Chapter 25: The Swordsmanship Prodigy Saintess

Academy Entrance Exam (6)

1.

“Kyaa!”

Caught off guard by a shout that blasted into my ear, I let out a scream without meaning to.

I clutched my ear and turned to look beside me.

There he was, the guy I’d seen yesterday.

A blonde-haired warrior with tanned skin from the Southern Kingdom.

Right… Holt Langtree, the barbarian’s son.

“…Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue softly.

If this battle maniac was my teammate, my prey would decrease.

I wanted a weak party, and I end up with this guy?

He’s going to hog all the kills while I’ll be stuck healing from the back.

“Ah—! You bastard! I thought my eardrums were going to burst!”

A girl snapped at him, cursing without hesitation.

She wore a large robe that dragged along the ground.

I’m not particularly tall myself, but she was even smaller than me, like a tiny and yappy dog.

“Huh? You wanna fight?”

Holt drew his sword and thrust it at the girl, grinning from ear to ear like a big dog eager to play.

“Are you confident? I have been craving some roast pork.”

Now the big dog and the small dog were baring their teeth at each other, ready to pounce.

Mana flared up from both sides.

It looked like they would clash any second.

“H-Hold on!”

As much as I did want to watch a swordsman and a mage throw down, but as the Saintess, I had to mediate.

“Please calm down, both of you. We’re party members who need to cooperate and get along.”

The two of them, still glaring at each other, turned their gazes to me at the same time.

“Ooooh…!”

Holt’s eyes widened.

He looked like a child who just discovered a new toy.

“You’re that Saintess everyone’s been talking about, huh?”

Not everyone uses honorifics when addressing a Saintess.

Sure, I’m technically a high-ranking religious figure—

But only in countries where the Celestial God Church is the state religion.

In places like the Southern Kingdom, where they worship the God of War, a Saintess like me is just another priestess of a foreign faith.

Of course, not all people in the Southern Kingdom thinks that way.

Some are respectful. Others… not so much.

“You’ve got a body built for easy childbirth, perfect to be a good mother! I’m Holt Langtree, please take care of me!”

Holt extended his hand to me.

…What the hell did this bastard just say?

What exactly does he want me to take care of?

“You crazy bastard! What kind of nonsense are you spouting to the Saintess?!”

The girl flew at him with a kick.

It didn’t do much.

He didn’t even budge.

She stood there huffing and puffing, looking up at the giant Holt.

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

Holt blinked innocently, as if he genuinely didn’t understand.

“There’s a limit to how dumb someone can be. I guess it’s true that Southern Kingdom folks are all brainless.”

“Why waste time thinking when you can use your body? That’s what makes a true warrior.”

“You absolute moron. You’re going to be hauled before the Papal Tribunal for blasphemy.”

“Haha! Then I guess I’ll be taking a sightseeing trip to the Papal State.”

Yesterday, during the duel, I thought he had a certain charisma.

But seeing him now, he was nothing more than a muscle-headed idiot obsessed with battle.

“Wow… What the hell is wrong with this guy?”

The girl muttered with a hollow laugh, rubbing the back of her neck.

The way she rush at him, growling, reminded me of my former adjutant.

“I’m fine.”

We couldn’t stand around all day, so I tried to calm the girl.

“May I ask your name, Sister?”

I coaxed her gently, like soothing a growling little puppy.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself.”

She cleared her throat with a little ahem.

“I’m Leine von Agnia of the Agnia County.”

“The Agnia family… the one renowned for fire magic?”

“You know about us?”

Leine’s eyes went wide with surprise.

“Isn’t Count Agnia the master of the Western Magic Tower?”

“That’s right!”

I had no personal interest in magic.

But during my time as the Sword Saint, I’d had to manage a lot of affairs within the Empire, and through that built connections with many mages.

I was friends with the archmages and the masters of several magic towers.

Of course, that’s all in the past now.

“I am the descendant of the great warrior Glause!”

“You stay out of this!”

The first Berserker, Glause.

How could I not know that name?

Back when I was on the battlefield, General Langtree wouldn't stop yapping about him.

‘Do you realize how great a warrior Glause was, Adrian?’

‘Shut up! Focus on the battle!’

‘Even with twelve arrows in his back and a spear through his abdomen, he led the army to victory! A true berserker!”

‘Agh…! We’re losing the left flank!’

That was before I became the Sword Saint—

Back when I still had black hair.

We won that battle, but the left defense line collapsed and I got kicked in the shin by an officer’s boot.

Unpleasant memory.

“Anyway, this isn’t the time to be chatting. The exam’s already begun.”

“Right! Battle! Battle!!”

Holt bolted forward at full speed.

“Saintess, let’s ditch that idiot and go hunt on our own.”

Honestly, part of me wanted to charge ahead yelling “Hunt! Hunt!” just like that guy, but—

“We can’t do that. We’re a party for the duration of the exam, so we have to stick together, even if we don’t get along.”

“I really don’t want to work with a moron like him…”

“Would you put up with it for my sake?”

“Haah… If the Saintess says so, okay.”

I began running after Holt.

“Let’s go. If we don’t hurry, we’ll lose track of him.”

“Yes.”

We followed the trail of carnage Holt left behind.

Magical beast corpses lay scattered across the path—

All of them had their heads cleanly cut off.

