Chapter 014
* * *
The Vice-Captain’s office.
I tilted my head, looking at Antonio, who was holding a stack of catalogs. His eyes were filled with immense anticipation.
“What is all that?”
“Dresses.”
Well, I could tell just by looking at the covers. The names of the capital’s dress shops were printed in large letters.
“You said the fashion in the capital changes every month. Kids are sensitive to that kind of thing.”
“There are indeed children like that,” I replied.
“The dresses the Vice-Captain gave you are probably out of style by now.”
“That is also true.”
The designs had been exciting enough to make Marina’s eyes pop, but they were starting to become a bit passé in the capital.
Antonio grinned and pushed the catalogs toward me.
“So, pick one.”
“A dress?”
“Yeah. I’ll buy you one.”
Aha. He was offering to buy me clothes to wear to the attendant selection.
‘But….’
I hummed as I looked at the covers. These were catalogs from shops that were particularly popular in the capital.
“Master Antonio, you bought steamed potatoes at the market the other day, didn’t you? You grumbled about how expensive they were.”
“Yeah.”
“How much were they?”
“4 coppers.”
I took the catalog Antonio gave me and flipped to the back. I pointed my fingertip at a small ribbon that could be chosen as an accessory for a dress.
“This ribbon costs the same as 2,200 potatoes.”
“What?!”
Antonio let out a shriek. His eyes widened as if they were about to pop out. Even on Earth, a luxury logo on a T-shirt could make it cost over a million won. How expensive would a dress be when a designer’s hand-picked disciples labored over it with manual craftsmanship? There was a reason people said parents went bankrupt trying to debut their children into society.
In short, it was ridiculously expensive—far beyond what Antonio could afford with his salary. Antonio looked at the Vice-Captain with a pitiful face.
“Please raise my salary.”
“Think about how much goes out every month just to clean up the messes you cause.”
The Vice-Captain’s expression told him to shut up if he wanted to afford even a single potato. Come to think of it, I heard he recently smashed a plaza, and the repair costs were astronomical. It was a miracle Antonio even received a salary at all.
The Vice-Captain sighed and looked at me.
“Please choose one. I will purchase whatever fits your taste.”
“It’s really okay. the clothes I have now are comfortable and nice.”
When the former Lord’s assets were confiscated, the clothes, accessories, and shoes Marina owned became mine. So, I really didn’t lack for clothes.
“More importantly, regarding the breaking of the Myeongjeong Stone’s seal.”
Human blood is used to break the seal of the Myeongjeong Stone. I had been using my own blood to do so. Naturally, I couldn’t while I was unconscious, and I tried to restart immediately after waking up, but….
‘The Vice-Captain confiscated it.’
He told me not to even think about it until I was recovered.
“A week has already passed. It’s been a long time since the healer you called fixed my bones. So, can’t you return the Myeongjeong Stone?”
“About that. I was intending to discuss it with you anyway. Does it strictly have to be one person’s blood?”
At that, Antonio cut in.
“A pure maiden’s blood. It’s not something like that, is it? If an unpure middle-aged man’s blood is okay, the Vice-Captain can—”
“Ack!”
Antonio was kicked in the shin. The Vice-Captain glared at him.
“I’m still in my twenties.”
“Why leave out the ‘late’ part? Ow! Why do you keep hitting the same spot?!”
Leaving the grumbling Antonio aside, the Vice-Captain approached me.
“If possible, I will join in.”
“The seal should be fully dissolved by now, though?”
“…Pardon?”
“I’ve been feeding it blood for over fifteen days, so the barrier must have melted away. My point was that we should perform the curse-breaking immediately…?”
The Captain had also been eating that Myeongjeong grass he hates for a week. For the past few days, he had been so sick of it that he scowled, saying he hated how he smelled like that old man more than he smelled of blood. His complexion had improved significantly, and it was time to move on to the actual curse-breaking.
I smiled brightly.
“It’s time for the Captain to be free from the curse.”
“…!”
The faces of the Vice-Captain and Antonio brightened.
* * *
Inside an abandoned building with no roof.
I glanced at the Captain. The curse patterns were visible all the way up to his collarbone.
‘If we had wasted even a few more days, it would have been a disaster.’
It was a good thing we were suppressing the curse with Myeongjeong grass; normally, at that stage, the pain should have made it impossible for him to even move. I checked my condition by flexing my hands and standing up from a sitting position.
‘Good. I’m ready too.’
I hadn’t spent the last week waiting quietly for nothing when every day was precious. As the one performing the curse-breaking—that is, the caster—I needed sufficient preparation. And also….
“Is everyone ready to start?”
“Yes. All the members of my squad have finished their preparations.”
“Mine too.”
