Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 232: Childhood Friends - The Headband
231. Childhood Friends - The Headband
[Achievement: Hunting a Magical Beast - ‘2’, Slight Mana is Embodied in Your Body.]
By the time Reuben returned with his comrades, their master Rev was sitting on a rock, catching his breath. The nine young men swallowed nervously.
Trees were broken and uprooted as if a typhoon had swept through. The desperate claw marks on the ground told a tale of struggle.
Yet, that desperate struggle seemed to have been in vain. The Oantahu lay face down, its knees severed, and its skull was cracked open, leaking brain matter mixed with blood. Its nails were broken as if it had tried to escape at the last moment.
"Cut it up appropriately and move it," Rev said, wiping his forehead. The disciples started working without a word.
Even after discarding the unusable parts and selecting only the most edible portions, they needed a cart. Fortunately, Vanne returned with the villagers who had taken Euta and Enen back, making the work easier.
The people of the Uena tribe were extremely grateful. They said that if it weren't for the knights, not only Enen but the entire village might have been in danger. They held a feast and offered drinks to the great warriors who hunted the beast.
Rev wore an expression of indifference. “No, actually, our leader took it down alone…” he thought as he watched Reuben chatter excitedly while sipping his drink.
I guess our business here is done. It’s time to head back to Lutetia. Just as he was thinking this, Euta’s grandmother approached him. As always, she was dressed in the bizarre garb of a priestess.
Is she going to thank me?
Rev prepared to make some humble reply, but the grandmother silently took his hand and led him away. She spoke only once they were at her home.
"My granddaughter was destined to die."
Her steps were slow. The arm holding him was unexpectedly firm.
“Lady Seares told me so. She said Enen would never become a priestess... Come in. Lady Seares calls for you.”
The siblings’ home was shrouded in a warm darkness. It was rare to enter a house where you had to remove your shoes. Inside, Euta and Enen were sleeping soundly, and the small living room was cluttered with blue curtains hanging from the ceiling, disturbing his sight.
The grandmother flapped her wide sleeves and bowed to a picture depicting a river. She lit a flame on the altar and retrieved a "headband" from a drawer.
Was that the headband of his deceased daughter-in-law?
It was a memento of Euta’s mother, which she had once given to Rev.
- Fwoosh.
In an instant, it was engulfed in flames—or rather, a watery blaze might be a more accurate description. It rippled in blue and then vanished.
At that moment, the world froze.
The merry singing of Reuben in the distance faded, and the blue curtains fluttering in the night breeze solidified like plaster. The only thing moving was...
The grandmother.
Rev was petrified, unable to exhale the breath he had taken, as he met the grandmother's steady gaze. Her face was furrowed with the wrinkles of time, and she spoke with an echoing resonance.
= It’s been a long time. Your name has changed again.
It doesn’t seem dangerous.
Rev, who was subtly grasping his sword, prepared to dispel the binding with an aura blade, but chose to listen instead. The grandmother’s eyes shimmered with a blue wave as she continued with a clear smile.
= I told you it would come to this. But I’m glad we met again. I have been living quietly, as you advised. We were almost wiped out, but thank you for saving a child to serve me. The god is truly fickle. How can they be so cold, regardless of the great sins you’ve committed in the past…
At that moment, the grandmother’s body was suddenly constricted.
As if gripped by a giant hand, she began to choke and hurriedly opened her mouth.
= I have... a warning for you. Soon you will stand at a crossroads. At that time, you must not contact... ‘the one you love.’
Rev felt the frozen world begin to shatter. Seares, the ruler of the Lodran River, withdrew from the grandmother’s body, whispering.
= Lord Azura. Please be well...
“Did you meet her?”
The grandmother’s blue, rippling gaze returned to normal. The siblings’ snoring resumed, and the curtains swayed again in the cold autumn night breeze.
Rev was left wondering, What did I just hear? The chirping of autumn insects offered no answers.
---
Rev thought he had no further business here, yet he couldn’t leave the village for some time. He spent the days idly, lost in thought, and his band of swordsmen looked at their leader with curiosity.
“Master, is something troubling you?”
It was Vanne Bizaine who asked. Rev finally shook his head and stood up.
“It’s nothing. It’s time... Let’s go.”
Soon, Leo Dexter and Lena Ainar would arrive in Lutetia. He needed to meet Leo Dexter in Lutetia before they returned to Avril Castle and before Lena Ainar became pregnant.
Even considering the travel time, there was still plenty of time, but thinking there was no harm in going early, Rev ordered his disciples to pack.
They vacated the log cabin where they had been living for a while.
After rousing the horses, fattened and lazy from the ample feed, they went to bid farewell to the people of the Uena tribe.
“This was a nice place. It’s a shame to leave. Will we ever come back?”
“Let’s come back later. After we get married, as a honeymoon... Don’t you like that?”
“That sounds good.”
Uncharacteristically, Vanne Bizaine agreed with Reuben’s suggestion. Reuben grinned obnoxiously, and the other members of the band of swordsmen simply shrugged it off and continued on their way.
However, there were guests in the village. At the entrance, five white horses and a pristine white carriage adorned with the symbol of the Church of the Cross were parked. Rev wondered, What’s this all about? as he entered, and his eyes blazed.
“Y-you’re mistaken. My grandmother goes to church!”
“G-grandmother! Let go!”
The grandmother was in the grip of a crusader.
