How to Tame That Gentle Hero - Chapter 8.3
The king frowned and fell into deep thought. After a few minutes had passed, the king began to explain.
“Besides that high-ranking black mage, there were two in total. One was a woman, tall with monolid eyes and a very high nose bridge… The other was a very short man… Yes, he must have been less than 150cm. He was so ugly that you could recognize him at once. As for their attire, the woman always wore a scarlet robe, and the man always wore a green robe.”
“I understand. Then we will immediately search the palace and eliminate the black mages. Even if they try to escape outside the royal city, the Sword Experts we brought will be guarding the gates… They definitely won’t be able to escape.”
“Ah…! Thank you…! Thank you. I won’t forget this effort!”
Tears streamed down from the king’s dry eyes. He must have suffered greatly during the time he was controlled by the black mage… Resena asked Lorona to place a blessing on this place to prevent the black mages from re-entering the audience chamber.
“Yes. I’ll deploy it right away.”
Lorona knelt down on the spot and began to pray. In an instant, a circular sphere that explosively burst from her body expanded wide enough to envelop the audience chamber and emitted a pure white light. When they opened their eyes after closing them, they could see transparent light sparkling and falling between the air of the audience chamber.
“Thank you, Lorona.”
“This much is nothing. Now, let’s go eliminate the black mages.”
Resena left the audience chamber with Renard and Alken. Since they had deployed a barrier in the audience chamber to prevent those enslaved by black mana or black mages who manipulate it from entering, Saint Lorona and Sir Ian Fullecher also hurriedly followed behind them.
And from then on, Lorona’s solo performance unfolded.
“I command in the name of Sernaus, the main god of holy light!”
Lorona stretched out both hands and instantly deployed a barrier of light. Every time she walked slowly while praying, black mana was immediately expelled from the bodies of those touched by the light, and they were blessed. Since their bodies had been overworked by the black mana, many people simply collapsed.
“Sob… Saint… Thank you… Thank you.”
Even though the entire palace was under the control of black magic, the number was so enormous that even Alken and Renard had grim expressions.
However, among those who had regained their senses, there were quite a few knights who could still control their bodies. They informed Resena where the black mages had gone.
“I understand. So the man’s name is Jikan and the woman’s name is Sharen?”
“Yes, that’s correct. And occasionally they would hold a crystal ball and report to someone named Zergard.”
“…So they conspired with Zergard to plot this…”
After hearing everything they said, Resena rose from her seat. Since Lorona was walking while praying, they had to be careful not to go outside her circle. Although they had caught the high-ranking black mage, it was dangerous to go outside the circle of light she had created, as controlled people or other black mages might attack.
“Renard. Alken.”
“Yes, Resena.”
“Yes, Sister.”
Resena pointed in a different direction from what the knights had indicated. They had said the black mages were heading southeast and north respectively, but ultimately their final destination would be the west, where the castle gates were located.
‘Now that the high-ranking black mage has been defeated, they must have concluded they have no chance of winning. They have no choice but to head for the escape route.’
But the moment they tried to escape through the gates, they would be identified as black mages using black mana with the crystal plate, so taking hostages was their only option. In that case, they needed someone who could launch auras from a distance to eliminate them even in that situation.
Fortunately, Renard and Alken were right beside her. Both have high precision with auras. And since they needed to catch two black mages, it was perfect for each to take one.
“Renard. Alken. Go to the gates and catch the black mages attempting to escape. They’ll likely take hostages, so please eliminate them by launching auras from a distance.”
“Understood.”
“Got it, Sister.”
After watching Renard and Alken head in that direction, Resena entered the barrier that Lorona had deployed. Having purified two-thirds of the palace, Lorona looked slightly fatigued, but the barrier surrounding her was more vibrant than ever.
“Lorona. I’m sorry, but we need to go around the entire palace. If you’re tired, would you like to alternate with Sir Ian?”
Lorona shook her head.
“No. I can do it. Sir Ian needs to stand guard beside us to prevent any unforeseen situations. So far, those controlled by black magic haven’t attacked us, but we can’t be too careful. If Sir Ian is exhausted when attacks come from a distance, it would be disastrous, so it’s right for me to handle the entire palace alone.”
“Lorona…”
“Don’t worry. I can do it. Resena, please stay close to us and observe if anyone controlled by black magic shows any sudden behavior. That way, when giving the next instructions, you can make accurate judgments based on that information.”
Lorona’s judgment was correct. Resena smiled gently and spoke kindly to Lorona.
“Thank you. For your strength. And for trusting me. Thanks to you, we’ll be able to liberate the palace quickly. Originally, I had planned for a three-week schedule, but thanks to you, it seems like things will be resolved soon.”
“Hehe. I also want to return to Crevasta quickly. This place must have its own merits, but… it’s too hot.”
Resena burst into laughter at those words and then turned her head forward again. Come to think of it, the attire of the Amarast people they had encountered so far, except for the king and Prince Serdat, mostly consisted of short sleeves and exposed calves.
‘It must be because of the heat, but it seems rather provocative to others.’
As Heejin, who had experienced modern life, it didn’t bother her at all, but Alken and Ian would oddly turn their gaze elsewhere whenever the maids’ skirts went above their knees. Probably out of embarrassment. But even so, they were doing their jobs well, so there was no need to worry about it.
Thus, after touring the entire palace, Lorona and Resena gradually relaxed. It seemed that they had been under the command of the high-ranking black mage, because after Ain was eliminated and Lorona walked around dissolving the black mana with her barrier, even those who had charged with swords were freed from their subjugation and blessed as soon as they touched the barrier, so they didn’t feel any particular threat.
“Long-range is… Ah?”
“Get behind me!”
As a blind arrow flew in, Ian quickly deflected it. Resena hid behind Ian with Lorona. Ten archers were blocking the main entrance of the palace and continuously shooting arrows, making it seem like Ian would tire first if they just kept blocking like this.
“Lorona. Can you gather holy power and throw it?”
“Holy power…? I’ve never tried it before, but I’ll give it a try. You want to free those controlled by black mana, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. They need to maintain a fixed posture when shooting arrows. So if you throw it during that gap, they’ll be immediately purified when hit by the holy power.”
Lorona made a resolute expression and nodded.
“Then, I’ll try. Here I go!”
While maintaining the barrier, Lorona gathered holy power to the size of a small cup and forcefully launched it. The first one grazed an archer’s hair, but the second ball of holy power, thrown after quickly adjusting the angle, hit the archer’s head directly, instantly purifying him as he collapsed on the spot.
“Well done, Lorona!”
“You’re amazing, Saint.”
“Hehe. This much is easy. Now for the next attack.”
“Yes. Sir Ian. Please continue to deflect the arrows so Lorona can throw. I’m counting on you!”
“Don’t worry. Leave it to me!”
While Ian confidently deflected the arrows, Lorona gathered holy power again and threw it.
Perhaps because their intelligence had been reduced by the black mana controlling them, the archers were easily hit and collapsed on the spot.
As the holy power that hit their heads pooled downward, purifying and blessing their bodies, they immediately fainted. Upon approaching them, their complexions looked very poor, as if they had been constantly overworked, so Resena took potions from her spatial pouch and poured them into their mouths.
“Ugh…”
One of the archers who drank the potion regained consciousness. Resena looked at him with pity before standing up.
“It seems we’ve dealt with the entire palace now. Now we should rest for about a day, and then, Lorona, we’ll need to launch a hot air balloon to deal with the black mana in the sky above.”
“Yes. I’ll go with Sir Ian.”
