-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Recharge Fee is Separate
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“But don't all holy relics possess different abilities? Duke Ciel must have a specific ability in mind. Will it be alright to give him something else?”
“I know what ability he wants. The Duke told me when we were alone.”
After giving a vague excuse, I crouched down, wrapped the broken necklace fragments in my handkerchief, and placed them back in the jewelry box.
I destroyed it with divine power, so its function is probably broken too, but leaving it here in this important holy sanctuary felt a bit unsettling.
I should take it up and burn it to ashes.
“By any chance, do you know which holy relic is closely related to healing?”
Healing.
At my question, Seth made a strange expression. It seemed he never imagined Lute would need such an ability of all things.
“…Healing is a powerful authority, so I understand that it's not easy for even the High Priest to create a holy relic with it.”
Still, hearing he wanted healing power, not something like wealth or influence, he looked visibly relieved.
“As far as I know, the only thing that contains the power of healing is a divine relic.”
Items imbued with divine power are largely divided into divine relics and holy relics.
Divine relics are made by the gods themselves and bestowed upon humans, while holy relics are crafted by humans who possess divine power.
Naturally, divine relics hold far greater power than holy relics and are much rarer.
That's why no Grand Temple would ever carelessly part with a divine relic, let alone a holy one.
“Please lead the way for now.”
The divine relic was located in the part of the sanctuary where the Sun God's light shone most directly.
Three divine relics rested upon a pure white marble altar, shining dazzlingly in the light.
“The one in the middle is the divine relic containing the power of healing, ‘Aurora.’”
Aurora was shining with indescribable, iridescent colors.
The eye-catching, teardrop-shaped gem exuded a completely different atmosphere from the ‘Holy Relic of Light,’ which felt like it was dragging you into a murky swamp.
Infinitely calm and serene, as if it brought peace.
Yes, just like a real aurora.
“It's beautiful.”
As if entranced, I walked over and lifted the divine relic.
It wasn't flashy in appearance.
It was a simple necklace with a chain attached to the iridescent, teardrop-shaped gem.
And yet, it stood out far more than the incomparably ornate Holy Relic of Light.
【The user has come into contact with the divine relic 'Aurora.' The skill 'Blessing' can be used on this divine relic.】
Perfect. I was about to smile unconsciously at the system message I'd been hoping for when…
【However, the user's current divine power is insufficient to bestow a permanent blessing.】
Can't bestow a permanent blessing? Then how long does it last?
【The blessing's effective period is one month. It can be reapplied after one month.】
So the blessing is rechargeable?
Well, that's not so bad.
I needed to find a way to make Lute visit the Grand Temple often to completely win him over as an ally anyway, and now the perfect excuse has just fallen into my lap.
“Let's give this to the Duke.”
“What? But Saintess, a divine relic is…!”
“Very important, I know. It's fine. The Duke is just as important to us as a divine relic.”
Of course, he's important. If you knew the future, you'd be urging me to give Lute the divine relic right now, no questions asked.
Because in the original story, Seth gets gravely injured fighting Lute after he's completely consumed by the villain.
An injury so deep he'd suffer from its aftereffects for the rest of his life.
See? I wasn't kidding when I said it was important to bring Lute to our side.
“The day will come when you understand my choice.”
I gave Seth a sweet smile, and he moved his lips for a long moment as if to speak.
In the end, instead of trying to stop me, he faithfully followed my command.
“I'll speak to the High Priest, so you don't need to say a word, Captain of the Holy Knights.”
【Activating skill 'Blessing.'】
【A blessing imbues 'Aurora,' the divine relic of the 'Sun That Crawled Out of Death.' The divine relic now exhibits even greater power.】
As I infused it with the blessing, Aurora's gem began to shine with an even more brilliant light.
And with that, a one-month temporary blessing-item was complete.
* * *
“I've brought the item you wanted.”
Returning to the drawing room, I handed him the divine relic, which I had brought neatly packed in a box.
Airic and Lute's adjutant, Yuri Polton, must have still been sorting the money, as Lute was alone in the drawing room.
Perfect. I have to get this over with quickly before Airic shows up and stops me.
“This is…”
Lute bit his lip after opening the box and seeing the necklace.
He was even more shaken than when I had demanded two thousand gold.
“I've also imbued it with my blessing. You know how precious a Saintess's blessing is, don't you?”
I made it painfully obvious that it was worth the two thousand gold.
Lute could only stare blankly at the divine relic, unable to even bring himself to hold it.
“Are you worried it won't be effective?”
