“I can’t just leave everything to you.”
“…”
“I just want to save you some trouble, Lady Emilone. If you ask what it is, I’ll tell you.”
Well, if you put it like that, I can’t ask. Since he seemed to not want me to ask, I turned my head away and didn’t press further.
“Alright.”
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t know what it is… but I’m sure you’ll handle it just fine, right?”
Alois smiled without saying anything in response and I sighed.
That smile told me it wasn’t just a simple matter. I was really curious, but I couldn’t ask now but I was definitely going to ask later.
* * *
The Saintess Emilone was known for her pink hair and crimson eyes, as well as her always pristine priestly white robes.
Hence, as I walked among the white-haired priests dressed in immaculate white robes, I couldn’t help but stand out.
I ran my fingers through my pink hair and glanced down at the pristine white coat that a priest was placing over my shoulders.
“Wait. Look over there.”
“…Aren’t those priests?”
“Priests from the Holy Temple?? Why are they here…?”
“B..But…”
With every step I took, the white shoes on my foot were exposed. They felt a little loose, probably because the priests provided them. While my mind idled, I turned my gaze to the nobles gathered at the entrance.
“…!”
“That pink hair…”
“If there’s someone with pink hair among the priests…”
It definitely stood out. Everyone in this world knew what the Saintess looked like.
Moreover, standing here in the midst of all these white-haired and white-robed priests, how could they not recognize me…
“Saintess Emilone…”
They couldn’t help but recognize me.
I curled my lips in a smile and seeing that, the people who were drawing closer in confusion, immediately came to their senses and became flustered.
Soon enough, they started running away but I didn’t really care.
They must be running because they felt guilty knowing very well that this place wasn’t just for ‘playing’. Then again…
“With such a strong smell, how can this place possibly be normal?”
The pungent mix of drugs, aphrodisiacs, and who knew what else filled the air. Standing beside me, Reneben muttered quietly.
“…Did you and Lord Alois…enter this place?”
“Hm? Yes…”
“…”
Reneben’s face darkened, but I skillfully avoided looking at him.
As soon as I stepped inside, the guard dozing off at the entrance suddenly snapped to attention.
“Hello. This is our second meeting, isn’t it?”
He was the one who opened the door for us on our first go-around. I greeted him warmly and waved my hand while his eyes swept over us, half-stunned.
“Would you please open the door?”
“W-W…What door are you talking about…!”
His voice went high.
It didn’t really matter. I already knew where the door was. I walked straight ahead, not bothering to pause.
“…Oh my.”
Of course, the man, who was supposed to be the gatekeeper stepped in front of me to block my path.
“How dare you block the path of the Saintess—!”
A priest beside Reneben spoke up indignantly, but I raised a hand to stop him.
“Will you not step aside?”
“I-I’m sorry…but…”
“…Sigh.”
The man’s shoulders trembled.
My hand shot out, grabbing his neck. Just as he opened his mouth to struggle, I flooded him with divine power.
“Uck…hk!”
“…He’s reacting to the divine power?!”
“Impossible, is it dark magic…”
With one small move, the man shook violently, and his knees buckled, then he collapsed to the floor.
“Will you move him to the sofa on that side?”
“…Pardon? Yes! Right away!”
After instructing a priest to lay the man on the couch, I opened the firmly shut door.
The expressions of the priests looked noticeably more serious.
“Relax. If he was a dark-magic user from heretical faction, I would have noticed that the first time we met.”
“Then he is…”
“Someone controlled by dark magic.”
“…?”
I think this is my first time using my power like this. If you exclude the occasional ‘divine punishment’ and demon fighting, that is.
“Exactly as it sounds. He’s under a spell of dark magic and must do the biddings of the spell caster.”
Since I was explaining as we descended the stairs, my voice was echoing. Since they were already familiar with the topic, they seemed to understand quickly.
“Dark magic of all things…”
Reneben sounded unnerved and I shook my head helplessly.
“Lady Saintess.”
Oh, I just met this priest today. What was his name again…? I think it was…
“Did you call, Titeine?”
It wasn’t an imperial name so it rolled weirdly off my tongue. Hearing me saying his name, his ears flushed red, seemingly touched and he lowered his head.
“…Yes, I, um…”
“Hmm?”
“I was wondering…if it’s okay to consider dark mages as no longer human…”
He trailed off and shut his mouth.
This was an issue that has been causing debates for a long time now.
Dark magic is a power that is gained for the price of forsaking your humanity. How should I put this… it’s somewhat similar to selling your soul to the devil.
“Well…if I were to say they’re not human, what would happen then?”
“Then, I don’t think we need to subdue them with divine power.”
In a nutshell, he was suggesting borrowing the power of magicians or knights. But given that this place was operating under the silent approval of the kingdom, I doubt it’d be possible to borrow state-managed mages or knights…
In the first place, there’s no way the priests would agree to such a thing. Even if these were heretics who defied God, no priest could simply stand by and watch them suffer in pain.
“Then let’s say they’re human.”
“…”
“So don’t go hurting yourself by trying to do something not in your character.”
Finally, we reached the end of the lengthy sprawling staircase. I stood before the door, then I looked back at the priests following me and let out a sigh.
“Stop making those faces.”
Faces that seemed to say they would do anything for me today. Seeing the pure goodwill and respect in their eyes, I mirrored it with a smile of my own.
“Now, I’ll say this ahead of time.”
I spoke and I slowly opened the unguarded door.
“You have to protect yourselves. Because no one else is going to do it for you.”
Of course, even though I said that, I knew they weren’t the type to listen to such words.
***
As soon as the door opened, a vast area appeared before our eyes. I took the lead, stepping inside, while the priests in their white robes followed behind me.
