TPITT - Chapter 166

The words, “the right person,” were decisive evidence. Isn’t it Morien herself, not God, who is trying to select the savior?

The same was true of those who hoped for salvation from humans rather than from God.

It was not a change of attitude that would be expected from someone who had received direct revelation.

Helione's eyes widened in shock at my remark, and Morien fell silent. It seemed to be a lone gunman.

I continued speaking, looking at Morien. My voice was neither accusing nor angry.

“In desperate circumstances, people tend to look for something to rely on. That thin thread created faith and made prophecies to give people hope and sustain them.”

“They needed hope. Please forgive the deception... No. You don't have to forgive me. Just punish this old woman severely. But don't take away hope from the people. Oh, please.”

“That means..."

“You just have to pretend to be the savior.  If you show compassion and do even a small good deed, the residents will see it as salvation and will be able to endure in the future.”

Morien was asking me to be her accomplice.

Now, Morien was not satisfied with just banging her forehead on the table.

She got up from her chair, fell to the floor and bowed.

"Landlord."

“Yes, my lord.”

Helione nervously looked at my expression. It seemed like he wanted to wake up Morien, the landowner and the controller.

I sighed.

“Get up. It’s not good for your joints.”

“Your Highness..."

“Don’t make me a savior who persecutes old women.”

At those words, Morien and Helione, of course, Michael also looked back at me in surprise. I smiled slightly awkwardly at Michael and said.

“I guess I need Alben’s temperament now.”

I'm talking about the nature of the seed of interest.

I had a determined expression. Since it had come to this, I had to have a look of iron on my face.

I was thinking of wearing a mask and making the most of the current situation.

'The original intention was to win the hearts and minds of the people here before pushing things forward.'

If only the shameful disadvantage could be overcome, the name of the savior would be an effective and efficient means of securing public support.

“I will try my best.”

“Thank you, thank you!”

“Okay, then..."

Suddenly, Eve fumbled in my arms and pulled out a wad of paper.

It was a kind of report.

“Savior, what is that?”

“This is our plan of salvation.”

"Yes?"

I said shyly.

“Actually, I’ve been interested in this for a long time, so I prepared a bit:’

Morien and Helione thought. Maybe the revelation wasn't wrong after all.

I fell asleep after a busy day of work. I had been worried about the night, but it had passed without any nightmares of the demonic dragons invading my mind.

After finishing my trip, I fell into a deep sleep in a roofed place for the first time in a long time.

For that reason, even in the morning, my whole body and mind felt refreshed.

'It's the first day, so I'm not affected by the nightmare yet?'

Peony and Michael also said that they didn't have any nightmares. The same goes for the Punishment Division.

The question of the dragon's penetrative power, which was not very cool, was answered by Helione.

“You were worried about the nightmares, Your Highness.”

“Because Baron Erka scared me so much.”

“You don’t have to worry so much. Just as it is easy for illness to invade when the body is weak, the dragon's nightmares invade when the mind is weakened. When there is a great psychological trauma. Unless you have a mental illness or are born with a very weak mentality, normal people don’t have nightmares.”

“Ah, I see. So it was enough to defend against the mental power of an ordinary person?”

“Yes. Besides, not all dreams are memorable, are they? Nightmares are the ones you don't even remember.”

“It was a lie that there were madmen.”

I also heard many other stories.

If Galamut was the 'most cruel dragon', Ambroxa was the 'most cunning dragon'.

Nightmares are a reflection of the dragon's nature and are generally more about the subject's suffering than the brutality of the scene.

It is said that it shows a scene where a weakness is twisted and dug into.

“In a way, Ambroxa’s nightmare may be the legendary 'Mirror of Truth'.”

“I see. It would be good for mental training to project your own weaknesses that you don’t even know about. It’s to the point where I want to have a nightmare at least once.”

While they were having an interesting conversation, someone came into the barracks. It was Peony, carrying a bowl with steam rising from it.

“Your Highness, please have breakfast.”

“Thank you, Peony.”

I, like many of Dandelion's inhabitants, had a rationed breakfast of sausage stew.

Dandelion's sausages tasted like a mix of lamb and pork.

I seasoned it with the spices I brought and got rid of the gamey smell, so it was delicious.

I made up my mind as I ate the stew, which was so delicious that it didn't even feel like rations.

'This is definitely competitive. We should name it Dandelion Special Sausage and promote it as a specialty product.'

After finishing my meal, I went out to the square. The residents of the village, whose rubble had been cleared away, were receiving food.

The locals were equally impressed with the sausages.

“Oh my God, this is food made with the sausage we eat every day?”

“They say that when they poured the powder that the Savior brought into the stew, this is what they got.”

Since ancient times, food has been a good means of missionary work. Dandelion's townspeople were thrilled as if Eve had performed a miracle in the stew pot.

At that time, Peony came and reported.

“We’re out of food now.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to go outside the fence and get something to eat.”

As I looked, the intermediate homunculus had already finished eating and was preparing to enter the forest to hunt.

