The Saint’s Manual for Redemption - Chapter 14
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 14
“This is extraordinary. I could ignore the food, but when I drank the water from the cup, I didn’t sense any Magical Energy at all…….”
Arden muttered in an astonished voice, clearly taken aback that he’d failed to detect the contamination. So he did have some pride in his sensitivity to Magical Energy.
He tapped the water filling the well bucket with his fingertips and spoke.
“Of course. The only person capable of detecting Magical Contamination at this level spread through water would be the 3rd Saint, who is said to have been the most powerful of all.”
Magical Energy dispersed through water is far harder to sense than Magical Energy spread through earth. Especially in cases like this, where the contamination hasn’t fully progressed and lingers only faintly.
“Even the Saint Candidate didn’t notice it.”
Rufus, unaware that I was praising myself, mistook me for a humble person and gave me undeserved credit.
Somewhere along the way, the way he addressed me had shifted to the highest level of formality.
Just yesterday he’d been calling me “Saint Candidate” in a far more casual tone.
“Well, that’s true, but the 3rd Saint’s reputation isn’t inflated—I’m just that extraordinary myself.”
Worried he might downplay my achievements from my time as the 3rd Saint, I put on a poker face and gave myself a generous boost instead.
Rufus gasped as though I’d committed blasphemy.
“Well…… the 3rd Saint was certainly remarkable.”
Arden replied in a flat tone, his voice entirely devoid of reverence. I raised an eyebrow at that.
I may have inadvertently become the symbol of corruption who laid the foundation for the Temple’s decay, but who did he think made it possible for him to walk around in a Holy Knight Order uniform today?
Back in my time, there was no Holy Knight Order—just hired mercenaries.
Even after things improved and I formalized those mercenaries into an actual order, nobody dreamed of uniforms as fine as these.
In any case, Arden clearly didn’t care much for the 3rd Saint. Here I was, actually meeting a later-generation Temple person who didn’t revere me. How novel.
“So the newly dug well is definitely the source of the Magical Contamination affecting the villagers. All we need to do is purify the well, correct?”
I shook my head at Arden’s question.
“This is different from Magical Contamination in earth. Earth doesn’t flow, but water does.”
That’s why earth, once purified, can hold out for centuries, but water—even after purification—lasts at most a few years.
“So purifying the well water would only be a temporary fix as long as the Demon Realm lies directly beneath the Water Vein. Without posting a purification priest here permanently to cleanse the water regularly, it won’t solve anything.”
And I knew perfectly well.
Before the corruption, the Temple might have made such an investment, but the Temple now would never spend that kind of money on a village that doesn’t even contribute tithes worth mentioning.
Moreover, this village has no children, so it’s essentially a dying community. The local lord might consider sending settlers, but it’s doubtful.
The only way this village could receive regular well purification is if the villagers commit to paying not just their gratitude tithes to the Temple, but also the travel expenses for the purification priest.
Would anyone really move here willingly, bearing those extra costs? It’s nothing but wasted money.
“Then what should we do?”
I shrugged in response to Arden’s question.
“I don’t know how these villagers ended up finding a Water Vein contaminated by Magical Energy, but we need to find them a new, clean one.”
As soon as I finished speaking, I walked without hesitation toward my destination.
“The Blacksmith Shop……?”
Arden read the sign above the establishment I’d arrived at and paused in confusion. Then, recognition dawned on his face. “Ah, are you looking to obtain a Water Vein Detection Rod?”
“If I’m going to hunt for Water Veins with something as mundane as that, where’s my dignity? I need to put on a proper Saint’s spectacle—make sure everyone remembers that this was my doing.”
Arden hesitated again. Here we go with this human again.
“Welcome, welcome! Oh, a Saint? What brings you here? Have you found out what caused our problem?”
“Yes, I’ve found it. I should be able to resolve everything by the end of today.”
As I received the Blacksmith Owner’s greeting, I walked straight toward the item I’d marked yesterday and today while purifying his Magical Energy, without a shred of hesitation.
“That one was made for mercenaries built for size over skill, so it might be too heavy for a Saint to handle…….”
