In the Cave

"My lord, we've inspected all the catch. There's no problem for now, and we haven't found any Pollution. The fishermen also told us that fishing has been forbidden lately—I told them there were pirates roaming the nearby waters."

"How did they take it?"

"Of course they accepted." Connor's expression was a little strange.

"The wages you offered them are enough to make up for two days' worth of fishing. But can this really last? We're hiring every fisherman to work for us..."

"Don't worry. We'll soon be short-handed." Theus chuckled.

"This time, we've hired them to renovate the workshops. Once the renovations are complete, they'll be the first batch of workers."

Connor hesitated, but didn't argue. Everyone knew that the workshops on a lord's territory were money-makers. But it took years of study for skilled craftsmen to learn every step of the process, no matter what kind of workshop it was.

Where were they supposed to find skilled workers?

Thinking of Theus's request to build a school, perhaps he really did have a solution.

Theus did have a solution. In fact, he'd already worked out exactly how to put it into practice. If this strange Pollution hadn't held him up, he'd probably be at the workshops now, directing the workers.

Theus sighed. He'd only wanted to focus on developing his territory, but one troublesome matter after another kept coming up.

At least he'd be able to deal with the Pollution soon.

Theus glanced at the sea nearby. The Banshees had gathered there, casting Flesh Magic on Monica.

Come to think of it, the Banshees knew all kinds of strange and unusual magic. He wondered if they could use any of it to help with production in the territory...

This was the seaside cavern where Theus and Nora had agreed to meet for the treatment.

At high tide, seawater covered the cavern's roof, submerging the entire place. Now that the tide was out, they had come inside.

The water wouldn't rise again until evening. By then it would be dark, so there was no need to worry about anyone seeing them. For now, the cavern offered cover. Theus had chosen the spot carefully.

After reporting to Theus, Connor left the cave to keep watch outside. For the sake of secrecy, only he and Theus were here. The other servants had brought the supplies and carriage to the outskirts and then returned. Connor had driven Theus here himself.

Connor knew what the Banshees meant to Theus, so he was being especially careful to avoid any risk of exposing them.

I hope everything goes smoothly, Connor thought with a sigh.

It was strange, really. He'd spent years working as a sailor at sea, so how had he never heard of Pollution?

"That's..."

Connor suddenly tensed. He saw a short figure slowly approaching in the distance.

That was right—Nora of the Silent Temple. Connor had met her before.

But...

Why was she wearing full plate armor and carrying a huge shield on her back?

Connor grew wary. He looked around, but there didn't seem to be anyone else coming.

Someone in full plate armor could easily withstand the attacks of more than a dozen people. On a fully armored warhorse, they could scatter a hundred unarmored bandits.

When a rebellion broke out on a noble's territory, sending a few Knights was usually enough. They could charge together once, leaving the attendants to come in afterward and clear the battlefield.

Though Nora was walking alone, Connor's expression remained grave.

"Lady Nora, have you been in a battle? Do you need my help?" he called loudly.

Young Master Theus wasn't far from here, so he'd surely hear. Besides, they could always hide in the sea. It shouldn't be a serious problem.

That thought put Connor a little more at ease.

But as Nora drew closer, his eyes suddenly widened.

Was that...

Heavy armor from the Northern Territory?

In the White Crow Duchy of the Northern Territory, the priests wore heavy armor and charged into battle. Their full suits of plate, specially forged by the Holy Hall, could even withstand volleys from the Empire's musketeers. The battle lines they charged through looked like plowed earth, leaving behind only blood and screams.

After a few tentative clashes, the Empire had quickly grown friendly and generous. It signed a treaty of friendship with the White Crow Duchy, then turned its attention to the western front.

But Connor had heard that soldiers returning from the Northern Territory front seemed to have contracted a strange illness. The moment they saw pure white armor bearing the Holy Emblem of the Bone White Crow, they would go mad and chant the scriptures of the Silent Temple.

Staring at the bone-white emblem, Connor swallowed.

"This is necessary equipment for the treatment." Nora's voice came from beneath her cold, rigid faceplate. She took the Flail from her belt and spun it around a few times.

A cloud of smoke rose. Only then did Connor notice that one of the three spiked Meteor Hammers on her Flail was giving off a faint haze.

Theus came out as well. At the sight of Nora's getup, the corner of his eye twitched involuntarily.

"...A Portable Censer?"

"Yes." Nora answered seriously. "This one exorcises evil, this one heals, and this one..."

"Smashes people?" Theus asked without thinking.

"No. All three can smash people." Nora's expression turned solemn. "This one spreads the faith."

Theus and Connor exchanged a glance, then both decided to keep quiet.

The Burier of the Silent Temple was more talkative today than before. For some reason, Theus thought he saw a hint of... eagerness in her eyes.

"Neither of you is contaminated." Nora looked at the two of them oddly. "Who needs treatment?"

"Please, follow me." Theus led Nora into the cave. Connor nodded to them and continued keeping watch.

"Have Monica move a little closer to the water, Ash. Explain exactly what happened to Miss Nora... Miss Nora?"

Theus turned around, surprised to find that Nora had somehow raised a huge Tower Shield. She held the Flail in her right hand, and her helmet's visor was down.

Her white armor had been meticulously maintained and looked murderous. Theus couldn't help taking a step back.

W-was this really equipment for a treatment?

Theus was deeply skeptical. But then he remembered that armor worked like this in the online games of his previous life: the more skin it showed, the stronger its defense. Perhaps these Transcendence items couldn't be judged by ordinary standards.

And the Flail in her hand... well, the censer was indeed smoking.

Ash had awakened. She still looked weak, but her spirits were good. Thanks to the life force provided by the Symbiotic Pact, she had recovered faster than expected.

At that moment, she lowered her head and looked around before noticing the... little person in front of her.

There was no helping it. Theus was quite tall by human standards, yet he still had to tilt his head back to speak to the Banshees. Nora, on the other hand, was short even by human standards.

So Ash noticed the Tower Shield first. She had to turn halfway around before she finally saw Nora standing behind it.

Nora tried hard to raise her head and look up at Ash. Then...

Clang!

The back of her helmet struck her breastplate.

Nora fell silent for a moment, then gave up trying.

This sort of plate armor might look like an iron can, but it was actually quite flexible. Nora could even jump around in it without any trouble.

But that flexibility didn't extend to looking up at the ceiling. The armorers who made the plate had never considered that use.

Damn it. Next time, she'd make the Holy Hall redesign this helmet!