Chapter 241: Divine Descent (1)
At a garden filled with pure white flowers, a black-haired man wearing a white mask hummed to himself as he watered the flowerbeds.
Another figure with snow-white hair and a single golden monocle gazed at the black-haired man from behind and let out a deep sigh. “You really seem to like those flowers.”
“Well? It’s not that I grow them because I like them,” replied the white-masked man.
The figure with the snow-white hair, Mephisto, looked around at the white flowers. Inside the glass greenhouse, larger than a training field, only this single type of flower bloomed, filling the space entirely.
Mephisto said, “For someone who doesn’t like them, you grow nothing but these white flowers.”
“Haha.”
“What’s the name of this flower?”
“It’s called a chrysanthemum. You know it?”
“I know it’s a flower the old Republic people brought over when they crossed from another world,” replied Mephisto.
“That’s right.”
The white-masked man slowly walked deeper into the greenhouse, filled wall to wall with chrysanthemums. Stepping through the sea of white blossoms, he looked as if he were walking alone across a snow-covered plain.
“What do you think? Pretty, isn’t it?” he asked Mephisto.
The demon Archbishop replied, “They are beautiful, but I think it might be nicer if there were other flowers too.”
“Hm. That won’t happen.”
“Is there a reason?”
“I don’t need any flowers other than chrysanthemums.”
Mephisto swallowed a hollow laugh as he looked at the white-masked man. Neither did Chrysanthemums store mana inside them like the Seven Star Herb, nor were they used as medicinal ingredients. To say he grew them out of need was, by any logic, contradictory.
The white-masked man continued, “Let’s leave the talk about flowers for later. You said you had something to show me?”
Mephisto replied, “Yes.”
He snapped his fingers lightly, and a translucent window appeared in midair. The hazy screen showed a young man with dark gray hair rampaging ferociously while fighting an Apostle of Ruin.
The white-masked man asked, “This is?”
“His name is Dale Han. He’s the man who defeated the Apostle of Ruin this time and extinguished the Ember. His status is... He is officially listed as a cadet at the Hero Academy, but it’s probably a cover identity.”
At that moment, a laugh escaped from the white-masked man’s lips. Clutching his stomach, he burst into raucous laughter.
Mephisto frowned. “Why are you reacting like that?”
“Ah, sorry.” The masked man stared intently at Dale in the projection, his lips twisting upward into a grin that looked as though it would tear his face apart. “At last... At last, a sprout has emerged.”
Like someone discovering an oasis in a barren desert or finding a ray of light in endless darkness, the “God of Eternity” spread both arms wide toward Dale. “I’ve been waiting for you, Dale Han.”
* * *
The old laboratory at the Hero Academy was utterly unbefitting as a part of the continent’s sole hero-training institution. It was a shabby wooden building that looked more suited for raising livestock.
As I knocked at the door of this very building, a voice came from inside: “Ah, come in.”
When I opened the door and stepped inside, I saw Professor Bastion. “It’s been a while, Professor.”
“Tsk, tsk. Ever since your fortunes turned, you haven’t shown your face in the lab at all. Ungrateful brat.”
“Haha. But you weren’t lonely, were you? You had Senior Sophia.”
A smile bloomed across Professor Bastion’s face. “Heh heh. True enough. Ah, did you hear the news?”
“That Senior Sophia became your teaching assistant?”
“Exactly! Never in my life did I imagine I’d gain a disciple at my age! And a genius like Sophia, no less!”
From the joy in every word, he was more than pleased to have taken Senior Sophia on as his assistant.
“Congratulations,” I said.
“Ahem. Ah, but the assistant position isn’t completely filled yet. There’s still one spot left. When you graduate—”
I immediately cut him off. “Ah, that spot will go to Berald later instead, in my place.”
Professor Bastion’s face went pale. “What? B-Berald? You mean that Berald Ryu, that cadet?”
“Is there another Berald?”
Professor Bastion shook his head violently, his face stricken with horror. “N-no! N-not that boar-like brute, anything but him!”
“But if you don’t take Berald as an assistant, Senior Sophia will probably quit too,” I replied.
“Aaaah! H-how could you say such a thing! What on earth does Sophia see in that ignorant lout that she follows him around so faithfully?”
“Well, love doesn’t really need a reason.”
Clutching his head, Professor Bastion groaned as if vividly imagining the future. “If that guy becomes my assistant, my lab will turn into a disaster zone every single day!”
“There’s still plenty of time before Berald graduates, so don’t worry.”
As the professor groaned, I changed the topic. “More importantly, is what I asked you about before finished?”
“Haa! It took a while, but it’s done.”
With a deep sigh, Professor Bastion opened a drawer. He took out a white necklace engraved with seven stars, the symbol of the Seven Star Church. “It’s an artifact made by processing the divine relic you gave me. I made it myself, but honestly, it’s a top-tier artifact I’d be proud to boast about anywhere.”
“You shouldn’t boast about it.”
If it came to light that a divine relic of the Holy Empire—specifically, a relic of Grace, the Light of Life—had been smuggled out, even Headmaster Ryu wouldn’t be able to protect me.
Professor Bastion held out the pure white necklace to me. “Heh heh. I know, so don’t worry.”
“And the payment?” I asked.
“Come now. What payment is there between you and me?”
“Even so, it feels wrong to just take an artifact like this for free.”
