FTA Ch 20

<Episode 20>

 

She hadn’t intended to flaunt her strength.

She had simply set her mace down on the ground, sensing that the conversation might drag on.

Still, she didn’t feel the need to explain herself, so Gloria silently gazed up at Joshua.

Joshua let out a scoff, shaking his head slightly in disbelief.

 

“Never mind. That’s not what’s important right now,” he muttered to himself.

 

Gloria fixed her eyes on him as she tightened her grip on the handle of the mace.

If she could just knock that head of his with it once, she’d feel utterly content.

She wasn’t asking for much, just one good swing.

But when it came down to it.

She hesitated and not out of concern for Joshua’s well being though.

 

‘No matter how you slice it, assaulting a priest in the Holy Empire would lead to a lot of complications.’

 

Gloria clicked her tongue unconsciously as her gaze lingered on Joshua’s head.

She completely overlooked the fact that her genuine swing might kill him outright.

Meanwhile, Joshua felt an inexplicable chill down his spine.

He took an involuntary step back, quickly composing himself as a blush rose to his face.

 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he barked.

 

The idea of being intimidated by Gloria.

Even briefly, it was something Joshua refused to admit.

It had been no different back on bloody battlefields, where he had followed Gloria’s lead as she struck down monsters without hesitation.

 

“Forget it. That’s enough. From now on, you’d better answer my questions properly,” Joshua declared, raising his voice.

 

He was determined not to let her notice that he had faltered even for a moment.

 

“What exactly are you thinking with that tiny brain of yours? Don’t you think it’s time you took responsibility for the mess you’ve caused?” Joshua asked.

 

Joshua’s eyes narrowed with disdain as he glared at Gloria.

 

“Did you really think you could run away and resolve everything? Did you think I wouldn’t track you down just because you’re imbued with holy power?” His voice grew sharper as he pressed her

 

But Gloria responded with the same unwavering silence.

Joshua’s face grew redder and redder, overwhelmed with humiliation.

 

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you ashamed? Now that everyone knows you’ve been pretending to be the real deal, does it finally feel embarrassing?” Joshua asked.

 

Gloria was beginning to grow bored.

‘After all the effort it had taken to track her down, this was all Joshua had to say?’

‘For a fleeting moment, she had hoped he might bring an interesting proposition or discussion.’

‘They were the ones who made me a fake in the first place.’

 

She suppressed a bitter smile.

Listening to his constant barrage of colorful insults was becoming more tiresome than infuriating.

 

“Did you come here just to pick a fight?” Gloria asked.

“What?…” Joshua replied.

“You must have too much time on your hands.” Gloria said.

“W-What?”

 

Joshua’s blue eyes widened in shock.

He froze, momentarily flustered, as Gloria clicked her tongue at him.

 

“What’s wrong? Did your ears suddenly stop working?” Gloria said.

 

Though startled at first by her sharp words, Joshua soon regained his composure.

He opened his mouth, looking incredulous.

 

“You… where did you pick up that kind of gutter language?” Joshua asked.

“Why? Doesn’t suit me?” Gloria replied.

 

Gloria shrugged casually.

 

“If the stigma hadn’t manifested, I might have actually turned out to be one of those gutter rats.” Gloria explained.

“Ha…” At a loss for words, Joshua let out a hollow sigh.

 

It was hard to believe he’d tolerated this much for so long.

Gloria wasn’t backing down, not by an inch.

Come to think of it, she’d been just as bold back at the Marquis’s estate.

She was speaking without reserve even to the crown prince himself.

 

“Seriously….” Joshua said.

 

‘What was she?’

Joshua was dumbfounded.

Gloria had been disowned by the Marquis’s family and could no longer count on the protection of the temple.

She was entirely alone in the world for all intents and purposes.

And yet, she carried herself with an astonishing level of confidence.

Even a fool would understand the precariousness of her situation.

Still, Gloria seemed more resolute now than ever completely unfazed as if nothing had happened.

She had lost everything, reduced to a penniless nobody, and yet she stood there with unwavering defiance.

‘Could she possibly have something up her sleeve?’

As the thought occurred to him, Joshua snapped his head around to face Gloria.

“By the way, did you really come here alone?” Gloria asked.

“…As you can see, yes” Joshua replied.

 

Gloria’s sudden question took him by surprise.

It was unusually bold for her.

She is catching him off guard.

Before he could even figure out her intent, he answered truthfully and furrowing his brows.

 

“Then, am I correct in assuming you’re the only one who knows I’m staying here?” Gloria asked.

“Probably? As far as I know, I’m the only one who tried tracking you down through your holy power.” Joshua explained.

