The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

“There’s no damage, you say?”

Amelia frowned while healing Rotulus and the seriously injured holy knights.

“There are so many patients right now, yet you say such a thing? Ah~ You’re saying that because your party members have almost no damage?”

I answered her interrogative question with a bright smile.

“But there are no casualties, right? What is there to worry about when our great Saint is here?”

In fact, after finishing treating Rotulus and the holy knight, she immediately encouraged those exhausted with divine power and treated the injured members of the Izel expedition.

The natural healing as if breathing made me think, as expected of a Saint.

The size of her divine power, raised by plundering it from corrupt priests, was no joke.

I was purely admiring her, but Amelia glared at me as if my question felt like a provocation.

“You deliberately placed the Mercenary King and our church members at the front facing that monster, didn’t you?”

“Hahaha, it’s a misunderstanding. I merely chose the optimal personnel.”

“Optimal?”

She looked at me with a gaze of disbelief. How harsh.

“Of course. We had to restrain that monster with ropes, but it wasn’t easy to continuously attack the legs with magic, so in the end, we had to put it around the neck. Then, doesn’t one have to face it from the front? And since the Mercenary King is part of your group, wouldn’t it have been more convenient to move together?”

I didn’t mention that I could have dealt with the Mercenary King in the gap while separating the holy knights and Rotulus to fight.

However, she and the experienced parrot beastman seemed to guess what I didn’t say as they frowned.

“Ah, I hope you’re not saying that my colleagues could have done it since you didn’t have bows and arrows.”

At my point, Amelia’s face turned red. It seemed she was trying to make that argument.

“And honestly, I also calculated that tying the collar would have been impossible if not for the elite among elite holy knights receiving assistance from the priests and you, Saint. You are all so strong, aren’t you?”

The holy knights tried not to show it, but they seemed pleased at my words.

“Ahem! Our holy knights are indeed strong. Still, it’s not normal to suddenly bring such a monster. Weren’t you trying to attack us with that monster?”

I played dumb at Amelia’s righteous argument.

“It’s a misunderstanding. My goal was to kill that monster with the defensive magic at the entrance of the ruins, not intentionally bring it to where you were, Saint.”

That’s a lie. I deliberately moved, following the spirit mark I had buried on Amelia and the Sword Fairy.

I judged that she would have tried to win over Nayuta, who came to the Crown Constellation Zone tracking the presence of Anastasia and the magic sword.

Of course, I didn’t expect her to still be loitering in the Crown Constellation Zone.

She probably thought it would be difficult to catch up to me and planned to ambush me on my way back. It was quite a wise strategy.

It meant that the Sword Demon would have taken a safe zone before leaving the ruins as she wanted to eat the magic sword. It was quite accurate.

If only Fenrir hadn’t chased us.

“Ah, of course, it’s true that I changed the plan a bit after judging that there wouldn’t be much danger if we engaged in a pincer attack here as soon as I saw Ms. Nayuta. But please believe me. I never had any intention of harming you, Saint.”

At my innocent gaze, Delevhem, the vice-captain of the Izel expedition, agreed.

“If it’s Mr. Ian, that must be the case, Saint. His faith is genuine.”

Kyaa~! It was good to deceive him. As they say, it’s always good to have insurance.

Amelia momentarily looked at Delevhem as if he was a bothersome obstacle, then put on a more gentle expression.

“Hohoho, I see. Come to think of it, the vice-captain said that you went deep into the labyrinth to achieve my goal in my stead. Your faith is truly deep.”

At her sharp voice, I glanced at the priests of the Sea Denomination and assessed the situation.

Although they received divine power healing from Amelia, they were still in an exhausted state.

Divine power had the ability to suture and heal wounds, but it couldn’t make injuries or exhaustion disappear as if reversing time.

It merely shortened the recovery time.

Hmm, still, Rotulus seemed to have recovered enough to be able to fight to some extent.

I didn’t know if it was because he was especially given divine power as the most important force of the Sea Denomination or if it was backed by the natural healing power of a transcendent.

The sword demon Anastasia and the sword fairy Nayuta also seemed to be in a state of truce after fighting Fenrir and taking a short break.

I finished my rough assessment and smiled brightly.

“Of course. You finally understand my heart, Saint.”

At my answer, Amelia’s expression momentarily soured but quickly feigned calmness.

“Hohoho, so… you mean you know what my purpose is?”

She seemed to have changed from calling me a scammer to ‘you,’ but let’s just let it slide.

“Who knows? Actually, since I moved for your safety, I don’t know exactly.”

“Oho! Yet you, ahem! You’re confident that you moved for me?”

Amelia was conscious of the eyes of the Izel expedition members waking up one by one.

“Hahaha, well…”

As I was about to give an appropriate response, Sophia looked at me and mumbled.

She wanted me to change her voice.

Using Navi’s power to slightly change the sound coming out of Sophia’s mouth, I nodded slightly.

“Ohohoho, well, I don’t know exactly, but I can infer to some extent.”

Sophia’s sweet voice came out with a slightly lowered pitch, making it an androgynous voice.

Thanks to also changing her face and height with Eunha’s power, Amelia couldn’t recognize her close friend.

