Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 81 - Conclusion

Chapter 81: Conclusion

 

After the Dragon Cavalry Commander Cassius joined the battle, the war quickly came to an end.

“Commander, where do you think you’re going by yourself?!”

“His Majesty is absolutely furious!”

“Are you out of your mind?!”

While the undisputed strongest warrior of the Great Holy War era single-handedly halted the advance of the non-living army, the Kingdom of Lumes’ remaining reinforcements steadily arrived.

The Dragon Cavalry under Cassius’ command.

The Sky Knight Order, whose commander was a Level 10 powerhouse.

An army of several hundred thousand soldiers led by Lumes’ Level 9 army commander.

Once the very forces that had defeated the golem horde in the original history entered the battlefield…

The tide of war completely reversed.

—Incomprehensible combat force detected. Commencing engagement.

—Requesting reinforcements!

—Uuuuugh… ugh…

The reinforcements annihilated every golem and puppet that had relentlessly besieged the sanctuary.

It took only a single hour to completely clean up the battlefield.

Even considering that the enemy’s main force still hadn’t arrived…

It was an overwhelmingly decisive victory.

—Beginning retreat.

Unable to withstand the Lumes army’s offensive…

The monster horde finally retreated to their homeland, Golemophia.

Victory.

The Sanctuary of Restful Purification had endured to the very end.

Still…

It wasn’t a perfect victory.

They had merely driven the golems back into the labyrinth.

They hadn’t eradicated them completely.

“We won!”

Fortunately…

No one chose to ruin the atmosphere by pointing out that the war against the non-living army might continue in the future.

“Lady Artein has protected us!”

“Glory in victory to the One Who Protects the Innocent!”

“Long live Saint Seraphina! Thank you, Kingdom of Lumes!”

The surviving Holy Knights erupted into cheers.

The priests, who had spent the past several days tirelessly caring for patients with only a handful of people, also came outside to celebrate.

“…It’s finally over.”

Watching the Protectors embracing each other in celebration…

Bartimir flopped onto the barren ground.

“I seriously almost died. If it weren’t for Malicious Comrade, I’d probably have ended up with nothing but a torso.”

“…You really did push your body far beyond its limits.”

His hair hanging limply like seaweed from being soaked in sweat…

Priest Lucius poured divine power into the demon’s body.

Respecting Bartimir’s wishes…

He left the Calamities of Mind and Body untouched while restoring only his vitality.

“It was much harder than I expected. But I gained an incredible amount of real combat experience and raised my soul’s rank. So I’m satisfied.”

Pendrick sat on the ground with a bright smile.

“Hanging around Lord Karr has rubbed off on you!”

Astrimia shook violently inside her artifact scabbard.

“This was absolutely ‘not’ the kind of situation where you should say you’re satisfied! If we’d made even the tiniest mistake, we would’ve died!”

“But we didn’t.”

“That’s right. Hoshisoon, quit ruining the mood and keep quiet.”

“H-Hoshisoon?!”

Astrimia struggled indignantly in her lover’s arms before letting out a mental sigh.

“Still… I’m just glad everyone somehow made it through safely. Especially Lord Karr…”

“…Yeah.”

Pendrick smiled bitterly.

“I followed his orders because we were in an emergency… But wasn’t going inside that giant golem to destroy its mana core basically a suicide mission?”

“Yeah.”

“He usually says the strangest things, but why would he go that far…?

“It’s because it reminded him of his past.”

Bartimir glanced toward the sanctuary.

Karr was currently lying unconscious inside the temporary office of the Saint.

Seraphina had rescued the half-elf after he lost an arm inside the giant golem and taken him away for intensive treatment.

“I once overheard this from the black magic guild where I was sold as a test subject. Apparently, some elven societies still look down on half-elves.”

Half-elves.

A race that had once been classified as property… Less than pets.

Nowadays…

Thanks to the Harmony Church’s ideals of coexistence spreading throughout the world, their treatment had improved considerably.

But discrimination had not completely disappeared.

“…A heartbreaking reality.”

