Zenon declared that this time he would truly follow me, pushing away his master.
The Imperial Palace, unable to find grounds to detain Zenon, readily accepted his departure from the palace.
"Please don't scare me like that."
Zenon, checking his bag to see if the magic stones he had carefully packed were still there, suddenly spoke.
Seeing the magic stones, he seemed to recall what had just happened.
At his face full of grievance as he looked at me, I opened my eyes wide and retorted.
"When did I scare you?"
"You scared me so much, saying I would lose my magic."
"When did I say you would lose it? I asked if you weren't afraid of losing it."
Despite my protest, Zenon still wore a sullen expression. Though he had been composed when actually providing the guarantee, now that everything was over, the matter seemed to have struck him as terrifyingly real.
I shook my head at such a Zenon and turned away. The events from the hall moments ago brushed through my mind.
「God's Resurrected One...」
「Oh! One chosen by God!」
My words about being a resurrected one chosen by God were naturally proven true. Zenon's magic had also survived intact.
I had worried something might go wrong since Zenon added that bit about being a blessed person at the end, but fortunately, the concerns I had did not come to pass.
The Emperor wore a strange expression, and the nobles lavished praise. The people of Roam had expressions as lifeless as glass dolls, and Lilia stood with a pale, bloodless face as if she might collapse at any moment.
Perhaps because my identity was confirmed through the Magic Tower's guarantee, which is relatively commonly used, rather than an ambiguous divine oracle?
Those who had feared I might be a monster now all seemed to accept me as God's apostle.
'If I had known this would be so effective, I would have tried it much sooner.'
Thinking that, I glanced around. The knights of Roam who said they would bring a carriage to take us to the Lindea River were not yet visible.
Were they building a carriage?
As I was about to cross my arms from a mischievous thought, I sensed a presence behind me.
"I didn't expect to confirm God's blessing in this manner."
Along with Samuel, Moriko was approaching. I thought he had already left since he quickly exited the hall.
Moriko, meeting my gaze, smiled gently and bowed in a proper posture.
"I am Moriko, a priest who serves God. I am truly pleased to meet the Resurrected One again like this."
"Again?"
Muttering as I chewed on the subtle nuance, Moriko nodded and answered.
"Yes. You probably don't remember our first meeting. The Resurrected One at that time had your head separated from your neck."
Ah, that's why the name Moriko sounded somewhat familiar...
"So you were that high priest who recovered my body."
"Yes."
"...I don't think I expressed my gratitude regarding that. Thank you for recovering my body."
After all, thanks to gathering my body parts that were rolling around separately, I may have been resurrected intact. For now, I politely offered my thanks.
At that, Moriko opened his eyes wide. He was surprised as if he had heard something unexpected.
"You've found composure in the time we haven't met. That's a relief."
"Pardon?"
"I remember the Resurrected One being very sensitive when you opened your eyes at the Grand Temple."
I tried to recall myself when I woke up at the Grand Temple.
That time when I tried to shake off those around me through outrageous behavior. When I tried to silence the gossiping mouths even through self-harm.
Certainly, at that time my nerves were sharply honed. It felt like enemies were teeming everywhere, and voices mocking me seemed to come from the darkness.
The scar on my neck was grotesque, and my resurrected body was horrifying.
'Right, that was how it was.'
...Right, that was how it was.
"Zenon! You rascal!"
I, who had been immersed in subtle sentiment, suddenly looked up. Zenon's master, the Magic Tower Lord, whom Zenon had shaken off from the hall, was approaching this way, huffing and puffing.
The Tower Lord, who seemed to be heading straight for Zenon, stopped when he discovered Moriko.
With fury in both eyes, he pointed at Moriko with his staff.
"I won't forget that you dragged my precious disciple into this."
At the threatening words, Moriko sighed in a low voice.
"Cesian, let's not bring up the past where you hid the Resurrected One and denied it during this incident."
"Who hid anyone and denied it?"
"Who else but your precious disciple."
Saying that, Moriko glanced at Zenon. Zenon, who had been pretending as much as possible that it wasn't about him, flinched preemptively and turned his back on Moriko.
At Moriko's words, the Tower Lord, Cesian, struck his own chest.
"Oh my, to have such misfortune with a disciple in my later years!"
At his figure complaining to the empty air about his lack of fortune with disciples, Zenon coughed politely and said.
"You're positively overflowing with the vibes of an old man..."
"Shut up, you brat! Shut up!"
Thud, thud!
The staff cut through the air, and the sound of breaking wind was sharper than the north wind itself.
