As the name suggests, it is a pardon. It is a document that proves the granting of a pardon.
And a priest of the Goddess Church could issue only three pardons in their lifetime.
Naturally, issuing a pardon was a matter that required the utmost caution.
For if they made a mistake, they could be defrocked due to the pardon they granted.
Even a pardon could not forgive the βTen Evils (εζ‘)β defined by the Goddess Church.
A priest who issued a pardon to a sinner who committed one of the Ten Evils would inevitably be defrocked.
"Even if you are the successor of the Knight King, I cannot issue a pardon to someone who has not been verified."
Thus, Andrew's words were sound.
Issuing a pardon was a matter that risked his position.
Becoming a regular priest in the Goddess Church held a value beyond the ordinary.
Among a hundred deacons who served for over ten years, only one could become a priest. Therefore, priests dispatched to cities were not to be trifled with by even the city's lord.
Such was the grand status.
He could not afford to lose everything he had built.
"Isn't it true that if something goes out, something must come in?"
At my words, Priest Andrew shook his head.
"A pardon can only be used by the person it is issued to. I am grateful for your donation to the relief center, but it is impossible for someone who is not the Knight King to use the Knight King's pardon."
"But, βpardonβ was granted, right?"
"......"
Andrew clamped his mouth shut.
Yes, that was strange.
Pardon. Andrew had granted Wilhelm, the Knight King, the right to be pardoned.
Since it was a promise made directly to the Goddess, it could be used at any time without needing a piece of paper.
Therefore, only the person to whom the pardon was issued could use it.
'......But it was used. The exemption right of the pardon issued to the Knight King was used on me.'
The moment the man before him said, "Pardon, Andrew," Andrew faced an incomprehensible situation.
In this world, when one commits a sin, 'karma' accumulates.
A concept opposite to fame, priests can see the karma or fame of others just by looking at them.
γFame 84γ
γKarma 0γ
......Like this.
It was simply visible to the eye.
Thus, it was clear that the man claiming to be the successor of the Knight King had not lived a life of sin.
However, the moment Andrew used the prayer of adoration on a human instead of the Goddess, his karma exploded.
It was an act that violated the doctrines of the Goddess Church.
Karma was not just accumulated by doing evil deeds.
It also accumulated when a priest violated the doctrines of their church.
'A priest cannot issue a pardon to themselves. If a few days pass, the Goddess Church will surely learn that I used the prayer of adoration on a human.'
At that moment, he would be demoted to a deacon or defrocked.
But to protect the city, Priest Andrew violated the doctrines.
As a result, his karma increased, and he was left to face judgment.
'......But the karma, disappeared.'
The moment the man before him said, "Pardon," Priest Andrew's karma melted away like snow.
The exemption right of the pardon had been activated.
Seeing it with his own eyes, there was no room for doubt.
Furthermore, he was certain that the activated 'pardon' was the one he had issued.
It was as natural as a mother recognizing her child.
"The Knight King said, Priest Andrew, that you owe him a great debt."
"Hmm."
"A debt that cannot be repaid even with your entire life. Is giving a single pardon to his successor so precious?"
Priest Andrew swallowed.
As the words suggested, Priest Andrew owed a debt to the Knight King.
But it was their secret.
Did he tell the successor?
"......Did you hear about the 'debt' directly from Sir Wilhelm?"
"If you wish, I can tell you."
"Go ahead."
Go ahead. His attitude was confident.
Did he believe that the Knight King, who kept their secret, would not reveal it to others?
Unfortunately, Priest Andrew did not know that the Knight King was me.
Shrugging, I told him what he wanted to hear.
"I personally purified 'Eldrich Andasar.'"
"......Did you also hear about Andasar's true identity?"
"Was she your hidden daughter?"
"......!!!"
Priest Andrew's eyes were filled with shock.
It couldn't be helped.
Priest Andrew was the one who constantly gave quests related to honor.
Completing all the quests and maxing out the favorability would unlock the hidden quest 'Purification of Eldrich,' but only Wilhelm had reached that point.
Eldrich Andasar.
Andasar was Priest Andrew's hidden daughter. She became an Eldrich due to the 'Cursed Black Grimoire of Eldrich,' a main ingredient for a unique-level item.
I purified her and obtained the black grimoire.
Naturally, only Wilhelm knew this fact.
Priest Andrew couldn't believe that Wilhelm, who knew about honor, would reveal this to someone else.
'The endless quests related to honor were ultimately to find someone who would take this secret to the grave.'
His hidden daughter had become the symbol of evil, an Eldrich.
For Priest Andrew, it was a matter that had to be resolved secretly.
In the end, she was purified, but Andasar did not return to his arms.
"I will bring Andasar to you."
"Wh-What do you mean by that?"
"I know where Andasar is."
"Where, where is she?!"
Priest Andrew grabbed my shoulder and shouted.
His composure was shattered in an instant.
Although she was purified, Andasar's whereabouts were unknown.
At the time, I didn't know where she had disappeared to.
But now, I do.
"Kramdel."
......She is in Kramdel.
The city known as the fortress city or the city of monsters.
"Kramdel?......Isn't that a place where humans can't even enter?"
How could a human like Andasar be in such a city?
Unfortunately, that belief was wrong.
"Even though she was purified from the curse and lost the black grimoire, Andasar is no longer human since the moment she became an Eldrich."
"Ah......"
Priest Andrew's legs trembled, and he nearly collapsed.
His eyes were filled with self-reproach.
I bowed my head slightly and drove the point home to the self-reproaching Priest Andrew.
