Chapter 77: Brief Reappearance

Graypond, Griffin Kingdom's capital, was in unprecedented chaos.

Debates and adverse criticisms continued day and night, and the streets were smeared with saliva from non-stop arguments.

Despite the ongoing turmoil, the reason that violence did not erupt was due to the Saintess Lucia's mediation alongside the iron-fisted restrictions from the silent Royal Family.

The knights, who were guarding the Royal Family, patrolled the streets with fierce eyes, ready to intervene before any citizens' debates escalated into something more.

If there was a possibility of arguments escalating into fistfights or turning into riots, they would quickly suppress it, showcasing exceptional skill.

Since the Royal Family's inner circle had been organized more swiftly than anywhere else, the knights could venture outside and quell any problems arising.

Before Deus showed that he could use Holy Power, the nobles who had been opposing the Royal Family were individuals who collectively harbored dissatisfaction with the royal decisions.

At the time, King Orpheus deliberately remained silent while identifying those dissatisfied with the Royal Family, and when the opportunity came, drew his sword around the time of the Great Debate.

Although not everyone was purged, some had faced exile or had their corruption exposed, leading to the confiscation of their wealth.

Now, the Royal Family's power was soaring. The nobles and bishops had no choice but to lower their heads in silence.

However, this didn't mean that the poisonous daggers hidden beneath their waistbands were also silent.

Rather, it raged more fiercely and vehemently than ever.

"Gyaaaah!"

As Findenai ventured onto the streets, she felt a tingling sensation at the back of her head when she heard the approaching footsteps of assassins.

To be precise, it felt like a nail had been hammered into her skull, giving her an electrifying sensation.

The days of electrical torture she endured back in the Republic had vividly resurfaced.

Findenai couldn't believe it. Someone was hiding in the giant shadows of this city, which appeared antique on the outside, and dared to try and ambush her.

It reminded her of a similar feeling when she carried out terrorism and fled from the big cities of Clark Republic in the past.

However, Back then, even when her feet were sore, she had to run to survive.

Now, I'm running to kill.

Once she entered an alley, there were hooligans inside smoking.

"Huh? What's this?"

"Look at her outfit."

Upon seeing Findenai in her maid uniform, they dropped their jaws. However, she rushed at them without hesitation, snatching the cigarette from one of them like a pickpocket. She quickly stomped on a nearby trash can and leapt up.

"What the hell!"

"That crazy bitch!"

However, their shouts didn't reach Findenai because she had already scaled up the wall after using the trash can as a springboard, leaving them staring dumbfounded.

"Did you see her panties?"

"Damn it, I didn't see it because of the laundry."

"Me neither."

While they were complaining about the laundry blocking their view, even more people stormed into the alley.

These people looked ordinary in appearance and were dressed normally, just like those that could be seen everywhere in the neighborhood.

Fruit store owners, unemployed locals, preaching middle-aged ladies, and so on.

But what they held in their hands were cross-shaped daggers, and upon seeing this, out of survival instinct, the hooligans immediately stuck themselves to the wall.

Those people immediately followed Findenai to the rooftop.

Findenai, who had been on the run for a while, was standing on the rooftop, haughtily smoking the cigarette she snatched from the hooligans.

"Sssssp, the cigarettes in this Kingdom really are too bland. Anything made in the Republic would probably poke a few holes in your lungs within a year if you smoke it."

Findenai boredly puffed smoke into the sky. Above her, the sky was covered with thick clouds, and not a single ray of sunlight broke through.

Suddenly, Findenai thought it might be a good idea to quickly gather the scattered laundry she had seen on the way up.

"Deus Verdi's personal maid."

"Hm, what will you do if I say I'm not her?"

Findenai asked slyly with a hand on her waist, but the assassins simply responded by aiming their cross-shaped daggers at her.

"We already know everything before coming here."

"If you knew, why bother asking? You morons."

They had already determined the answer among themselves, yet they still pointlessly asked.

"Huff, let me finish this first before we get started."

"...."

Surprisingly, they patiently waited for Findenai to finish her cigarette.

Sssssp.

Huff.

Sssssp.

Huff.

As the cigarette tip burned in sync with the regularly emitted smoke puffs, the assassins couldn't help but tense up. Their mouths were dry as they swallowed nervously.

Just like that, the cigarette had all burned away.

Swoosh.

Findenai then lit another one with a match.

"...."

The assassins were dumbfounded when Findenai casually lit up a new cigarette.

"Hm, it's kind of weak, but still strangely addictive. It's mild and smooth."

Watching Findenai share her thoughts on the cigarette, the assassins couldn't bear it any longer and rushed toward her.

After all, they were on the rooftop of a building.

In this place with no escape, they naturally formed a blockade and raised their daggers to stab her.

Screeeeeech!

A handle similar to a club, the size of a forearm, hung from Findenai's waist. When she pulled it out, a sharp axe blade popped out with a clanking sound.

"You bastards."

As if mocking them, Findenai swung the axe roughly in a semicircle while her other hand held a cigarette.

The assassins tumbled backward with just a single blow, rolling on the rooftop's floor.

Their cross-shaped daggers shattered, scattering like glass shards on the ground.

"Sssssp."

Findenai put the cigarette back in her mouth, biting it as she rested the axe over her shoulder. She opened her mouth.

"Since you all patiently waited for me, I'll at least listen to your last words."

