Protagonist Knows Everything - Chapter 37

Admin Note: Triple chapter today as I forgot to post this week. Don’t forget to read chapter 36 and 38 ???? ~Makarovfey

“What are you talking about?”

“Well? Lorelie Ein. Halo estate… you don’t know about her?”

“……”

“Her miracles are no ordinary feat. She’s the person closest to the title of saint. You’re going to visit her aren’t you?”

‘Not at all.’

Even with Celia he was wrong, he lied to her, or maybe Celia was right all along. Nortel was mistaken all along.

“The person I am looking for is someone else.”

“What?”

It doesn’t look right, but I could bet my fortune he looked surprised.

“Not Lorelie, but someone else? Who?”

“I have no reason to answer your question.”

“Huh. Nobody on the continent can break the curse of Secreed except for Lorelie.”

Then he quickly corrected his words, “No, to be precise, no one can solve it without side effects.”

“…..”

“Do you know what the side-effects are?”

I stayed silent.

Nortel read my silence and spoke, “Ask Lorelie to break the curse. You can just use my name.”

“……”

“Then you will be able to break the curse without any side-effects. Just like the Saint 300 years ago.”

I answered firmly without any delay.

“No.”

“What?!”

“Why should I trust you? You were even mistaken with Celia.”

It looked like I had hit Nortel’s nerves with that remark.  Suddenly, the temperature seemed to drop below zero even though it was mid summer.

He said, staring at me with his eyes shining from under his hood, “I admit your abilities are quite remarkable. But you’re still young and overconfidence isn’t a good thing.”

Well, it was true that I was younger than him, even if I count my previous life.

“Or is it that this little adventurer’s life isn’t that precious for you?”

“What are you saying? That adventurer you are talking about has the talent to become the actual great sage.”

“Hahaha!”

Nortel laughed out loud.

“Kasha Flame. Yes, she’s definitely a great kid.”

“……”

“But that’s great in the eyes of the ordinary. You can’t even compare her with Celia’s genius.”

I almost burst into laughter.

Nortel said, “How long do you think Kasha will grow like this? She’s blinded by the achievements in front of her. She won’t realize her full potential this way, if she had some to start with.”

“……”

“She will stop growing sooner or later. If both of you try hard then she’ll be able become an S-class. But she can’t be a great sage.”

Soon I started to get bored of this conversation. No, rather than being bored… it was…unnecessary.

“I will sleep now. It was a nice conversation though.”

“Did you even listen to a single thing that I said?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to hear much from you. I’ll say hello to Lorelie if I see her though.”

“You’re not sane.”

‘Heh’

According to my records, Jerial Juana was the only one with the potential to become a sage.

I believe in my personnel records.  It looks exactly like the one I made in my previous life.

At that time, one thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“Then shall we bet?”

“Bet?”

“Yeah. If I can safely lift Kasha’s curse, you will show me your face.”

“……”

“I ain’t asking for much. You seem like a person who likes bets, so I don’t think you’ll refuse.”

Heavy silence embraced him.  I kept talking calmly.

“Ms. Sain was going to introduce me anyway. So my condition is not even a real condition.”

“Hmm. What if I win?”

“Do you have anything you want?

“I have.”

“You will help me out.”

I looked up at him, not knowing what he was talking about.

Nortel continued to speak in a somewhat sincere voice.

“Something big will happen in the near future.”

“……”

“I was looking for new talents to prepare for it. One of them, the great sage, you ruined that sapling.”

“Hmm.”

“I think Celia has greater potential than this child. So if I ask for help, please help me. That’s the betting condition.”

I nodded.

“Sure.”

“Good.”

So we agreed to the bet and…

[Swish]

Nortel disappeared.  I looked around for him.

After that, I went up to the roof of the carriage and touched the seat where he was sitting.  It was warm.

‘He’s not a ghost.’

Then one thing became clear to me, I was dealing with an actual person. At least he wasn’t some spirit or something

Kasha slept for exactly five hours and woke up.  And as soon as she got up, she looked for me.

“Tay! Where are you? Where are you?”

“Right here.”

“I… have I been asleep?”

“Yes. Did you have a good dream? You drooled a lot while sleeping.”

Kasha inadvertently wiped her mouth, and she noticed that she had no saliva marks, and then suddenly became angry.

“No, it’s not a joke!”

“This is the worst time for jokes like these.”

“……”

“We’re having beef jerky and eggs for breakfast. Want some?”

“……Huh.”

