Chapter 195

Espard stopped Homel, who was in such a hurry that it felt as if his body might split into two or three pieces at any moment.

“There is no need for that. No need to make a fuss. We would be grateful if you could just call the Guard Captain.”

“Still, a Saint has arrived…”

“Ah, no, rather than me…”

Espard gave an awkward expression and glanced toward Tirmy.

Professor Tirmy was demonstrating the amazing feat of conveying with her expression alone: ‘If you do the inefficient thing of calling the Mayor, I will start behaving in a truly inefficient manner.’

In truth, Roan was not particularly pleased about meeting the Mayor of Gilsberg either.

An figure on the level of the Mayor would require him to introduce himself, which would surely cause a huge uproar about being a Darc.

*Rumble*— *Rumble*——

As the professor and student pair both displayed their discomfort inside the guard building, Homel also caught on in a flash.

“Then I will only bring the Guard Captain!”

Homel scurried and ran upstairs.

*Clatter*— *Thud*—!

Soon, along with the sound of something tumbling down, a handsome middle-aged man with a solid build and brown skin rushed down.

“Oh dear! Saint Espard! Saint of the Bell! Professor Tirmy as well!”

He wondered why fully grown adults were making such a fuss, but from their perspective, it was only natural.

‘Even though Gilsberg is quite large around here, it’s still a small-to-medium city in the Empire as a whole. A Saint’s visit is a massive event.’

To compare it to Earth, it was like the Prime Minister visiting a regiment headquarters in a remote countryside.

The Guard Captain might even feel resentful about why they had chosen to visit the guard post of all places, bypassing the city hall, city council, and so many other venues.

The Guard Captain lowered his posture so much it was almost a bow, and spoke urgently.

The contents of his speech were not much different from Homel’s.

“In such a humble place… I am Guard Captain Jaden! Have you had dinner? Quickly—”

“That is fine. We have work to do.”

“Still— Hieeeek!”

*Rumble*———!!!

“Hurry.”

“Yes, yes! Of course. I will escort you to the dungeon immediately!”

Naturally, thanks to Tirmy, they were spared the inefficient task of having dinner with Gilsberg’s leadership.

Guard Captain Jaden hurriedly guided Roan’s group to the dungeon.

— Hey, they say Saint Espard is here.

— The Akerandir students are with him too…

Naturally, almost all of the guard post personnel followed along.

At that dark and chilly entrance, Roan’s state of mind became complicated.

‘Hmm… should I say it’s a relief that I came like this?’

Fortunately, he was the one locking up rather than being locked up this time, but since he did not know when their roles might reverse, Roan scanned every nook and cranny!

Especially since there were so many guards gathered around, it felt even more real.

*Creak*—

Although most of the cells were empty, Jaden went to the empty cell located at the deepest end and opened the door.

“Yes, Saint Espard. You can release them here. We will judge them strictly and punish them.”

“They aren’t such bad guys, but… Roan, let’s pull them out now.”

“Yes.”

At Espard’s call, Roan stepped forward.

*Slide*— *Pause*—

…Roan cleverly avoided stepping completely inside the cell, just in case!

Meanwhile, the guards, including Jaden and Homel, tilted their heads upon seeing this.

“Uh, pardon me, but why is the student…?”

At this, Espard laughed heartily and patted Roan’s back.

“Hahaha! You’re a bit behind on the news. The Bell of Eternity now belongs to Roan Darc here.”

“““?!??!?!!??!???”””

The guards were so shocked they could not even make a fuss.

‘Even the Jelsroin cult knew about it. They really are behind on the news.’

Since it was something he had to go through a few times anyway after receiving the Bell of Eternity, Roan tried to accept it calmly.

Considering what had happened so far, it would not be strange if a circus act broke out in this dungeon.

“Arghhhhh!!!!”

— The owner of the Bell has changed!!!

— A-And it’s a Darc!!!!!

However, the Gilsberg guards were outstanding fellows who exceeded even Roan’s imagination.

Rather than making a fuss, they fell into outright panic and confusion and scattered in flight!

…Naturally, Jaden, the captain, and the burly Homel were included among those fleeing.

[Master, can those people protect the city acting like that?]

It was so pathetic that even Bel, who had been born only a few days ago, asked this.

*Roar*———!

At that extreme inefficiency, Tirmy was on the verge of exploding!

Yusina and Sion rushed over to restrain her.

“P-Professor, please hold back!”

“T-That is correct!”

“If you cause an accident here, you’ll be locked up in prison immediately! This is a dungeon!!”

***

…After a round of commotion, Jaden and the guards returned with awkward expressions.

“Ahem, I apologize. We were just too shocked… Honestly, isn’t it understandable?”

‘I don’t think it’s to that extent…’

[Master, aren’t all of those people heretics?]

‘Perhaps. Come to think of it, it’s suspicious.’

There was a limit to how much shock could be excused.

It was not something that should cause guard members, who ought to be braver and prouder than anyone, to run away.

Roan narrowed his eyes and glared at the guards.

At that fierce gaze, the guards cleared their throats and turned their heads away, even though the opponent was just a young student.

— Ahem, the Young Master is indeed brave.

— That’s the caliber needed to inherit the Bell of Eternity, indeed.

At any rate, it was now time to actually release the Jelsroin cultists from the Bell of Eternity.

*Ring*—!

