## Chapter 1168 – A Bumpy Foreign Expedition

“Anyway, Cardia. I’m about to head overseas soon.”
“I knew you’d bring that up.”

—Swish.

Cardia said that and opened a drawer, taking out a bundle of documents. Could it be she’s prepared a free pass in advance?

Truly, foresight befitting a saint!

“The Kingdom of Mercudia, and beyond that, the Kingdoms of Gavelin and Kravela. With this, you should be able to pass through without much trouble.”
“Ooh! A pass!”

I immediately took the documents and checked them. To think I can pass through even those insignificant kingdoms! With this, I have nothing to worry about!

“Probably up to there, anyway. There’s a small branch of the Brass Celestial Angel Society, so identification is possible, allowing passage.”
“Ah, is that it? Those churches overseas.”
“That’s right. But we don’t have very deep exchanges with them. Simply put, the branches overseas have developed in their own independent directions.”

So, they might be slightly different.

Cardia added that even so, they should welcome us as part of the same order. But I don’t think I’ll bother visiting those churches even if I go abroad. There’s nothing to do, so there’s no need to go out of my way to find them.

It’s not like I have any close friends there.

“Great. Thanks, Cardia. This will save me some time.”
“It’s only natural.”

I stroked Cardia’s head, which was covered by the saint’s veil.

“But beyond those minor kingdoms, we don’t have much exchange with them, whether it’s the Order or the Karga Kingdom. To get to the Dwarf Kingdom, you’ll have to go through three or four kingdoms besides the ones I mentioned. You’ll have to handle passing through those yourself, with your Paladin abilities.”

There may be many countries, but it just feels like going to the western edge of the Elven Forest.

“Even then, I, the Saint, can’t guarantee things will go smoothly.”

For now, I can go to about three nearby kingdoms as I please, but after that, she doesn’t know what will happen.

“It’s okay, Cardia.”

Things like that aren’t a problem.

Looking at the map, the countries beyond the Kingdom of Mercudia were all weak. Their land area was about 1/20th the size of the Karga Kingdom. In other words, they’re total pushovers.

There’s no way there would be warriors or mages in those countries who could stop us now.

Of course, the Kingdom of Zirkel, which borders the Dwarf Kingdom, is said to be the strongest country in the west, but I’m confident that entering the country itself will be simple.

“What’s the problem? I have power.”
“Are you thinking of using violent methods?”
“Hehe, of course not. I’m a man who respects those things.”

I can manage somehow.

“Well, the Paladin… has many capable wives, so I’m not worried.”
“Trust in my abilities.”
“The Paladin is a bit worrying at times.”

I didn’t know I had that kind of reputation.

“Once you go abroad, I, the Saint, can no longer provide administrative assistance. You’ll have to handle everything yourself, no matter what happens.”

The most convenient thing about working as a Paladin was that Cardia could handle most of the administrative issues.

It’ll be a bit inconvenient without that.

“That means I can’t intervene even if something happens. You should assume you won’t receive the Order’s protection.”
“I can do well without the Order’s protection. Don’t worry too much.”

Cardia looked up at me, unable to hide her disappointment. But it won’t be long. I plan to finish things as quickly as possible.

“Ah… lastly. About the envoy to the Elven Forest, the royal family has conveyed that they were very satisfied with the response. There will be a reward for this, which I will keep.”
“Skim some off if you need it.”
“Hmph, there’s plenty of money, so there’s no need.”
“Anyway, I’ll be back. I’ll be much stronger when I return, so look forward to it.”

It’s just a temporary farewell.

“…”

Cardia wordlessly asked me for a kiss.

Alright.

Let’s go.

* * *

Before departing.

Risha’s appropriate black magic awakened the Oracle again, and we gathered in front of it to ask about the World Tree.

“The Elves’ main god… the World Tree… that giant tree… has existed since ancient times…”
“Ooh. It’s talking. It’s talking.”

Karin said with satisfaction.

The Oracle, awakened from its seal, properly answered our questions. We had decided what to ask before waking this bastard up, so as soon as I confirmed it was working, I immediately spoke.

“Tell me about the oldest records.”
“The oldest records…”

The Oracle clicked its jaw.

“In the era when the Titans’ empire declined… there is much information that the World Tree existed… information from earlier eras is… mostly unreliable… and has not been properly verified… therefore, the World Tree… is judged to have certainly existed around the time the Titans’ empire declined…”
“Okay.”

According to this ancient Oracle, the World Tree existed even in those ancient times. Its existence was confirmed around the time the Titans’ empire declined, so it may have existed even before that.

In fact, if it didn’t “suddenly appear,” it would have existed before that.

If it didn’t exist before, then it could be said to have suddenly appeared.

The Titan Prince said something about humans summoning an Outer God, so perhaps the World Tree might belong to that Outer God. There’s little credibility to this claim, though.

“After that… it remained in the same place… until the Great War broke out…”

Anyway, it seems it was in the same place since then.

“Why aren’t there any records from earlier eras?”
“Of the records from that time… not much remains within this Oracle’s continuation…”
“Did the World Tree suddenly appear?”
“There were many… research results that it might have… but… it has not been proven…”
“Did the World Tree create this world?”
“That… I do not know…”
“What exactly is the World Tree a god of?”
“The Elves’… main god… it has been recorded… as lending power to the Elves since ancient times… there is no other information…”

This bastard.

