RNFB 12

Chapter 12

“Then what about the money left over after buying the cheap stuff?”

I gathered air in my palm and swallowed it with a big gulp.

“Gulp?”

At some point, the strength in his hand gripping the sword scabbard suddenly went slack.

Seeing that reaction, which was practically a confession, I smiled brightly.

‘When I looked around the village earlier, there were barely any residents. So there probably wasn’t much in the way of supplies to procure.’

In other words, if he’d been planning to embezzle money, there was a good chance he’d been planning something with the ‘Crystal Portal Pass,’ worth about half a year’s budget for an average small territory, rather than the relatively small amount spent on the ‘goods.’

‘With the money he pocketed, he probably…’

Hmm, I could more or less guess what it was.

More precisely, perhaps it wasn’t exactly embezzlement?

‘There’s no way I can let him go! Sir Luden!’

I threw my arms around his arm.

“How about it?”

“…”

“If you form an alliance with me, I’ll definitely keep your secret, and I think I can also help you take care of those ‘things’ you secretly bought…”

The eyes behind his glasses shook violently as he looked down at me.

“Be on my side!”

He already seemed halfway convinced.

But I still clung on and swung myself back and forth!

“Pleeease? Sir Ludeeeeen!”

* * *

After that, everything went smoothly.

“What I want is super simple! Just take me on horseback to the north mountains! And send one letter by carrier pigeon!”

“Ha, you think I’ll just willingly…”

Of course, he seemed a little offended by the idea of forming an alliance with a little kid like me…

“…Then, should I go?”

“I-I’ll willingly…”

“I’ll go to His Grace, then? Did I just take one step? Huh? Should I take another? Hiyap!”

“Ahem! I couldn’t hear you properly because the sound of us forming an alliance was too loud!”

Of course, we settled things peacefully through a somewhat threatening method,

‘Hmm?’

No, through a cooperative method!

I sealed our alliance by enthusiastically swinging Sir Luden’s hand, which seemed to have lost all its fighting spirit.

And so we arrived at the north mountains.

The outpost just below the middle of the mountain, where the mad dragon’s corpse was located.

“Are you really saying the thing you lost is somewhere around this outpost?”

“Yes! Camilla the housekeeper brought me here this morning! She said this was the best place to see the scenery of the north!”

“…Was she trying to scare you away? Anyway, hurry up and find it! Monsters might come out once the sun has completely set.”

“Yes, sir!”

I vaguely brushed him off while looking for a chance to ditch Sir Luden.

Then, while he briefly left to check the monster traps,

I managed to approach the place where the mad dragon was!

More precisely, I’d approached the pillars surrounding the mad dragon’s corpse, but even that was enough to see the silhouette of the enormous dragon lying in the distance in all its horrifying glory.

My first impression of the mad dragon was…

“It’s sooo black! Sooo big! Sooo ominous!”

The corpse was nothing more than a bizarre mass radiating an incredibly ominous aura.

Maybe that’s why?

The white pillars surrounding it looked even more beautiful and majestic.

“Wow…”

I hopped up and down.

“It’s Dad’s handiwork!”

Six sealing pillars surrounded the enormous corpse.

From each pillar, chains much thicker than my torso stretched outward.

The six chains extending from the pillars tightly wrapped around different parts of the mad dragon’s corpse, trapping the evil energy pouring from the corpse within the pillars.

‘In other words, if I break one of those pillars? One-sixth of the mad dragon’s magic power will burst out.’

The north had been under the influence of the mad dragon for the past 500 years.

During that time, the mad dragon had scattered its enormous magic power through the ‘earth’ to demonstrate its dominance.

‘The book called it a ‘dragon vein.’’

In other words, there was a dedicated network beneath the land of the north through which the mad dragon’s power flowed. It was dense, like a spiderweb.

With it, the mad dragon kept the north warm, raised armies of monsters, occasionally gave birth to its own offspring, and spread curses and poisons around.

Then, right before it was killed by Grand Duke Vasily.

Kraaaaaaagh! I curse you, human!

The dragon, driven completely mad, spread poisonous energy throughout the entire north through the dragon vein.

‘That’s the source of the contamination still remaining throughout the north.’

On top of that, the mad dragon itself became a source of contamination that emitted evil energy.

In other words, it was basically saying, ‘Why should I be the only one to die? You all die too!’ as it cursed this land.

It was a disaster in the truest sense of the word.

And Dad’s pillars were what stopped it.

‘Normally, purifying contamination is the role of a high-ranking priest, not an ordinary holy knight…’

For some reason, the temple and the imperial family refused to send any priests.