Kasha and I,  along with the coachman, finished the meal.

The coachman then said, staring at the carriage again, “I should consider retiring.”

“Huh?”

“Last night, I suddenly fell unconscious. It’s the first time something like that happened.”

“……”

I quit trying to tell him the truth.

“Please do that. Looks like you’re already over the retirement age.”

***

We ran like the wind and finally arrived at the Halo Estate.  To be precise, to the Temple of Parmel in the Halo Territory.

It was too early for an interview, but the priests at Parmel were very generous.

“Jerial? Yes. There is.”

“Can we talk to her for a minute? It’s really urgent.”

“It is time for worship. It’s almost over… Oh, it’s over.”

The door of the hall opened, and I saw several people in robes slowly coming out.

The guide asked us to wait for a while and entered the crowd.

I muttered inadvertently, “You are kind.”

Kasha replied to those words, “Of course. Those who believe in Parmel, the goddess of healing are always kind.”

“That’s the reason?”

Kasha looked up at me with her eyes asking the question ‘Why not?’.

I really want to ask, ‘What is that the reason behind their kindness?’

Anyway, after a while, the guide came back along with someone.

I checked the personnel records.

[Name: Jerial Juana]

[Gender: Female]

[Age: 23]

[Occupation: Apprentice Sister]

[Title: D-]

[Equipment: Parmel robes]

[Family relationship: None]

[Potential: Saint (Development 0%)]

So she’s the one with the talent of a saint.

If this potential is not labeled S, A or B, it means that you are indeed a possessor of extraordinary talent.

Just like Kasha.

“I heard you wanted to meet me.”

As the guide retreated, Jeriel opened her mouth with a soft voice.  It was hard to know what she was saying if you weren’t paying attention.

I answered, “Yes. Are you free right now?”

“If you were looking for confession, more than me…”

“No. It’s not like that.”

I think I have committed no sins that I’d apologize for, not yet.

“I want to ask you something.”

“Me?”

She blinked her big eyes twice. Then she smiled and said, “Then let’s go somewhere else. There’s a nice place in the front yard.”

She guided us through the place into the yard. To a table comfortably placed under the shade of a huge tree.

As soon as we settled down, I said, “I want to break the curse.”

“Yes?”

As she responded inadvertently, she covered her mouth with her hand.

“Are you telling me?…. In that case, there is a professional priest.”

“……”

“I am just an apprentice sister. I haven’t even heard the voice of the Goddess yet.”

There was a bitterness in her voice.

I got a little impatient, but I thought that the first thing I had to do was open the door of her heart.

“Listening to an oracle is the basic condition of becoming a priest…”

“So I am still an apprentice…”

She said with an embarrassed smile.  However, there was a clear sorrow in that smile.

“I have been in the temple since childhood. Maybe since I was seven years old.”

Then Kasha breathed lightly next to me.  Probably because her story was quite similar to Kasha’s.

“I don’t know how many years have passed since then.”

‘You can figure that out with simple calculations.’

“But the goddess still hasn’t answered my prayers. It must be because of my lack of faith.”

“……”

“It doesn’t make sense why you chose me to lift your curse. I will guide you to a professional priest.”

‘That’s a bit weird.’

‘In the case of Kasha, she said she stood out as soon as she entered the Tower of Eternity, quite expected of someone with the talent of the great sage.’

Then Kasha spoke, “It can’t be that way…”

“…”

“Oh. No. I’m sorry. But it really can’t be.”

Jeriel’s head was bent.

“The meaning of the word is good… What does that mean that can’t be?”

“Tay can’t be mistaken.”

I said, “You haven’t really heard a voice?”

“Voice is a metaphorical expression. Goddess does not communicate with us in clear words.”

“So?”

“Usually, she communicates with natural phenomena such as scriptures, light, and fire. Sometimes you come to enlightenment. In any case, I am convinced that she will hear my prayers.”

“……”

“I am confident that the goddess has accepted me. Unfortunately, I haven’t had that experience just yet.”

At that moment, lightning flashed on my head.  I hurriedly called in and looked at her recent activities.

[15 minutes ago: Kept talking to herself while praying. Was reprimanded by the sisters around her for obstructing prayer.]

‘Talk to yourself?’

‘Oh wait. Perhaps……’

I asked calmly, “Do you usually talk to yourself? Like, a lot?”

Jeriel’s face, which was eased up until now, hardened.

But only then, the impression she gave was so mild that her hardened face wasn’t even scary.

