Chapter 3
—Third person—
The room was enveloped in a serious atmosphere. Around a round table sat only three people, with another two standing behind a lone woman.
The woman in question had black hair and purple eyes, exuding an elegant and gentle aura. She donned royal robes with gold accents and wore a tiara-like golden crown.
This was Queen Tetris, the ruler of the Raja Kingdom, one of the major kingdoms in the western part of the continent. The kingdom held a complete monopoly on gold, a status that made it a significant player in the economy.
"I want to thank you for accepting this meeting with me. I'll come directly to the point: I want your word that you will be fair to our people and protect this kingdom." The queen's voice was soft and gentle, yet it held an authoritative tone befitting a ruler.
"As you may know, the Raja Kingdom is a major player in the gold business, but there are too many larger wolves with bigger packs," the Queen stated after a moment of silence.
'I see. She sees an opportunity for complete protection of the Kingdom by offering us the throne.' Shizue thought with a hint of respect for the Queen.
'Indeed, a strong woman. Such decisions are not made by the weak-willed.' Karna, closing his eyes, thought.
"Very well, I give you my word. I shall protect the kingdom of Raja if the need arises and treat the people fairly as well," he said as he looked straight into the brave queen's eyes, Shizue nodded her head, agreeing with her partner.
It was a promise from the Hero of the Sun.
She nodded, relief flooding her heart. She knew that heroes are powerful people, and the strong always get what they want, one way or another.
She was ready to sacrifice her life if it benefited her subjects, but Karna had already seen the queen's bravery and will to make such a decision.
[She had the entire conversation recorded in a magic crystal and was ready to blow herself up with nuclear magic if things went wrong and we were intending to forcefully take this kingdom. Truly, what a strong woman.]
Hearing her partner's voice inside her head, she replied with the same sentiments, reflecting Karna's words with agreement.
[Yeah, she's certainly a strong-willed and thoughtful woman, though I wonder what you plan on doing after this. After all, there is only one way things are going to happen: the Kingdom of Farmus will not sit idle.]
[Let's see...]
The use of ‹thought communication› between the two heroes went unnoticed by everyone inside the room; that was the level of power difference between normal humans and Saints.
"That is all I want, though I would not be above asking one last favor from you," the queen said with a small but helpless smile on her face.
"Please, tell us." Shizue's voice broke the atmosphere, gentle and kind.
"The lake around the kingdom has been poisoned for generations," she said with a hopeless look on her face.
Looking at her, it was obvious she was asking for their help in cleansing the lake. As the rumors say, the heroes of this generation are well adept in holy magic. It is said that any monster, demon, or curse that gets touched by the Hero of the Sun is eradicated from existence itself.
"But if it has been poisoned for generations, as you say, how are the people still using water from the lake?" Shizue voiced her concerns, a small frown on her face, unlike Karna's almost indifferent expression, which had a small but barely noticeable frown.
"It is because of this." She turned her head over her shoulder and looked at one of her men, who nodded and walked away, returning after a few moments.
He had a box which radiated incredible malice, putting both heroes on guard. Although they did not react outwardly, they were fully on guard against whatever was inside the box.
"What's in the box?"
The queen looked at them, placed the box on the table, and opened it with a small click, the malice permeating the air as it opened.
She took out a small object from inside the box.
"A tiara?" Shizue's question was on point. It was a dark red tiara, exuding a great amount of magicules as well as malice.
"It is my ancestral tiara belonging to the royal family. It can only be used by the royal family, specifically the queens of each generation," she said with a somber tone, which didn't match the soft and gentle tone from earlier at all.
"My ancestor, Queen Towa the First, procured this from a goddess as a way to purify the lake of its volatile poison. It is only temporary before needing to use it again," she spoke once more, while the heroes listened patiently without interrupting her.
"But, as they say, every power has its price. The price of using this tiara is the consumption of the life force of the user."
A small gasp could be heard—it was Shizue. Her face reflected pity, as well as a hint of resolve.
"Very well, we shall do our best to find and eradicate whatever is poisoning the lake," Karna stated with a firm voice.
"You should stop using the tiara; it is dangerous for your health. Also, I sense a curse placed on you," Shizue added. But the new information didn't seem to surprise the queen at all.
"It seems you were aware of it after all," Karna muttered, looking at the queen with a hint of admiration and respect, and nodding to himself.
"Very well, we will go check out the lake. And don't use the tiara no matter what from now on," Karna said and stood up. Shizue nodded to the queen, who nodded back, and followed Karna to the door. He knocked on it twice, and the guards opened it.
Walking through the hallways, they conversed with ‹thought communication›.
[She's such a strong woman. To live with the knowledge of a curse placed on oneself and still strive to do the duty of a ruler,] Shizue expressed her admiration for the queen to Karna.
[Truly, but we need to take care of that lake first. Even though we're not the rulers of this kingdom yet, I'm sure you share the same idea as me.]
Shizue looked at the man she took in last year who had become the most important person in her life and smiled.
"You know me so well." She closed her eyes and giggled to herself as they walked. When she opened her eyes, she saw one of the most beautiful sights in the world.
Karna was blushing.
"Aww." With a teasing smile, she looked smug, and Karna didn't like it one bit.
Chuu
He kissed her on the cheek, in public.
A red tint covered her face as a puff of smoke comically exploded out.
"That was unnecessary, and that too in public..." she muttered with her hands covering her face.
"So, you didn't like it?" It was now his turn to tease, and Karna really didn't like to let chances go.
"Wha-! No! I... liked it..." Her blush deepened to a darker shade of red. Though before she could respond to him, a foreboding chill crept down both of their spines.
She shook her head left and right and focused as they neared the lake. Karna was also focused; they sensed incredible malice, almost the same as the tiara the queen had.
"So, this is the problem." Using the sub-skill ‹Observing Eye› of his unique skill «Archer», he swiftly found the core problem.
Shizue looked at the lake in apprehension. The lake was poisoned by magic, and it wasn't a magic she recognized.
"I think my unique skill «Divine One» can be used to purify this if I really focus. It's at least something we could try," Karna said to his partner as he looked at the lake in contemplation.
"Yes, but what would you do if it doesn't work? Even though I feel it would work, we can't disregard the possibility of it not working." What Shizue said was also true.
Karna, while powerful, often did all he could without considering the possibility of failure in his endeavours.
"Say, we could try to use my unique skill, «Degenerate», to separate the water from the magic. Even though it is most optimal to use it on more physical targets, I've used it to separate and integrate different skills on some occasions."
Shizue's unique skill, «Degenerate», gives the user the ability to separate and join together whatever they wish. It is not even limited by skills, as it can be used to separate or deprive someone of their skills, with the exception of soul-bound ones.
It would be an understatement to say that this skill is in a different league from average unique skills.
And thus, the heroes began to plan what to do about the lake poisoning.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone