1.
When Nahan carefully laid Hestia down on the ground.
A verdant light gathered beside him, forming the shape of a massive man.
As soon as it fully manifested, the figure strode forward and bent its huge frame toward Nahan, asking.
– [Who is the senior warrior?]
“Hyh?”
– [I asked, who is the senior warrior!!]
A voice that resonated like thunder.
Out of the many present, only Nahan and the unconscious Hestia frowned.
Regardless of that,
The founder of the Gardner lineage – Balak Gardner – shouted again in a voice filled with irritation.
– [No matter how long I have rested in eternal slumber, how dare a wet-behind-the-ears brat interfere in a battle between warriors!!]
That was when Nahan finally realized.
‘Ah, this crazy old man. He’s pissed because I interrupted his duel with Asha.’
And with that realization, he asked.
“So, what exactly can you do?”
– […What?]
“I’m asking, whether I interfere, or if I pull you out of her body, what can you actually do about it?”
This situation had made one thing clear to him.
The power of the Celestial Barrier came entirely from Balak Gardner.
That’s why the moment Balak left the engraved seal, it stopped functioning. Now that he had been pulled out of Hestia, its power had returned once again.
Leaving might have been his decision, but being dragged back was always an option.
Of course, there was still the <direct contact> condition attached to that, but—
‘That old man doesn’t know that yet.’
As if he had read Nahan’s thoughts, Balak’s brow furrowed deeply.
– [This was a duel between heroes!! It was not something a brat like you should have interfered with!!]
“A duel? What if she had died because of you? And if you want to fight so badly, why don’t you do it in your own body?”
– [You idiot!! Do I look like someone who is alive to you!!]
“…Idiot?”
Hearing such words from the founder of the blockheaded family—Balak Gardner—made Nahan more annoyed than he had ever been.
So, Nahan, tossing aside even the last bit of courtesy he had, asked again.
“So, what exactly can you do?”
– [Ha!! I can do anything!! Battles, duels, fighting—anything!!]
“I won’t let you.”
– [What?]
Nahan glanced between Hestia and Balak Gardner before smirking.
“You designated her as your Incarnation.”
– [……Incarn…? Why are you suddenly talking about fruit?]
Incarnation, you real idiot.
Anyway, after gathering a lot of information while climbing the stairs, the results were clear.
“Balak, you can’t descend onto anyone anymore except me and her.”
– […What?]
Seeing Balak’s lack of comprehension, Nahan decided to explain a bit further.
Incarnation.
A designation made by the goddess, high spirits, or souls like Balak, granting the chosen individual power close to their own.
Normally, the Incarnation’s request and consent were needed for a descent to take place.
But Balak was an additional product that came with the Celestial Barrier.
Since that Celestial Barrier was now bound to Nahan, Balak was similarly under Nahan’s control.
To put it simply.
“You’re my property now.”
– [You honorless piece of trash!!]
Before Nahan even finished speaking, Balak’s spirit lunged at him in rage.
Even though he was in spirit form, the overwhelming presence he emanated was on a Radiant level.
【The spirit bound to you – <Balak Gardner (SS+)> attempts an attack.】
【Will you suppress it?】
【Accept / Reject】
Just as the information he had gathered suggested, the system stepped in to offer suppression.
Right before pressing the button.
Nahan placed his finger over Accept and made an offer to Balak.
“Old man. If you behave, I’ll set you free in a few years.”
– [I’ll just kill you to release myself!!!]
“Suit yourself.”
Tap.
A light touch of his finger, a smirk lingering on his lips.
Balak, still charging forward in fury, realized it too late.
【Suppressing.】
【Presenting customized terror to Incarnation – <Balak Gardner (SS+)>】
Thud.
At the same time as the blood-red warning text appeared, a book dropped in front of Balak’s eyes.
– [That…!!]
He immediately turned around, trying to flee.
But as if bound by an invisible force, Balak was forced into a transparent chair.