Valentin, who had collapsed from exhausting himself while opening a path through the battlefield, suddenly spoke.

“Lord Karr was born with elven blood. He should originally have worshipped Lord Metherd. Do you know why he became a cultist instead?”

“Because he fell head over heels for an Evil God?”

“…He definitely ‘is’ someone fascinated by Evil Gods.”

“But that’s probably not what made him become a cultist in the first place.”

Unfortunately…

The discrimination suffered by the half-elf remembered by the Ego Sword discovered in the distant-past labyrinth still remained much the same in modern times.

“As far as I know… A half-elf born in an elven village that despises mixed blood has only two possible futures. They either die immediately after birth… Or they’re sold.”

“Exactly.”

With Ilia’s help supporting his upper body…

Valentin continued with a grim expression.

“Lord Karr was probably handed over to an Evil God’s cult when he was still very young. Usually they’re raised like livestock before eventually being offered as sacrifices…”

But Karr had survived.

He had not become a living sacrifice.

That wasn’t necessarily fortunate.

If anything… It likely meant he had endured something even more horrific.

“Some Evil God cults are so extreme that they don’t even obey the gods they worship. They conduct cruel training and experiments on children.”

Valentin frowned deeply, as though even remembering it sickened him.

“All to create children born with the [True Believer] constitution.”

[True Believer].

A constitution closer to a curse…

One that earned the love of every Evil God.

Karr served multiple Evil Gods simultaneously.

Everyone had already guessed as much after witnessing him use the mysteries belonging to different gods.

“During those experiments… Lord Karr must have been forced to helplessly watch the other children die.”

“…”

A cultist serving numerous Evil Gods.

Anyone with even a basic education in history would inevitably feel sympathy before surprise.

Bartimir remembered something Karr had once said.

“My younger sibling and I were abandoned when we were little. I was only five years old.”

That younger sibling had died.

Most likely during those experiments.

“After witnessing the deaths of innocent children… It isn’t strange that he’d step forward to protect innocent patients.”

Lucius, who had silently listened until now, nodded solemnly.

Though the brutal battle had only just ended…

The eyes of both followers of the Harmony Church still shone brightly.

“Of course… Even so, what he accomplished is something almost no one else could imitate. Who would willingly risk their life for complete strangers… Or even for ghosts trapped inside a labyrinth?”

Closing his eyes briefly before reopening them…

Bartimir lay there gazing up at the sky.

When today’s battle had begun…

The heavens had been shrouded in darkness.

Now…

An endless, cloudless blue sky filled his vision.

The sun was dazzlingly bright.

“…I really think joining the Moonlight Expedition Team was the right choice.”

It was a thought that came to him all over again.

 

***

 

Every treatment room in the sanctuary had long since reached full capacity.

They had already been overflowing with countless patients from across the continent.

Even the room originally used as the Saint’s office had been converted into a ward.

As a result…

There simply wasn’t enough space to accommodate the many injured Holy Knights after the battle.

“We’re perfectly fine staying here!”

So the Holy Knights of the Purifying Torch chose…

Outside the sanctuary.

They simply spread mats beneath some parasols…

Added old blankets that had been scheduled for disposal…

And just like that… An outdoor treatment ward was completed.

Naturally…

While the Holy Knights were perfectly satisfied…

The other Protectors certainly weren’t.

“…We absolutely cannot allow this.”

As expected…

Elion and the other priests rushed over in alarm to stop them.

What followed was a heartwarming argument as everyone tried to give the more comfortable sleeping places to someone else.

“Aren’t they all fools?”

Inside the Saint’s office and living quarters, enclosed by white wooden boards…

I lay upon an old bed that barely retained the concept of softness.

After losing consciousness inside the Gigantic Destruction Golem… I’d awakened here.

“It wasn’t intentional… But somehow this sanctuary ended up being filled with people like that.”

Watching the Protectors bickering outside the window…

Seraphina smiled at me.

“I wish all of you would occasionally think of yourselves for once.”

“But why are you looking at ‘me’ when you say that?”

