Chapter 80

Chapter 14 - Episode 6

‘Could it be...’

A thought flashed through Grid’s mind.

‘The Essence of the Goddess!’

The Essence of the Goddess was the only item dropped by Pope Drevigo whose use was unknown.

It had been an eyesore that he had neither disposed of nor used for over a year.

Grid took it out of his inventory.

‘The possibility that Drevigo dropped a useless item is low.’

Drevigo was not an ordinary boss.

Putting aside his strength, he was a main character who had a significant impact on the Satisfy story.

He was the one who had corrupted the Rebecca religion.

Could the liquid he dropped be just plain water?

‘No way.’

From the start, the name exuded a sense of specialness.

Grid thought about it.

The cause of unsealing Raphael’s Spear. The cause of Pascal’s appearance and his subsequent activities. The cause of the high-ranking priests siding with Pascal...

All these causes were rooted in Drevigo.

‘The item dropped by this guy is likely the solution to all the problems.’

In games, it’s often the case that the item dropped by the final boss is the clue to overcoming despair.

"Let's check it out."

With that decision, Grid opened the small glass bottle and dropped a drop of the liquid onto Raphael’s Spear.

Click.

The moment the Essence of the Goddess touched the adamantium-composed Raphael’s Spear.

Whoosh!

A brilliant blue light filled the small room.

"Ah...!"

Isabel gasped.

Grid, who had been captivated by the beautiful light, turned his gaze to her.

A notification window appeared in Grid’s field of vision, who was smiling.

[The information of <Essence of the Goddess> has been updated.]

***

It had been five days since the last news from the crow.

Now, Camian had to admit it.

‘The crow is dead.’

At first, he had been skeptical.

The crow’s assassination skills were top-notch.

It was hard to imagine that he had failed.

But with no news for five days, it was clear that he had failed.

‘Stupid thing, so confident and now a disgrace.’

In any case, this incident confirmed something.

‘Indeed, Grid’s power is on par with mine. There’s no doubt about it.’

Moreover,

‘He’s cautious too.’

Despite being threatened with assassination, Grid had not publicized the fact. He acted as if he had never received any such threat.

It was a declaration of his intention not to act rashly until the background was clearly revealed.

‘I thought he was a reckless guy from the way he talked to Pascal and the elders, but in fact, he’s a fox-like character.’

The more he knew, the more complicated he seemed.

Praised by the believers, with outstanding personal power and cautiousness...

‘Pascal’s persuasion tactics are failing every day. There’s no point in dragging this out any longer.’

Camian turned his gaze to the window.

Demian and Froy were out campaigning for the election as usual.

They were annoying.

‘Especially that Froy...’

His oratory skills were exceptional. He was quickly winning the hearts of the believers. Even some of the high-ranking priests who had been bought by Pascal were showing favor towards Demian.

If he said that horse dung was medicine, everyone would believe him.

‘I’ll take matters into my own hands.’

A week from now.

An event would be held exactly 30 days before the election of the new pope.

It was a speech event for the papal candidates, attended by the priests of the Rebecca temples scattered across the continent and the nobles of various countries.

Baron Chirita from the Saharan Empire was scheduled to attend.

He was different from Pascal, who was his son. He excluded all risk factors.

‘I’ll get his support to take down Grid.’

Grid’s personal power was acknowledged as outstanding. But his forces were pitiful.

There was Rebecca’s daughter, who could die at any moment, the naive Demian, and the eloquent but empty-talking Froy.

With the support of Baron Chirita’s knights, they could be easily dealt with.

***

<Essence of the Goddess>

Water imbued with the divine power of the Goddess Rebecca. To ordinary people, it is just plain water, but to those with dark magic, it acts as a poison, and to those who worship the Goddess, it acts as a panacea.

When mixed with minerals, it maximizes the viscosity of the minerals and enhances their inherent functions. It also infuses divine power.

Weight: 0.1

‘Maximizing viscosity? Does it mean it becomes like clay? It would make it easier to shape the item.’

The secret of the clean joint was hidden here.

[Your understanding of Raphael’s Spear has increased by 40%.]

[You have uncovered the hidden secret of the item on your own! A great achievement!]

[Your Insight has increased by 30.]

[Your Intelligence has increased by 30.]

[The function of the <Legendary Blacksmith’s Appraisal> skill has improved. The understanding value increases when observing an item.]

"Wow, me. Jackpot."

Grid was elated.

He was already overjoyed to have discovered the use of the Essence of the Goddess and the secret of the joint, but to receive such a huge reward on top of that was almost overwhelming.

‘Moreover.’

Grid turned his gaze to Isabel. Her complexion had visibly improved.

The healing effect had occurred from the resonance between the drop of the Essence of the Goddess and Raphael’s Spear.

‘First, I need to save Isabel.’

This was the top priority.

Isabel needed to be healthy for him to separate her from Raphael’s Spear.

‘Now I can proceed with the disassembly and assembly process.’

It meant the mission was complete.

Grid, who was smiling, got up from his seat. He then handed the Essence of the Goddess to Isabel, who was in awe.

"Drink it."

Isabel refused.

"No, I can’t."

"Why?"

"I’m not shameless enough to accept such a precious item."

