30 Years after Reincarnation, it turns out to be a Romance Fantasy Novel

Chapter 192

It's not even funny.

Or rather, it's so absurd that it does elicit some laughter.

But if someone thinks I'm laughing because I'm enjoying this, they must be incredibly clueless or have a death wish.

"Suddenly someone was banging on the door, so I thought it was the maid or the Instructor. Honestly, people don't usually pass by here, right? So I thought it was someone I knew and opened the door, but then there was this strange man. And he started preaching out of the blue, which was both startling and a bit perplexing... it was rather disconcerting." "Why didn't you kick him out from the start? Did you learn magic just for show?" "Well, it's just that using magic on a priest seems a bit..."

"..." "Ah, I'm not a devout religious person, but my parents were Chris...tians, no! There were many devout people at the orphanage where I grew up, so it was hard for me to be rude to religious people... sorry. But thank you for your help anyway." "...Huh."

...What to do with this half-baked soul?

Ihan wanted to smack his forehead. This kid really is in a tricky spot.

'This kid doesn't fully understand the power they hold.'

Let's take a moment to consider Irene Windler, the blonde, blue-eyed beauty.

Firstly, the girl is the adopted daughter of Duke Galahad. The current head of the powerful Galahad family, Duke Blake, that even the royal family can't easily mess with. Messing with Irene Windler would be seen as disrespecting Galahad, and even the royal family and the temple would have to sweat it out.

If Galahad declared independence and designated the temple as an enemy, the kingdom could split in two.

They, unlike Ihan, have built a massive force. Perhaps they are the only force capable of opposing the temple realistically, unlike the current royal family that has a symbiotic relationship with the temple.

But the fact that such a powerful force's adopted daughter doesn't understand her own status and position was enough to raise his blood pressure.

But...

'She's not just powered by Galahad.'

Next, what raises his blood pressure is this genius mage who doesn't know how to use her power properly.

The girl has power. She has the overwhelming force needed to protect herself.

A prodigy of the magic world, a kirin among mages. Even with her talents not fully blossomed, she was a powerhouse that even a demonic king would fear, and Ihan, though he disliked magic, recognized her ability and skills.

In other words, the girl could have easily dismissed the priest if she wished, and she wouldn't have had to endure such 'nonsense' as just occurred.

Yet the girl just stood there with a perplexed expression after hearing all that...

'Damn, she really is like a romance fantasy heroine.'

While the genres of others may vary, this magic chick definitely fits the bill of a romance fantasy heroine.

With such immense power, yet acting like a fool, not knowing how to properly wield the power she possesses.

Truly...

'She's a disaster.'

For a romance fantasy heroine, that's as high a compliment as any.

Kwoong!

".........."

—Interns could firsthand understand what an approaching disaster was.

And true to form,

"Just confess. It'd be better for your well-being."

An unstoppable disaster was engulfing them.

They sweated profusely.

Then,

"Excuse me, could you please explain what this is all about? I really don't understand what's happening..."

One of the interns mustered the courage to ask.

While a priest lay unconscious on the floor, commanded to 'confess,' the intern who asked didn't even know who the priest was! Nor did they understand what wrong the monster had committed to end up like this, and why the trouble had extended to them as well.

...The intern's question was legitimate and a plea of injustice.

"Cowards."

But the eyes of the one answering were infinitely cold.

"Either you or someone hiding among you is definitely a coward and a vile person."

"?

"What did this priest do? He fell over while preaching to our neighbor."

"??

"He openly insulted Galahad, caught the fact that she was a mage and spouted all sorts of nonsensical accusations."

"!!!"

The interns were appalled by the ensuing remarks as soon as any doubts about 'isn't preaching permissible?' emerged, and they glared murderously at the unconscious priest.

As if wondering what insane act this guy had committed.

...There are two forces that even the temple wouldn't dare oppose carelessly.

One is the protector of the lake, Galahad, and the other is the fierce blizzard of the north, Lionel. Forces that do not heed the royal or temple's gaze and could declare independence for Pendragon anytime. They also had the power to destroy the temple regardless of what the people said.

And he insulted Galahad?

...That's practically begging for death.

"Madman." "What is this guy?" "Is he a heretic...?"

Interns, or rather, inquisitors in the making, observed the unconscious priest with hostile eyes.

Because they judged that the temple could be endangered because of him.

However,

"Did you know? Very few people know my neighbor is Irene Windler. But how did this madman know and come all the way here?"

"??."

...At his continuing words, they had to wear serious expressions.

If they didn't understand the meaning of his words, they might as well quit being inquisitors.

"He came to this secluded forest? Sure, that's possible. But this guy came prepared to preach, confident that the chick was living here. That means he was sure the chick was in that house. In that sense, I 'believe' one of you sold our chick's information."

