I Give Up on Conquering the Heroines chapter 70

70 – Partners(2)

Flutter.

On top of the spire of the Cologne city hall.

The national flag is raised on the right side of the main gate.

“It’s done……”

The important thing is just the location and height of the flagpole.

There is usually no particular meaning to the direction of the flagpole.

However, for Cornelia, the direction of the flagpole had a special significance.

From Noble mtl dot com

It was a promise with Eugene.

If the flag is raised on the left side, everything is normal.

If it’s on the right side, it meant there’s a risk of being found by the saint, so don’t approach.

And today, the saint was at city hall.

“You’re here.”

“Oh, oops. It’s dangerous here……”

Upon hearing the gentle voice from behind, Cornelia’s body jolted and trembled.

Jill Diner.

The saint of Hameln was on the rooftop, holding onto her swaying hair.

“Do you always raise the flag yourself?”

“Yes, it’s like the start of the day’s work.”

“That’s cool. I thought a mayor only sat at a desk and issued orders to subordinates.”

“hahahahaha……. I can count on one hand the number of reliable confidants I have.”

Cornelia quickly finished her lunch and dusted her hands off.

Her gaze was fixed on the towering national flag of the Holy Kingdom.

Then for a while, she couldn’t look away from the flag fluttering about in the wind.

Cornelia, who felt a momentary uneasiness, gently touched Jill’s shoulder.

“Let’s hurry down, it might be dangerous.”

“Heh. All right.”

Only then did Jill lower her head with a faint smile.

Cornelia, leading the Saint, started to descend the stairs, heading back inside.

She looked back in case the Saint would have trouble with the stairs, but her shoes were modest flats, not the towering heels.

‘Indeed, she’s quite different from the former Saints.’

Once, there were negative views towards the Saints.

Criticisms were always present, accusing the Saints of being merely faces proving the presence of the good deity, flitting about here and there at events.

However, Jill Diner was different.

Every important event, she always excused herself, stating the need to go to charity and medical support.

She stirred up much resentment by intervening and monitoring every ‘piety project’ (?), a task traditionally marked by corruption and misconduct by the officials.

Attempts of assassination against the Saint occurred whenever the opportunity presented itself, due to enemies formed in the process, but the Saint’s stubbornness could never be broken.

The Saint’s choice was right.

Day by day, her following force grew much larger than her envious enemies.

As such, she was no longer just the mascot of the Holy Kingdom.

She was proof that justice was alive and breathing in the world.

And she was evidence that a good deity existed.

“I’m truly grateful for your decision to give me your advice.”

“No, not at all. It would be an honor if my limited knowledge could be of help to you, Saint.”

Cornelia was to receive legal advice from such a Saint.

As she led the Saint to her seat and was pouring tea, she felt a sudden surge of unease.

‘Who on earth am I?

I’ve only studied law for a short while, so why did she choose me? I wondered.

‘Perhaps she’s subtly pressuring me…’

The situation was certainly strange.

The Saint came seeking advice to pursue Eugene.

That the person knew Eugene.

Cornelia wondered if such an absurd coincidence could exist.

Perhaps the saintess was subtly threatening her.

Quickly, call out Eugene’s location.

Upon this thought, Cornelia suddenly felt eerie.

“Sister, could you first tell me the details of the person you’re looking for?”

“Okay. His name is Eugene. He is a human, male, in his early twenties; about 180 centimeters tall with a thin figure, considering his height. If touched, his body feels sturdy, seemingly full of muscles. He has black hair with brown eyes. And…”

With each piece of information listed, Cornelia had to use all her strength to maintain her poker face.

She felt a chill.

Most were facts anyone could know if they met Eugene.

However, some information could only be known if one was extremely close to Eugene.

“What’s your relationship with him?”

“…”

Cornelia, with difficulty, opened her mouth to question.

More than anything else, she was most curious about what relationship Eugene had with the saintess.

A wandering mercenary and a saintess.

They seemed to be two people with no intersection at all.

“He’s someone I must find, someone I can’t live without. So much so that I would sacrifice anything to find him.”

“…”

Someone she can’t live without.

That was a very unfriendly response.

It offered absolutely no explanation about their relationship.

Realizing it was unlikely the saintess would reveal any more, Cornelia decided not to pry further.

“At least, we need to confirm that this person exists for the law to move. We should first try other investigation methods…”

“I’ve tried everything. From a complete survey to suspicions checks, and other forms of monitoring. I’ve exercised all the methods I could as a saintess. I have investigated every citizen under the papal jurisdiction at least three times, but I couldn’t find Eugene. He definitely continues moving without a trace or is somewhere in heretic jurisdictions. Now, it’s time to use methods beyond my authority as a saintess. That’s why I’m seeking your help as the deputy mayor.”

“…”

Cornelia was lost for words.

To go such lengths to find a person without any valid reason.

It was a clear abuse of power.

But there was no trace of regret in the eyes of the saintess.

‘What kind of weakness could he possibly hold…’

Eugene said that he had caught the flaw of the saint.

What kind of fatal weakness is it that has the saint striving so desperately to find him?

Cornelia swallowed a gulp due to the tension and continued her consideration.

