With Iris still fast asleep on my back, I made my way to Helena’s room.
Helena, who seemed to be getting ready for bed, was lightly washing her face in thin nightwear.
For some reason, as soon as I entered, she nodded solemnly as if she had been expecting me.
“Oh, so the wish from our bet is an orgy, huh? I understand. I’m not confident I’ll do well, but a promise is a promise, so I’ll give it my best.”
“What are you talking about?”
“…Did I misunderstand, Brother?”
“No, I do n to invoke my winner’s right for an all-together thing, but not right now. Faye isn’t here, right? We’ll do it after we return to the academy. Right now, we need to talk about something else.”
I briefly exined the situation to Helena, who had a very puzzled expression.
At first, she looked incredulous, but when I told her that the Empress was a cultist, her expression grew serious, and she asked,
“Brother, are you aware that if you’re wrong about this, you could end up in danger?”
“Of course.”
“Havel, the Sword Master, is at the Imperial Pce. It will be difficult to break through with force or to escape once you’re in.”
“I’m well aware of that, but don’t worry. Havel Kalios is loyal to the Emperor and the Empire, not the Empress. If we can prove the truth, he’ll side with us.”
“…If you’re that confident, then I see no need to say more.”
Helena smiled gently and retrieved a medallion from a safe.
“You’re already prepared, right? I’ll just gather what I need. Let’s move together this time.”
“That’s the n. That’s why I came to your room first. But why are you pulling out that medallion?”
It was clearly a magical item, thick and enchanted, though I couldn’t tell exactly what kind of magic it held.
As I tilted my head in confusion, the medallion trembled as if it had something to say, and then it emitted a bright light.
The pale figure of ra, recreated in all her living beauty, urgently shouted.
-Listen! Helena, this wicked sister! She’s about to use her wish from the bet and lock me away in this thick prison! I don’t know what outrageous act she was nning to do while sealing off my ears and eyes but—!
“Oh dear. ra has been speaking nonsensetely. Well, she is of an age where that’s understandable. Here, let me calm her down with a generous dose of divine power.”
-Mmph! Mmmm…! Rrr… kkk.
ra, whose central part of the medallion had been gripped, started to stammer and soon fell silent, as if she had fainted.
It was clear to anyone that Helena wasn’t adding divine power but rather withdrawing it to a dangerously low level.
“Um… Helena?”
“Yes, Brother? Isn’t time of the essence?”
“Well, it’s not exactly… Ah, yes. Let’s go with that.”
I nodded to Helena, whose face had turned red, not knowing whether she was crying or angry.
Now that I looked closer, her nightwear wasn’t just ordinary sleepwear; it was quite revealing.
So… she was waiting for me, huh.
With that realization, I quietly turned my back, thinking that maybe it wouldn’t have mattered if I had won or lost the bet.
It took Helena a little while to finish packing.
After Helena was ready, we headed to where Albaor was.
With the reconstruction of the ravaged Sris underway, and with the need to feed and shelter the reinforcements, it seemed like there was no end to the troubles.
Even past midnight, Albaor was in his office rather than in his bedroom.
I found Gilbert there as well, both of them wracking their brains, trying to figure out a solution. After exchanging greetings, I took the opportunity to donate 10,000 gold.
Most problems can be solved with money. This one was no different in my eyes.
Once the donations run out, they can sell the monster materials I’ve collected to fund the city’s reconstruction. That should suffice.
I excused myself to borrow a corner of the office to set up the teleportation spell, but for some reason, they offered the center of the room instead and retreated to the sides.
Iris, who had been sleeping soundly despite all the noise, seemed to respond to the turbulent flow of mana.
She murmured and rubbed her eyes, and as soon as I lowered her from my back to the floor—
<em>Ding!</em>
The rm that had been dyed for so long finally rang out.
It must have registered that the monsters that had been moving underwater were far enough away, or maybe it recognized that we were about to leave Sris. Either way, the situation was resolved.
As I wiped the drool from Iris’s cheek, I stared into the air.
【Army of Reckless Roar Defeated!】
You have in a cultistmander and countless monsters, driving them to retreat!
Killing one high-ranking officer of each type wasn’t enough to satisfy you, huh?!
Well, this is already a significant achievement, but… there’s more to it.
In the process of defeating the Army of Reckless Roar, you sessfully stopped a fallen ritual aimed at the Righteous Radiance.
Just as the bnce between the good and evil forces copsed during the Great War when the Surging Waves fell.
If the Righteous Radiance had fallen, the future of the Eurelia Continent would have grown even darker.
But you brilliantly thwarted it.
