## Chapter 797 – Winter in the Capital

“By the way, Saintess, do you know anything about high-level elementals?”
“I know they’re ferocious monsters. But I don’t know much about elementals in detail. It’s not my specialty.”
“I suppose so.”

The people who know about this kind of thing are probably mercenaries or mages.

Still, there are a few more things I want to ask.

“Or has the Order ever fought these high-level elementals in its history?”
“If there were paladins near where they appeared, they would have helped fight them… but the Order has never led a subjugation. Still, if you look through the records, you might find requests for support.”

I guess there’s nothing.

“In the first place, when such powerful monsters appear, they’re usually suppressed one way or another. The royal family or lords wouldn’t just stand by and watch. Usually, the Church doesn’t have to step in. I think this case will probably be the same.”
“I think so too.”

The Royal Knights and nearby local lords are cooperating to subjugate it, so there’s no way it can hold out. They’re unparalleled specialists when it comes to killing monsters that invade their territories.

The moment they leave such monsters alone, the damage snowballs, so there’s no way they’d just leave it. In the end, territories are the lords’ property. Property that they’ll be screwed if they don’t protect.

But seeing how they had some difficulty catching the Arachne, it seems there are some who aren’t good at it. I think the terrain was a big problem, but either way, they would have done it somehow if they had taken the time.

I guess this case will go the same way.

I was just curious since I didn’t have anything to do, so I looked into it. High-level elementals are rare monsters to begin with, but since they’re special beings, it’s good to know about them.

Still, I’d like to see one.

If the Church doesn’t have anything for me to do, it might be good to go see… well, I guess it’ll be subjugated soon. Seeing how it’s been featured prominently in the newspaper, it seems like everyone’s paying attention.

I doubt anything will happen.

I said goodbye to the Saintess and left the Grand Temple.

* * *

As soon as I left the Grand Temple, I stopped by the market and bought some things.

I should buy something to take home since I came out anyway.

Anyway, I finished my errands and went home, and before opening the front door, I habitually opened the mailbox without thinking, and there was a pink letter inside.

“What the.”

The moment I saw the letter, I thought of Xenia, Winia’s mom.

The woman with the biggest breasts I’ve ever seen. Bigger than Risha’s and Winia’s.

There’s no one else who would send a pink letter to my house.

She was a very bossy and headstrong woman. The meeting and the breakup were the worst. I thought she would contact me again in some way since she was obsessed with Winia, but she’s sending me a letter again like this.

“…”

What is this, a letter bonanza?
Following Elise, I got one from that Auntie too.

Could it be that she sent it because she found out I won the martial arts tournament?

Whatever.

“I’m home.”

It’s quiet in the house.

I immediately took off my equipment and went up to the second floor, and I saw them sleeping in the room with the curtains still drawn. Did I overdo it too much? I immediately filled a water bottle and put it on the table next to the bed.

Then I changed into comfortable clothes, tidied up my luggage, and came down to the first-floor living room and sat down.

Let’s read Elise’s letter first.

ㅡTear.

I gently tore open the letter and pulled out the paper inside.

“Divine Friend…!”

Longing welled up in my heart.

My true Divine Friend…! It’s been about a year since I last saw her. I wonder if she’s been doing well.

ㅡFlap.

I unfolded the letter.

“To the most righteous Divine Friend Saint.”

“I received your letter well, Saint. I don’t know how long it’s been since I heard from you. I didn’t know receiving a letter would be such a happy thing. My heart was pounding so much when I heard that a letter had come from the Brass Celestial Order, it was hard to hold back until the end of the day.”

“Sob!!!!!!!!!”

Tears started to pour out as soon as I saw the first sentence.

“It’s been a while since you left Isvant and went up to the capital. It’s inevitable, but I was very sad about it. Still, I’m very happy that you sent me a letter.”

“But since it’s my first time writing a letter, I don’t know how to write a reply.”

Just as I was sad, Elise is also sad.

“I heard the rumors about the Deathworm, but I nodded my head when I heard it was your doing. And I’m even more relieved and happy that you’re working hard to defeat demons and heretics in the capital. It’s fun just imagining it.”

The rumors have spread all the way over there.

And as expected of the professional Holy Killer Elise, she’s satisfied that I’m killing demons and heretics.

“The paladin trainees of the Brass Celestial Order were happy when I told them the story of you destroying Andromalius. Since you’re so good at speaking, Saint, I feel like I can vividly imagine the scene as if it were right in front of my eyes.”

“I cried.”

I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore.

“I’m still performing sacred service with the parishioners in Krasheim, as always.”

“I’ve also subjugated many heretics, and I’m also smoothly exterminating demons and suddenly appearing undead.”

What?
Wait a minute.

“I’m having a rewarding time doing what I have to do as a junior nun.”

Heretics and demons in the outskirts, that is, near Krasheim. And even undead are appearing? It hasn’t even been a year since I came up, but there’s been such movement?

I didn’t hear about it from the Saintess… no. This is being smoothly subjugated, so it’s included in the story she told me last time.

And the Radiant Holy Cross Society may or may not share information. Either way, it’s not a problem if it’s being subjugated. But undead… I should think about this.

Let’s ask the Saintess next time.

Anyway, this is almost a few months old.

“However, these days, it seems like the movements of those evil beings have increased. That’s why I feel like my power is also increasing. Repeated battles are the best way to train.”

She’s getting stronger.
I think she’ll be a senior nun soon.

