Chapter 19: The Swordsmanship Prodigy Saintess

Saintess (10)

1.

“Haaaah…”

I let out a deep sigh as I wiped my face with dry hands.

A saintess…?

No. Me, a saintess…?

I lifted my head and looked into the mirror.

My cheeks were puffed up in a pout.

My pretty face wore a thoroughly dissatisfied expression.

“Seriously…”

Standing in front of the mirror, I lifted the nun’s robe up to my belly button.

There, on my lower abdomen, was a crimson mark.

It looked like a butterfly with its wings spread wide.

“This thing… is supposed to be a stigmata…?”

Saying something like that might earn me divine punishment from the Celestial God, but no matter how I look at it, it totally looks like the kind of mark a succubus would have.

Sure, the shape is probably different if you really look closely, but the problem is—it’s in a place way too embarrassing to show others.

There’s no fixed place where a stigmata appears.

Some had it on their collarbone.

Some on their back.

As far as I know, Saintess Aris had hers on the back of her hand.

So why do I…?

It’s already depressing enough just being branded a Saintess, and now even the location of the stigmata feels like a personal attack.

“Ugh…”

I sighed repeatedly as I collapsed onto the bed.

It was noisy outside.

The cathedral was in a festive mood.

Well, of course.

A new Saintess had been revealed.

The Pope was overjoyed the moment he heard the news that my stigmata had manifested.

When he had me prove it in front of so many people, I nearly died of embarrassment.

Ha… what a life.

Just thinking about it makes me want to curse out loud.

As soon as it was confirmed I was the Saintess, I was treated like royalty.

They gave me a bath in a grand bathhouse filled with floating flower petals.

It was awkward having nuns on either side scrubbing my body with bubbles, but since I’d bathed with the nuns at the convent since I was young, the embarrassment didn’t last long.

More than anything, the shoulder massage felt amazing.

After the bath, a banquet awaited.

For the first time in ages, I stuffed myself full of meat.

Well, “stuffed” might be a stretch.

I barely finished a single plate of steak.

Back when I was on the battlefield, I could devour an entire wild boar on my own…

After the meal, I was guided to a bedroom.

Not just a guest room, but the Saintess’s room, where traces of the past saintesses remained.

I rolled around a bit.

The bed was so soft, it felt like it might swallow me whole.

“…What do I do now?”

I had been averting my eyes, but it was time to face reality.

I kept thinking “No way, no way”—but of course, it was that way.

It’s not like I have to immediately carry out the duties of a Saintess.

Right now, I’ve only been granted the title of Saintess.

The real obligations will come after I’ve received formal education as one.

At this rate… am I going to end up enrolling in the academy?

Given the timing, that seemed likely.

In about one or two months—

Once winter ends and spring comes, the academy will begin a new semester.

Whether it’s a coincidence or fate, I’m exactly the right age to enter as a first-year student.

“If I enroll… would it be in the Theology Department?”

Studying scriptures and bible.

Learning the words of God.

Spending several hours a day in what’s basically nonstop worship and prayer.

They expect me to go there?

That’s insane.

Completely insane.

It’s nothing short of torture.

I’ve grown used to attending worship services, but I still get sleepy and bored during them.

Seriously, what was the Celestial God thinking when he chose someone like me as the Saintess?

No matter how I try to make sense of it, it just doesn’t add up.

Honestly, I feel like asking him directly.

…Could I?

I am the Saintess, after all.

They do call me the Daughter of Celestial God.

I got up and sat upright on the bed.

I wasn’t sure if it would work, but being the Saintess made me feel like maybe it could.

I brought both hands to my chest and clasped them.

“Oh, Divine One…”

I offered up a prayer to the Celestial God.

All I felt was divine power filling my chest.

In the end, I couldn’t hear the voice of God.

It seems communication only flows in one direction.

Ugh… tsk.

“Guess I’ll just go for a walk.”

I opened the window.

Then jumped out of it with a little hop.

Right before landing, I used mana to soften my fall.

There were escort knights stationed outside my room, so I chose the window for a discreet exit.

I roamed freely around the cathedral grounds.

If I really wanted to run away, I easily could.

No way they’d be able to stop me.

However, I’d half given up already.

There were many reasons for that.

First, I had been confirmed as the Saintess.

Stigmata only appear when the rightful bearer is gone.

In other words, when the previous Saintess dies, the next one receives the mark.

So thanks to this thing on my lower belly, whether I like it or not, I am now the Saintess.

“Heh… hehehe…”

Second, there’s no way the Papal State would just sit back and do nothing.

If I ran away, I would live as a fugitive until I raised the white flag.

They’d chase me to the ends of the world.

No matter where I hide, they’d find me.

To the Papal State, the Saintess is an important existence.

She is the symbol of the Celestial God Church.

The foundation of the Papacy’s power.

And the bridge that connects the Empire to the Papal State.

There’s no way they’d let someone like that just walk away…

Living as a Saintess is the last thing I want.

It’s a role that comes with all sorts of responsibilities.

I was fed up with it when I was the Sword Saint.

If I were just fighting alone, it would be one thing.

