The Hero Party Couldn’t Kill Me

Chapter 10: Who is the wicked (2)

The moment the lightning struck. The saintess’ eyes darkened before her eyes.

Will her goddess really abandon her? She collapsed in shock.

“Holy Lady! Holy Maiden!!”

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The priest next to her called out to her saintess. Only then did the saintess come to her senses and stand up from her seat.

“Poetry… the temple. Are you all right?”

“Yes! Look!”

The saintess looked at the great temple of Etoile. Although she had been struck by lightning a little while ago, the field was still intact.

The tower that was struck by lightning also suffered no damage.

I wondered if this was an illusion, so I rubbed her eyes and put on my holy power and looked again, but it was still the same.

Only then was the saintess able to wipe away her surprised heart.

“It was definitely Edmund’s fault. He’s around here now. Hurry up and find it!”

“Yes!”

Apart from that, the saintess quickly issued an order. Accordingly, her paladin and her escort Magnus quickly began searching her surroundings to find her Edmund.

Meanwhile, the saintess ordered another wizard to erase her scribbles on her floor.

“… It seems that he has already run away.”

After a while, Magnus returned, shaking his head. He couldn’t help it because Mina, who could secretly use teleportation, was still next to him.

“Anything caught by the shadow teleport detector?”

“No. It must have moved outside that range….”

“How much did we pay for that device, so you’re saying we can’t catch it?”

“… Or maybe Mina wasn’t involved this time.”

For a moment, an absolute mask came to mind in the saintess’ head, but she shook her head. She saw the absolute mask safely in the hands of the princess a moment ago, but it is impossible.

Absolutely unless you have two masks.

“… Maybe even Edmund. Could it be just a natural phenomenon?”

So, as Magnus said, it could just be a coincidence. At least as much as that lightning.

“Edmund must have done this graffiti, right? Keep searching. Maybe we can get some clues.”

The saintess gave her instructions to Magnus and returned to her place.

People gathered around the tower that was struck by lightning.

“Is everyone okay?”

“Yes, fortunately there were no casualties. Because it rained today, the tower construction was not done.”

“Is there any damage to that tower?”

“I haven’t checked it yet because lightning could strike again, but at least there is nothing wrong with the naked eye. That… The lightning absorber seems to have done its job.”

“Thank you, Goddess.”

The saintess let out a sigh of relief and said.

The situation a while ago proceeded in almost the same way as the revelation of the goddess. Strictly speaking, rain did not fall like this in the revelation, but such small details originally happen differently.

However, the Great War of Etoile did not collapse. No, it’s not to the extent that it hasn’t collapsed. No damage was done.

So maybe. In fact, maybe he succeeded in turning the goddess’s mind around.

“Saintess, by any chance, is this the revelation the Goddess said has come true?”

“… Don’t judge yet.”

Likewise, the saintess was cautious about the priest’s words, but she couldn’t hide the smile that spread across her lips.

Of course, the element of anxiety remained. Anyway, Edmund hasn’t been captured yet, and the conversation with the Goddess is still cut off.

But Saint Lucy found great comfort in her heart. In a fight with him, she was convinced that she could win.

By changing the outcome of the revelation, the goddess is taking her side.

***

‘I tried it once because there was thunder and lightning, but it still didn’t work.’

Meanwhile, I looked at Etoile Great Temple again from afar.

Even leaving graffiti at the entrance of Daishinjeon was part of the plan. Wearing a replica of the absolute mask, tearing up the skill scroll prepared in advance, leaving a message on the floor, and leisurely leaving the scene.

But it was an accidental act that threw the lightning a moment ago.

As I tried to quietly return to my hiding place, it suddenly started raining and then I heard thunder.

And at the same time, from the depths of my heart, a strange urge welled up.

The urge to destroy that great war filled with vanity and lies.

I knew. Even if I blow lightning now, the Great War will not collapse. If it collapses, that’s a problem.

