For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Chapter 235: It’s A Ghost!

“Tada~ Yandel has successfully enhanced the medallion!”

Even though I announced the good news, all I received were stares as if I were a madman.

So unfair.

Just as I was about to get a little sulky, the Righteous Radiance, on the verge of tears, rushed at me.

“G-give it back! Give Clara back!”

She clung to me, half-hanging on, reaching out desperately, looking quite pitiful.

She seemed to be mistaken about something… Well, as long as it’s fun.

I shook the medallion, which I had held up high, at eye level.

“Clara? Oh… you mean this?”

“Eek!”

The Righteous Radiance snatched the medallion, still tearful.

The medallion, which had been vibrating irregularly, immediately quieted down. The tearful Righteous Radiance also closed her mouth tightly.

Perhaps thinking I had done something wrong, Carla asked cautiously.

“Um… Master? What did you do to Lady Clara…?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just…”

I paused for a moment, feeling the focus of the surrounding gazes intensely.

Only the Righteous Radiance was staring blankly at the medallion.

Just as I was about to continue speaking.

Rumble!

A sound like thunder filled my ears, making them numb.

It wasn’t the chimeras that had crossed the barrier after Clara disappeared, howling fiercely.

It was because the dungeon, having lost its master, could no longer maintain the distorted space-time, returning to its original form.

With a rumble, the space collapsed. Boundaries blurred, colors invaded and mixed with each other.

Even the sense of time became erratic, with the surroundings switching between slow motion and fast motion. I grinned widely.

“I simply enhanced the medallion into an Ego Medallion.”

“…What?”

Carla still didn’t seem to understand and tilted her head in confusion. But before I could explain further, the distortion around us intensified, and with a flash, my vision turned white.

When I came to, we were in the middle of a desert.

Hovering in the air were rewards announcing the dungeon clearance.

---

A silent desert, devoid of the chimeras’ distinctive stench, loud cries, or murderous intent.

I inhaled deeply the dry, sand-laden wind and reached for the glowing cluster floating in the air.

Huuuu.

As I grasped it, the brilliance vanished in an instant. Slowly opening my palm, a small but luxurious glass bottle was revealed.

Ding!

First Dew of the World Tree.

The Goddess of Life, Healing, and Guardian of the Elves, Cyclic Life.

This is the dew formed on the highest leaf of the World Tree, another manifestation of her.

However, do not be deceived by its clear and refreshing fragrance. What comes from a God’s body is too overwhelming for mortals.

It is indeed a divine water that can create miracles, but miracles come with a price.

Perfect recovery of life force, mana, aura, and holy power.

Exceed maximum life force by 500% in the form of a shield.

Heal all conditions except death.

50% chance of physical transformation, 30% chance of mental collapse, 10% chance of death.

Hmm. Still a brutal description.

In fact, the dew of the World Tree itself wasn’t that dangerous. It was an excellent healing item, albeit extremely rare.

It was one of the complete recovery potions that I often saved, even after seeing the ending.

The problem was that this was the first dew.

The dew of the World Tree was not actual dew formed by moisture.

The Cyclic Life, who rests in the great tree as her sanctuary, occasionally bestows this grace upon the elves.

It was an essence filled with healing powers, diluted and scattered to create more.

One drop on the highest leaf becomes two drops as it falls, and so on, until it reaches the lowest leaf.

The result of repeated dilution was the dew of the World Tree, a complete recovery potion. But the first dew, the undiluted essence, was incredibly potent.

The overflowing life force could indeed be problematic, causing damage rather than healing.

Still, because it’s life force, there’s a 10% chance of surviving without side effects.

If it were mana or aura concentrated like this, there would be a 100% chance of an explosive demise.

Anyway, now that I have the last piece, it’s time to wrap things up.

While everyone was still dizzy from being suddenly expelled from the dungeon, I reached out to the Righteous Radiance, who was clutching the medallion.

“May I borrow this for a moment?”

“…Okay.”

