Chapter 132: Guideline

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

---

“Mom, actually…”

I detailed everything that happened since I snuck out of the mansion early this morning.

Along the way, El and Ashera added some points for clarity, and I believe we explained it quite well.

“…So, all the commotion surrounding the Goblin Emperor has come to an end.”

Mom’s eyes seemed lifeless, as if she were staring into the void. Reboot in progress. —NOW LOADING—

After a while, it seemed the reboot was complete as Mom furrowed her brow and began to speak.

“So, the ‘proof’ was taken and the Goblin Emperor escaped, right?”

“I can only speculate, as I lost consciousness, but yes, I believe he escaped.”

“Will he come back to attack again?”

“I think it should be fine. I’ve formed new contracts with the mana spots. Even if he’s alive, he won’t have any power.”

“I see… So, it’s really over now?”

“Yes.”

Mom seemed genuinely relieved. She slumped into her chair, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. Her demeanor was that of the usual ‘Ice Queen’ when she was at her lowest.

I returned to my room with Ashera.

“Ashera, about your arm, I think we should go to the capital and have a skilled healing mage fix it.”

Ashera seemed dissatisfied with my suggestion, furrowing his brow.

“I want you to fix it, Aldo.”

“There’s a high chance I’ll fail. If I do, we’ll have to amputate your arm each time.”

“I’ve heard from my master. Even skilled healing mages find it difficult to completely restore limbs.”

“…”

“If Aldo can’t do it, then I’ll give up. Please, Aldo…”

“…Alright.”

And so, I found myself tasked with repairing Ashera’s arm. I wanted to start right away, but considering the risk of failure and the possibility of amputation, I needed a clean environment.

I headed to the office to check on the progress of the bath materials Roland had procured. Ashera seemed to have depleted his mana, as he fell asleep in my room, so I left him there on the bed, making sure to lock the door, something I usually didn’t bother with.

In the office, Roland was predictably busy, filling in for Father’s absence and issuing various instructions to the servants to resolve the situation.

Roland must have heard from Mom that everything was over. He was issuing various orders to the servants to resolve the situation.

In the office, as expected, Roland was filling in for Father’s absence and issuing various instructions to the servants to resolve the situation, having likely heard from Mom that “everything was over.”

Though Roland seemed busy, bothering him with something as trivial as bath materials felt awkward…

But considering Ashera’s arm, I steeled myself and approached Roland.

“Roland, sorry to bother you while you’re busy. How are the bath materials coming along?”

Despite being busy, Roland didn’t show any signs of annoyance and kindly informed me of the progress.

“The buckets will take the longest. However, I’ve expedited the process, so everything should be ready in two days.”

Truly the “capable man.” I thanked Roland and excused myself from the office.

Now, all that’s left is soap… I vaguely remembered receiving one each from Naga during our dungeon exploration.

Since my backpack was destroyed by the Emperor, I had lost mine, but they should be in Ashera’s and Mom’s backpacks.

I’ll have Ashera look for them once she wakes up. It wouldn’t be right to enter her room and rummage through her belongings without permission.

I’m quite tired too. I wanted to lie down for a bit, but Ashera is sleeping in my room.

It couldn’t be helped, so I intended to use the sofa in the living room to sleep…

But Mom and Halva were there. Given what happened yesterday, it was really awkward to face them, but there was no avoiding the conversation.

Feeling like my hands and feet might move involuntarily due to nerves, I slowly approached Halva.

“Halva, I tried to give up once… But I couldn’t. I promise to do my best to protect her. Please allow me to marry Ashera. I beg of you…”

Mom was beside us, but there was no time to pay attention to her. I desperately lowered my head and pleaded with Halva.

“Aldo-sama, Ashera told me. She said she’s willing to die for you. I myself was told by Grano-sama to ‘give her away’ when I married Lush. I suppose that’s what parents are like…”

“…”

“Please take care of Ashera…”

“!!”

“However, if you mistreat or make Ashera cry… Be prepared.”

“I’ll treat her well. I promise.”

“…”

“…”

“If that’s the case, I won’t say anything more…”

“Thank you.”

Finally, I bowed my head to Halva once more.

“Rafina-sama, I’ll take my leave now. Please take care of Ashera.”

“Leave it to me. I’ll protect Ashera with the name of the ‘Ice Witch.'”

This time, Halva bowed her head to Mom before leaving.

I wonder what Mom and Halva were talking about. It’s probably about me and Ashera, though.

“Al, sit there.”

“Yes, Mom…”

“I talked to Halva.”