But at the same time, I also felt that way. The weather is nice, so how about blowing lightning to check Daeshinjeon’s defense?

If the weather is like this anyway, even if I strike lightning, won’t there be less suspicion that I did it?

The worry was not long. This time, action took precedence over thought.

When I came to my senses, I moved to the right place and was casting lightning magic.

And as a result, no damage was done. At least when seen with the naked eye.

It seems that the lightning rod did its job.

I wonder if it’s comforting to hit the highest tower of Daeshinjeon exactly, even though it’s a long distance away.

‘It’s not the time yet.’

But I was not disappointed. Rather relieved. Because it didn’t end so stupidly.

I was just curious. Why is it raining like this today? Why did I suddenly get a flash of lightning as if I was possessed by something.

After all, was I just a puppet of a goddess? A strange question arose.

“There will be an inspection for a while.”

When I stared at the Great Hall for a while and was lost in thought, I saw paladins and wizards flocking from afar.

Getting caught is also part of the plan, but not now. Concluding this, I quickly escaped their encirclement.

I didn’t go back to the hiding place right away. Instead, I decided to go around Solaum and look at the reaction of the citizens once again.

“… Did you see the lightning strike before Daishin?”

“I see! Isn’t this a bad omen? Lightning strikes before that….”

“Wasn’t there even a hideous graffiti that the saintess was fake this morning?”

“Man, isn’t that what Edmund did? He is trying to seduce us.”

“Do you still believe in Etoile? Even knowing that you clearly condoned Iris’ evil deeds?”

As expected, people’s words are scary. What happened just a moment ago is already being discussed among people.

And their reactions were very mixed. Among them, the most interesting reactions are the reactions to me and the saintess.

I was still pushed out as a traitor, but on the other hand, my absolute support for the saintess was also faltering. Something unimaginable in the past.

“Actually, hasn’t it been strange since before? Edmund-nim, who made the biggest contribution in the warrior party, was excommunicated overnight. Could it be that he was unfairly framed?”

On the other hand, there were people who still believed in me in the past. When I heard those words, I was also heartbroken for no reason.

After hearing so many people’s reactions, I suddenly became curious.

If the whole truth is known, how will people react?

Precisely, who is more supportive or detractors?

In order to truly get revenge on the saintess, there must be a lot more people who support me, but can I really change their minds?

Really, can my plan work?

I kept thinking about it, but I couldn’t come up with a clear answer. When I woke up, the street was slowly getting dark.

It was still raining. When she checked the crystal ball, she was asking when Raphaella would return.

‘I have to go back.’

So I turned to the hiding place. Then, I suddenly thought that I should meet Joan, but since I still had time to implement my plan, I decided to stop by tomorrow.

But when I arrived at the hideout, a woman was walking around in the rain. It was Joan.

“Oh, you are here!”

As soon as she saw me, Joan walked away with a bright expression on her face. Even though I was wearing a different makeup than back then, I was quite surprised that he recognized me at a glance.

“Why did you wait here?”

“Well, because of what happened today, I have a question for you. But when I arrived here, the house I entered yesterday was nowhere to be seen.”

That was one of the effects of hiding. Had I known this would happen, I would have given her a spare orb of her own. She just felt sorry for her.

“For now, let’s go inside and talk.”

I knocked on the floor at the entrance to the hideout three times. Then, in an instant, a house appeared from an empty space. Joan followed me into the hiding place, his eyes wide open.

“Welcome… yo. This.”

Rafaela greeted me warmly, but she was taken aback when she saw Joan who had entered next to her.

“I called because I had something to say.”

“Yes. We need his opinion for this operation.”

Rafaela said, handing a towel to Joan, who was soaking wet. Joan dried him off and sat down.

“First of all, what happened today. So, the words that the saintess was fake and the lightning striking the Great Sanctuary. Edmund-sama did it, right?”

