༺ Estelle Hadassa El Rath (7) ༻
The war against the Tower of Mages ended with a very one-sided victory.
The Curse of Macha that fell on the entire archipelago with the budding seeds rendered all the male mages useless, and the large group of Hresvelgrs dropping off elite squads behind the enemy ranks allowed for a swift victory amid all the chaos.
Finally, we also managed to capture all the mages that were trying to escape and defeated Adelene the Great Mage of Gold, and Dun Scaith, one of the King’s subjects.
『Dun Scaith, Great Mage Adelene』
※ Difficulty: A++
※ Reward: Even distribution of 160 points
-Aura Rank Increase {Low} -> {Very High}
-Mana Rank Increase {High} -> {Very High}
-You have obtained Ether Comprehension
-You have obtained Battlefront Flag Bearer
“Huu…”
The rewards for defeating Dun Scaith and Adelene were very sweet.
-You gain an instinctive understanding of magic structures
-You are the symbol of the battlefield. You are the brightest flag bearer of every war and a central figure that must not fall.
-You will be at the center of attention during a war. Your stats will change depending on your ally’s faith.
-All your allies will become psychologically anxious if you fall.
“…”
Both of them were passive skills that I had seen in the game. Ether Comprehension was a great skill for every mage and Mr. Park had it in the last iteration as well.
『It makes it easier to cast without a chant.』
That was the gist of the skill according to him but… would I have any use for it?
Well, it would probably come in handy one day.
Next on the list was Battlefront Flag Bearer… which adjusted the player’s stats depending on their reputation.
The allied soldiers would have higher faith if the player had a higher reputation level, which would result in higher stats, but the soldiers would fall easily if the player were to fall during a battle.
It might sound like a double-edged sword, but in truth, because wars heavily depended on the player and the war would end in a loss if the player fell anyway, there was practically no risk to it.
“I guess I’m slowly starting to become a monster as well.”
As a reward for defeating Dun Scaith and Adelene, my Aura and Mana Ranks had gone up to Very High. Above this was going to be in the realm of ‘Unique’, which referred to the superhumans that far exceeded any ol’ regular human.
The bare minimum of all the scenario boss characters was that they had to be at Unique Rank for something.
Hua Ran with her Unique Aura Rank was an example, and so was Marie with her Unique Mana Rank.
The All-powerful King of Beauty, Eochaid Bres had Unique Rank for both Aura and Mana, and the same went for Tates Valtazar. On top of that, Tates was a monster himself who had the buff from Precepts so the minimum threshold I had to reach was Unique Rank at both Aura and Mana just like him.
Being at the Unique Rank for both Aura and Mana was at a level that far exceeded the realm of humans, and there had only been three such monsters to my knowledge.
Final Boss, Tates Valtazar.
King of Beauty, Eochaid Bres.
Park Sihu.
Radiant Light, Sun, and a Transcendent.
Each and every one of them was a true monster that had reached those unprecedented realms. And I was about to set foot into a glimpse of that future… In fact, I could even say that I was partially in it already.
“Well, higher stats aren’t going to be enough though.”
Right before the final war, Park Sihu should have definitely had higher stats than Tates Valtazar. Tates, with his Precepts undermined, would have most definitely been at a disadvantage compared to the player.
Despite that, Tates came out on top whereas Park Sihu lost the war.
That contrasting result was evidently not in correspondence with their difference in stats.
“Korin! I finished sorting everything out!”
I was putting my thoughts together when Marie walked into my tent.
“How did it go?”
“Un! We managed to bring all the captured mages over to our jurisdiction! Officially, they will be under my care though. Is that okay?”
“Of course it is. How many were there again?”
“457! Quite a few of them died, but we still have 2 elders and 6 professors.”
“That’s pretty good.”
The attack on the Tower of Mages this time around had been approved by the Kingdom for unlimited plunder. I stole all the herbs and elixirs that were being treasured by the Tower of Mages, and on the other side of the spectrum were human resources.
Actually, in the last iteration, we even hired some workers to take all the items we could from the Tower of Mages but… material possession? We had no need for that with Marie on our side.
