Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 316
TL: Elphie / PR: Mikan
She sank into the sofa, closed her eyes, and let the breeze wash over her.
There was no doubt this house played a big part in why she could enjoy that breeze so deeply.
She had said, long ago, that she wanted to see the ocean.
Though she had come here once with Michael, she hadn’t remembered it afterward, so she couldnāt really say she had been here.
But he had remembered. He remembered her wish so clearly that, without saying anything, their wandering naturally shifted to a search for somewhere by the sea to stay.
They had traveled to every edge of the continentānorth, south, east, and westālooking for the place that felt right.
Along the way, they cleared out the remaining dungeons too.
One year since leaving the Fortress. One year since the last dungeon disappeared.
A little over two years ago, they finally found the place they wanted to live in.
A small kingdom in the south of the continent: Nanikai. And within it, an even smaller village: Keiyara.
The moment they saw the house on the hill there, they knew. Without sharing a single word, they both recognized their new home.
This was the place they had been searching for all along.
Perched on a hill with a clear view of the sea, the house looked like it had once been built with great care, long ago.
A narrow path led down from the hill, granting access to a private beach that only the houseās owner could use.
Even considering how rural the area was, it was hard to believe such a beautiful place had been left untouched. So they asked around.
āThe house on the hill in Keiyara? Monsters appear there. And when that dungeon showed up, someone even diedā¦ Anyway, no one lives there now. Itās been completely abandoned.ā
A house whose owner had given up on.
āWellā¦ at least weāll save money.ā
Michael laughed hearing Irene say that with such a serious face.
Money was the last thing they had to worry about.
Even though heād been excommunicated as a Holy Knight, the truth was that heād stepped down on his own terms.
The High Priestess, believing he would need resources to live a secular life, had handed him a portion of the money heād donated to the temple over the years.
Even a portion of it had turned out to be an enormous sum.
When he tried to refuse the money, the High Priestess had simply smiled.
āItās not a gift from the goodness of my heart. Itās money given with the unspoken request that, should the temple ever fall into trouble, you might lend us your help. And alsoā¦ā
The wrinkles on the old womanās face folded gently as she smiled.
āI hope youāll come by one day for a baptism.ā
It was her way of saying she wished to see the child that would someday be born between Michael and Irene.
On top of the funds from the temple, they also had a trove of artifacts.
The moment Irene defied the Impossibility to see him again, she had cried so hard she could barely breathe. But when she finally came to her senses, the first thing she said was,
āMichael, I know itās a weird time to bring this upā¦ but would it be okay if we, uh, salvaged some of the artifacts we can carry?ā
And didnāt he laugh back then too, tears still drying on his cheeks?
Because everything had been reset, they were able to make full use of all the knowledge they had retained from the world before.
As a result, they had more than enough wealth to live lavishly for the rest of their lives without ever worrying about running out.
Whatās more, since they had sent many of the remaining artifacts back to the Monster Realm, the value of the ones they still held kept rising exponentially.
Of course, they had no intention of selling anything.
They had planned to close all the dungeons and return the artifacts, but inevitably, there were still some they carried with them.
āSomeday, weāll have to send everything back without leaving a trace.ā
It was at that moment that Irene had this thought.
[Reporting!]
From beyond the window, Chomp-chomp poked its tentacle out and wriggled toward Irene, slithering closer until it reached her.
āHello, Chomp-chomp. Did you have fun?ā
[Fun? No! Iāve been working since morning!]
Chomp-chomp responded, lifting a ring that resembled a bracelet with another of its tentacles.
Irene knew exactly what it was and let out a bitter smile.
āOf course, they couldnāt resist getting interested.ā
It was only natural for the townsfolk to take interest in someone as attractive as Michael moving in. And most importantlyā¦
[I’ll put it back in the subspace!]
Chomp-chomp said this and then lifted the huge cloth map that Irene had left on the wall.
On it was a dungeon entrance about the size of a ball that children kick around.
That was the source of the strange noises that had been heard in the house even after the dungeon had disappeared.
