“Ah, High Cardinal. Are you feeling better? I was so shocked when you collapsed coughing blood.”

“…”

Willien’s expression hardened at Henrik’s brazen words.

Having recovered through the saint’s power, High Cardinal Willien immediately confessed his sins to the saint and Calliphe’s group.

He insisted on revealing both his and Henrik’s crimes to everyone.

But Duke Ortega prevented this, his words carrying the weight of an order.

“Are you planning to catch only the snake’s tail?”

“Duke Ortega.”

“In the Special Magic Unit, he’s practically the only one skilled enough to use dark magic. He must also be paying the price for the dark magic they’ve used in various villages for years. He will surely show weakness, so we must wait for that moment.”

Eventually, Willien agreed to follow his guidance.

Instead, he volunteered to oversee the purification of magical beast cores, accepting minimal responsibility.

“We will purify these magical beast cores.”

Henrik bristled at the High Cardinal’s words.

“Have you gone senile? This is work that our Special Magic Unit has been doing. We’ve been working hard in place of you priests, and now you want to steal our efforts?”

“That’s why we’re taking back our duty now.”

“You trembling priest bastards—”

“Mind your words. Surely you know the High Temple is under the care of the saint and Light Spirit?”

“Urgh!”

Yes, he had witnessed it clearly.

Henrik watched through gritted teeth as the priests pushed aside the Special Magic Unit members and formed a circle around the magical beast cores.

The priests, who until recently couldn’t even meet the eyes of Special Magic Unit members, now physically displaced them to take their position.

One enraged Special Magic Unit member shouted.

“Are you fine without receiving the Young Marquis’s spirit stones!?”

“Ah, spirit stones?”

The priests sneered.

“Sorry, but Lady Calliphe Offensa has agreed to help us. You know? The one chosen by the Light Spirit.”

“Hey, now.”

Another priest nearby pretended to scold while snickering.

“Common folk might not know. While it’s well known that Lady Offensa helped the saint’s return and received the Spirit’s choice, who would have thought she’d also become the owner of the spirit stone mine?”

“Hahaha, is that so? Well, our Lady Offensa isn’t amazing in just one way, so they might not know. Our apologies, Special Magic Unit members.”

“…!”

The Special Magic Unit members’ faces flushed red at the priests’ casual mockery.

The priests watched their reactions with twitching lips.

‘We shouldn’t take pleasure in others’ pain but…’

This feels so good!

So refreshing!

Serves you right, you lot!

“Hehe… ahem!”

“Heheh… hem!”

The priests masked their laughter with fake coughs. The High Cardinal sternly rebuked the undignified priests.

“My, my. What’s with this commotion before an important ceremony? Pfft.”

“We’re sorry… teehee.”

While Henrik and the Special Magic Unit’s faces burned crimson, the priests savored their moment of triumph.

“Ahem! Now we will purify the corrupted magical power.”

The priests formed a circle around the pile of magical beast cores in the center.

They extended both hands and manifested holy power.

Spirit stones from Calliphe hung around their necks.

Though less crucial now that both the Light Spirit and saint had returned to the High Temple, these remained useful tools for the priests.

Fwoosh—

The magical beast cores, saturated with corrupted magical power, began yielding to the holy power.

Those writhing with impure gray or black colors gradually transformed to resemble clear glass…

Ting—

A clear sound, reminiscent of breaking glass, accompanied their shattering.

Rainbow-colored particles danced and swirled in the wind, seemingly celebrating their liberation from the consuming dark magic.

High Cardinal Willien silently observed this beautiful yet tragic sight.

Unlike the other priests, he knew the truth from the saint, Calliphe, and Lynen’s accounts.

These were people who had unwillingly transformed into magical beasts.

“…Rest in peace.”

After all, Lady Calliphe Offensa and Duke Lynen Ortega had enabled these souls’ salvation.

Their efforts must not be in vain.

The High Cardinal quietly etched this fact in his heart before proudly declaring to Henrik and the Special Magic Unit.

“From now on, the duty of purifying magical beast cores belongs to us. Remember that if you try to collect or transport magical beast cores without the Reparatio High Temple’s permission, the High Temple will respond with the highest level of action.”

The message was clear – handle yourselves appropriately, as this matter could escalate to the Papal Office and even the Emperor.

Behind the departing High Temple priests, Henrik’s enraged shout echoed.

* * *

Caiman slammed his desk upon hearing Henrik’s report about the High Temple priests’ newfound boldness.

“D*mn it.”

However, Caiman’s anger stemmed not from the priests’ attitude.

It was directed at Calliphe and Lynen who had transformed the priests’ demeanor.

“Merzen Village. Reports say the dark magic there wasn’t activated.”

“What? But I definitely cast the dark magic properly.”

“That’s the place Calliphe Offensa and Duke Ortega visited recently.”

“…!”

Caiman had launched a separate investigation because the Light Spirit’s sudden choice of Calliphe seemed suspicious.

That investigation revealed their visit to the village marked by the Special Magic Unit for another collection site.

“But, but they won’t know. You know. The place where I hid the dark magic is inconspicuous—”

“That’s apparently the spirit stone mine site.”

Henrik drew in a surprised breath. Caiman smiled, his expression twisted with anger.

“This means they must have discovered traces of dark magic. And after experiencing the blessing ceremony incident… it’s obvious they suspect me.”

His clear defeat.

But while they avoided direct confrontation and fought beneath the surface, the game wasn’t over yet.

“Stop the magical beast transformation plan.”

While quickly withdrawing his fallen chess piece, Caiman ground his teeth.

His stomach churned thinking about how much that person’s trust would diminish because of this incident.

* * *

Meanwhile, someone else found great peace of mind from this incident.

Crunch.

Dietrich Rotten, reading the newspaper, raised both arms high.

“My stocks… I knew I could trust them.”

This is crazy. This is insane. This is huge.

Dietrich praised his own insight for spotting a potential blue-chip stock that others had overlooked.

Yesterday, Dietrich received an unexpected business partner proposal from Calliphe.

“Hey. You run a merchant group, right? Take charge of spirit stone distribution. Handle distribution, marketing, sales, and take 3 percent of the profits.”

“You must mean 30 percent?”

“No? 3 percent.”

“What?! You’re really crazy! Are you even human?”

“But Lynen agreed to take charge of mining and overall business management, so I need to give him a cut too? I’m poor too, you know.”

“How much does he get?”

“30.”

“Why is there a tenfold difference between him and me!?”

“Are you the same as my fiancé? I know nothing about business, so I decide everything 100 percent based on personal relationships and connections.”

“Is that something to brag about? You crazy woman?”

“Well, if you’re upset, try lobbying me and getting closer or something.”

At those shameless words, Dietrich suddenly felt a surge of morality within himself, and flatly refused Calliphe’s proposal.

But after carefully examining the details of Calliphe’s spreading rumors and newspaper articles…

‘D*mn.’

This opportunity warranted seizing even without profits.

‘Think of it as an investment to become the right hand of the future head of House Offensa. Even taking a loss now, this is the time to show my dedication.’

Dietrich quickly prepared to visit Calliphe’s annex.

Before departing, the old butler perceptively handed him a box.

“Baron. This…”

“What is it, old man? Why an apple box?”

Inside the gift box, supposedly containing only the highest quality apples, lay gold bars.

The old butler who met Dietrich’s eyes quietly nodded.

“…Sometimes you remind me of my mother.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“No. But just this once, I’ll take it as one.”

He wouldn’t normally consider being compared to the head of the Black Hand flattering.

Dietrich shook his head and headed to Calliphe’s annex carrying the box of golden apples.