"Ah, ah! It hurts! Did you make this staff out of steel, why is it so hard!"
Though making crying sounds, seeing how he was taking all the swings from the flailing staff, this didn't seem to be the first or second time such a thing had happened.
And most likely, getting hit like that was the only way Cesian's anger would dissipate.
[Tsk. This male is only learning the trick of avoiding vital spots.]
[He's a bright kid, I tell you.]
The wolves, who had been wagging their tails and walking alongside, exchanged affectionate conversation while watching Zenon get beaten by his master.
I somehow felt I understood how Zenon usually lived at the Magic Tower.
"Wizards are truly, light and noisy creatures."
Moriko, who had approached beside me at some point, quietly spoke.
"Still, sometimes they overflow with energy and are pleasant to watch. It's just regrettable that this is only true when seeing them occasionally."
From his bold personality that would collect unrotting corpses alone, he was extraordinary.
I glanced at Moriko, who seemed to have an unusual personality no less than Cesian. After watching Cesian kindly swinging his staff and Zenon getting beaten for a while, he turned his body.
"My business is finished, so I should return to the temple now. Please take good care of our Sir Samuel."
At those words, Samuel, who had been quietly guarding behind Moriko all this time, took a step forward and opened his mouth.
"You're leaving already?"
"My duty ends here. More importantly, I heard from the High Priest. That you received the mission to guide the Resurrected One, isn't that surprising and something to be grateful for? Please do your utmost."
Samuel bowed his head stoically. Moriko, who returned the greeting to him, looked back at me and likewise offered his greeting.
"I will pray that God's grace always reaches the path ahead of the Resurrected One."
Only after Moriko left with his farewell did the Tower Lord's beating stop.
From how enthusiastically he had swung the staff, Cesian's face was quite flushed. Though panting and occasionally pouring out abusive language toward Zenon, he barely caught his breath and straightened his back.
"So, you're saying you won't return to the Magic Tower?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
"What did this brat do right that he's answering back so confidently...!"
The staff rose once more, but this time another wizard who had come along desperately hung onto Cesian's arm, so it wasn't swung.
Cesian, perhaps lacking even the strength to shake off the clinging person, lowered his arm with a groan.
"I told you not to get involved with me."
Grumbling and glaring at Zenon, he suddenly looked back at me.
I don't know if this is an appropriate expression, but Cesian's face right now was exactly that.
'The face of a parent looking at a wicked friend who led their model, kind, and upright child down a bad path.'
After my notoriety grew, it was a face I often saw when visiting the households of those I considered friends.
After seeing that face, the relationship was invariably severed.
"I understand that God chose you, but can you really resolve this monster incident?"
"...Yes."
"Without my foolish disciple somehow ending up bearing responsibility for this?"
Cesian's eyes were full of suspicion. Whether I was truly God's Resurrected One or not didn't seem very important to him.
His greatest concern seemed to be Zenon's safety. Fortunately, that was something I was concerned about as well.
"Such a thing will not happen."
Though I answered calmly, it seemed I hadn't earned Cesian's trust. Cesian continued speaking in a still dubious voice.
"Do you know what kind of monster appeared there? You're not even a wizard, if some ferocious wyvern appears, can you even hold a sword with those thin wrists?"
A wyvern wasn't ferocious. Rather, if anything, it was kind and cheerful.
I wanted to correct his wrong knowledge, but I couldn't bring myself to go that far. To do so, I would have to reveal the source of the correct knowledge.
I was just keeping my lips tightly pursed with a sour expression when Zenon quietly interjected into the conversation.
"Why would a wyvern appear? There were no wyverns in that river."
"What do you know that you're butting in?"
"If I don't know, will Master teach me?"
"Why should I teach you! Why would I teach this disobedient catfish-like brat who's so cute!"
It seemed Cesian was truly upset.
Zenon didn't even blink at the reproaches that poured out without fail. Instead, he spoke in a calm voice.
"Based on the circumstances, we're presuming it's a corrupted fairy."
"A corrupted fairy?"
His master hesitated. Rubbing his chin and sinking into thought for a moment, he narrowed his eyes.
Zenon, observing Cesian's complexion, added words gently as if casting a fishing line.
"The books said it was a corrupted fairy."
"If it's a corrupted fairy, it must be a Rusalka!"
Zenon's master took the hook quite easily.
Not even five minutes had passed since he shouted that he wouldn't tell him.
It was also a moment where I could somewhat understand where Zenon's slow and composed personality originated from.