It wasn’t a task that required only one or two people. First, I had the Captain stand in the center of the magic circle I had drawn densely on the floor. Then, I positioned the Vice-Captain and Antonio to the east and west, respectively. Furthermore, I had the other members tightly surround the perimeter of this abandoned building.
Antonio asked.
“But why did you gather every single member in the castle?”
“Because an enormous amount of mana is required.”
“You said you’d use the Captain’s mana too.”
“Even with that, we need so much that it won’t be enough.”
The Vice-Captain had a worried expression.
“Mana from others must not mix within a person’s body. Mana poisoning could occur, putting everyone’s life at risk.”
“All the mana will be directed into the Myeongjeong Stone. It’s not entering a human body, so don’t worry.”
Antonio and the Vice-Captain nodded. The Captain also looked at me quietly from within the magic circle. I sat down opposite the Captain and placed my hands on the circle.
‘I can’t use grand magic, but if it’s this much….’
The circle drawn on the ground would act as the mage’s formula, and the members, including the Captain, would support my tiny, grain-sized mana. I only needed to play the role of an oar stirring their mana.
“I’ll begin.”
As I spoke, I activated the formula. Light gathered from where the people stood, filling the magic circle inside the building. Eventually, it turned into an indescribable hue and rushed rapidly toward the Captain.
Then….
“Around the Captain…!”
“What are all those?”
Antonio and the Vice-Captain shouted. It was because red characters had filled the air.
‘It’s the curse formula.’
The curse of the Dark Mirror, said to be ancient sorcery, was more high-level and precise than any formula I knew. And those formulas surrounding the Captain began to break one by one with a crackling sound.
‘It’s working.’
I expected it to work, but seeing it actually happen with my own eyes felt different. This was the first time I had ever used a curse-break… no, magic itself. My mana was low and my output channel was like a tiny seed.
To put it simply, I had zero talent for magic.
‘Still, I’m glad I didn’t give up and learned the formula calculation methods… Wait a minute.’
But it was strange. The amount of mana was unusual. At first, the mana moved as I guided it, but at some point, it began to swell.
“What… huh?”
“Young Lady?”
“What’s wrong?”
I didn’t even have time to answer Antonio and the Vice-Captain. Panicking, I searched for the point where the mana had begun to surge.
‘Where did the calculation go wrong?’
As I hurriedly traced the formula with my eyes, I froze.
The Captain. An insane amount of mana was spreading out from Aslan.
‘As the curse of the Dark Mirror slowly breaks, the Captain’s suppressed mana is returning.’
It was an amount that far exceeded my expectations. Did I say an enormous amount was needed, so much so that even the Captain’s mana wouldn’t be enough?
‘I was wrong. The Captain alone is more than enough!’
I pushed back the mana that was circulating clockwise, reversing it. At this rate, the formula would shatter.
‘What should I do…!’
If the formula broke, it wouldn’t just be the Captain and I in danger. The Myeongjeong Stone would be pulverized. I couldn’t lose the precious Myeongjeong Stone that even the Captain had gone out of his way to obtain. People can recover, but objects cannot.
‘If it’s come to this, there’s no choice. Hah!’
With a “do or die” mindset, I simply channeled the insanely swollen mana into my own body. As I said, I was an ordinary person with an output channel smaller than a grain of millet. The mana entering me wouldn’t be able to exit properly, and the magic circle would find stability.
‘I just have to endure until the curse-breaking is over.’
However, before long, a sharp pain, as if my whole body were a balloon about to pop, overwhelmed me.
“Young Lady, are you sure this is working correctly?!”
“This is strange. We should stop the formula for now…!”
Antonio and the Vice-Captain tried to move toward me. I shouted urgently.
“Don’t move!”
Judging by the curse formula surrounding the Captain, three more minutes. It would be over in just three minutes. I endured the mana with my life on the line.
‘My head… feels like it’s going to explode…!’
Two minutes left.
“Ah, ugh… aah…!”
One minute.
‘I can’t breathe….’
“Young Lady!”
Just as I felt I had reached my absolute limit. Antonio shouted.
“The curse formula broke!”
I hurriedly lifted my head. The formulas that had densely filled the air around the Captain had vanished without a trace, and the Captain was slowly opening his eyes. Only then could I slump down.
Drip.
Hot blood flowed from beneath my nose.
‘Ah, still, this is a huge relief….’
It was at that moment.
KABOOM—!!
The heavens and earth shook violently.
“Wha-What!”
“What’s happening?!”
The crew members let out screams and shouts, and inside the building, Antonio and the Vice-Captain looked around with panicked expressions. But I didn’t have the luxury for that. Because….
Second Job Advancement Successful!
[The Purifier]
※ This system has been restructured based on a familiar interface for user convenience.
What on earth is this?
* * *
The earth cries.
Flocks of birds covered the sky, and the wind shook the world. Stained glass shattered, and everyone in the prayer hall shrieked.
