Raising Paladins

Episode 95. Blind Seeking Hope (1)

“I wrote all of this too.”

A knife wrapped around a backpack of algae.

He threw down the gill hermit crab he was holding.

Although they had prepared several gill hermit crabs, they had to find new hermit crabs as their durability had already deteriorated.

As much as that, Carl has been looking for mysterious coral reefs without sleeping for the past few days.

As of today, the 100th undersea passage has already been searched.

Even though he had only been looking for places where he could feel even the slightest bit of divine power, time had passed.

“It’s going to be a little tight.”

You don’t know when the sorceress Helena will attack.

Before that, I have to find the coral reef and strengthen the silver heart… … .

For the first time since reincarnation, it was a knife that made my heart feel a little impatient.

But in this case, the answer is only one.

All you have to do is consistently do what you set out to do.

Carl braced himself and stretched out his steel sword.

Ung-ung-

Divine power that gently wraps the blade.

If there is an entity that exudes divine power at the end of the crossroads, it resonates and resonates loudly.

It was still only a slight trembling, and in most cases, the weapons or armor of the old priests who lost their way and died of starvation, or items washed up in the seawater had weak divine power.

Carl explored the three passages in front of him in turn.

then at some point.

Ung-ung-

The steel sword shook violently.

“… … ?”

There is still some time left for the sea to come in.

Carl decided to walk quickly without the gill hermit crab.

Tadada dat!

The lower body, which has been trained every day, can now do its job without divine power.

When it was less than 10 minutes after running towards the place where the divine power was detected.

Carl made an unexpected and surprising discovery.

It was a corpse.

It also died not too long ago.

‘It’s the Dawning Church’s robe.’

An old Dawn priest’s robe that must have been made decades ago.

An old man wearing it was lying on the ground with a lot of blood spilling around him.

However, the way he fell and the blood that flowed around him was somehow awkward.

Of course, it was a knife that had witnessed countless horrors, so I felt it faintly.

Carl concentrated and sniffed the surroundings.

‘… … Troll blood.’

Red blood splattered around the body.

The color was red, but it was definitely the smell of troll blood.

‘It’s a solution made by mixing the ingredients in troll blood.’

The knife stopped approaching and picked up a small stone that was rolling around.

“Look, old man.”

“… … .”

“I know you are alive. You’ve already been caught, so please wake up. The floor will be cold too.”

“… … .”

swish-!

A small stone the size of a ball flies off and bounces on the head of the fallen corpse, no, the old man pretending to be a corpse.

But the inspiration was unmoving.

“You’re not dead, and I know that solution is a trick potion made by mixing berry extract with troll blood. It looks like it intends to attack me if I get close, but my sword will be much faster.”

“… … .”

“If you don’t move on the count of three, you have no choice but to lift one arm… … .”

“for a moment! for a moment!”

From nob le mt l dot com

Jump!

The fallen inspiration lifted his body.

Clear features that seem to have been quite handsome when he was young.

He stood up with agility not befitting his age and waved his hand in the air.

“Put the sword in, the young man is bloody. Heh heh heh.”

“… … Are you blind?”

“Yes.”

A focus that is clearly floating but hard to tell where it is looking.

Inspiration was blind.

“If you lose your sight, you will understand, otherwise it will be difficult to respond to a visit from a stranger. Heh heh heh.”

“… … I am sorry to hear about cutting off your arm.”

“Thank you for saying that. But it’s amazing, I never thought I’d meet my own people who speak the same language in a place like this. I thought I’d never see anyone again in my life… … . But, who are you?”

“My name is Carlos, the battle priest of the Temple of Dawn in Meirium.”

“Yes? Temple of Dawn? A priest?”

“Yes, old man.”

“Heh heh heh! Would you like to come here for a second?”

Carl approached the old man.

The old man wore a longsword at his waist.

But Carl didn’t see any sign of deception from him, so he walked away without hesitation.

“I’ll touch you for a moment.”

Inspiration gropes Carl’s body.

He passed through the cloak made of cave troll skin and touched the Temple of Dawning mark on the lining of the robe.

“Really! You really are a priest of the Dawning Church!”

A very welcome inspiration.

He grabbed Carl’s hand with both hands and shook it excitedly.

“Unbelievable! It’s hard to see people in the passage under the sea, what a priest of Dawning! I was once a priest of the Dawning Church! I can’t believe it, but I will.”

“I knew it when I saw the robe you were wearing. It’s an old, but obvious Dawning Robe.”

“Oh! It did! It’s been a long time since I lost my sight, and now I’ve even forgotten what I’m wearing, heh heh!”

A story that is laughable but never pleasant.

When Carl didn’t answer, he continued.

“Come here! This is also meant to be, let’s have a meal together!”

The old man led Carl with a familiar gait.

After walking a little, there appeared a small space high enough not to be submerged in the sea water.

“This is a place where the air is cold, so there is no fear of suffocation even if the seawater comes in. Thanks to that, it became my home.”

daughter.

The inspiration to find the kettle by playing with your hands.

He drew the sword from his waist and scratched the cave wall.

To ignite a spark from the friction between steel and rock.

He was blind, but miraculously caught fire where he was supposed to.

It was a pile of dry moss piled up in a concave part of the cave wall.

