“It works for sure.”
After a few more experiments, the performance was certain.
“Hey! No, what kind of miracle did you learn?!”
Naturally, the test subject for those experiments was Pell.
“What do you mean?”
“No......! Ordinary attacks don’t work on it at all!”
Unless an attack was infused with divine power, the barrier created by the Authority of Blood did not break.
“This is the secret art Grandpa Harkan taught only to me......!”
“As if.”
Tsk.
“Isn’t your evaluation of me too harsh? Grandpa could have thought of me as his successor and passed down his secret technique, couldn’t he?”
“There is no way.”
Just what kind of image did Pell have of me?
[It would not be a normal image. You are the kind of bastard who drove a mace into his own leg to test something.]
“So, did you find a way to get out?”
“Yeah. Brother Junknus agreed to help.”
“Him again? Stop tormenting that man.”
“You stop tormenting Helin.”
“Hey! Why bring that up?!”
Why, he asked?
“Last evening, Helin spoke to me through a communication orb. She asked me to make you come to your senses.”
“What?”
Last evening, after learning an Authority from the evil god, I had been looking for a place to test it.
[How about using it on someone you know?]
“Oh.”
For once, it was an idea that pleased him, and he immediately put it into action.
—Mm...... Sir Karix?
The one who received the voice orb I had used to call Pell was not Pell, but his lover and the deputy captain of the Seventh Holy Knight Order, Helin.
“Oh, Helin. Sorry. I didn’t know you’d answer.”
—Then you had business with Pell......?
“Yeah. I need to see him briefly tomorrow.”
At my words, Helin said nothing for a moment, then let out a deep sigh and spoke.
—Please make Pell come to his senses. There is a lot of work to do, but he keeps going out to play.
“Got it. I’ll tell him.”
—......Do you not know because of whom he keeps going out to play?
“Because of Pell himself, I suppose. He always likes playing around.”
—Haa......
In any case, that was how it happened.
“Hey, how is that me tormenting Helin?”
Pell looked at me as though he could not believe it.
“How bad must it have been for Helin to say that to me?”
“That is because of you!”
“There is no way.”
What had I done?
It was because of you, always going out to roll around and play.
[Is my apostle...... hopelessly dense too?]
What are you now! What do you even know!
“Tsk. Anyway, I have to go work now.”
“Yeah. I’m done with what I needed too.”
“......Did you really call me just to test that one thing?”
Pell’s empty expression was a masterpiece.
“Yeah.”
“You...... No. Forget it. What is the point of arguing with you?”
“Take care.”
Good. I had confirmed one thing clearly: its performance.
[You did not know that after hitting your own leg?]
“Why? I might have unconsciously held back and hit myself weakly.”
When hitting oneself, it was possible to hesitate without realizing it.
[How absurd......]
“What?”
No, logically speaking, why would I trust that an Authority given by an evil god, and one with the ominous name Authority of Blood at that, would perform well?
“I’m leaving tonight.”
That left me with a strange gap of time.
‘The experiment ended much earlier than expected.’
I had planned to check them one by one from the broad categories. I meant to start with basic miracles, enhancement miracles, and weakening miracles, then move down from there.
‘I didn’t expect it to block all of them this easily.’
Its performance was more certain than expected.
When it even blocked the enhancement-type miracle Pell cast on me, I found it absurd.
“You can’t fix the fact that it blocks enhancement miracles too, can you?”
[Do you need such a thing?]
Well, evil gods were strong even without receiving things like that.
[In the first place, Aria’s blessing likely will not work properly on you anymore.]
“......?”
What was that supposed to mean all of a sudden?
[After all, you have my divine power. Do you know what happens when two kinds of divine power mix?]
I did not. Normally, there was no way one would have two different kinds of divine power in one body.
“......Don’t tell me.”
Only one thing came to mind.
‘Does it explode?’
Was it not possible that because their natures were different, they would simply explode?
There was even an immediate example of two things that could not mix: mana and divine power.
[Explode......]
“Fuck.”
Was it true?
[It does not.]
“Hey, damn it.”
[Puhaha! My apostle is more innocent than expected.]
Annoying.
“Then why?”
[It is simple. Different properties mix, so the efficiency of the divine power itself falls. That is why it does not work properly.]
“Damn it.”
Why did she have to say it in such a frightening way?
[Kikik!]
Forcing myself to ignore the evil god as she laughed at me to her heart’s content, I turned my steps.
There was only one goal.
Outside the capital of the Holy Kingdom.
***
“Halt.”
“Ah, it has been a while.”
When a member of the Sixth Holy Knight Order spotted Junknus, he immediately saluted.
“Enough, enough. What is with the salute? It is not as if I am your superior.”
Did he have a conscience? This was a person who even worked with Sir Slan. How could he know what might happen later?
“Haha......”
The member laughed awkwardly at Junknus.
“By any chance, Mr. Junknus, what is that?”
“Failed works.”
“Failed works?”
The member strode toward the weapons loaded on Junknus’s cart.
“They are weapons?”
“Yes. All failed works.”
Junknus clicked his tongue for no reason.
“Are you going to burn them outside?”
“Yes. There are too many of them, so if I do it inside the capital, it might start a fire.”
“By the way, if all of these are failed works.”
The member who had suddenly approached picked up one of the swords.
“May I take one?”
“What?”
At those words, cold sweat ran down Junknus’s back.
“Mr. Junknus?”
“......How much will you pay?”
To keep from showing his panic as much as possible, Junknus naturally said something he would usually say.
“Ahem......”
At those words, the member gave up on taking it and placed the sword back on the cart.