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean exactly what I asked”

“Have you heard my rumors?”

“Yeah. Honestly.”

Kasha looked at me and Jeriel alternately.

It’s the first time we met, and so she’s probably wondering what I meant.

Jeriel laughed bitterly.

“It’s just a habit.”

“……”

“When I was young, I was treated as a crazy person because of that. Some even speculated that I was possessed by a monster or something.”

“Hmm.”

“Sorry. I don’t want to talk about that anymore. I mean… no, it’s not. Stay quiet.”

Kasha’s mouth was wide open.

“You must have spoken to yourself right now, right?”

Jeriel said with her face flushed red.

“No. That’s not what it is now. Sorry. I’ll stop.”

She hurriedly rose up wanting to leave. But I caught her in a hurry.

“Isn’t there a voice in your head? The one that always keeps talking to you?”

“Stop it.”

“That’s Parmel’s voice, isn’t it?”

“Blasphemous!”

For the first time, Jeriel was angry.

“Goddess is not the one who speaks directly to lowly humans like me! There has never been such a case in history… No, there has been only once.”

“Yeah. With Saint Peterine De Castle.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Answer me honestly. You don’t think that you’d be the next saint right?”

[Quaang]

Jeriel struck the table hard.

“I will be really angry if you keep saying things like that.”

“……”

“Everyone makes fun of me for being too kind, but I’m really scary when I get angry. So don’t say unnecessary things like that.”

‘Wow. I am scared.’

It seems that this next St. Mary has suffered a lot while living in this world.  But her naturally gentle face also made it quite difficult to get scared.

Jeriel said, “Besides, the next Saint is already here.”

‘Oh about that…’

I searched my memory for the name that Nortel spoke of during our brief encounter.

“That would be Lorelie Ein?”

Jeriel was amazed, but she regained her composure and slowly nodded.

“You know her too. Well, she’s famous.”

“……”

“She is a person who can not only lift curses, but can also heal infectious diseases and fatal injuries easily. She must be the one most loved by Goddess parmel”

‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that, my records say otherwise.’

I wasn’t interested in that so I just turned the topic.

“Anyway, who were you talking to?”

“That’s… Jui.”

“Jui?”

“That…. it’s my friend’s name,”

She calmly sat down after saying that.

I said in a relaxed voice, “So goddess Parmel also has a nickname.”

“It’s not her! Why would you keep saying something so disrespectful? If it weren’t for me, you would’ve been persecuted for blasphemy by now.”

I think you are the most blasphemous out of us.

Jeriel was angry, but she soon regained her composure and said, “Jui has been helping me a lot since my childhood. She even tells me to take the laundry inside before it rains.”

‘That’s a god with nothing else to do.’

‘So you believe that that god is just a figment of your imagination. She must be feeling contempt.’

I swallowed that thought and said in an apologetic tone, “Okay. I apologize.”

“Ask the goddess for forgiveness, not me.”

‘Goddess. sorry.’

“Anyway, can’t you pray once? To release the curse.”

“If I do that… it will certainly fail. You still want me to try?”

“Yeah. Just trying would be enough.”

She hesitantly stretched out her hand and put it on my head. Then she started mumbling her prayer.

‘What is this?’

“Parmel, Goddess of Healing. Please, have pity on this believer and cleanse the soiled curse that binds him.”

“Uh…Excuse me.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m praying. Huh? Not the man? Oh, it’s her?”

She turned to Kasha.  Perhaps the voice in her head kindly informed her about the cursed subject.  Kasha was sitting there with her head resting on the table.

It wasn’t really a problem, but I wondered if she was too calm for someone who’s been cursed by one of the named monsters created by the demon lord himself.

“Well, there.”

[Giggle]

“Hey… you there.”

Jeriel called out to Kasha who was giggling with her head down.

Kasha slowly raised her head and apologized, “I am really sorry, I wasn’t laughing at you.”

“Yes Yes.”

“Take good care of me.”

Kasha fixed her posture.

Jeriel once again stretched out her hand and put it on Kasha’s head.  She began to recite her prayer solemnly, but her face was still red with embarrassment.

I watched the scene with a rather relaxed mind.

‘I’m glad everything got sorted out without any problems whatsoever.’

A few minutes later, Jeriel finished her prayer and asked Kasha.

“It’s over… How are you feeling?”

“Well. I don’t know. I wasn’t sick due to the curse in the first place.”

‘Well, let’s see’