Chapter 101
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I'll purchase divine power with money.
Chapter 101
Having wrung a rather satisfactory reward from the Spirit Death God, I left the chamber.
Though conditional and unusable immediately, it was far better than nothing.
【The 'Soul Guide Traveler' protests, insisting that such a fine reward should never be dismissed as merely better than nothing.】
I chose to ignore the disgruntled message.
I'd obtained everything I needed, and since I couldn't hear the heavenly secrets immediately anyway, the Spirit Death God was no longer necessary.
【The 'Soul Guide Traveler' receives a tremendous shock at the user's words, complaining to the 'Sun Crawling from Death' about how heartless this is.】
【The 'Sun Crawling from Death' tells the 'Soul Guide Traveler' to get used to it and kicks them away with a foot.】
I swept the white and black spears bickering before my eyes far away and quickened my pace once more.
Now there was only one task left to accomplish in the Southern Region.
Knock, knock.
Upon reaching my destination and rapping on the door, it swung open immediately.
"You've arrived, High Priestess?"
Jeremy greeted me warmly from inside.
That's right. I had come to meet Idella.
"Where is she?"
"Over there."
I turned my head in the direction Jeremy indicated and gasped in shock.
"Why, why is she tied up?"
Why on earth was Idella bound together with the sofa like they were one?
And why was her mouth gagged?
"I told you to watch her carefully—when did I ever tell you to tie her up like that?"
Faced with this shocking sight I hadn't anticipated, I struck Jeremy's back repeatedly.
I needed to gain her favor and bring her along, but now any goodwill I might have built was crumbling away!
"I had no choice. She attacked me."
"She tried to escape?"
I'd distinctly promised her she would stay here today—was that a lie? That couldn't be right.
There was no reason to refuse such comfortable lodgings.
"That's not it. She told me to leave, and when I wouldn't, she attacked me."
"You could have easily restrained her."
Even if Idella was quite spirited, she was still an ordinary person who hadn't awakened.
Jeremy should have been able to subdue her with a single finger.
"Yeah, that's true, but she kept attacking and it was annoying. With her like that, it's easier for me to watch her anyway, so I just tied her up!"
"..."
My Jeremy really is refreshingly simple-minded.
What can I do? It's my fault for not explicitly telling him how to treat her...
Next time I ask Jeremy to do something, I'll need to be more precise.
"Now go on out. I have things to discuss with her alone."
"I can't do that. What if she attacks you too, High Priestess?"
"I'm not someone who goes down easily."
If it were Idella after her awakening, perhaps, but right now I'm far stronger.
After urging him a few more times, Jeremy finally pouted his lips and left.
Though he wouldn't go far—he'd probably keep watch from somewhere nearby.
Once we were alone, I turned to face Idella.
Bound tightly from head to toe with her mouth gagged, the look in Idella's eyes was truly terrifying.
I never thought I'd feel the presence of the Female Protagonist so intensely.
How was I supposed to fix this...
"Um, are you... are you alright...?"
I first removed the gag from her mouth and asked, but Idella threw a tantrum.
"Do I look alright?"
"Well, no, not really."
I met Idella's bewildered gaze and tried to untie the ropes binding her, but they were wound so tightly they wouldn't budge.
There was no helping it.
Rrrip!
The moment I wrapped divine power around the ropes and applied force, they tore apart like tissue paper.
With divine power, I didn't even need to do strength training—it was incredibly convenient.
"There, all done. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
I tossed the severed ropes aside and flashed Idella the gentlest smile I could muster.
It was my desperate attempt to salvage the image I'd ruined.
But the moment our eyes met, she trembled and shook her head vigorously.
"N-no, it's fine."
The girl had suddenly become polite.
Given the circumstances, I would have overlooked it even if Idella had spoken rudely to me and thrown a fit, so why had her attitude changed so suddenly?
"I apologize for binding you without permission. But since you apparently attacked first, I hope you can understand."
I brushed off my hands and sat across from Idella.