“Yes…”

“Halva intends to marry off Ashera after this incident. As soon as Al turns 15, to be precise.”

“Yes.”

“He seems to have no doubts.”

“Both when we were 10 and now. I’ve been tested twice. I… I will marry Ashera.”

“I see. I’ll take care of the preparations.”

“…Please consult with Father and Roland… Please.”

“Why? Don’t you trust me?”

“…” (Of course I’m anxious. Who can I trust?!)

“…Well, fine. I’ll talk to Joshua and Roland.”

“Thank you.”

One problem solved at a time.

Now, the colossal issue of the “Apostle” remains, but I can’t imagine how to resolve it.

Will they even disclose the matter of the “Apostle”? If they do, we won’t be able to live our daily lives as we used to.

And if our domain is Blue Ring and the Magic Forest, is it okay to be away from there for an extended period?

There are too many things I don’t understand. I infused magic into the ring and summoned Aoi.

“Hmm? What’s up, Aldo? I thought you’d be resting.”

“I thought so too, but Ashera fell asleep in my room.”

“Oh, that’s convenient. Why don’t you plant your seed in her? It’s better to have lots of kids.”

“Wha–“

“Don’t be disgusting, Aldo. My beautiful fur might get dirty.”

“What are you…?”

“Aldo, since you’re going to be next in line with Ashera, right?”

“Well, we made a promise, but…”

“Then just take your turn now.”

“It’s not that simple… I mean, making babies is simple, but…”

“I don’t understand some of the things you say, Aldo. Well, whatever. If you don’t have anything else, I’ll leave, okay?”

“Just wait a moment. I’ve finally calmed down a bit. There are some things I want to ask you about.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll have to return to the capital in another month and a half. Is it okay to be away from the domain for so long?”

“It’s not okay, obviously. Aldo, you’re an Apostle. Managing the domain is part of your job.”

“I see… Would it be fine if either me or El were present?”

“Well… Honestly, I’ve never heard of there being two Apostles. I think one should suffice.”

“I see…”

As Aoi and I were conversing, Mom joined in.

“Aoi, is there no way for the Apostle to go outside without any problems?”

“An Apostle going outside… It’s not impossible.”

“Don’t beat around the bush. Just tell me.”

“You can create a temporary domain by using magic stones as makeshift Mana Spots. If you’re in this temporary domain, it’s okay to leave the two domains.”

“Magic stones… like those in dungeons?”

“Yes. Originally, dungeons are formed when the outlets of mana streams, mixed with impurities, break. When they grow too large and become uncontrollable, magic stones are formed.”

“I feel like I’ve heard of some historic discovery… Well, never mind.”

“However, it’s really temporary. Depending on the purity of the magic stone, it may disappear in less than a year.”

“In any case, we need to conquer a dungeon and obtain a magic stone.”

“Yes. By the way, do you want to stay near the capital?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, a dungeon near there would be good. Compatibility with magic stones may change with the land.”

“There’s compatibility?”

“Yeah, of course. For example, areas underwater tend to be more compatible with mana imbued with water’s properties.”

There was something I was curious about. Something I wanted to ask Aoi.

“Aoi, you said we could create a temporary domain with magic stones, right?”

“Yeah, I did. What about it?”

“…Could we create our own domain within an enemy’s domain if we have magic stones?”

“That’s… no, can we? Let me think… From the nature of magic stones…”

Aoi muttered to himself and delved into his thoughts. After about ten minutes, his eyes lit up.

“Aldo! We can do it. It might take about an hour, but we can create my domain within an enemy’s domain.”

“I see. We’ll need to gather a lot of magic stones.”

“Yeah. With five, I can provide my protection in five locations for five hours or one hour each.”

“Aoi, are you in a hurry to release Mana Spots? How much time do you actually have?”

“Even if Aldo’s life ends, the world won’t change immediately.”

“That’s the ‘future is bleak’ thing you mentioned before.”

“Yeah, currently, over half of the Mana Spots are contaminated by monsters. However, the actual effects won’t show up until over a hundred years later.”

“What kind of effects will there be?”

“Mana Spots influence each other. If you’re sandwiched between contaminated Mana Spots, the one in between may become contaminated more easily.”

“Isn’t it serious that over half of them are contaminated?”

“Yeah, the world will slowly collapse as if it’s being strangled.”

“It’s a huge responsibility…”

“Of course it is. You’re an Apostle.”

“Don’t say it’s easy…”

Our conversation with Mom and Aoi concluded for now. Honestly, I had my fill.

I sent Aoi back and lay down on the sofa. With the sensation of someone stroking my head, my consciousness gradually faded away.