Never Saved You

Chapter 92

Translator: Yonnee

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The temporary temple was located on the ridge. To reach that place, it would take hours on foot, and even if she went there by carriage, the travel time wouldn’t be that far off.

Apart from that, if she were to order for a carriage to be prepared now, that would certainly just attract considerable attention on her.

Above all however, was there a reason for her to travel over land when there was a much better mode of transport right here?

Ophelia looked down towards the ground from a bird’s eye view, which she had become quite accustomed to as of late. The siren carrying her flapped his wings loudly.

“Asello, fly lower.”

“We’re already flying low though. More?”

“Yes, more. You can’t? Sante did it, you know.”

“I can do it too, of course I can!”

Asello’s nose scrunched up as he smiled mischievously. Then, he flew lower, close to the trees.

Thanks to this, even the rabbits hopping below and all the rest if the surroundings could be seen clearer.

Ophelia quickly scanned the path.

‘There doesn’t seem to have been any unusual movements.’

If someone were to go down this path, it would be better to stop them here.

Now that Alei and Yennit were under custody, the only reason for people to go back and forth the temple was to transport the sinners to the capital.

And it’s obvious just how much trouble that’s going to bring.

Before that could take place, it’s necessary to prevent people from either coming or going here.

Ophelia turned and pointed towards the port by the cliff.

“Asello, go that way. Do you see that cliff?”

“I do, but are we going down that cliff? You said we’re going up to the middle of the mountain though.”

“We’ll just take a quick look and leave after. Can you knock down that cliff?”

“Of course! How much?”

“As much as you want.”

“I can’t believe I’ve lived to see the day I’m running an errand like this!”

Asello laughed boisterously. Then, as he had Ophelia in his hold, he approached the cliff and shook his wings powerfully through the air.

If a mermaid could be likened to the spirit of the water, then a siren was the spirit of the wind that traveled through the sky.

Their wings could create gusts of wind that were as sharp as blades, or flurries that could blow everything off the ground.

From the tips of Asello’s wings, the resounding noise of the air being cut could be heard.

Du-dun, THUD.

The rocks that were being split by the sharp wind began to echo out as if they were being hit by the waves. The terrain began to change.

The rough cliff fell down with a dull sound.

And so, the main avenue where carriages came and went was successfully blocked.

“You’re amazing, Asello.”

“Even if Sante can’t do this, I can do this much.”

“Can you mask your presence like Sante?”

“You mean to pretend like I’m human?”

To be exact, it was a kind of disguise spell that would eliminate a siren’s uniquely mesmerizing and identifying aura.

It was also the kind of spell that Sante donned all throughout the time he became Ophelia’s attendant.

If he hadn’t done that, so many humans in the vicinity would have flocked towards him.

“It’s a bit tricky so I don’t like using it.”

“I just asked. I was going to take you along with me if you could do it, but if it’s difficult for you, you don’t have to strain yourself.”

As Ophelia taunted Asello and aimed at his pride, he was caught hook, line and sinker as expected.

“What are you saying? What kind of thing! That’s something we learn before we even come of age!”

Asello replied in a fit of rage. Perhaps he was even delighted to hear that Ophelia thought to take him with her.

As they arrived at the temporary temple, he set Ophelia down and masked his presence simply, muttering a few words under his breath.

It’s exactly what Ophelia wanted.

“What are we doing now?”

“It’s something easy again.”

Ophelia said this as she gestured for Asello to open his arms, then she placed a vest atop his shirt. It was the vest that attendants often wore.

Of course, when Ophelia said it was ‘easy’, the standards she had in mind were meant for the likes of Alei or Sante’s abilities. But the innocent, naïve siren in front of her had no way of knowing that.

After a few quick adjustments on the vest, Ophelia turned around. There in front of her was the temple, illuminated by a faint light.

If this was another time, perhaps only a few people would be at its front yard, but Ophelia could already see people rushing towards the blocked main road when they heard the loud noises of the cliff being broken down by Asello earlier.

‘They probably think it’s Cornelli.’

This was something that she also considered.

Because as long as the temple had custody over Yennit, they wouldn’t leave Cornelli alone either. They were probably expecting Cornelli to go on a rampage like Yennit did earlier, to either rescue his colleague or retaliate against those who captured her.