But once I stepped onto the battlefield as a commander, I was responsible for the lives of hundreds, sometimes thousands.

Being a Saintess isn’t all that different.

If anything, it might even be worse.

I may not be directly responsible for lives anymore, but when you consider the entirety of the Celestial God Church… it’s overwhelming.

The Papal State.

And the Empire, where the Celestial God Church is the state religion.

At the top of both, in a way, is the Saintess.

…But would anything change just because I reject it?

Nothing.

Maybe it’d be more comfortable to just go along with it.

All I ever really wanted was to hone my sword skills to the fullest and roam freely across the battlefield.

Still…

It’s not like being a Saintess means I can’t walk the path of a swordsman.

It just means I’ll be a little more restricted.

“Even so… to think I’m the Saintess…”

It’s not something I ever dreamed of.

Not something I ever even imagined.

It all happened way too suddenly.

I was walking around the outskirts of the Grand Cathedral when—

“What are you doing out here?”

A voice called out.

I turned around.

Louis was standing there with that sly smile of his.

He acted like he just happened to run into me, but I knew he’d been secretly tailing me for a while now.

“Just taking a walk.”

“Alone?”

“Is that a problem?”

“No, not really.”

It is a problem, though.

If the cardinal or the holy knights find out the Saintess snuck out for a walk in the middle of the night, the escort knights stationed outside my room would be punished for dereliction of duty.

Louis came to walk beside me.

“So, you're officially the Saintess now?”

“I feel like running away this instant.”

“You hate it that much?”

“Yes.”

Louis chuckled. “Heh.”

“To be honest, it feels like my swordsmanship is being completely wasted as a Saintess.”

“On the flip side, your divine power would be wasted if you were just a knight.”

“Tch…”

I shot Louis a glare.

I couldn’t argue, since he was right.

He’d never once contradicted me before, but here he was, calling me out.

“It’s not like being a saintess means you can’t also be a swordsman, right?”

I let out a deep sigh.

“I know. That’s why I’ve been trying to come to terms with it.”

“Ah, so I interrupted a moment of deep reflection?”

“Correct.”

“Well, sorry, sorry.”

Waving his hand in apology, Louis closed his mouth.

Silence.

The sound of our footsteps gently echoed in the stillness of winter.

“Come to think of it, your master was that person, right? The one you mentioned last time—Adrian von Lycard?”

“That’s right. He was a strict man.”

Me?

I was strict?

Hah… I always taught you with love and patience.

“He never even let me rest after stamina training. He’d drag me straight into swordsmanship training whenever I finished. And at night, while I was fast asleep, he’d barge into my room asking for a spar. One day, I woke up and suddenly found myself inside a dungeon. Can you believe it? He left me with just a sword and told me to survive.”

I remember all of it.

Back then, I’d discovered the talent of a young brat and was so thrilled that I threw all sorts of training at him.

“There was even a time I came back from a dungeon, went to bed, and woke up the next morning in another dungeon. Seriously… that was the first time I ever cursed at my master. Called him a damn old geezer.”

Huh?

This punk?

You mean to say you badmouthed me behind my back?

‘I’ll give you a chance. Say everything you’ve ever wanted to tell me today. I’ll accept anything, even curses.’

‘Oh come on, how could I possibly curse at you, Master?’

‘I said, go ahead.’

‘There’s nothing to curse about. I’m not doing it.’

I remember that very clearly.

Still…

I didn’t feel sad at all.

Instead, I found myself smiling as I reminisced about the past.

“But… those were good times. And because of all that, I was able to grow into who I am today.”

“……”

“If it hadn’t been for master, I’d probably be living a filthy life doing dirty work.”

We first met when I was cleaning out the underworld after the daughter of Count Dalford had been kidnapped.

This kid had boldly rushed at me with a sword.

I saw his talent in that moment and took Louis in.

Taught him the sword, trained him into a hero, and now here we are.

“He was a good man… a really good man.”

Louis gently stroked the sword at his waist.

“And speaking of all this…”

He stopped walking.

“Please get along well with my disciple.”

“Your disciple?”

“The hero who’ll succeed me. He’s still immature, but… he’ll definitely become a hero who surpasses me. Once he graduates from the academy, he’ll form a hero’s party and head out to face the Demon King.”

Louis smiled brightly.

Ah…

Like master, like student, huh?

‘Please take care of my disciple, Saintess.’

I remembered saying that once to Saintess Aris.

It was back when Louis had suffered a serious injury and was hospitalized at the temple.

I knew I couldn’t always be there to protect him.

So I said those words in preparation for the day I’d leave this world.

Thank you, Saintess.

Maybe… it was that request that made her sacrifice herself.

But knowing her, she would’ve made the same choice even without my request.

To save the Hero, she would’ve gladly given her life.

Even so, I’m sorry. And I thank you.

I silently offered gratitude to Saintess Aris in my heart.

“So I just have one favor to ask. No, allow me to make a single request.”

Louis bowed his head respectfully.

“Please take care of my disciple, Saintess.”

What did Saintess Aris say back then?

“Yes!”

She’d answered with a smile.

Just that one word.

But it had been more than enough.

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