Leticia looked at Hariel in a panic as Hariel shouted.
"Pour more! Pour more divine power into it!"
But it only made things worse, like pouring oil on a fire.
The holy grail shook violently and began to crack.
Pitch-black demonic energy leaked from the fissures like poison gas.
"D-demonic energy!"
"Run! It's going to explode!"
The priests, who had been flaunting their solemn piety just moments ago, were busy fleeing, while the nobles screamed and scrambled in a blind panic.
In an instant, the hall of Holy Light turned into pure chaos.
Vwooom!
The grail began spewing out a blood-red light.
"What do we do… We're all going to die…"
Tommy, who had been fleeing alongside the saintesses, collapsed as his legs gave out.
Just then—
"Move."
Someone rushed past him. A woman sprinted forward, her worn-out saintess robes fluttering behind her.
In her hands, she clutched a mop.
"Saintess Ariel?"
Ariel wasn't in her right mind.
[5]
Ever since the cracking sound erupted from the grail, an ominous countdown had been ticking down on her status window.
[4]
Despite being completely drained from pouring so much divine energy into her chores, Ariel dove right between Hariel and Leticia without a second thought.
[3]
"What are you doing?!"
"Ariel!"
"No!"
Hariel and the other saintesses screamed, but their voices fell on deaf ears.
[2]
Crack!
Ariel jammed the handle of her mop right into the dead center of the fissure.
"Purify!"
Channeling the last of her divine power through the mop, she stabilized the demonic energy.
The relic, which had just been suffocating the room with demonic energy, dropped lifelessly to the floor and shattered into pieces.
The fleeing priests, the screaming nobles, and Tommy slumped on the floor all froze in place, staring at Ariel.
"Phew."
Ariel wiped the sweat from her forehead and picked up her mop.
"Thought I was a goner again."
She had finally gotten used to this life and was living day by day just fine.
She didn't even want to imagine dying all over again.
There was no guarantee she'd get another chance like this.
When Ariel lifted her head, Hariel and everyone else in the hall were staring at her in utter shock.
What's with the mood? Why so quiet?
Just as Ariel was about to say something to break the awkward silence—
Ding.
A cheerful notification sound rang in her head.
[First awakening complete.]
[First awakening reward item has been distributed.]
[Reward Item: Administrator's White Gloves (S-rank)]
[Please check your system inventory.]
[A mission has been generated.]
[Goal: Collect 1,000G.]
[Mission Reward: C-rank promotion, special skill unlock, special item reward.]
Ariel stared blankly at the windows unfolding before her eyes.
C-rank promotion.
Nothing else even caught her attention.
I just need a thousand gold to rank up to C?
Her heart stopped for a split second before it started racing again.
Hold on, I only make 3 gold a month. Exactly how many years is it going to take to save that much?
Just as Ariel started ticking off her fingers to crunch the numbers…
"Heretic!"
A sharp cry filled the hall of Holy Light.
* * *
Whooosh!
The thin wooden walls of the carriage shrieked as if they were being torn apart.
For several days now, the carriage had been traveling along the icy roads of the North.
Every time the wheels hit a jagged rock on the frozen ground, the entire carriage rattled violently.
Ariel unconsciously hunched her shoulders. Bundling up in a coat was useless.
Whenever the carriage jolted, the freezing air seeped through the widening cracks in the wooden planks, biting right down to her bones.
"Damn it! Why am I being sent to this wasteland?!"
The priest sitting across from her, Gion, spat out curses with a pale face.
He was shivering, hugging the portable mana heater issued by the central temple like it was his lifeline.
Ariel silently pulled the collar of her worn-out coat tighter and discreetly brought up Gion's status window.
[Name: Gion]
[Title: Central Temple Priest]
Nice. Still working perfectly today.
Until recently, the status window had been practically useless.
Except for her own information, everything else was either corrupted text or completely unknown.
But that changed after her awakening.
Whether it was a person or an object, as long as it was in her line of sight, the information appeared crystal clear without a single glitched character.
Ariel was just about to close the status window with a satisfied smile when a voice cut through the moment.
"U-uugh…! It's so cold! Is this really a place for humans to live?!"
Gion hugged the heater tighter, his teeth chattering.
With a thick blanket pulled all the way over his head, he looked exactly like a nicely wrapped steamed potato.
Ariel dismissed the status window and looked back outside. A fierce blizzard was still raging relentlessly against the carriage.
Their destination was the Hart Grand Duchy in the North.
It was the absolute frontline of the fierce war against monsters, a place where people dispatched from the central temple ended up dead or insane in less than three months.
The whole mess started a month ago, when she purified that cursed holy grail.
"Heretic!"
