Chapter 23. Deep in Thought

“Ahem.”

It was Jesuf who cleared up the awkward atmosphere.

Thank you, Sir Jesuf!

I looked at him with tears in my eyes. Although I was sweating profusely feeling Johann’s piercing glare, I only did as I was told!

“As you’ve seen… Miss Seraphina cannot open her eyes when purifying.”

“Is that the fatal flaw you mentioned?”

Claude, who had been laughing so hard he almost fell backwards, composed himself and asked seriously as if he couldn’t agree.

This was the start of the main game.

The conversation from here on would determine whether or not I would be okay to work in the Grodes Mountains.

Jesuf answered.

“It’s a fatally dangerous flaw in the Grodes Mountains where undead appear sporadically.”

Ah.

So that’s why he told me to close my eyes…

Finally understanding the situation properly, I looked at Johann gratefully. But seeing his silver hair standing spectacularly in one direction, I quietly turned my head away again.

“How is that a flaw when I’m there?”

Claude confronted Jesuf with a growl.

It was an incredible pressure that would make an ordinary person shrink their neck like a turtle. Because right now, my neck was turtle-like.

But Jesuf, perhaps because he was used to talking back to Johann, was incredibly confident even in front of Claude.

“Isn’t Your Grace too capable an enchanter to be a bodyguard for the purifier?”

“I can easily defeat the undead while protecting her.”

“Rather than that, it would be better for Your Grace to unleash your skills freely without having to worry about anyone else.”

“No, I’m saying it’s fine, so why…!”

As the argument progressed, Claude’s face twisted unpleasantly.

Jesuf instinctively took a step back, and in that moment, Johann, who had appeared out of nowhere, stepped forward.

“It’s this Marseus’s authority to place talent where it’s most needed.”

“That’s why I’m saying, where else needs a purifier as much as the Grodes Mountains?”

“Many places.”

Ngrh.

Blue veins popped out on Claude’s clenched fist.

Seeing that, I thought even more that I shouldn’t go with that person.

“Um, I have a habit of fainting…”

I put on a delicate act, covering my forehead with the back of my hand.

Johann and Jesuf’s expressions became strange.

It was embarrassing, but who cares.

Let’s survive first.

“I’ve participated in battlefields a few times as a healer mercenary, and I’ve fainted at the sight of ghouls.”

That’s a lie.

I’ve screamed like crazy before, but I’ve never fainted.

But once my mouth started, the words flowed smoothly.

“So I close my eyes to avoid fainting. When facing the terrible undead, it feels like bugs are crawling inside my body, and as fear wells up, my breath gets caught and I start to lose consciousness…”

“……”

Claude looked at me intently, seemingly trying to gauge whether my words were true or not.

Wow.

Those blood-red eyes staring at me so intensely made my heart race, without exaggeration.

How can a person have such eyes?

I can’t go.

I can’t go even if I die.

“Ah… Just imagining it now makes me dizzy…”

As I put on an act of staggering, Johann came over and supported me. Then he joined in this fraud, matching my performance.

He blamed Claude as if this was all his fault.

“She already collapsed a few days ago. Stop this immediately. The Grodes Mountains are out of the question.”

“……”

“Marseus places talent where it’s most needed…”

“It’s fine if she faints.”

“…What did you say?”

For a moment, something like killing intent emanated from Johann.

I was startled and quietly swallowed my breath. Honestly, it was scarier than when my heart was racing because of Claude earlier.

Is this a battle of aura between heroes?

They could kill people with this aura.

I wanted to escape from this place, but I was in the middle of acting delicate, so I was leaning on Johann.

Damn it.

I tried my best to minimize my presence, like a shrimp caught in a fight of whales. I envied Jesuf who was standing a few steps away. He looked at me with pitying eyes.

Hey.

Don’t just look, help me, boo-hoo.

“If she can do that to the Emperor’s hair, using the purification ability once should be enough.”

“Would that work in the actual field? Putting a talent in danger is…”

“Didn’t you leave me in danger just fine?”

“Oh? Are you finally acknowledging that you’re my subject?”

“We’re equals. Because we’re both heroes.”

“That’s uncomfortable. I was clearly superior.”

“It was a draw.”

They were still talking about their confrontation from over a decade ago.