At his eye level, the book rested open.
Flip.
A page turned on its own, and a pen was placed into his hand.
– [N-Numbers……!]
“Numbers?”
Peeking over, Nahan saw a book filled with addition and subtraction problems, resembling an elementary school workbook.
‘This… is customized terror? Forcing him into a chair to solve math problems?’
Nahan was puzzled, but—
– [Damn it, I get it! I’ll take your offer! Huh? Can you hear me? I’ll help you for as many years as you need, so just get rid of this cursed book!! Hey! Oi, hey!! Can’t you hear me!!!?]
Seeing Balak panic as if he had seen a ghost, Nahan accepted his plea.
– [Please!! I’ll never threaten you again!! F-Fine!! I’ll even teach you all my techniques!!]
Despite Balak’s desperate pleas, as he was dragged along like a whining child, Nahan simply shook his head.
“You can’t solve it.”
– [Ah……?]
“You can’t solve it. You have to complete an entire book by yourself to be released from the binding.”
To be honest, Nahan thought he might be able to free him immediately if he wanted to, but—
‘Why would I?’
Balak was already loud and annoying enough. Nahan decided to use this as an opportunity to establish discipline.
“For your reference, if you attack me or disobey, it will activate on its own.”
– […Understood.]
And with Balak beginning to solve the problems, the hierarchy between the two was firmly established.
Only then did Nahan look down at the sleeping Hestia in his arms and let out a sigh.
“What should I do now?”
Balak’s descent,
Hestia’s rampage.
And Nahan suppressing it all.
‘I already told Asha that my authority—meaning Ian Red’s power—was simply the ability to determine life and death by looking at objects.’
A priest is granted only one divine authority in their lifetime.
Of course, there were rare cases where some awakened two or even three, but—
‘Those kinds of people don’t become free priests. …No, they can’t.’
There was no way the church would allow someone favored by Goddess Aria to roam freely.
‘…So, this is all there is to it.’
A free priest who chose independence out of fear of bringing disgrace to the church due to their insignificant power.
But later, after awakening a new authority—
That new power was…
‘Something like communicating with souls? Handling souls? Whatever, I’ll just call it something about souls.’
Since he had only awakened it a few days ago, if he pretended not to know much, people would just let it slide.
‘Feels like my background story is getting more and more complicated, but oh well.’
As he thought about this and waited for someone to climb up.
With a whoosh sound from below, something leaped up to his location.
At the same time, she arrived.
A being who had surpassed humanity, to the point of becoming awe-inspiring—Asha Mirabelle.
Arriving far earlier than those who had set out before her, she cautiously asked,
“…Why?”
The sudden use of honorifics and her careful demeanor made Nahan unconsciously ask back.
“Why what?”
“I treated you so coldly, and yet, once again, you…”
“The Hero?”
“M-Me…”
Contrary to her usual cold and composed setting, her voice wavered, her face slightly flushed.
“Me…!”
Just as Asha, after much hesitation, was about to say something—
“Ugh… What’s going on…?”
Hestia, who had been lying in Nahan’s arms, blinked and opened her eyes.
“Excuse me. May we speak later?”
“…Yes.”
After seeking Asha’s agreement, Nahan carefully helped Hestia sit up and asked,
“Are you alright?”
“…Huh? Ian Red, Priest? What in the world happened?”
Nahan briefly explained what had occurred while she was unconscious.
First, the attack by <Eclipse>.
Explaining as if he were a mere third party observer, Hestia, after some thought, asked softly.
“Was it Black Wolf?”
“I can’t say for certain, but probably not. The Lord managed to capture a few individuals alive, so we’ll know after an interrogation.”
“Ah…”
For some reason, she seemed deeply disappointed, but Nahan paid it no mind and continued explaining what happened next.
How someone, identity unknown, had taken control of Lady Hestia’s body before disappearing.
“What did they look like?”
