Chapter 242

Harden spoke to Kahen with a stern expression.

“Did you hear that? Darc is still a freshman. If I allow him to be swayed by someone else’s will already, I cannot tolerate it as the principal. Furthermore, since he is so sincere about rebuilding the Darc family, the Holy Emperor’s Palace should rather be pleased.”

“Phew, the principal is correct.”

Kahen had no choice but to nod, as every single word sounded perfectly reasonable to him.

However, to Roan, it sounded a bit ridiculous.

‘And that’s the person who told me to become a professor earlier…?’

Harden was the very one who had been doing that “intolerable thing” himself just a moment ago.

And there was one more person flustered besides Roan.

“Huh? Are you not making Student Darc a professor, Principal?”

Timothy asked with genuine purity, completely unaware of why the conversation had suddenly taken this turn.

“…”

Harden remained silent for a moment before speaking to Kahen.

“Just finish the investigation quickly.”

“Ah, yes.”

* * *

Still, since they were a priest in charge of holy phenomena at the Holy Emperor’s Palace and a history professor at Acherandir, both of them were highly skilled.

“Phew, this should be enough. Thank you for your hard work, Holy Spirit, Professor.”

Once they put their minds to it, the investigation was finished in no time.

“Tsk, to make a fuss over something that ends so quickly…”

Harden was gradually getting annoyed, and irritation began to tinge his tone.

However, even though the investigation was over, Kahen’s business was not.

No, rather, the most important business still remained.

“Uh… Lord Roan. I know this is shameless, but I have one more favor to ask. Actually, this is the most important one.”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

Roan nodded.

Perhaps feeling deeply apologetic just bringing it up, Kahen hesitated, parting his lips several times before speaking.

“You mentioned that you acquired a dagger imbued with Jelsroin’s holy power, that is, a holy relic.”

“Yes.”

Roan nodded again.

Naturally, since it was such a precious holy relic, the Holy Emperor’s Palace would want to take it.

However, since Roan had brought about the Descent and acquired it after a private audience, they had to rely entirely on Roan’s goodwill.

No matter how powerful the Holy Emperor’s Palace was, forcing him to hand over a holy relic was out of the question.

Furthermore, Roan was currently a student of Acherandir under the protection of the Holy Spirit, Harden.

With such complex thoughts in mind, Kahen made a cautious request.

“If it wouldn’t be too rude… could the Holy Emperor’s Palace have that relic…?”

At that, Roan frowned slightly.

“Are you saying you want to take the holy relic to the Holy Emperor’s Palace?”

“Hiek! Of course, everything is up to Lord Roan’s will! You don’t have to give it to us!”

Because Roan’s expression looked so fierce, Kahen gasped and quickly made excuses.

Even though he had been close to Roan since childhood, was asking for a holy relic outright too unreasonable a request?

‘S-Still, to look like he’s about to challenge me to a duel right this instant…’

However, contrary to Kahen’s misunderstanding, Roan was merely prompting him to get to the point because he kept beating around the bush.

Since it was a demand Roan had fully expected, after all.

And he had already decided what to do.

Thud.

Roan pulled the dagger out of his lucky pouch and casually set it on the table.

“????”

At that, Kahen was startled.

“Lord Roan! I know I made an unreasonable request, but to draw a blade in front of the Holy Spirit!”

Roan looked at him with an expression that asked what kind of person he was, and spoke.

“…This is the holy relic, Priest Kahen.”

“…Ah. My apologies. Come to think of it, so it is.”

Realizing his misunderstanding, Kahen scratched the back of his head.

Then, he hesitated and asked:

“Lord Roan, even though I requested it, is it really alright for you to hand over such a precious relic so readily?”

‘If it wasn’t, why did you even ask?’

Of course, there was a reason why Roan willingly handed over the dagger.

First of all, he had already reaped all the practical benefits using the Balance of Light and Dark.

A dagger containing a god’s holy power was also rather burdensome for Roan.

Lastly, there was nothing to lose by granting a favor to the Holy Emperor’s Palace.

The last reason was especially significant.

‘I hate the idea of going back to the Holy Emperor’s Palace, but if I keep giving them gifts like this, they’ll at least spare my life if I get caught later.’

…Roan pinned his hopes on this faint sliver of expectation for now.

If he were caught being a black mage while working at the Holy Emperor’s Palace, they would yell, “This bastard, sneaking all the way into the Holy Emperor’s Palace! Off with his head immediately!”

But if he didn’t even go near the Holy Emperor’s Palace and sent a few valuable gifts, wouldn’t it be more like, “Hmm, he’s a black mage who seems to have his head on straight. Shall we spare his life just this once?”

In the first scenario, it wouldn’t even be an infiltration since they had told him to enter on his own, but such details were not something the Holy Emperor’s Palace would take into consideration.

‘It really is hard to survive as a black mage.’

Roan felt his blood pressure rise slightly just from the imagination.

In any case, decided that whatever was good was good, Roan nodded with a bright smile.

“Of course, Priest Kahen. The more precious the holy relic, the greater blessing it will be to the world if it is kept in the Holy Emperor’s Palace.”

However, Kahen felt slightly intimidated upon seeing Roan’s smiling face.

“Uh… Um… Is there perhaps something you desire in return?”

Naturally, there was something he wanted, but it was not yet time to reveal it.

“No, it is my pleasure if the Holy Emperor’s Palace makes good use of it. It is a treasure far too grand for me.”

When Roan spoke like that, Harden grumbled through the Gospel.

[You are phrasing the request to please take away your garbage in a very sophisticated way.]

‘This is what social life is all about!’

Harden might not need this kind of oiling since he was a Holy Spirit, but it was essential for Roan.

