Ch 36
‘Oh Goddess, if you still believe in the power I possess, grant me just one more chance……!’
Did the Goddess deem this crisis insufficient from the beginning? Or was She attempting to withdraw the blessing She had granted Mia? Sadly, no answer came to her desperate prayer.
“Ugh… Damned witch!”
The first assassin to rise—their apparent leader—snarled as Mia prayed. Though seasoned in combat, facing four seasoned warriors with pure physical strength alone was grueling. Resorting to detonating her divine power like last time to escape wasn’t feasible either.
Doing so risked leaving her unable to meet the medic later, rendering her incapable of healing herself with divine power when necessary. Moreover, a market lay just beyond this alley. The absence of onlookers despite the commotion suggested they’d deployed some measure to block the noise. Yet Mia couldn’t be certain her potent divine energy wouldn’t pierce through and expose itself to all.
Had she been unharmed and capable of fleeing alone, witnesses might have been manageable. But expending her divine power now would leave her too drained to escape, effectively handing Etallon’s forces Beridian’s greatest trump card.
Mia’s eyes frantically scoured the alley for an exit. Her gaze landed on a stack of boxes in a corner, likely discarded by a shop. Though hiding in the same alley risked detection, those boxes were her only glimmer of hope. Summoning her final reserves, she unleashed a blinding light to disrupt their vision.
A minor trick of divine power. Too drained for offensive use, it nonetheless bought her time to flee while they were disoriented.
Mia broke free and sprinted toward the boxes. Crouching behind them, she leaned against rough wood, gasping. The assassins’ enraged shouts flooded the alley.
“Find her! She can’t have gone far!”
“Spread out! Check every corner!”
Mia stifled her breath. Thud, thud. Her pounding heart refused to quiet. She feared even its rhythm might betray her.
She heard them prowling—clubs thudding against stone, curses echoing off walls. Their refusal to leave the alley confirmed her suspicion: they’d rigged it with a trap.
The flimsy boxes offered scant cover, but with no immediate escape, they were her sole refuge. Minutes stretched into hours as she suppressed even her breaths. Closing her eyes, she prayed again. Without allies to alert, only divine intervention could save her.
Trembling, Mia touched her wounded arm. Warm, sticky blood coated her fingers. The battle’s adrenaline had faded, leaving agony that threatened to engulf her senses.
She gritted her teeth. A single whimper would seal her fate.
A long while after evading them, the stomping footsteps finally receded.
Are they gone?
Peeking out revealed only inky darkness. Silence enveloped the alley, erasing all traces of the five who’d stood there moments prior. Only then did relief strike her.
“Haa…”
Mia emerged, sighing. The wound she’d staunched with torn cloth was worse than when Etienne had panicked days before. Dawn’s chill scraped her skin, but her mobility remained intact—likely not fatal.
If they’re attacking now, word must’ve reached my pursuers… Who knows when another ambush will come? I can’t waste divine power on healing…
She needed Medic Bertrand—but if Etienne were present, she’d endure another lecture.
Praying her commander was absent, Mia limped toward the hotel. Concealing injuries with tattered fabric and skulking through shadowed alleys was her only recourse.
After enduring the military doctor's nagging and persistent questioning about whether any secrets had truly been leaked, Mia finally returned to her room—only to find a large bird had invaded her bedroom.
The military messenger bird was indeed capable. From what Mia understood, the Veridian Temple’s educational facilities lay quite far from Raven.
‘I could’ve sworn they were near the Grand Temple…’
Yet for Mia, who’d expected a month-long wait for a reply, the bird’s return with a letter in under a few weeks was undeniably unexpected. At least she wouldn’t have to wait any longer. Mia hastily untied the string from the bird’s leg and retrieved the letter from its tube.
⌜To Mia.
First, forgive me for addressing you like this. Neither “Your Excellency” nor “Teacher” felt fitting, so I struggled with how to call you.⌟
Ink stains clustered peculiarly at the letter’s opening—telltale signs of the writer’s hesitation.
‘Apologizing over something so trivial.’
Mia snorted. A perverse satisfaction curled through her, knowing the woman who’d once terrorized her into panic attacks now agonized over mere honorifics in this life.
⌜Sorry for the delayed reply. Analyzing your device’s structure took far longer than anticipated. Where did you obtain this? The craftsmanship was so precise I couldn’t inspect the interior without damaging it.
I nearly begged a priest for help midway, but you insisted on secrecy. Think I went a full week without sleep!⌟
‘Never asked you to go that far,’ Mia thought unrepentantly. Had Chloe been present, she’d have badgered the woman relentlessly. Three sleepless days meant nothing to war-hardened souls—herself included.
⌜Enough complaints. To summarize: I’ve identified the tool’s operating principle at a fundamental level. Like other temple instruments I’ve studied, it employs divine power…⌟
What followed was an exhaustive technical breakdown. For Mia—a political prodigy who’d never spared a thought for mechanics, let alone the “divine power” she’d considered fictional—the jargon proved impenetrable.
‘Do they expect me to comprehend this? Or is this ciphertext?’
She skimmed ahead, halting only at the next page.
⌜Apologies for rambling! But this is elementary material—surely even you can grasp it, Mia.⌟
She couldn’t. Had the tone been condescending, anger might’ve salvaged her pride. But the writer’s genuine faith in her technical comprehension made admitting inadequacy sting worse.
Only the subsequent content proved mercifully digestible.
⌜These devices all rely on one foundation: “Goddess Stones,” “Aetos Ore,” or simply “Sacred Stones.” They’re rocks imbued with potent divine energy through the Goddess’ blessing.
No stone bears innate power. But those mined from consecrated lands gain sacred properties after priestly rites. Fascinating, no?⌟