The moment that shout sliced through the hall of Holy Light, temple knights rushed in.
They twisted Ariel's arms behind her back before she could even open her mouth.
Without even a second to defend herself, she was dragged straight to the underground dungeon, and from the dungeon to an interrogation room.
What awaited her there was a charge she had never heard of in her entire life.
Illegal manufacturing and distribution of holy water.
"Illegal holy water? What are you…"
"Deny all you want, but…"
The inquisitor slammed a file down on the table.
"It's certainly better than a heresy charge, don't you think?"
It was a quiet threat.
Regardless of whether an inquisition found you guilty or innocent, the stigma of heresy would follow you forever once accused.
It didn't matter if there was no proof. Suspicion alone was enough.
In the end, before she could even utter a proper word of defense, her transfer to the North was finalized.
And that was exactly why she was in this carriage right now.
Gion—currently a ball of blankets and complaints—was the 'escort' sent by the central temple.
Which was a generous way of saying he was a warden tasked with making sure Ariel didn't escape.
A bit too weak for a warden, though.
"Pardon me, but do you really intend to take that with you?"
Gion asked, glaring at the object resting on her lap.
"Like I've said, this is my prized possession."
"But why are you obsessing over a mere mop like that?!"
He was right. A worn-out, ragged mop lay across Ariel's lap.
To Ariel, this mop was no different from a comrade-in-arms who had survived life and death with her.
In fact, in a way, it had been with her longer than anyone else in the temple.
Had she left it behind in the repository, it surely would have been snapped in half and used for firewood.
It's my precious mop. I wasn't about to let that happen.
She gripped the mop tightly with both hands, her eyes burning with intensity.
Her aura was like that of a holy knight grasping a sacred sword.
"…Right. Do whatever you want."
Gion waved his hand dismissively, looking completely fed up. Then he curled back into a ball and shuddered violently.
"T-this damn cold…"
As the carriage came to a stop, the coachman's bored voice drifted back.
"We're through the checkpoint."
Ariel wiped the frost off the window, revealing the massive fortress walls of Oslberg—the largest city in the North.
The towering walls, encased entirely in solid ice, seemed to pierce the sky.
Soon after, the massive iron gates slowly opened with a low groan.
* * *
The far North—Nord.
Inside a temporary barracks hastily erected to block the blizzard, Caelus stood with his hands resting on a table.
He had already stripped off his armor.
His hands, covered in blood-stained gloves, were trembling slightly.
"Haaah."
His ragged breath bloomed white in the ice-cold air before quickly dissipating.
"Your Grace. This is the stabilizer sent from the magic tower."
The knight commander approached carefully and held out a glass bottle filled with red liquid.
Caelus tore off his gloves, snatched the bottle, and downed the potent liquid in one go.
The liquid, more bitter than poison, burned its way down his throat.
Only then did the dark red energy rampaging through his veins begin to quiet.
"Not as effective as it used to be."
Caelus shoved back his sweat-drenched black hair and firmly pressed his temples.
Beneath his unbuttoned shirt, ominous veins crawled over sculpted muscle.
"They gobble up mountains of mana stones just to churn out this garbage?"
He let out an irritated sigh, causing the wrinkles between the knight commander's brows to deepen.
"There's something else to report, Your Grace."
The commander swallowed dryly before continuing.
"A message arrived from the central temple. They're dispatching a saintess for purification."
"A saintess?"
A cold, murderous light flickered in Caelus's eyes.
"After what happened last time, they still have the nerve to send another?"
His lips curled into a sneer.
"Decided to come in force this time, did they?"
"No, sir."
The commander shook his head.
"They are sending only the bare minimum of escorts and exactly one saintess."
"One?"
"Yes. The imperial family has also been pushing hard for better relations with us recently, so it seems the Order couldn't keep stalling forever. They claim that with the North in such a dire state, they're worried about Your Grace's health and are sending their most precious saintess to assist."
"My health, is it?"
"They also added that we should forget past grievances, and that you may do whatever you wish with the saintess according to Northern law."
"Whatever I wish…"
Caelus tilted his head.
Sending such a precious saintess and telling me to do as I please with her.
"A spy dressed up as a sacrificial pawn. How obvious."
"We have no justification to refuse, Your Grace. All previous envoys either died or came back broken. If we refuse this time or if a problem occurs, we'll be handing the imperial family and the Order the exact excuse they want."
"So?"
"I suggest we take her in and observe for now. We'll learn soon enough whether she's a simple sacrifice or a spy."
Silence filled the room.
Caelus smashed the empty bottle onto the floor.
The glass shattered to pieces and vanished into the white snow.
"Fine."
His dark red eyes glinted coldly.
"Let's see how long the little rat survives."
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