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Potts Square was a circular square located in the slum, east of the imperial capital.
You’d find this square out of nowhere as you wandered through a narrow alley. Of course you couldn’t come in by carriage. It is a third of the size of the square in the center of the capital, and there was no such thing as a fountain.
Nobles would never come to the lowlands, so reorganizing the inconvenient access road to the square was not a good idea.
“Considering that it is a popular religion, it is a suitable place.”
Standing at the alley entrance, looking toward the square, I mumbled.
“It’s more like an open space than a square.”
“I think most of the roads in the slums start at Potts Square.”
Agoth, who stood by me talking to myself, added an explanation.
I glanced to the side.
Agoth, wearing an old hoodie like me, looked around as if wary of the surroundings.
“I can come alone.”
“What are you talking about?! No matter how strong my lady is, the slum is dangerous!”
Agoth quickly refuted my words.
“Trust me. Even if I look like this, I have a history of rolling around with vagrants.”
That was a long time ago.
However, in terms of the number of years, I think I’ve rolled in the slums for quite a long time.
‘Umm. Since she looks very motivated, let’s not point it out.’
It seems more dangerous to have Agoth, who keeps calling me ‘lady’ around… But well, I shouldn’t point that out either…
“Seeing that it is still quiet, it seems that the meeting hasn’t started yet?”
“Is it because it’s still daytime?”
“Mm, we’ll have to wait a little longer.”
“Then would you like to sit here and wait?”
No one knew where she found it, but Agoth brought an empty wooden box and offered it to me while shaking off the dust.
Whoever sees it will think we’re a young lady and her servant. What if I get caught because of Agoth?
But seeing this proud expression on her face thinking she was helpful, I couldn’t refuse her. Kuh…
“Thank you.”
In the end, I meekly sat in the seat that Agoth had prepared for me.
‘Even if it’s a slum, the atmosphere isn’t harsh because it’s still in the capital city.’
I sat down on the box and looked around slowly.
Mosaic tiles were laid on the square floor, and although the buildings were shabby, they were still neat.
Those who came and went had bright expressions and clean clothes. Even the wandering vagrants were all wearing shoes with no holes in them.
“The atmosphere is quite different from the rural slums.”
“Yes, it seems so.”
“Even if without worshiping a frivolous thing like a dragon, everyone seems to be able to make a living.”
“I’m not sure about that. Even the emperor might have something he wants more.”
In my previous life, I had thought that the best situation was if I could live safely without starving.
I had lived my life with only that goal in mind. Learning the sword while enduring abuse, following the mercenaries and participating in wars, fighting evil dragons and sealing them, and entering the imperial family.
“Do you have such a thing?”
“I—”
Until recently, I did not.
Everything was annoying, futile, and boring.
But now I have something I want.
There’s something I don’t want to lose.
I have something to bring back.
“I have it too.”
I smiled a little at Agoth.
I just had a desire, but somehow it made me feel like I was moving the world.
***
The sun went down quickly because it was winter.
People began to flock to the square as the sky began to darken.
‘Everyone looks normal.’
I looked closely at the people who gathered to see if anything could characterize the people of the religion, but there was no particular characteristic.
They were just ordinary people that you would often encounter on the street.
“Some people look a little blind.”
As I looked closely at the people one by one, I smiled bitterly at one person coming out of the opposite alley.
A person with a gray hood wrapped around their scarf looked around with only their eyes sticking through the hole in the hood.
“That must be the first person to come to the meeting.”
Agoth turned around to follow my gaze and found the person in question.
“Even so, they look very clumsy.”
“I know, right?”
The person came out toward the center of the square without hesitation and bumped into another person on the shoulder. I felt pretty sorry for the way they apologized in a daze.
“Shall we move to get a seat?”
“Yes!”
One wouldn’t be able to go forward when there was a crowd.
The front seat would be dangerous, but the middle seat would be enough to distinguish the face of the religious leader.
‘If they find out that I was the one who beat the dragon, what kind of expression would everyone in this place make?’
An irrational thought came to mind.
Will they run at me with a stake, shouting I am a witch?
The thought was interesting.
‘Well, I didn’t really fight the evil dragon to save the world.’
I had fought Krusech because the bounty had been the highest.
However, in any case, Krusech had been a threat so significant that the continent at that time would have been destroyed.
No wonder my reputation on the continent had soared immediately after subduing it.
‘To worship such a dragon, what the hell does the person called the leader look like?”
[T/N: Have I mentioned that I have no idea if it is plural or singular dragon? From this sentence, it looks like they only worship a single Krusech, but in the sentences in the previous chapters, it was as if they are worshiping dragons in general, so yes, a bit confusing, but it doesn’t change the story that much, so please bear with me]
The more I think about it, the more questionable it becomes.
“Oh, I think it’s going to start.”
Agoth called me, who was lost in thought.
Hearing those words, I looked up at the several large wooden barrels placed in the center of the square, creating a simple stage instantly.
In just a few minutes, the square was packed with people to the point that shoulders rubbed against each other.
I pulled the hood about to come off a little more and covered my face.
“Seriously, what kind of a person—”
“Right. The crowd wasn’t this big in the square.”
What is this religion?
Is it bigger than I thought?
“Hey, don’t step on my foot!”
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
Mmm?
I turned my head involuntarily at the commotion in the seat next to me.
The person I had seen in the alley across the street a while ago, who seemed to be polite, was suddenly swept away by the waves of the crowd and came to the seat next to me.
‘It’s a male’s voice.’
Hmm.
It sounds like a voice I’ve heard somewhere… Am I mistaken?
“Everyone.”
Then, a voice spread from the stage.
It literally ‘spread’. Even though the person hadn’t shouted, more like they had been speaking to someone next to him, their voice reached the entire square with a tremendous volume.