Giving up on chasing after artifacts and items, we focused on acquiring human resources during the war by collecting all the neutralized male mages of the Tower who were under the effect of the Curse of Macha.
“Hehehe. 457 mage slaves huh? What a prize.”
“Boiling stews for all of them is going to take too much time, so I think I’ll just give them blood.”
“That makes sense.”
The reason we even bothered to boil a stew with her blood when transforming them into ghouls in the first place was to give them pain during the process, so there was no need to do that for 457 of them.
But 457, huh? I was thinking how taxing it would be to produce all that blood, but that was when Marie said with flushed cheeks while twisting her body from embarrassment.
“So, Korin… for the next few days, I think… I need your help in producing fresh blood.”
“Ah, right.”
Supplying that much blood for the mages was going to be extremely challenging for Marie, so that was definitely something I had to help with.
“As quickly as possible would be nice…”
-Gulp!
Although we had been doing it quite regularly, now that my relationship with Marie was starting to progress a little bit, this bloodsucking action felt slightly different.
When sucking blood… Marie tended to press down hard with her chest, to the point that I could hear the sound of her heartbeat. That wasn’t the end – there was also the sheer amount of physical contact, and how she licked the wound after sucking on it hard.
“Uhh… I do have some time now.”
“S, shall we get started then?”
Looking back, Marie was never reserved when it came to sucking blood. Right when her sharp fangs were about to dig into my neck…
“What are you doing?”
“Huhp!?”
Hua Ran reached out with her hand, which Marie ended up biting instead of my neck.
“Uhkk…!”
Marie frowned as if she had bit on a piece of rock but without paying any attention to that, Hua Ran nonchalantly positioned herself between Marie and me.
“Hi Hua.”
“Un.”
Now that Hua Ran was here, it was hard for us to do anything because it wasn’t something I could show off to other people. It was a little bit embarrassing so I decided to change the topic.
“By the way, where have you been until now, Hua Ran? No one has seen you for quite a while, you know?”
“I came out as well back then.”
By ‘back then’, did she mean back when we were pushed out of the magic circle by Dun Scaith?
“I was trying to find you, but couldn’t. And it became noisy so I came.”
Was that how she joined during the fight against Balor?
“Looks like you were able to hide from the mages somehow.”
“…Un.”
I thought her only talent was in crushing and destroying everything, but surprisingly, it seemed that she was also talented in hiding herself.
“By the way, what brings you here?”
“…The Saintess wants to see you.”
Estelle? Was it something about the war? Or were they going to give me a prize for saving Estelle, the Princess, and Saintess?
Standing up, I was about to head to the temporary tent where the Saintess was, but that was when a pink-haired beauty walked into mine.
“Hello, Junior.”
Estelle visited the tent with a happy smile on her face.
………
……
…
The achievements made by the Korin Guardians in this war were, needless to say, spectacular. However, that didn’t mean that it was politically a wise decision to meet one-on-one with the Saintess, the 1st Princess of this Kingdom and the psychological pillar of the New Faith.
It was related to her safety, but also her prestige and status.
However, Estelle shook off all the priests who were trying to dissuade her from a one-on-one conversation with me.
“Fufu. How does it feel to become the hero of this country?”
“It’s not something that monumental.”
“Are you embarrassed? I like heroes though?”
Estelle had a bright smile on her face, endlessly pouring out goodwill. I suppose that was natural considering how we slept together under one blanket.
“Kuhum…!”
It might have seemed indecent, but it was all for survival, after all.
“You know how my sacred energy was sealed. I found the cause.”
“Huh? Really?”
Estelle looked around before putting her hands together and closing her eyes.
“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent, and who may live on your holy mountain? Live blamelessly, do what is righteous, and speak from your heart. Despise the eyes of the vile people.”
The moment she finished her prayer, a scared light began to wrap around the tent. Divine energy… the so-called sacred power was not too different from the divine energy that resided in Claiomh Solais and Undry. That was because the true identity of ‘sacred energy’, was the energy of ‘divinity’ that was left behind in this now god-less land.
