I Supported My Fiancé for 10 Years After He Said, 'Let's Get Married When I Succeed,' but When He Finally Did, He Dumped Me. By the Way, I'm a Witch and Turning 30 Next Year!! - Episode 49

“I can’t believe the Saint’s existence is completely useless…”

The Saint has always been chosen through divine revelation when the previous saint’s power begins to fade.

“Then does that mean the Saint’s ceremony is fake too?”

“Ugh… Well… We do select girls with high holy power, but for the past half-century, the ceremony has mainly been a performance to emphasize the Saint’s importance and presence to the people.”

“That’s awful…”

Then what would happen if the Demon King were to be revived in this world? When asked that, Carbuncle hesitated and stammered.

“Well… um… Humanity would just have to do their best.”

“You make people worship the Saint, collect donations, and make them believe in peace… That’s terrible!”

“…I have no excuse.”

I knew there was no point in blaming Carbuncle for this.

But I couldn’t just ignore the frustration boiling inside me.

“I always thought it was strange that there were so many monsters, despite the Saint’s supposed protection.”

“Still, there haven’t been any major disasters in recent years, have there?”

“That’s probably because Ie and the other Holy Knights have been fighting the monsters with everything they have.”

Since Ie is revered as a hero, he must be the one taking down most of the monsters.

A peace upheld by the miracles of just one ordinary human—something like that should never be allowed to exist.

“But there’s no point in discussing this here, is there?”

“Y-yeah, you’re right.”

“First, we need to deal with these vines.”

Just as I was about to suggest using the full power of the Sun’s Hand to touch them, Merv Maple stepped forward.

“Merv Maple will handle it!”

“Wait, handle it…?”

Merv Maple sharpened the leaves at the tips of its hands like knives and started slicing through the black vines.

“W-What!?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

In no time, the vines wrapped around the gate were completely gone.

“H-Hey, what is that daikon radish thing!?”

“I heard it’s a leaf spirit…”

I had always thought Merv Maple was reliable, but I never expected it to be capable of this.

“Merv Maple, are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”

“Merv Maple is totally fine!”

“Good, but just in case…”

Worried about the effects of dark magic, I washed its leaves with holy water blessed by Carbuncle.

Then, Carbuncle gently touched the door with its front paw.

“It’s opening!”

Carbuncle turned to us, reporting happily.

But as the gate creaked open with an eerie Giiiiiiiiiii sound, the space beyond was completely dark.

It didn’t look at all like the sacred place where the World Tree should be.

“What’s wrong?”

“Look ahead.”

“Look… ahead…? HIIIIII!! What is that!?”

I immediately wanted to turn around and go home, but we couldn’t just ignore the state of the World Tree’s area.

“W-W-W-What do we do!?”

“What else? We go in.”

If we ran away now and later found out that the World Tree had withered, we’d be blamed for it.

At this point, there was no turning back.

“Let’s check it out quickly and get out of here!”

“Why are you so calm!?”

“I’m totally freaking out! But panicking here won’t help!”

I clenched my fists tightly, and Merv Maple gently placed its tiny leafy hands over mine.

“It’s okay. Merv Maple is with you.”

“Merv Maple… Thank you.”

“W-We’re all going in together!”

“You don’t have a choice!”

After all, whose fault was it that we ended up here?

Well, I was the one who followed along so easily, so I guess I was to blame too.

There was no point in arguing about it now.

With Carbuncle trembling in my arms and my hand firmly holding Merv Maple’s, we stepped through the gate.