Before the Blacksmith Owner could finish, I lifted the Axe Mace with one hand effortlessly.
“Would it be alright if I took it outside to test swing it? I’m worried I might destroy the shop if I swing it in here.”
The Blacksmith Owner, mouth agape in shock, nodded creakily. Arden was watching me with an expression of pure bewilderment.
Outside the Blacksmith Shop, I loosened up and swung the Axe Mace freely in one hand, spinning it in circles.
“With those thin arms, how is she even…… Is she actually human……? Was she the knight and the other person the Saint Candidate?”
“…… The other person is the Saint Candidate, and I’m the escort knight.”
I could hear the exchange between the still-dazed Blacksmith Owner and Arden.
The massive Double-Bladed Axe Mace that had been propped in the corner of the Blacksmith Shop had caught my eye from the start. It resembled my Wilson quite a bit in shape and size.
For reference, Wilson was currently embedded in the Inquisition Court—my companion Mace, a Sacred Object bestowed upon me by Caritas.
Even though this place was supposed to be where my soul originally belonged, it felt no different than being abruptly dropped into a strange world, and homesick as I was, I’d named the Mace the divine Father gave me after a volleyball-loving friend from some movie back home.
Of course, this Mace didn’t actually resemble Wilson at all.
But because Caritas had poured power into crafting Wilson as a Sacred Object, it was ornate and flashy, whereas this weapon was brutishly plain.
Still, just the fact that it resembled Wilson in shape made me quite fond of it.
Especially the spear-like pointed base of the Mace, identical to Wilson’s. Such a small feature could be incredibly useful.
“How much is this?”
“No, no—how could I possibly take money from a Saint? If I accepted payment from someone going so far out of her way to help our village, the heavens would strike me down!”
“I’m still just a Saint Candidate, not a full Saint yet.”
“Either way, this defective inventory wasn’t selling anyway, so I’m grateful you’re taking it off my hands!”
I had tried to pay, but the Blacksmith Owner refused to accept any coin.
Finding myself unexpectedly in possession of the mace, I trailed after Lord Arden—his face marked with confusion—toward the village well, now contaminated with Magical Energy.
“Surely you said you were searching for a water vein—”
Before Arden could finish, I swung the mace toward the well. The sensation of the weapon in my hands after so long kindled an involuntary smile.
“Good heavens, if you shatter that, what are we supposed to do!”
“No, Saint Candidate! This well is our village’s only source of drinking water! Without it, we have no way to obtain water!”
The villagers dared not approach me directly, calling out in desperate voices from a distance.
“The very reason you’ve all fallen into this condition is because of that well water. What the Saint Candidate is doing now is saving you,” Arden interjected urgently, offering explanation on my behalf. Now the villagers understood they weren’t cursed—they had simply been drinking water tainted with Magical Energy—but their expressions remained grim nonetheless.
“But the water veins in other places are blocked by rock strata……!”
I see. So they’d had no choice but to dig this well so impossibly deep.
After reducing the well to rubble, I walked deliberately until I stopped at one particular spot and asked, “You mean here?”
“Yes? Well… there is a water vein there, but…….”
I gripped the new mace and began a brief Consecration Prayer. As I spoke, Holy Power wrapped itself around the shaft and blade.
After five minutes of prayer, brilliant golden radiance seeped through the spaces between the blacksmith’s rough hammer marks, until the entire mace began to emit a sacred light so dazzling it was difficult to look upon.
With the consecration complete, the crude, ordinary Double-Bladed Axe Mace had been reborn as a Sacred Object.
Defective inventory languishing in a corner of the blacksmith shop, waiting for the day it might sell—and now it stood as a Holy Artifact in the hands of God’s representative. Truly, the ways of fate were beyond comprehension.
Concentrating all my Divine Power to my fingertips, I raised the mace.
Then, channeling that Sacred Power directly into the weapon, I brought it down with full force upon the earth.
The instant the mace struck the ground, a violent golden shockwave exploded outward in concentric rings, radiating brilliantly in all directions.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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