“I still haven’t been able to properly figure out the heretics that you and I uncovered. I recently found traces of a necromancer along with the symbol of the heretics, but I still failed to track them down. It’s a very disappointing thing. But I believe I’ll be able to figure it out someday.”

Elise’s letter gave me emotion and raised one suspicion.

Are the heretics moving again in the outskirts now?

Of course, the parishioners there will be on their guard… but so many things have happened near there. I don’t know if they’ll be able to handle it properly.

It doesn’t mean much even if you’re good at punishing them after things happen.

It’s best to prevent things from happening in the first place.

“I think I was rambling because it’s my first time writing a letter.”

“I also want to meet you again, Saint.”

Elise…!

“Then, please keep up the good work for the day we meet again someday. The world is becoming a little more righteous because you’re here.”

“From Divine Friend Elise.”

“Sniff…!”

Tears started to well up as I finished reading the letter. Elise also told me about her recent situation. How can this be so touching…!

“Divine Friend…!”

I reached out my arm into the air and shouted. I have no doubt that I’ll be able to meet her again someday. Yes, let’s work even harder from now on so that I won’t be ashamed when I meet Elise again.

The reason to get stronger has increased.

ㅡTrickle.

A tear ran down my cheek.

I soon calmed myself down, folded the letter and put it in the envelope, then went to the armory and stored it in a box in the corner. I’ll have to take care of one more thing soon and send another letter.

But.

“Damn it.”

There’s one more letter left.
It’s a letter sent by Xenia.

I should find out what she’s saying for now.

I immediately opened the letter carefully, being careful of anthrax, and took out the contents and read them.

“Let’s meet sometime soon.”

“Just the two of us.”

“What, is that it?”

There was nothing else in particular. She wants to meet just the two of us? But when I look at it, there’s no schedule written on it, so isn’t this spam mail? She should have written it politely, but she wrote the letter like this?

This is not polite.

ㅡBoom!

I immediately controlled my mana and detonated the letter on my hand, just like I did when I blew up my clothes at the martial arts tournament. I can use this technique to some extent now. A technique that forms an aura, concentrates it for a moment, penetrates it, and causes an explosion.

It has high versatility.

Anyway, let’s do some training.

I’ll show them the newspaper and ask them about the elemental when they come down later.

* * *

“High-level elemental?”

Karin and Risha showed interest. The two women sitting side by side started reading the newspaper together.

“Do you guys know anything about it?”

I waited for a while and then asked them.

“I’ve never seen one myself, so I can’t really say anything. I’ve fought the fairy race before, though.”

The first to answer was Karin.

“The one where you recaptured the base?”
“Yeah.”

I’ve heard about the fairy race before.

“High-level elementals aren’t very common monsters. They don’t appear often, and there aren’t many of them. Of course, that doesn’t mean they don’t appear at all, but I’ve only heard rumors about them. I’ve never fought one myself.”
“Really?”

Karin didn’t know much about high-level elementals either. As expected, since they’re rare, you can’t see them, so you can’t know about them.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they don’t appear.

It seems that they have appeared several times in the Karga Kingdom in the last fifty years or so.

Karin said that she had heard a rumor that a high-level elemental had appeared when she was a mercenary, so it seems that one appeared sometime in the last twenty years.

Seeing that there’s nothing special to say, it must have been subjugated safely.

“But I’ve heard a lot of things, so I know they’re damn strong. They’re high-level elementals, almost like direct subordinates of the elemental kings.”
“Elemental kings?”

That’s the first time I’ve heard of that.

“What’s that?”

When I asked, Risha answered.

“They are higher beings that the elementals believe in.”

Higher beings.

“The elemental kings can be said to be the ultimate magical life forms that are said to exist in the elemental world, but since there are no records of the elemental world itself, we cannot know the details.”
“Yeah. That’s right. And what? There’s also a rumor that high-level elementals are created by receiving power from the elemental kings, right?”
“This one has also heard of that rumor.”

Karin receives Risha’s words.

Listening to what they’re saying, it doesn’t seem like Risha knows that much either.

“Anyway, about high-level elementals… This one has only heard rumors about them, and has never seen one in person. They are very rare, you don’t know where they will appear, and they are subjugated as soon as they appear, so it can be said that they are very difficult to see.”
“I see.”

She might not know.
Risha is a black magician, not an elementalist.

But a new question arose here.

“Then Risha, can you explain to me about that elemental world and the elemental kings?”
“As I said, this one doesn’t know much about it, but… if I were to explain what I know, the birth and existence of elementals is a very questionable thing. They suddenly appear, and they also suddenly disappear. That’s why the hypothesis of the elemental world and the elemental kings was created.”

Risha explained.

“You don’t know much, so you just assumed that their world would be somewhere?”
“Almost. This world exists in a place adjacent to other worlds, such as Hell where demons live and the Demon World where the demon race lives, doesn’t it? So it wouldn’t be strange if there was an elemental world, would it? Besides, the existence of the fairy kingdom has been confirmed.”

It’s a little difficult, but it’s a credible story.

“In addition… as far as this one knows, elementalists made such claims a long time ago. Of course, elementals don’t try to communicate properly with anyone except elementalists, so we can’t know the truth. And, it seems that there is also an oral tradition that some elementals used magic while shouting the name of the elemental king. But that’s it, there are no systematic records left, so I can only tell you this.”
“No, thank you. My curiosity has been resolved.”

Anyway.

It seems that high-level elementals may have received power from those elemental king bastards.

That’s why they’re strong.