“It wasn’t the Grand Temple that ordered you to find me, was it?” Gloria asked again.

“No. The Grand Temple has no interest in you.” Joshua replied.

“Oh, really?”

“…”

 

In that instant, Gloria’s blue eyes seemed to sparkle with a bright intensity.

Joshua instinctively inhaled sharply.

He couldn’t help it.

This was the first time Gloria had looked at him with such shining eyes.

And for a fleeting moment, he even thought her eyes looked… beautiful.

Though he had crossed his mind unintentionally, it struck him with a jolt of shock.

Joshua nervously wet his lips and stammered as he attempted to speak.

 

“W-Why do you ask that all of a sudden…?” But his words didn’t make it to the end.

 

 

The next moment, stars filled his vision, and the world flipped upside down.

Where once Gloria’s eyes had dominated his view, the clear blue sky now stretched before him.

It was then that he realized what had just happened to him but the realization came too late.

His body had already landed unceremoniously on the ground, sprawled and pathetic.

 

“I’ll let everything you’ve done up until now slide with this,” Gloria’s voice fell from above.

 

Her expression was neutral, but her eyes continued to gleam.

Even in his spinning vision, distorted by the overwhelming blow.

That light remained vivid and sharp.

 

“But next time, it won’t stop at a punch.” Gloria said

 

Gloria glanced down at the fallen Joshua, picked up her mace, and strode away without hesitation.

Joshua couldn’t stop her as she grew smaller in the distance.

His head throbbed as if it might split open, and waves of pain washed over him, rendering him incapable of even breathing properly.

If this was the aftermath of a simple punch.

He thought ‘what would’ve happened if she had actually used her weapon?’.

He might have died on the spot.

Joshua learned first hand what it meant to feel so much pain that even groaning wasn’t possible.

But soon, he realized the physical pain was nothing compared to what awaited him.

A far greater suffering loomed over him.

 

“Haa…”

 

Joshua gritted his teeth and swallowed the barrage of curses bubbling up inside him.

His trembling hand reached for the transparent crystal orb dangling from his necklace.

This little trinket was something he had brought from the Grand Temple to record Gloria’s confession.

It was meant to capture her downfall, her raving admissions of lying about her powers.

But now, Joshua wanted nothing more than to throttle his past self for such a foolish idea.

 

‘If only I hadn’t come up with that insane plan…’

 

Because at that very moment, Gloria’s retaliation and his pathetic defeat were being broadcast live to the massive crystal orb in the Grand Temple for all to see.

 

* * *

 

Gloria’s steps were light as she left behind a troublesome mosquito she’d swatted away.

 

“Are you really just letting him go like that?” Claude asked.

 

Claude had approached at some point, posing the question.

Gloria stopped mid stride and turned to him.

They stood on a path leading to the marketplace.

 

“Isn’t it a bit too generous to let him off with just one hit?” Claude asked.

“I didn’t really forgive him,” she said with a shrug.

 

Attacking a priest would’ve caused no end of trouble, so she had merely smacked him lightly.

She figured it wouldn’t be much of an issue.

Joshua, after all, had lived his entire life pampered and revered.

He was a priest, the hero of the monster-subjugation unit credited with saving humanity.

Someone like him would never broadcast his humiliation to the world.

He’d work hard to bury what happened here without needing any warning from her.

 

“Miss Gloria, did you know I’m quite knowledgeable about curses that bind people for life?”

 

Claude gave her a crooked smile, his words dripping with insinuation.

It didn’t seem like a laughing matter, yet here he was grinning.

Gloria narrowed her eyes, be wildered.

 

“Are you a black mage or something?”

“Well, close enough,” he replied vaguely.

 

It seemed he had no intention of clarifying.

Gloria reflexively fidgeting with her mace’s handle, frowned at his evasiveness.

 

“…I despise magic.” Claude answered.

 

She couldn’t help but recall her time in the temple when the High Priest forced her to meet the Master of the Magic Tower.

That man had been tasked with uncovering her divine abilities, a critical duty entrusted by the temple.

It hadn’t taken long for him to succeed in identifying Gloria’s power.

‘She had the unprecedented ability to heal others using her own blood as a medium’.

 

“This is a truly unique ability.”

“Aah, I’d love to drag her off to the tower and run all sorts of experiments…”

“Haa… Her blood. no matter when you taste, it is so sweet.”

 

Gloria still vividly remembered his greedy, purple-tinged eyes, as if she’d seen them yesterday.

He had been an exceptional mage and Gloria the biggest thief.

He had stolen more of her blood than anyone else.

He always pushing his magic to the limit.

He trusting her healing to save him from the repercussions.