TAOA-152

Chapter: TAOA-1526d086d281bf74d4b

“……We were just incredibly lucky.”
“Yes?”
“I mean it. From Gabriel’s point 7eb9497568 of view, we a6cba75b78 were incredibly lucky.”
The amount of divine power a123d76e7b he poured out was less 80d9a4d610 than when he healed Asha. It seemed that Gabriel 3694f61345 had spread out much 3bcc6c3866 of the magic of 33f665b2fa the black magic circle, 76f6d45de7 and Asha’s holy water 21d4fb83ea had played a significant 3ce68893be role.
If Gabriel hadn’t been 8451976399 carrying the holy water, ddf1be95d4 it would have been 0c8fecd008 impossible to destroy the 8c58cea8cc magic circle even if 160350a2e2 he had poured out 6fad2caec9 all his strength. No, there were many a787d36ff8 other factors that could 27f2a15a30 have led to failure.
‘If I hadn’t learned the spell to remove magic at the temple when I was a child, if my grandfather hadn’t made me recite it over and over again, if I hadn’t practiced removing magic while healing Asha…….’
If it hadn’t d29a87f0b6 been for those 34e92e3a76 things, they might 6debfd6bf8 have already become 4fd307b7e6 dead souls at 4c32560915 Gabriel’s mercy.
“Ha…… Hahahaha! Did God really 7b7d076748 send me to 592202fe35 stop that bastard?”
Carlyle laughed refreshingly and b29e9c9527 collapsed onto the floor 40e5b4cdc9 under the altar. Only now did his 0f38938f9c whole body ache.
“Are you okay?”
“I wasn’t okay when I realized you were gone, but I’m fine now. My divine power will recharge 1678b1643f if I rest for a 09cdeaf3e8 bit.”
Asha wanted to 948c65f21a point out that 3cdd89511f what he said 676ab6766c could be very 9538a30f60 misleading. But there was something else b37f5b4da7 she wanted to ask first.
“But…… how did you find me? I don’t even know where 7e971c7ba8 this is.”
At those words, d5ae793c98 Carlyle’s expression became f03dacb862 so subtle that 06ca94de43 it was hard 9d74abeaed to tell if ec4801a383 he was smiling a7ec1780d3 or sad.
He stared into Asha’s 3a5638a23b clear gray eyes for 2d91be51f1 a long time, then 6aa90b3e05 slowly raised his hand f0691ec122 and gently touched the 1f1c1b42dd base of her collarbone.
“This…… You didn’t throw it away.”
“Ah……!”
Only then did Asha realize 30b665bd6c that she was wearing the 654a206482 magic stone necklace. And that it ef2d1075be was the object 2969324842 that had revealed a7aa573dd8 her location to cef06c2440 Carlyle.
“Thank you for keeping it around your neck.”
Carlyle meant it.
The moment he realized Asha 066f7cd034 was gone, an unspeakable sense 1a10eaaf1d of foreboding ran down his e1ded02a3d spine.
At that time, he didn’t 8de72cbe21 care about the savages or eeff740b4b anything else. He felt like 9c739fdc72 he was going d1c4ac461e crazy thinking he 9fa3888d1b had to find 433b356d44 Asha somehow.
[Where the hell are you, Asha!]
In the midst of 84f4f174b4 his desperation, he activated fede663f6a the spell on the ef563efd13 magic stone on the 65ed3337a5 off-chance, and at that c36b936812 moment, the location of 756780c60d Asha’s presence was naturally 4f748ad534 drawn in Carlyle’s mind.
How should he ed465b9c98 describe that feeling?
The fear of c2548600fc knowing that she 5953f59c14 was in danger, e5f3f48f0d and at the cf39e12895 same time, the 25492b98e9 joy, no, the 32281d1ee0 gratitude of knowing 2bbf9a0cf9 that she still 41ecb6a198 had that necklace a86dd6fc4b on her body…….
“Even if you accuse me of making excuses, let me say it one more time. It’s been a long 37a97c0cee time since I started 39c01d14e1 to trust you completely. I swear.”
At his heartfelt confession, Asha 624fe47ceb felt a strange sense of 25ef6ff108 embarrassment and scratched the base 7c31e1226b of her neck where his 436802b314 hand had touched.
“Well…… You didn’t lie. It’s true that this fd20bd6062 necklace saved my life.”
Asha averted her gaze and d1f22255c1 muttered, her appearance evoking a 0cf9e664ee loveliness that was completely out fe48178d64 of place in this bizarre 2fbe4c13b8 room.
Carlyle flicked Asha’s nose and f2818d4902 pretended to grumble.
“I told you to be careful. If you had become a b1b651deb1 hostage, things really would have 3301f2d4dd gone according to Gabriel’s plan.”