A strong scent lingering in the air, but with divine power shielding us, neither the priests nor I were affected.
I watched with satisfaction as all of them remained safe from the potent smell, but as soon as we entered, numerous eyes locked onto us.
To be fair, a group like us was bound to draw attention.
“What the hell is this…”
“The temple? Why are people of the temple here!?”
“Look at their robe. A divine symbol…!”
The people associated with dark magic and orchestrating things seemed to have already anticipated our arrival and calmly reassured the nobles.
…Were the nobles hostages?
“Reneben.”
“…I know.”
They probably thought that as long as the nobles stayed put, we wouldn’t be able to move rashly.
After all, priests were gentle and kind-hearted and would hesitate to be harsh to those fighting against them and even those who rejected their god.
“Wait, that hair color in front…”
“No way…Impossible!”
“The Saintess? Is that actually the Saintess!?”
However, they had miscalculated.
“Oh god, what do we do?!”
“How…How is she here?!”
The former Saints were role models for everyone. They cared for all and spent their time embracing people with kindness. Compared to them, you could say I…
“Quiet down.”
…was very different.
“It’s getting a little too noisy. Can I get some silence in here?”
If I were any other Saint, I would have been flustered the moment I saw them taking regular people as hostages. And obviously, things would eventually move in the direction they desired.
I glanced around, roughly estimating the number of people present. There were quite a number of people, but it wasn’t beyond my capacity. I had enough power to cover everything here with divine power even if something exploded right now.
As I was scanning the nobles, I managed to spot a familiar face. Two faces seemed to be from the Empire and one of them was a face I knew.
“Looks like Countess Demirdin.”
Reneben whispered to me, and I gave a small nod.
Then again, there’s no reason why imperial nobles couldn’t come here.
Come to think of it, it was a good thing no imperials were here when Alois and I came earlier. Otherwise, they would have recognized my face, and my identity would have been immediately exposed.
“Countess Demirdin.”
I called out to her, thinking to myself that we were really lucky.
She was probably trying to avoid eye contact and her face turned deathly pale. All nobles of the Wesleyan Empire knew my face.
While she trembled and tried to squeeze herself behind other people, I approached her with a friendly smile.
“It has been a while. This is our first meeting since that party, isn’t it?”
“…T-T-That is correct…Lady Saintess.”
I stood in front of her and purposefully spoke to Countess Demirdin, even as she refused to look at me.
She stuttered through her words and the moment the word ‘Saintess’ left her mouth, a wave shot through the crowd.
Even though they already knew, it acted like a trigger and the murmurs began to grow louder.
“I’ll skip the ‘How have you been?’ since…it seems you have been doing just fine.”
As I took a step closer, the strong smell of drugs wafted toward me. Drugs that were definitely harmful to the body, yet the smell was so intense..
Every time we met in the past, she tried to cover it up, but I noticed the spots under the clothes and this time was no different. The drugs clearly weren’t agreeing with her body.
While clicking my tongue internally, I tilted my head.
“But, Madam Demirdin.”
“…Yes, Your Holiness.”
“What were you doing here?”
Once I said that, she wasn’t the only one who began to panic.
* * *
There was a small cabin next to the gambling playground of the nobles.
He had sent someone to investigate before they came to the country, but they had found no signs that it was occupied.
Because of that, he assumed it was just a resting place and did not report it to her.
“Now then, let me take care of all these nuisances before Her Holiness arrives.”
However, when they passed by earlier, he felt the presence of five to six people, so it was not just an ordinary cabin.
Frankly, if it was just some presence that he felt, he could have dismissed it but once he saw the faint black barrier covering the cabin, his suspicions were confirmed.
He took out a small watch from his pocket.
It looked like an ordinary watch, but a closer look showed that the hour hand was frozen.
“Pardon my intrusion.”
Breaking through a barrier was simple. You only had to possess greater power than the one who set up the barrier.
With the watch in hand, he stepped forward and a loud bang rang out.
That alone was enough to capture the attention of everyone inside the cabin.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
As soon as he stepped inside, sharp gazes locked onto Alois. The man at the front strode toward Alois, his words tough, but Alois simply lowered his eyes lazily.
“Haa…Sorry but I don’t have divine powers so I can’t kill you.”
“Hah?!”
He moved the watch’s frozen hand to the 1 o’clock position and continued.
“That said, I can damage you.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the man’s body burst into flames. Only then did the others, who had been lounging around, feel threatened and scramble to their feet.
“You look like old men…I suggest you don’t overexert yourself. You see, this watch is an artifact crafted by the most powerful mage on the continent.”
He mumbled, turning the watch sideways
“There’s very little chance that a bunch like you can deal with an artifact made by a Archmage.”
The tension of the people in the room was palpable.
It was that simple.
However, to eliminate them, to make them unable to use dark magic, divine power was absolutely necessary. Because of that, priests or paladins who didn’t have such power, always had a hard time facing such beings…
Of course, it wasn’t as if the temple didn’t have access to artifacts like this.
However, the people of the temple never wanted to harm others. Thanks to that, they turned something so simple into a challenge for themselves.
“Ah…I think Lady Emilone is going to scold me for this.”
Of course, dealing with dark mages was never that simple.
After all, they had forsaken their humanity for this strength, and that strength alone was formidable.
“Unfortunately, you’re not leaving here without getting a little hurt.”
The man who had been burning, put out the flames and in a flash, he was back to his original state.
Seeing that, Alois let out an indecipherable sigh.
“Maybe I should worry less about getting scolded.”
Advanced chapters available on Patreon.
- Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 118 - July 15, 2025
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 3 - July 15, 2025
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 2 - July 14, 2025