Chapter 25: Holy Lady, You’re Irreverent 

After a round of exorcism (physical).

During the climb to the 9th floor, Ellis kept popping up as if she were stamping her presence everywhere.

I considered filing a complaint about her reckless handling of releasing three bosses at once, but…

I decided to let it go, trusting that Sahanim would handle it swiftly if a similar situation arose again.

And so, today as well, on the 9th floor, 9th area…

……..It’s a bit frustrating how everything is divided into units of nine.

I should really get back to the routine of clearing one floor a day.

From the 11th floor onwards, aerial monsters start appearing, and navigation mechanics get added…

It’s going to be a hassle.

Anyway.

In Direna, I managed my ranking by using up five attacks, and today’s daily dungeon was a gold dungeon, where I reluctantly went to make up for the day’s losses.

So.

“Let’s call it a day! Good work, everyone. See you at the guild house tonight.”

“Yay! Johanna, wanna go shopping? What about you, Saha?”

“Sounds good, Ari. Let’s go.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll have to decline today. I need to return to the knight order.”

“Tina-meow! Don’t run away, you’re going to study-meow!”

“Eeek…!”

The heroes went off to enjoy their respective lives.

………Tina didn’t seem too happy, but well.

With great power comes great responsibility.

Hang in there, future shop manager!

***

“Phew.”

I spent all my remaining 500 points to build an alchemy workshop on the 2nd floor.

……..Now my points are back to zero.

But I heard that as the shop’s reputation improves, the rewards from daily quests increase.

If I keep developing it, spring will come.

And.

“Hehehe…”

This splendid alchemy cauldron.

It will secure my bright future.

In the original Last Felix, alchemy was an essential system for obtaining scarce items.

It could create tokens of lacking attributes from surplus ones.

It could synthesize affinity items from materials obtained from monsters.

It could combine various materials to create rare items or magical equipment that couldn’t be made in the forge.

Moreover, as the workshop level increased, it could enchant heroes’ equipment, create magical potions for temporary boosts…

It was truly the core of the core.

And,

“I’ve played this game before!”

For some reason, I felt like shouting that line.

That’s right.

I’m a transmigrator!

A man who has memorized most of the alchemy recipes!

That’s me!

Moreover.

Even materials that shouldn’t be obtainable at this stage of the tower.

Thanks to our shop’s customers selling them in small quantities, our shop was overflowing with all kinds of materials.

I shouted down to the 1st floor.

“Tina? Let’s organize the warehouse.”

Tina came up the stairs, sniffling and whimpering.

You chose the path of a shop manager.

Endure it, no matter how tough it gets.

“…..?”

“I’ll cook you something delicious later.”

Taking the opportunity, I dumped all the materials I had been storing in my inventory into empty boxes.

It felt like the weight of my smartphone had slightly decreased.

And then, peeking over Tina’s shoulder as she diligently organized the warehouse while sniffling, I picked out a few things I had been looking for.

Fairy’s Tear Gem.

Something you could only get by defeating fairies in the 20s floors.

Phoenix’s Radiant Feather.

A drop from phoenixes in the 30s floors.

Ancient Golem’s Stilled Circuit.

Also from the 30s floors.

……..Where on earth are our unaffiliated heroes finding all these things?

Is there some kind of material utopia I don’t know about?

Anyway, after gathering a few things.

I lit the magical flame under the alchemy cauldron.

Whoosh.

A different kind of warmth from the forge’s heat enveloped me.

It’s hot, so let’s finish this quickly.

After pouring a few bottles of alchemy reagents unlocked with the alchemy workshop into the cauldron.

I threw in all the materials I had gathered and stirred with the alchemy ladle.

My arm’s getting tired.

Stir, stir, stir.

As I kept stirring, a beautiful magical glow began to shimmer from the cauldron.

“Ooh……!”

This radiant glow…………!

“Wow……..!”

Tina, who had been organizing the warehouse, came over and started watching with sparkling eyes.

Well, I can forgive her for slacking off a bit.

With care, I stirred and stirred.

And then.

Flash!

A huge burst of light erupted from the alchemy cauldron.

Come forth! The Phoenix’s Soul-Infused Ornament!

A rank 7 accessory obtainable through alchemy!

Comparable to a Gal■xy S3 in terms of brilliance… no, an accessory!

Sparkle, sparkle!

“Huh? Huh? Master! It’s dangerous!”

Tina screamed and yanked my hood, pulling me back just as.

Boom, crash─!

A massive explosion erupted.

And something, like a piece of stone, flew towards me.

Thud!

“—-!”

I lost consciousness with a final cry.

