I have revived!

Upon opening my eyes, the state of my body felt wonderfully perfect, to the point I could come up with a light joke about it. It’s not just a joke; I’ve genuinely been resurrected multiple times before, but those previous lives bring back memories I’d rather not dwell on, so let’s treat the joke just as a joke.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

The moment I woke up, a voice greeted me. I shifted my head slightly and saw Mariel sitting on a chair beside my bed, holding a rather thick book, as if she had been reading it just moments ago.

“Couldn’t I have just slept and woken up fine? You’ve been here the whole time?”

“It wasn’t just me; everyone was taking shifts like night watchmen. I was just reading this book.”

I wasn’t trying to peek, but from the contents and thickness of the book, it seemed to be a Bible. Well, I’m not sure if reading the Bible would give better insight into the Goddess’s will, but surely, if I got smacked by that book, I’d be sent straight to her side.

It’s no mere jest, as the Mariel I met again, unlike ordinary clergy, sometimes took a courageous step forward with her mace, using divine magic from behind to support the others. In the past, I would have stopped her for acting recklessly, but seeing her poised stance and the mace shining brightly with divine energy, I couldn’t help but fold that thought away.

Just yesterday, it felt like only a blink ago when she was jesting about swinging a sword in front of me at the Academy, and after just three years, her movements rivaled those of seasoned knights. At this point, instead of being chosen as a saint by Goddess Serena, she should have been selected as a hero, replacing either me or Selian.

Then again, remembering who her father is, it’s not surprising. As the head of the greatest merchant group on the continent, he could easily prioritize his own safety, but instead, he chose to put the stability of the public first; he is the Golden King, held in high esteem by all.

Of course, among the nobles, there are those who dislike him, but no one openly dared to oppose the Golden King, who is not just a simple guild leader but also one of the few Sword Masters in the Empire. Moreover, those corrupt nobles mostly overstepped boundaries, resulting in many heads rolling under my sword over the past three years.

Since the Sword Master known as the Golden King is her father, it’s no doubt that Mariel inherited his talents. She might have been close to swords since childhood. Though, considering her usual behavior and personality, she was likely closer to wealth than to swords.

In contrast, Yuli, who also had a Sword Master for a father, inherited none of his talent. At least this time around, unlike in my past life, Yuli has discovered her own talents, which is a stroke of good fortune.

“Still, being able to see the well-rested hero for the first time brings me some joy. You look fine on the outside, but let me just check you real quick.”

“Uh…”

Mariel reached out and placed her hand on my forehead, but apparently that wasn’t enough for her to feel certain, so she checked my nape to see if I had a fever or something.

“Yep. You seem completely fine. Since you’ve already had your bout of sickness, we just need to use a light divine magic for any unforeseen issues.”

Retrieving her hand from my nape, Mariel then clasped her hands together in prayer and closed her eyes. Contrary to her statement about simple divine magic, the light illuminating the room with divine energy spoke volumes of her piety and divine power.

Receiving her divine magic, I could tell I only felt slightly refreshed, meaning, as she said, my cold was already completely shaken off without needing divine intervention.

Grrr…

Maybe the activation of digestion from the divine magic caused a rather embarrassing noise to escape. Given that I had only this soup fed to me by friends during the entire day I was bedridden, it’s no wonder my body would demand some proper food.

“Good timing; it’s breakfast time, and everyone was just about to eat. Wait here a moment; I’ll tell them, so hurry up and wash up before coming out. Don’t forget to wipe off the sleep from your eyes.”

Once she exited the room, I did as she instructed and stepped into the bathroom to simply wash my face. Of course, it’s a secret that I also managed to secretly change my underwear and pants in a jiffy.

*

“So now, we’re going after one of the Four Heavenly Kings. The target is Vulcan, who’s rampaging in one of the frontlines.”

After filling my stomach with breakfast and before leaving the castle, I stood in front of my friends gathered in the room and spoke on behalf of everyone. Among the remaining Four Heavenly Kings excluding Lilith, he was the most active and the one we could charge at without much thought.

Unlike Lilith, who just holed up in her hideout, Keltus, who serves as an adviser to the Demon King’s Army, and Glen, who slowly expands his territory, Vulcan was painfully simple. He desires destruction and slaughter more than any demonic race and fills his own thirst for violence on the battleground, causing the most casualties.

However, the fact that such a simpleton is one of the Four Heavenly Kings is proof of just how strong he truly is. If I think back to my past life, he was the single adversary who made us struggle purely with brute strength. Considering how Selian and I have grown stronger over multiple lives, we had to be wary of him.

But regardless, he poses a risk we must deal with, and I trust my friends. As long as we’re together, I have no cause for concern. In fact, if I step up alone to keep them safe, it would only be a betrayal of my friends again.

“The battlefield can have numerous variables. Speaking of which, Yuli, being a soldier, probably knows best about war zones. Can you share any areas we should be cautious about?”

In the middle of my remarks, I called for Yuli to seek her advice.

During a meeting two days ago, I learned from a conversation with the Grand General that Yuli had been a soldier for the past three years. Given how much she impressed the Grand General, she must have had quite a significant role.

Since Yuli is more of an expert on the battlefield than I am, I sought her counsel.

“U-uh, what did you say?”

However, it seemed Yuli had been lost in thought, as she didn’t catch my question and asked me to repeat it. Although she answered well after I prompted her again, I couldn’t help but notice something off about her today.

I wondered if anything had happened and considered asking, but seeing Yuli return to her usual demeanor, I opted to stay quiet for now. If there was something she truly worried about, she would surely bring it up.

Yuli confidently explained the battlefield situation, standing forward while the others were focused. Behind her, Linne provided supplementary drawings on a large board, helping with Yuli’s explanation. Linne now perfectly embodied a physical form, completely shedding her ghostly demeanor, but since she remains a ghost at heart, she could easily choose to vanish at any moment like other ghosts do. It’s quite a convenient ability.

“I heard the nearest city to the battlefield where Vulcan was spotted is… probably Eldora?”

Eldora is the territory governed by Yuli’s family, House Atillea. Although there may be other cities or villages that are closer, the reason I mentioned Eldora is specific.

Despite its high setup costs and expensive fees that even high-ranking nobles only use in urgent situations, and cases where return trips are not possible depending on the city it’s established in, and even unbearable motion sickness for those unaccustomed, it is one of the few cities in the Empire equipped with a Teleport Gate.

Instead of spending days and weeks riding in a carriage from the capital to the battlefield where Vulcan was spotted, we could first use the Teleport Gate to head to Eldora, then take a carriage from there to the village closest to the front lines.

Even though the fees for our sizable party using the gate would be unimaginable by my financial sense, since it all comes from the Imperial budget and the Emperor’s pocket, it’s not something I need to worry about. After all, one of the party members is the daughter of the Golden King, who pays more taxes than anyone else in the Empire, and I’ve also done plenty for the Emperor to deserve this kind of treatment.

Moreover, since we’re not using it personally, our justification is clear. The nobles who look down on me would have nothing to say against it.

“That’s right….”

However, for some reason, Yuli’s face while she was answering seemed to be lost in thought again.