"Are you worrying about propriety at the brink of life and death? Just drink it."

"No."

"Who said to drink it all? Just one drop."

The volume of the Essence of the Goddess was 1ml.

Since the volume of one drop of water was 1/20ml, 1ml was equivalent to 20 drops.

One drop had improved Isabel’s health just by resonating with Raphael’s Spear.

If Isabel drank one drop directly, she would be fully cured.

Grid was confident of this.

But Isabel was stubborn.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I don’t want to owe you any more."

"No, just one drop."

"No."

Over the past five days,

Isabel had spent a lot of time talking with Grid.

Through these conversations, she learned that Grid was already married.

Grid was no longer someone she could pursue.

Isabel wanted to suppress her feelings for Grid. To do that, she needed to draw a line. She didn’t want to receive any more of Grid’s kindness.

With her head bowed, Grid shrugged.

"Isabel, you misunderstand me."

"…?"

"I’m helping you because it benefits me. It’s not unconditional kindness. So don’t have any wrong ideas and drink it quickly. I’m busy."

With that, Isabel found it awkward to refuse further.

"Come on, hurry up."

"…"

Isabel took the small glass bottle from Grid, who was urging her. She hesitated as she brought it to her mouth.

She was worried that she might accidentally drink several drops.

‘She’s become so timid.’

Originally, Isabel was a girl who appeared to be as bold as she pleased.

But after her experiences with Drevigo and Pascal, she had lost her former self and become withdrawn.

Being told that she was a tool, not a human, and to hurry up and die... She had been hearing such nonsense for years, so it was inevitable that she would change.

What a pitiful child.

Sighing, Grid took the glass bottle and poured a drop of the Essence of the Goddess onto his fingertip, then brought it to Isabel’s lips.

"Lick it."

"Eek…"

Isabel’s face turned red.

The idea of licking a man’s, especially a man she liked, finger was strange. Her mind became complicated.

"Really, do I have to feed you myself?"

Grid pushed his finger into Isabel’s plump lips.

"Ah…!"

Grid’s dexterity, including the effects of his titles, was over 2,300.

As his finger touched her lips and teeth and entered her mouth, Isabel shivered. A sensation she had never experienced before swept through her body, making her feel dizzy.

"Ah…!"

The thick and hard finger brushing against her throat eventually made Isabel...

The following is omitted.

A little while later.

"Ha… Ha…"

Isabel, exhausted, fell onto the bed.

Her frail body was wrapped in a warm blue aura.

The Essence of the Goddess was showing its immediate effects.

Her platinum hair, which had lost its luster, began to shine beautifully, and her rough skin became smooth and transparent.

"Indeed, she’s beautiful. Once she gains some weight, she’ll be back to her old self."

Isabel’s face turned red again at Grid’s compliment.

She was breathing heavily with her hands covering her face.

Grid tilted his head in confusion.

‘Why does she look strange?’

Her health had been restored. But why did she look even more exhausted?

Tap. Tap tap.

Grid, who was puzzled, noticed a homing pigeon tapping on the small window.

It was a pigeon sent by Irene.

After opening the window and receiving the letter, Grid, who had picked up Raphael’s Spear, said,

"There’s a forge here, right? I’ll be at the forge, so you rest for a while."

"Yes…"

Isabel’s eyes, peeking through her fingers, were moist. They seemed to yearn for something.

Her gaze was so alluring that it reminded Grid of Irene in bed.

Swallow.

Grid, who had unconsciously swallowed, shook his head to clear his mind.

‘The process of recovering health must feel good.’

With that thought, Grid left the room.

"Meow."

Noe was enjoying the sun on the window sill of the corridor.

Grid looked at the plump cat rolling around with a look of disdain.

"Tsk, I put you on guard, and you just sleep all day."

Five days ago, an assassin had broken in to target Grid, but he didn’t know about it.

It was a pity for Noe.

[The White Flower skill is activated.]

[There is no divine power. The activation of White Flower has failed. The body is strained due to the side effects.]

[Resistance.]

Confusing notification windows kept appearing.

Before heading to the forge, Grid stopped by the garden and put down Raphael’s Spear. He then sat on a bench and opened the letter.

<I can feel the baby moving. Every day is mysterious and enjoyable. I want to share this happiness with you soon. My lord, what kind of child do you hope our baby will grow up to be?>

[Respond to your wife’s question. It will affect the baby’s stats.]

1. I hope the child will be interested in martial arts.

2. I hope the child will be interested in magic.

3. I hope the child will be interested in academics.

4. I hope the child will be interested in theology.

5. I hope the child will be interested in technology.

6. I just hope the child will be healthy.

‘I definitely don’t want 4.’

Grid was negative about theology because he had only seen corrupt religious figures like Drevigo and Pascal.

‘I don’t want 6 either. It might end up like Jude.’

Among the remaining options, the one that appealed to him the most was...

‘Technology.’

Grid thought it would be great if his child could become a labor force for the estate. He started writing a reply.

After telling Irene that he loved her, he wrote his answer.

‘I’ll come to you once I finish my business here.’

Grid, who had finished, tied the letter to the homing pigeon’s leg.

Flap.

The homing pigeon flew off to the south, towards Winston.

While Grid was watching the pigeon’s back, someone approached.