Don’t Be Holy! - Chapter 164

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Her body shook with a rattling sound. Eir hit the back of her head with a loud thud and only then woke from her brief sleep.

“Ugh…… I just can’t get any sleep at all.”

As they climbed the steep stone path, the small wooden cart kept shaking without pause. Since the group transporting Eir had been moving continuously with barely any sleep, Eir too had no choice but to stay awake with hardly any proper rest.

This laborious journey was completely different from her initial expectations. When Magnus had declared that he would personally take Eir with him, she thought it would be a fairly peaceful journey befitting a frivolous nobleman like him.

But once it began, reality was entirely different from her expectations.

It was such an exhausting schedule that even the faces of the knights had darkened, yet Magnus remained unfazed.

Since Eir no longer had any intention of hiding the fact that she was a priestess, she distributed divine energy to help with recovery to the struggling knights, partly to gain their favor.

People were confused at first, but later about half believed Magnus’s claim that it was fake divine power, while the other half believed Eir that she was a priestess who had fled for some reason.

Not that it mattered much, since there were only six people including Magnus—two who didn’t believe her, one who believed she was a priestess but said that being a runaway priestess was an even greater sin, and about two who felt sorry for her.

‘Lord Magnus becomes full of energy like that whenever he has alcohol, you know.’

Among them, Sir Gard, a knight who had become quite friendly with her, revealed Magnus Shinote’s secret. Indeed, Magnus had been constantly drinking alcohol since they started their journey.

Every day, the smell of alcohol was overwhelming whenever you got near him. Moreover, perhaps because Eir had once shown empathy by saying his story was ‘something one could fall in love with,’ he kept grabbing her to talk whenever he wanted to say something.

‘Well, since I’m going to be dragged to the witches anyway, I might as well listen to these kinds of stories.’

These conversations began with stories from his childhood and gradually became more diverse.

Eir didn’t avoid being near Magnus, arguing that she should at least be allowed to bathe since he smelled when she was next to him. As time went on, she even actively drew out stories by asking questions about things she was curious about.

That’s exactly what happened when she was suddenly summoned just now.

“What did I agree to receive from the witches, you ask?”

He squinted with his chin raised, his eyes unfocused from the alcohol, and asked back.

“Why are you curious about that?”

“Well, you’ve been using witch spells throughout our journey.”

That was the truth.

Throughout their journey, Magnus had kept receiving things from animals sent by witches to share their meeting points, and occasionally used teleportation spell.

It seemed like a tactic to deliberately transport them from one place to another randomly so they wouldn’t know exactly where they were. But judging from the direction of the setting sun and the shape of the constellations, it was certain that they were continuously heading somewhere northward where Albarm was located.

Magnus personally received communications from the witches and performed such magic himself. The knights turned a blind eye, averting their gaze while their master used the same magic as witches.

‘I have a sick child at home. A child who should have died long ago, in fact. But thanks to Lord Magnus’s kindness, the child lives. He arranged for monthly treatments from a priest.’

According to what Sir Gard had told her, it seemed the other knights were similarly indebted to Magnus.

That’s why they couldn’t say anything despite witnessing such behavior.

Just now, as soon as they had reached a fork in the road, a raven flew in from somewhere, and after reading the small note it delivered, Magnus shouted, “We go left!”

Magnus furrowed his brows and scrutinized her face, trying to discern her intention. Of course, such effort had long since disappeared due to his inferiority complex toward Rubel.

“What, are you worried I might use the gifts I received from the witches to harm Rubel?”

Every time he raised his chin, his unique expression with a reddened forehead from alcohol showed, which she honestly disliked. He looked arrogant and stupid.

That face made his words sound even more foolish. Besides, Magnus harming Rubel?