In the end, Dad, who happened to be nearby, had to step in. With no time to spare, he chose ‘sealing’ instead of proper ‘purification.’

‘Honestly, sealing this thing by himself in just one night was really amazing.’

It must’ve been even harder with his divine power contaminated…

My brows drooped sadly.

‘And then the emperor immediately appointed the mercenary Vasily as the grand duke of the north… sending him straight to Vertus, which was overflowing with contamination.’

It was nothing more than an imperial scheme to isolate Vasily.

And because they didn’t want the people to call them heartless, they sent only a handful of apprentice priests.

‘They only purified Bethel Village and a few major routes, just enough for people to survive for a few years at most.’

“Ugh!”

Adults!

From then on, a long winter began in Vertus.

It couldn’t be helped, since the mad dragon’s scorching magic power flowing through the dragon vein had all been sealed away.

Anyway, that’s everything I know from my previous life!

‘I don’t remember all 99 of my lives, but I remember important information like this pretty well!’

It’s the result of combining what I learned from books, what Dad told me, and what the household servants and Grandpa told me.

“But still, it’s a good thing~”

I set down the bag full of bread beneath a tree and rolled up my sleeves.

“Because I’m a child who can earn divine power~”

[Haniel’s Sticker Book (For Children)]

Divine Power Stickers in Storage: 16

Time to purify!

I’ll purify the corpse, get rid of the evil energy, and draw out all that hot magic power!

‘But… will I have enough divine power?’

I tilted my head back and looked up at the enormous corpse.

Actually, before coming here, I’d had the grand goal of purifying the entire mad dragon’s corpse.

After that, I planned to drain its blood or chop it into pieces and scatter them around the north so the heat-filled magic power could spread throughout the entire region.

“But…”

I don’t think that’s possible.

I looked at the enormous corpse that I couldn’t even fit entirely in my field of vision, then looked down at my hand.

A tiny, insignificant hand.

A hand that couldn’t do anything.

“No.”

It’s not a matter of whether I can do it. I have to do it.

For Dad’s sake!

‘I said I’d earn looooots of divine power while living here!’

I forcefully puffed out my nose and marched forward with determination.

“I’ll be helpful too!”

The Haniel who tormented Dad throughout her previous 99 lives was a useless, bad Haniel.

That Haniel was no longer needed.

In this life, I wouldn’t be anyone’s burden or obstacle.

I’d decided to become a capable person who could handle even difficult things all by myself!

“All right.”

If purifying everything right now was too difficult, I could just do it little by little.

The mad dragon’s magic power had been divided into six parts by the six pillars.

Maybe that was actually a good thing.

‘Because I think I can handle one pillar with my own strength!’

The first pillar, then!

I marched forward and stretched my hand into the air.

Pop!

White letters immediately burst forth.

* * *

Vasily raised his head.

“Camilla.”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t it a little…”

He furrowed his brow.

“Too quiet?”

“This place is always excessively quiet, Your Grace.”

Camilla looked at the grand duke without much concern.

Vasily, who had been talking about Luden, tapped the table with his index finger.

Luden, who had seemed suspicious for some reason in the warehouse.

The goods from the south he’d procured.

The warehouse… Luden… food supplies… bread…

The brat.

“That brat.”

Vasily suddenly stood up.

“What is the brat doing right now?”

His blood-red eyes widened.

* * *

[If you’d like to use several stickers at once, try the [Synthesis] function!]

“Huh?”

There’s a function like this?

When I answered yes, a huge thumbs-up sticker dropped down with a flash of light!

[Sticker Condensed with Divine Power from the Divine Realm (x16)]

– Big. Cute. M size.

– Easy to stick on, but maximum presence!

– Press firmly so the corners don’t peel off. (Sticker design is random!)

“Awesome!”

I took a deep breath, then slapped the giant sticker onto my belly.

It was slightly large, so there wasn’t quite enough room on my hand or forehead.

Whoooooosh!

‘Wow.’

Maybe because it was a sticker that condensed 16 stickers into one, an enormous amount of purer divine power surged into my body all at once, even more than last time.

But the divine power couldn’t settle anywhere inside my body and was pushed back out.

Pop!

[Haniel, with a little divine power (x16) flowing around her]

– Divine power flows around the body for a certain period of time (15:00)

– The halo effect makes her look slightly more omnipotent for some reason

– Purification power can be adjusted

– Contamination, get lost!

[Bonus] Cuteness increases by 20% due to the sticker effect (For Children Only)

I blinked blankly.

‘It really works!’

When I was kidnapped by a new monster at the northern gate,

I’d stuck a divine power sticker onto my forehead and escaped.