‘And in the midst of that, if such a commotion happened?’

The priests who were waiting for Cornelli to act wouldn’t just wait and see it happen.

However, what happened in reality was a bit different.

Did they think that they could deal with the mages just with their accusations of heresy? There was one woman here in Ladeen who had four winged magical creatures by her side.

‘The temple is almost empty now.’

It’s clear that the only ones left now were either the people who weren’t in on it or the people who didn’t need to move.

And that’s what Ophelia was aiming for.

“Do you remember the mage I told you about last time?”

“What mage?”

“The one you said looked like an octopus. The mage who was with me when we first met.”

Asello’s eyes widened as he realized who Ophelia was talking about.

Sirens weren’t as good as mermaids when it came to detecting mana, but they could still distinguish the forms of mana that an individual had.

In general, non-human creatures could distinguish humans through such means rather than through their faces since the non-human creatures themselves could change their own faces.

—Ophelia, are you a fishbowl? You’re kinda like a fishbowl. Filled to the brim.

—Me?

—Yep. And Sante’s like a summer wind. A particularly big one. You call it a ‘typhoon’ right?

—Then what about Alei? The mage who left just now.

—Uh, that mage is… kinda scary. He’s like an octopus.

—Octopus?

—A huuuuge one! I can see something wiggling out from him. Big enough that shadows can’t cover them…

Asello’s way of describing it was not enough for Ophelia to visualize Alei’s mana properly, but she continued to listen to him.

She was impressed by the fact that Alei’s magical power as he saw it was that huge.

“Asello, can you see his mana now?”

“Yeah! It’s all tied up! With chains… or something like chains. But it’s not that he can’t break free from them. Why is he tied up?”

“…So he’s tied up, but it’s not that he can’t break the restraints?”

“Yeah, absolutely. If the mana’s that big, he can break the chains with just the smallest movement. The chains look weak, too.”

Aha.

It’s as she expected.

‘The mana suppressors that the temporary temple has can’t be that good.’

She couldn’t understand why Alei had gotten detained by such shoddy restraints.

She doubted it at first, but it became clear when she heard what Asello said.

‘He let himself be caught.’

Alei could escape as much as he wanted, or resist as much as he could, but it was obvious why he wasn’t doing so.

Because doing so would harm Ophelia.

Rather than being delighted by this fact, it felt heavy. It still wasn’t clear to Ophelia why Alei did that to her in the previous life, and perhaps because of that, she didn’t know why he was doing this.

So the first thing that must be done was to clarify it all.

“Asello, go find Alei. Tell him he doesn’t need to let himself be detained.”

“What about you, Ophelia?”

“There’s someone I need to talk to for a moment.”

After this brief exchange, Ophelia then sent Asello away and entered the temple by herself.

The temple was empty, just as she had expected. Instead of the people who were supposed to be there, green flames—the symbol of the god L’Haille—could be seen flickering everywhere, creating shadows.

The green flame was a manifestation of divine power, and they could be conjured by bishops.

And as she passed by the green flames, the places on which they remained were evidently unusual.

Any normal fire would take away moisture and distort the surface where it stood. On the other hand, the green flames inherently took away vitality, and so the areas that were exposed to these flames were rapidly aging.

‘The pain it inflicts is of the same nature.’

The fact of the matter was that, if anyone were to get hurt by this flame, the only possible culprit was a bishop.

So, what if Ophelia were to get injured by this flame?

‘Verlan wouldn’t be able to get away with harming an imperial princess in any way.’

And that was the only way she’d get Alei and Yennit out right away.

To charge Verlan with a crime.

‘Of course there are still other options, but.’

If Verlan were to dispute the charge against him and claim amnesty and if things would get delayed, it was obvious that the only person who would be at a disadvantage from this scenario was Ophelia.

Ophelia rolled up one sleeve of the cloak she was wearing. Then, she unabashedly reached out to the deadly flame.

However, her hand inevitably could not reach it.

At that very moment, someone else grabbed her wrist.

The other person’s expression was distorted while uttering each syllable strongly.

Right now, this.

“What exactly are you doing?”