Chapter 141 – Grand Duke’s Council (2)

Dawn dawned on the third day of the festival.
At a snack bar set up on the street, several students who had fallen asleep woke up shivering in the late autumn cold.
A large banner was hung on the red brick building, and uneaten bags of Dalgona were seen sparsely on the floor.

Wednesday.
It was a comfortable and quiet dawn, with everyone, including students and professors, relaxed as they thought that there were still five days left until the holiday.

“Miss Adela, Miss Liv. “Have you packed all your luggage?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm~ Yes.”

However, there were some who looked a bit tired and were wearing thick clothes.
It was Liv and Adella who suddenly received a request to convene a grand ducal meeting.
Unlike other grand dukes, he had no prior information, so he looked quite embarrassed.

“Princess, princess.”
“Yes?”
“If I leave now, will I be back before the eve?”
“That… It might be difficult. There is no set end period. “We often have several meetings until a perfect conclusion is reached.”
“Hey…”

Adela had to meet her sister, and Liv’s attitude was lukewarm because of the inconvenience of having to go all the way to the Baltic Mountains when she was already busy.
Of course, the Archduke may refuse the summons request.
Most people only accept it for the sake of their relationship with the royal family.
However, this time, Erzsebet had a card that the two women could tempt.

“Oh right. “Lewis will come right after us.”
“Yes!?”
“The boss!!?”
“Yes. I specifically asked for it. “Please take on the role of guardian.”

The two people immediately became in love.
Adela even chins onto her ice duck! She got on board and was about to fly all the way to the Baltic Mountains, whose location she did not know.
How much do these two know about Lewis?
Erzébet thought for a moment, but then she shook out her hair and prepared for her departure.

“Chairman. Then she’ll ask Louise out. “She told the coachman the route in advance.”
“Yes~”
“There isn’t much time left, so hurry up. “He’s probably on the second floor of the cafeteria by now.”
“If you go to the transfer gate…”
“That’s not allowed. Because the floating island is my territory. “Do you think there will be no plans for classes?”
“Tsk.”

A floating island in the Baltic Mountains where the Grand Duke’s Conference is held.
Erzsebet and Scarlett left first, taking Adela and Liv with them.
The remaining Lehel also yawned and headed to the cafeteria.

The carriage is already waiting there.
However, there was no sign of Lewis yet.

“Are you out yet?”
“I rang the bell several times, but there was no message. If you don’t leave early, your schedule will be delayed…”
“Please wait a little longer.”

Lehel looked up at the unlit second floor, lost in her thoughts.
Lewis will be with Caroline now.

“Because it looks like I need some time.”

With those words, Lehel fell asleep in her carriage.
Although she said the only thing she lacked was time.
For some reason, she didn’t feel at peace.

***

According to Nova, the fact that Bahran’s shepherds must leave before the sun rises means they can stay until the sun rises.
In Helzeb, where even the light of the sun was swallowed up, they scolded me and asked if I wanted to stay here for the rest of my life, but now I felt like I understood the meaning a little.

“I have to go now. “There’s a carriage waiting outside.”
“… Little bit more.”

Caroline rests her head on my shoulder and exhales.
After listening to many stories from me all night, she was deep in thought.
I couldn’t see her expression clearly because of the hair covering her eyes, but I was relieved to see that she didn’t look disappointed.
Eventually, she lifted her head and muttered as if she realized something.

“That’s what it was.”
“What?”
“The reason he gave me the Holy Spirit was to help you with it.”
“You gave your name? How many?”
“There are still two. “With that kiss from last time.”

That’s strange.
Seonghwi is her saintly quality, but could she have received that much in return?
It seems like he is quite loved by Hella.

“If you have more Seong-Hwi, it will help you, right?”
“Not right now, but yes.”

As a warrior, my combat power is high, but my ‘combat endurance’ is not that good.
There are only three unique magic spells that can be used at once, and although the lifeline is quite strong, if you receive serious injury, you will naturally be unable to move.
In that sense, the presence of colleagues was essential.
In particular, the saint in charge of healing using sacred magic is the most important.
Each time she received a Holy Spirit, her sacred power would also increase explosively, so Caroline’s growth was not simply limited to mental manipulation or combat ability as a Heretic Questioner.

“Then come here.”
“What… ?”
“Because I’m going to get more Seonghwi now.”
“What are you talking about. Are you saying I have to go? This time…”
“Time, whatever.”

Caroline pointed to the clock.
For reference, the clock on the wall was made by me by carving it out of wood.
Without a motor or batteries inside, it is just a piece of painting and cannot properly perform the function of telling the time.

“Time doesn’t go by.”
“That’s because that thing doesn’t work.”
“No…”

Caroline’s eyes looked unusual as she raised her head.
I reflexively looked out the window.
Below a small mountain range at the end of the distant horizon.
He tilts his head as if the brilliant morning sunlight is about to rise.
The rooster at a nearby farm, which started crowing around this time, is still sleeping soundly, having not yet woken up.

‘No way…’

Isn’t this the goddess’s arrangement?

