Chapter 55
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I'll purchase divine power with money.
Chapter 55
In the end, Sembus handed over thirty thousand gold to me—twenty thousand for his ransom and an additional ten thousand in damages.
Even as he fled with Jeremy in tow, the heat in his glare burned so fiercely I could feel it searing into my back.
'What can he do? My plan doesn't end here.'
Sembus would soon be crying his eyes out. It's a shame I won't be there to witness it personally, but such is life.
I hummed a cheerful tune while waiting for the events that would unfold in the coming days.
* * *
The shocking news reached Sembus a day and a half after he'd left the Sun God Grand Temple—a place he'd grown to despise.
A Holy Knight cried out words that defied belief.
"H-High Priest! J-Jeremy has disappeared!"
Words that could never be believed.
"What are you talking about!"
Sembus, who had been eating in his carriage while his servants prepared camp, leaped to his feet so suddenly that he forgot about the tray of food balanced on his lap.
The dishes clattered to the ground, and the carriage interior was instantly soiled.
"Where could Jeremy possibly go!"
"That's just it, sir—I checked on him just now, and the carriage is empty!"
Impossible!
Sembus rushed immediately to Jeremy's carriage.
Before the open door stood his men, their faces blank with bewilderment.
His own expression soon matched theirs.
"...What in the world..."
The carriage was completely empty. Not a trace remained, as if no one had ever been inside at all.
"Where on earth could he have gone..."
Sembus had deliberately ridden in a different carriage from Jeremy.
The doll-like, expressionless face gave him chills, and he'd preferred not to face it.
Besides, since Jeremy was under control, there was no possibility he'd escape on his own, so Sembus had him travel alone...
"Why didn't anyone notice he was gone!"
Sembus roared at those stationed around them.
He'd brought only three Holy Knights, with soldiers numbering far more, and servants attending to their needs.
Yet no one had noticed when Jeremy disappeared!
"I-I'm terribly sorry. The carriage windows were covered with thick curtains, so..."
The Holy Knight responsible for the escort bowed his head, his face drained of all color.
Sembus pressed his palm to his forehead.
The fact that Jeremy was under the control of divine power was classified information, so his carriage windows had been covered with heavy curtains.
Moreover, because of the divine power sustaining him, Jeremy didn't need to eat, so no meals were brought to him.
That was why the discovery had been delayed.
"Find Jeremy at once! If you don't, you'll all face death from the Saint and the Holy Knight Commander!"
Sembus began to rage uncontrollably.
At the most terrifying threat imaginable, everyone turned pale and scattered in all directions.
'Damn it. Where the hell did he disappear to? A puppet without his own will because of the Sea God's divine power...!'
It was strange enough that he attempted to assassinate the Saint without orders, but now he's vanished without a trace!
Why did he suddenly go berserk?
Could there be a problem with his divine power? No, if that were the case, the Saint or the Holy Knight would have stepped in personally.
Sembus rubbed his face frantically.
I had no idea how to clean up this mess.
* * *
Knock, knock.
Still confined to my room without permission to exercise, I was lounging about when I jolted upright at the sound of tapping on the window.
"You made it!"
Beyond the sunlit window, Jeremy was waving his hand.
His sharp, vivid pink eyes sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight.
"Welcome, Jeremy."
As I opened the window, Jeremy slipped inside with graceful ease.
I plucked a leaf from his hair and asked, "Did you fool that Sembus fellow well?"
"Yeah, sneaking around is my specialty."
"Well done. Come on, I prepared this for you—eat plenty."
I settled Jeremy on the sofa and handed him the cookies I'd set aside for myself.
Hungry, he began munching away immediately.
I watched him with satisfaction.
With Jeremy's return, our carefully orchestrated performance had succeeded perfectly.
Which meant I had never intended to send Jeremy to the Grand Temple of Sea God from the start.
A few days before the Sea God's people arrived.
I had made Jeremy a proposal.
'The Sea God has no intention of letting you go. So soon, people will come to reclaim you.'
'I don't want to go.'
'I don't want to send you either. So I'll only pretend to send you.'
'Pretend?'
'You can fool people's eyes and escape easily anyway, right? The Saint, the Holy Knight, or the High Priest won't come personally for something like this.'
So the plan was to receive compensation from the Sea God Temple's representative, release Jeremy, have him lie low for about a day, then escape.
'Of course, all of this is your choice. Whether you don't escape, or you escape and go somewhere else—I won't mind either way. After all, my greatest goal is the compensation.'
Once I received the funds needed to rebuild the Sun God Grand Temple, I didn't care what Jeremy did after that.
It was his freedom, after all.
'But if you return here again, I promise I'll give you complete freedom someday.'
'...'
'I'll definitely break the half-curse that binds your body. No matter how long it takes, I will.'
Jeremy gave no answer then.
Even as he left the Sun God Grand Temple following Sembus, still feigning control with a vacant expression, he offered no response.
And now, I was receiving that answer.
I received that answer in this way, just now.
"Since you came to me, I'll keep my promise and free you from the Sea God, no matter what."
I made that vow to Jeremy.
He stared at me intently, having already devoured all those cookies.
Did he want more?
"...Every time you break a curse, do you collapse coughing up blood like last time?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself."
Right now my divine power is only around 10%, so that's why this happens. Once I grow stronger, it should be fine, shouldn't it?
"It's hard to say there will be no damage at all. A curse is divine power, and I'm merely human."
"..."
Jeremy said nothing more, staring intently at the empty plate—clearly wanting more—so I rang the bell to summon Monica.
"Oh my! You've really come back?"
Monica, entering the room, was startled to see Jeremy sitting obediently before me.
It seemed no one else knew Jeremy had returned.
"It's better than him running off without a conscience, but seeing him so comfortable here bothers me a bit..."
Monica muttered while glaring at Jeremy.
Her expression suggested she was ready to smack the back of his annoying head at any moment.
"Monica, could you bring some more snacks? And please tell the High Priest and the Holy Knight Commander that Jeremy has returned."
I was already suspicious that I'd damaged his brain, so I spoke to Monica urgently, thinking that another hit would be truly disastrous.
Fortunately, she showed more interest in my request than in hitting the back of Jeremy's head.
After Monica left, I looked at Jeremy again. More precisely, at the area around his neck.
"The necklace seems to be working well, thankfully."
At my words, Jeremy removed the necklace he was wearing. A large crimson gem hanging from its end gleamed brilliantly.
It was none other than a gem pried from the jeweled box—the divine artifact 'Box Made Out of Boredom.'
Since it seemed inconvenient for Jeremy to keep carrying the jeweled box around, I had removed one gem from it.
How did I remove a gem from an indestructible divine artifact, you ask?
Well, you simply use another divine artifact of the same kind, right?
It just so happened that among the Sun God's divine artifacts, there was one shaped like a short sword.
'Saint, are you truly certain about this?'
Of course, Airic Dert had tried to stop me.
Not only was I carelessly damaging a divine artifact that didn't even belong to us, but I was going to break it with the Sun God's own divine artifact.
'The God will be displeased.'
'It's fine. I'll be the only one punished anyway. You don't need to worry—the Sun God will protect the High Priest.'
It was self-deprecating humor about being a fake saint, but Airic Dert didn't laugh. Instead, he grew serious and even glared at me fearfully.
I seemed to have no talent for jokes.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org