Presia’s meal solution was easy to come up with.
First, they would move to a village nearby where she could eat, then cast perception-blocking and illusion magic on her.
Once she ate, that was it.
Troll quickly explained the method he had thought of to Presia.
“Perception-blocking magic and illusion magic? But weren’t those only meant to be cast on oneself?”
—Of course, normal perception-blocking and illusion magic are like that! But these are improved spells I developed!
“Amazing, Ventus. Then, how about you come with me too?”
—Hmm, that might not work. I can disguise my appearance, but ever since I became a lich, the aura of death that emanates from me can’t be hidden even with magic.
“That’s… really unfortunate.”
—Instead, I’ll send an animal familiar with you.
“Hehe, a crow, perhaps?”
—If you want, it could be another animal.
“No, I like the crow. It’s your favorite animal, after all.”
“Are you embarrassed, Ventus?”
—You’ve gotten so mischievous since I last saw you, Presia.
“I’m surprised myself. I can’t believe I’ve started joking like this.”
‘Is it because I want to look younger in front of you?’
Presia felt both the changes in herself and the fresh joy of it.
At the same time, her desire for this moment to last just a little longer grew stronger.
‘Ventus, hurry up and complete the magic to turn me into an undead.’
***
After Nellin’s party returned from the Hill of the Saint, the high priests of the Grand Church hurriedly summoned them to the conference room.
It was to ask why Saintess Presia hadn’t returned.
Nellin’s party shared the story they had agreed upon in advance with the high priests.
“I-Is that… really true? Saintess Presia… she…”
“Oh, this can’t be.”
“To think that the lich was her…”
The lich turned out to be Ventus Frail, the Sage of Magic.
He had fallen into a trap set by Brooks Vessilja, the current Tower Master, and on the verge of death, he used his final option to become a lich.
In the end, he regained his mind, shared his heart with Presia, and vanished together in flames at the end.
After hearing the full story, the high priests were shocked, horrified, and also deeply saddened.
Among them, there were even some who shed tears out of deep emotion.
“Saintess Presia saved people with love until her very last moment. She saved the people of the Holy City with equal love and even saved a fallen comrade who had become a lich with her own love. Ah! Saintess Presia…!”
The words of one high priest, spoken out of emotion, deeply resonated with the other priests who were mourning the saint’s death.
They believed they must not see this as a tragedy.
They believed Saintess Presia had fulfilled her duty until the end and embraced a holy death.
Meanwhile.
Watching these high priests, Nellin’s party felt pangs of guilt.
After all, they had witnessed Presia brazenly confessing her love to Troll, saying she would stay behind and urging them to hurry up and make up a lie without hesitation.
‘Kinda… starting to feel a little sorry.’
Even Nellin, who could usually be shameless with anyone, felt a bit guilty this time.
“Saintess Amelia.”
“Yes, High Priest David.”
During the explanation, they had already mentioned that Presia had entrusted everything to Amelia.
Thus, High Priest David put aside his grief for a moment and spoke in a serious voice.
“From now on, you are the only saintess in the Holy City. The weight of this responsibility may be heavy. But we are here for you. If you ever have worries… please, speak to us anytime.”
“That’s right, Saintess.”
“We will continue to support you.”
“Paladin Paulen, make sure to guard Saintess Amelia even more closely than before.”
“Of course.”
“Everyone… thank you so much.”
Amelia had never been fully confident about being a saintess.
That’s why, whenever she faced the high priests, she often wondered if they were testing whether she was truly worthy of being a saintess.
However, she now felt genuine trust in their gazes directed at her.
She also sensed their firm resolve to acknowledge her as the saintess and fulfill their duties.
No, that resolve had always been there; it was just that she had been too intimidated by the pressure to truly feel it until now.
Realizing this, Amelia felt an even stronger sense of responsibility, and at the same time, those gazes pricked her conscience.
That’s why Amelia resolved even more firmly to fulfill her duties as a saintess from now on.
“Well then… let us now discuss how to deal with Brooks Vessilja.”
The meeting moved on to its next topic.
That was the true culprit behind this whole incident.
The one who had tried to kill Ventus Frail, the Sage of Magic, out of selfish greed.
The high priests would never forgive Brooks Vessilja.
He had not only tried to kill one of the heroes who saved the continent but had also caused that hero to become a lich and ultimately led to the death of another hero, Saintess Presia.
This was not a matter to be taken lightly.
Even if Brooks Vessilja denied everything, it would be useless.
With Starlight Archer Nellin, future saintess Amelia, and Paladin Paulen all as witnesses.
To the Grand Church, that was the truth, and they would never listen to Brooks Vessilja’s excuses.
“We must immediately dispatch the Holy Knights to the Magic Tower!”
“Yes!”
“But if we do that, we’ll have to worry about the security of the regions that rely on the church’s protection. Perhaps we should form an elite group…”
“There’s no need for knights. This isn’t just a problem for the Holy City! Heroes who saved the entire continent have died! We must inform the capital too!”
“I agree about informing them. But we can’t leave it entirely to the capital’s knights!”
