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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Ally
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“Hey. You know me, right?”
Instead of answering, Jeremy looked down at the jewelry box resting on his bare abdomen.
Then he raised his head again and met my eyes.
“……”
“……”
“…My head.”
A low, yet not deep, voice echoed quietly through the prison.
Standing beside me, Victoria bit her lip hard.
“I had no choice. It was the only way to subdue someone who was trying to kill me.”
“You hit me twice even when I was unarmed.”
“……”
Dame Victoria, if you can't hold it in, just step outside and have a good laugh. You're going to tear your lip at this rate.
“Fine, I admit I hit you a few times. But I'm not going to apologize. It was all necessary.”
“Yeah, I know.”
His unexpectedly compliant answer made my eyes widen.
Jeremy was still bound in chains, his limbs shackled.
His face showed no trace of anger, irritation, or shame. It was just endlessly calm and serene.
“You know?”
“Yeah. I was unconscious, yet aware.”
Ah, I see.
Though he was being controlled by the Great Sea God, his will stolen, he remembered everything.
“I also know that you saved me.”
“……”
When I didn't answer, Jeremy glanced at me nervously and quickly changed how he addressed me.
“…You? Ma’am? …Ah, Saintess.”
Right, he's trying to read my expression. This was a completely unexpected situation.
“Every time you, Saintess, hit my head with this box, my self-awareness grew a little stronger. That's why I'm leaving it like this now.”
Jeremy gestured with his eyes toward the jewelry box on his abdomen.
I wondered why he was treating the thing that cracked his skull like a sacred treasure. It seems he realized it was his golden lifeline.
“But what helped the most was your divine power, Saintess. I remember everything, how you tried to save me even while coughing up blood.”
Jeremy bowed his head to me, careful not to let the jewelry box fall.
“Thank you.”
With his limbs bound, it was the best expression of gratitude he could offer.
“And I'm sorry for attacking you. But I wasn't trying to assassinate you. Could we clear up that misunderstanding?”
He added, hesitating…
What's this? He seems a little… dopey. Wasn't he supposed to be the silent type who protected the female lead from the shadows in the original story?
Why is he so out of it now? Did I hit his head too hard?
“If not assassination, what was your intention?”
While I was speechless from the discrepancy with the original story, Seth asked in my stead.
He was still gripping the hilt of his sword, unable to let down his guard.
“Just kidnapping. My mission was to abduct someone who knew the details of what was happening in the Sun God's Grand Temple.”
“Is kidnapping not a crime?”
“…I'm sorry for trying to kidnap you.”
Jeremy apologized again, his face thoroughly dejected.
When he was being controlled by the Great Sea God, he was expressionless, and I didn't feel any guilt no matter how many times I hit him. But now, I felt a sharp pang of conscience, like I was a terrible adult bullying a child.
It was even worse because he was half-naked and covered in blood from his head.
“First of all, what's your name?”
“Jeremy Kals.”
It was the name I expected, and I nodded.
“Alright, Jeremy. What do you think of the Great Sea God?”
This was the watershed moment.
Victoria, who had lowered her guard slightly, and Seth, who was still glaring coldly at Jeremy, both listened intently.
His answer would determine his fate…
“A greedy, insatiable punk?”
“……”
“……”
“……”
What?
“A foul-tempered tyrant!”
“……”
“…A v-vicious and merciless ruffian.”
Jeremy's voice, which had been shouting with conviction, trailed off. He glanced at us, seeing our speechless faces.
“And, and…”
He was trying to continue, probably thinking we weren't satisfied.
It seemed he had misunderstood the intent of my question.
“No, I was asking if you revere the Great Sea God as the deity you serve…”
“How can I revere a piece of trash?”
Jeremy cut in before I could even finish my sentence.
It was the fastest reaction I'd ever seen from him. He wasn't even this quick when he was being controlled by the Great Sea God.
His sincerity was so potent that it even flustered Seth, who still refused to let down his guard.
“I can certainly see that you despise the Great Sea God.”
“How could anyone like a bastard like that? A guy who swore to crush me until I stopped resisting.”
Ah, I see. Now I understand.