Indeed, a God is still a God. Despite her limited state, she sensed what I was about to do and handed over the medallion.

The medallion vibrated softly in my hand, no longer protesting like before.

Clara must also understand that I’m trying to help her.

I whispered quietly to Clara, who was probably listening inside.

“You’ll have to repay me later, okay?”

Then, using telekinesis magic, I opened the bottle containing the first dew of the World Tree.

Pop.

With a cute sound, the cork was removed. The refreshing scent that filled the air cleared my mind.

Just inhaling this clears away the dizziness that felt like seasickness.

It seemed the other members who had been swaying also felt the same, as they staggered and looked this way.

Feeling their gaze, I glanced at the medallion.

I had played H&A for a long time, but I hadn’t discovered new elements or strategies.

However, there was one strategy I could be proud of.

It was the hidden piece regarding Clara, the last saintess.

You clear the dungeon located on the path from the Academy to the Solaris Church to obtain Clara’s medallion.

Then you equip it to the new saintess of the Righteous Radiance and find the scenario dungeon in the desert to interact Clara with the saintess.

In doing so, the lingering thoughts that were about to scatter lose their way and become bound to the item filled with memories of their life.

This, however, was only a temporary phenomenon.

They could only communicate through vibrations, and after a week, Clara’s thoughts would ascend again.

At that time, I was so surprised that I immediately loaded a save file.

After several trials and errors, I found a way to fix Clara in place. The answer was surprisingly close.

You use the reward from the scenario dungeon where Clara appears: the First Dew of the World Tree on the medallion.

It was an item that held immense life force, enough to cause side effects if a living person drank it.

Even the lingering thoughts, without a soul, could benefit from it.

Of course, resurrection or something similar was impossible, but it allowed her to reside in the medallion for about 100 years.

Additionally, the power she could exert while in the medallion slightly increases.

Hoping that the information from H&A would still be valid in reality, I poured the dew onto the medallion in one go.

Drip… drop.

Due to its small volume, the contents spilled out in an instant.

The dew was entirely absorbed by the medallion upon contact. As a result, the medallion, now imbued with pure life force, began to shine brightly.

Even though it had already been emitting a soft glow while holding Clara, now it was almost blinding.

I closed my eyes briefly due to the intense light and opened them again as it faded.

“Ah.”

There stood a translucent woman, formed by the light emitted from the medallion.

Long white hair. Transparent skin. White attire. And emerald green eyes.

The woman, undoubtedly wearing white underwear as well, looked down at her body with a blank expression.

When our eyes met, Clara hesitated and mumbled as if unsure of what to say.

Seeing her struggling to find the words, I decided to speak first.

“Surprise~”

-Surprise, my foot. You should’ve told us in advance. Do you know how shocked I, the Righteous Radiance, and Helena were?

“But… isn’t it more fun this way?”

-…It is, but still.

Clara made a sulky face, but her lips trembled as if trying to suppress a smile.

While the party members were shocked by Clara’s reappearance, the Righteous Radiance approached slowly and embraced Clara.

However, her outstretched arms only distorted Clara’s image, unable to touch her.

“Ah.”

The Righteous Radiance sighed in disappointment, close to a lament.

Clara giggled, looking at her drooping ears and tail.

-I’m fine. I’m grateful just to be held here, despite being a lingering thought that should have disappeared.

“Yes. But I’ll find a way. You appeared using the holy power stored in the medallion, right? It’s based on my power, so there must be a way. Although it’s a bit difficult now with the authority of Cyclic Life mixed in…”

The Righteous Radiance nodded seriously, but as if the time limit were near, her ears and tail began to flicker as if they would disappear.

Soon after, she released the divine descent, handing control back to Helena.

Helena opened her eyes slowly, her usual golden eyes blinking.

“Hmm…”

Her unfocused gaze became clear again. And when she saw the translucent Clara awkwardly waving in front of her.

“Eek!! It’s a ghost, Brother!!!”

She screamed and drew her mace.

Why does she grab her weapon when she’s scared?