Roan skillfully rang the bell and pulled out the five people trapped inside.

“Ugh—! W-Where is this…?”

The others besides Fidellto, who had been locked up, were in terrible shape, as if they had been through a lot inside.

‘They must have had their holy power drained to the limit inside the Bell of Eternity, so it can’t be helped.’

Roan could endure because of his endless mana regeneration, but ordinary people ended up like that after being held for just half a day.

— Ugh, so that’s the legendary Bell of Eternity.

— Of all people, why did they have to get caught by the Saint of the Bell.

Although they were heretics, the guards clicked their tongues and muttered in pity.

Jaden stepped forward and spoke loudly.

“This is the Gilsberg Guard Post! Be grateful to Saint Espard here that you weren’t summarily executed!”

It was probably an attempt to restore the guard’s prestige, but it failed miserably.

For good reason.

— Gasp! T-That Darc is still here!

— This is hell! We have incurred the Goddess’s wrath!

…For some reason, the heretics were more terrified of Roan than Espard.

The Jelsroin cultists clearly watched Roan’s reactions, struggling to retreat deeper into the corners of the cell.

Seeing this, Jaden asked in a flat tone:

“Saint, how on earth were these fellows captured?”

“Well…”

Espard chuckled sheepishly and explained the circumstances.

When the story of how the students and novice priests settled the match through duels for various reasons and got captured drew to a close,

“Ah, no, then are you saying the other ladies are also the Saintess and Saintess Candidate?!!?”

— F-Flee…

The proud Gilsberg guards tried to flee once more.

“Stop.”

— Yes.

*Halt*—

Of course, once Tirmy blocked the entrance to the dungeon and delivered that command, no one could do so.

Instead, the guards shed streaming tears of admiration.

— Oh, to think the Saintesses are so brave and outstanding. The future of the Empire is indeed bright.

““…””

The targets of that admiration, Yusina and Sion, could not say a word.

Sion had lost her temper and struck the opponent’s back of the head with a club.

And Yusina had lost on purpose, wishing for Roan to be recognized while showing off his skills.

Moreover, Roan, who had settled the match and even triggered the descent of Goddess Jelsroin, was simply standing silently in the corner.

Therefore, Yusina and Sion had no room to speak even if they wanted to.

Well, since Jaden did not know the details of the situation, it was fine to leave it like that.

“How dare they pick a fight with the Saint and Saintesses! What despicable wretches who deserve to be torn apart!”

Jaden vowed to deliver the heaviest punishment possible as he glared at the Jelsroin cultists.

Then, his fierce expression vanishing without a trace, he smirked and spoke to Roan’s group.

“This is no time for this. Since you must be tired from your journey, I will immediately issue the reward.”

Roan’s group returned to the surface.

“…Sigh.”

Only then did Roan feel like he could catch his breath.

‘It’s a huge relief that it ended with just this.’

No one had any intention of locking him up, but Roan had been nervous like a thief with a guilty conscience.

Jaden went up to his office for a moment and soon returned with five pouches.

Jaden handed out one pouch per person and explained:

“Since you are in Gilsberg, I would like to pay you in Imperial currency… but Akerandir students must be paid in Talents. The reward is four gold coins per heretic, or four hundred Talents.”

That meant twenty gold coins each for Espard and Tirmy, and two thousand Talents each for Roan, Yusina, and Sion.

“Wow~ Thank you, Guard Captain~”

Yusina, who had been struggling lately due to fines, rejoiced as if she had hit a windfall.

To Sion, whose Talents were running low from supporting Noeul-ie and Pallang-ie, this was like rain after a drought.

“Noeul-ie, Pallang-ie, I’ll buy you something delicious when we return to the academy! Should I buy you pretty clothes too?”

*Meow*— *Flutter*—!

As Sion stroked them, the two divine/spiritual beasts rejoiced.

[Master, me too! I want to buy the gemstone I saw last time!]

*Krrr*—

Bel and Charlotte also twinkled their eyes.

“There are so many things to do with this money. Squandering your money on luxury the moment you get it is a shortcut to ruin.”

However, Roan rebuked the divine beasts with cold eyes.

Bel and Charlotte became noticeably disheartened.

*Flinch*—!

Sion, naturally assuming Roan’s words were directed at her, shuddered violently.

Sion looked at Roan with somewhat baffled eyes.

‘Darc should be the wealthiest among the freshmen…?’

Had he not pocketed ten thousand Talents in Ulli’s very first class?

Come to think of it, in the second class too.

Even two thousand Talents was an enormous sum of money on its own!

…In fact, excluding Zorv, Roan’s Talent balance was likely the highest in the entire academy, but Sion had not guessed that far.

‘S-Still, frugality is a virtue emphasized by Lord Hiloa… It is only right to be more cautious of luxury the wealthier one is. As expected, there is much to learn from Darc!’

True to her innate nature, however, Sion quickly reflected on her mindset of thinking about spending money the moment she received a lump sum.

Sion spoke with a firmly resolved expression:

“Noeul-ie, Pallang-ie, I am sorry, but I think we should save too.”

*Meow*… *Flutter*…

Sion’s divine beast and spiritual beast looked up at Roan with pitiful gazes.

“Why at me…”

Roan, who had merely tried to adjust the economic mindset of Bel who asked for luxury goods (?) as soon as they earned money, felt apologetic for some reason.