195
The game difficulty
has gone crazy
That same afternoon.
At the news of Glen’s departure, the commanders, knights, and soldiers staying at Ovenue Fortress all rushed toward the southern gate in a crowd.
I was planning to leave quietly.
“Kuahaha! As expected, it seems my eye for people is truly excellent!”
To think even Jaber would come out.
He had been seriously wounded in the previous battle and was wrapped in bandages like a mummy, but considering his opponent had been Kasim, he looked surprisingly lively.
It was probably thanks to taking a banshee as his guardian spirit, greatly boosting his recovery.
“I’m sorry that I have to leave immediately as soon as I arrive, Sir Jaber.”
“Even if this sorry body was lying around uselessly and couldn’t even talk properly, today isn’t the only day we’ve got.”
“After we finish exterminating all those demon bastards, come visit then. We can leisurely chew on some meat. Ah, of course, we’ll also have that sparring match we missed, right?”
Jaber’s wolf-like single eye gleamed as he laughed like a beast, and it felt exactly like him.
“Yes. I’ll make sure of it, Sir Jaber.”
This time, Nelpers Lusilion quietly approached and paid his respects to Glen.
“Until the Holy War ends, the battle priests of Veronia and I will keep our promise with Wordsworth.”
“Yes. You didn’t need to volunteer personally, yet you still came. I’m always grateful to you, Sir Nelpers.”
“No. Rather, it is we who—”
Besides him, a few familiar faces, such as the commander of the Gray Wolf Knight Order and the captain of the Canary Knight Order, came one by one to show Glen their respect.
Lastly, as if it were only natural, Triss approached with gentle eyes and handed Glen a heavy bag.
Inside were various foods and desserts, neatly packed.
“To get to the Raygle territory, you have to cross the Maygenis Mountains. Both people and horses will get tired.”
Triss scratched her cheek shyly.
“Lucy woke up early at dawn and worked hard to make them. I helped a little too.”
“Big sister cooked?”
“There wasn’t much else I could do, so I wanted to help at least with that. But since I’m not very skilled, Lucy ended up doing most of it anyway….”
When Glen’s eyes met Lucy’s, who was standing behind Triss, Lucy gently shook her head side to side.
“I’ll eat them gratefully. Big sister.”
“Mm. Even though it’s winter, eat the things that can spoil quickly. And… be careful. I’ll be waiting here.”
Returning her warm, trusting smile with a smile of his own, Glen mounted his horse.
As if they had been holding it in, the people of Ovenue began to shout.
“Until the Saint returns, we will guard this place with our lives!”
One commander shouted first.
“Saint! You must come back!”
“Saint! Sniff! Thank you! We’ll definitely meet again alive! So please…!”
After that, knights and soldiers called out Glen’s name one after another, seeing him off.
Feeling both moved and a little embarrassed by the heartfelt farewell, Glen scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
Their shouts continued until the horse Glen rode disappeared from sight.
As always, Glen rode on with his party members, Romina and Ridenhall.
One week to Raygle territory.
The distance was shorter than going to the capital, but they had to go around the Maygenis Mountains that lay between the two territories.
All he could do was hope that Raygle would hold out until he arrived.
There were two main ways to go from Wordsworth to Raygle by circling the Maygenis Mountains.
One was to take the well-paved road connected to Langlois and detour around Maygenis.
This route took exactly one week and was the one most citizens of the Papal Holy Nation used.
The other was to traverse the edge of the Maygenis Mountains where it bordered Langlois territory.
The terrain was extremely rough and magical beasts appeared frequently, so only highly skilled people would even dare to attempt it.
Even now, past January, crossing the Maygenis Mountains—even along the edge—was basically the same as choosing to freeze to death in the mountains.
More than anything, it doesn’t even save much time.
At best, maybe half a day.
That was why no sane person would willingly suffer through crossing the Maygenis Mountains.
Tadak, tadak—
Whooooo—
Until Glen’s group tried it.
“For just half a day, we have to do this?”
Romina let out a deep sigh as she revived the campfire that was being blown out by the mountain wind.
Just to save half a day, Glen had chosen to cut straight through the Maygenis Mountains.
“Just half a day? Do you even know how much time half a day is?”
“I didn’t say ‘just.’”
“Anyway. You won’t freeze to death, and neither will Ridenhall, so shortening the time is the right call.”
Was the reason people avoided crossing the Maygenis Mountains the cold or the monsters?
To Glen’s party, those weren’t even obstacles worth mentioning.
“Well, that’s true.”
Romina, wearing only her maid outfit without a thick coat, nodded in agreement.
Then her gaze slowly shifted to the right.
“But aren’t they the problem?”
“Prrrr—”
The two horses they were riding.
They were stamping their hooves nervously under the harsh, knife-like wind of Maygenis.
“They look exhausted.”
“…Isn’t that why you’re keeping the fire going?”
“You just thought of that now, didn’t you?”
Avoiding Romina’s stare, Glen quietly approached Ridenhall.
Ridenhall, a pure white skeleton, was reading a holy scripture while facing the cold wind.
Even after becoming undead, the Saint’s devotion didn’t seem to fade.
Rustle, rustle—
Though it looked old, perhaps because it was an artifact, the scripture’s pages turned normally, as if it wouldn’t tear or fly away at any moment.
“You’re working hard.”
“Ah, brother. Of course. One should read the scripture whenever there is time. It also helps my holy power grow.”
“Oh? Your holy power increases?”
“Yes. It helps refine holy power several times more than an ordinary scripture.”
Originally, Glen knew that Saint Ridenhall’s scripture only increased holy power experience and allowed the use of the skill Golden Halo.
But if holy power increases just by reading it… does it have some exclusive effect?
Since Saint Ridenhall himself was holding his own scripture, it seemed possible.
“One unfortunate thing is that the impure power dwelling in my soul also increases.”
“Huh? Impure power… wait?”
He was clearly talking about spiritual power.
Glen quietly stepped closer and placed a hand on Ridenhall’s shoulder.
“Ridenhall.”
“Yes, yes. Brother?”
“From today on, you’re off duty. Use that time to read the scripture.”
“But then you and Miss Romina will have to do more—”
“Don’t worry about me.”
If it increased both holy power and spiritual power, doing a bit more miscellaneous work was nothing.
Right, Romina?
Hiding his cunning behind a cheerful smile at the thought of pushing Ridenhall’s chores onto Romina, Glen grinned.
“Ah, y-yes. Well… if you say so….”
Caught off guard, Ridenhall nodded.
Glen was about to leave so as not to disturb him further.
“Ah, but brother. I have a question—”
“Hm? Wouldn’t it be better to read one more page of scripture instead of asking questions?”
“Uh, um….”
As Ridenhall lowered his head and tried to focus on the scripture, Glen let out a small chuckle.
“I’m joking. What is it?”
“I heard that the legion commander we’ll be facing is a 9-star… I was wondering if you’re not worried.”
“Hmm…? Not really.”
Since the opponent was also 9-star like himself, there was no need to worry unnecessarily.
Of course, there would be a big difference between Glen, who had recently entered 9-star, and Rowen, who had reached 9-star long ago and built up experience.
“Well… since I only recently entered 9-star, a one-on-one might be a bit disadvantageous. But you know?”
Glen had awakened holy-demonic power that surpassed even 9-star.
On top of that, he had gained new skills upon entering the 9-star realm this time, so he believed he had more than enough chance to defeat Rowen.
But Glen’s true strength was never made up of just his individual power.