In the end, the sacred power and energy of all the religions in this world came from the divinity of the Danann. Not only was this difficult to prove, but it was also bound to create a lot of chaos so I wasn’t going to reveal it to the public though.
“No one outside will be able to hear us now.”
“What is this going to be about?”
“First off… let me start off with gratitude. Junior Korin, thank you so much for saving me.”
Her voice sounded a lot more warm and relaxed compared to how she was in the Steel Archipelago. She must have regained her composure.
“I hope there are more rewards on the way.”
“Fufu, don’t worry. There will be a reward from the royal court, but as for the order… it might take some time because it could get a little busy.”
Was something happening at the New Faith? To be fair, the Saintess was kidnapped so there were probably a lot of issues that had to be dealt with.
Estelle was the psychological pillar of the order and the true leader. In fact, her status as the Saintess was like a cheat code.
The pope was elected by humans whereas the Saintess was chosen by god, and it was therefore obvious who the scale was leaning towards.
It was only because Estelle herself wasn’t interested in that side of things that Pope Sicarri Iscariot, the ‘Defector’, was able to have full control over the order before the final war and combine forces with the Old Faith later down the line.
The defectors of the New Faith… It was about time that I begun dealing with those who wanted the Advent of Paradise among the New Faith…
“There’s a traitor within the order.”
Her voice suddenly turned cold as she dropped a glistening golden rosary on the desk.
“What’s this?”
“An item that absorbs sacred energy – it’s what the Inquisitors use when punishing priests.”
I see. I was curious how they managed to seal the sacred energy of the Saintess, but that explained things. This rosary was also touching my body at times, and that seemed to be why my mana… or rather the divine energy of Claiomh Solais had been sucked out.
“It’s going to get busy now. I have to return to the order and deal with all the rats.”
“Hmm…”
I pondered to myself for a bit. How much of the truth should I share, and would she believe me, even if I were to tell her the truth?
Although she was like a delinquent as a believer, that didn’t subtract from her faith and sincerity. As someone who had lived her entire life as the Saintess of the New Faith, it was highly unlikely for her to readily accept the truth. Therefore, I decided to say it in a roundabout way.
“Saintess.”
“Nn?”
“When you’re carrying out your investigations, go through the cardinals as well. They must at least be at that level to take out an item like this for personal use.”
“No, that can’t be.”
It was a clear-cut refusal. Without her usual mischievous expression, she said while looking at me with an unwavering gaze.
“All the cardinals are faithful believers who have verified themselves with sacred energy. If they had evil thoughts in mind, they wouldn’t have been able to become a cardinal, and any traitors would have been discovered already since cardinals need to regularly use their sacred energy.”
Unfortunately, she was firm in her belief that none of the current cardinals were like that, using sacred energy itself as the evidence.
We couldn’t start a religious debate about the origin of sacred energy. Having a discussion like that with a believer was going to be meaningless after all.
“Now, let’s stop the serious talk there, Junior!”
Estelle clapped once before continuing with a smile on her face.
“You know, we are a lot closer now, so should we talk casually now?”
“Pardon?”
Weren’t you speaking casually the whole time…?
“Calling me Saintess is too cold, isn’t it? You can call me ‘Noona’ from now on. Come on. Say it. ‘Noona~’. Come on, Korin-dongsaeng.”
“No. I will be arrested for lese majesty.”1ED Note: French for an ‘offense violating the dignity of a ruler who represents a sovereign power’.
“It’s fine. You can’t bring social status into the Academy. That’s the rule, right?”
She suddenly sat right next to me with a cheeky smile on her face. What the heck was wrong with her all of a sudden?
“By the way, you wanted a kiss after saving me, right?”
“Uhh… N, not in that kind of way. It was just something I blurted out because getting a kiss from a real princess is like a dream…”
“I’ll give you a deep one so prepare yourself.”
What was with this sudden aggressiveness? She was gazing up into my eyes with a provocative smile on her face, and I just couldn’t look straight into her eyes.
At this rate… I was going to fall into that mischievous pace!
“Excuse me? Can you look at me when I’m talking?”
