“Kyuu—”
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Hyria shook her head.
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Then she stretched, jumped down from Renee, and toddled over to Vera’s feet.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera felt troubled.
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‘...This.’
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How should I explain this to the others?
✦ ✦ ✦
Those thoughts came to his mind.
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“The castle’s influence only extends to the water of the lake.”
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El Claire, the Imperial Wizard, continued his explanation.
✦ ✦ ✦
His eyes were focused on Hyria, who was sitting at Vera’s feet.
✦ ✦ ✦
No, it wasn’t just El Claire; all the sorcerers in the room had their eyes fixed on Hyria.
✦ ✦ ✦
...It couldn’t be helped.
✦ ✦ ✦
Hyria looked quite unusual.
✦ ✦ ✦
They were spellcasters, and all of them were fundamentally scholars.
✦ ✦ ✦
It would be strange for a scholar not to be curious about an unusual creature like Hyria.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera consciously ignored the sharp pull on his back.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘...It’s fortunate that they haven’t noticed that it’s Gorgan.’
✦ ✦ ✦
Apparently, their imaginations weren’t vivid enough to connect a small, fluffy dog with a massive beast.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera inwardly sighed in relief and asked El Claire.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Have you found a way to enter the castle?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Ah, since it’s a phenomenon caused by the lake spirits, turning the ground upside down seems to be the simplest option.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera involuntarily let out a sarcastic laugh at the vast difference between the words ‘turning the ground upside down’ and ‘simple’.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Simple, you say.”
✦ ✦ ✦
El Claire’s body trembled greatly at Vera’s reaction.
✦ ✦ ✦
His pupils shook uncontrollably.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Please hear me out first!”
✦ ✦ ✦
El Claire’s outcry shut Vera’s mouth.
✦ ✦ ✦
He gave the wizard a look as if telling him to continue speaking.
✦ ✦ ✦
Feeling sorry at his own inability to resist that gaze, the elderly wizard El Claire began to speak.
✦ ✦ ✦
“We plan to use a large-scale teleportation spell. We’ll distort space with sorcery to lift the castle, and the elementalists will fill in the space below it with soil. Then, us wizards will stabilize the distorted space.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“What’s the success rate?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“We can’t be certain since there’s never been such a large-scale spell, but...”
✦ ✦ ✦
El Claire swallowed dryly.
✦ ✦ ✦
His eyes hardened, forming a more determined appearance.
✦ ✦ ✦
“...we are confident that it’s over 90%. Moreover, the castle being alive helped a lot.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“What do you mean?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Since space distortion tries to preserve living things as a whole, lifting the castle itself will have fewer variables.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera nodded.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was a clear form of affirmation.
✦ ✦ ✦
Just as El Claire’s expression started to brighten, Vera asked.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Let me ask you this first: I assume you know what that castle is for?”
✦ ✦ ✦
El Claire flinched.
✦ ✦ ✦
Not just him, but all the other sorcerers present had the same reaction.
✦ ✦ ✦
Of course, they did.
✦ ✦ ✦
Who stood before them currently was an Apostle of God.
✦ ✦ ✦
And what they were about to report was blasphemy that they were too afraid to even utter.
✦ ✦ ✦
Sensing their hesitation, Vera exhaled softly.
✦ ✦ ✦
“You seem to have a rough idea. Yes, it’s blasphemy. One wrong move, and there’s a possibility that you’ll be exposed to corruption. Have you thought about that?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yes, we have... actually, we have a favor to ask you...”
✦ ✦ ✦
El Claire bowed.
✦ ✦ ✦
He seemed reluctant to ask.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera tilted his head, and El Claire’s hesitation deepened.
✦ ✦ ✦
Miller, unable to bear the stifling atmosphere, stepped forward.
✦ ✦ ✦
“We need the Saint’s help.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera’s gaze turned towards Miller.
✦ ✦ ✦
Facing Vera’s narrowed eyes directly, Miller added nervously.
✦ ✦ ✦
“We can’t handle the corruption with spells. There’s only one way, and that is through divinity, which has the opposite nature of corruption and the certain miracle it manifests.”
✦ ✦ ✦
While the request might have seemed obvious, Miller’s tension did not easily dissipate.
✦ ✦ ✦
He knew that Vera could be even more strict than an interrogator when it came to Renee.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘Please...!’
✦ ✦ ✦
In such a moment, he hoped for an easy agreement.
✦ ✦ ✦
As he waited with this thought, Vera finally spoke up.
✦ ✦ ✦
Fortunately, he was more agreeable than Miller had anticipated.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yes, I agree. I’ll talk to the Saint regarding this.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Miller’s face brightened.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘It’s done!’
✦ ✦ ✦
His words were practically a permission.
✦ ✦ ✦
Both Miller and Vera knew that.
✦ ✦ ✦
Renee was not someone who would step back from something like this to save herself.
✦ ✦ ✦
Miller erased the dozens of persuasive arguments he had prepared in his mind and let out a deep sigh of relief.
✦ ✦ ✦
His legs wobbled, and his tensed muscles finally started to relax.
✦ ✦ ✦
And then, something caught his eye.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Kyu—”
✦ ✦ ✦
Hyria.
✦ ✦ ✦
The very beast that Gorgan had been living off of.
✦ ✦ ✦
However, there was one thing that Miller could not understand.
✦ ✦ ✦
He contemplated.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘A baby Karel?’
✦ ✦ ✦
Has Gorgan begun to produce more Karels after leaving for the West?
✦ ✦ ✦
Can this Karel be a gift sent by Gorgan to Elia while he was away?
✦ ✦ ✦
Curiosity and a desire to investigate constantly stimulated Miller.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Um, Sir Vera, what is that creature?”
✦ ✦ ✦
He ended up asking the question.
✦ ✦ ✦
The words drew the attention of all those in the room.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera swallowed his panic.
✦ ✦ ✦
Just when he thought he had gotten away with it, the sudden question temporarily dazed his thoughts, and a ridiculous answer came out of Vera.
✦ ✦ ✦
“...It’s the Saint’s pet.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The Wave of Despair, Gorgan, was instantly downgraded to being Renee’s pet due to Vera’s slip of the tongue.