195-189 Rumors

When I left the room after talking about the Wind Spirit and Ssanglong, I found that it was a storeroom that was called the Magic Book Room.

I was surprised to find that the real grimoire was actually a forbidden book room, but I decided to return to my room, but the wind spirit called out to me.

''Luciel, if it's your current master, will you allow me to enter this room?''

'I don't need it now. I didn't come to Nerdal here to seek power.

Oh, I see. So we're going back to earth?

I have a few things that are bothering me, so I guess that's when it's resolved.

If I could help you, I would.

''Well then, there's one thing. If this Nerdal is something similar to a labyrinth, the previous labyrinths always revealed a magic stone like nucleus and a magic circle of return when the dragon was unleashed from the seal, but this time there was no such thing.

"Hmm, what's your concern with that?

'The magic circle of the return is fine, but if you touch the nucleus that looks like a giant magic stone, the evil gods will appear, so I advise you to never touch it if you are going to a place where it is likely to be.

"...and even if we do find them, we'll make sure that no one can get to them.

Please.

The wind spirit started to get into some thoughts, so I headed to my room.

When I left the grimoire, the hallway was dyed orange.

'Evening... come to think of it, I'm getting hungry.'

I made my way to the dining room instead of my room.

'Let's make something simple... or better yet, now that I can do the cleansing, I can dismantle it and get it a little dirty.

Since this would be my first dish since the Holy Attribute Magic was restored, I arrived at the dining hall wondering what to make, and here were some unexpected people waiting for me.

It was Countess Elinus Mainlich of the Duchy of Brange, who owed me money until recently, and her attendants.

''Master Luciel, where have you been for the past few days?　We had an emergency and we've been looking for you for a long time.

She seems somewhat flustered, but she's always like this that we meet, so I decided to ask her what she wanted first.

''Excuse me, I had to hunker down for a bit... what's the emergency?''

Then the three of them seemed very hard to say, and I wondered if they had come to borrow money again, but was it just the other day that they were happy that their research had gone well, or was it just a wet dream?

However, the words that came from the Countess made me stop thinking for a moment.

''That... well, it seems that such a rumor is circulating in the home country that Luciel-sama has been punished by God and that her job as a healer has disappeared and she can no longer use holy attribute magic, so I was told to find out the exact information.''

The problem was not the divine punishment for the S-class healers or other trivial things, but rather the fact that the disappearance of jobs and the loss of the ability to use holy attribute magic, even if it was a rumor, was known in other countries.

It's because three months have passed since I arrived here, and it's usually impossible for other countries to know about it.

Furthermore, the fact that only a few people know about this is one of the reasons why I stopped thinking.

Who in the world?　I was almost trapped in a whirlwind of thoughts when I noticed the Countess watching me in front of me, and I wondered why she had come to ask me directly when she was supposed to be ordered by her home country to find out about me in the first place.　I'll ask him about that.

'Well you said you were going to explore it earlier, right?　If it was an order from your home country, why did you give it to me directly?

Then the young lady smiled and opened her mouth as she handed the leather bag to me.

''I don't want to repay you for your kindness. Thanks to Luciel-sama, the results of my research have been proven and I will be able to stay in Nerdal again this year. Oh, here's the money I owed you. Thank you very much.

........It seems that he wasn't just a thick-skinned, unfortunate person.

Apparently, he might have been in quite a dire need at that time.

He didn't seem like a person who valued righteousness at all, but he apologized in his heart for making that decision.

''Well Nadia and Lydia told me, so if you want to thank them, you can tell them when you meet them. For that matter, where the hell did you get that information from?

So, um, so you really aren't a healer anymore and can't use holy attribute magic anymore?

Without mentioning the source of the information, he looked at the disappearance of the healers and whether they could or could not use holy attribute magic with a very uneasy gaze.

There seemed to be only genuine concern there.

''It's true that I am no longer a Healer.

