Chapter 252: 133. An Extra Priest -2 (Part Two)
Translated by A Passing Wanderer
Edited by RED
This kid, she had grown a lot stronger while I wasn’t looking. Sure, that wonder drug could’ve had some effect on her, but it was most likely all of her effort paying off handsomely right now.
A once-in-a-generation talent, naturally-gifted physical prowess, and an unyielding drive – by having all of those things, Charlotte really did possess the natural disposition of a perfect Paladin.
I recalled the first time we met. “Weren’t we also in a similar position back then, too?”
When I said that, Charlotte flinched a little, then began smiling wryly. She got off me, stood up, and extended her hand to me. “Yes, we were.”
I grabbed her hand and stood back up.
I felt rueful. Actually, I was a bit unhappy, too.
I thought I’d be able to put up a decent challenge by using Kasim’s soul, but to think that I’d be this outmatched by her… and so overwhelmingly, to boot.
I stabbed the greatsword into the training hall’s floor, then loosened my aching muscles. While doing that, I glanced at both Charlotte and Hans.
The latter was walking up to her to ask, “How did you find the medicine’s effects, ma’am?”
Charlotte shook herself to loosen up, then spoke her honest impression, “Certainly… it feels like there was some kind of an effect. I feel that my body has gotten lighter, while my head feels clearer, as well. There’s also a noticeable improvement on my ability to control the divine power. However, I get a rather strong sense that it’s only temporary…”
“Although only by a little, the effects should overlap, ma’am. The effectiveness will only get more pronounced after some time has passed by. That I’m sure of!”
Hans continued to jot down on the parchment, looking clearly excited. Her testimony had indicated that, although small, she did experience some improvement.
After watching their interaction for a bit, I turned my head away to look at the bottles of gourds piled up at the side of the training hall. Every single one of them contained the plant sap that Hans had refined.
According to him, he’d need around a week to refine a single bottle. But the required time should be reduced a good deal if other Alchemists joined him to help with the mass production.
That all meant that our only remaining problem would be the existing reserves of the carnivorous plant’s sap. The quantity of that material was limited, and to procure it, one had to visit Titalos.
“Charlotte, it really did have an effect on you, right?” I turned my head and stared at her.
She nodded vigorously, as if energy was overflowing inside her. “Yes, Your Highness. There definitely was an improvement.”
Even her voice indicated how pleased she was. I had no idea that she’d be a fan of sparring to this degree. It seemed that from now on, I better humour her every once in a while.
I put the gourds away.
A new task had just landed on my lap: raising up an army.
I headed back to Count Jenald’s office.
Since he was currently confined to a prison cell, even if it was a temporary measure, all management authority had been automatically handed over to me.
After I arrived in the office, I spread open a parchment on the desk and began wielding my pen.
“Since it’s been proven to be effective, the smart move would be to utilise the medicine right away.”
I was writing a communique. The recipients had already been decided: Luan and Hilda of the Imperial Family, Queen Tina of Aslan, the Girl Priestess Yuria back in Aihrance, etc, etc…
Saintess Alice should also be considered, but she was already here in Ronia and spending most of her time in the library anyway, so I could just personally deliver the medicine to her later.
All these were people that I could trust, people who wouldn’t start abusing their powers all of a sudden.
Also, they were the people who’d become the shields protecting the Theocratic Empire in the near future. I wrote my communiques to all of them.
“You will all become a great help to the empire soon.”
I glanced at the completed letters. Only one remained to be completed.
However, I hadn’t put down my signature yet.
Things could get troublesome if my name was involved in this matter. The vampires seemed to be making some moves to spy on my actions recently.
I was sure of it after going through the events surrounding the kingdoms of Lome and Aihrance. Since that was the case, I had an urgent need for a way to hide my identity for the time being.
[From Extra, a Priest of the Imperial Family.]
I grinned in satisfaction while writing that little line of postscript.
The last letter I wrote was for Holy Emperor Kelt. Its content was pretty simple: to alert him to the ‘cultivation’ of the Priests.
“It kinda feels like I’m suggesting the ‘one hundred thousand soldiers program’ here, doesn’t it?” I murmured to myself. [1]
Of course, our numbers wouldn’t get that high, but still.
I finished up the last letter, then took a glance at a gourd resting on the desk.
“Besides all that, is this really that good for your body?”
‘Weeeeell, I don’t really care about how it tastes as long as it really is good for me…’
I injected my holy water into the bottle and shook it around, and the disgusting stench promptly wafted out.
‘Right, what’s good for one’s body is supposed to taste really bitter, isn’t it?’
I covered my nose, then dumped the liquid in my mouth.
**
“Yes, this is just me being curious. I don’t have any plans to meet anyone specific. Yes, that’s it.”
Muttering that to himself, Shuppel came to visit the Count’s residence.
There were soldiers stationed here, but when he told them that he’d like to speak to Harman, they let him through pretty easily. They knew that Shuppel and Harman, who was from the Paladin Corps, were acquaintances.
Shuppel ‘infiltrated’ the residence while this bubble of anxiety began ballooning inside his mind.
That ‘wonder drug’ he had drank before was a very suspicious item, indeed.
It greatly enhanced both his reserve of divine power, as well as all of his physical attributes, yet there didn’t seem to be any side effects at all.
Such an item wouldn’t just fall out of the sky one day.
Either Allen did something crazy and created it, or that deeply suspicious Extra or whatever his name was responsible for cooking it up.
‘However, I definitely don’t remember hearing about Allen having a close aide named Extra.’