“Risha?”
“No problem.”

Risha nodded slightly.
Looks like she’s still okay.

“Ask about related information step by step.”
“Hmm.”

But from the start, this bastard’s knowledge is too vague, so even if I ask like this, I don’t think I’ll be able to find out exactly what the World Tree is.

Should I ask more?

It doesn’t seem like it would be meaningful.

“Hey, Blackie. Doesn’t seem like we’re getting much out of this. Should we go to the next plan? We decided to ask about the fragments of God if the kid doesn’t know much about the World Tree.”
“Should we?”

When I asked for agreement, everyone nodded.

Then let’s go with that.

“Oracle. If a god dies or is injured, is it possible for fragments containing that power to fall to this earth? Can the essence of that power exist on this earth?”

I know it’s possible because I’ve seen it myself.

I’ll kill you if you talk nonsense.

“It is possible.”

Good.

“An avatar containing the power of God… a Valkyrie. Or a weapon forged by God… the power of God contained in such things… may become fragmented for some reason and remain on the earth… this contains immense power… many such records have been reported… but this Oracle’s knowledge ends there.”

That’s right so far.

The knowledge is cut off because it was sealed.

But a weapon forged by God? Is that literally a weapon made by God with his own power? Valkyries are beings made with the power of God. Then weapons might be somewhat similar.

That’s a bit interesting, but I’ll look into it later.

“Can a human absorb it?”
“Those who have had such ideas… existed… but this Oracle’s knowledge ends there… therefore, the results cannot be known…”
“This son of a bitch.”

Since I can absorb it, it’s definitely possible. I was going to ask exactly what kind of effect it would have if I absorbed it here, but…

“What happens if you absorb it?”
“No… information…”
“I knew it would be like this. Risha.”

At my words, Risha nodded, and the Oracle was sealed again.

“Well, we didn’t gain much. I guess we can’t find all the ancient knowledge just with something like that.”

Hilde shook her head and said.

“Still, Kat, don’t be too disappointed. In the end, it’ll be more accurate to find out directly with your body.”
“Yeah. Hilde is right. We shouldn’t rely on such unreliable bastards in the future.”

That son of a bitch was just a pretty face.

“Hmm… I am interested in ancient knowledge, but at this rate, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be able to find much. When I have time, I’ll have to rummage through the Oracle’s brain myself.”

Risha said, licking her lips.

“Do it when you have time, when you have time. It’ll be a bit tricky, right? It’ll take a lot of time too.”
“I understand.”

In the end, the question about the World Tree’s identity was not resolved, but I’ll probably find out about it as I live… he said I’ll naturally find out as I gather the power of God.

I don’t know what that means.

Why would I find out?

* * *

“These fucking bastards.”

—Krrr.
—Krr.

As I spat out curses, Illyong and Ilyong, these sons of bitches, began to move.
We left the Karga Kingdom, which we had grown fond of.

Our destination is the western border.

I plan to enter the Kingdom of Mercudia through there.

This is really… the Otherworld Dungeon, the Elven Forest.
I have so many reasons to go there.

The road is becoming too familiar.

Anyway, even as we passed through the familiar road, we killed murderous robbers and bandits, so it wasn’t long before we arrived at the border. It seems like we arrived really quickly. Illyong and Ilyong have become so strong that we were able to arrive very quickly.

We crossed the border there.

And entered the Kingdom of Mercudia.

But as we were going, there were carriages moving next to us. When I gave some information fees to the merchants who were mainly driving commercial carriages and asked how to formally enter the Kingdom of Mercudia, they told us to follow them.

So, I thought, “Great!” and followed them.

And so, we arrived at the Mercudia Kingdom tollgate.

But it’s called a tollgate, but it’s just a kind of gate near the border. This place was surprisingly active, and looking here and there, there were many merchants and travelers coming and going from various countries.

“Damn.”

Well, that’s probably right.

It’s not like it’s right next to a country at war, so this is probably normal. The “border” that was stuck in my head was almost like the 38th parallel, so I had a prejudice against borders.

“We’ve arrived. Let’s get off here for a moment.”

We have to get off because we’re going to pass through the tollgate.

“Ah, damn it. Is this foreign air?”

As soon as she got out, Karin said, exaggerating like a student on a school trip to Jeju Island for the first time, and Liztina immediately rebuked her.

“What do you mean, foreign air? Don’t say such hick things.”
“Shut up and feel this air.”

Karin closed her eyes and began to inhale with a serious expression. But Hilde joined in and started doing the same thing.

“Hmm… so you can just come and go like this.”

Claudie said, looking at the gate.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen it? You crossed here when you came here from the desert.”
“As I said before… at that time, I heard rumors about the unexplored area of the Karga Kingdom in the desert and moved aimlessly. I crossed the mountains and mingled with the travelers while moving. I don’t think I passed through the border gate like this.”

Was that so?

“Then it’s the first time you’re using it today. Sis! Stop breathing and let’s go!”
“Ah, yeah. Okay.”

Anyway, we got out of the carriage and pulled Illyong and Ilyong and lined up towards the gate. Well, the Mercudia Kingdom soldiers were talking to the merchants and measuring customs duties. They were exchanging money and stuff.

A normal scene.

A slightly boring time passed.
Soon it was our turn.