The game difficulty has gone crazy.
Several hours after the soul granted by the Queen of the Banshees passed the trial.
Glen, who had recovered enough to support his own body, stood facing Sefterien.
Normally, after using the Tyrant King’s Wrath consecutively, he would have had to lie down for an entire day due to the backlash. However, she had restored Glen’s soul and helped him recover.
“Human child. It has been quite some time since you regained consciousness, so you must remember what I said to you.”
Sefterien began speaking as her hair and the hem of her clothes fluttered in midair.
She still had no expression, and her voice had no rise or fall, but the air surrounding her had clearly softened.
Glen also bowed his head lightly and replied in a gentle tone.
“Of course I remember, Your Majesty. I am nothing but grateful for the mercy you showed in looking through my soul through the trial and granting even a thread of trust to my words.”
“That is because your soul was sufficient to earn my favor. I judged that with your soul, you would try to keep the promise you made of your own will.”
“The body always tells lies, but the soul does not.”
“……Yes.”
Sefterien closed her lips.
She looked like she had many things she wanted to ask, but it seemed she thought that even if she questioned this human boy, she would not receive answers that satisfied her.
“In any case, as I promised you before giving the trial, I will withdraw the mist and grant you five years of time. Until then, devote your entire heart and keep the promise you made to me.”
“I will gladly do so, but… are you truly all right, Your Majesty?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Can you endure it for five years, until I change the Holy Papal State and welcome Your Majesty and the banshees as guardian spirits?”
“…….”
As mentioned before, banshees are guardian spirits that comfort the souls of dead humans.
If they abandon humans and forsake their role, their forms become grotesque, and eventually they lose their minds and turn into monsters.
And having left humans decades ago, they no longer had much time left.
‘If it follows the original work, then from the point this scenario begins… about half a year.’
Sefterien, the Queen of the Banshees, might somehow endure, but the young and weak banshees she led had already reached their limit.
By the time Glen changed the current Holy Papal State and returned, most of the banshees would likely have become monsters.
“So you knew even that.”
Sefterien lowered her gaze.
“As you say, without existing as guardian spirits, we will soon lose our reason and become monsters wandering the forest. But that is a fate already decided for us. It is a separate matter from whether you help us or not.”
Either way, until humans invited them into their homes, they had no choice but to die.
“By nature, we have no right to choose. So, human child, do not concern yourself with our circumstances and focus on your—”
“Your Majesty. I apologize for interrupting, but I dare to offer you one more choice.”
“A choice?”
“Yes. A choice that will allow the banshees to wait for me without fearing the coming extinction.”
Glen formed a faint smile.
Then he continued in a low voice.
“I wish to invite Your Majesty and your banshees as guardian spirits to my territory, Wordsworth, where I live.”
“……What did you say?”
Sefterien’s eyebrow twitched.
That was probably the greatest sign of agitation she could show.
“You heard me correctly, Your Majesty.”
If the banshees could not endure during the years it took to change the Holy Papal State, then they could simply stay in his territory until then.
If that happened, the situation where they lost their reason and became monsters could be prevented without much trouble.
“Human child. Your intention is admirable. But even if it is your territory, what difference would that make?”
She was not wrong.
Regardless of whether Glen invited them or not, as long as the nation treated banshees as monsters, how could they possibly stay there?
If Glen was not dragged away as a heretic for sheltering evil monsters, it would already be fortunate.
However, there was no way Glen did not know this.
“I am aware of that. But I have a way, so I hope you will trust me.”
Glen’s eyes shone clearly.
Certainly, taking in banshees under such circumstances was like holding a huge bomb that could explode at any moment.
But in Glen’s cunning mind, there was already a method to safely store that bomb so it would not explode.
“……Why do you, a human, care for us to this extent?”
“I simply wish to let the people of the Holy Papal State know the truth.”
Of course, that was just a pleasant excuse.
Glen’s true goal hidden beneath it was to make Sefterien and the hundreds of banshees her guardian spirits of Wordsworth.
As monsters, banshees confuse people’s minds with chilling screams and eventually drive them insane.
But as guardian spirits, banshees bring positive energy, including good fortune, to the household they inhabit.
They also help the souls of those who die in that household depart peacefully and comfortably to the world of souls.
‘And most importantly, the recovery function of the guardian spirit’s blessing.’
All humans belonging to a house protected by banshees receive the blessing of guardian spirits, gaining recovery abilities that surpass common sense no matter where they are.
Just like how Glen, who should have been unconscious for an entire day due to excessive skill use, recovered in just a few hours with Sefterien’s help.
What if such an outstanding recovery ability were applied to Avenue Fortress?
‘What else? The wounded would be jumping back up in a single day.’
Accepting banshees directly meant an increase in the combat power of Wordsworth and himself.
“So, Your Majesty, you may rest assured and lead the banshees to my homeland, the land of Wordsworth.”
As he spoke gently, Sefterien’s eyelashes trembled.
“Your kindness is so warm that I feel sorry for it… to the point that my actions over the past decades feel unbearably shameful.”
As if reproaching herself for having hated humans more than anyone for decades, Sefterien lowered her head in silence.
The thick, cursed mist that had surrounded her and Glen had completely disappeared.
“I am truly… sorry.”
Emotion seeped into her trembling, monotone voice.
Glen smiled softly and took out paper and a quill pen from his inventory.
After repeatedly apologizing and expressing her gratitude to Glen, Sefterien disappeared with the banshees she led.
She seemed so apologetic that she could not properly lift her head until the very end.
‘There’s no need to apologize, really.’
Even though Sefterien had tormented the Veronia territory with cursed mist for decades, that was Veronia’s problem, not Glen’s.
Of course, it was heartbreaking that innocent territory residents suffered and were forced to leave their beloved land.
But that did not mean Glen, an outsider, needed to meddle and criticize the matter.
‘If I cared about that kind of thing, I wouldn’t be traveling around with Romina in the first place.’
In any case, Sefterien would arrive at the Wordsworth estate where Tris was in a few days.
‘Settling in… well, it’ll work out somehow.’
He had written the method to safely accept them as guardian spirits in a letter, so Tris would handle it well.
Of course, she would have to struggle a bit in the process, but isn’t that what family is for?
‘Still, she’ll probably sulk, so I should prepare some gifts when I get back.’
Shaking off such slightly sly thoughts,
Glen stretched.
The clear air refreshed his mind.
“Nice weather.”
The winter air that made his chest feel open.
Tree branches shaking off heavily piled snow with dull thuds.
And even a gently babbling stream.
The cursed mist of the forest that gnawed at skin and soul had lifted.
Only then did the northern forest of Luciliron regain its original quiet and beautiful appearance.
With this, the Veronia battle priests who had been stuck in Luciliron could now receive support with ease.
‘For now, it seems there won’t be any major problems with the defense around Avenue.’
With the banshee guardian spirits that healed wounds and Veronia’s battle priests, who were comparable to gray wolves, that was more than enough.
“And things seem smoother on my side too.”
Raising the corners of his mouth, Glen checked the system message that had passed by.
《Skill “Gray Ring” proficiency has increased by 1. Current proficiency: 4/12》
Thanks to that, the duration increased from 7 minutes to 8 minutes, and the penalty decreased from 10 hours to 9 hours.
