Don’t Be Holy! - Chapter 90

“But it wasn’t me, it was Magnus Shinote who did that.”

Eir muttered, sounding wronged. Chrome hesitated for a moment before replying, “Well, that may be true, but…….”

“But it’ll take some time for that to come to light, won’t it? Probably…… after you’ve been captured and executed?”

He added this while giving Eir’s shoulder a half-hearted pat, as if to console her, though his tone was far from comforting.

Eir’s face crumpled, and she bit her lip. The situation was worse than she had thought. This wasn’t the time to be fooling around with Rubel Shinote. She needed to escape before reinforcements arrived.

‘And in the end, Rubel told Petro, the priest, that I’m a witch.’

He had acted like he hadn’t told anyone.

But it seemed that was all a lie. He had just let strangers misunderstand while revealing her true identity to those close to him.

She had known he was like that, but for some reason, it still felt disappointing. The marks he had left on her neck last night now felt uncomfortably itchy.

Eir absentmindedly scratched her collarbone before suddenly snapping out of it and grabbing Chrome’s arm.

“Then let’s go. Quickly.”

“Huh?”

“You said reinforcements are coming to capture me. You can use that teleportation spell or whatever, right? Let’s go.”

Why hadn’t she realized sooner that Chrome, her savior and benefactor, was more important than Rubel Shinote?

She felt regretful. Eir looked up at Chrome with a desperate expression, her face saying, ‘I’ll do anything.’

But Chrome gently pulled his hand away from her grip, looking apologetic.

“Sorry, but that’s not possible.”

“Why?”

“Well, I’m not invincible either. I’ve already teleported twice over such long distances. I’m practically on the verge of collapsing.”

“Can’t you at least get us off this island? If not, how long do we have to wait?”

At that, he turned around and leaned against the railing, his expression subtly changing as he put some distance between them.

“And you seem to be misunderstanding something……, I don’t necessarily have to help you, do I?”

“Huh?”

Eir was taken aback by Chrome’s sudden change in attitude. Just moments ago, hadn’t he said he came here because he was worried about her?

Of course, when they first met, Eir hadn’t expected any help from him either. He didn’t seem like the type to go out of his way to help others.

But back in the carriage, hadn’t he said, “I’m a traitor too.” and actively helped her save Rubel, creating a sense of camaraderie?

And he had followed her here because he was worried…….

Right? Or was he not worried about her? What was he worried about then?

As Eir grew confused, Chrome’s expression softened again.

“Of course, I want to help you. But honestly, this situation where one thing leads to another, and then another…… it’s a bit burdensome, you know?”

He shrugged, and his black hair swayed slightly despite the rain. His cool demeanor affected Eir, and she finally understood what he was saying.

Right. That made sense. Even if she ran away now, the reinforcements wouldn’t just give up and stop chasing her. Eir would end up in danger again, and if he helped her this time but couldn’t the next, or if he refused now, it would be the same for him.

Of course, for Eir, it was a matter of life and death.

Eir slumped her shoulders and replied.

“Yeah. I get what you’re saying. So? What do you want to do?”

Chrome felt grateful for Eir’s quick understanding and let out a sigh of relief.

Even if Eir had broken down and refused to accept the situation, he would have had to calm her down and persuade her. Though Eir probably thought the opposite.

He cleared his throat briefly and continued.

“Well, I think we need to address the root of the problem. Right now, you’re under a spell that’s blocking your divine power. Ultimately, we need to break that spell so your divine power can return, and then we can clear up the misunderstanding that you’re a witch.”

“How do you know all that?”

Her eyes filled with suspicion again. Even if he was a witch, he hadn’t been there when the spell was cast, and she hadn’t told him anything. How did he know all this?

But Chrome remained calm and answered without hesitation.

“Well, I’ve met Hecate too. Don’t you think Hecate had a reason for creating that spell? You don’t actually believe she made it to destroy the Divine Empire, do you?”

He scolded Eir, as if he’d be deeply disappointed if she even slightly believed that.

Eir furrowed her brow at the unexpected turn of the conversation and took a step back. The rain poured down heavily, splashing onto the railing and soaking her clothes.

“Then…… is it because of me?”

Her voice trembled as she asked. Chrome muttered, “You’re not as dumb as I thought.” and nodded.

“Yeah. Why else would she make something like that? Hecate’s lifespan was set from that point on, and all she worried about was you. She said a fool like you might reveal your divine power at any moment.”

Eir flinched at his words. They sounded exactly like something Hecate would say. Chrome continued in a firm tone, as if he wasn’t telling a single lie.

“But when she was halfway through creating the spell, she realized it could have a huge impact on the war between witches and the Divine Empire. Or rather, she didn’t expect the witches from Alphadem to find out about the spell she was making.”

Eir fell silent for a moment.

Too many questions swirled in her head. What did he mean by Hecate’s lifespan being set? Why had Hecate made such a spell without consulting her? How had the Alphadem witches found out about it?

But she realized this wasn’t the time to ask all those questions, and even if she did, Chrome probably wouldn’t give her straightforward answers. So she kept her mouth shut.

Now she understood why the witch who was friends with Chrome and Hecate had disliked her from the start. They blamed her for Hecate’s death.

Even if it wasn’t true, hearing this story made Eir feel that way. Was it because of me?

Stupid. So stupid.

The blade of self-blade cut deeply into her again. Sensing Eir’s mood shifting toward self-reproach, Chrome stepped closer, trying to lighten the mood.

He slapped her back hard enough to make a loud sound.

“Hey, you don’t need to dig that deep into it. It is what it is. I wasn’t going to say anything, but since you doubted me, I had to explain. Anyway, you understand and agree, right? You need to break that spell.”

“But how do I break it?”

Eir stepped further away from him, rubbing her back where his hand had landed. When she asked, Chrome replied as if it were no big deal, and as if she shouldn’t be scared.

“Sleep with Rubel Shinote.”

Eir’s face went blank at his straightforward words.

“What?”

It felt like someone had slapped the back of her head. Chrome looked at her as if he hadn’t said anything difficult and repeated himself.

“To break a spell, you just need to reverse it. If it’s a curse that prevents you from drinking water, you break it by drinking water. It’s about breaking the contradiction, something like that.”

Got it?

He paused briefly to check Eir’s expression, but she was still half in shock, so he just continued.

“Anyway, your spell prevents you from using divine power, so you just need to use divine power. To do that, you can simply sleep with someone who has divine power and share their energy through bodily fluids. Then, once you’ve replenished your energy, you can use it.”

As soon as Eir heard this, one thought came to mind.

It wasn’t, “But Rubel Shinote can’t get it up?” or “Didn’t I confirm last night that s-x is impossible?” Instead, it was, “If the situation were reversed.”

If Rubel Shinote had been under such a curse, he would have been cured last night after drinking her fluids all night.

Lucky him.

But I’m screwed.

What a ridiculous thought.