It was Grand Duke Heathfenrir, the muscular old man with handsome features that made him appear younger than his years.
"Grandson-in-law. You sent the maids away and took their place again. I think you are pushing yourself too far."
But of course, Tesilid's answer was unchanged. "I am fine."
«Ugh, that again? He's going to faint if he doesn't listen,» Agnes said exasperatedly.
"You are not going to convince me with that tired look on your face. You should get some rest."
«Yes. Be ruthless, old man.»
"I will sleep when I need to, sir. I am fine for now."
«Don't trust him. If you do, you're saying that you have muscles for brains!»
"Hmm," the grand duke grunted.
«Come on, old man! Are you giving up already?»
Agnes smacked her forehead in frustration and sighed. But Grand Duke Heathfenrir hadn't given up, and now, he no longer had the caring smile on his face.
"Grandson-in-law."
"Yes?"
The older man chided him sternly, "Lack of sleep will lead to muscle loss." When the younger man didn't respond, the grand duke added, "And that is not fine. My granddaughter does not like twiggy men!"
Tesilid was completely lost for words.
Meanwhile, Agnes roared in laughter. «Come on, old man. You'll have to do better than that!»
"Yes, sir... Then I will take a nap."
«I can't believe that worked...» Agnes muttered in shock.
Grand Duke Heathfenrir managed to make the holy knight rise from the stool. Tesilid looked at Ailette for some time before he finally stepped out of the room.
â
To cleanse me of my demonic form during my battle against Reed, Lord Voice had given me very simple instructions.
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World says they will personally wash away your demonic energy.â
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World instructs you to open the Gate of the Pantheon and enter it.â
And so, I had to activate a transcendent divine skill while in my demon form, which resulted in excruciating pain as the two opposing forces clashed within my body. Somehow, I managed to stay conscious and walk into the light with Reed.
I couldn't remember what happened next, but I assumed everything went according to plan. In any case, I had gone far beyond the limits of my abilities. I internalized a tremendous number of stigmata at once, fired up Divine Advent, used Tier 9 divine power as a Demon Lord, and even went into the Pantheon and back. Then I completely depleted my body of energy and even delayed the onset of the Holy Fever, all of which had serious repercussions.
What's going on? I'm conscious, but I can't move my body at all! Never mind wiggling a fingerâI couldn't even twitch my eyelid.
Just then, a system notification kindly explained what was happening.
â¬Â«System» Your body has sustained severe damage as a result of Divine Advent, transformation into a Demon Lord, excessive battle, and the Divine Baptism of [The Voice that Shapes the World].â
â¬Â«System» Your physical functions will be disabled until your body recovers. Time remaining: 1 day 23 hours 59 minutes 57 seconds...â
No way. That meant I would have to lie in bed for two whole days. That was harsh.
Another message followed.
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World says you've been asleep for ten days, so you'll only have to wait two more days.â
Oh! Hello, Lord Voice! I was really glad I didn't need my body to communicate with the gods, so I greeted Lord Voice with more enthusiasm than usual. Unfortunately, there were some pressing questions.
So I've been in bed for ten days. Everyone must be worried sick about me... By the way, did the plan work? The system decided to answer that question.
â¬Â«Quest» Sixth [Calling of the Grand Priest of Voiceism] (Difficulty Level: L) completed.â
I managed to stop the great catastrophe of Doomsday, an L-class quest which would have resulted in the end of the world had I failed. I was already looking forward to the reward from the quest, but there was a bit of a hiccup.
â¬Â«System» You are currently unable to receive rewards.â
It sounded like I could only receive the gift after the penalty period was over.
I worked really hard this time... Please give me a nice reward...
â¬The Critic for Balance clicks their tongue and remarks that you will probably get something that will destroy the balance of this universe again.â
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World takes it as a compliment and beams with pride.â
â¬The Executive of Creative Economy says it will be hard to find something better than the previous reward.â
The previous reward? I couldn't remember what I got for reaching the fifth level of the Calling of the Grand Priest.
Did I become an aura master as a reward last time? Well, that certainly was amazing. I was about to agree that it would be hard to top indeed.