The siblings stood in their way, but the crusader’s stride was relentless. The grandmother, her hair being pulled, was helplessly dragged along.
“What is the meaning of this!?”
Rev immediately rushed forward. He stood in the path of the crusader, drawing his sword, but the crusader didn’t react, instead turning to look behind him as if passing on responsibility.
There stood a priest in shabby clothing. Despite his wrinkled face, his hair was jet black, and he carried an air of unique authority. Rev felt he had seen this man somewhere before.
“This man doesn’t seem to be one of the villagers… Who are you to interfere with the church’s business?”
The old man spoke with a benevolent smile, though his tone carried a firm command and a certain dignity, insisting that Rev stand aside.
“Who I am is none of your business. Why are you tormenting innocent natives?” Rev retorted.
“There is no misunderstanding here,” the elderly priest said, pointing his finger.
“We are here to punish the guilty. Unfortunately, this woman worships an evil god. Isn’t that right?”
The church had decreed thirty years ago that those who worshiped any god other than the One True God would be punished by death.
The people of the Uena tribe avoided the gaze of the elderly priest. Indeed, as he had said, Euta’s grandmother worshiped a deity that was not of the Church of the Cross. Everyone knew this.
They didn’t really know much about the god she worshiped. The Uena tribe had converted a very long time ago, and the siblings’ grandmother came from another tribe when she married into this one.
However, as she became family, the people of the Uena tribe did not her for believing in another god. They didn’t hide it either, just accepted it as it was and lived with it.
And now it had been exposed. And to the very top of the Church of the Cross, no less...
The elderly priest nodded slightly. As the crusader raised his sword to cut off the grandmother’s head, Rev shouted.
“If you kill her, know that all of you will die too.”
“... Are you saying you intend to obstruct the church’s affairs? Those who hinder the church’s business can be punished under the decree of Kranzar de Frederick the First.”
“Just try to punish me.”
“... Sir Javad,” the priest called.
A massive crusader stepped forward. Armed with a hefty mace, he invoked a holy incantation, “O God! Remember these wicked ones!” to identify friend from foe.
Perhaps it was because they had killed those thugs before, but the marks of holiness appeared above the heads of Rev and the young men of his band.
I need to get to Lutetia.
The situation was becoming serious. Yet Rev didn’t back down.
“Attack!”
---
Crusaders are strong.
Across the continent, talented aspiring knights gathered in fierce competition, and only a few were selected as crusader apprentices. After years of rigorous training, those who became crusaders could hold their own against the knights of any kingdom, and they were imbued with divine power from their god.
Although they were categorized as clergy serving the deity and thus not compared directly, if one were to discuss the strongest knights on the continent, the crusaders would undoubtedly be among them.
Rev’s disciples gripped their swords tightly, charging toward the opponent they knew would be stronger than them. Yet, they had a trick up their sleeves...
- Clang!
Rev deflected the mace that the crusader swung at him. With a single blow, he sent the iron weapon flying, then leaped high to deliver a spinning kick to the crusader’s face.
When discussing the strongest knights on the continent, sword masters are not included. Only when discussing the strongest humans might they be considered.
The massive crusader hastily ducked, avoiding the kick. He tried to bring the mace back up in an uppercut, but Rev used the crusader’s shoulder as a springboard, somersaulting in the air.
It wasn’t difficult for him to split the crusader’s head in two as he had done to the Oantahu, but instead, he flattened the blade and struck the crusader’s head with the flat of his sword. The crusader staggered and collapsed, knocked out cold.
Let’s see...
Rev landed gracefully and surveyed the scene.
Two crusaders remained.
He could take them on alone, but he decided to leave them to his disciples, curious to see if they could handle two crusaders between the ten of them.
The band of swordsmen split into two groups of five. One team was led by Vanne Bizaine, and the other by "Hatu."
“Ha ha ha! Look over here!” shouted Reuben, who was part of Vanne’s team, boldly.
For five men attacking one, they seemed far too confident, and anyone who didn’t know better might be misled by their enthusiasm. However, despite Reuben’s clumsy swordsmanship, his downward swing was so forceful that the crusader had to chant a holy spell.
The crusader’s shield glowed. Even as Reuben’s sword crashed down like a powerful axe, the crusader stood firm. Watching the clash briefly, Rev clicked his tongue.
Is that the extent of it? Still, they could hold off three ordinary knights, or perhaps defeat two.
After assessing his disciples’ skills, Rev joined the fray. Regardless of whether the shield glowed or some holy presence descended upon the crusader’s back, Rev purely overpowered him with swordsmanship and stood before the elderly priest.
“I have no intention of antagonizing the Church of the Cross. Remove these marks and withdraw quietly.”
But... where have I seen this person before?
An old man with jet-black hair. He was sure he’d seen him somewhere. As Rev delved into his memories, he finally recalled where he had encountered this man.
- “Then, I trust you will handle it well, Count. I will do my part in searching.”
- “You need not worry. Once we find that ‘special crop,’ we will begin construction.”
It was during the 11th cycle when he was Leo Dexter, staying at the mansion of Count Umberto Simon. Since he had only visited the Holy Kingdom four times, it wasn’t hard to recall.
At that moment, the elderly priest spoke, and his voice made Rev’s memories even clearer.
“I cannot allow that. You are a sinner, and we cannot grant the request of such a person.”
The poorly dressed old man held his head high.
It was Cardinal Mihael.
Chapter 232: Childhood Friends - The Headband
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