← Previous Chapter | Chapter Index | Next Chapter →

The Ordeal of Saint Teresalo (Part 2)

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

「Oh, my apologies, Lord Sophoyl. You came all this way for us, and I’ve kept you waiting.」

With a smile and a playful little bow, Wellmy-oneesama turned her attention back to the three men who remained prostrate on the floor. Her tone shifted instantly.

「Come now, apologize properly. Use your voices.」

「「「We are truly, deeply sorry.」」」

「I—I-I forgive you!」

「No, absolutely not!」

Teresalo had answered the apology instantly, but Wellmy-oneesama wouldn't allow it.

「Wh—Why?! I can't handle this situation any longer! At least let them lift their heads!!」

Appealing to her in a near-sob, Teresalo finally won a concession. 「You may raise your heads,」 Wellmy-oneesama permitted. Teresalo, a daughter of the newly-risen barony who felt like she might collapse at any moment, was gently caught from the side by Sophoyl, who had circled around the three men to reach her.

Drawing a breath of relief from the warmth of his large frame and hands, Teresalo turned to face the three men as they stood up. Lord Seifahrt was scratching his cheek with a look of awkwardness, glancing at Lord Zumiano, whom he had once called a brother figure.

「Hey, Myy. Can I talk now?」

Despite having been forced to wait in such a humiliating position until just a moment ago, Lord Zumiano asked his question with a bright smile—showing no sign of being bothered by it, and unlike the two behind him, showing no sign of remorse.

「If you speak one word out of turn, I’ll kill you.」

「I'll be good. I know how to read the room.」

Lord Zumiano was the mastermind of this entire incident, the one who had manipulated Lord Tsurgis, Lord Schizolda, and even Lord Seifahrt. Sophoyl had apparently been attending to Wellmy-oneesama for some time, but when he was told of this fact, his surprise had far outweighed his anger.

Later, he had muttered quietly:

「Every one of them was a person who treated me with respect, recognized my merits, and spoke to me as a friend without looking down on my status.」

Teresalo understood Sophoyl's feelings well; even to her eyes, the waves of mana everyone emitted felt pleasant.

(It was all to make his friend's love bear fruit...)

The methods had been outrageous and caused immense trouble, but even Lord Zumiano himself—though a bit warped—did not possess a "bad" mana signature.

However, the color of his mana was tinged with a certain grayness. Like a painting devoid of color.

Looking closer, Teresalo noticed a section of the wave pattern that was slightly distorted, as if something were obstructing it... and before she knew it, she was reaching out her hand.

「Hm? What is it?」

As he asked with a smile, Teresalo released a holy art to correct the distortion.

Being able to not only sense but clearly see the wave patterns of mana was apparently a rare trait; Lord Tygrim had strictly ordered her 「not to mention this to anyone except those you trust implicitly.」

Furthermore, correcting distortions in mana could indirectly heal the wounds or pain causing them—another power unique to Teresalo.

The distortion in Lord Zumiano’s pattern was at the front of his head.

It was a part that had likely been distorted for nearly ten years, so it didn't recover fully with just that one act. However, the mana began to flow as if a hole had been poked in an obstructing film, allowing droplets to finally drip through.

Since the distorted portion had been opened, the flow would likely spread and normalize over time.

「What did you do, Teresalo?」

「His mana pattern was distorted, so I fixed it a little. Lord Zumiano?」

「Yes, what?」

After answering Wellmy-oneesama's question, Teresalo addressed Lord Zumiano, who was tilting his head in confusion.

「Lord Zumiano, did you perhaps suffer an injury to your head a long time ago?」

「An injury? Ah, yeah. Come to think of it, did I fall off a cliff back then while trying to catch Ninina? Right?」

Zumiano asked the two behind him as if it were a trivial matter, prompting Lord Schizolda to let out a sigh.

「It's not a matter of 'come to think of it.' You hovered between life and death.」

「Was it that bad?」

As he laughed, Wellmy-oneesama asked, 「Who is Ninina?」

「Oh, she's my fiancée. She hates socializing and stays hoistered up in our territory all year except for New Year's greetings. She's a bit of an oddball.」

「!? You flirted with me despite having a fiancée?! Unbelievable! You’re just as much of a scumbag as Irvine!」

「Well, if my crimes come to light, the engagement will be annulled either way. Actually, my father supposedly went to them to apologize and offer alimony, but they apparently turned him down. So, she’s still my fiancée for now.」

Zumiano gave a light laugh, remarking again on what an odd girl she was. However, Teresalo felt she had to interject with something important, despite the awkward timing.

「Listen! I’ve just corrected the flow of your mana! When you injure your head, even if there are no problems on the surface, it can cause various... complications!」

She had once accidentally treated a person whose mind had been plagued by illness, and their mana pattern had been distorted in the exact same way at the head. His mana had seemed warm, yet it was grayed out, spreading from the obstructed part.

Once she fixed it, he had become completely healthy again a few months later.

「So, was there anything that changed before and after that injury?」

「Hmm? It was so long ago I don't really remember... but now that you mention it, was that around the time everything started feeling boring...? Wait?」

As Zumiano slightly knit his brows, Wellmy-oneesama and Tsurgis’s group widened their eyes as if seeing something rare.

「...I don't really get it, but I feel like things that are boring now used to be fun... Well, whatever!」

Lord Zumiano immediately returned to his smile and began to steer the conversation back as if nothing had happened. However, since the gray-tinged mana was already starting to regain a fresh radiance from the healed portion, Teresalo said nothing more.

「So, about the apology.」

「Ah, yes.」

Teresalo nodded, thinking she didn't really need anything, only for Lord Zumiano to beam and say something absolutely outrageous.

「—I heard you don't want to enter the Temple as a Saint, so I've prepared everything needed to tear the whole place down!」

*****

Thank you for reading. If you want to help my hobby please download and install LDP9 with my link down below. Just Click the small yellow LDPlayer Banner.