Findenai, who had no intention of letting them go, shrugged her shoulders.

The assassins bit their lips, they suddenly shouted without a hint of hesitation or fear.

"Goddess Hearthia's banquet is right in front of our eyes!"

"A life filled with dancing and singing with her awaits us!"

"We are martyrs! The Goddess will accompany us from beginning to end!"

Findenai sneered at the loud and strong declaration of which god they were affiliated with.

"Okay, so you're not from Hearthia's side."

Findenai nodded and slightly laughed as she erased one goddess' name from her mind.

"But will your God really listen to you if you call upon another God's name just before dying?"

With a puzzled expression, Findenai tilted her head. The assassins kneeled and clasped their hands together, fervently praying to their God.

Although she knew that these people were quick to give up on life, but seriously, this was way too fast.

Findenai, who fought for freedom and rolled in mud to survive, couldn't help but click her tongue.

This was the reason why she didn't like the concept of God.

An afterlife, they said?

Didn't it feel more like they were wasting away their one and only precious life?

Therefore, Findenai asked a somewhat spiteful question.

"Hey, whenever I step out into the streets, assassins always come looking for me, you know? That's why I deliberately walk around."

"...."

"But they all failed. They claim to act under the will of God, yet they all fell before me."

"...."

"If that's the case, shouldn't you try finding another god? They're seriously incompetent."

"You bitch!"

The assassins, who were lowering their heads without saying a word, immediately saw red at her cheap provocation and rushed towards Findenai.

Findenai split an assassin's head with her axe and clicked her tongue.

"Tsk, since you're all about to die, I'll tell you a secret."

Turning her gaze to the remaining assassins, Findenai revealed the secret with a smile.

"Actually, that Master Bastard is no longer in Graypond. He's already far away."

"....!"

Deus Verdi had left Graypond without anyone noticing?

There couldn't be more valuable information. Leaving the royal palace meant he was outside without the protection of its high walls and stationed guards.

They thought they needed to spread the news quickly, but the pressure from the maid in front of them, whose bloodshot eyes emitted strong killing intent, prevented them from moving recklessly.

"I've roughly dealt with about forty assassins until now, you know? And I all told them this."

Findenai, who had finished the cigarette she had just lit, threw the butt on the ground and spoke.

"You claim to be able to communicate with God. If those dead assassins had met their God, they would have already informed God that Master Bastard was no longer in Graypond, wouldn't they?"

"...."

"And that God would have informed the living believers. Wouldn't you all have already known about this, if that were the case?"

They were drenched in cold sweat.

Strangely, at this moment when death was imminent, a slight sense of doubt crept into their hearts.

"Or could it be that they are too far away for this information to have arrived?"

However, Findenai's axe had already decisively severed their throats without a hint of hesitation.

* * *

Loberne Academy, 1st-year midterm exam top scorer, Eleanor Luden Griffin.

Just like the saying that pretty girls slept a lot, she had a habit of dozing off during lunchtime after quickly forcing down her meal.

People admired her as a carefree and free-spirited princess; this was especially so after she had finally laid aside the weight of her princess title and comfortably took a nap.

Actually, there was only one reason why Eleanor slept a lot.

It was because occasionally, she would dream of him—an existence that couldn't be seen in reality, Kim Shinwoo, who was hidden within Deus Verdi's body.

Was it because she had met him in her dreams at that time?

Although the content of her dreams didn't involve the fresh and romantic situations she had hoped for, she still met him relatively frequently.

"Yawn..."

Stretching as she rose, Eleanor shifted her body from side to side. Falling asleep on the rooftop was perfect in this season.

She was deliberately carrying a winter coat around just to use as a blanket.

If her maids saw what she was doing, they would say she lacked the dignity of a princess.

However, she was currently not the Princess of Griffin; she was simply a student named Eleanor.

Checking her wristwatch, she saw there were about ten minutes left for lunchtime.

Having woken up a bit earlier than usual, she leisurely headed towards the railing to feel the breeze.

Then, instinctively, she swiftly lowered her head. She did this action without any particular thought.

However, surprisingly, the man she had been chasing in her dreams was walking out of the academy, escorted by Mage Tribunal Judges.

"De-Deus?"

Surprised, Eleanor wondered if she had seen it wrong and rubbed her eyes.

It really was Deus.

She pinched her cheek, conjured mana, or held her nose and spun around a few times.

Her cheek had now felt sore.

The mana she conjured was milky, as always.

And feeling dizzy, she had to grab the railing.

Deus had really returned!

"You should've said something if you came!"

Eleanor snorted. However, her excitement was too much; she headed straight for the stairs. Skipping and hopping, she reached the first floor in an instant, paying no attention to the stares of other students or professors.

Krrrrrrrrgggg!

The ground and sky vibrated.

It was a phenomenon Eleanor had felt several times before.

"C-could it be?"

Warp magic?

No way, was he really just going to leave like this?

He's leaving without even coming to see me, the Princess, while visiting the academy?

Eleanor, with an expression of disbelief, quickened her pace.

On the spot where Deus Verdi and the Mage Tribunal Judges had just been, only scorch marks from the side effects of warp magic remained on the ground.

"Ah."

As Eleanor sighed, she heard a word of regret from behind her, echoing her own sentiments.

Glancing back, she saw Deus' fiancée, Erica, with the same disappointed expression as hers.