“Because you are bad.”
“Caroline… !?”
“You say you’re a hero and you act like that in front of me… Sigh! I’m doing this because, as a saint, I have to help you…”

She crawled on all fours on her sofa and gradually climbed onto my body.
As sweet as her gorgeous red eyes were, her lips that were fluttering beneath them also looked sweet.
As her whole body came into close contact with her, so much so that the flowing fabric of her saint’s robe brushed against her legs, a truly sweet scent hit me.

Chueup.

Caroline gave me a light kiss as I was taken aback.
It was in a similar vein to the last time she tried to persuade me to exorcise an evil spirit, but this time the door was unlocked.
Is this really the way to obtain Holy Spirit?
It was hard to believe, but it seemed real, given her Goddess’ intention to keep her by my side all this time.

“This is it… ? So now I…”
“It’s not enough, you idiot. “The sun hasn’t risen yet.”

It’s a dead body again.
Where did you learn that bad speaking habit?

The sun does not rise even though a considerable amount of time has passed.
The driver’s bell, urging me to come down quickly, stopped at some point.
She kissed me a few more times, and as if she thought this wasn’t enough, I buried my head in her chest and hugged the back of her head.
The tangled legs were straining and slightly contracting, as if they were holding back something.

“Ha… Warrior, warrior. Yes, my hero…”
“You’re okay, right? And don’t tell anyone about that… Ugh!”
“Stay still. See how he subtly puts his hand on his waist? “This is why I never run out of women.”
“I’m just afraid you might fall…” …”
“Shut up.”

As Caroline silenced my opinion, we took in each other’s feelings for a moment without saying a word.
I closed her eyes, intoxicated by the sweet smell of her cleavage, and she, too, stroked my hair and inhaled her breath.

For a while.
For a long time.

“Should I just eat it up?” … No, you still have to slow down properly…”

I heard a strange muttering, but I tried to ignore it.
OK–

Wow!!

For a moment, a light that stung my eyes spread out, turning my vision white.
When I raised my hand to check, the sun’s rays illuminated Caroline’s back as she hugged me, drawing pure white wings.

Third Holy Spirit, 〈Wings of Radiance〉.
The feast of the saint who drives away all karma and unclean energy and heals allies.

As I was staring at it blankly, Caroline smiled her grin and pushed me away.
And she said as she straightened her clothes.

“Now go.”
“What?”
“You said you were busy? “You said we have to go quickly?”
“No, that’s…”
“Why, give me a kiss to tell you to have a good trip?”
“…”

It’s true that I’m busy.
It’s absolutely my house, but it’s ridiculous that she’s acting like that as if she’s the hostess.
As I hurriedly gathered up her clothes and left, Caroline came down to the first floor to see me off.
He told me that it would be colder if I went up to the floating island in this weather, so I personally tied him a scarf.

“Be careful.”
“Uh, okay.”
“The next Seonghwi is… When I come back… Understand?”

The saintly woman, who was always giggling, rarely trailed off and covered her mouth, and despite her coachman’s urging, I couldn’t help but stare at her as if fascinated for a while.

***

The road to the Baltic Mountains was quite rugged, so I could understand why they tried to leave early.
If it gets dark and you stop halfway without being able to find the village, you’re going to have a pretty cold night.

Fortunately, we arrived in the nearby city of Aldeba, found a place to stay, and unpacked our bags.
The others left first and it was just me and Lehel, who, holding on to my arm, snooped around the city’s gambling dens.
Since this is the first time since Scandal, has the desire built up again?
This also had to be resolved somehow, but there was work to do first.

“I’ll mail you a letter in a moment.”
“Yes? To whom?”
“My friend is a shaman who is good at exorcising evil spirits.”

I ended up revealing my identity earlier than expected.
Of course, Carolyn is not the one to spread my story everywhere, but her words have power.
In this world where magic exists, the moment the word ‘hero’ came out of my mouth, our plan went a little awry.
The letter I am sending to Nova now was a kind of precaution to prevent that.

After sending the letter to the capital of Bahran, we stopped at a small tavern and ordered beer and dinner.
It was Lehel who was able to empty a large cup in one gulp.
I asked, wiping the foam from the corner of her mouth and her robe.

“How is the grand public meeting held?”
“Gulp, gulp… ! Well, when we arrive at the floating island, we will first connect the communication crystal on each assigned island. “If we met face to face, we might fight, so Scarlett spent some money.”

So, if the archdukes meet each other, they can destroy an entire island, so they have to separate rooms… No, you captured the island?
Aside from the fact that they have a big barrel, it seems like they really don’t get along.

“It doesn’t matter if you show your face in the conference room on the middle island, but it is basically conducted via video. “The princess explains the agenda and asks for consent, and then we vote for or against.”
“Is the decision unanimous?”
“Yes. “Even though we fight when we meet face to face, our voices will gain strength if we stick together.”

In other words, you either agree with everything or you oppose everything.
Erzebet will definitely ask for cooperation in the investigation of the demon statue and the war against the Holy Kingdom.
Lehel, who was watching Caroline in her student council room, spoke to me in a very resolute manner.

“It will be over soon anyway.”
“Yes? Why?”
“Because no one will agree.”

Saying that, Lehel gave a brief explanation about the last Grand Duke’s meeting, which was held just before the outbreak of the small war.

“Ha… “Is that true?”

And when I heard the contents of the unprecedented meeting that ended in just 3 seconds, I unconsciously touched my forehead.