Reincarnated in the Same World for the Nth Time - Chapter 7

Achievement titles were a secondary option that could be obtained when clearing hidden quests or achieving a certain goal for the first time.

Just like the ‘system,’ when he achieved his first achievement title, he once again realized that this world was perfectly imitating the structure of a game.

He didn’t know exactly what he needed to do to obtain achievements.

However, besides the noticeable achievements like when he made a name for himself as a grand mage, or when he first defeated a dragon, he could only guess that the list was quite diverse because he had received an achievement even when he had cumulatively killed a hundred monsters.

‘The First Curel, huh… The system has never made a mistake, so it must be correct.’

He had thought that at least one person would have survived the Curse of Deadly Poison by sheer luck, even in a time where the removal method hadn’t been made public yet.

But since the ‘First Cure Achievement’ had just been granted, it meant no one had survived before now.

The highest-level curse that a human could inflict on another while borrowing the power of a god.

Yet, Aquila maintained a calm expression as he slowly reflected on past iterations.

The reason he didn’t take the Curse of Deadly Poison too seriously was partly because he had experienced it and survived in a previous iteration, but mostly because he was more accustomed to the world after the cure became widespread.

Once the cure was commonly known, no one considered the Curse of Deadly Poison a severe threat.

Who would fear a disease that could be cured?

‘…Aquila Reshenhardt’s death was undoubtedly a major turning point.’

With the death of Aquila Reshenhardt, his elder brother, a brilliant alchemist, discovered the cure and spread it widely.

This coincidence, of course, was a pre-arranged setup by the author, as this world was based on a piece of fiction.

But what caught his interest more was the part about the Sun God Rasphallara being greatly pleased upon receiving a pure offering of divine power.

When he had lifted the Curse of Deadly Poison in the previous rounds, this kind of window had never appeared.

“…Does it still taste bad?”

Yuzelia, who had been looking at him with a questioning gaze because of the voice that Aquila had unintentionally made, couldn’t help but ask.

From her perspective, he had emptied his cup, then stared blankly into space without saying a word, so it was understandable that she was curious.

“Do you feel any lighter or different compared to before drinking it?”

Yuzelia glanced at the flower that had withered and turned black, its divine power gone.

Her amber eyes were filled with undeniable anxiety, trembling like a candle in the wind.

‘I don’t know how much the pure divine power is needed for Rasphallara to be satisfied, but it must be close to that of a archbishop.’

In this world, divine power was the privilege of the chosen.

While natural talent determined one’s capacity for divine power, similar to mana, mana could be increased through repeated training.

Divine power, however, only demonstrated its healing properties when rooted in pure and sincere faith.

Therefore, it was a widely known fact that those who maintained their faith by praying to a god every day as if they were self-forging could perform higher-level divine magic.

When he had lived as a priest in a previous iteration, he had risen to the rank of auxiliary bishop but had not been ordained as a bishop.

It was because he didn’t have enough divine power and he wasn’t particularly filled with faith enough to genuinely believe in the god of this world.

Perhaps the fact that he was from another world had also played a part.

In truth, during his time with the Great Temple of Port Plum, he had been more of a scholar pursuing knowledge than a priest.

‘Even now, I’m probably closer to resentment than belief.’

Aquila cut off his thoughts indifferently and recalled the fresh golden glow that the flower she had grown overnight had given off.

There wouldn’t be a difference in the removal method, so what was different must be the presence of the priestess.

It must be thanks to Yuzelia.

Without further hesitation, Aquila answered.

“Yeah. It seems that everything went well without any particular issues.”

At those words, Shen, who had also been holding his breath and waiting for Aquila’s answer, finally let out his breath.

Yuzelia, who had been clenching her hands tightly, took a deep breath and approached him.

And then, with a resolute look, she extended one hand.

“Is it alright if I check, by any chance?”

Aquila didn’t refuse and extended his hand towards her.

He had seen people suffering right in front of his eyes, so he understood her desire to check it herself.

Yuzelia closed her eyes and recited a prayer, then carefully grabbed Aquila’s hand.

“Rasphallara, oh my goodness…”

She opened her eyes wide in surprise.

***

Yuzelia still vividly remembered that scene.

The faces twisted in pain and the screams, and the final moments of the people who had withered to death.

Divine power had somewhat relieved the pain, but it hadn’t been able to stop the curse itself.

In the face of a destined death, she had felt a never-ending sense of powerlessness for the first time.

Even so, her conscience wouldn’t allow her to just stand by and watch.

So she had started praying for them.

She hadn’t said anything even with the bishop who had sneered at her for wasting her divine power, because she knew that it was nothing but self-satisfaction.

She had met a several people who were afflicted by the Curse of Deadly Poison like that, and every time, she had despaired.

She had felt so pathetic that she was disgusted with herself.

When she began to question the very existence of priests, she met Aquila Reshenhardt.

No matter how blessed one might be by a supreme being, she thought that once afflicted with the Curse of Deadly Poison, their fate would be no different from anyone else’s.

But this time, something was different.

He said that he knew how to remove the Curse of Deadly Poison.

