CH 213

Back when Aracelli was still in the Vivienda Empire, the reason she could get her hands on a ‘dragon scale’ was much more trivial than I thought, so it wasn’t helpful for our current situation.

‘There are rumours that my ancestor, Archmage Rinekal, interacted with dragons. Some history books say that she learned magic directly from dragons, but I’m not sure about the authenticity of those claims… Anyway, there was this one dragon scale which was passed down from generation to generation.’

Absolute perfection.

That was the property of a dragon scale. It was harder and tougher than the skin of any living creature, and it was a magical object which could conduct mana better than any existing material. Since one scale contained such an extraordinary effect, I dare not imagine just how great the dragons were.

‘Come to think of it, I think there was a world related to dragons…’

The system had said that just as the human race was the same in all the worlds, dragons were also the same race in all worlds. It means that the dragons of Vivienda wouldn’t be much different from the dragons of Ascanta if they did exist.

“So, Mr. Adventurer, are you looking for a dragon?”

In the northwest of the Ascanta continent, there was a strange forest called ‘Silent Forest’.

In this place, no living creatures made any noise. The chirping of the birds, the roars of the animals, and even the whistling of the insects couldn’t be heard. Even though this place was not devoid of the living, not even a sound of their presence was heard. After wandering for a week inside the forest where the sound itself was the enemy, Araceli and I were finally able to meet a hermit fairy wizard hiding in a valley deep within the forest.

The fairy wizard with gray-white hair with pointed ears was rumoured to have been alive for at least three hundred years. He clicked his tongue when he saw us.

“Again, adventurers chasing behind vain dreams. A dragon is not something you can meet just because you want to meet one.”

“What does that mean?”

“Human history books are full of strange nonsense.” He scoffed.

From what I know, dragons live by building fortunes. They dominate all the monsters in the mountain range, like treasure, collect all kinds of rare things, threaten dwarves, and sometimes go out into the world just to play.

However,

“It is all a lie. Dragons are not like that.”

All these ideas were shattered. I know that all worlds must follow clichés. If so, dragons should also follow the cliché, therefore, their characteristic should be one amongst the things listed above.

<Hunter Yoo Seodam, not all beings need to follow the cliché.>

‘What did you say?’

<For example, you didn’t follow the clichés of the world even though you are human>

‘Yeah, but that’s because I’m a protagonist hunter, isn’t it?’

<That’s right. However, dragons are great beings who were born with the ability to deny clichés and probabilities while immersing themselves in one’s ‘story’. So, you shouldn’t use common sense when thinking about them.>

‘Hmmm…’

The more I heard about them, the less my understanding was about the existence of dragons. Beside that, a question bloomed on the back of my mind.

‘Why was the dragon scale preserved even through dimensional shifts?’ 

No other material could be carried through Aracelli’s incomplete dimensional travel. Only one was possible: dragon scale.

‘Just what is the real identity of the dragons, I wonder…’

Anyway, in the end, I concluded that it was impossible to find a dragon in Ascanta. It was because I couldn’t even find a clue about dragons even though I had traveled for about three months while the ‘tower’ was being built. Well, it wasn’t necessarily a wasted trip since I gained a lot of rare materials. But still, I couldn’t help but feel regretful.

“First of all, thank you very much.”

“Yes, young man. The dragon is no longer in this world, so give up looking for them, and enjoy your life.”

“…?”

With the hermit wizard’s meaningful words, we set out on our way out of the forest.

* * *

After travelling all around the continent, Aracelli somehow became famous amongst the mass as a ‘Cleric’. Even if wizards had no divine power whatsoever, they could still heal some simple bruises or detox some poison with mana alone. But high-ranking wizards could go beyond that level and even perform a surgery if they had a lot of medical knowledge. Unlike healing through divine power, which purely regenerates and repairs wounds, the treatment done by magic was very systemical, similar to modern medicine. 

As a battle-hardened Archmage, Aracelli naturally had a lot of medical knowledge on top of magical knowledge. Therefore, whenever she met wounded adventurers or sick villagers while venturing through Ascanta to build the tower, she generously healed them. However, it was not purely because she had a generous heart, it was because the mana circle would grow faster as she consumed mana to heal people.

Thanks to that, her double circle finally reached the 2nd stage. And due to Yoo Seodam’s nature that ventured into all kinds of remote areas, Aracelli was able to meet a lot of people and patients… As a result, Aracelli’s title escalated from ‘Cleric’ into ‘Saintess’ instantly. 

If you ask if it’s a good thing, Yoo Seodam would answer ‘no’. It was because the place they were currently at was the Holy Palace of Elia Church.

Elia church was second only to the two empires which had the most power in Ascanta. It was not an exaggeration to say that 50% of the people in this world were members of Elia Church. So, it was not far-fetched to say that they had the most influence in Ascanta. And in their rank, they had the real ‘Saintess’.

This Saintess, who rarely reveals her face to the outside world because she rarely engages in outside activities, was the one who was truly recognized by God and had abundant divine power.

“…are you, ‘Saintess Araceli,’ who is adventuring with the Hero Yoo Seodam?” The Saintess, Lenica said as soon as Yoo Seodam took Aracelli to the dining room after receiving the invitation from the Pope. 

