No Such Thing as a Chaste Man! Just Give It Ten Tries! - Chapter 43
The many questions she had raised peeled away the scales that had clouded his eyes, allowing him to see the world, not as the Holy Kingdom’s Crown Prince, but as the man, Ephelinus.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Seo-ah…”
The night he returned to the sanctuary, reeling from the shock of his father’s avaricious directive, he locked himself in his room, the moonlight his only illumination. There, clutching the clothes Seo-ah had worn upon being summoned to this world, he wept through the night.
The conclusion he reached was inevitable.
Seo-ah should never have come to this place.
Now that she was here, it couldn’t be undone, but once her mission was complete, she had to return home. She couldn’t remain in a world that would never fully accept her.
She had to return to a place where no one would treat her as an outsider, where she would be seen as a peer. A place where no one would regard her with ill will, envy, or misplaced reverence. Where her bright smile, her cropped trousers, and skirts as short as she liked wouldn’t seem out of place. Where no one would exploit or covet her.
From that night onward, Ephelinus buried himself in the archives, scouring endless scriptures and records. Seo-ah was the first successful summoning of an intelligent being, so knowledge of reverse summoning was sparse, and clues were even harder to find.
Yet he didn’t despair. Just as shadows inevitably accompany sunlight, he believed every ritual had its counterbalance. The summoning circle was no exception.
With this faith, he spent months combing through the Holy Kingdom’s vast library during any free moment.
Eventually, he found a clue in an ancient apostolic scripture that hadn’t seen light in over a millennium.
「 That which hath been fixed to this world’s order through sacred power, granted by the one who prayed, can only be undone by unbinding that same power.
Yet in so doing, the backlash shall return to its original wielder, its destructive force abated solely through the wielder’s life force. 」
This required another monumental decision.
When summoning the Saintess, his sacred power had been the beacon that called forth Seo-ah. It was this sacred power that shielded her soul, ensuring she could exist in Genève without physical or spiritual harm.
Reversing the summoning meant severing the sacred power that bound her to this world, unleashing the backlash upon its original wielder—Ephelinus himself.
The cost would be his life.
But for him, this was an acceptable price.
After all, he had already faced the possibility of death when preparing for the summoning ritual. If it meant erasing the vibrant colors and sweetness Seo-ah had introduced into his life, returning to the monotonous inertia of his previous existence… could he endure it?
He already knew the answer.
He couldn’t.
Thus, he wasn’t afraid of losing his life. Unlike the first time, when he followed his father’s command, this time he was choosing to bear the risk on his own.
No one had ordered him to.
A life pushed and pulled by others, devoid of questions or will—he could no longer bear it.
Resolute, Ephelinus began crafting the reverse summoning circle step by step.
He referenced scriptures, gradually modifying the process and conditions to ensure Seo-ah’s safe return to her homeland. It would be the most complete and flawless ritual he had ever created.
「 The purity of the one who prays, and the purity of the one transported—these are requisite. Yet any transgressions committed within Genève shall be cleansed by the sacred power imbued during the summoning. The purity of the one who prays alone may suffice to purge these blemishes. 」
The reverse summoning circle was far more demanding than its counterpart. While the summoning circle only required the purity of the summoned, the reverse summoning demanded purity from the caster as well.
For Ephelinus, this wasn’t an issue—he would see it through. As for Seo-ah, her case was simpler. Even if she had sought solace in another’s embrace to escape the anguish of near-death experiences, it wouldn’t affect the ritual. The events in this world wouldn’t hinder the reverse summoning.
Of course, cleansing these impurities would require his life force.
But he had already prepared for this cost and felt fortunate it could be borne.
