. Maybe to the Great Forest.”

“I dislike the smell of Ear Demons there.”

“What do you mean by ‘Ear Demon smell’?”

“There’s a smell unique to those little bastards that’s just repulsive.”

She sounded serious, and I sighed deeply.

We should probably avoid the Great Forest. Ophelia would surely spout devilish words mercilessly there.

I could easily foresee how furious the proud Elves would be if they heard Ophelia’s slurs about the Ear Demons. Especially if Titania heard it, I wouldn’t be surprised if she immediately drew her staff.

“Well then, let’s start with a disguise.”

“A disguise?”

“Ophelia’s face is too conspicuous.”

“Why is it conspicuous?”

Though she spoke as if she didn’t know anything, a sly smile danced on her lips.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is my face that beautiful? You little brat, you’re just a male after all, right? Hmmm?”

It’s easier just to play along.

“Of course. It’s a serious problem how stunningly beautiful you are. No matter where we go, people will only see your pretty face, and what do we do about that?”

“…”

“Why the silence now?”

“…Ah, no, it’s nothing.”

Suddenly, Ophelia seemed about to bury her face in the soup, and I frowned.

“How about just wearing a mask?”

“…A mask?”

“People suffering from leprosy usually wear silver masks, don’t they?”

“You bastard, are you trying to make me look like a leper?”

“It’s just for camouflage.”

I pondered briefly.

With the experience gained from wandering the continent after retiring from the mercenary group, I recalled an identity that could arouse the least suspicion.

“Well, here, a wealthy couple traveling is probably the most straightforward excuse.”

“No, that’s a no-go.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just not allowed.”

I looked at Ophelia, but she averted her gaze.

Maybe it was because of the hot soup, but her face was turning red.

“Hmm…”

“How about we pretend to be father and daughter instead?”

…

Looking at Ophelia’s face, she seemed genuinely earnest.

I did some mental math.

Add my age on Earth to the time I’ve spent in this world as Elliot.

I had just graduated university back on Earth, and I’d spent over eight years in this world.

So…

‘Wait, I’m already thirty-three?!’

I felt faint thinking about being in my mid-thirties.

On the other hand, Ophelia had just reached adulthood last year.

That made our ages… a full generation apart.

A generation apart.

Right. A generation apart.

…

It wouldn’t be completely strange if she called me “uncle,” but that’s a serious matter. In this case, my mental age didn’t matter; my physical age did.

I felt that Elliot’s face looked relatively young.

In that sense, I had to be considered young.

I had to be young.

I absolutely refused to become a father at this age. I gritted my teeth and said.

“That’s absolutely… unacceptable…”

“Why are you mad? I was just joking.”

“I’m not mad.”

“You sound like you are.”

After a moment of contemplation, Ophelia raised her eyebrows and let out a displeasing chuckle.

“Ah-ha. You little brat, you’re not serious, are you?”

“Ophelia.”

…

…

Eventually, when I glared at Ophelia, she finally shut her mouth.

Silence enveloped us for a while.

“Let’s just go with siblings.”

“Um, okay. Let’s do that.”

Having settled that, I stood up.

“Get ready. We’re leaving immediately.”

This time, Ophelia followed my words without a word.

The only baggage we had was a box of jewels we had “legitimately” or rather “illegally” obtained before escaping the Cathedral.

Of course, even just selling these could afford us a mansion somewhere.

As we prepared to leave, Eldarian approached us.

“Are you departing?”

“Well, we can’t impose indefinitely.”

“Emily will be saddened.”

“Ugh.”

At Eldarian’s words, Ophelia averted her gaze.

Emily Barried. As the disciple of the Archmage, she had been overjoyed to hear that we were staying at the Magic Tower. Even with her adolescent awkwardness, she had felt considerable joy at reuniting with Ophelia.

Moreover, at my suggestion, Ophelia was now donning the cheap brooch Emily had given her. Seeing that had made Emily ecstatic. Evidently, their relationship seemed to be quite good.

That was a good sign.

At least both were top-tier characters in the game. They were indispensable members in the party formed to take down the Demon King.

“Will you not say goodbye to Emily?”

“Well, I, um… yeah… I will… but…”

Ophelia trailed off.

Thinking of teasing her a bit, I was suddenly interrupted by a servant rushing into the room.

“Archmage!”

“What is it?”

“Well… we have a guest.”

“A guest?”

The Magic Tower had plenty of visitors.

However, seeing the servant’s grave expression, it didn’t seem to be a trivial matter.

“Who is it?”

“Well… it’s the Inquisition Officer from the Cathedral.”

“….”

At that, Eldarian turned pale and looked at Ophelia.

“I told them to come back later, but they wouldn’t listen… they are currently half-forced into the reception room.”

“….”

There’s only one person in the Cathedral reckless enough to barge in like that.

Yurede.

He was here hunting us down.

“Ugh.”

Ophelia gulped.