Each person has a designated area of ​​responsibility and it seemed like they were moving individually. It was a reasonable system considering the nature of Homunculus, which considers joint attacks as an obstacle.

I had no intention of leaving the food supply to the villagers and treating them like a military family. I hurried to tell Helione.

“It’s dangerous to go out into the forest right now, so call the intermediate homunculus back. I and the dispatched team will take care of procuring food.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Helione carried out the order faithfully.

“Listen, people! The Savior herself has come. She said she would go into the forest of demons and get food! The homunculus, don’t go out into the forest, but help with the village maintenance or rest!”

“Oh, the Savior is bringing food?!”

“The Savior feeds us!”

“As expected, you are the savior in revelation!”

As Helione, who had taken on the role of public relations officer, took over, the atmosphere in the square became more chaotic and everyone's eyes turned to me.

'Ugh.'

Suddenly I was surrounded by burdensome gazes and almost stopped breathing. But soon I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

'Hey, I have to get used to this! I said I was going to do it right.'

I judged that now was the time for me to say something like a savior. My mind was blank, but he stepped forward and spoke.

“Dwellers of Dandelion, just trust and wait for me, and you will be given sausage stew tonight.”

Fortunately, the residents of Dandelion were ready to respond enthusiastically to whatever I said.

“Yes, Savior!”

“I believe in you, Savior!”

“I believe in sausage stew!”

After receiving a round of applause, I turned around, looking embarrassed. Peony encouraged me.

“I didn’t know sausage stew could be such a sacred dish.”

“Don’t tease me. I’m so embarrassed.”

“It’s only embarrassing at first. Soon you’ll be able to enjoy the attention and speak eloquently like Lord Redmon.”

That was a scary sound in its own way. I sighed and went to give instructions to the knights.

I called Michael.

“We need to split the Knights’ forces in two. White Night will go to Dandelion, stay stationed, and stand guard, and Punisher and I will go scout the forest for food and water. Get ready right away, Michael.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The Punisher was also my Knights and White Night had to stay by Rosenite's side, so it was a natural division of roles.

At that moment Peony spoke with concern as if recalling Rosenite's situation.

“Her Highness the Eighth Princess has not opened her eyes yet. It’s been about 15 hours since she passed out. What if she doesn’t wake up for a while?”

My reaction to this was insignificant.

“Oh, don’t worry. Just sleep tight. I put a sleeping spell on her so she can sleep like that.”

"Yes?"

I explained carefully to Peony, who asked in surprise.

“What would happen if she woke up while I was away? She's so innocent from head to toe, I don't think she'd be able to grasp the situation, and if she thought this was the imperial palace and started telling you, my aide, what to do, wouldn't that be a problem? It helps that she's just sleeping.”

"Aha!"

Peony, convinced, nodded vigorously.

I nodded. In addition, she was deeply moved by her superior's thoughtful arrangement.

I smiled and put my index finger to my lips.

“Of course, this is just our secret.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

At that time, a person who pricked the consciences of both men approached from afar. It was Sylvestian.

“I heard that Your Highness the 7th Princess is going out of Dandelion with the punishment.”

“I’m going to get food and water. No, I’m going. At least I’ll go. I’ll be back before the sun sets, so guard the village in the meantime, Sir Millard.”

“The forest is a dangerous place, full of monsters all around. Are you sure Your Highness would like to go there yourself?”

“I need to check out the environment here, so I’m going to move myself. I’ll be going with intermediate homunculus who know the geography well, so don’t worry.”

“However..."

Sylvestian was worried that the royal family would take a risk. I spoke as if to reassure him.

“It’s okay. Michael is going with me.”

At that moment, Sylvestian took a small breath.

“So, Sir Millard, don’t worry, and just take good care of Rosie here.”

The moment Rosenite's name came out after Michael, the clear wall of his eyes was hurt.

It shook as if it were a look in the eyes of someone who had been rejected with extreme coldness and emptiness.

“Sir Millard?”

I who was puzzled by Sylvestian's unresponsiveness, called out to him.

I also felt something was wrong when she saw Sylvestian, who was belatedly coming to his senses and flinching.

I realized. It wasn't common for a homunculus to not be able to focus on what the royal family was saying.

“Why is that? Is something uncomfortable?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“If you answer right away, I won’t believe you. You said it was okay even if you were sick. Let me see.”

Sylvestian averted his gaze, seemingly embarrassed by my affectionate concern.

“It is indeed alright, Your Highness.”

“If you’re not sick, did you have trouble sleeping? Did you have a nightmare last night? You didn’t dream about it?”

“It’s like a nightmare..."

Sylvestian paused for a moment, but it was a brief moment that I could not notice.

“No, there wasn’t. Don’t worry. Then I’ll take my leave now.”

I had no choice but to send Sylvestian away without digging any further into his firm answer.

The back of Sylvestian moving away caught my attention for a long time.

Got it. Maybe it was my imagination. His straight back looked somehow precarious.

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