''I've told the home country that it's not true, but what's the timeline for being able to use Holy Attribute magic?''

He looked despairing at my words and immediately asked me if I was on the verge of being able to use the holy attribute magic.

''You can use it.　Middle Heel.''

I smiled and activated my middle heel on the countess.

I was a little concerned about her rough hands and skin as she continued her research, so I decided to heal her as an appeal for her to be able to use holy attribute magic.

Unlike earlier, both the countess and the two people who were squires seemed somewhat relieved.

What the hell are these people, I wonder?　With that in mind, I decided to put in my ears if there was any other information.

''........Is there any other information you're interested in?''

We have information that a demon has been seen in the Duchy of Brange. And I heard that you requested a squad of holy knights to be sent over.

Speaking of Holy Knights on an expedition, are you Lumina and her team?　It would have been a matter of being dispatched before.

But the question was whether Lumina-san and the others would be able to fight the demon race and win.

''Is that information also recent?''

'Yes. This story also happened 3 days ago. I've been wondering if we are the only country where the demon tribe has appeared, and I've been talking to the researchers, but it seems that the appearance of demons has been reported in many countries.

Although I feel uncomfortable about the Holy Knight's move, the nobles probably don't want to die either, so they've already hired mercenaries and private armies, and since Duchy Brange has an army, the association won't be moving immediately.

But still, the demon race........

''Then the damage is done?''

No, they've only heard about the sightings. It's just that word is getting out all over the place. The ground seems to be getting nasty.

I see...

Once you take a deep breath and clear your head, you can sort through the information.

At a time like this, if I don't prioritize and move, everything will take a back seat.

The first people who know about the annihilation of the healers and the inability to use holy attribute magic are the masters who were there, Lionel, Keti, Kefin, Nadia, and Lydia.

Other than that, the Pope.......and Catherine?

I don't want to doubt it, but there's no doubt that the information was leaked from someone else.

If this was a negative campaign, the church would be in a mess again.

If this is the enemy's goal, if I were in the position of commanding the demon tribe, I would gather information on the areas where the demon tribe hasn't been able to produce any results.

If that were to happen, they would naturally seek out information on me, who could be their natural enemy.

If there was information on the possibility that the holy attribute magic can't be used, would they blend in with St. Schurur's Church in order to confirm it?

Or even releasing a secret agent to bring back information... Just thinking about it, I realize that with a transformation ability on par with Mr. Orford's, I can do anything.

I might make her fight the demon race and gauge how much strength the church has.

If this was a strategy to reduce the number of holy knights as much as possible, then the real target would be the St. Schuler Cooperative State, but since we can't grasp the substance of the enemy, we still need information from the ground.

Well, if the demon tribe attacked, of course I would be contacted... Oh, no one knows that I became a wise man from a healer and became able to use holy attribute magic again.

If you're a force that's going to get in the way even if you're there, the chances of you being contacted are slim to none, right?

You know what?

When I think that far, I realize that I've forgotten about the Countess again.

''Is that Luciel-sama heading to the ground?

I don't want to fight, or get involved in a conspiracy, or have my life threatened, or anything like that, but I still have something I want to protect, too.

Well in that case, you can have this one.

Presented to him was a single decorated dagger.

'What's this?'

'Blood takes precedence over everything else in the duchy. This will be my guardian sword as a countess, and no family below the earl's lineage will be qualified to command anyone who possesses it.

"...isn't it very important?

Yes. So please come back eventually. I'll keep it so Nadia and Lydia won't feel bad about it.

I don't know if I'll ever be in Brange, but I'm grateful for your help.

I look forward to seeing you again.

Yes, sir.

The three of them left the cafeteria as if they had done their business.

"I never thought there would be a time when I would be happy to have saved your life back then... Well, for now, let's just think about what we should do from now on while we make the meal.

He decided to fill his belly first and hoped to avoid a battle if possible on the ground.