"To bring her back, a pardon is needed. Priest Andrew."
So, hand over the pardon.
*
The next day, I left the 'Knight's Garden' in a hydra-drawn carriage.
"Is that a pardon?"
In the carriage, Isabella looked at the paper I held and asked.
A square piece of paper, stiff like a brown shroud.
There was nothing written on the paper, but this was the pardon.
When the pardon is activated, the name and the symbol of the Goddess Church appear on the paper. Some people don't believe it without seeing the real thing, so it was made separately.
"Seeing the real thing for the first time, I guess."
"Yes......There is no Goddess Church in the desert."
Indeed. The Queen of the desert disliked the Goddess Church.
By the way, by now, a pursuit team must be formed and chasing us diligently.
The Queen wouldn't let her princess go.
"How did you become the princess of the desert?"
Thinking of it, I brought up a curiosity I had been putting off.
Clearly, when I raised her, she didn't have the title of princess.
Isabella hesitated and said,
"After the Queen saw the 'Mystery' I possessed, she appointed me as a princess."
......Wait.
The Queen appointed her as a princess after seeing the Mystery?
I tilted my head in confusion at the unexpected answer.
What is Mystery (η₯η₯)?
Mystery is an 'effect.'
While playing the game, it refers to the light or colors that shine according to the character's appearance.
When an item is enhanced to a certain level, it glows green or red.
In Pangaea, such characteristics are called 'Mysteries.'
The Mystery to be obtained in the next main quest is the same.
'There shouldn't have been any other Mysteries besides the basic one, right?'
I had bought a basic Mystery from a Mystery Mage, which emitted a white light with no special abilities.
There were no special abilities or qualifications granted by the Mystery in my memory.
"What kind of Mystery do you have?"
"Would you like to see it?"
"Hmm."
Nodding, Isabella spread her hands.
Then,
Whoosh.
Black patterns rose over Isabella's appearance.
Countless black circular patterns, like spots, enveloped Isabella.
They looked like the eyes of something, the skin of a leopard, and
'Snake scales.'
They also resembled the scales of a peculiar snake.
And I knew what that 'Mystery' was.
'The Scales of Jormungand.'
My mind froze for a moment.
Why does Isabella have that?
"Where did you get that Mystery?"
Isabella explained slowly.
"......One day, I had a dream where a giant snake enveloped me. After that, I obtained this Mystery, but it had no abilities."
"You were chosen."
"Chosen?"
"The Queen saw it clearly."
Mystery, the Scales of Jormungand.
It has no abilities but grants a specific qualification.
'The qualification to possess a star. The Mystery to find the star of Jormungand.'
One of the 32 stars.
Among them, the star of Jormungand, which no one has found yet.
One of the few named Transcendences.
This Mystery grants the right to find and possess it.
'I can probably find it as soon as I reach level 10.'
However, it was puzzling.
Isabella's level was still 8.
It was too early to transcend, and it was even more unbelievable that she obtained such a Mystery by chance.
Obtaining a Mystery that everyone was searching for after having a dream one day.
'Did she meet certain conditions?'
I stroked my chin. It couldn't have been a coincidence.
She must have met hidden conditions.
What was certain was that I didn't have it when I played.
And the Queen of the desert must have recognized that this Mystery would help find the star needed for transcendence, which is why she appointed Isabella as a princess.
"......Why are you looking at me like that?"
"It's nothing."
Shaking my head at Isabella's confusion, I said it was nothing, but in fact, it was a big deal.
'The Queen will never give up on Isabella.'
I wouldn't either.
She might be taken away or made a real successor, but either way, Isabella is a treasure.
'Tch.'
Realizing this only now.
"By the way......Where are we?"
Isabella looked outside the carriage and asked in a puzzled voice.
The landscape outside the carriage was entirely a cemetery.
"Necrovalley. A shortcut to Kramdel."
This place is the city of the dead, Necrovalley.
As the name suggests, there is not a single living being to be found.
It is a dangerous area overflowing with undead and ghosts, but one must pass through here to find the warp to Kramdel.
"Let's stop here."
I stopped the carriage near a specific grave.
Next to countless graves, numerous memorial stones for the dead of the past were erected.
I took out a 'shovel' I had prepared in advance.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"What, what are you doing?"
Isabella was shocked to see me digging up the grave.
At the same time, my karma increased.
I didn't really care.
What was the reason I obtained the pardon?
And the reason I was digging up the grave was simple.
'The underground dungeon of Necrovalley.'
Somewhere among the countless graves, there is a tomb connected to the underground dungeon.
In that dungeon, there is a shortcut to Kramdel.
"Hmm. This isn't it, I guess."
"......"
Leaving the flustered Isabella behind, I started digging up another tomb.
Then, after a while, a message appeared.
......I paused for a moment.
'Is it affected by fame and karma?'
When I achieved true glory and obtained fame, the hatching rate increased.
It seemed that the celestial spirit egg was affected by my fame or karma.
'But I can't do anything about it.'
I couldn't give up.
Going to Kramdel and obtaining that 'strongest Mystery' was also very important.
Moreover, I wasn't sure if being affected by karma was necessarily bad.
It could even be better.
Thud!
Suddenly, something got caught on the shovel as I was digging up the tomb.
*
Dungeon.
In the game's setting, dungeons are located somewhere between 'cities' and 'the abyss.'
Therefore, hidden warps are occasionally found in dungeons.
Naturally, the secret warp to Kramdel was somewhere in this dungeon.