CH 58

“Ah……”

<There’s none……?>

Water vapor that made a pushy-like sound spewed up, and the shape of Helverus became flat like a pancake.

Ugh. This is what a Hellfire looks like when it weeps loudly!

<Ellet, it’s so cute, how about giving it something. Huh?>

The question was what to give and before I could even roll my head.

<That’s too much, Farmer……you forget only Helverus’s gift….>

“No, no, there is!”

<Really?!>

“Yes, really. Wait a minute.”

I was able to think of something to give as a gift in time. I rummaged through the satchel and pulled out what was tucked away in a corner.

Ta-daa!

A heart-shaped fiery ruby ​​appeared.

The item came out after catching the Fire Demon Dragon on the 273th floor. The heart of the Fire Demon Dragon.

“Here.”

It’s the same fire type, so I thought it would be okay. I leaned forward and peeked at Helverus’s reaction.

<……!>

The sparkle in his flames grew stronger.

<Th-this is…!>

“Do you know what it is?”

<Fire Dragon! Fire Dragon’s Heart! If I eat this, Helverus’s gets stronger! Is this really Helverus’s gift?!>

“Yes. It’s yours.”

<Fa-farmer……!>

“Yes?”

<The farmer is the best! I love the farmer!>

Whoops!

That day, for the first time, I saw Helverus bursting into the sky like fireworks. I think it’s a reaction when he’s delighted.

Helverus, who returned to its original state, swallowed the heart of the Fire Dragon.

His flames grew in size and let out steam. 

<Kuhoo.>

“What do you think? Do you also have the energy of a dragon?”

<Hmm…I don’t know yet. Helverus will take a long time to digest this….>

“Looks like you’re overeating.”

<Whoaa, Helverus is so sleepy that I can’t stay awake…Farmer……I can’t fight sleep….>

“It’s okay. Good night.”

I scooped up Helverus with a shovel and carried it to the furnace.

“Then I will be on my way. Good job everyone.”

Clattering! Clattering! Clattering! 

I left the dungeon with the skeletons seeing me off.

Now that the business is over, I have to follow the original schedule again.

“Let’s go, Agnes.”

[<System> Do you want to go to the entrance to the 276th floor of the Tower of Trials?]

Time to challenge the next boss.

As soon as I opened the arch-shaped iron door and entered, a new environment greeted me.

Koworoung!

As the black volcano roared, a red, blackish eruption exploded. It soared to the gray skies and then rained down across the field.

Protecting my body with a barrier, I watched the black volcano.

The middle part of the volcano was hollow. Soon there appeared a reptile with golden bat wings.

[<System> The 276th floor boss of the Tower of Trials, The Greedy Lord Dragon, Empire, has appeared!]

<Kyooannnnghhhhhh!>

The air around the area trembled at the terrifying roar. But Agnes and I were apathetic.

<The demon dragons always greet with a loud mouth. I’m sick of it.>

“Let’s hang in there. The boss this time is called a Lord, so if we catch this, the Demon Dragon series might end for good.”

The Dragon Lord found me. Eyes with pupils torn vertically were tinged with greed.

<You foolish human, you came here on your own feet to expand this Lord Empire’s collection! If you give me all the precious things you have, I will take your life away without much suffering!>

(Note: Just in case, the Lord Dragon’s name is really Empire. lol)

“What do you mean?”

I was dumbfounded by the burglar-like choice of words, but I saw a mysterious scene.

From the hole where the lower part of the demon dragon’s body was buried, things believed to be gold and treasures were falling down.

Oh my, that hole is a Dragon’s Lair. That’s where it put his collectibles.

<It has a cute hobby, just like a squirrel.>

“Right.”

It was then. A very welcome message appeared.

[<System> The Tower of Trials guerrilla event quest will begin.]

[<Quest> Lord Dragon Slayer (Difficulty: S)

A special event is prepared for you, who has no luck with items! Defeat the boss and loot what you want.

Reward: Select 1 item from the Boss lair.]

One item option? That means….

“Whip sword!”

Right! I thought it was around time for the Tower to finally drop a whip sword!

<Oh my, you surprised me! What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?> 

“Agnes, don’t you think there should be at least one whip sword that I like in that demon dragon’s lair?”

<Oh, that’s right. It’s a treasure trove of a Lord Dragon, there must have been a collection of famous swords, right?>

“Good!”

My eyes burned with enthusiasm, and my training whip sword burned white with aura.

“Here we go!”

Both of my legs kicked the ground hard.

✠

While Ellet was practicing in the Tower of Trials, Thesilid fulfilled his mission as a stigmata.

This time, the stigmata were dispatched to El Torine, one of the major cities of the kingdom. It was a coastal city with many wealthy merchants.

An S-class dungeon sink occurred there. It was a disaster that would normally have taken hundreds of lives, but El Torine was lucky.

The name of the dungeon was ‘Sky Fortress of the Fallen Heaven’.

The sky was the main stage. As if to match this, the sinkhole appeared several kilometers above the ground, so the ground was relatively safe.

Merchants rejoiced thinking that this was all thanks to their usual large donations.

Although the disaster was avoided, the subjugation had to proceed.

The huge sinkhole that tore the sky was still open because it could not suck in its prey. 

Through the bizarre hole, a bewitching purple sky and a black floating fortress could be seen.

El Torine’s city council requested the Vatican to dispatch troops, and the denomination immediately sent a subjugation squad consisting of stigmata, three holy knights, and healers.

The subjugation went smoothly. Since more than a hundred people were involved, even an S-class boss could not last long. The Fallen Angel, the master of the Sky Fortress, was executed with holy stakes piercing its six pairs of wings.

The problem occurred when closing.

“W-why is that?!”

“No way, is it going to fall?!”

The sky fortress, which people thought to be permanently anchored in the purple sky, began to fall at a terrifying speed towards the gate.

It was a kind of self-destruct mode.

At this rate, the wealthy commercial city would suffer damage equivalent to a meteorite impact.

“Oh, pl-please do something, paladins! This will turn my house into a wasteland!”

“Even if you say that the dungeon has already been closed….”

“Wait, then, are you going to just keep watching? For what will you use the holy power you saved until now? At least hurry up and make a barrier around my house!”

“It’s no use. As long as you don’t deploy an ultimate barrier with an 8-level divine power….”

“Heck! Do you think I make donations to hear that?! These incompetent things!”

The merchants of El Torine got angry and broke the space transition stone to run away.

However, the citizens were not like the wealthy people who carried always carried a stone by default. Most of the stranded citizens felt hopeless at the intuition of certain death.

Then someone climbed the roof of the bell tower. It was Thesilid, a paladin with graceful hair and a holy white uniform.

‘Since closing has started, the durability of the fortress must be very low. It’s worth a try.’

He had reached the level of an Aura Expert.

In addition, he had bishop-level divine power that was raised by strictly following ‘The Commandments of the Seven Holy Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins.’

He raised both powers to the limit and activated them simultaneously. The combination of Aura and Divine Power took place.

“The Siege Spear.”

A huge lance made of sacred aura rushed towards the gate. The moment when the pole of light that seemed to burn the retina reached the sky fortress.

Kwagwagwagwang!

The building of the devil, which was penetrated by the ultimate anti-aircraft skill, was shattered.

Thanks to this, El Torine avoided the fate of being devastated leaving only an empty crater in its place.

However, the city was not without damage. It was because there was nothing anyone could do until the fragments of the sky fortress fell.

Buildings in the city collapsed and burned with debris that fell like rain. There were no casualties, but property damage was severe.

Following that, the El Torine City Council and the Vatican’s government bureaucrats, who usually fuss over money issues, steamed the sweet potato to a crispy state.

The two groups treated the fortress fall and the fortress fragments fall as separate events.

In other words, it was true that Thesilid prevented the destruction of the city, but it was also true that his actions triggered a catastrophic rain of debris. In addition to the fact that he did not wait for orders from his superiors and acted according to his will, Thesilid was disciplined.

As a result, upon returning to the Vatican, Thesilid suffered from hearings and was ordered to fast and repent for three days, pray for penitence for a week, and stay in prison for another fortnight.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Visitors came to the penance room, which was nothing more than a detention center.

It was two of his few friends, Hestio and Ephael.

“Why won’t I be?”

In his calm voice, Hestio ran his hands through his black hair, not hiding his annoyance.

“Even if you are being treated like this after doing a great job?”

“Think of it as a medal of honor.”

“Ha, really……”

“Hey, Hestio. He’s that type of guy. Better just let it go.”

“Yes, I almost forgot it for a second. Thanks for letting me know, Ephael.”

“……”

Thesilid once again looked back at his personality. The current situation had absolutely nothing to do with the ‘The Commandments of the Seven Holy Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins.’, which had always constrained him.

It was the result of acting solely according to his beliefs, and he did not feel bad because he was really honest in making that choice.

It was not that he was unaware of the evils of the bureaucracy.

He just thought that maybe ‘strict order and goodness’ recognized the situation and gave him discipline accordingly.

That was when Thesilid was trying to self-objectify.

Hestio and Ephael rummaged through their arms, pulled out something, and handed it over the metal grids.

“Hurry up and take it.”

“This……”

It was rye bread and milk. It was hidden for him, who could not drink a sip of water for three days as a punishment.

Thesilid blankly looked down at them.

“What? Are you not going to eat it because the rules are important?”

Hestio’s tone of voice showed his annoyance, but there was a strong sense of fear that Thesilid would refuse the food.

Thesilid laughed a little.

“No, I’ll take it, thank you.”

“……I thought I’d force it into your mouth if you refused. Well, hurry up and put it on your mouth.” 

Both watched while Thesilid was eating and Hestio sniffed out words of encouragement that might help Thesilid digest.

“Don’t be too down. No one can deny that you saved people.”

“That’s right. If the El Torine City Council didn’t make a fuss, the Vatican wouldn’t even do this……”

“Ah, well, Ephael. That’s not quite true.” 

“No?”

Hestio had a personality that he had to perfectly distinguish both right and wrong before setting down any type of conflict. Still, the flow of conversation changed to a story that interrupted Thesilid’s digestion.

“The Vatican must have been taking this opportunity to take it out on you.”

“Taking it out? On Thesilid?”

“Yes. I want you to listen carefully. It’s not the first time Thesilid has disregarded the discipline of the Order and acted independently, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. In particular, it wasn’t something unusual for every heresy judgment we came across.”

Thesilid responded with honest flinching and Hestio looked directly at him with a sigh. 

“Isn’t that the truth? You are probably the only one among the stigmata who has never killed a heretic.”

“…… ”

Of course, it was not something that could last forever. Thesilid’s eyes darkened.