‘Wow, damn. I thought we were screwed.’
[Indeed......]
And I, who was inside, felt as though my heart had dropped with a thud.
“Tsk. What a shame. I thought it was about time to replace my sword.”
Fortunately, the member said it as if he had been half joking.
“Haa, you rascal. If you are going to replace it, you should come to my smithy.”
Thanks to that, Junknus was able to answer somewhat naturally as well.
“Then I will give it a poke once.”
“......Go ahead.”
Junknus took one step back from the cart.
SWOOSH—
“Wow, fuck.”
A long spear swept right past me.
“This is fine, right?”
[I told you it is fine. Do you not trust me?]
Would I trust you? You’re an evil god.
“Are you done now?”
“Why are you in such a hurry today? I will try a few more times.”
A moment later, the spear the member thrust collided directly with my body.
THOOM—!
Fortunately, the performance of the barrier through the Authority of Blood was quite certain.
“......What was that sound?”
However, naturally, it could not simply be brushed aside.
“The weapons must have struck one another.”
“I will dig through it a little.”
After saying that, the member began removing the weapons.
One by one, the weapons left the cart.
‘Now!’
Around the time light seeped in through the parted weapons, I drank the potion.
“......There is nothing here.”
“Yes. I told you there was nothing.”
Saying that, he began putting the weapons back in one by one.
‘Not much time left.’
After all, the invisibility only lasted a mere ten seconds.
“I will help too.”
Because Brother Junknus knew that as well, he quickly began helping load the weapons.
‘Four seconds.’
Quickly.
Faster.
Little by little, the light began to disappear.
‘Three seconds.’
I was anxious. I still did not feel weapons being placed over my legs.
“Mr. Junknus. Why are you moving them with me?”
“You are too slow. I still have a lot of work left.”
At last, I felt as though even my legs had been completely covered.
‘Done!!!’
I was cheering inwardly.
After all, I had done it in the end!
I had breached that wall!
[Pfft!]
At that moment, the sound of the evil god snickering suddenly reached my ears.
“......Mr. Junknus.”
“......Yes.”
“I will call Sir Harkan.”
Why was Grandpa Harkan suddenly being called......?
“There is no need. I am already here.”
Grandpa Harkan said only that much, then moved.
‘Huh? Why is the sound getting closer?’
This is unnerv—
CLATTER—
ing?
“Karix.”
Grandpa grabbed me by the back of the neck inside the cart and pulled me out of the mountain of weapons.
Because of that, I dangled in the air, held by Grandpa.
“Haha......”
Damn it.
“What happened here, I wonder? I was wondering where you went, and here you are, hiding inside a cart.”
So that was why that evil god bitch had laughed?
“Um...... Hello?”
“......”
Grandpa was looking at me with eyes I had never seen before.
No, strictly speaking, it was not the first time I had seen them.
They were the eyes I had seen when he dealt with evil god worshipers and apostles.
Eyes full of killing intent.
‘Don’t tell me.’
The moment I reached that thought, my heart began pounding madly.
‘Did he find out?’
One way or another, I was currently the apostle of an evil god.
If that fact had been discovered?
‘My head would come right off.’
My head might roll across the ground instead of a stone.
“Karix.”
His voice was cold, so I thought that perhaps this would not end as mere imagination.
THWACK—!
“Gah!”
A tremendous sound and pain struck my head.
“You rascal! Is staying still that difficult?!”
Fortunately, it did not seem he had learned I was an apostle, and it ended with him striking my head......
“Ow!”
“Ah, wait! That hurts!”
Or so I would have liked, but there was no chance.
[Puhahahaha! It was funny enough when only your rear was sticking out earlier, but now this is even funnier!]
Ah, so that was why she laughed?
“Aaaaagh!”
“You rascal!”
Grandpa Harkan clenched both hands into fists and began pressing them against both my temples.
“Ah, I surrender! I surrender!”
“What surrender?! Get hit more, you rascal! I, damn it! My anger has not settled!”
[Puhahahaha! This is the first time I have seen my apostle suffer like this!]
‘Don’t just watch. Can’t you do something?’
I mouthed those words to the bastard.
Damn it, to think I had no one to rely on and had to rely on an evil god like this.
[Why would I help you?]
Mm.
Damn it. I should have trusted something worth trusting.
“Hoo...... Fine! Karix! If you want to go outside that badly, then you should go!”
“Oh?”
Had Grandpa Harkan’s heart weakened because I had even attempted to escape?
‘Yes. There is no way he would keep me from going out for a whole month.’
It was not for nothing that I had gone this far.
Because I had gone this far, his heart had softened and......
“Take this cart as it is.”
“Pardon?”
“Drag it.”
“Yes......”
What was this? What was he making me do?
“Now, we will go around the capital once like this. Straight along the city wall.”
“......Pardon?”
What did he say?
“Run!”
“Ah...... Aaaagh!”
At his words, which were heavy with killing intent, I filled my body with divine power and set off.
“You rascal! Do not use divine power either!”
“No, then how am I supposed to do this!!!”
“You wanted to go outside the capital, so I am allowing you to stay out as long as possible! Run!”
Mm.
Damn it.
“Your feet are slow! Faster!”
“Aaaaagh!”
How did it end up like this?
[Apostle? You look truly ridiculous, do you not?]
“Could I compare to you, trapped inside a weapon?”
At my whisper, the bastard seemed to have nothing to say and closed her mouth with her expression twisted.
[This fucker......]
How dare she pick a fight?
Even if she did, she was the kind of bastard who could not even break even.