Taming The Villainesses

Chapter 427: The One Who Halts (2)

The woman was well-versed in incantations and spirit speech.

She had shown talent from a very young age. Because of that, the old shaman who bought her as both servant and slave began to teach her all he knew.

The woman absorbed the teachings like a dry sponge drinking in water.

—Child born under a tragic star. You are far too great a vessel to remain hidden in a backroom like this.

The old shaman, realizing that the girl’s potential was too great to be kept within his grasp, handed her over to the Church.

Once affiliated with the Church, she grew up surrounded by endless hospitality and attention, and eventually rose to the top of the so-called Holy See hierarchy.

Saint Priga of Nightfall.

A woman who rose from the lowest slave to become the shepherd of the faithful.

As a Saint, she now held authority to do as she pleased in this world. And yet, to her, the world remained as harsh and difficult as ever.

Clink—

A clear sound of something breaking caused the Saint to halt what she was doing and turn her head. One of her handmaids had accidentally shattered a glass on the floor and now bowed in panic.

“I-I’m so sorry. I’ll clean it up right away...!”

“It’s fine. More importantly, step out for a moment. And do not let anyone near this room for the time being.”

At the Saint’s gentle and soft-spoken instruction, the maid nodded and quietly exited the room. Priga’s attention then turned to the broken cup on the floor.

‘It wasn’t just the cup that shattered just now.’

Saint Priga could feel something inside her had snapped. It was likely the spell of command she had cast upon the half-fairy Teo Gospel.

“You must never approach the gate.” —that was the command she had placed on him.

It had been a powerful suggestion. If it were any ordinary person, they would have spent their whole lives flailing like a bee trapped in honey, unable to escape its pull.

But just now, for some reason, that suggestion had been broken.

It meant that Teo Gospel’s will had surpassed the strength of her own enchantment. That such resolve existed in that seemingly meek man was something even she had to admire.

It must’ve required more strength of will than a man lost in the desert resisting a gulp of water.

“...It seems I’ll have to step in myself.”

Saint Priga reached out her hand to grasp the staff she always kept nearby.

Since she could not see, her staff was always placed at a distance where her right hand could reach it easily.

Shfft.

But what her fingers touched was not the slim length of a staff. It was thicker. And longer.

It didn’t take her long ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) to realize it was a person’s leg.

There’s someone in this room.

Priga might be blind, but she wasn’t stupid. There was no way she hadn’t noticed someone’s approach. If someone had entered without triggering her awareness—

“...Theodoros.”

“Priga.”

A familiar voice echoed from the past. For a moment, overwhelmed by old longing, Priga nearly smiled. But in the next instant, she forced her expression cold again.

“You’ve been gone all this time without even a glimpse... What brings you here now?”

“Priga, you already know. Teo Gospel has headed for the gate. No one can stop him now.”

Priga shook her head.

“He’ll never succeed.”

“No. He will. Because now... he’s not alone. The hunter is with him.”

“...The hunter.”

Priga slowly repeated the unfamiliar word.

“The hunter, is it.”

It still didn’t feel natural in her mouth.

“That man who calls himself a hunter... Just who is he? Even with my mind’s eye, I couldn’t read a thing about him.”

“If you knew who he really was, Priga—even you would be shocked.”

“So—”

She began to speak but abruptly fell silent. She had sensed it—there was no longer anyone in the room with her.

In this wide and desolate office, only Priga remained.

Momentarily immersed in her thoughts, she soon turned toward the empty air and spoke.

“Harmony. Bring it.”

She couldn’t sit idly by any longer.

‘I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.’

***

The cave was hot.

“...It’s hot in here.”

Just a short while ago, they had needed to bundle up in fur to barely stave off the cold. But inside the cave, it was as if someone had cranked a heater to full blast.

We began peeling off our layered fur garments one by one. It made moving much easier, and in that sense, it was a relief.

Sweltering...

Still, no matter how you looked at it, the heat was unnatural. I turned to check on Elga, who was carrying a child.

“Haa...”

She looked visibly out of breath. Sweat was pouring down her forehead. She was clearly not in a normal state, and I started to worry.

“Lady of Leones, would you like to hold Yingying?”

With a soft pop, Narmee uncorked her canteen—and something small and strange began wriggling its way out.

━━Yingyayaing.

It was Yingying, the cloud-shaped monster known as a Cloudring. It floated toward Elga and nestled calmly in her arms like a plush doll.

“That’s better... So much cooler.”

━━Gyuuing.

Yingying’s body was very cold. Thanks to it, the air around us felt noticeably cooler, and the effect was refreshing.

Looking much better now, Elga spoke.