“Excuse me, but who are you?”

At Amelia’s question, Sophia greeted politely while making the sign of the cross.

“May the blessings of the earth be with you. Piboane, a servant of the bountiful earth, pays respects to the Saint of the Sea Denomination.”

At the formal religious greeting, Amelia also made the sign of the cross and accepted the greeting.

“May the grace of the sea be with you. Amelia, a daughter receiving undeserved love from the gracious sea.”

Seeing her make a genuinely gentle expression unlike when dealing with me, she was discriminating because she was a priest.

How harsh.

“But you can infer my purpose?”

At Amelia’s question, Sophia answered with a saintly smile as if she were a saint herself.

“That’s right.”

Ah, right. Sophia was also a saint. I often forgot when talking to her.

“Saint, do you perhaps have business in the Shepherd Constellation Zone?”

Amelia was surprised at Sophia’s nonchalant question.

“How did you know that?”

Sophia, who knew what the target was but not how she knew about the target, naturally looked at me.

I also naturally answered in response.

“Well, we are also those who believe in and walk the same ‘destiny,’ so we merely overheard.”

Amelia reacted to the word ‘destiny.’

“…You too?”

“It’s natural for you not to know. Destiny is so vast and extensive, and sometimes it even acts arbitrarily.”

At my words, Sophia, who knew nothing, slowly nodded as if deeply sympathizing.

I inwardly admired her natural acting. To act as if knowing everything while knowing nothing, real religious people were truly different.

As I implicitly mentioned that I belonged to Arcana, Amelia was surprised and looked at Rotulus as if confused.

He also looked at Amelia as if equally confused.

No answers came out of looking at each other.

At that moment, Sophia spoke with a pious attitude as if praying.

“‘The apostle mother said, the gait of a traveler walking the path is not important, but look to where those steps are headed. Thus, the crowd only then became curious about the path of the lame.’ In fact, the ‘how’ is not important. The most important thing in life is the ‘why.'”

“…Those are true words, but are you saying that the reason for doing this is ultimately good?”

“That’s right. In fact, we also went all the way to the Shepherd Constellation Zone. We merely rushed here chased by the shepherd dog due to an unexpected accident.”

At Sophia’s words, Amelia looked at the limp corpse of Fenrir.

“Then, could that be the legendary sacred beast said to protect the Rockslide Sheep?”

Her gaze turned to Fenrir’s neck. She was probably searching for the Fallen Angel’s Horn while recalling the records in Arcana and the prophecy of The Wheel.

However, the dog collar Fenrir was wearing had already been cut off by the old holy knight in the corner, who was looking at Sophia with a dazed face.

Geez, a saint can deceive another saint a bit. Why is he making a face like an old man lamenting his life after investing his retirement money in a plummeting stock and ruining his golden years?

“That’s right. That monster is indeed the legendary sacred beast. Saint, why do you think that sacred beast, who should have been protecting the pasture, chased us to death?”

“…Because you took something precious from it! Right? You stole the most precious thing from that sacred beast!”

Amelia asked excitedly, grabbing my collar.

Behind her, Sophia gestured with her eyes to trust her till the end.

What could she be thinking? Well, it seems interesting, so should I just let her?

I nodded and said.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And isn’t this what you’re looking for, Saint?”

Sophia took out a pair of beads from her bosom. Something sacred yet powerful could be felt from the beads.

Amelia saw those two beads and swallowed her saliva.

“It seems to be it. No, it is.”

Her eyes shone with greed, then soon calmed down as if coming to her senses, and she looked at Sophia and me with deep eyes.

“Showing a hard-earned treasure like this means you have something you want, right? What do you want?”

Her quick calculation made her ask, inferring the reason why we revealed ourselves as members of Arcana and why Sophia readily showed the treasure she was after.

Sophia looked at me as if asking what to do, and I gestured with my eyes to do as she pleased.

“I know it is right to gladly offer such a treasure to the noble Saint, but if the Saint takes pity on this lacking girl, I have a few requests.”

I deliberately made an expression as if trying not to show my betrayal.

Seeing my expression, Amelia smiled and said.

“Speak. If it’s not an unreasonable request, I will grant it.”

“First, although it was for your sake, Saint, we have sinned against you, so we ask that you forgive us and absolve us of our sins.”

At Sophia’s request, Amelia looked at me and hesitated slightly, then sighed softly as if displeased.

“I will do so. I swear by the gracious sea to forgive your sins.”

Hmm, with this, there will be no running away from the city.

“Anything else?”

At Amelia’s question, Sophia showed a slightly pitiful smile.

“I am a priest of the Earth Church.”

Understanding the meaning of Sophia’s words, Amelia immediately answered.

“I understand. I will make a donation to the Earth Church in an amount befitting the value of this treasure.”

“Thank you. And if I may boldly ask, could you bestow upon us a holy token (聖信牌) in consideration of our merits?”

A holy token was a sort of identification badge representing a VIP of the Sea Denomination, and if shown, one could receive lavish treatment.

Moreover, if necessary, the Sea Denomination had to grant a request befitting it in exchange for returning the holy token.

Sophia, you’re determined to properly exploit your friend?