131 – symbol-9

“Let’s end here for today.”

I have already defeated three gigantic monsters. Countless corpses of small monsters piled up to the point of blocking our way back.

Ceres sat down and unpacked the luggage piled up in her bag.

“Thank you, Ceres.”

I know because I was in that position, but it is absolutely, absolutely not easy for a person without combat skills to escape from a cave like this without being caught in a fight.

Basically, the cave is dark. Visibility is limited, terrain is inconsistent.

A hole could be opened where you thought it was blocked, and a place you thought was a solid wall could collapse in an instant.

I couldn’t move quickly because I was carrying a heavy load, and sometimes I had to hold a torch to secure my teammates’ sight.

If you stray too far, you won’t be able to get help from your allies, and if you get too close, you’ll get caught up in a huge enemy attack. While constantly adjusting the position, I had to be careful not to give it too strong an impact.

It was a little ironic, but it was better to have my body broken than my equipment. If it wasn’t a very serious shock, Celia’s divine power could restore it.

However, the load she carries on her back easily collapses even with a small impact. By bringing it all the way here safely, Ceres achieved more than expected.

“Really… good job.”

It’s a trivial thing, but having today’s biscuits intact and preserved in such rough conditions has a huge impact on morale.

“You can’t talk like that.”

“yes?”

“Enerel did the same thing as me, but didn’t get any praise, did she?”

“How do you…”

Even before, it was Ceres who was well aware of the state of the hero party to the point of being suspicious.

But I’ve never shown it so openly. I tried to hide it by saying ‘I heard it somewhere’, and I somehow avoided actions that might arouse suspicion.

“Anyway, thank you.”

“…don’t you doubt it?”

“What do you doubt? What can you get from me?”

She is the one who has served me for several months now, without paying anything in return.

It was shameless to push her away now, saying that her status was questionable and that she did not know her identity.

Ceres smiled silently. Even in this situation, the flawless and neat maid outfit was divinely beautiful.

The party members sat around and enjoyed a short break.

“Still, it was easier than I thought, right?”

From the moment I entered the cave, it was so full of demonic energy that it was difficult to breathe. In terms of concentration alone, it seemed worse than when I met the Demon King.

“A beast without wisdom… No, it’s not even a beast. This is just a phenomenon.”

“Is it like that too?”

Even with magic of the same output, its destructive power varies depending on the fine adjustment of the caster. And the Magi here were running amok without a caster or anything, just united.

If magic is a gigantic bomb, then those here were nothing more than blazing fire. Even that was threatening.

“Still, it wouldn’t have been easy to defeat it. Isn’t it because your skills have improved?”

“It’s just… the power of the goddess.”

“As expected. Do you see something?”

I nodded slowly.

If she was really showing me this, I couldn’t understand why she was helping me in this way. But, at least it didn’t bother me.

“You’d better be careful. I’m saying this because I’m a wizard, but… Gods can’t be trusted.”

Farseer took out something like a small marble and spread it here and there. It made breathing a little easier.

“What is that?”

“It’s a marble that collects demonic energy. If it’s this thick and thick demonic energy, there will definitely be a place to use it.”

I didn’t bother to ask where I was going to use it. I didn’t even need to know.

I sat down blankly, thinking about the next thing.

The accumulation of magi in this cave was enormous, but not infinite. By killing the huge monsters, I could feel that the demonic spirit was dispersing.

You just have to go a little further. After wiping out the magic beasts here, the unicorn will give me its life.

He would have to think more about whether to really kill her, but it was enough to have a choice.

But, what will happen next?

Phoenixes and unicorns are creatures that exist for the time being. He believed that the phoenix would not die, and he only believed that there was no unicorn to entrust his life to.

However, there are no magic dragons. If you’re hiding somewhere in the backcountry, you won’t even be called a demon dragon in the first place.

It just doesn’t exist in this world. Inevitably, my journey must come to a halt. At least until the demonic dragon appeared, I had no choice but to stop doing nothing.

Then what should I do? Right now, I can’t take a party of warriors without a purpose. Whether it was a saint, a princess, or the owner of the mage tower, they were all people with their own roles.

Other than Nerwen, they were people who couldn’t move according to my will.

Then, where should I go? Even so, she did not want to enter the imperial palace.

I wish I could leave anytime. I didn’t want to stay in one place for long.

I’m tired of wandering. Living in a wagon, no matter how well packaged, was an uncomfortable and painful life.

I still haven’t realized what I want to do.

/////

Celia smiled softly and was enjoying this peace.

She didn’t know why the goddess didn’t explain in words like before, but she still thought that the goddess was watching Celia.

Enerel appeared. So clearly, I could see the real Enerel.

The illusion, which had gradually diminished, had completely disappeared before I knew it. The real Enerel was visible so clearly that even if he occasionally saw an illusion, he could shake his hand and drive it away.

Seeing Enerel asleep, Celia unwittingly cast a healing spell on him.

He might have to save his holy power for tomorrow’s battle, but he couldn’t stand it.

As before, he wasn’t using recovery spells to protect his life, which was broken and worn out.

Unlike back then, when she looked so painful, he was fine now. I didn’t allow effective hits to the Witchbeast, and I didn’t feel physically burdened.

So, the divine power that is now emanating from her hand would be meaningless action other than making his sleep just a little bit more comfortable.

“Hehe…”

But Celia was happy with this luxury itself. It was nice to see Enerel with her eyes closed and a slightly relaxed expression.

What broke that brief peace was a crack in the ceiling. Celia, who was on watch, screamed in surprise.

“Hey, wake up! It’s a big deal!”

“Well?”

Whatever the case, they were people who were too used to sudden wake-ups like this. Within seconds, they all came to their senses.

“Farseer, what do you do! Everyone else is standing behind me! I’ll take care of the falling stones!”

However, it was not the right number.

“Farseer! Is the shield still far away?”

“Wait a minute. This, why… can’t… huh?”

The little wizard trembled in disbelief.

“No, no. There’s no way this could happen. There’s no way this could happen… They used magic in this place as well! This can’t make sense!”

“what’s the problem?”

Enerel shouted in an annoyed voice, but the wizard was no longer in a condition to listen to others.

“Since when? Since that time of Enerel’s prayer? No, no. It’s nonsense. I knew it. Nothing happened…”

As if a collapsing ceiling didn’t matter at all, Farseer muttered to himself.

“Since when did you intervene? No, could an existence like this be able to intervene? If not, what the hell is it?”

“It’s great!”

Several huge stones had already fallen, and dust was pouring down. Right away, Enerel knocked out a few of them, but it only delayed the catastrophe for a moment.

“Ah, I see. I think it was. It was in us from the beginning… It was.”

Farseer smiled dejectedly and staggered without even trying to use magic.

“Hey, wake up!”

Enerel shouted, but Farseer eventually collapsed. Eleanor urgently ran to catch her, but at that moment the floor collapsed.

“Eh, Enerel! No!”

And Celia saw the real Enerel collapsed without being able to deal with the stone that fell from above.

“Don’t die!”

Celia’s divine power poured into him. At that moment, the dangerous ceiling completely collapsed.

“Enerel? Enerel?”

Fortunately out of misfortune, Celia was locked up with Enerel.

If it could be cured, this was the best. Eleanor, Farseer, and Nerwen weren’t the ones to die instantly.

If she awakens Enerel, who has the strongest power, and breaks through the blockage, they can meet again. Celia, who had a hopeful imagination, cast a recovery spell on the ‘real Enerel’ who was lying down again.

“It was really… boring.”

Only when he or her mouth opened did Celia realize her delusion.