Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 37
Translated by Elphie
There were no such scars on Michael’s body in his previous life.
‘And that magic…’
Even a lesser purifier could tell that the magic that emanated from his hand was far from ordinary.
‘What kind of monster did that to him?’
Irene also wondered how remarkable the dungeon must have been for the royal family to express such gratitude.
After perusing the list of dungeons occurring outside the fortress for quite some time, Irene scratched her head and approached one the archives staff.
“Excuse me, is this list all of the dungeons that have occurred during this time?”
“Yes, it is. Is there a problem, miss?”
“It just seems to be missing a record of a dungeon that emerged in the Kingdom of Tyrenia. It should be something like an intermediate or higher-level dungeon…”
At Irene’s words, the employee shook his head in disbelief.
“It’s unlikely that a dungeon of that caliber wouldn’t have been logged. If it wasn’t, then… they may have requested confidential handling from that kingdom.”
“Confidential handling? Is that even possible?”
It was continental law to share information about dungeons. The details such as the types, forms, and attributes of monsters within were crucial for strategizing future dungeon conquests. Naturally, everyone was curious about the rewards as well.
“Even though it was an intermediate or higher-level dungeon?”
Low-level dungeons may be private, but everyone is hungry for information about mid-level and higher dungeons.
“Shhh. Keep your voice down.” The staff member shushed Irene, looking quite nervous. “After all, laws always have loopholes. It’s not entirely impossible with a considerable amount of money. Still, to keep it off the records, they must have spent quite a sum. I wonder if there was a reason for that.”
“A reason… What usual reasons are there for wanting confidentiality?”
“Usually, it’s when they want to monopolize the information themselves. If not that, then…” The employee whispered in a voice so low that it wouldn’t be heard by anyone else. “Sometimes, it’s when a truly powerful monster appears inside. In such cases, the monster is named after the region where it appears.”
What he said made Irene recall the names of monsters she remembered. Initially, monsters recorded during the first dungeon outbreaks were given names based on their appearance or abilities. “Blade-toothed Rat” or “Enchanting Mermaid” types of names.
However, as dungeons continued to appear and similar species of monsters emerged, naming them became a bit of a chore.
‘So names like ‘Zionian Blade-toothed Rat’ started popping up.’
That was for a dungeon that appeared in the city of Zion. There, a subspecies of Blade-toothed Rat appeared. To the casual observer, it looked like it just had a pair of larger teeth. However, due to the jaw strength, it proved to be a much more formidable monster to deal with.
Because they failed to eliminate the dungeon in time and left it unattended, the monsters poured out, ultimately resulting in the city of Zion being reduced to ruins.
‘But Michael took care of it all in the end.’
Regardless, after that incident, people naturally started associating that monster with Zion.
‘The Tyrenian Kingdom probably wants to prevent such incidents.’
As if picking up on Irene’s thoughts, the staff member continued, “For a country like Tyrenia, which is heavily involved in trade, it’s not that unusual. Think of it buying off that dishonor and instead passing off to the next country that discovers that type of monster. But really, what was inside that they decided to cover it up?”
The staff member muttered to himself, then returned to his duties without waiting for a response.
Irene also returned to her seat.
‘I can’t be of more help to Michael without knowing what it is.’
With that thought, she chuckled softly.
‘Get a grip. I’m not exactly in a position to help anyone else.’
100,000 gold.
The accommodations improved, the clothes became softer, and the food became more abundant, but the amount she owed the Count remained the same.
‘Since I missed out on the Invisibility Ring, I have to make up 100,000 gold with something else.’
Fortunately, Michael had changed the contract conditions in exchange for yesterday’s purification. Otherwise, she would have been in hot water.
‘It’ll be difficult if things that are supposed to be there don’t appear in the next dungeon.’
She recalled the pebble that they had found instead of the Invisibility Ring. Even if she had a hundred of those, they would still amount to nothing.
‘Please, please… At least let the Stone of Silence appear exactly like it did before.’
Praying to an unknown deity, Irene gathered up the papers. Now that she had obtained the records that she wanted, it was best to return to her room and sort things out alone.
Just as she was about to get up, a pair entered the archives. The purifier was about Irene’s age, with a youthful face that reflected the innocence of someone who had just come of age.
Beside her was a knight who was large as a bear and twice her size.
“Watch the stairs.”
The knight casually held out his hand to her as he led her up the stairs. They were such an affectionate pair that anyone who saw them could tell that the knight truly cared about his purifier.
As she blushed and took her knight’s hand, Irene murmured the name of the woman who had just entered.
“Reyna…”
She was a purifier Irene knew—one the ten Grade 2 purifiers in the fortress.
‘And one of the few who was kind to me.’