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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: The Price of Stubbornness
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There was one difference.
Yesterday, I had simply tapped his head with the holy relic. Today, I was in constant contact with Jeremy as I poured divine power into him.
So, if I just kept pouring in more divine power, more blessings, it would surely work.
“Cough, hack!”
Blood kept trickling from my mouth, but it was a small price to pay to save a life. It wasn't like I would die from bleeding a little.
[Warning!]
[The curse of the 'Raging Sea' and your divine power are clashing excessively! Continued attempts may shorten the user's lifespan! Immediate cessation is advised!]
“...”
Nope. I could actually die.
So, to break a god's curse, I had to offer up my own lifespan, was that it?
You think that’s enough to make me give up?
When it comes to stubbornness, I don't lose to anyone!
“Sun God. If I die like this, you'll be in trouble too, won't you? So if you want to live, go grab the Great Sea God by the hair and tell him to let the kid go!”
I gritted my teeth and poured out even more divine power. It felt like blood was now streaming from my nose as well as my mouth, but I didn't care.
If I didn't save him, he'd live his whole life as a slave and eventually die. How could I just turn away from that!
“So just hurry up and snap out of it!”
I pressed the jewel box down with my knee instead of my hand, and with my now-free hands, I cupped Jeremy's cheeks.
Then I scraped together every last bit of my divine power—barely over 10%—and poured it all in.
*Hurry, hurry! Please!*
The moment I poured out the very last drop.
Pop!
“Ah.”
With the sound of something bursting, something trickled down from my eyes and nose.
No, was it just my eyes and nose? My whole face was wet.
Everything was stained red.
Beeeeep.
A ringing filled my ears, and at the same time, the strength began to drain from my hands.
No, I still have more to do...
“...Huh?”
I was about to stumble and collapse. But I saw it clearly.
“...”
A pair of very clear, distinct, and incredibly beautiful pink eyes, focused and staring right at me.
[The Great Sea God's curse has been partially broken!]
I smiled at the system message that followed.
In the end, I won.
Thud.
Was it because I knew I'd succeeded? I couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed sideways.
Clang!
I heard the loud clash of metal right beside me, but I didn't have the strength to lift a finger.
This was the first time my body hadn't moved as I willed it since I was dying in my past life.
But this time, I didn't struggle to move. Unlike then, I wasn't going to die.
[The user's body has reached its limit. Forcing a shutdown of consciousness to ensure smooth operation.]
Looking at the final system message, I closed my eyes.
“Saintess!”
A familiar voice called out from far away.
* * *
“Hey, are you dozing off while I'm talking to you?”
With a *smack!*, my vision snapped into focus.
“...Huh?”
Confused by the sudden situation, I blankly looked around.
It was a cafe with quiet music playing. In front of me sat an iced Americano filled with ice.
I watched the droplets of water roll down the side of the cup before lifting my head.
My eyes met with the beauty sitting across from me, a woman with long, straight black hair.
Sharp, almond-shaped eyes, pleasantly full lips, and a beauty mark under her eye that was both alluring and made her look fiercer.
So beautiful she could have been a celebrity, she was none other than my childhood friend, Joo Hyun-jin.
“Eh?”
“What do you mean, 'eh?' Were you really dozing off?”
Hyun-jin's face twisted into a scowl.
I always think this, but it's a real talent to make such an expression with such a pretty face.
“I guess so. I must have nodded off.”
Just then, a sharp pain shot through my eyes. It felt like needles were pricking them, and I quickly covered them with my hands.
“Ah, why do my eyes suddenly hurt so much?”
“...Does it hurt a lot?”
Hyun-jin asked softly, as if she'd never scowled at all.
“I can see fine, so I'm probably just tired.”
“That's what you get for trying to become a detective!”
Hyun-jin slammed her hand on the table. I quickly lifted my drink to keep it from spilling.
Right, this was why we met. I remembered now.
“Are you really going to be a detective?”
