Luna loses her words and buries her face in both hands.
(A thin book means——could it be ‘that’!?)
The manga the Saint-sama worked so hard to draw——a doujinshi.
An ambitious work in which she had even dared to challenge slightly spicy developments.
(A-abababababababababa——!)
Her head runs fever-hot as if it might boil over, and yet at the same time cold sweat will not stop pouring down her back.
The extreme mental overload has thrown her autonomic nervous system into complete disarray.
“Tselli-san! My doujin——the thin book, is Wembley-dono still in possession of it!?”
“Y-yes, most likely. The sacred relic is the Saint Faith’s greatest treasure——the Pope should be keeping it on his person at all times.”
“Is that……so……!”
No matter what, by whatever means necessary, by whatever method available——she has to secure Wembley’s person.
Receiving his master’s extraordinary agitation, Zel fires off a thought via <Transmission>.
(Saint-sama, what on earth is the matter?)
(Wembley-san has an extremely high probability of possessing one of my dark history items. And it sounds like a particularly dangerous piece……!)
(Dark history……? Ah, you mean the one from that.)
Having heard the general circumstances, Zel nods in understanding.
(Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any signs that Wembley-san has been spreading the doujinshi around……. Before it gets reproduced and distributed like the Red Book, before those Divine-Demonic Union Sect people get their hands on it——I have to recover it quickly……!)
Having set her highest-priority mission, Luna moves immediately into action.
“So, where is Wembley-san right now?”
“Most likely being held captive in the innermost depths of ‘Tenrou Mountain,’ the Divine-Demonic Union Sect’s stronghold.”
“I see. Then I’ll just pop over.”
With a light step, as if heading out to run an errand, she starts toward the entrance——and Tselli hurriedly calls for her to stop.
“P-please don’t——! Silver-sama is the absolute shield that protects the Saint-sama! If anything were to happen to you, the Saint-sama would be in danger——!”
She tries with everything she has to stop Silver in order to protect the Saint’s safety.
Tselli’s faith is extremely strong, and persuading her would be extraordinarily difficult——but.
From all the exchanges so far, Luna has come to understand how to handle her, and without hesitation she uses the ‘cure-all.’
“There is no need to worry about me. And besides, the Saint-sama has said: ‘go and rescue her faithful lambs.'”
“——!”
In that instant, large tears flood from Tselli’s eyes.
(Wh-what a merciful heart……!)
What Luna actually wants to rescue is the dark history, and Wembley is being helped as a side-item given the old debt——but Tselli, knowing nothing of this behind-the-scenes reality, is enveloped in joy unlike anything she has ever felt.
(You really don’t need to cry that much, do you……?)
As the Saint-sama is inwardly backing away, Leticia, who has kept quiet until now, speaks up.
“Silver-dono, if you are going to Tenrou Mountain, please do take this Ramza with you.”
“Ramza-dono?”
“Yes, he is first-rate as a scout as well. And above all, Tenrou Mountain is near the Godba Territory, so he also knows the land. I am certain he will be of use.”
“Oh, and what about <Heaven’s Board>?”
<Heaven’s Board> is a mid-order detection magic.
Luna can technically use magic herself——but she is not good at fine magical energy detection, and Zel is not particularly skilled at it either.
“Ramza has mastered practically every high-order spell, and <Heaven’s Board> is no exception.”
“That is impressive. Having you along would be most helpful.”
Just as the conversation comes together, Ramza raises a quiet but firm objection.
“Leticia-sama, if I leave your side, there will be no one to serve as your guard……”
In the previous war, Leticia was kidnapped by Natasha.
Taking that lesson to heart, Ramza is currently serving as her full-time personal bodyguard.
“It’s fine. I’ll stay quietly inside Godba Castle.”
“But in case of the unexpected……!”
No matter that it was his master’s express wish, he could not bring himself to agree to leaving her side.
“Hmm……”
Watching the exchange between Leticia and Ramza out of the corner of her eye, Luna asks something that has been on her mind for some time.
“Speaking of which, Leticia-dono——is that robe Fiona’s……?”
“How knowledgeable of you. This ‘Heavenly Feather Robe’ is a secret treasure of Godba, bestowed by the great high priest Fiona-sama, one of the legendary Saint’s party. It is the formal dress that has been passed down through the Lindria family, imbued with powerful protective magic.”
“However, it appears to have already lost its power.”
Leticia smiles faintly and gives a small nod.
“The power that resided in the Heavenly Feather Robe——Fiona-sama’s magic——was lost in the current generation. But it doesn’t matter. Thanks to that, I was able to meet someone irreplaceable.”
“L-Leticia-sama……!”
Ramza clenches his fist hard and bites down.
The Heavenly Feather Robe had lost its light solely because of his own failure.
(If I had not stabbed Leticia-sama, her body would still be protected by the great high priest’s magic……!)
There is nothing that can be said now to change the past.
But the ‘thorn’ born from that event remains lodged in the depths of Ramza’s chest, asserting a dull and persistent ache.
“I see. Then perhaps we can do this.”
Silver says this and gently touches the robe.
“Umm, well……?”
The moment Leticia tilts her head in puzzlement, a torrent of sacred magical energy surges forth, and the robe reclaims its former radiance.
“Could this possibly be——!?”
“As compensation for borrowing Ramza-dono, I have replenished the robe with my magical energy. Even if Leticia-dono should find herself in danger, Fiona’s magic will come to her aid.”
“That’s——wonderful——thank you so much!”
Leticia’s face breaks into a warm smile as she offers her thanks.
The robe of great high priest Fiona, strengthened with the Saint’s immense magical energy.
Should anyone attempt to harm Leticia, a defensive magic of fearsome power would be triggered.
“Silver……my gratitude.”
Toward Silver, who had wiped away his own failure, Ramza expresses deep thanks.
“No, no, it’s nothing much at all.”
As Luna laughs magnanimously and Leticia and Ramza beam with happiness, Zel alone quietly grimaces.
(Th-this quantity of magical energy……this is far, far too much……!)
The transfer of magical energy is an extremely advanced and delicate technique.
For the Saint-sama, who possesses below-planktonic magical technique, this is something entirely beyond what she should be capable of.
In fact, the magical energy Luna has placed in the Heavenly Feather Robe far exceeds the prescribed amount Fiona had set, and is in a state of being about to burst at any moment.
Should some form of impact cause the magical energy to detonate at an unlucky moment, an explosion without precedent in history would result——and the world map would be rewritten.
Of course, both Leticia and Ramza have noticed the robe’s abnormal magical energy——but their strong trust in Silver is working against them here, and they are letting it pass with ‘if it’s something Silver is doing, it must be fine.’
On top of that, the Saint-sama herself is looking quite pleased, with a face that says ‘nice work.’
(The robe appears to be maintaining a stable state for now, but……is it going to be all right……?)
As Zel breaks into a cold sweat, Luna clears her throat.
“Well then, we are heading for Tenrou Mountain. Leticia-dono, please use this <Otherworld Gate> to return to Godba Castle.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“Tselli-san, would you wait here, please?”
“Yes, of course.”
With departure preparations in order, Luna——
“Shall we go.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
——sets out for Tenrou Mountain, accompanied by her loyal retainer Zel and scout Ramza, to recover her dark history and save Pope Wither while she’s at it.