I had intentionally kept Seth out, not knowing what might happen when he held the divine relic, so I asked comfortably.
“…Do you have any idea how many years I've suffered from this goddamned pain? Twenty long years.”
I don't remember his exact age, but I know Lute is in his mid-twenties.
Does that mean he's been suffering this terrible pain since he was old enough for kindergarten?
Perhaps the reason he became so completely captivated by the pain-relieving effect of the Holy Relic of Light, losing both his body and mind, was because he had suffered for so long.
“No matter which Grand Temple I visited, no matter what potion I drank, the pain never subsided, and it was agonizing… Isn't it only natural for me to doubt whether this will truly be effective?”
“I suppose so. After all, if even this doesn't work, then nothing in this world can alleviate your Grace's affliction.”
I shrugged lightly.
“But that won't happen, so don't worry and just hold it. Do you know how much effort I put into this? I can't give you back the two thousand gold.”
You think I brought out a divine relic for nothing?
I might be able to do something about the thousand gold Airic took, but the Sun God has already gleefully gobbled up the two thousand!
There's no way to make him spit it back out, so this has to work, no matter what.
“Were you by any chance a back-alley hoodlum before becoming the Saintess? Your skill at extorting money is truly first-rate.”
“What did you say?”
I did this for his own good, and he's calling me a hoodlum? Should I take the divine relic back?
“Dropping to informal speech just because you heard something you didn't like. You certainly won't be taken advantage of anywhere you go. Far from it, you'd probably thrive even if you were stranded on a deserted island.”
As I glared at the divine relic, Lute snatched it up as if he'd never hesitated for a moment.
“Gah!”
At the same time, he clutched his chest and collapsed onto the floor beside the sofa.
In an instant, cold sweat drenched his face.
“Oops.”
I quickly went to his side.
The glasses perched precariously on Lute's face fell to the floor with a clatter.
His skin flushed red, and veins bulged on his temples and forehead.
He looked to be in immense agony and in considerable danger, but I didn't take the divine relic from his hand.
“It's okay. Don't be scared, just breathe slowly and deeply. The black stains on your body… they're shrinking, little by little.”
The gold and black stains scattered across his body.
The momentum of the black stains, which had been constantly growing as if consuming the gold, was now diminishing.
It's obviously working!
“*Haa, huuu…*”
Lute squeezed his eyes shut as if enduring the pain and breathed slowly.
It was crucial for him and the divine relic to resonate right now, so I didn't use my healing power and simply waited.
I'm not sure how much time passed. His ragged breathing began to even out.
Since I had used my handkerchief to collect the unsettling holy relic fragments, I had no choice but to roughly wipe away the sweat dripping down his face with my sleeve before stepping back.
Lute's silver-gray eyes were trembling minutely with emotion.
“…The pain.”
That one word was enough to understand his condition.
“*Hah.*”
Freed from the terrible pain for the first time in twenty years, he covered the corner of his eyes with a trembling hand.
I could feel his overwhelming emotion from the way his teeth were clenched, biting down hard on his lip.
“Thankfully, it seems you won't have to wander around searching for another solution. Congratulations.”
I patted his shoulder and offered a brief word of congratulations.
And with that, the future villain was gone.
For me, whose goal was to destroy the original plot, there could be no greater joy.
“It was truly worth coming all this way. The two thousand gold doesn't feel like a waste at all.”
“I'm the kind of person who delivers what they're paid for.”
Having calmed down somewhat, Lute picked up his fallen glasses and leaned his body heavily against the sofa.
The trembling in the hand that loosened his suffocating necktie had already subsided.
His breathing was steady again, and the trembling had stopped. I guess it's okay to say this now, right?
“For your information, the reason the holy relic is so effective is thanks to my blessing.”
“…Thanks to your blessing, Saintess?”
“Yes. If it were just the holy relic alone, it would have only been able to slightly alleviate the pain.”
I meant that would have been the case if this were the real Holy Relic of Light, so it wasn't a lie.
“So you're saying this is all thanks to you, and I should be grateful to you, Saintess.”
“Of course, there's that, but there's something more important.”
I tapped Lute's hand, which was clutching the divine relic like a lifeline.
“My blessing has a one-month time limit.”
“…What did you say?”
“If you want to maintain the effect, you'll have to come to me once a month to receive a blessing.”
Lute's mouth fell open in disbelief.
I conveniently omitted the part about it being due to my lack of power and delivered the most important fact last.
“And for the record, the recharge fee for the blessing is separate.”
This was definitely me holding a grudge because he called a former detective who used to beat up bad guys a hoodlum.