But as she glanced at the torn ropes, her eyes grew fierce again.
"I'm not someone who attacks just anyone! Besides, you're the person who saved me along with the High Priestess—why would I attack you?"
"Then why did you?"
"I was trying to bathe, and he followed me into the bathroom trying to watch me! So I kicked him out!"
Good heavens. I'd thought he'd just been lingering annoyingly, so I'd kicked him out, but...
Jeremy, that was really too much.
"I-I'm sorry. My boy lacks common sense, or rather, lacks it quite a lot..."
The embarrassment fell on my shoulders.
What on earth had those Sea God cultists been doing to her? Had they only made her train and carry out missions repeatedly? No matter what, she's still a person—wasn't that too cruel?
Those despicable wretches.
"We rescued her because she was being tormented by those villains, and we're keeping her with us. Those bastards didn't teach her properly, so this mess happened. Let me apologize on their behalf."
"...Is saving people a hobby of yours?"
Fortunately, it seemed like a reasonable explanation—Idella's expression softened considerably.
"Not a hobby exactly, more of a specialty, I'd say?"
In my past life, I was a detective, and in this life, I'd become a contract High Priestess committed to saving the Sun God—so it was fair to call interrogation my true specialty.
"That said, it doesn't mean I'm naturally a good person."
I'd become a detective in my previous life simply because I couldn't stand watching villains run rampant.
If I could catch one more criminal, at least my friends would be that much safer.
That was the extent of my thinking when I started—I hadn't thrown myself into it with any grand sense of mission.
This life was no different.
I'd simply helped people one by one, hoping their lives might become a little easier—people whose stories I'd enjoyed reading about in that novel.
If I'd truly wanted to save everyone, I would've lived far more frantically, far more urgently.
But I focused solely on saving those who appeared before me.
I'm only that much of a person. Nothing remarkable at all.
"If I were truly a good person, I would've saved everyone in the Slums. Not just brought you here alone."
"...Then why did you bring me?"
"I was curious why those men targeted you."
And I was worried you'd be kidnapped again.
If the future High Priestess and this world's protagonist were dragged away by Evil, it would become rather problematic in many ways.
"So you brought me for a reason, then."
Since I'd brought her not out of pure goodwill but with a purpose, I understood if Idella felt disappointed.
"I feel relieved now. There's nothing more frightening than kindness without reason."
Yet surprisingly, Idella wore a far more relaxed expression.
I see. Idella was an orphan who'd wandered homeless from place to place.
Because of that, she'd likely seen and experienced far more than girls her age typically would.
In fact, in the original story, Idella was neither purely innocent nor particularly virtuous.
She was far more pragmatic and rational than High Priest Airic Dert or Holy Knight Commander Seth Noel.
Thanks to that quality, the Sun God Grand Temple was able to revive remarkably quickly.
"Let me introduce myself first. I'm Idella. Since I'm a commoner and an orphan, I have no family name."
Idella straightened her posture and bowed to me.
"Thank you for saving me, though it's late. And I apologize. I tend to suspect everyone I meet, so I've been quite rude."
A girl not yet twenty years old, suspecting everyone she encounters.
It was precisely because of that wariness she'd managed to survive this long without major incident, yet it still felt bitter.
"I'm Ordel Kiris. I have a family name, but I'll be abandoning it soon, so you don't need to worry much about it."
"...You're abandoning your family name? Why?"
"Because my family is garbage."
"Oh... I thought all High Priestesses were born into peaceful, privileged families..."
"Before being a High Priestess, we're ordinary people too."
"The Sea God's High Priestess isn't an ordinary person, though."
How dare she compare me to that Sea God's High Priestess.
I spoke with utmost seriousness.
"Idella, let me tell you this in advance—you can't compare those wretches to us. Remember this going forward. We don't share a table with those wretches."
Since I was planning to bring Idella to the Sun God Grand Temple regardless, I made this point crystal clear.
Idella's expression became distinctly uncomfortable.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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