He had investigated all the people around Allen way back when. From Charlotte to Harman, then Hilda and Luan, Count Jenald, Queen Tina, and quite a few others besides them…
Allen enjoyed a fairly wide set of acquaintances. However, none of them were named ‘Extra’. Without a doubt, the odds of that name being an alias were uncomfortably high.
‘This is merely a brother worrying about his sibling, that’s all. It’s definitely not my curiosity acting up.’
He was really curious about the real identity of this unknown Priest.
…Curious that yet another talented individual was hiding within the Theocratic Empire.
‘By the way, didn’t I hear a scream just now?’
He thought he heard a familiar voice screaming out when entering the residence earlier, but after looking at how relaxed the guards were, he figured that his nerves were to blame here, instead.
Shuppel glanced outside the windows while walking down the manor’s corridor.
Yet another night was coming to visit the fortress.
The promised hour with Extra was getting nearer, and Shuppel grew even more anxious at that. If his luck was bad, then they might end up missing one another.
“Wonderful! Yes, its effects are definitely proven now. Argh, what a miss, what a miss! I should’ve procured lots more plant sap from Titalos back then.”
Shuppel’s gaze wandered outside the windows, and eventually landed on the grounds of the training hall, which had layers of snow piled on top of it.
That’s when his steps came to a stuttering halt.
He nearly freaked out of his skull when he stared at Hans still there in the training hall. The man was sitting down while leaning back against a greatsword stabbed into the cold, hard ground. His pen was busy darting about on top of a parchment at the moment.
“But I need more test subjects to confirm the effectiveness some more. That’s what His Highness the Imperial Prince probably wishes, too.”
Despite muttering to himself, his voice was quite loud. It seemed that he wasn’t even conscious of his surroundings due to the sheer excitement he felt.
Shuppel froze while staring at Hans.
That greatsword Hans was leaning against, and the gourd next to him… Those two were quite familiar to Shuppel’s eyes.
‘Could it be that he’s…’
…Extra?
Shuppel’s brows shot up as he took a closer look at Hans’s build.
The Alchemist was fervently jotting something down on the parchment. Even from this distance, the great passion a researcher had for Alchemy could be sensed from him.
Judging from how he subconsciously mentioned ‘His Highness’ like that, one could also discern his loyalty towards the Imperial Family, as well.
‘Was there a man like that?’
If Allen were to speak about Shuppel’s resurrection to someone, then he’d certainly trust his confidantes to keep a secret for him.
Shuppel carefully combed through his memories before finally recalling an individual.
‘That’s right, there is someone. One of Allen’s close aides, Hans the Alchemist!’
Shuppel had heard that Hans was a peddler of sundry goods that Allen had run into during his adventure back in Aslan.
Although Hans’s ability as an Alchemist was known to be quite excellent, to think that he was also capable of wielding a greatsword and even using divinity, too!
That man had attained a truly shocking realm of martial prowess, it seemed!
There he was, yet another hidden talent of the Imperial Family. Shuppel engraved the true face of ‘Extra’ deeply in his mind.
It happened at that exact moment.
Clang-! Clang-! Dang-!
Shuppel flinched in surprise and urgently turned his head.
Servants and maids working in the residence were hurriedly moving about, and even the guards were dashing to somewhere.
Shuppel called out to one of the guards, “What’s going on here?”
The guard’s face was currently as pale as a sheet of paper. He stared at Shuppel and cried out. “Can’t you tell after hearing the bell? That’s the alarm to alert us of the undead attacking! Mister gravekeeper, quickly get your gear and head towards the outer wall!”
Shuppel nodded in understanding.
The ringing of the bell was indeed familiar. However, what he heard just now seemed to be on a different scale compared to the regular alarm bell he had heard before.
Even this guard looked deeply worried. Just what kind of creatures could cause this sort of commotion?
Shuppel sent a final glance at Hans, before turning around to leave. He too was a defender of this fortress, and he had a duty to carry out.
**
The complexions of every convict standing on top of the outer walls were as pale as one could get. They were all so stupefied that their jaws were hanging limply, as if they had all turned into a bunch of invalids.
These people used to calmly deal with the previous assaults of the undead. They also used to offer prayers while calling out to Gaia and the name of their Lord Saint.
But such people had frozen stiff in their spots, unable to think a single thing right now.
“What the hell is the meaning of this…?”
They were currently staring at the horde of undead shuffling closer through the darkness beyond the outer wall.
At first, they saw zombies, ghouls, and dullahans, then even mummies and lycans could be seen among the mix, as well.
Sure, they were mid- to upper-tier undead, but the full force of Ronia’s army should be able to stop them. However, the incoming horde boasted a ridiculously high number of individuals, and one could reasonably expect to see an extensive amount of losses at the end of the battle.
…If it had been only them showing up, that was.
One of the convicts, cold sweat streaming down his face, muttered to no one in particular. “…It’s a giant.”
The howl of a massive creature could be heard among the screeches and roars of the undead.
The ground trembled, and Mother Nature’s blizzard collided against something massive in the darkness.
Humanoid-type monsters that reached at least eight metres in height. They seemed to number around thirty.
Their hard muscles reminded one of tough armour, with thick and large fingers, and legs reminiscent of stone pillars.
Whitish breaths leaked out as their chiselled jaws split open ever so slightly.
That was a Jötunn!
The zombified giants were marching towards Ronia.
< 133. An Extra Priest -2 (Part One and Two) > Fin.
(TL: The “one hundred thousand soldiers program” was a suggestion made by one of Joseon’s politicians named Yi I, prior to the start of the Imjin War of 1592. Actually, I couldn’t find an official English translation for it, so I had to make one up for this chapter.)