Definitely not the work of an amateur.

He might act like a brute, but his swordsmanship was the real deal.

“Hraaaah!!”

Up ahead, Holt was locked in battle with a bear-like beast.

It was even larger than him.

Every time it swung its massive forearms, trees shattered with a loud crack.

He was putting up quite a fight.

Should I step in and help?

Just then—

“Saintess, it’s dangerous. Please stay behind me.”

Leine raised her staff.

“Ignite!”

A red magic circle bloomed above Leine’s staff.

The air around us heated up.

From the blazing circle, mana exploded outward.

–Boom!!

With a thunderous roar, a fire spell shaped like a dragon’s head lunged forward, mouth wide open, straight at the bear-like beast.

–Bang!!

The spell hit dead-on.

The bear beast didn’t even have time to scream before it was charred black and burned to ash.

“You little brat! That was my kill!”

“Who are you calling a brat?!”

Leine grumbled under her breath.

“Ungrateful bastard. I helped him and he still throws a fit.”

I sighed inwardly.

At this rate, it didn’t seem like I was going to get a chance to do anything.

“Hey, brat. Let's compete.”

“I’m not a brat!”

“Whoever takes down the stronger beast wins.”

“Are you even listening to me?”

“You there, Saintess! You’re joining too. Go take down a beast!”

Now that’s what I wanted to hear.

“You idiot! There's no way someone delicate like the Saintess could kill a magical beast!”

No.

I can kill them too.

Seriously, I was tempted to throw away my dignity as the Saintess and just let loose.

“I can help with the hunt too.”

I said, letting divine power glow in my right hand.

“Divine energy has the power to purify evil mana, after all.”

Healing magic isn't the only thing you can do with divine power.

There are purification spells too.

With this power, I can also defeat monsters.

“So please, let me—”

“Let’s go, brat!”

“Stop calling me that!!”

Leine cast a spell at Holt and rushed at him.

“Stay right there, you oversized mutt! I'll burn you before the beasts!”

“Puhahaha!”

I facepalmed.

“Good grief…”

It felt like babysitting two unruly kids.

Even so, the beast-hunting progressed surprisingly smoothly.

Holt charged ahead, drawing the beasts’ attention, while Leine burned them to cinders with her magic.

I was more like the party’s mascot.

My job was cheering them on from the back.

Occasionally, I’d get a moment of joy when a beast leapt out from the bushes and I smashed its face in with a punch.

Ehehe, fun~

Telling myself that was the only way I could keep the boredom at bay.

“Huh?”

I looked away for just a moment, and suddenly, they were gone.

Silence.

The noisy clamor from earlier had vanished.

The forest became eerily quiet.

...Unnervingly so.

I looked around.

Nothing had changed.

It was just an ordinary, lush forest.

That's when I heard a scream.

“Gaaaahhh!!”

A cry of pain so raw, it sounded like someone was being choked by agony.

I ran toward the sound.

“No, no, don’t come near me! Stay back! Aaaaah!!”

Blood sprayed.

An arm holding a sword was flung into the air and landed on the ground with a pathetic thud.

“Ghhh—grghhh—!”

A man, both his arms severed, was crawling across the ground.

But he didn’t make it far before a sword came down over his head.

–Crack!!

A sound like an apple being crushed.

The man’s head split in two.

This wasn’t some dramatic effect.

This wasn’t a surprise event set up by the academy.

The man’s body twitched once, then went limp.

He was truly dead.

And what brought about that death was—

“...A demon?”

Its arms hung long and limp like a monkey’s, nearly dragging along the ground.

In its hands, it held massive, rectangular greatswords.

Black smoke leaked from between its yellowed teeth.

The look in its eyes was dull and lifeless—it wasn’t a demon with sentience.

Still, that didn’t make it any less dangerous.

Demons are troublesome enemies, no matter the place or time.

...But why is there a demon in a place like this?

No time to think about it now.

Stopping it before there are more victims takes priority.

I glanced at the sword lying on the ground beside the corpse.

If I were unarmed, this would’ve been a struggle.

But with a weapon in hand—

The odds shifted.

This would be easy.

How many demons have I beheaded on the battlefield?

I ran out of the bushes in a flash.

Grabbed the sword.

Swung upward from below.

The demon was sliced clean down the middle.

Everything happened in one smooth motion, like flowing water.

“This definitely needs to be reported.”

Just then—

As if rising from the ground itself, I sensed several presences surrounding me.

–Thud. Thud.

Five more demons, identical to the one I just cut down, dragged their long arms as they emerged.

I glanced at the corpse of the one I had just killed.

It was gone, vanished into thin air like smoke.

“I knew it… It didn’t feel right when I cut it…”

This was one of those demons—

The kind that used illusion magic. The most annoying kind.

I should have known something was off from that eerie silence earlier…

I had already wandered into the demon’s hunting ground.

…Who would’ve expected a demon here?

And a demon like this won’t stop until it gets its prey.

There are only two ways to escape this hunting ground:

Die and leave it as a corpse—

Or defeat the real body and walk out alive.

So where’s the real one?

It’s somewhere nearby.

The illusion field has limits.

It must be hiding somewhere within the area, puppeteering its clones from the shadows.

Finding it is simple.

I just have to kill everything in sight until I get the real one.

Simple, right?

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