It was clear to him now that they had sold information about Irene Windler to the temple.

They tried to make excuses with expressions of injustice.

It wasn't us, they protested.

But.

“-So, it was you.”

Crack!

Ihan's massive palm covered the face of one of the heretic inquisitors, and then—

Crunch!

“Aaaaah!”

A crushing sound accompanied by a scream of agony erupted.

Whoosh!

Before the other inquisitors could intervene, or even if they had known what was coming, the awe-inspiring presence emanating from him was too overpowering; they trembled like sheep before a wolf.

“How dare you try to deceive me right to my face—Did you think I was a fool?”

Crackle!

The more force he applied, the more the knight's fingers deformed the inquisitor’s face, burrowing into it. It looked as if he was bursting a balloon, and the thought of a human head being squashed like a tomato paled everyone's faces.

Even though the inquisitor had been overwhelmingly defeated by him the previous day, the aura he exuded now was of a different dimension.

If the aura he had shown before was like a cold wind, the aura he was emitting now was like the heat of a blast furnace.

...The others found themselves breathless.

Then.

“-Perhaps you should calm down.”

“…….”

“You could kill him, but I suppose you don’t want your house smelling of blood.”

“…….”

“Besides, wouldn’t torturing him yield more information than killing him? Allow me to demonstrate the inquisitorial techniques of torture.”

“...Your gab has gotten better.”

“Thanks to you.”

The woman, unabashedly voicing her opinions and advice, Judia Pierre, bowed her head in thanks as he gradually lessened the pressure from his hands.

Catching liars was easy for Ihan. He had always been akin to a lie detector, and after his transformation, he could detect even the undetectable.

It was a bit unexpected that the person he originally suspected wasn't some unknown traitor, but the woman before him.

“Surely, you must have already heard about my meetings with the temple officials.”

…She boldly confessed her activities.

Despite knowing she could be suspected and even killed for them.

Was she fearless, or did she still believe that a god would solve everything? Either way, Ihan simply watched her from a wooden chair he had made himself.

“...Could you lessen the intensity a bit? It hurts.”

Yet, even as she faced Ihan's gaze without expression, her body trembled.

The force emanating from Ihan was too much even for her to withstand.

“You're quite the drama queen.”

“…….”

...Though it seemed unlikely, she appeared to be genuinely aggrieved.

“...Maybe it’s not an act?”

“Huh?”

“Look at the floor.”

“?”

Derek, who had been keeping a low profile, approached with a wry smile and pointed towards the floor.

What are you showing me—.

“…What's this all about?”

The grass on the floor was dying, and the handmade table he had made was cracking audibly.

Seeing the desertification happening around him, Derek advised.

“Maybe you shouldn’t unleash your force so carelessly, Instructor. Or rather, you might need to practice controlling it.”

“?”

“Your level has risen sharply, that’s why.”

“Not this again?”

Murmuring as if sharing a state secret, Taechang’s explanation left Ihan flabbergasted.

A level? As if he were a real game character, what—.

...Wait?

“Am I now at the level of those monsters?”

Ihan cocked his head.

He had grown, but compared to those described by Taechang as Lv.9, he felt woefully inadequate.

Responding to that.

“Right, you’re not there yet, Instructor. But your level has definitely risen. Your current level is…”

“…….”

“8.3.”

“??”

…Why is there a decimal in the level?

Ihan was puzzled.

“To put it simply, you’ve been accumulating experience points. You’ve been fighting nonstop since reaching Lv.8, right? It’s natural for your level to increase.”

…Hearing it put that way, it did sound like he was obsessed with fighting, but he couldn’t argue.

He had indeed been fighting a lot. Nonstop.

“…But is it easy to level up? It’s already gone up by 0.3?”

Just a bit more and he might reach 9, Ihan joked.

“True, that archmage you mentioned was at 8.9. If you defeat a rival of that level about six more times, you’ll probably level up?”

“…….”

He was at a loss for words at the serious response.

Fighting that monster six more times was like skydiving without any gear and surviving.

Let’s say it again, he had been lucky, and it was only through various circumstances overlapping that he had won, not because that monster was weak.

And.

“For your information, moving from 8.9 to Lv9 requires an epic quest called [Enlightenment]... That’s still a long way off.”

“Hmm, so from this phase to enlightenment is still a long journey…”

“…….”

“Why?”

“…Isn’t the phrase ‘enlightenment’ a bit old-fashioned? These days, the trend is to say ‘beyond extreme’ or ‘ultimate master’ for more flair…”

“Shout...!!!”

Kwaang!

The martial spirit within Ihan roared like a lion's roar.