***

This kind of daily life isn’t so bad.

Led by Ari’s hand, wandering through the market.

Johanna enjoyed a rare moment of leisure.

She set aside the goddess’s power that was always active.

She left the equipment used in the tower at the guild house.

In ordinary, comfortable clothes, she felt the liveliness of the people with Ari.

“Look, Johanna! Isn’t it pretty?”

“Yes, Ari, it’s cute.”

Johanna, who always tied up her red hair, let it down and smiled gently at Ari, who had pinned a hairpin resembling Rumi’s design on her bangs.

“By the way, there really are a lot more people now.”

“Right! It’s been a while since I came, but with the tower being conquered, people from all over the world are gathering.”

I see.

We’re slowly making the world a better place………….

Johanna felt a sense of pride.

Of course.

‘Ellis? Last time, you drove orcs into a pit. Can’t you do more of that?’

………Recalling memories of conquering the tower, um, the sense of accomplishment fades a bit.

Johanna stopped thinking for a moment.

“Next, let’s go there! There’s a clothing store with lots of pretty clothes!”

“Okay.”

Earlier, I saw Rumi playing with kids in the square, so.

Everyone must be taking a breather like this.

With that thought, they wandered through the market, and under Ari’s insistence, Johanna even tried on some slightly risqué clothes.

She even tried on jewelry she had never worn before.

While doing so, she felt the burden of being a saintess lessen a bit.

But.

Suddenly.

‘What if I spent time like this with that person…………?

Hot.

What was I just thinking…………!

At the impure thought that flashed through her mind, Johanna’s face turned red without her realizing.

Well, that person is the lively woman right in front of her.

Ari’s lover… probably.

Lately, I haven’t seen them flirting much.

……..Come to think of it, why haven’t I? Did they fight?

“Ari, did something happen between you and Ark recently?”

Johanna wasn’t one to hold back her curiosity.

Ari tilted her head.

“Hmm? Not at all? We’re just getting along as a hero and a guide, right?”

She answered with an innocent expression.

……??

A hero and a guide.

Well, that’s true.

……………But don’t lovers usually flaunt their relationship?

The saintess’s circuits started spinning again.

“Weren’t you two dating?”

“……? Me? With Ark?”

“……? If not, then what.”

She couldn’t bring herself to ask directly about ‘that night.’

But the initiative had already shifted.

“Ahahaha! Johanna, what’s this? Were you imagining something? As a saintess, you shouldn’t be having such impure thoughts~?”

Having seized the opportunity, Ari poked Johanna’s sides and teased her.

“Ugh……. Im, impure thoughts……………! Ugh……………!”

Since she had indeed had impure thoughts.

Johanna couldn’t respond and was subjected to a barrage of words and fingers.

In the end.

“By any chance, that night…………

Johanna, unable to contain her curiosity, blushed and whispered the question in a very small voice.

“……Saintess, you’re being impure…………! But so pure…………! This is crazy, crazy!”

Ari made a fuss and dragged Johanna by the wrist.

They settled at an outdoor café, ordered drinks, and.

“Well, you know? It wasn’t a kiss, or holding hands while sleeping…………….”

Whisper, whisper.

“Wha, wha, what…..! No, how, that’s impossible, really, uh, ugh?”

Ari whispered devilish words into the saintess’s ear.

And so.

The innocent child Johanna died.

And…………….

An adult with eyes opened, a new Johanna was born.

The world she had built with fairy tales and holy stories crumbled in an instant.

Shocked, Johanna buried her face in her hands and dug into the ground for a while.

But.

“Huh? Isn’t that Tina?”

While teasing Johanna, Ari sharply noticed a familiar figure approaching in the distance.

Johanna and Ari both looked up and saw Tina getting closer.

“Huh?”

“Did something happen?”

The always cheeky little demon’s face was filled with urgency.

And tears were welling up in her eyes.

The two women’s faces hardened with a bad premonition.

And then.

“Master… Master is hurt……………!”

As soon as they heard Tina’s voice, Johanna instantly summoned the hero’s power and dashed off at full speed, abandoning all grace and dignity.

A moment later.

“Ugh…….”

“Ark?! Ark, are you okay?!”

Hearing Ark’s groans from the 2nd floor of the shop.

Johanna rushed up the stairs with such force that it seemed she might break them.

“……?”

Her eyes fell on Ark, whose forehead was torn and bleeding.

And the strange object in his hand.

Blackened, thick, elongated, with a blunt end………….

A whispered golden, resembling something from knowledge like………?

“Heal!”

At that point, Johanna stopped thinking.

She did what she had to do as a saintess.

Today, Johanna had many impure thoughts.