The reason the Jeremy from the original story and the Jeremy before me are so different.
The Jeremy in the original story had been crushed by the Great Sea God for much longer than this one.
His personality in the novel was forged through another year of even more horrific experiences.
Just like Lute.
Thinking back, saving Lute and Jeremy was the best decision I ever made.
“Then you don't want to go back to the Great Sea God, I take it?”
“Of course. I'd rather stay locked up here. …But could you give me some clothes?”
Jeremy's eyes drooped, as if afraid I might leave him naked. For the first time, I felt sorry for stripping him of his clothes.
“Alright. I'll make sure you get meals, too.”
“Thank you.”
Jeremy bowed his head with a nod.
I stared quietly at his purple hair, matted and dirty with blood and sweat.
Then I spoke, as if whispering.
“If you make one promise with me, I might let you out of here.”
“Saintess.”
Seth called out to me, as if to stop me.
Thankfully, Jeremy had said he wouldn't return to the Great Sea God, so Seth was willing to wait and see, but his voice carried the firm resolve that he couldn't just be released.
I raised a hand to silence Seth and then asked Jeremy.
“Have you ever thought about leaving the Great Sea God's temple for good and becoming a follower of the Sun God?”
“……Huh?”
“I'm asking if you have any intention of completely abandoning the Great Sea God you despise so much.”
My demand flustered Seth and Victoria.
I guess telling someone to abandon their god sounds a bit radical to such noble and devout followers.
But what does it matter? The Great Sea God isn't the one we worship, and this kid hates him enough to call him trash.
“I'm not really a fan of gods in general.”
Perhaps because of all he'd suffered at the hands of the Great Sea God, Jeremy showed his aversion.
My face brightened.
“So you're okay with abandoning the Great Sea God, then?”
“I'd do it if I could. But the curse is still in my body, so I can't escape.”
Even after I made such a fuss and poured so much divine power into him, the curse is still there?
[50% of the curse still remains in the body of ‘Jeremy Kals.’ The user’s current divine power is insufficient to remove the remaining curse.]
Half.
To think that what I managed to erase, risking my own life, was only half of it.
And that was even after using the God of Oblivion's holy relic to perform the exorcism.
No, wait. Is it actually impressive that I managed to erase half of a god's power with my pathetic divine power?
“Did you just say… a curse?”
Seth asked then. His blue eyes were shaking violently.
“The Great Sea God's divine power that you hold… is a curse?”
Yes, the truth about divine power that no one else but me knew.
“I told you. The god crushed me for resisting. He wrapped his divine power around my body, controlling me and using me as he pleased.”
Jeremy let out a sneer at Seth, who, unlike him, was beloved by his god.
“If not being able to control your own life or death isn't a curse, then what is?”
Neither Seth nor Victoria could speak.
The shock must have been greatest for Seth, who had insisted that those with divine power were dangerous and should be executed immediately.
I stepped in before the atmosphere could grow any more serious.
“But that curse won't last forever. We've already stripped away half of it with the power of two other gods.”
I patted Seth's shoulder and looked at Jeremy.
“If I keep working at it, the day will come when you're completely free from the curse.”
“Saintess.”
“…Of course, I've used up a lot of my energy, so it'll be difficult to free you right now.”
Don't glare at me like that, Victoria. I know I need to take care of myself, too.
Besides, even if I wanted to sacrifice my own body to free him, I don't have enough divine power.
I'll have to try again after my divine power gets stronger.
And for that, I'll need a lot of money.
“Jeremy. As you know from what just happened, I, the Saintess of the Sun God, can remove your curse. So you won't want to leave my side, right?”
“Of course not. Honestly, I'm fine with you keeping me locked up here.”
“Have you ever thought about giving those bastards from the Great Sea God's side who tormented you a good, swift smack on the back of the head?”
Jeremy's eyes widened. Seth and Victoria also stared at me, as if asking what on earth I was planning.
What am I planning?
“I, too, have a major grievance with the Great Sea God's faction for daring to send an assassin—no, a kidnapper—after me. I have no intention of letting this slide.”
So, let's put on a little show.
