Pursuing Boreios, the 'Axe' Saint that had been blackdollified by
Phinis-sama, we were hurriedly flying toward the isolated island
where the minotaur village was located.
According to Shiva-san, the minotaurs lived deep underneath the
surface of the island to prevent the invasion of foreign enemies and
that the route to the village was like a maze.
"Hey, can we really make it in time? I mean, we've wasted a lot time
because of that fatty, haven't we?" Ophir asked.
"Hm, to be honest, Mr. Pig's blackdollifying was completely out of my
expectation. Although he had returned to his original form, his saintonly power should've been active at the time, and yet…"
As Shiva-san wore a dubious look, I asked Ophir, "By the way, the
previous time Phinis-sama showed up, did she show any sign of
suspecting Porco-san?"
"Not at all. Heck, she didn't even give him a single glance. She was
totally treatin' him like a horse shit by the roadside, I'm tellin' ya."
"Horse shit by the roadside…"
That was a terrible way to put it.
But, put it the other way round, it showed how perfect Porco-san's
cover was.
In spite of that, the next time she'd showed up, Phinis-sama had
immediately identified him as the 'Shield' Saint.
The only thing that had happened in the meantime was us going to
the dragonfolk village and purifying the 'Spear' Saint Agartha; I
wondered if our actions had something to do with it. "To begin with,
why doesn't Phinis-sama interfere with our purification? If she's
really intending to wipe out the demi-humans, what we're doing
should be an obstacle to her… it's as if—"
"—'she's making us purify the Blackdolls on purpose', right?" Shivasama concluded.
To which I nodded, "Yes."
Then, Shiva-san asked Ophir for confirmation, "Correct me if I'm
wrong, but Goddess Phinis said these, right? 'For that child's sake, I
have to collect the seven Sacred Treasures as soon as possible',
and 'I have to give him the Sacred Treasures that've been in the
possession of the saints, or else it'd be meaningless'."
"Yeah, more or less. She also added that that was why she couldn't
give a Sacred Treasure to the no-breasts saintess."
"I see."
Hearing Ophir's words, Shiva-san wore an inscrutable expression.
That was fine and all, but please stop with the 'no-breasts saintess'.
If the person in question heard it, she'd silently start to deploy an air
defensive wall in a sulk again.
As I looked at Ophir with half-closed eyes, Shiva-san exhaled a
small sigh and said, "It's clear from her actions so far that she's
deliberately letting us purify the Sacred Treasures. The problem is
why she's doing it, but we have too little information at hand."
"In other words, whether we like it or not, we have to do as she
wishes?"
"Yes, that's right. I don't know what Goddess Phinis is planning, but
there will definitely be an opening that we can take advantage of,
that's for sure. So, let's do what we can for now."
"You're right. Got it."
"Ou. Roger that."
Ophir and I nodded, and Shiva-san gave us a smile, before turning
forward, looking far in the distance, and saying, "There it is. The
island where the minotaurs live—'Labyrinth'."
◇ ◇
Meanwhile.
"…Who may you be?" Iris, noticing a disturbing presence, readied
her Pseudo Holy Bow and aimed it towards a person standing
behind a pillar.
Then, with a giggle, the person revealed themselves as a whitehaired woman who, overall, seemed inhuman.
"Hello… Little lady…"
"..."
When the woman said so in murmur, Iris immediately went alert.
There shouldn't be such a woman visiting today, or else she
would've been informed of it. Not to mention, she was instinctively
averse to the air about the woman. "…You don't seem to be Exasan's friend."
"Yes… We have a far more intimate relationship, after all…" The
woman smiled.
Iris shook her head and said, "…That's a lie. I don't feel his warmth
from you at all."
"Ufufufufu…"
"—!?"
At that moment, the woman suddenly appeared right in front of her,
causing Iris to open her eyes wide in shock.
――Wham!
"Wha!?"
At the same time, her Pseudo Holy Bow was crushed, whereas she
was blown away without being able to resist.
Looking at the scene, the woman said without breaking her smile,
"You don't need to be afraid, you know…? I just want to have a little
chat with you…'