I realized they were talking about the time they left to defeat the Bone Dragon, the final boss of the undead. I vaguely remembered reading about it in the original work.

Anyway, that wasn’t the important thing.

It seemed like a second round was about to happen today.

“If you want, I can settle it for you.”

At Johann’s provocative words, raising one corner of his mouth, Claude took the bait.

“That’s what I’ve been waiting for.”

“Wait! Both of you, stop!”

Fortunately, there was a sane person with consciousness in this place.

Jesuf urgently intervened between the two.

“Are you planning to blow up the entire imperial palace? Your Majesty, have you forgotten how we just rebuilt it?”

“……”

Johann’s mouth closed.

“And Your Grace Denhague! Didn’t you come all this way to request support? Are your subordinates in that far northern land enduring on their own, telling you to come settle things with His Majesty?”

“……”

Claude’s mouth also closed.

The two who were growling like they were about to explode at any moment became docile.

Only then did I quietly straighten my body.

Ah, my back might get twisted.

I felt Johann’s hand slowly falling away from my body. He looked at me with a somewhat regretful face before turning his head towards Claude.

What’s that? What’s he regretful about with that expression? Did he enjoy the act?

Johann, I was about to die from nervousness.

That’s when Johann emphasized again.

“Anyway, since Seraphina faints often, I can’t send her with you.”

“You’d rather send her to that unlucky holy knight bastard?”

“You’re just as unlucky.”

A vein popped on Claude’s temple.

Ah.

So the conversation between heroes isn’t anything special.

It’s quite childish.

While I was thinking that, Claude presented a new proposal.

“Then how about this?”

“……?”

Johann slightly raised his eyebrow with an expression that said ‘say whatever you want’.

“We take turns using Purifier Seraphina.”

At those words, I quietly swallowed dry saliva.

What does he mean by taking turns using…?

“Where that bastard Mihail is, the undead don’t appear frequently anyway. Once they appear, it takes at least a month for them to show up again.”

“And?”

“We can’t just let a purifier who has appeared after several years sit idle, can we?”

Although it felt a bit like I was being treated as an object, since it was coming from the person who was suffering the most in the world, I listened quietly for now.

“And I’m also speculating that purifying the land might reduce the appearance of the undead.”

It was a new speculation.

I could feel Johann listening with interest.

“Tell me more.”

Sensing that something was getting through, Claude pressed on with his explanation.

“Think about it. When that bastard Mihail uses ‘The Crossroads of Judgment’, most undead disappear and the surrounding area is purified. If the undead reappear when that effect wears off…”

“But then, what about the areas where other purifiers are active?”

“To begin with, the undead appear so minimally there that it’s hard to confirm.”

As if they hadn’t been growling and fighting just moments ago, the two heroes suddenly put their heads together and started pondering.

That’s right.

No matter what anyone says, these were the heroes who saved the world engulfed in despair.

In other words, it meant they wished for the complete extinction of the undead more than anyone else.

The suddenly serious atmosphere made my heart heavy as well. No, my shoulders felt heavy.

‘What’s this, all of a sudden…’

I quietly looked at Johann and Claude. They seemed like people from a different world. What kind of weight have they been carrying all this time?

“The Grodes Mountains would be the perfect place to test it for sure.”

At Claude’s words, Johann stroked his chin.

He was clearly contemplating.

Whether to send me or not.

In places where the undead appear minimally, it’s difficult to prove the effect of purification ability, but in a place like the Grodes Mountains where undead appear constantly, if the purification ability is effective, it’s highly likely to show results immediately.

So I’m going after all.

I fell into despair, or something close to it, inwardly.

Johann’s lips moved a few times. Then he opened his mouth.

“…What about the other purifiers?”

“No. The others are insufficient.”

“……”

Johann tightly closed his mouth.

Probably the abilities of other purifiers are far inferior to mine. Because I closed my eyes during purification, I couldn’t properly see my own ability, but it was obvious just from the descriptions in the original work.

Since Aveline, the female protagonist with monstrous purification abilities, later said ‘I’m filling your vacancy’…

My purification ability is probably the best in the world right now.

Of course, there’s still a long way to go in honing it.

That’s when Johann looked at me with a deeply troubled face.

I swallowed dry saliva nervously.

Finally, his lips slowly opened.

“One day. Give me just one day to think about it.”