“Like, you see. Umm… What I meant was like how you would say, ‘Knight Korin. I bestow upon you knighthood,’ tap the sword on my shoulders and make me kiss your ring… Something like that, okay? I don’t need one on my lips, and maybe my cheeks if anything…”
“Ehem!”
A soft finger blocked my mouth. After efficiently shutting my mouth, she brought her face closer to mine.
“It’s your reward for saving me, Dongsaeng.”
-Gulp!
When I returned a nod, she slowly got on my lap.
-Haa…
Her cheeks were flushed in deep red, and a warm breath reached my face along with her scent.
It was sweet.
Unlike Princess Miru’s decadently sticky yet sweet fragrance, Estelle was sweet like a peach. If Miru was like honey that stuck on your body, Estelle was like a soft peach that would easily allow a bite.
“Khmm…!”
I gave an empty cough, which slightly rolled up her sacred outfit that was touching my thighs. It barely even went up by 1 centimeter, but even that small exposure was nauseatingly erotic.
Slowly, her lips came closer with their bright ambiance. Her body scent that I didn’t have the time to take in back at the Steel Archipelago, despite our proximity due to being preoccupied with survival, was astonishingly provocative.
As if she was embarrassed after a long-held eye contact, she turned her grass-colored eyes away with a deep blush.
“Close… your eyes.”
Saying that, the Saintess also closed her own. When I closed my eyes to respond to her wish, I started to vividly feel our breath coming closer, and… our lips came together before long.
Her lips felt very soft. Unlike my rough and blistered lips, Estelle’s were soft and fluffy.
Our lips were starting to turn moist. Our lips separated for a bit, which was soon followed by something digging into my lips. It went past my teeth, mixed and intertwined with my tongue. Touching the roof of my mouth was something hard and… wait, hard?
“Huh?”
“Hehe.”
When I opened my eyes again, I found Estelle gazing down at me with a smile on her face. Her moist lips were already far away from my own, which meant that the thing inside my mouth was…
Estelle pulled her finger out and mischievously poked my nose with her thin, wet finger.
………
“Damn it.”
“You naughty boy. You’re also a man, aren’t you?”
“…”
“Were you thinking about something else? You were, right? Your face is so red! Do you want a mirror?”
“Come on! Saintess, you…”
“I told you to call me Noona.”
“How can I do that when there are rules in place?”
“In the order, I’m the law and the rule. From today onwards, Korin-dongsaeng is to call me Estelle-noona! Bang! Bang! Bang!”
“This is an abuse of power…”
Regardless of my comment, she squinted her eyes and closed the distance again. Leaning closely into my ears with her peach-colored lips which had been on mine just a while ago… she ticked my ears with a whisper.
“Did you know? Unlike the Old Faith… we allow marriage for priests and sisters.”
With a rather devilish smile that didn’t suit her name as the Saintess, Estelle licked her lips.
“Let’s… continue with the rest after we’re even closer, okay? Korin-dongsaeng.”
“Please stop teasing.”
Be careful with your words, Noona.
***
Estelle could still vividly feel the lips that had been on hers, as she reflected on the memory from a few days ago. She was back at the order after dealing with the kidnapping incident.
“Fufu…”
A warm red flush appeared on her cheeks since it was her first time.
“He was cute.”
At times, she looked back and thought to herself that maybe she could have given a bigger reward. However, the reason she couldn’t do so back then was because her heart had been beating so fast that it almost exploded.
That was after spending several days in the Steel Archipelago with her body right next to his. It was her first time being in physical contact with a male for that long, so she ended up being way too conscious of him.
“That should have been enough of a reward.”
Of course. Who is she? She’s the 1st Princess of the Kingdom and the one and only Saintess of the order, right?
But of course, he had the right to receive a reward that big. Even apart from the oh-so-precious first kiss of the Saintess, he was going to be receiving a reward from both the Kingdom and the order.
‘I guess I can see him again at the capital.’
She planned to return to the capital city before the end of the summer holidays, so she decided to see him again then.
“Saintess. It’s time to see His Holiness the Pope.”
“Alright.”
Before that, she had to deal with the rats within the order first.
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