Roan resolved to learn ‘Black Whisper’, which could be called the Gospel of the black magic circle, if he ever got the chance.

It was incredibly frustrating because he could only listen to Harden’s words but could not reply.

“Thank you so much for saying that! If only we have the holy relic, it will be of great help to our studies… I will make sure it is used to benefit the world!”

At any rate, having no way of knowing Roan and Harden’s inner thoughts, Kahen carefully packed the dagger.

True to the emotional Kahen, wiping away a tear with his sleeve was a bonus.

At that, one person was shocked.

“Wh-a-a-at! You’re really giving that away???”

It was none other than Timothy.

With eyes as wide as saucers, Timothy argued with Roan.

“What are you doing giving that away so easily, you soft-hearted Darc!”

Flinch.

There were a few people, a Holy Spirit, and divine beasts who flinched at the phrase “soft-hearted.”

However, Roan was not one to falter at such a minor crisis.

“As I said, it is a item far too grand for me. I have always wanted to repay the grace I received from the Holy Emperor’s Palace.”

“Lord Roan…”

“Hmph!”

It was a perfect logic that made not only Kahen but even Harden think, ‘Could that actually be true?’

Because regardless of whether he needed it or not, giving away a holy relic so casually was truly an amazing deed.

Of course, it did not work on the history professor, Timothy, at all.

“Arrgh! If I had known this, I would have asked for it first!”

Apparently, Timothy had completely ignored the part about wanting to repay the grace.

“I also bestowed a lot of grace on Darc!”

“““…?”””

…No, he was simply someone impossible to communicate with.

Roan, Harden, and Kahen each pondered what kind of grace Timothy could have possibly bestowed upon Roan.

Despite their outstanding brains, nothing in particular came to mind.

Roan clicked his tongue quietly once and spoke to Timothy.

“I have already given it to Priest Kahen. If you had asked for it first, Professor, I would have given it to you.”

Of course, that was just said out of politeness.

If it were Timothy, it was certain that he wouldn’t even look at Roan even if Roan brought him an actual item belonging to a god, let alone a holy relic.

He was a character who, even if Roan were later revealed to be a black mage, would indifferently brush it off, saying, ‘Huh? Did that fellow do that? So what?’

Timothy shouted very confidently.

“You cheapskate! You didn’t even give me the Abyssal Dragon!”

“““??!?!?!?!”””

The ripple effect brought by those two sentences was massive.

Kahen stammered and asked Harden.

“W-What does that mean? The professor asked for the Abyssal Dragon? Lord Roan’s Abyssal Dragon?”

Harden rested his forehead on one hand with a deep frown, as if just thinking about it gave him a headache.

“Indeed…”

As a Holy Spirit, he could not tell a lie.

Kahen’s face flushed red as if his own divine beast had been stolen.

Of all things to take, how dare he ask for the legendary Abyssal Dragon just like that!

In fact, though they had not shown it, the Holy Emperor’s Palace also had a massive interest in Bell.

“Professor! To think you asked for a student’s divine beast! The Holy Emperor’s Palace will not stand by and watch such an outrageous deed!”

Still, since the opponent was a professor of Acherandir, he spoke as circuitously and politely as possible, which resulted in that statement.

In a more candid setting, he would have hurled a stream of curse words.

After coughing dryly a couple of times, Harden tried to calm Kahen down.

“Priest Kahen, I am managing Professor Timothy well. You saw the protective holy spell when Darc entered earlier.”

“No, I will officially report this matter to His Holiness the Holy Emperor. It seems some sanctions are necessary!”

This was exactly what Harden was worried about.

Of course, even if the current Holy Emperor knew about this, he couldn’t do anything to Acherandir, which was Harden’s territory, but it would still be quite troublesome.

Harden cast a glance at Roan.

It meant roughly, ‘You step in too.’

Roan quietly opened his mouth.

“Please calm down, both of you. The principal is protecting me and my divine beasts very safely. I will make sure to show any new holy relics to the professor first if I happen to obtain them next time.”

“Now, did you hear Darc’s words? Everyone, calm down.”

As Harden quickly seized the opportunity to follow up, Kahen also cleared his throat and sat back down.

Roan tried to soothe Timothy again.

“Professor, though you might find it regrettable about the holy relic…”

“If it’s regrettable, even now, the Abyssal Dragon…”

Without missing that gap, Timothy bared his teeth!

However, he did not realize yet.

That Harden’s patience had run out a long time ago.

Rumble—!!!!!

Although they were clearly inside Hetrona Hall, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck down!

Unable to bear it any longer, Harden had delivered a light divine punishment to Timothy.

Sizzle…

“Urgh…”

With his beard completely singed and curled, Timothy slid off his chair and lost consciousness.

No matter how talented a professor of Acherandir was, they were nothing more than a weak creature in the face of Harden’s divine punishment.

‘It hurts for me too… Did he do that on purpose?’

Naturally, the black mage standing nearby had to be within the zone of influence as well.

Roan felt a sharper ache now than when he had taken a direct hit from Sion’s wind earlier.

Meanwhile, with a thoroughly refreshed expression, Harden rose from his seat.

“Now, since the noise has died down, let us go grab some food.”

“Ah, yes, yes… Principal.”

Kahen stared at the knocked-out Timothy with frightened eyes, then hurriedly stood up to follow.

Harden asked in an insinuating voice.

“Looking at it this way, don’t the students of Acherandir seem very safe?”

“Y-Yes, indeed! As expected of the Holy Spirit!”

Kahen was now thoroughly whipped into shape.

Judging by his reaction, it seemed highly unlikely that the current Holy Emperor would ever hear about Timothy’s matter.