Taming The Villainesses novel Chapter 407

Elga furrowed her brow after hearing everything.

“A new god? That’s one hell of a weird story. And they seriously believe that crap? Sounds like a bunch of lunatics. You’re telling me there are idiots like that swarming all over the Church?”

Elga spoke as if she couldn’t believe it. And I understood her reaction. To most people, it would just sound like the nonsense of fools.

Mirna added:

“How deeply heretical and blasphemous. There have been plenty of cults spreading such talk before... But for the Roman Main Sanctuary itself to be tainted by heresy—that’s unthinkable.”

As a devout follower of the Church, it was clear Mirna couldn’t tolerate this sort of thing. From her perspective, it must’ve sounded like nothing but the rantings of heretics.

That was when Stella spoke up.

“Hey, that scroll you mentioned—did you bring it? Mind if I take a look?”

Stella was an adventurer, and something of a scholar in her own right. If she got a look at the scroll copied from the tablets, maybe she could say something meaningful about it.

So I pulled the scroll Antiek had given me out from the [Squirrel Vault] and spread it out in front of them. Stella examined the illustrations one by one, humming softly.

“These are definitely ancient-style pictographs. And if an elf like me calls something ‘ancient,’ you know it’s really ancient. A thousand years? Nah, some of these might be even older.”

I asked her,

“Can you tell if it’s real or not?”

“That, I can’t say for sure. But I know a guy back in Ark who’s been studying similar stuff. If I send him a copy, maybe we’ll get something useful out of it.”

I see.

So we won’t know right away. Then again, maybe we can find out. My eyes shifted to Ayra, who was /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ quietly watching butterflies flit through the air. She didn’t seem interested in the conversation.

But I knew Ayra had a special kind of sight.

She could see into the distant past. If anyone could tell whether the illustrations on the scrolls were real, it was her.

...But I couldn’t ask her here. Ayra didn’t like letting others know about her gift. Maybe because it was that very gift that entangled her fate with Solomon in the first place.

I’d ask her later, when it was just the two of us.

Then Elga said:

“So what now? Whether the story’s true or not honestly doesn’t matter that much. But it is true the Church is split and fighting. Shouldn’t we cancel the wedding?”

Cancel the wedding. That... was a valid point. Holding a wedding in the middle of this kind of mess might be difficult. But then Ayra, who had been silent, spoke up.

“I disagree. We should go through with the wedding. Of course, if you don’t feel up to it, Elganes, you don’t have to join us.”

“What do you mean, I don’t feel up to it? I’m just saying the timing sucks. And this bastard Teo went out and brought back some new hassle again. Seriously, what a pain.”

“I-I’m sorryyy....”

“Cut it out with that weird-ass apology already.”

Still.

Talking it over with them made me feel a little better. Just knowing I had people to consult with and lean on gave me strength to keep going through all this.

I found myself thinking—I really wanted them to be my family already. If they were, then no matter how hard or complicated life got, I’d be able to overcome it.

Yeah. Especially because times were hard, we needed to go through with this wedding.

I said:

“We’ll go ahead with the wedding. Invite everyone, bring in the nymphs and imps, let it get loud. Big enough to shake the whole kingdom with joy.”

Instead of answering, everyone just looked at one another. But even without words, I could tell they agreed. It brought me some relief.

“But before that, I’d like to stop by Gracia—”

“This damn half-elf—”

Before I could finish, Elga reached out and grabbed my cheek.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going again right before the wedding?! Huh?! You don’t want to marry us, is that it?! Just say so!!”

Streeetch— She pulled my cheek up so hard I thought I’d cry.

“That hurts...!”

***

“Ugh...”

I rubbed my swollen, red cheek.

“You’re going to let me go in the end anyway. So what’s with all the acting tough?”

I had my fairy technique: [Puppy Eyes]. When I looked at them with eyes clear and shiny as stream water, they couldn’t help but grant my request.

Thanks to that, I was granted permission for a same-day trip to Gracia. Time was tight—the sun was already starting to set—but I was grateful just to be allowed to go.

“Open—Gate of Dimensions.”

With a simple incantation, I opened the palace’s dimensional gate.

My body rose as the world blurred around me. In just a moment, I’d be at my destination, probably thinking “whoa” again.

Ah, I’m already here.

“Man, this really is an amazing spell.”

Solomon had created plenty of brilliant spells, but for me, this dimensional gate was the best of them. If it could be commercialized, people’s lives would be so much easier.

Sssnnff—

I inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of Gracia’s air for the first time in a while.

“Mmm. That Gracia smell.”

“Sir Teo, what’s with all the mumbling? Did Elga pinch your cheek so hard you lost some brain cells?”

That was Mirna, pinching my side from behind. Yes. Mirna had come with me to Gracia. It was her suggestion. _{freёwebnovel.com}