Chapter 67
The taste of the filthy soup filling his mouth.
He spat it out immediately, but some had already slipped into his mouth in the panic.
"Th-this is some novel assassination attempt......"
But something was off.
Vitality was slowly returning to his sweat-drenched body.
The children checked his complexion and soon scanned the surroundings.
"You look a bit healthier. Good. Next."
That was when the flustered Belkuan tried the remaining soup.
*'The magi is really disappearing?'*
The kids' next target was the vice-captain.
He wore an absurd expression but, being on the verge of death, couldn't resist.
"Before dying, getting to see the captain's slapstick comedy—should I consider this lucky, or, cough, hack......"
Then Lirid appeared. This boy had quite the affinity.
"Try it. No poison!"
He even lifted one hand and stirred the soup around.
At that moment, Belkuan spoke up.
"Vice-captain."
"Yes."
"Try it once. This soup is weird."
......No, even the captain thought so? Even after seeing this food waste?
But strangely, looking into Lirid's sparkling eyes made his mood oddly warm.
"Try it!"
*'Why am I convinced? Why does it feel so cozy, like talking to a spirit sorcerer?'*
Was it because he was dying?
As White Knight Order captain, he'd seen countless monsters.
So he knew.
No matter how snake-like the guts of the monster hybrids opposite him, they couldn't fake that.
They couldn't fool him.
"Well, last service before dying, for some kids......"
He chuckled and shoved the orc-flavored soup into his mouth, swallowing.
But there was one thing even he hadn't anticipated.
*'......What the hell is this. It's truly the world's most disgusting taste. A dream?'*
It was garbage beyond even describing as sewer water.
Even on the brink of death from magi erosion, his face flushed red.
"That means it tastes bad!"
"Don't worry. Even adults are picky with side dishes XX. Nothing to be ashamed of."
"No, it's not pickiness!"
The five's sparkling gazes stung his profile.
And moreover......
"My body's feeling strange."
"Pardon?"
"Normally I'd be vomiting magi right now, but it's not coming up."
A cool sensation settling in his stomach.
The changes grew stark with each spoonful.
*'It's like my soul is getting nourished.'*
He devoured the food like melting snow, too focused to mind the kids' stares.
The other knights followed suit, one by one.
Then, the door creaked open slightly.
"A-all done?"
The five monster hybrid musketeers turned to the doorway in unison.
A silver-haired, purple-eyed little girl stared at them.
"Hiya-mikka!"
Iri had seen the knights, thinking they were done for anyway, roughly scraping down the soup.
"Who......?"
"Uh, h-heh. Can't tell you-mida. But purification, it's happening-mida......!"
The little girl made an "oh no" face and stomped her foot.
"A-anyway, you're healthy now, so time to disband-mida!"
A cute, mumbling voice.
*'Feels like a familiar face.'*
As the knights exchanged puzzled looks, Karhen raised his hand.
Instantly, a cold chill dominated his mind.
"From now on, you'll be confused about everything you saw here. Bewildered and flustered, unable to remember what you witnessed."
But the sensation in that voice was anything but ordinary.
The moment their minds felt jumbled, the ten knights who had consumed the <Orc-Flavored Soup> dropped somewhere with a thud.
* * *
Belkuan came to his senses and sat up.
His body, which he'd resigned to death, felt strangely light.
And he wasn't the only one sensing it.
One by one, they awoke and spoke.
"Everyone......"
The vice-captain picked up.
"Bodies okay?"
They'd been served some incredibly bizarre food.
After experiencing the magi draining from their bodies.
Now they were opening their eyes in another space.
"But you know, I can't exactly remember that person's face."
"The one who gave us food, same person, right?"
"Seems like it."
But strangely......
*'Why can't I remember their appearance or build at all?'*
But one thing was clear.
They'd heard the rumors too.
About the great purification sorcerer who summoned the spirit beast to the North.
"Our bodies being purified......"
"Yes, only one possibility."
The nameless great purification sorcerer had intervened.
Belkuan murmured in a trembling voice.
"......We survived."
But then, the vice-captain muttered.
"But there's something else weird."
"What?"
"Why does my breath smell so bad? Like I ate something I absolutely shouldn't have. Damn it!"
* * *
After confirming their purification multiple times, the ten knights' first act, led by the captain, was to return to Ghost Castle.
"N-no, how......"
"Isn't that the White Knight Order captain?"
"Belkuan-nim!"
Being treated like ghosts by the people of Ghost Castle was quite the novel experience.
"A miracle happened."
And their tale spread in colorful variations.
But one thing remained constant.
The fact that their savior was the same great purification sorcerer who summoned the spirit beast to the North!
"Of course it's the same person. Who else could imbue purification power into something!"
"How insanely powerful must they be?"
"Looks like that one will save the North!"
From the mouths of the ten White Knights, then the people of Ortejo Castle, their story flowed like an oral legend.
Even in Gis's mercenary band.
"I'm telling you! I saw the purified land with my own two eyes."
In Helen's purification sorcerer group.
"Land that clean is rare even in the imperial palace. Truly an amazing person."
Even in the Magic Tower, many were curious.
"That person has come! They've descended to the earth!"
Reactions varied wildly.
But Iri paid no mind to such responses.
Because......
"I'm so excited I couldn't sleep!"
"Wh-why, why?"
"We did it! Huh?!"
The excited Seraphin had woken early and come to Iri's room.
*'Now that I think about it, we might get caught.'*
As she worried, Cookie sent a cheerful telepathy.
[Hehe, this guy's got an effective way to seal kids' lips.]
Cookie pulled a note from her pocket.
Iri trusted Cookie, so she casually picked it up.
"It's from that person! The grand magus or purification sorcerer or anyway, that amazing one."
Calling herself 'amazing' felt super embarrassing, but anyway, she handed over the note.
Seraphin's eyes widened upon reading it.
[Ahh, thank you, my little comrade friends.
Our 'brave journey' is a secret among heroes.
If word gets out we teamed up.
The 'final black curtain' villain will come for revenge.
Keep it our secret.
Remember it forever.]
Indeed. The Cookie here was a 'growth aid summon'.
Specialized in fulfilling children's need for recognition!
