The Saint’s Manual for Redemption - Chapter 77
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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 77
Yes, I understand that feeling. You must have felt like a victim of real estate fraud.
It was only natural to grow angry at someone who sold you land without mentioning such a crucial fact.
And the man who sold the land was certainly bold—outrageously so. The transaction took place when the Former Emperor was still on the throne, and he dared to commit fraud against an Emperor. He had the liver of a madman.
But if the Former Emperor and Croen had been slightly more diligent, they would have discovered that this territory was the site of a Raid against Raum—the one and only failure of the Third Saint.
I had even kindly recorded the location in considerable detail, marked it on a Map, and left behind a note: ‘Since I couldn’t capture this demon, if it awakens later, let the Saint of the next generation handle it properly.’
The problem is that the Saint of the next generation ended up being me.
Oh, Karitas. Does this mean I’m inheriting my own unfinished duties again?
Well, thanks to all that, it worked out so I could face Croen like this. An unintended big picture on my part.
Croen remained silent for a moment, then asked while rubbing his brow.
“Does this threat to the territory mean that the Demon is about to awaken?”
Before I could answer, Johan cut in with a pale, sickly expression.
“If it’s Raum, it would be impossible for us to eliminate him!”
Arden reflexively moved to stop him—likely to silence Johan’s mouth. But I stopped Arden first.
I gave him a look that said to let Johan speak, and Arden, glancing at me briefly, nodded slightly and took his place behind me again.
“Despite the joint effort of the Third Saint, who possessed the greatest Holy Power and combat prowess of all history, and the Hero chosen by Karitas herself, they failed to vanquish this creature in a Raid—! Even if we deployed every combat-capable soldier from all Temple branches, success would be uncertain for such a monster!”
Well, even a snail has its tricks, as they say—Johan explained things quite well.
The kind of thing that would have sounded like self-praise if I’d said it myself poured smoothly from Johan’s lips. “Greatest Holy Power and combat prowess of all history”—the more I heard it, the less unpleasant it sounded.
Of course, the part that followed—”and yet they still couldn’t capture it”—pricked my pride a little, but it was true either way, so I had nothing to say.
Ah, if only Valente hadn’t suffered a fatal wound from Raum due to a moment’s carelessness, the legend that the Third Saint and the Hero had captured that terrifying Demon would have been passed down through the generations.
Arden, a fan of the Hero, also seemed displeased at Johan loudly proclaiming that his ancestor had failed at this Raid, his brow furrowing.
The atmosphere in the reception room froze instantly.
The attendant Priests who had followed me all the way here instead of remaining at the Norbert Marquis Estate looked like they regretted tagging along.
Especially those who had insisted right up until moments ago that it was their duty to stand by the Saint’s side and had squeezed their way here as watchers—it became glaringly obvious they now thought it would have been far safer to remain at the distant estate, waiting quietly for the heresy inquisitors. It was rather pitiful.
Calianna seemed to be cursing the Archbishop who had sent me here, drawing the sign of the cross repeatedly while glaring skyward.
Because these people were making such a fuss and putting on quite a show, Croen seemed to finally grasp the gravity of the situation viscerally.
Just minutes ago, he’d treated me like a sect swindler who’d come to extort donations. Now his expression had shifted noticeably.
Of course, he maintained his imperial composure and didn’t show complete panic. But his eyes moved faster than before, and his fingertips drummed very slowly on the sofa’s armrest. Unlike the arrogant man from minutes ago, even the Grand Duke seemed somewhat unnerved.
And reasonably so.
He had been diligently managing the territory granted by the Emperor, and suddenly he learned that a five-hundred-year-old Demon was sleeping beneath that very land.
Moreover, he received the helpful clarification that this Demon was one against which even the greatest Saint in history and the Hero had jointly thrown their strength—and still failed to destroy.
Even real estate fraud had no malicious listings quite like this. I raised my hand to calm Johan only after he had poured out every last detail in front of Croen.
“Settle down, Johan. I haven’t said anything about it awakening yet.”
Relief washed across Johan’s face, while confusion flickered across Croen’s.
His expression asked: Then why are you here?
I met that gaze directly.
“We’ve discovered evidence that heretics are attempting to awaken Raum, who lies sleeping beneath your territory.”
At those words, the air in the reception room sank once more.
Croen’s eyes changed completely. He no longer saw me as a Saint come to extort donations.
At least for this moment, he regarded me as a representative of an outside force bearing information that could shake the very foundation of his domain.
Croen seemed lost in thought for a moment, then spoke.
“I appreciate your words, but without evidence, I’m afraid I cannot believe them.”
I blinked.
He was still skeptical? Had he been listening to all this as mere fear-mongering the whole time?
Well, I understood it.
If a Saint suddenly appeared claiming a Demon was sleeping underground and heretics were plotting its revival, any reasonable person would harbor suspicion.
But thanks to the Ecclesia Sect pushing so hard lately, I had more than enough evidence to present.
I took the Map that Arden had given me and unfolded it.
“Just give me a Quill Pen.”
Croen’s secretary respectfully handed me a Quill Pen.
“Here is the Norbert Marquis Estate, here is Lebon County, and here are the places where recent traces of the Ecclesia Sect have been found.”
I marked each location with the pen.
“At first glance, these look like random visits, but when you connect the dots, they form a single line.”
Croen leaned slightly forward in his seat.
I connected the marked points in sequence. The line slowly formed a shape on the Map.
Calianna let out a small breath when she saw the completed figure, and Johan’s face went even paler.
Only Arden remained unperturbed. I almost wondered if I had shown this to him before.
“A Hexagram……”
Croen murmured softly.
“And at its center lies—”
I pressed my finger to the center of the map.
“The Croen Grand Duchy. Still think this is mere coincidence?”
My question, laced with subtle mockery, made Croen’s expression harden like stone.
I let the silence stretch deliberately. Sometimes laying out facts with measured calm proves more effective than any threat.
Especially when those facts aim simultaneously at a man’s land, his life, and his political standing.
“The Ecclesia Sect operates around the very point where Raum’s Shadow Monsters lay dormant. And the creature discovered at the Norbert Marquis Estate was no ordinary monster—it possessed Holy Power Immunity.”
Arden’s gaze settled on me.
I recalled the wound lingering on his arm. That crimson beast that the Consecrated Blade couldn’t cut cleanly—a contract monster born from flesh, blood, and bone offered up willingly. A Holy Power Immunity test subject, twisted from the Indulgence doctrine’s own blind spots.
“You don’t need me to explain why that’s dangerous.”
I kept the map unfolded, my eyes fixed on Croen.
“The Third Saint’s records make clear enough—Raum was already a formidable demon to contend with. But if the Ecclesia Sect prepared countermeasures against Holy Power in the very process of awakening him, this isn’t simply heresy anymore.”
“…… War, then.”
Croen spoke quietly. Finally, we understood each other. I nodded.
“At minimum, something that amounts to it.”
Croen bit his lip until blood beaded at the edge, then asked in a voice worn thin as ash.
“What happens if it awakens?”
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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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