“Why do you think?”

Frowning…

The Saint sitting beside me took hold of my left arm.

My arm, now shortened below the elbow…

Had acquired a new feature that allowed one to appreciate the virtue of completeness.

“Body parts offered to Evil Gods through a ritual of self-sacrifice cannot regenerate. Not even through the Mystical Healing of a high-ranking priest like me.”

“You certainly know your stuff.”

Observing the smooth, rounded end of my left arm…

I continued.

“I’m sure my missing left arm is pleased with itself right now. It was sacrificed to save this many people.”

“…”

Leaning back against the rack holding her armor…

Seraphina quietly spoke.

“But you performed that ritual without asking your left arm’s opinion. For all you know… It might currently be furious, wondering why it had to sacrifice itself for wanderers inside a labyrinth.”

“Ah. I was thinking about it only from my own perspective.”

Turning my gaze toward the white ceiling…

I remained silent for a while before suddenly speaking.

“Saint. I was born broken.”

“How fitting for a mongrel elf.”

“…Wasn’t that an awfully direct discriminatory remark?”

“Hm?”

The half-elf-discriminating Saint blinked.

“You kept making self-loathing remarks. So I assumed you enjoyed being despised and looked down upon. Was I mistaken?”

“What an admirable way of turning cold treatment into something positive. I’m fine with it… But ordinary people generally don’t appreciate being insulted out of nowhere.”

“…I’ve learned something new.”

To think that someone who had become a Saint didn’t even know such basic etiquette.

It might seem strange.

But it was simply a side effect of chronic overwork.

When I used to work under Chief Choi, the Living Demon…

My brain had practically melted too.

I’d wandered around like a zombie.

“Anyway… Since I was born broken… I often couldn’t properly fit in with others. No matter how hard I tried to learn… It was difficult to overcome innate flaws.”

Truthfully…

Even calling myself “broken” was giving myself too much credit.

Something had to be whole at least once before it could break.

“…In a way… You’re not all that different from me.”

Speaking softly enough that no one else could hear…

Seraphina slowly turned to look out the window.

“Do you know what I’m trying to say?”

“Not yet.”

“I don’t really know either.”

“…Excuse me?”

“But there’s one thing I absolutely want to tell you.”

Looking out the window…

Seraphina turned her gaze back to me.

I raised my now-empty left arm.

“Don’t waste your time trying to understand why I risked my life to protect people. Or why I sacrificed an arm for those inside a labyrinth. I can’t explain it logically either.”

“…Ah. I see.”

Seraphina laughed softly as her shoulders relaxed.

“And honestly… I don’t understand. ‘To protect people… Isn’t that reason enough? I’m sincerely asking because I’m confused.”

“…No.”

Shaking her head gently…

Seraphina placed a hand over her chest.

“For someone who calls herself the Saint of the Church of Protection… I’ve been terribly foolish. Thank you. For willingly stepping forward to protect the innocent. I’m certain Lady Artein has engraved your sacrifice upon Her Heavenly Shield.”

Pausing for a moment…

Seraphina smiled mysteriously.

“Though… You already know that perfectly well.”

“…Yes.”

The King of Lumes had been furious that his subordinate flew off alone without following protocol…

Yet he never recalled the reinforcements.

Because Artein had graciously accepted my request and personally granted the king a revelation.

Ultimately…

It had been to save Her beloved Saint.

But everyone at the Sanctuary of Restful Purification now knew that I had been the starting point.

Valentin had enthusiastically spread the story everywhere.

“Priest Elion told me something. He said that had fate not gone so terribly astray… You would’ve become one of the Church of Protection’s greatest clergy.”

Her face slightly flushed…

The Saint whispered.

“What do you think, Lord Karr? Would you be interested in becoming the next Saint?”

“Hm… It would certainly be an interesting life experience. But I’ll decline. There are still too many things I want to do.”

There were things I absolutely had to accomplish.

“To be honest… I like exploring labyrinths more than Lady Artein.”

I had been born…

To become an explorer.