“Hm. Does it?” Professor Bastion stroked his gray beard, pondering for a moment. “That necklace, are you planning to give it to Iris?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
“Hoho. Youth, truly youth.” He let out a low sigh. His face held an expression tinged with bitterness as he continued, “Then let’s do this. It’s hard to call it payment, but would you listen to my story for a bit?”
“Pardon?”
At that moment, Professor Bastion began a long-winded recollection of his life. “You see, when I was young, eh, I was fairly popular, you know. And back then! I simply couldn’t bring myself to confess my feelings to her!”
I was speechless at the stories I was hearing. At this point, I honestly preferred that this old man had charged me money instead.
After what felt like an epic four-hour runtime of Professor Bastion’s life story finally came to an end, I escaped at last and dragged my exhausted body toward the party house. Originally, I had planned to meet Iris today and hand the necklace to her right away, but Professor Bastion had completely drained my energy, and the thought slipped my mind. So, I decided to give her the necklace tomorrow.
As I headed upstairs to the party house lounge to catch my breath, I could hear bickering coming from above. Soft chatter drifted through the lounge door.
“Sister Laneige, you became Dale’s personal maid?”
“Y-yeah! I wake Dale up every morning!”
“Don’t tell me you’re living together?”
“N-no. I, I wanted to, but Dale said that wasn’t allowed. I’m staying in a room Professor Baldwin prepared for me.”
“Still, Sister Laneige wearing a maid outfit... That means everyone except Professor Baldwin has worn one at least once, right?”
“Hm. Should I get one for myself, too?”
“No. Maid outfits are a bit repetitive now. Isn’t there something else?”
“Well, when I asked Jules before, he said there was an outfit like this too. What was it called... Ah, right. A bunny girl. Bunny girl outfit.”
“Isn’t that a bit too lewd?”
“Hm. I think Dale would like it.”
What on earth are they all talking about in there? I wondered.
Swallowing a hollow laugh, I opened the lounge door. Iris, Yurina, Elisha, and Laneige, all huddled around the lounge table, flinched and stared at me.
“Eek!”
“D-Dale?”
“Uh, w-weren’t you at Professor Bastion’s lab?”
“C-cough!”
I narrowed my eyes at the four women. “What are you all doing here?”
They all averted their gazes, feigning innocence.
“I-it’s nothing! A strategy meeting, no, I mean... a-a social gathering! We were having a social gathering!”
“Y-yyah! We’re all Dale’s lovers, right? S-so, um...”
Laneige replied, “We were discussing how to ambush you— Mmph, mmph!”
Before she could finish, a web suddenly sealed her mouth.
Elisha, legs crossed, calmly took a sip of her coffee. “We simply gather like this from time to time to share updates and strengthen female camaraderie. You don’t need to worry about it, Dale.”
I let out a short sigh. I really don’t need to worry? It doesn’t look like that to me.
Suddenly, Iris looked at the pocket of my uniform and said, “Oh? Dale, what’s inside that pocket?”
Had she sensed the aura of a divine relic?
She rose from her seat and approached me. “Hmm.”
I had planned to give the artifact to her separately tomorrow, but since she had already noticed, there was no reason to delay. So, I explained, “Iris, remember when I told you I met Grace’s remnant soul during the field trip?”
“Ah, yes.”
“When that remnant of Grace disappeared, she left behind a divine relic.” I took out the pure white necklace from my pocket and handed it to her. “This is an artifact made from that relic.”
“From Lady Grace’s relic?”
“Yeah. I asked Professor Bastion to process it into an artifact. Using it as-is would’ve risked the Holy Empire finding out.”
“Ah!”
With trembling hands, Iris accepted the necklace. The moment she put on the necklace engraved with seven-colored stars, a brilliant rainbow light erupted, wrapping itself around her.
“This is?”
As I frowned at the sudden development, the bursting rainbow light gathered in midair, forming the translucent shape of a young girl. The figure took the form of Grace, the Light of Life. One of the Great Five Heroes who had sealed the Demon God and saved humanity five hundred years ago slowly opened her eyes.
Iris stared at the girl with trembling eyes. “You are....”
Though this figure’s appearance differed greatly from the Grace passed down in Holy Empire lore, Iris knew instinctively. The girl before her was Grace.
The figure said, “My child...”
Iris repeated after her, confused. “C-child?”
Grace smiled warmly as she gazed into Iris’s rainbow-shimmering eyes. “Hehe. Yes. Though you and I are not bound by blood, we are tied by a bond even deeper than that. You are the same as my daughter.”
Iris’s pupils quivered. Biting her lip, she struggled to hold back the tears welling up inside her. The word “daughter” had probably stirred something inside her. For someone who had grown up an orphan, there could be no more unfamiliar form of address. She probably could not understand why she felt such warmth from this unfamiliar word.
Grace’s gaze shifted toward me. “I never imagined I’d meet you again. Hmm. Come to think of it, didn’t you say before that you were my daughter’s lover? What did you call a daughter’s husband again... Ah, right. Son-in-law. That’s what it was.”
Grace let out a soft chuckle and waved at me. “Nice to see you again, my son-in-law.”
Beyond Grace’s translucent form, I could see Yurina, Laneige, and Elisha staring toward us with utterly bewildered expressions, as if they had no idea what was happening.
A cold bead of sweat sliding down my spine, I replied, “Uh, Um. N-nice to meet you, Mother-in-law.”