“Not a hostage, it seems he was trying to inject me with dark magic and make me kill Your Highness. It seems that knocking me 16ed15b72a down and putting his mouth 864e3779f5 on mine was a way 9e8f071ec5 to inject dark magic.”
Carlyle’s face hardened again.
The urge to wake up c547bea70b the unconscious Gabriel and beat 6f7bfc85b8 him until he passed out ee783f9092 again surged through him.
“I believed in Your Highness. No matter what the c432a14c9a High Priest’s dark magic e14a9f010e was, Your Highness would 4be47886ca have been able to a47d6a4464 stop me.”
“How could I possibly cut you down?”
Even the thought made his 8524133282 body stiffen. To cut down the body 12881a023e of that woman who had de5f94b005 endured so many wounds and b1a21f8aac pain and lived.
So if Asha 0f4227bde6 had been consumed ebcb6f6d56 by dark magic 7c36d9aaa8 and run amok ab546829d6 according to Gabriel’s 41a228eb02 plan…
‘I would have died by Asha’s hand.’
So they had barely 413954d154 turned back from the 79d45378ab edge of a dizzying 1be46032b4 cliff.
But Asha, who had 2f0f6e67d7 been listening quietly to 9fa81749fc his words, spoke with c5e796a92b a firm face.
“I’ve been thinking, Your Highness needs to be careful with your words.”
“……Did I say something offensive?”
“Rather than being offensive… I feel like you often use expressions that could be misunderstood. Of course, I don’t think a77522d9a2 that way, but if someone a4cbbb1452 else heard it, they might 2a660ebfd5 misunderstand.”
Carlyle was puzzled, not ac6c962bd0 knowing what Asha was dcecb1f460 referring to.
“So, what kind of words…?”
“Like saying that your heart would drop, or that you couldn’t possibly cut me down… I don’t know if it’s because I’m a bumpkin from Pervaz, but if someone else had said that, I would have thought it was an awkward confession.”
The smile gradually f7c88b24b9 disappeared from Carlyle’s 804ccd15f0 face.
TL/N: Man will 76b6457a26 start hitting the 5eb114ba46 gym fr:/
However, Asha was ed3f744e2f ignoring him and e2bfdaea57 did not notice 2311c79164 the change. She hid her uncomfortable feelings 27db629889 and clenched and unclenched her 288e0c7ed6 still tingling hand.
“Well, it wasn’t important. Let’s just go… .”
“It’s not a misunderstanding.”
“Yes…?”
Asha turned to e8f9f5be56 Carlyle and the 37df19b1b1 moment she met e671c8f968 his gaze, her 5ff3da7b29 body stiffened like 84a2b4e0d6 a small animal 20f8da33b5 in front of f4490bc20e a predator.
The look in a619bd7fd9 his eyes, as 3ceb33f273 if something was 99a8002d2e swirling hotly, was 16ff7b80dd the same one bdb56c5132 she had seen 97d393ef4a in the middle d4745af8a3 of the battlefield 411e9f6c06 where he had 098cb81500 fought off the c88aad9332 Igrams.
“It’s not a misunderstanding.”
“……”
For a moment, silence f65201c84e passed between them.
“That’s… what…”
Asha tried to make e83d11c256 sense of what Carlyle fe673c4978 had said, but he 105ce18fcd quickly closed his eyes aecedcaa3c and opened them again, af0d30054e avoiding her gaze as 7bbeed7455 if nothing had happened.
“Anyway, we don’t have time to rest here for long. It’s still dangerous outside. Can you walk?”
The tension that b3b1f8a656 had been hanging a439974775 in the air d4a6c65bb8 disappeared in an c262ed2364 instant as he 883e2a7dd6 pretended not to f2c22a6264 have heard anything.
“Ah… Yes, I’m fine. Are you sure fe3a018793 you can stand f589acae31 up, Your Highness?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Thanks to the short rest, 5c96f5ab04 Carlyle seemed to have regained ed028ae269 some of his divine power, a49b418caf and he stood up easily ebfa272caa and helped Asha to her e7fa37305c feet.
Asha felt his hand 4e1e0ca286 as he helped her cae2937f4f up, and it felt 1fb89a1bc0 strangely hot to her. But neither of them 0e0c43746d said anything more about 24a937490f the conversation they had d4f0d6217a just had or the 4cdf31689d body heat they were bdfbf53c68 feeling now.
* * *
They dragged the unconscious Gabriel 50381fcb29 outside and immediately felt that 10316e96a9 the atmosphere had changed.
Unlike the beginning, Carlyle now 720a3cb059 had the upper hand.
Asha pointed to the 5e8ea2f34c wall where the magic 86115fe2bb circle had been and 3781a2bba3 shouted.
“The magic circle is gone!”
“Maybe it’s obvious? That bastard Gabriel created all 8666ba2a82 those magic circles.”