“Uh, what the—?”
Both myself and Agoth were startled by that unfamiliar sensation.
However, the gathered people showed no sign of panic, as if they were already familiar with the situation.
“Huh, what the hell did they do?—!”
Except for the person whom I thought looked polite.
“Is that person the ‘leader’?”
“It looks like that, doesn’t it? Seeing that he’s using a strange trick.”
Agoth and I whispered as we looked at the person standing on the stage.
The person on the stage was a slender man. To be honest, he didn’t look reliable at all.
The man wore a long robe with a hood. His dark hood shaded his face, so his appearance couldn’t be seen.
“Thank you for being here today. You are the ones who will receive the greatest blessing when the dragon returns.”
The man’s voice was as soft as flowing water. It didn’t feel charismatic.
‘How can his voice be so soft?’
He was, surprisingly, a man who did not fit the leader position.
Moreover, the weak man made me think more of ‘Noe’, even if I didn’t like it.
‘But his voice is quite young. As Everett said, he must be in his twenties.’
Noe was already in his mid-20s when we first met. As expected, was it not him?
The leader’s speech continued, even while I was distracted by other thoughts.
“It is not long now. The body is becoming conditioned. Finally, the dragon will return to us when the soul is ready.”
“Oh, dragon!”
“The dragon is coming!”
The leader stretched out one of his hands in front of him. An unknown language came out of his mouth.
Then someone’s luggage, which was placed in front of the stage, floated into the air. It did a few laps above people’s heads before returning to the stage and falling off.
“Huh, what is that?”
Agoth was startled by the strange thing, and her body trembled.
The man continued.
“Well, have you seen it? Only the chosen ones can use the power of the dragon. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to pray harder so you may be chosen.”
“Dragon, please choose me!”
“I will give it my all! I will give all my money and my children, so give me that strength, too!”
People started shouting like they were in a frenzy.
They looked like they were under collective hypnosis.
‘That’s the power that instigated the people.’
A strange ability that was unfamiliar to people today, especially to ordinary people.
Since he showed it right before their eyes, who would doubt it?
“W-W-What was that just now?”
Look, even Agoth was immediately deceived.
Agoth stared intently at the man standing on the stage with bright eyes.
The atmosphere was ripe, and the man raised his tone.
“He who has faith, follow me. I will guide you to the dragon’s place. Now, does anyone want to see the dragon in person?”
See the dragon… in person?
Despite the questionable remarks, people raised their hands and marched forward to the stage, each asking the leader to take them.
Some people hesitated, ‘What do you believe in and even follow?’, but only a fraction.
‘Should I follow along?’
Without dragons, this religion is nothing more than a cult.
But if there really is a dragon…
And if the dragon has anything to do with Krusech, I—
“Argh, don’t push me!”
“Oh, my.”
Ah, I’m seriously thinking about it. Why are you guys pushing around?
Pushed by people struggling to move forward, I bumped into someone hard.
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
“Don’t worry. It’s okay.”
My shoulder hurt as if it were going to fall off, but I decided to forgive it after confirming that the person I bumped into was the polite person. How pitiful.
However, the other person was really sorry and kept apologizing to me, bowing his head.
“I am really sorry! Hitting a lady, no matter how rude— Huh?”
“Mm?”
My eyes met with the other person, who was nodding continuously.
In a state of being so close that I had a hard time just recognizing the person, I finally checked who the other person was. Of course, the other party must have checked me out as well.
“Viscount Noct?!”
“Princess Peresca?!”
And we shouted at the same time.
“Why on earth are you here?!”
We shouted simultaneously without a single error, but for what?
Our voices hadn’t been that loud, but the “viscount” and “princess” titles were enough to attract people’s attention.
The atmosphere around us quickly cooled down. People stopped in a circle around us.
“What? Are they nobles?”
“Why are the nobles here?”
Damn it.
We’re doomed.
“Oh, I’m not a noble! My name is Viscount! It’s my name!”
Hamilton made an excuse that wouldn’t work. I’d rather shut up.
Agoth, standing next to me, covered my face with one hand. How disastrous it must have been.
At that time.
The leader’s voice was heard from the stage.
“Aah, this—!”
Mm?
Looking back at the stage, I saw the religious leader kneeling on the stage and shaking. As if he’s witnessed the second coming of God.
“I’ve been waiting. My savior. My king.”
And the man took off the hood that was covering his face.
As soon as I looked at his face, I had goosebumps all over my body. I couldn’t help but doubt my eyes.
“Noe—!”
There was a blonde man I had seen at a festival about 10 years ago.
His face had not changed as if no time had passed since then.
Noe.
What are you— Who are you?
“You came to disrupt our meeting! Dirty nobles!”
“Maybe they were sent by the Holy Church!”
“Kill them! Let’s kill them and throw them into the river!”
In the meantime, people have confirmed their attitude toward us. It seemed that the rule of this town was to get rid of nobles through question-and-answer dance among themselves. Of course, it also meant that Hamilton’s excuse didn’t work.
“Agoth!”
“Yes, lady!”
As the people began to rush in, Agoth stepped in front of me. She took out the sword hidden under her hood and swung it widely.
“I will clear the way!”
As soon as the words were finished, Agoth bounced forward at the speed of an arrow.
The people recoiled at her sword and opened the way. Some bravely tried to pounce but collapsed helplessly at Agoth’s attack.
I grabbed Hamilton’s hand and shouted.
“Let’s go.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Do you want to be beaten to death here?”
Hamilton turned white at my words. Fortunately, he quickly judged the situation and started running after Agoth ahead of me.
Before leaving the square, I looked back once.
Standing still on stage was Noe, who had taken off his hood.
With a kind, harmless smile towards me.