“You’ve tried more than I thought. You’ve not even caught in total investigations or random checks. That means there’re no prominent ideas right now. It might be plausible if you cooperate more…”

“You’re asking for cooperation?”

“Please tell me more about this person, Eugene. We need to come up with a solution.”

“…”

She decided to proceed daringly.

This was the only way, she surmised, to learn about the relationship between the saint and Eugene.

Upon her request, the saint closed her mouth for a moment, then taking a sip of tea,

After a while sighed deeply before opening her mouth.

“Okay. I believe you are a discreet person. Eugene is someone special to me. To me, who has no family, he is very important,”

“…”

Cornelia felt her breath was being choked.

She had phrased it ambiguously as someone as important as a family.

But that was obviously talking about a lover.

The unthinkable was becoming a reality.

“But I made a mistake and hurt him. He hides his traces as if he does not want me to find him… I don’t know what to do. I want to find him and apologize, but Eugene doesn’t even give me a chance. I want to find him somehow and tell him I’m sorry. I want to mend our relationship, to go back… to our happy days…”

The saint spoke in a shaky voice, looking as if she was about to cry.

Cornelia had never seen the saint like this.

A saint who loved someone passionately and knew how to cry for love.

A human with selfish aspects in love.

This was quite a shock to Cornelia.

At the same time, Cornelia made a decision.

‘This woman cannot be the one.’

The saint should not be allowed to find Eugene.

‘She’s out of her mind.’

The meaning of hiding her traces and running away is clear.

He doesn’t even want to face her.

Anybody in their right mind would see it that way.

By now, it would be normal to give up.

One needs to admit that the relationship is over.

Yet, the saint was yearningly searching for Eugene as if she would run him down to death.

Eugene’s desperate fleeing made sense.

There could be no benefit in getting involved with such a woman.

‘Please give up. What Eugene needs is not a persistent woman like you, but a person who can make Eugene comfortable.’

Cornelia was briefly moved by her earnestness, but soon she hardened her resolve.

She couldn’t allow this woman to approach the man who had saved her life.

“Don’t worry too much. I have a few ideas.”

“Really?”

“Yes, we can find them soon. Just trust me.”

Cornelia gently grasped the lady’s hand, her face marked by a soft smile.

For Eugene’s happiness, she had to keep this woman at a distance.

Elvergard.

The massive cavern underneath the world tree.

Mia sat huddled in the ‘eye’ of the world tree, quietly concentrating.

‘Another prophecy?’

It had only been a few days since the last one.

The next prophecy was already on the horizon.

This was the third in quick succession.

Normally, there was a gap of one year between prophecies.

This was a notable anomaly.

‘I guess I will tell Eugene two of them.’

In Mia’s opinion, it was regrettable.

Eugene should hear as many prophecies as possible.

That would allow Eugene to visit Elvergard more often.

But it’s useless if a new prophecy comes down even before he hears the piled-up prophecies.

At least, she hoped it would come after he heard the previous prophecy.

Mia grumbled to herself like that, but took her interpretation seriously.

“Hmm?”

However, the prophecy of the World Tree soon came to a halt.

As silence engulfed the surroundings, Mia realized that something was amiss.

The air around her seemed to have chilled slightly.

“You are…”

“…”

And the moment she turned around.

There stood a figure cloaked in a hood, his face hidden.

This place, the eye of the World Tree, was under strict control of entry and exit.

There was no one else who could enter at will.

“Yulia…?”

“Heh. Ye, yes.”

The former deposed oracle.

Elvengard’s outcast.

Yulia Fetenburg lowered her hood, revealing her face.

“How did you get in here?”

“I, I managed to avoid the guards…”

Although she was no longer an oracle, her body had once been selected by the World Tree.

Therefore, as long as she avoided the eyes of the guards, the World Tree would not prevent Yulia’s entry, so she was able to come here without resistance.

“What’s going on? Were there any issues with the lifespan sharing method I taught you last time?”

“No, no. That, that’s not the problem…”

Yulia, unable to meet Mia’s eyes and stumbling over her words.

Although Mia had known her from childhood, it was still difficult to deal with her.

Certainly, before leaving Elvengard.

That is, even when handing over her position as an oracle, they seemed to laugh and chatter together.

From the moment she left Elvengard, she felt as if she had forgotten how to converse properly with people.

After she was isolated from the world for over 200 years in that state, her social phobia could only have worsened.

“I won’t…go on…anymore…”

She took a deep breath and exhaled.

Julia locked eyes with Mia directly.

She was still stumbling over her words, but the look in her eyes was firm.

It was not the figure of a socially awkward introvert.

The owner of Petersburg.

She wore the face of a cruel witch.

“The dungeon in the Underworld Tree. Where is the man who broke it?”

“……”

It was a cold sentence, spit out without a single stutter.

Mia’s body went stiff.

This was not a question.

It was a demand.

Julia was confidently demanding that Eugene be handed over.

Mia, who had been licking her lips shortly, opened her mouth.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“……”

Then, she deflected with a grin.

This man could potentially be a husband to a new maiden.

She couldn’t dare give him to a former maiden and a witch who had been dismissed.

“Julia, you…”

Julia’s expression twisted at Mia’s shameless behavior.

Indeed, Elbengard should have been burned and decimated back then.

Such regret swirled within Julia.