Lubella was saying a prayer like usual. While she bent down her knees on a white floor, she was fully devoted in her prayers; needless to say, her appearance was the pinnacle of holiness. Then she opened her eyes. She loosened her hands and got up from the floor. Even though her knees felt slightly sore from bending them for so long, Lubella showed no signs of discomfort. She turned around and headed towards the prayer room entrance. A large holy object hanging in front of the prayer room seemed to be blessing her back.
Creek!
“Oh my?” Lubella was surprised to find Weig in front of her as soon as she opened the prayer room’s thick door. Weig stared at Lubella and made a smile.
“Lady Lubella, are you finished with your prayers?”
“Yes, but what is the matter?”
Lubella knew that Weig waited in front of the prayer room when he had something urgent to say to her.
Weig nodded his head. “A familiar face has come to visit us.”
“A familiar face?”
“Zich. He has come to visit us.”
Lubella’s face brightened up. “Mr. Zich has come here?”
“He has come to see you and me. If you are busy, I can go by myself—”
“Let’s go quickly!” Lubella quickly moved her feet. Since she had to be quiet in the temple, she didn’t run, but her footsteps were extremely fast. However, she stopped when she heard Weig’s words. “Lady Lubella, do you even know where he is?”
“…Where is he?”
Weig made a small smile and led Lubella, who was now bright red, to where Zich and his companions were.
* * *
“Wow!” Snoc moved his head around fervently. He looked around the room, which was completely white without a trace of dirt. Even though the room only had one holy ornament, the room seemed to ooze out divinity since it was inside the Karuwiman temple. Even Hans was amazed by the grand sight in front of him, and only Zich remained indifferent to the splendor of his surroundings.
Knock! Knock!
“You can come in.” With Zich’s permission, two people came inside the room. Zich and Hans were familiar with them, but it was Snoc’s first time seeing them.
“It’s been a while since I saw the two of you.” Zich got up from his seat and greeted them first.
Lubella and Weig were happy to see him.
“It’s been a while, Mr. Zich. I’m glad that you look healthy.” Weig greeted him first while making that trademark laugh of his—as if he was a silly old grandpa who lived next door. Even though Zich thought he got used to this laugh while fighting with Weig against the Bellids, it was strange to see Tasnia’s Killing Machine laugh so brightly again. Zich tried to repress his thoughts and shook hands with Weig.
“Mr. Zich, welcome. Have you been well?” Lubella smiled and gave a small bow.
Unlike Weig, Zich felt no sense of confusion with her. Hans and Snoc also greeted Lubella and Weig. After he heard their titles, Snoc froze in place.
“Lady Lubella, your face looks brighter. Has my advice been helpful to you?”
“It’s been more than helpful.” Weig quickly answered in Lubella’s place. “Those guys can’t even properly stand in front of me or Lubella. In the first place, they weren’t even at our level and were disrespecting us out of jealousy.”
Weig’s boisterous laugh indicated how pleased he was.
“You were able to overcome it well.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Mr. Zich.” Even though Lubella thought it wasn’t something she should brag about (she even felt embarrassed), Lubella made a shy smile.
However, Weig was not going to end his bragging about Lubella just yet. “After that incident, Lady Lubella’s position as the next saint candidate has become even more solid. In the first place, she was heads above everyone in morals and ability. Now, whenever someone thinks about the next Karuwiman Saint, 99 out of 100 people think of Lubella.”
“Sir Weig, please stop.”
“As you can see, she is still very humble like this.”
Lubella’s face became even redder. Likewise, Weig’s laughter became even louder. Their relationship was still like a grandpa and his granddaughter. “But all of my words about Lady Lubella are true. Honestly, it’s not an exaggeration to say Lady Lubella is one step away from earning the name, ‘Primel’.”
‘Primel.’ It was the middle name given to a saint. It was not a name that the Karuwimans carelessly said, especially for fervent devotees like Weig. This indicated how close Lubella was to becoming a saint to the extent that Weig would confidently mention that name out loud.
Zich asked, “What do you have to do for that final step?”
“Anything really. No, I’m not joking. The only thing we have left is to build her reputation. She just has to complete a small task for the sake of other people. Like last time, we can just go around villages for about a month.”
“And while you are doing that, are you expecting to meet those Bellid bastards again?”
When Zich said this, Lubella and Weig burst out laughing at the same time. They both recalled what happened in Porti. Zich laughed with them, but Snoc, who had not been with them during that time, just awkwardly stood there while holding onto Nowem. And Hans shook his head.
Even though all Hans did during that time was run like crazy to bring Weig, Hans knew how serious the situation was. But the people in front of him were all laughing while recalling such a terrifying event.
‘Do all great people have this kind of mindset?’
Hans felt that there was a great distance between them.
“Yeah, yeah. It would be great if I could hunt down those Bellid bastards again. But will an event like that happen again?”
Zich did not reply. All he did was smile. However, Weig, who had a lot of experience, knew right away from Zich’s smile that he had something on his mind.