“Still, haven’t we been walking uphill this whole time? We must’ve reached the summit by now. How long is this going to go on?”

As she pointed out, we had indeed been ascending through the cave. Sometimes we even had to scale cliff faces inside the cave itself.

It had already been several hours. It wouldn’t have been strange if we’d reached what could be called the mountain’s peak. But there was no end in sight to the cave.

In fact, shouldn’t we be heading down instead of up? The city lay beneath the mountain, after all.

Yet the hunter and his party kept walking in silence.

Ayra spoke.

“This space is warped. It might look like we’re going up, but we could actually be going down. Or even moving backward.”

Hard to believe.

We were clearly walking uphill—how could this be down or back? Was this one of Ayra’s characteristically dry jokes? But her expression was quite serious.

Then she added:

“Actually, I don’t know.”

So it was just a joke.

Elga clicked her tongue. “How boring.” Mirna and Narmee looked disappointed, shaking their heads at Ayra’s bluff.

“Hmph.”

Ayra just let out a smug laugh. She seemed quite proud of having tricked everyone. For someone who hates lying, she seemed to be enjoying it far too much.

She’d better not make a habit of this.

Then Stella spoke up.

“Still, Lady Ayra might not be entirely wrong. Everyone—look over there.”

Where Stella was pointing, stalactites jutted like fangs. I wasn’t sure why she was calling attention to them, so I kept a vague eye on the spot.

Drip. Drip.

The limestone water dripping from the stalactites moved strangely.

No—was it really dripping? Would “falling” even be the right word?

Drip. Drip.

It was floating upward, toward the ceiling.

That’s right—the water was falling from the ground to the ceiling.

Watching this defiance of gravity, I was left speechless. Stella murmured beside me:

“Maybe we’re walking on the ceiling right now. We think we’re climbing, but really—we’re descending.”

It made sense. As expected, Stella had keen eyes.

“I don’t know anymore. Let’s take a break.”

━━Yingyayaing.

Elga leaned back against the wall and sat down on a relatively flat piece of stalactite rock. Even with Yingying cooling her down, it was clear that fatigue caught up to her fast.

At that, Miriam, the priestess from the hunter’s party, clicked her tongue.

“Bringing a pregnant woman to a place like this... You really lack consideration. She keeps slowing down. Don’t blame us if you fall behind.”

Whether Elga was struggling or not, the hunter likely wouldn’t care and would keep going. That’s what Miriam seemed to think.

“We’ll rest here a bit.”

But then the hunter stopped and unpacked his gear.

His party members blinked in surprise. For him to stop and consider the group’s condition was nearly unthinkable.

Elga clicked her tongue.

“Tch. I didn’t want to be a burden. This pisses me off.”

For someone as proud as Elga, causing delays for others was intolerable. But her health was important to me, so I tried to console her.

“Thanks to this shortcut, we’ve already saved a lot of time compared to our original plan. Don’t rush—just take it slow. So, how are you feeling?”

“It’s not that bad. Just a little off.”

That’s when Priestess Miriam stepped closer and offered:

“Would you like me to take a look?”

Apparently, the gesture of sharing ramen and soap earlier had earned us some favor.

People really do need to help each other.

“Light of healing—”

Miriam’s hand glowed softly as she brought it to Elga’s belly. Elga, initially tense and wary, gradually relaxed her expression.

“That’s better... This is why every squad or party needs a medic or healer.”

I nodded in agreement. Among my wives, none were particularly suited to healing. If we hadn’t met Miriam, we might have been in trouble.

Shff.

Elga stood up, brushing off her seat.

“I’m fine now. Let’s move. We can’t just stay here.”

Everyone began gathering their things again—except the hunter, who remained seated.

He said,

“We’ll rest a bit longer. A pregnant woman needs proper rest.”

“...!”

“...!?”

Miriam and Rene glanced at each other in utter shock.

“Rene, did you hear that?”

“I did. I thought I misheard, but... I didn’t, right?”

“I’ve never heard the hunter say something that considerate. My god... Live long enough and you’ll see anything.”

I was just as surprised.

The protagonist I knew from the original work was a cold wolf—no, more like an emotionless mantis. For him to show concern for Elga, a pregnant woman?

Could he have changed while passing through all these events that weren’t in the original story?

I suddenly remembered what he said once—that he had a wife and child.

He told me to forget it.

But I couldn’t.

Maybe... looking at Elga now reminded him of when his own wife was pregnant.

It wasn’t far-fetched.

Poke.

Just then, Stella nudged me in the side.

“Teo.”

“What is it?”

Shff, shff.

After checking that no one was listening, she whispered low into my ear.

“This might sound strange... but I’ve been thinking for a while now—this hunter guy... He might be someone both you and I know.”