“Right. And I have something to ask you about lightning magic.”

I told Joan what happened today. After hearing my story, Joan quietly nodded his head and said,

“I had a similar experience. It’s time to question the saintess’ opinion. Like this, sometimes the Goddess leads us in the direction you want.”

“Then, today’s incident. Does it have anything to do with the revelation of the Goddess?”

“No. The Great Sanctuary did not collapse. And in the scene in the revelation, it wasn’t even rainy weather like today. So, from my point of view, the revelation of the Goddess has not yet come true.”

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Unlike when we first met, Joan slowly explains things. He wondered if it was the same person.

“Then what happened today….”

“Well? Maybe it’s a final warning to the saintess. Or it could be a message to Edmund.”

“What message?”

“That… I guess I’ll know when the time comes.”

Joan has a meaningful smile. He wanted to question her further, but he barely held back.

“Shouldn’t we tell Joan the plan too?”

Because Raphaella, who was watching from behind, asked insinuatingly. I nodded and explained my plan to Joan.

Looking at Rafaela through her squint, she seemed to keep looking at Joan, putting pressure on her unspokenly.

It was like a signal to stop me.

“… Personally, I am the opposite. From now on, it’s a battle between me and the saintess. There is no need for Edmund-sama to sacrifice.”

After hearing the story, Joan said. Rafaela spoke as if she had been waiting.

“Look! Even Joan is against it! Therefore….”

“… But if this is Edmund-sama’s choice, I won’t stop you.”

But when Joan added one more word, Raphaella bit her lip tight.

“I just want to ask Edmund one thing. I want you to be honest with me.”

“Tell me.”

“Edmund, why are you going this far? Isn’t it just to get revenge?”

Joan’s question hits the mark. After thinking about this for a while, I struggled to open my mouth.

“Yes. I have a more specific reason. I want to prove her wrong that I will be a great threat to the Empire. And conversely, I want to let the Empire know that she is a great threat.”

“And Edmund-sama, are you sure?”

Is she really a goddess with her? Joan’s question was only to the point.

“…To be honest, no. After all, I too have committed many evil deeds to seek revenge.”

“And the saintess will definitely justify her actions by persistently aiming for that. If that happens, it will be difficult for her to destroy Etwarism.”

“Yes.”

Joan accurately pinpointed my insecurities.

“So Edmund-sama. I’m emphasizing this a lot. Let’s use a different method. If it doesn’t work out, Edmund-sama doesn’t have to step in. I’m sorry to Joan-sama, but you can just help Joan from behind when he fights the saint. It is.”

After hearing the story, Raphaella intervened, noticing Joan. Joan said with a gentle smile.

“There’s no need to be sorry. I think it deserves it too. But Edmund-sama doesn’t like that.”

“Yes.”

And I decided that it had better odds. If Joan fought alone, there was a threat that the saintess would just push through her own power.

Of course, it was bigger than that because I wanted to directly destroy her saintess.

I quietly waited for Joan’s next words. What are her thoughts on this?

After thinking for a while, Joan brought out his unexpected words.

“Edmund-sama, you are too honest.”

When I heard that, I was dumbfounded for a moment.

“That’s what you just said. In fact, you can just say you’re good. You can reassure me that there’s nothing wrong with your plan. But you’re not.”

“Well…”

Was I an honest person? I glanced at Raphaella. She vehemently agreed.

I would have been more confident if Mina was here, but unfortunately she is not here today as she is busy outside herself to realize her own revenge.

“It’s not a bad thing. Rather, this can be a strength. In the end, the truth has no choice but to win over lies.”

“That’s right.”

“So be confident in yourself. I dare say, Edmund has proven it.”

After hearing Joan’s words, my mind became much clearer.

“Thank you.”

“On the contrary, I am grateful. Thanks to Edmund-sama, I also gained courage.”

Looking at Joan, I hardened my heart.

Now I know what to do.