From the moment I said I wanted to be a detective, Hyun-jin had been vehemently against it. When I said I was going to the police academy, she'd cursed me out rapid-fire for hours.
Why would you want to do such a dangerous job, she'd asked.
*'If you want to do such a rough job, just join the army instead!'*
I didn't know what the difference was between a cop and a soldier in her eyes, but anyway, that's what she'd said.
“Yeah, I am.”
“You stubborn brat.”
At my firm reply, Hyun-jin gulped down her coffee.
That's a hot Americano. Is her throat okay...? Does her foul temper neutralize the heat?
“Everyone calls me a tough bitch, but if you ask me, you're worse.”
Instead of denying it, I just shrugged.
Hyun-jin had always been as fierce as she looked, even as a child. That's why I was her only friend.
I, on the other hand, wasn't picky, so I got along well not only with the ill-tempered Hyun-jin but with everyone else too.
But when I got stubborn about something, I had a side so tenacious that even Hyun-jin would get fiercely annoyed and give up.
“But thanks to that, you and I became such close friends, didn't we?”
It was because of this stubbornness that I became the only friend of Hyun-jin, who pushed everyone away as if she didn't want to get close to anyone.
“...”
Hyun-jin didn't respond. She just glared at me as if she were angry, then suddenly shot to her feet.
“Where are you going?”
“...To buy cake!”
“Bwahahaha!”
I burst out laughing as she left me with just those words and scurried to the counter.
She didn't even like sweets, so she was clearly going to buy a cake for me.
Other people would ask why I was friends with such a foul-tempered girl, but if they saw her like this, they wouldn't be able to say that.
Even if she had a bad personality, if she was good to me, she was a good friend.
I watched Hyun-jin standing at the counter, ordering cake with a militant air, and smiled happily.
* * *
The Saintess had collapsed.
Bleeding from all seven orifices, no less.
Victoria, who had seen Saintess Ordel collapse after going to the assassin's prison cell, still felt a chill in her heart.
“How is the Saintess's condition?”
Victoria had carried her straight to the bedroom and immediately called for Airic.
He, with the strongest healing powers in the Grand Temple, was her only hope.
“...Her body has taken quite a bit of damage, but it's not serious enough to be a major concern. She should be fine as long as she rests for a while.”
Airic said with a grim face, holding Ordel's hand to check her condition.
Victoria breathed a sigh of relief at his words that she wasn't in danger.
“That is a true relief. I should have gone sooner... If I had been any later...”
“...”
Seeing Victoria blame herself, Airic neither comforted nor blamed her.
She had done nothing wrong.
Whether Victoria had been there or not, Ordel would have done what she wanted to do.
One could tell just by how she'd broken the lock and gone inside when she wasn't given the key.
*'So reckless.'*
Airic gazed at the sleeping Ordel.
When he had first seen Ordel lying on the bed, his heart had plummeted.
Ordel, pouring blood from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
He knew she was determined to save the assassin, but he never imagined she would be this reckless.
If he'd known this would happen, he would have insisted on killing him somehow.
*'...No. Even then, she would have gotten what she wanted one way or another.'*
The reformed Ordel had changed in many ways, from top to bottom, but one thing remained the same: her stubborn nature. No, it seemed to have gotten even worse.
And in this Grand Temple, there was no one who could win against her stubbornness.
“She is merely sleeping right now, so do not worry. She will wake up once she recovers her strength.”
Airic patted Victoria's shoulder and stood up.
He had finished all the necessary healing; it was time to leave so the Saintess could rest comfortably.
“By the way, how was that man? The assassin in the prison.”
As he was about to leave, Airic asked Victoria about something that had just occurred to him.
The assassin Ordel had tried to save, even to the point of coughing up blood and collapsing.
Had she really saved him? Or had she failed?
*'If she failed...'*
Airic's eyes narrowed as he thought of the assassin who had caused this whole incident.
“Ah, that man.”
“...”
“Well, his reaction was... unexpected. It was quite surprising.”
And at Victoria's following words, his eyes widened.
