The Cursed Forest Where I Was Exiled Had Somehow Been Designated As A Sanctuary. - Awakened to the Purification skill, I, Surrounded By Divine Dragons And Great Spirits, Become The King of A Nation - Episode 20

“Is this really inside the Great Tree Sea?”

The group of elves, who were tracking the traces of the curse, looked around and voiced their confusion.

The air was so clear.

There is no sign of a curse; on the contrary, a dense aura of holiness and purity pervades the air.

I was engulfed by a strange sensation, as if I were stepping into the abode of the gods.

And above all. My body, my heart, was afraid of something…

“Captain, did we take the wrong path?”

“Is that even possible?”

The elder elf, called the captain, dismisses the questions of the elves following behind.

However, he himself harbored similar doubts.

A group of elves, bewildered by the unusual atmosphere of the Great Tree Sea, continues to advance.

From in front of them, a voice suddenly echoed.

Hello

At the end of the elves’ gaze stood a boy with black hair.

The boy who appeared out of nowhere wore a cheerful, carefree smile that seemed out of place in this vast forest, and approached with a demeanor completely devoid of tension.

However, an indescribable sense of intimidation was overwhelming the elves.

What, why did I just bow my head now…?

While harboring doubts about the actions taken unconsciously, the elf heightens their vigilance towards the unidentified boy.

“Who are you?”

“I’m a resident here. Don’t worry, I’m not suspicious.”

Waving his palm gently, the boy approaches.

Against an armed group of elves, unarmed.

“Even so, you guys are really dirty.”

A look of joy appeared on the boy’s face, and his voice was lively.

In response to that change, the group of elves who had been on guard finally felt fear.

“Don’t come any closer!”

“Huh?”

The elves draw their weapons.

The boy, looking puzzled, approaches further with an attitude as if soothing a young child, saying, “Now, now.”

Does this guy have no fear?!

The elite soldiers who protected the elf village from monsters were completely engulfed by an unknown enemy.

While the tip of the sword trembles and shakes, the boy opens his mouth nonchalantly.

“――《Cleansing》”

◆　◆　◆

Why are you so scared? I just cleaned up.

While watching the group of elves who had been cleaned by the “Cleansing,” Zess tilted his head.

Still, cleaning up such a large group all at once feels really good.

A group of about ten elves were all terribly dirty.

It makes sense that they would be exhausted after leaving the elf village and desperately following Peter and the others’ footprints.

They have now become so beautiful that they are unrecognizable.

“Is this… your power, or rather, your lordship’s power?”

As I was lost in the afterglow of the cleansing, the elves, who had somehow put away their weapons, came to ask me.

From his tone and attitude, the hostility had somewhat diminished.

While feeling satisfied that the plan to feel good by getting clean had succeeded, Zess answered their questions.

“That’s right. It would be frustrating to stay dirty, wouldn’t it? I thought it would be better to clean up first before having a discussion.”

“Discussion…?”

The elder elf’s eyebrows twitch slightly.

“You said you were a resident here, didn’t you? …Then, has any demon appeared around here?”

“No, I haven’t seen it.”

“I see. Well, if you were to encounter it, you probably wouldn’t survive.”

The elves, seemingly satisfied on their own, decided to retrace their steps.

However, one of them. As expected, that elder elf came to a complete stop.

“—Well then, our comrades have not arrived yet, have they?”

The elf’s eyes pierce through Zess.

Feeling an indescribable discomfort, Zess shrugged and replied.

“If you call someone who tried to kill you a comrade, then I’m here.”

“Ah, as expected!”

The returning elves all turned to face Zess at once, revealing their murderous intent.

“Don’t worry, they’re safe. Right?”

When Zess called, Flora and Peter appeared from behind him.

“Flora, and Peter too! Ugh! …You, the curse—!”

A wave of unease spreads among the elves as they notice the two with awkward expressions.

Those who develop the divine curse have their existence tainted black and lose their reason.

However, the Peter who appeared was in the form he had before the divine curse manifested.

To the confused elves, Zess speaks.

“I understand your role. It’s to deal with those who have developed the divine curse before they become vicious monsters. But as you can see, I have purified the curse that was afflicting Peter. So there’s no reason for you to pursue him. — Would you kindly leave?”

Calmly and with a gentle tone, Zess appeals.

“Purifying a divine curse…?”

“That’s ridiculous, there’s no way we can lift that curse.”

“Well, but the fact is, Peter is…”

A wave of agitation runs through the elves.

The premise I had believed until then must have collapsed.

I hope this will satisfy them.

Logically speaking, the reason for them to target Peter’s life has already disappeared.

Zess briefly averts his gaze from the elves and looks at Flora and the others.

When I smiled at the nervous girls, they returned a stiff smile.

“Once”

“Huh?”

With a faint, almost forced murmur, Zess turned his gaze back to the group of elves.

They looked up at Zess and the others with eyes filled with the hostility and killing intent that should have disappeared just moments ago.

“Once someone is afflicted by the divine curse, it is the village’s rule to dispose of them. Therefore, there is only one thing we must do.”

The elves once again ready their weapons.

Zess smiled once more at the frightened Flora and the others, then looked down at the elves with a cold gaze.

“――What is that rule even for?”

Come to think of it, the reason why Zess was sent to this land was also due to the rules surrounding the crown prince.

Zess was framed as a criminal just to hand over the crown prince’s rights to the second prince, Bauman.

That matter itself is no longer important.

What bothers me is that they are trying to dispose of something they had cleaned once.

They took the things they sent for cleaning, made them clean, and then threw them away. What they were trying to do felt that way to Zess.

What the…?

As the elves approached with their weapons drawn, Zess saw something like a murky aura seeping from within them.

It is different from the black mist emitted by the divine curse. It is a filth that clings like sludge.

Like in the past.

Zess was driven by a single impulse.

“Purification”

“W-what the…?!”

“Th-the light… I can’t see anything!!”

“Captain! What on earth is this――!”

Pillars of light rise from each of the elves.

Flora and the others gasped at the sight of a scene resembling a ladder of angels reaching from the ground to the sky.

“Mr. Zess, what on earth are you doing?”

“What do you mean… it was kind of dirty, so… I cleaned it?”

“But Zess-san, didn’t you just ‘clean’ everyone earlier?”

“Well, it should be, but it’s different from divine curses and all. I wonder what it is.”

Flora is perplexed by Zess’s ambiguous remarks.

During that conversation, the pillar of light that had been attacking the elves subsided, and they staggered and knelt down on the spot.

“What on earth are we…?”

From the people holding their heads, the hostility and murderous intent that had been present until just now seem to have vanished, and one can even sense a kind of refreshing clarity, as if a burden has been lifted.

Eventually, they sheathed their weapons and bowed their heads towards Zess and the others.

“To the benefactor who saved my compatriots from the curse, I have committed a great rudeness. Please forgive me.”

“Huh? No, it’s fine, it’s fine. If you understand, that’s all that matters.”

While feeling bewildered by the change, Zess harbors doubts in his heart.

What did I just clean up…?

There was dirt, I was confident I could clean it, and then I used my skills.

Right after that, their attitude changed completely.

“Flora and Peter, I’m sorry for everything up until now.”

“N-no, that’s not…!”

“I’ve caused you a lot of trouble too.”

Seeing the elves and Flora bowing to each other, Zess let out a small laugh.

“Well, if I’ve become beautiful, then that’s good enough.”

Seeing the murkiness that had been in his field of vision disappear, Zess nodded with satisfaction.