Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 158
âItâs the same this time as well. By the way, did you bring anything else back from the distortion dungeon?â
âNo, nothing like that. But please hand me that paper.â
Irene took the paper written by the Hand of Appraisal. She figured she should take it with her and compare it with the previous inscription to see if anything had changed.
Then, she noticed a pile of items on the table behind the fortress staff member, waiting to be appraised by the Hand of Appraisal.
âAre all these artifacts?â
âNo, these are fragments of unregistered monsters and plant samples from the recent distortion dungeon.â
âThe Hand of Appraisal appraises things like that too?â
âYes. When examining unknown species for the first time, we often use its power. Not always, but sometimes it writes something down. You know the cerulean grass that grows in dungeons? The blue grass? It was the Hand of Appraisal that noted that chewing and swallowing it temporarily improves eyesight.â
At this, Irene looked at the Hand of Appraisal in a new light. Sheâd thought it only appraised artifacts, but it seemed to have other abilities as well.
âSo if it appraises monstersâŚâ
âWe donât always get clear results, but sometimes it can tell us things like how large a monster will grow or what kind of poison it uses. Occasionally, it will even mention what the monster recently ateâŚâ
Leaving behind the unusually friendly and detailed explanations from the staff, Irene exited the appraisal room.
She still felt slightly uncomfortable even outside, as many people kept approaching her, eager to speak.
Of course, everyone treated her far more kindly and graciously than before.
âItâs not a bad thingâŚâ
But she couldnât shake the feeling of discomfort.
After a momentâs thought, Irene found her answer.
The way people were treating her now was very similar to how they used to treat Princess Cecilia.
âThe princessâs influence has truly weakened.â
Although she knew Cecilia had suffered a series of misfortunes, she hadnât expected people to turn on her so quickly.
Irene glanced toward Princess Ceciliaâs quarters in the distance.
In the past, the windows would have been open, and people would have been coming and going, but now the windows were shut tightly.
* * *
The next place Irene visited was the temple. It wasnât much different from the fortress in atmosphere.
âLady Irene!â
Familiar faces, who had grown used to her presence from her visits to learn swordsmanship before entering the distortion dungeon, warmly greeted her.
âAre you here to see Sir Michael? He hasnât returned yet. Weâll be contacting the fortress soonâŚâ
âNo, Iâm not here to see Michael. I just wanted to have my purification level measured.â
âYour purification level?â
Irene nodded, glancing at the Infinite Healing Ring on her finger.
The scratches on the ring had noticeably faded since before sheâd entered the distortion dungeon.
âWhich means my purification level has increased again.â
In fact, it would have been strange if it hadnât.
Before entering the dungeon, her level had risen from Tenth-grade to Eighth-grade simply by sharing kisses and brief touches with Michael.
âAnd this time, we made much deeper contactâŚâ
Thinking this, Irene couldnât help but chuckle.
To call what they did in the dungeon âdeeper contactââshe wasnât much different from Michael, who had written it off as purification and rest.
âLady Irene!â
At that moment, Variel approached herâthe priest who had measured her purification level at Michaelâs request last time.
âYou want to measure your purification level again?â
âYes. In the dungeon, I⌠encountered monsters frequently and had to purify a lot, so I thought my level might have gone up a bitâŚâ
They couldnât possibly know what she and Michael had done, but she felt embarrassed anyway, giving the explanation as if to make excuses.
âUnderstood. Please have a seat here for a moment.â
Variel gestured for Irene to sit, then stood behind her.
âThen, letâs begin the measurement.â
Soon, a warm energy enveloped Irene.
âIt might be easier to reach Ninth or Eighth-grade, but anything beyond that would be difficult⌠If Iâm really lucky, maybe Sixth-grade? Otherwise, probably just Seventh-gradeâŚâ
As Irene pondered this, Varielâs voice came out in a shaky whisper.
âFourth-gradeâŚ?â