“…To think about it, I haven’t asked you why you came here. Considering your personality, you wouldn’t have come here without a reason.”
“You told me that there is only one step left until Lady Lubella receives the middle name, ‘Primel,’ right?”
“Yes.”
“And what you need to do is a small task for the sake of others.”
“That’s right.”
“This is the last task Lady Lubella needs to do to become recognized as the Karuwiman Saint. Instead of a small task, why don’t you end it with extravagance?”
“Such as?”
“The total destruction of the northern branch of Bellid.”
* * *
Tap! Tap!
Weig tapped the table with his fingers. He cupped his face with his other hand and made a stern face. Lubella did the same while sitting next to him. On the other hand, Hans and Snoc were wholly frozen in their spots, not knowing what to do—they had come here without hearing much.
“So…” Weig opened his mouth. “The villagers you helped were brutally murdered, and the ones who killed them were part of the Bellid?”
“Yes.” Zich asked for a pen and paper and began to draw a picture; it was the scar that was engraved on the boy’s chest. Zich pushed his drawing toward Lubella and Weig.
“You both can probably recognize this mark.”
“It’s one of those shit things that the Bellids do—black magic that prevents a person from dying.”
Hearing that, some might think the magic granted eternal youth and life to its subjects, but it was far from that.
“They taint a person’s life force with Bellu’s energy and forcefully keep the person alive no matter how fatal their wounds are. Since the magic is ineffective to those who harness Bellu’s energy, they use it a lot to torture their victims who should be dead.”
“They also use it a lot to play with people.”
“…Did someone fall victim to this?”
“Yes.” The edges of Zich’s smile twisted with chilling bloodthirst.
“I was quite attached to him.”
“What a pity.” Weig drew a sign of the cross, and Lubella silently prayed.
“But right before the child died, he told me a trait that his offender had. Apparently, the man had no hair, and half of his face was covered with a tattoo.”
Both Lubella and Weig’s faces hardened; they had someone in mind.
“Cardinal Trislowa.”
“Hmph! The title of cardinal is too good for someone like that, Lady Lubella.”
But Weig’s face trembled with tension. As one of the cardinals, right below the Bellids’ pope, Cullun Trislowa was a person who wreaked havoc all over the world. Because of their opposite characters, the two religions, Karuwiman and Bellid, constantly clashed against each other, and Trislowa was one of the main figures responsible for many bloodsheds.
“Many Karuwiman followers have died in his hands. We have to obtain his head as soon as possible.” As expected of a man called ‘Karuwiman’s Sword,’ Weig possessed a great desire to shred the man into pieces. “Did you say that guy came to the village?”
“Yes. I think he and his men came to the village to get some food and decided to have some ‘fun’ while they were at it. All their victims were people living around the village’s outskirts—they knew the village wouldn’t make a fuss with that much sacrifice.”
“Those bastards!”
“That’s not the only important part. The village that they attacked is covered with wide plains and surrounded by low mountains. But many monsters started to appear there; the orcs were even forming a community.”
“You’re saying that strange herds of monsters appeared at the same place Trislowa appeared. I smell something fishy.”
“I’m sure they are plotting something.” Zich agreed.
“Thank you, Zich. I am willing to run wherever those bastards are. But as you know, those guys move like sly pests, so even we aren’t able to locate their headquarters. You talked about the complete destruction of the northern branch of Bellid, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So, does that mean you know where the northern branch is?”
Zich smiled, and that was enough to answer Weig’s question.
“Good, good. If we can wipe out the northern branch of Bellid, then we can crush the small number of dissent that are against Lady Lubella to become recognized as the next saint. Besides, it is one of the main responsibilities for all Karuwimans to kill off the Bellids.”
After saying this, Weig asked a question he had been curious about, “But how were you able to find out where those guys were? This is information that not only us, but other countries weren’t able to find out. Of course, this includes your biological family, the Steelwalls too.”
It seemed as if Weig had done a background check on Zich. But this didn’t surprise Zich since he had half-jokingly suggested Lubella to investigate his family.
“I learned it by coincidence.” To be exact, Zich found out the location of the northern branch of Bellid before his regression; and at that time, as soon as he obtained the information, he left the place in ruins without even leaving a trace.
“I expected as much. Well, it’s fine. Since I trust you, I won’t ask any more questions. But I want you to at least answer this.” Weig’s eyes turned serious. “Do you know the locations of Bellids’ other branches?”
“I know about two more. I can tell you if you want.”
Weig clapped. “Good! That’s very good news! God Karuna must have really sent you to us!”
‘I don’t think that’s the case.’
Zich recalled how he had fought Karuwiman to the death before his regression.
“We will give you all the support you need. Did you say your target is the northern branch? According to you, Trislowa must manage that place.” Weig stuck out his neck and looked at Zich. “Your motive must be revenge.”
Zich made a chilling smile. “Thanks to that guy, I couldn’t even hear the boy’s name.”