“Your Holiness!”
A man in a priest’s robe rushed into the prayer hall.
“Please evacuate. It is an earthquake.”
He quickly ran toward an elderly woman. However, the elderly woman was staring only at the World Tree located in the vacuum tube in the center of the prayer hall with trembling eyes.
“Your Holiness!”
“An earthquake? No, this is a revelation.”
The panicked priests froze. The woman exhaled a heated breath. It was the first time they had seen her, usually so calm, this excited. The priests who had been bowing quietly even amidst the chaos spoke.
“Lower your heads. The World Tree is singing.”
Yes. The branches and leaves of the World Tree, which had never been shaken by any omen in the vacuum tube, were trembling. It was the moment of revelation recorded in the scriptures.
“Then…!”
Even the young priests stared at the World Tree with trembling eyes. The elderly woman declared in a voice full of emotion.
“Deliver the news to His Majesty and the believers. I declare in the name of the First Servant of God. The Saintess has descended.”
Waaaah—!
A great commotion broke out in the holy land of Teressa, the state religion of the Empire.
Moving the perspective to the Imperial Palace. A white pigeon of Teressa arrived at the Emperor’s side with a branch of the World Tree in its beak. It was the signal of the Saintess’s descent. Emperor Augusto, having read the Pope’s letter tied to the white pigeon’s ankle, supported his temple with his fingertip.
“This is why people who seek God in every sentence are a problem.”
“What are you referring to?”
The nobles of the 7 Families looked up at him. The Emperor spoke in a flat voice as he burned the Pope’s letter.
“They think everything God bestows exists solely for them.”
He stood up and looked out the window. The sky, which had been bright even when the earthquake occurred, was now covered by clouds and as dark as night.
“The Saintess is a being who will protect the Empire. Since she is someone I will graciously host in my castle, you lords must move quickly.”
The heads of the 7 Families bowed their heads.
As the heads of the 7 Families left the room, one of them said:
“The Pope and His Majesty will be watching with hawk eyes. We won’t hear anything good from His Majesty if the search is delayed.”
Then, the elderly Family Head walking with his hands behind his back chuckled.
“Will it only be the Pope and His Majesty with hawk eyes? To my eyes, your eyes are glowing quite enough as well.”
“The one who finds her will become her guardian; it’s only natural to be greedy. Though there might be someone with different thoughts.”
“…”
The Family Heads glanced back. The face of the cunning man of power, which had always been sweet, felt like a sheet of ice today.
“I wonder.”
It was a soft voice, but the Family Heads swallowed a chuckle. Rumors were rampant that a Saintess was being raised in that man’s mansion. An amazing affinity for the divine, even a healing power that made small wounds vanish in the blink of an eye. Thanks to that, hadn’t she received the undivided attention of the state religion, Teressa, and the Imperial Palace?
And in the midst of that, the real Saintess had appeared.
‘He is a man who even kicked out his biological daughter because she allegedly tried to harm that girl, so he must be feeling quite bitter.’
Referring to Marquis Andres.
‘Well, now is not the time to worry about that side.’
‘Anyway, finding her is the priority.’
Just then, the aides of the Family Heads, who had been waiting outside, rushed over. The Family Heads spoke to their respective aides.
“Move the Intelligence Department to its limit.”
“Go see the old man of Saseong. Use as much money as you want, just find the Saintess first.”
The moment of the chaotic Saintess hunt, which would be recorded in history books, had begun.
* * *
San Miguel Castle.
The Vice-Captain, Antonio, and the crew members crowded in front of me.
“Are you okay?”
“Is there any discomfort?”
I shook my head. I felt like I was dying earlier, but now there was nothing wrong except for some nosebleeds. Above all….
‘I can feel mana overflowing in my body.’
Was it that I only had a tiny amount of mana but the mana storage was larger than expected? Like a water purifier with only a little water at the bottom.
‘This is all the Captain’s mana, right? Amazing.’
As I thought that, I suddenly snapped out of it.
“Captain!”
I scrambled up, pushed through the people, and approached the Captain. The Captain was staring blankly at the ground beneath his feet.
“Are you alright?”
When I asked, he slowly nodded. I quickly pulled up his sleeve.
“Ah…!”
The pattern was gone. What about elsewhere? The pattern starts from the heart.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
I frantically unbuttoned the Captain’s shirt.
‘It’s not on his heart either.’
It had completely vanished.
“The curse-break was a success!”
“I see.”
The crew members who were listening to our conversation shouted simultaneously.
“Waaaah—!”
I slumped down again. It was different from when I slumped down from the shock. It was because the strength left me due to joy and relief.
‘I had no choice but to block the mana with my own body… how was that possible?’
Normally, receiving someone else’s mana is impossible. Is it because of that?
[The Purifier]
The thing I saw in the final moment of the curse-breaking.