I guarantee that no being, not even a god, could resist praising this aplishment!
Especially since the Righteous Radiance is boasting about you everywhere!
All stats significantly increased.
The Blessing of All Gods (B) has grown stronger.
…What is Sris doing?
Judging by what I’d seen in the system messages, it seemed like the gods had some kind of connection. But the fact that the Righteous Radiance was bragging about me everywhere?
Maybe this was why she hadn’t directly descended yet, even though she should have recovered by now.
Suppressing a chuckle, I turned my attention to the rewards from this battle.
An increase in stats and the enhancement of the Blessing of All Gods.
Both were what I expected. I’d already acquired most of the traits you could earn through achievements, so unless something extraordinary happened, it was just stat and blessing upgrades.
What mattered now was how much they’d grown.
My stats had been stagnating for a while, and the higher the Blessing of All Gods would grow, the harder it would be to improve it.
With an excited heart, I opened my status window to check the details.
Name: Yandel
Title: Great Nemesis
Basic Abilities
Strength: 18 -> 19
Endurance: 17 -> 19
Agility: 18 -> 20
Dexterity: 18 -> 20
Magic Power: 26 -> 27
Traits
Endless Mana (A)
Elemental Affinity (B)
Excellent Memory (B)
Excellent Weapon Skills (B)
Lintblum Mana Core (A)
Intermediate Magician (B) -> (B+)
Sun God''s Favor (S) NEW!
Cult Abhorrence (A)
Weak Constitution (C)
Elemental Combination (A)
Blessing of the Sea (B+)
Blessing of All Gods (B) -> (A)
Resistance to Intimidation (B)
Mana Affinity (A)
I had expected the other stats to rise significantly. It was rtively easy to increase them up to 20.
After that, it would be much harder, but for a magician, having good physical abilities was only a bonus, so it was fine whether they would rise or not.
What I was worried about was the Magic Power stat.
After surpassing 20 in Magic Power, it would usually only increase by 1 despite promises of significant jumps.
And now, after absorbing a Dragon Heart fragment, my Magic Power had reached 26.
In terms of mana, I was already at the level of an upper-level magician, so I thought it wouldn’t increase anymore… but it did.
Magic Power 27.
Just three steps away from 30, the supposed human limit.
At this level, my mana reserves were on par with the Magic Tower Lords, who were sent as reinforcements.
Of course, I still couldn’t match Iris or Iona, who had spent long years umting mana even after reaching the rank of upper-level magicians…
But at least I could now stand toe-to-toe with the Tower Lords of smaller Magic Towers in terms of mana.
Perhaps it’s because my mana reserves don’t match my level, or maybe it’s thanks to the insight I gained into using the Mana Affinity trait during thest battle.
My Intermediate Magician trait had also improved to B+.
If I encounter the right opportunity, I could rise to rank A—meaning I would be an upper-level magician.
What’s funny is that while the system shows me as being on the cusp of bing an upper-level magician, there’s still plenty I need to learn from Ca and Elisha.
Well, the status window isn’t perfect. It can grant me power and mana, but it can’t impart knowledge.
I shouldn’t rely on it too much and should continue as I have been.
Finally, I checked how the Blessing of All Gods had changed.
<em>Ding!</em>
【Trait: Blessing of All Gods (A)】
All the gods of the Eurelia Continent support and bless you.
You are worthy of such support.
May the blessings of the gods be with you in your future.
Health and mana recovery speed increased by 100%
All elemental resistances increased by 50%
Mental resistance increased by 30%
Nullifies a single fatal blow once.
Compared to before, recovery speed had increased by 50%, elemental resistance by 20%, and mental resistance by 10%.
Honestly, recovery doesn’t matter muchpared to the Sun God’s Favor.
The most important part of the Blessing of All Gods was the resistance.
With this,bined with my innate mana resistance due to my mana reserves, I should be able to take a hit from a standard upper-level magic spell with a fully deployed shield.
I should ask Iris to cast an upper-level spell with reduced power on meter to test it out.
Next was mental resistance.
This was practically essential when facing the cultists who were about to start operating in earnest.
Evil Gods passively erode the minds of nearby intelligent beings, and when high-level cultists use their powers, they release mental contamination waves.
Considering the enemies I’d be facing soon, this mental resistance boost was quite reassuring.
As I nodded in satisfaction, Iona, who had finished preparing the teleportation spell, called us over.
For some reason, Albaor and Gilbert were cheering Helena on as we teleported.
<em>sh!</em>
When I opened my eyes, we were greeted by an endless mountain range of rocks.
Looks like we’ve arrived at the right ce.