Of course, she didn’t believe those words at first.

She had even doubted if the dragon’s prophecy was true.

However, what made her follow Aquila’s words wasn’t the hope that he might be cured.

Rather, it was because he kept wearing an expression that said, “This curse is nothing to worry about.”

If it was someone with the Reshenhardt bloodline, then perhaps…

The hope that he might have had was now a faint expectation.

That was why Yuzelia stayed by his side all day long, even though what seemed like child’s play, praying and praying that Aquila would be able to escape the curse.

And now, she was witnessing the result of those desperate prayers.

Yuzelia clenched her hands tightly, focusing her mind further.

Just a day ago, a dark and eerie energy from the Curse of Deadly Poison had been flowing out of him, but now, she couldn’t feel that energy at all.

The dark and murky flow had completely vanished, replaced by a warm and gentle presence overflowing from him.

The Curse of Deadly Poison had really disappeared.

The eerie energy that had been spread throughout the body wouldn’t disappear even after the target had met their end for a while, but all that was felt from Aquila was a warm aura.

As if the mercy of the Sun God Rasphallara had finally arrived.

The prophecy of the Red Dragon that Aquila had spoken of was true.

***

Yuzelia bowed her head.

Soon, her amber eyes welled up with tears, and they began streaming down her face.

“The shadow of death looms over you, young master…”

Yuzelia tried to continue her words calmly, but the end of her voice was trembling uncontrollably.

Her lips moved several times, but in the end, she couldn’t suppress her rising sobs and failed to finish her sentence.

“Priestess Yuzelia.”

Aquila shook his head right away as if to say that he was okay, and then held her hand tightly.

Perhaps because the time they were spending there was getting longer, the number of servants who were glancing their way was increasing.

Even though they were whispering quietly, more attention had been drawn since Yuzelia had burst into tears.

Aquila quickly looked around and then stood up, whispering in a voice that only Shen and Yuzelia could hear.

“It’s all thanks to you, Priestess Yuzelia.”

“No, it’s all because of what you told me, young master. I didn’t do anything….”

However, Aquila shook his head.

Even if he knew the removal method, it was entirely due to Yuzelia’s efforts that she had believed him and bloomed the flower at a time when the removal method hadn’t been announced.

If only that pot-bellied bishop had been the one who was left there, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.

‘If that pot-bellied bishop had been the one here, he might have wasted precious days looking for a discreet priest and ended up dead by then.’

It was a fortunate fact for Aquila that Yuzelia had been in charge of treating him.

Moreover, thanks to her, his status had improved.

In many ways, he could only count himself lucky.

‘Though it’s a rather modest reward for receiving such pure divine power.’

Aquila, who had been secretly mocked Rasphallara without her knowing, smiled with her eyes wide open.

“Thank you, Priestess Yuzelia.”

But these words were sincere.

When Yuzelia briefly looked up, her face was drenched with tears.

Shen had a relieved expression, but when she began to sob, he also became teary-eyed.

It was clear that he also wanted to cry, but he was holding back his tears firmly, and instead, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Yuzelia.

“…Thank you, young master, and you as well, Shen.”

Barely managing to whisper her thanks, she bowed her head deeply.

Shen carefully patted her shoulder.

Aquila wanted to leave the two alone for a while, but not here.

Though not confirmed, there was a high possibility that one of Celcia Reshenhardt’s confidants was present here.

‘I’ve managed to stop Yuzelia from saying anything more, and it would be good if I look like I’m despairing from the threat of death.’

“More than that, I have something important to tell you…”

And then, Aquila glanced around again.

“For now, let’s return to the room. Shen.”

Shen, who had been biting his lip until his jaw had become pointed, started to neatly organize the space where they had been as soon as he heard his name.

“…What about the flowers? Should I throw them away?”

“They can be discarded, but for now, it’s better to take them with us.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Shen cleaned the kettle and cup and then wrapped the dark withered flower with a dry cloth.

As expected, he was quick-witted and his actions were swift.

Yuzelia, who was only holding the handkerchief tightly and wiping her tears with the hem of her robe, also got up from her seat with her mouth firmly shut.

She might not know what was happening, but it was clear that she was trying to follow Aquila instead of questioning him.

That was enough for Aquila.

“It’s still too early to let my guard down, but this doesn’t feel like a lie.”

Even while he was thinking that, Aquila felt a slight disgust at himself for suspecting and calculating the sincerity of others.

But he concluded that it was necessary this time as well.

In this world, he had to survive no matter what. To do so, he needed to judge carefully whom to keep by his side.

Aquila’s black eyes coldly calmed down.

‘That pot-bellied bishop clearly has his eyes on me, but he’s too valuable a card to discard just yet.’

After glancing at Yuzelia, Aquila nodded slightly, and Shen led the way.

While they were returning to the room, as if they had made a promise, they didn’t say a single word.

***

And so, Aquila, who had returned to the room by intentionally walking far in the hallway to roughly understand the surrounding area, said this before even sitting on the chair.

“Let’s go to the Temple.”

“Huh?”