Neither the expensive red wine nor the mountain banquets could change the mood of the ‘Real Saintess’ Lenica. She was upset beyond words, and she found the fake Saintess sitting opposite her was so detestable.

“Yum.”

However, Aracelli didn’t even pay any attention to her and only sliced ​​the steak that was laid in front of her and put it in her mouth. Naturally, as the successor of the great Rinekal family, she used elegant dining etiquette which did not go well with her ugly clothes. It probably didn’t have any meaning other than a habit that was ingrained to her body.

“Are you ignoring me?”

“Yes? No. The food is delicious.”

“Sigh… Are you not ashamed at all lying to people by impersonating a Saintess?”

Saintess Lenica glared at Aracelli with her venomous gaze. Until now, she had never met or heard someone who dared to use the title ‘Saintess’. Did she know how hard it is to get the title of Saintess? Did she know that she had to prove her worth amongst all the purest women recognized by God to get the title of Saintess?

How dare such a beggar, whom she had never heard of until recently, impersonate her title?

But Aracelli really had no idea.

“What am I supposed to do when people call me that?” She replied calmly.

“What?”

Lenica tried to refute that brazen remark, but Araceli spoke in a passing tone. “People call me that way because I took care of the injured, healed the sick, and listened to their concerns. I didn’t know you had to have a license to do it, so I apologize. But I swear I never once called myself a Saintess.”

“…” Lenica bit her mouth, and didn’t say anything. She was aware that she told the truth. Aracelli had never once titled herself as a Saintess. It was just a title which the mass gave her derived from the fact that she had done so many kind acts. But Lenica hated her so much, enough to the point she would rather die than to acknowledge it.

Lenica thought that it was too dirty and messy outside the church, and full of dangerous things. She really hated to venture into a place where monsters, robbers, murderers and demons existed and she did not like to touch dirty patients. The reason she got the title of a Saintess was because she just wanted to live the most comfortable and luxurious life.

Looking at the battle between the two women, Seodam let out a sigh. In fact, rather than a fight, Lenica was the one who was one-sidedly angry, while Aracelli was just chewing the steak without any care. Nevertheless, it was still burdensome to watch.

“Hero… It’s already late, I think it will be best for us to rest.”

Yoo Seodam, who was grateful to his words, bows deeply towards him before leaving the dining hall with Aracelli. Well, not leave, more like fleeing.

* * *

At the same night. A black mist crept into a very small gap in the Holy Barrier that surrounded the Holy Church. Eventually, the fog split into two figures. One figure had a horn on its right forehead, and one had a horn on its left forehead. Although the two were two different entities, they were one at the same time.

“Right… There is a problem.”

“What is it, Left?”

“Didn’t the Demon King tell us to kidnap the Hero’s companion?”

“That’s right. And the Hero’s companion is just that one Saintess.” The one with a horn in its forehead spoke. “And right now, the Hero is training at the training ground. This is a great opportunity, Left.”

“That’s not the problem, Right.” The one called Left stood on the highest point of the church steeple and looked down at the ground. The barriers and walls of the church were not a problem at all for him because he had the vision of the ‘great demon’ who could see through any obstacles unobstructed.

“There are two saintesses.”

“What!?!?” Right shouted as his face clearly showed confusion. “There are two saintesses? I have never heard of such a thing!”

The two demons were quite powerful great demons, so they did not appear in the front often and only worked under the shadow, executing Demon King Kim Diablo’s order. However, a few days prior, they received a summon from the Demon King and were ordered to abduct the ‘Hero’s companion, the Saintess’. Common sense dictated that there could only be one Saintess in one generation, so they recklessly entered the church, and the rest was history.

“What should we do? Left.”

“What do you mean what should we do?”

There was only one way, anyway.

“Kidnap both the saintesses and return.”

* * *

At dawn, Aracelli, who was sleeping alone in a luxurious room called ‘The White Rose Room’ opened her eyes and waved her hand in the air aggressively.

Tuk!

“…!!!!”

The clouds that covered the sky slowly drifted away, letting the moonlight shower the night. The great demon ‘Left’ felt his breath suffocate for a moment.

‘Ju-just when?!’

Still lying in the bed, Saintess Aracelli had her blue eyes wide open. As if she hadn’t slept at all, her bright eyes seemed to have known their approach in advance.

“It’s been awhile since I met a demon.” As her mouth parted open, white cuts began to appear on the wall of the White Rose Room. Seconds later, a huge golden cog appeared and began to turn. The small light pillar protruding from there kept trying to take away Left’s power.

‘Hey, this is…!’ Left couldn’t resist. At that moment he realized that the Saintess in front of her was the real one. However, the moment he thought of that, he felt a chill of death creeping closer towards his soul. In an instant, all of his magic power was gone, and Aracelli smiled at him.

“From this moment, if you open your mouth without my permission, you die.” Saying so, Aracelli got up from her bed, folded the blanket, and pushed both her hands towards Left.

“Then shall we continue? Kidnap me.”

Left couldn’t quite comprehend the situation, but since he didn’t want to die, he had no choice but to follow her orders.