After thanking Sieghard, I immediately returned to the royal castle.

“Nigel, could you give me a moment of your time?”

I beckoned to Nigel as he emerged from the conference room.

“Hmm… sure. The discussion has just finished. You seem to have found a clue regarding the original saint.”

Nigel looked a little tired.

Was he harshly told off by the king and the minister?

But he didn’t seem depressed.

Their discussion looked to be going in a good direction.

“No, I could not attain any information regarding the original saint, but I have come up with another solution.”

“Another method?”

Nigel tilted his head.

“The Goddess, the saint is the agent of the Goddess. If I speak to her, I might be able to learn something.”

“I see… but will you be able to? Even if you are saint, you have never communicated with the Goddess before, right?”

“Certainly, but…”

I explained Sieghard’s theory to Nigel.

Nigel seemed interested.

“I see, so you’ll be able to communicate with the Goddess through me. That sounds like quite a nice idea.”

“Hence why, I need your help, Nigel.”

“Of course, what wouldn’t I do for Eliane?”

Nigel slapped his chest.

Such a reliable person.

“Previously, when I bestowed upon you the blessing of the Goddess, what was it like? There may be a hint hidden there.”

“I see… it’s hard to explain in words, but it felt like my strength was being drawn out.”

Nigel looked towards the ceiling and continued.

“That power was something I had never felt before… I felt like I wasn’t myself.”

“Not… yourself?”

“Yes. To put it simply, it was as if someone were manipulating me. However, I was still conscious.”

…As if someone were manipulating him.

Maybe the Goddess temporarily borrowed Nigel’s body? Yet when he was granted the Goddess’ blessing, he didn’t lose consciousness. In short… the consciousness of the Goddess and Nigel merged together?

If so, then communicating with the Goddess might not be so impossible, after all.

“Allow me grant you the blessing of the Goddess once more, Nigel. That way, we may be able to hear the voice of the Goddess.”

I didn’t know if it would work.

However, it seemed worth trying.

If the Goddess wished for the world’s peace, then now was the right time to ask her.

The Goddess seemed to have appeared during such a crisis long time—probably during the era of the original saint.

I might be able to hear the voice of the Goddess.

“Nigel.”

“Alright, let’s do it right away. Let’s find an empty place. Otherwise, you might not be able to concentrate, right?”

“Indeed.”

Nigel and I went to a secluded place.

***

Eventually, we ended up in the royal palace courtyard.

“There are no signs of people here. The place looks just right.”

Nigel nodded at my words.

The area was completely dark.

The half-moon floating in the sky kindly watched over us.

“Then, I shall begin.”

“About time.”

I lightly put my hand on Nigel’s back.

Then, his body shone.

The brilliance spread and cut through the darkness of the night.

Up until that point, I had bestowed him the blessing of the Goddess to fight Alberto and Baldur.

That was only the beginning.

“Nigel, do you feel any different?”

“No, it’s the same as before… there’s an incredible power in my body—”

—When Nigel tried to continue speaking, he lost both his strength and consciousness.

“N, Nigel!?”

After supporting his body as it was toppling over, I gently laid him on the ground.

Nigel, with his eyes closed, appeared to be sleeping.

What happened?!

That had never happened before…

“Nigel, Nigel! Please wake up! Are you alright?!”

Impatient, I shook Nigel’s body.

Could it be, was he no longer able to withstand the blessing of the Goddess?

However, Nigel’s body was still emitting a divine light.

If he indeed couldn’t adapt to the blessing of the Goddess, then such a phenomenon wouldn’t be explainable.

“I, I should get help…!”

It was when I was about to leave—

“—There, is, no, need, to…”

I could hear a voice from Nigel.

“Nigel?”

“…Finally, I got through… I cannot, communicate… for long…”

An intermittent voice.

Nigel remained unconscious.

Although the voice came from him, it wasn’t his.

The gentle voice was that of a female.

…Could it be…

“…Are you the Goddess?”

“That is… correct.”

It was still hard to hear, but my guessed seemed to be correct.

I crouched down on the spot and asked the Goddess.

“Goddess! Please tell me! As you already know, the world is in peril! I do not have enough power!”

When I tried to continue, the voice interjected.

“I understand… the Demon King… the crisis of resurrection, hence why, through this person, I…”

I never anticipated this sort of development.

I concentrated on the Goddess’ every word.

“…The power, given to you, is incomplete.”

“Incomplete?”

“Yes… the ‘path’ that connects me to this world, is gone, that is why. If you are able, to restore that, then I can help you…”

Does that mean if the power granted to me by the Goddess were whole, I could be like the original saint?

“What should I do?”

“The remnant, of the original saint…”

The voice of the Goddess was getting smaller. It grew faint, to a point I had difficultly making out her words.

Few people seemed to be able to communicate with the Goddess.

What was the ‘path’ mentioned by the Goddess?

“Except, the original saint is my ancestor. Surely, there is nothing left of her…”

“There, is…”

“Huh?”

When I listened, the Goddess continued.

“The original saint, at the expense of herself, sealed the Demon King… she is still slumbering with the Demon King here…”

---

***T/N: HAHAHAHAHA I EXPECTED IT TO BE HARDER, BUT WHAT IS THIS “PAYOFF” IT FALLS FLAT I–

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