As they debated how to deal with Brooks Vessilja, Gracie raised her hand.
"Uh, um! I have a suggestion!"
"It's Miss Gracie. What is your suggestion?"
All the high priests' gazes turned toward Gracie at once.
For a moment, the mood started to turn hostile at the thought that she was from the Magic Tower, but then they calmed themselves, remembering she was a descendant of Ventus Frail.
Still, each of those reactions made Gracie shrink back.
'Even so, I have to say it.'
"I think it's okay to announce that Saintess Presia has passed away... but we shouldn't reveal yet that the lich was Sir Ventus and that the one who tried to kill him was the Tower Master... no, Brooks Vessilja."
"Why not?"
"Are you trying to protect the current Tower Master?"
"No, that can't be it. Could it be she wants to hide that her heroic ancestor became a lich?"
"I can understand that sentiment, but this isn't something we can cover up for that reason..."
"N-No! It's definitely not for that reason! I just... I just think it shouldn't be revealed yet!"
High Priest David exchanged glances with the other priests before opening his mouth.
"Please explain in more detail, Miss Gracie. Let us all listen to her."
"Brooks Vessilja is someone we cannot forgive. But he is strong enough to have become Tower Master. If we publicly reveal the truth right now while mourning Saintess Presia, he will surely go on a rampage or try to escape."
Thanks to Gracie’s words, the high priests were able to calm down.
The most important thing was to properly punish the criminal, Brooks Vessilja.
Revealing his crimes to the world during the mourning period would basically give the criminal a chance to run away.
If Brooks Vessilja were inside the Holy City, it might be different, but he was in the Magic Tower, far away from the city.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been obvious, but the shock of Presia’s death and the revelation after thirty years of why the great mage had fallen was so great that even the high priests had lost their composure.
"Miss Gracie is correct. Then we should form a group to secretly punish the criminal..."
"I have something more to say about that too!"
"Please, go ahead."
"In truth, that wasn’t the only thing Sir Ventus told me. There was also something about Jiggly... the slime that was taken from the tower."
"Oh, now that you mention it... we never did figure out why the slime was taken."
"Sir Ventus really did take the slime out of curiosity. And after he finished observing it, he lost interest and released it near the village of Chilture."
"I see."
The high priests did not doubt Gracie’s words.
There was no reason for her to lie about such a thing in this situation.
"Before telling Saintess Amelia, Saintess Presia asked Sir Ventus directly and confirmed it. Because she knew how much Saintess Amelia cherished Jiggly."
"Ah... Saintess Presia..."
The high priests were moved once again by Saintess Presia’s compassionate actions.
"I don’t want to waste Saintess Presia’s feelings. So... after the mourning is over, I want to go search for Jiggly together with everyone who was there. And after we find Jiggly, I think it would be right to head straight to the Magic Tower to punish the criminal Brooks Vessilja."
The high priests widened their eyes in surprise at Gracie’s words.
They hadn’t expected her not only to suggest finding the slime, but also to propose taking Hero Nellin and Saintess Amelia along to punish the criminal.
"Why do you think that, Miss Gracie?"
"As you know, I’m from the Magic Tower. If merciful Saintess Amelia and Miss Nellin accompany me, no one would suspect me even if I went back to the tower. And with them by my side, I believe we can easily subdue Brooks Vessilja no matter what."
"That makes sense."
"But Saintess Amelia’s heart must be heavy. Forcing her to travel far again..."
Hearing the priests' worried voices, Amelia immediately responded.
"I’m fine. I inherited Saintess Presia’s will. In fact, this is something I absolutely cannot back out of."
"Saintess Amelia..."
"I will also stay by her side and protect her."
"Paladin Paulen."
"Don’t worry. I’m coming too."
"Miss Nellin."
"Besides, there’s no way I’m not going. I have to put an arrow in each of that bastard’s arms and legs or I won’t be satisfied."
***
In the end, the high priests accepted Gracie’s plan and concluded the meeting.
Then Nellin’s party moved to Amelia’s room first.
After entering the room, Amelia immediately thanked Gracie.
"Thank you, Miss Gracie. Thanks to you, there won't be any problems with going to find Jiggly."
Actually, Amelia had been so focused on talking about Presia to the high priests that she hadn’t thought of a reason to go to Chilture to find the slime.
That’s why she was genuinely relieved that Gracie had provided the reason on the spot.
"You really talk well for a spellcaster, huh? Even better than Ventus, maybe?"
"N-No! Compared to Sir Ventus, I’m still... still nowhere near his level!"
'But "spellcaster"... wasn’t that a term used long ago to belittle wizards?'
"But even as I was saying it, I felt so guilty toward the high priests. Even if it was at Saintess Presia’s request, to tell such an outright lie like that..."
"What can you do? She fell so hard in late-blooming love she couldn’t stop herself. Hehehe, I bet by now she’s realized how overboard she went and is holding her head in her hands. Though, knowing her personality, she might hold her head but she’d never regret her actions."
At least, everyone here agreed on one thing: that Presia would never regret her actions.
That’s how shocking it was when the saintess declared she would become an undead herself.