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World reminds you that there was something else!â
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World asks whether you forgot about the artifact they gave you as a reward for reaching the final stage of [The Pilgrim's Path].â
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World shouts and says they felt extremely upset when you stashed the reward away in the inventory without even giving it a proper look!â
Oh! That's when I finally remembered what it was. I had been so elated after beating Agnes, the twelfth gatekeeper on the Pilgrim's Path, that I forgot to give much attention to the reward I received at the time. Walpurgis Night occurred right after that, which was earlier than I expected. So, I was forced to rush back to the human world. I tried to recall what the reward looked like.
I remember it was a box wrapped in colorful paper with a question mark on the lid. But I never meant to put it away. I was keeping it safe so I could open it at a better time...
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World refuses to accept your excuse.â
Okay. I'm sorry. After all, I did put it away for the time being because the system's description of the item was too long. But I still remembered what its name was.
It was called the Mystery Box of Synthesis. I figured I should check it right after I wake up in two days and sing Lord Voice many hymns in gratitude. But the thought suddenly made me feel blue.
Two days... That would be twelve days for the people waiting for me. They must be worried sick about me by now...
â¬The Scale that Judges Souls agrees without reservation.â
â¬The Critic for Balance doesn't understand why you'd waste your mental energy to think something so obvious.â
â¬The Eye Overseeing All Chaos suggests this is an opportunity to find out how people feel about you.â
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World nods their head.â
Huh? What is this about?
But they gave me no time to ask that question.
â¬Â«System» [The Voice that Shapes the World] expends a small amount of divinity to restore your hearing.â
Beep!
A sharp noise passed through my ears, and suddenly the world around me came alive with sound. I could hear the rustle of a gentle breeze carrying leaves, birds chirping away excitedly, and rather loud splashes from a fountain.
The lovely noises that probably came through a window assured me that the world was still turning. Everything sounded peaceful, which meant I had managed to pull it off. My heart swelled with emotions. But that wasn't the end of it. The voice of someone I adored and admired rang in my ears.
«Gosh. When will Ailette wake up?»
Agnes! It was nice to hear her voice, even though I couldn't speak to her. I frantically called her name in my mind. As soon as I did, though, she made me question whether hearing her voice was something to celebrate.
«You're a hero now. You should be marching in victory parades instead of spending ten days unconscious in bed like a weakling!»
I couldn't say anything back.
«Cadet Ailette, I've made up my mind. Once you wake up, you're going through some serious stamina and endurance training!»
What? But this has nothing to do with lack of training! I protested, but she never heard my words. Then again, Agnes would've simply ignored me even if I had managed to say that aloud. I was dismayed about the announcement of hellish training sessions when I heard a knock on the door, followed by the sound of it opening.
"Hi, Allie. It's lunchtime, so I thought I'd check on you."
It's Bia!
«Hello, Bia.»
My dearest friend, Bianca, came to see how I was doing.
"You seem somewhat happier than you were in the morning. It seems like you're having a good dream."
I'm sorry I made you worry, Bia.
"Your cheeks seem rosier, too. Perhaps I'll finally get to hear a hello back in a day or two now."
Yeah, it won't take long now. Please don't worry about anything. In two days, I'll be the one to say hello to you.
"But of course, it would be even better if you would wake up today..."
I'm sorry... I can't.
"Maybe we should talk about something else." She then went on to tell me about work. "The efforts to stabilize the world are well underway now. We're mourning the dead and repairing damaged buildings. The cure for the respiratory disease is being distributed to all the capitals as well."
I quietly listened.
"Oh, I guess I haven't told you this yet. The Vatican tried to pull a dirty little trick on you. But it wasn't anything serious, so I managed to sort it out in no time."
What?
"People started praising Saintess Muriel because she was the only one who could heal people with her divine power before our medicines were made available. That much was understandable, but the Vatican tried to influence the people into blaming the rising death count on your absence. I figured it was probably the work of those who support Muriel in the Vatican, so..."
I waited for her to finish.
"I leaked the details of the donations Muriel received for anointing the sick. And I must say, she charged quite a lot. Anyway, that basically silenced everyone speaking ill of you."
I was speechless.
"See? They should've known not to mess with us."
Her voice sounded elegant but deadly. Since my vision was blocked, I could only imagine the victorious look on Bianca's face as I shouted to myself.
M-my best friend is so awesome! I hope I can always rely on you to watch my back, Bia!