“The only meal is seaweed and shellfish boiled with seawater. This is a very bad way to treat guests.”

“it’s okay. I also have something to eat.”

“Ohh!”

His uninspired eyes twinkled.

“that… … If you’ll excuse me, what kind of food did you have… … .”

“A few loaves of bread and cheese. There are also dried grapes and apricots.”

“Unbelievable! could you share a little? Especially dried apricots! I haven’t eaten in over ten years!”

“There is nothing difficult.”

Carl rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a bag of dried apricots.

As I handed it over, the old man inhaled the scent deeply.

“okay… … It was this scent… … It’s sweet… … .”

He carefully picked up a piece of dried apricot as if it were the treasure of the sun god.

He slowly put the apricot in his mouth and savored it.

“Ahh… … It’s the taste of land… … .”

For a while, Karl and the old man continued their meal.

The seaweed soup (?) that inspired me was surprisingly delicious.

While sitting down after eating, the old man said.

“But you are such a fool, too. The Dawning Church is a dying tribe, so why did you go there? Anyone with the courage to find this deep undersea passage must be courageous, but why not apply for another tribe?”

“It is to prevent the danger of the empire by reviving the Dawn Bridge. I have received the mission of the sun god.”

“Puhahahaha!”

The old man let out a cool laugh.

“If it was a joke, it was right! Funniest joke in a long time… … huh?”

The one who laughed for a long time.

However, when the knife showed no reaction, he blurted out his words.

“… … Are you really serious? What did you do with the mission of the sun god?”

“That’s right.”

Carl never lied.

Actually, I came here after receiving the mission of the sun god and gaining a new life.

Of course, it was hard to believe from the point of view of inspiration.

“He looks like a delusion, not a priest… … .”

“It’s not the first time I’ve been treated like that.”

“If there is anything I gained after losing the light, it is sound. You can tell a person’s personality by listening to their voice, and the past life is buried in their way of speaking. But you don’t seem to be lying at all now. That makes it even more suspicious.”

“… … .”

“Assume that what you are saying is true, but what does a man on a mission from God do to this deep undersea passage? What do you have here?”

“I came for the same reason as the old man.”

“Why the same as me? Aside from the reason, are you saying you know who I am?”

“of course.”

“Who am I?”

“Darnar-Crete means ‘great liberator’ in the language of the sea lizard clan. Aren’t you the eldest son of Crena, the godmother of Derdrang, from the past Darnar Crete?”

“… … !”

The face of inspiration hardened.

“… … who are you?”

“As I said, I am a priest.”

“Aren’t you an assassin?”

“The people of Derdrang don’t even know you’re still alive. Even your mother, Godmother Crena.”

“… … How did you know who I am?”

The old man’s hands were tense so that he could pull out the sword at his waist at any time.

“I have heard many stories.”

Carl talked about what had happened.

The discriminatory treatment of the Dawn Bridge that he experienced after coming to Derdrang, the past of Derdrang and the Crena family that he heard from Lord Greenwood that day, the rat family in the underground waterway he met while descending in search of the coastal cliffs, and even the young Darnar-Creta, who is now his disciple.

“And a man of about 50 in an old Dawning robe who lives alone in an undersea passage. It was not difficult to draw conclusions.”

“… … A clever friend. I will cancel what I said about being a fool earlier.”

“thank you.”

The inspiration was silent for a while.

He seemed to be thinking over what Carl had told him.

He also seemed shocked to learn that Derdrang and his godmother Crena still hated the Dawning Church.

After a while he asked.

“Greenwood, did he become a cardinal?”

“Yes, he is also a good battle fuse.”

“He was an aristocrat who was very good at fighting from long ago. He was also a close friend of my father… … .”

“… … .”

“Your guesses are all correct. I am Creta Hagafel, priest of the Derdrang Temple of Dawn and the eldest son of the Hagafel family.”

“As expected, ‘Darnar-Creta’, as the sea lizard clan calls it, was named after you. The liberator of knowledge who taught them human language.”

“Yes, my name is from my mother’s name.”

Creta Hagafell, the eldest son of the Hagafel family, who disappeared voluntarily after being hated in Derdrang when he was young.

He was living alone in an undersea passage that is hard to find.

Even with both eyes blinded.

“Creta-sama.”

“… … ?”

“Is it true that Creta came to visit the mysterious coral reef too?”

“Yes. To pay for my sins.”

“Penalty… … ?”

“The punishment for the citizens of Derdrang. I thought they’d take me back if I found the mysterious reef. That’s why I left the city and came down to this depth. But that’s already well over 30 years, heh heh heh.”

I could feel the old despair and loneliness in Crete Hagafel’s laughter.

“Did you say you visited the mysterious coral reef too? then give up Because the wasted time of the past 30 years proves that. Mysterious coral reefs do not exist.”

“Mysterious coral reefs exist.”

“hehehe, I believed that too at first. After 5 years, I thought maybe not, and after 15 years, I thought I was on the wrong path from the beginning. Now, 30 years later, things like that are no longer a problem. You will too.”

“I have proof that mysterious coral reefs exist.”

“evidence… … ?”

Carl turned his backpack forward and pulled out something.

It was the golden apple brought from Meirium.