Full Crown

It was morning of the next day and we are currently having our breakfast. We will continue the meeting after we eat, but I am expecting it to be a short one since it looks like Clare won’t be able to bring herself to agree to the plan. Looking at her condition today, she seems down and doesn’t have any appetite. It seems like she listed out every pros and cons of her answer and it drained her out, giving her not enough time to have a good rest.

“Clare, are you okay?” (Crystallis)

“Crystallis? Yeah somehow, it’s just that, my decision will affect everyone here so I’m just brooding over it.” (Clare)

“Don’t think too much about it, just say no if you want to say no. We will support you until the end, right guys?” (Rufus)

“Yeah. Just say the word Clare. We will be happy to accompany you whichever you choose.” (Flora)

“Just don’t push yourself too much, we will think of another way. I’m sure there will always be some other way to defeat it.” (Dolph)

“Sir Dolph is right Miss Clare. Whatever you decide, it is our responsibility to cover for you. The church won’t tie you down, so you don’t have to carry all the weights upon your shoulder.” (Saintess)

“Miss Saintess?!” (Clare)

“Good morning Miss Clare.” (Saintess)

The Saintess is really something, popping out of nowhere. Even Rufus was shocked to not felt her presence until she said something. She is someone who shouldn’t be underestimated even though she’s always has that friendly smile on her face.

“What are you doing here Miss Saintess? Shouldn’t you be on your tent, having breakfast and waiting for the time of the meeting?” (Frederick)

“It’s boring inside the tent with no one to talk to. And it’s much more lively here, so I prefer if I can accompany all of you every once in a while, even if it is just our time here in the dungeon.” (Saintess)

“You’re always welcome here Miss Saintess. Maybe we should do some more girls talk later, even if it just for a moment!” (Flora)

“I would love that! I never really had someone to talk to inside the church ever since I became the Saintess, so it would be a pleasure if you all could be my friend.” (Saintess)

“Sure! We will be friends from now on!” (Flora)

“Flora! Don’t say that so casually! I’m sorry Miss Saintess.” (Clare)

“It’s okay Miss Clare. I am also happy to have a friend like Flora, so please don’t get mad. And I also like to be your friend, if that’s okay with you?” (Saintess)

“Well, umm… I…” (Clare)

“Clare, it’s rude to reject the Saintess you know?” (Flora)

“Well… Okay, please take care of me from now on.” (Clare)

“Please take care of me too, from now on.” (Crystallis)

“Yes! It would be my pleasure. Please take care of me too. You too Miss Rosa.” (Saintess)

“Ehh?! Can I also be your friend?!” (Rosa)

“Of course Miss Rosa. It would be my pleasure.” (Saintess)

“Then, please take care of me.” (Rosa)

“Congratulations leader! You made friends other than us!” (Lyra)

“That’s uncalled for!” (Rosa)

Everyone shared a laugh at our area. It looks like she did it on purpose to lessen the heavy atmosphere and worry of Clare. She really fits to be a Saintess, and it looks like this isn’t her first time doing something like this. And then the time for the meeting came and we all moved to the meeting room.

“So now let’s hear your answer first Miss Clare. Will you join us now or not?” (Priest 1)

“I have been thinking about it since last night. At first I don’t want to do it since I am not worthy of this sword, the rightful owner of the ‘White Sword: Albus’ is actually my brother, or supposed to be but…” (Clare)

“Miss Clare…” (Saintess)

“I guess I am just running away from my own responsibility. Feeling guilty because of my awakening as a Paladin and taking the opportunity away from him. But I will face this challenge now, I am done running away since I have my friends here with me to help me. So yes, let’s proceed. I will join you in defeating that monster.” (Clare)

“Miss Clare. I’m really happy with your decision. Let’s both do our best from now on.” (Saintess)

“Yes! Thank you Miss Saintess.” (Clare)

A sweet smile deprived of the worries she was having was seen in her face. Lightening up the mood in the meeting room and bringing up a sense of reassurance that we can really defeat the monster.

The meeting started right after that scene. The plan is to corner the monster first and trap it so that it won’t have anywhere to go. Then, the Saintess, her entourage, and Clare will pour their mana in the crystal that the Saintess showed us to activate the magic of the first Saintess. It is called the ‘Tears of Memory’, a tear shaped magic stone tool that can read the records of the past through a suitable medium, and the chosen medium was the Saintess Divine Scepter.

With the help of the ‘White Sword’, the amount of mana that is needed to activate the ‘Tears of Memory’ will lessen since in will act as a conductor that will absorbed the excess mana that dissipates during the casting period. And the main group will take the lead in restraining the said monster, with the help of the other adventurers as guard for the places that we can’t cover. While the soldiers from the church will act as a support and erect a barrier that is strong enough to block the shock, debris and stray magic that will fly out after the activation of the magic. The only problem is, we need to be fast enough to get inside the barrier before the magic even hits our enemy. So, slow decision making will only bring us fatal injuries or worst, it could even lead to our deaths.

“Are you all okay with this plan?” (Saintess)

“If it is the most plausible way to defeat that monster, then we won’t have any rejection.” (Rufus)

“Same here! The only thing we need to do is never die!” (Molaris)

“If it is what we have to do, then we just have to do it.” (Rosa)

“Just don’t blame us if we have to run away when we feel like we can’t do it okay?” (Cassius)

“It’s okay, as long as we can kill the monster.” (Saintess)

“Good. That’s all we need.” (Cassius)

“How about you Sir Adrienne?” (Saintess)

“I will do, what I have to do.” (Adrienne)

“Thank you.” (Saintess)

“Okay! Begin the preparations, we will now attack the tenth stage! Dismissed!” (Priest 2)

Then we all began to prepare for the upcoming battle. And shortly after we packed our things, we strode towards the broken door and descend to the tenth stage.