“Hmm…”
Feigning hesitation, Nahan stole a glance at Balak before slowly describing his appearance.
Hair like a lion’s mane.
Dark brown eyes.
An old man as massive as an ancient tree.
“…No way?”
She muttered as if she had realized something, and for a brief moment, her face brightened—
But only for a moment.
Because a group of people, aside from Asha and Hestia, had begun rushing toward them.
“Hestia!!”
“Priest! What in the world happened here?”
Hurriedly rushing over were Vulcan Gardner, still flustered, and Count Tehelan Gardner, remaining as composed as ever, along with several warriors, including Rohan.
Nahan proceeded to explain everything to Tehelan as well.
“In any case, I merely stabilized the soul that had dwelled in Lady Hestia using the second authority I recently acquired after the last incident.”
“May I ask what that soul looked like?”
“Ah, that…”
As Nahan explained once again, Tehelan strode forward, grabbed Hestia’s left arm, and abruptly pulled up her sleeve.
“Ah…!”
Flustered, Hestia blushed and glanced at Nahan in embarrassment, while Tehelan let out a quiet exclamation upon discovering a sigil—one interwoven with foliage and a shield.
“The Founder was here.”
“…So it really was him. Do you think she’s been chosen as an Incarnation?”
“We’ll know for sure once we verify it. If she has… Given the gravity of this situation, we should first handle what’s at hand before discussing further.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
After whispering this, Tehelan turned to face Asha and bowed his head.
“Thank you.”
A direct and solemn expression of gratitude, devoid of unnecessary embellishments—befitting the Head of the Gardner family.
Asha acknowledged it with a nod, while Nahan responded with a slight smile.
Yet, Tehelan did not lift his head.
“Um… Lord Tehelan?”
Only when a startled Nahan reached out in confusion did he finally speak again.
“I apologize for the request, but may I trouble you once more?”
“…Trouble me?”
“Would you mind discussing the details in my office?”
That alone was enough for Nahan to recognize that something serious was at hand.
‘It hasn’t even been a full day yet. Black Wolf shouldn’t have caused any trouble… right?’
Since Nahan agreed, Asha and Vulcan exchanged glances before speaking.
“What about Marin?”
“Ah! Now that you mention it, she said she found that man interesting and wanted to check him out herself!”
“…That’s unusual.”
“Right? Marin showing interest in someone at first sight?”
Great Mage Marin.
A genius, yet incredibly lazy, and someone who rarely trusted others, a Hero Party mage—
【Subquest completed!】
【Reward – The Trust of the Hero Party has been granted to <Ian Red>!】
Apparently, the sub-quest reward from “I, Too, Am a Hero” was no lie.
Almost as soon as the words were spoken, a blue-haired woman gracefully flew in and, while munching on a cookie, scanned the surroundings before pointing at Nahan.
“You’re the free priest, right?”
“I am Ian Red, a free priest.”
“Mm. I’m Marin.”
Step, Step, Step.
With quick, light footsteps, Marin casually walked over and handed the half-eaten cookie to Nahan, then asked.
“Want some?”
“…Thank you.”
A cookie with visible bite marks, slightly damp.
Asha and Hestia stared at him in silence, but Nahan simply averted his gaze.
Regardless, with Marin now joining the group—
They followed Tehelan into his office.
However, before they even had a chance to enjoy the light refreshments, Tehelan revealed an empty vault and spoke.
“…The Celestial Barrier is gone.”
“Huh!?”
“…?”
I’m sorry.
‘But I can’t return it to you.’
Forget about the enhancement ticket I used—
It had become a bound item now.
As Nahan quietly apologized in his mind, vowing to return it someday.
At some point, Marin had grabbed onto his arm, her brows deeply furrowed as she muttered,
“Ugh, war is such a hassle.”
“…War? What do you mean?”
“The Celestial Barrier is gone. That means war is inevitable.”
Wait.
What does that have to do with anything?
