The Paladin's Report, A Return, and a Surprise Measurement
Michael had finished his report on the events from the Distortion Dungeon in Irene’s place.
Immediately after, the detailed content of Michael’s report was compiled and sent to the Document Storage.
The Document Storage always shared reports with anyone who rushed forward to see them first, as it always did for record-keeping.
Naturally, the paper also arrived for Irene.
“Hmm…”
The report compiled from Michael’s account was extremely detailed. But.
“Things are left unsaid.”
Among them, the first thing that caught her eye was the monster that had imitated Michael’s appearance.
In this Distortion Dungeon, multiple unregistered species of monsters had been observed that had never been reported before.
The writhing tentacles without a core, which had slaughtered people, with no way to locate their main body.
They had been seen by others besides Michael, so relatively detailed data existed.
But the gray Michael that Irene and Michael alone had seen was nowhere written.
“Fine, you’re saying not to tell, aren’t you?”
Irene did not know why Michael had not mentioned the monster’s existence in the Fortress, but if that was what he wanted, she herself saw no need to insist.
While continuing to read the report, Irene’s gaze paused.
“To the lake inside the dungeon where water can be secured, moved to purify and rest…”
It was not entirely wrong.
But writing it so briefly in one line after all that had happened there.
“It’s not like you’re supposed to report in detail…”
Feeling that Michael was more brazen and skilled at dodging than she had thought, Irene rose from her seat.
During that time, while claiming to rest, she had stayed only in the room, but now that Michael’s report was finished, it seemed time to head out and explore a bit.
“Things to check…”
Irene went to a corner of the room and picked up the dagger Michael had used in the dungeon. Michael had handed it back to her when leaving the dungeon.
“Clearly… it’s reduced.”
When she had first bought it at the auction, the scabbard had been full of scratches.
But now, compared to when she first received it, the number of scratches had clearly decreased.
Irene’s gaze, still on the dagger, moved to the ring on her finger.
The ones that had come looking for partners as if they were pairs, even grabbing Irene.
If the ring and the dagger were made of the same material with similar properties.
“The ring’s scratches have decreased every time my purification rank rose.”
So perhaps the dagger had changed for some reason and lost its scratches.
Irene retrieved the paper the Hand of Appraisal had written on before and tucked it away.
Thinking as she did.
“Scar… one more time.”
* * *
As Irene entered the building of the Fortress, everyone inside stopped what they were doing and looked at her.
Even when she had obtained the Remedy of the Nameless before, the gazes had rained down on her.
Perhaps because of that, she could handle it more composedly now… but.
“Lady Irene, you’ve come.”
“Hm?”
Normally, Irene was not called with the honorific “Lady,” but this time, even fairly high-ranking people from the Fortress bowed their heads repeatedly to greet her.
The staff of the Appraisal Room, who had become somewhat familiar, now treated her with far greater politeness than before.
Even…
“So you wish to have this appraised once more? Please hand it over. I will finish the appraisal right away.”
If it had been before, she would have said it was a waste of time and money to appraise the same thing again, and to stop being troublesome.
But now, she was treated as if she were the most precious guest inside the Fortress.
It was not the only surprise.
“And do not worry about the cost. Since you use it so often, even once or twice, we can just do it for free.”
Free inside this Fortress?
It was the first time she had heard such words in both this life and the previous one, and Irene was genuinely surprised.
Anyway, the staff accepted the dagger, ignored the other things waiting for appraisal, and let her use the Hand of Appraisal first.
The Hand of Appraisal, after setting the dagger down, came back as if meeting an old friend, wiggling happily.
Even dancing with all seven fingers.
Then it soon returned to where the paper was, picked up the pen, and moved its fingers.
The staff, expecting something different this time, soon wore a disappointed face.
This time too, because the Hand of Appraisal had written unreadable characters.
“Again the same result. Did you bring anything else from the Distortion Dungeon?”
“Nothing like that. More importantly, give me that paper.”
Irene received the paper the Hand of Appraisal had written.
She planned to take it back and check if there were any differences from last time.
Then she noticed the Hand of Appraisal stacking things in front of it on the table behind the Fortress staff.
“Is this all artifacts?”
“No. These are fragments of unregistered monsters and plant samples obtained from this Distortion Dungeon.”
“Does the Hand of Appraisal appraise even these?”
“Yes. We usually borrow power when first confirming unregistered species. Not all of them, but sometimes we write something. You know, like the Cerulean grass that comes out from dungeons. The sky-blue grass. It says the Hand of Appraisal noted that chewing and swallowing it temporarily improves eyesight.”
At those words, Irene looked at the Hand of Appraisal.
Thinking it only appraised artifacts, she did not expect it had such a trick.
“So if I appraise a monster…”
“Clear results are not always produced, but when the monster is large, it sometimes tells how far it can grow, what type of poison it uses. Sometimes it even tells what it caught and ate just before….”
Leaving behind the staff who explained in a very kind and detailed manner unlike before, Irene exited the Appraisal Room.
Even after coming out, it was not comfortable. Many people ran up to her and talked to her every time she passed, because they were all far kinder and gentler with Irene than before.
“It’s not bad…”
Why did she not like this situation at all?
Irene had been lost in thought for a moment and soon found the answer.
The way the Fortress people treated her now was the same as the way they had treated Princess Cecilia in the past.
“So the princess’s power has really decreased a lot.”
Even if she had many troubles, she would have thought it impossible to turn her back so easily.
Irene turned her head and looked toward Princess Cecilia’s lodging far away.
Before, the room with windows wide open and people passing through would have been seen, but now the windows were firmly closed.
* * *
The next place Irene went was the Holy Temple.
There too, it was not much different from the Fortress.
“Lady Irene!”
The faces she was familiar with, because she had been coming and going for sword training before entering the Distortion Dungeon, welcomed her happily.
“Are you here to meet Sir Michael? He has not returned yet. I will send word to the Fortress soon…”
“No, I am not here to meet Michael. I simply came to have my purification power measured.”
“My purification power?”
Irene nodded and looked at the Remedy of the Nameless on her finger.
Compared to before entering the Distortion Dungeon, the scratches on the Remedy of the Nameless had clearly decreased.
“That means my purification power has changed again.”
Actually, that was strange.
Before entering, even with only the purification from kissing Michael and body contact, she had risen from 10th rank to 8th rank.
“But this time it was much deeper contact…”
Thinking that, Irene could not help but laugh.
Calling the time with Michael in the dungeon deeper contact. How could that be different from what Michael had written about purifying and resting.
“Lady Irene!”
At that moment, Bariel appeared. The priestess who had measured Irene’s purification power at Michael’s request last time.
“You wish to have your purification power measured again.”
“Yes. Inside the dungeon, because I was meeting monsters frequently and purifying, I thought it had risen a bit more…”
Though they could not know what Irene and Michael had done, she explained it awkwardly as an excuse.
“I understand. Please sit here for a moment.”
Bariel seated Irene on the chair and stood behind her.
“Then I will measure.”
Warm energy soon enveloped Irene.
“Ninth or eighth rank would be easy to rise, but anything higher would be difficult… if I’m truly lucky, sixth rank? Or perhaps it will just end at seventh?”
As Irene was thinking that, Bariel murmured in a trembling voice.
“Fourth rank…?”