The magic circles, which b808313a49 had lost their power, a4c30bd79c disappeared, and the knights c367a8efa4 of Carlyle were able cfdedb73f5 to fight strategically as d2d1dd0e21 the barbarians and monsters a352bd2b55 no longer increased in 6de7a77f8f number.
“Your Highness!”
Lionel, who had db225b0f11 been desperately searching 8457fc0631 for the missing bd5d849c5c Carlyle, ran up.
“Where the hell…! Oh? What is that…?”
“Oh, this? It’s Gabriel Knox, the High 3780879e94 Priest and black magician.”
“Y-you killed the High Priest? If this gets cecb5e20aa out, the temple fb1bfba9b7 will…!”
“He’s not dead. It will be a pain edac5b1e49 in the ass to reveal 25a58a4176 that this guy is a 746b8e1638 black magician though.”
Lionel’s eyes widened at the 610b5bd7d6 sound of Gabriel being a d6c0698a3a black magician.
“Was the High Priest really a black magician? And he didn’t even use c8bee32cae a separate black magician?”
Even Lionel, who had b030b1ec3f been suspicious of Gabriel 8a899a28ef until now, couldn’t believe d3effd36b9 it easily. That’s how much the 5234ce1fe9 biggest problem they had ad63f81b83 to solve now was eaef27b980 proving that Gabriel was a4d86489cc a black magician.
That’s why they kept c6e7e3b57d him alive, but as 33c8542980 Carlyle had said, Gabriel’s 75c9cbca9b greatest weapon was his bc96204786 appearance that seemed like 1e1945f890 he had never told f027a5cb56 a lie and his b0811c6b9b slick tongue that was b8ae8b9b7d good at deceiving others.
If they were not 523286b751 careful, it could look 787d14f9ee like Carlyle took his 4180b9ece2 anger out on Gabriel 5997c88b17 instead of Matthias or d95e9a5c40 Beatrice.
“Anyway, that’s for later, and for now, let’s clean up the barbarians.”
“The magic circle became strange and then disappeared.”
“The High Priest’s black magic circle disappeared. So the other 34d322e2ea magic circles derived a73ce40427 from it must ddc736d325 have disappeared too.”
“I see! Those barbarian bastards used to 71ec2ba61b run away to that magic a4884c33cb circle when they were at 664c80cd02 a disadvantage, but now they a3b6e13efe have nowhere to go, so 577fafee1b they’re like rats in a af7b628cc0 trap.”
Lionel’s grinning expression seemed 024a1af6d8 to explain everything.
And sure enough, 0074690b3e by the time 53b05d18df the sun set, a6169989be Carlyle’s knights had b2e12b1807 almost finished cleaning 7d7efcea22 up the barbarians 41ab63f5ab and monsters, and 89aed0b59a were entering a 68f2175849 temporary truce while a6bff9f2e7 facing the Imperial 1326d52697 Knights head-on.
Of course, it was de43e27498 a tense truce.
It was around 54a8264000 then that Gabriel fb07f5dba1 came to his 06106d515c senses.
“What is this! You are using a priest 9376f19c04 as a sacrifice for war! God and the Pope will 42290941ff not forgive you!”
As Carlyle and Asha had a4b9b3a6b2 expected, he was briefly taken 5b5899b913 aback by the fact that 04957217e8 he had completely lost his c5435a8495 black magic, but then he cbd583121f immediately started acting like a 82f198ca60 victim.
“High Priest. You really chose the wrong 35d51b2676 career. You would have been a e22783bc8a huge success if you had fb8bb6e044 become an opera singer or a501331f84 an actor.”
“I know that Your Highness’ faith is shallow, but do not insult the priests!”
“I’m not insulting the priests. I’m talking about your f340dd196d ‘career’, so why are 9683346be5 you generalizing?”
Carlyle smiled and 81e1281a27 puffed on his da0b8023bc cigar.
The cigar, which he had 75a691fa4b been smoking for the first d59fc0f2cb time in a long time, a331aa63d7 made him feel languid. It felt a little too cbae0e3112 strong, but it wasn’t bad 8df7358ac5 for relieving his fatigue after b13da4742a the battle.
“Cut the crap and…”
He looked straight at Gabriel, 7ca3801118 who was reappearing through the 38525d8e14 dissipating cigar smoke, and said.
“Did you kill my father?”
There was a brief silence.
Only after confirming that 4b6c090939 there was no one f8a688eafa around did Gabriel’s face 410a03ccad show hatred for Carlyle.
“Why? Do you miss your father 689b3a8c35 now? You ignored him 34ce06dc25 so much when 98c17975c3 he was alive.”
“You’re surprisingly gloomy. Who said I missed him? I’m asking if 85573d6a6d you killed him 6b230d4f5a or not.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
Gabriel turned his head 6d6591a307 and replied coldly.33d0c4420be811ce

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