Chapter 17: The Swordsmanship Prodigy Saintess

Saintess (8)

1.

I listened as Louis explained how he had lost his arm.

The Hero’s Party.

After enduring countless hardships, they finally reached the Demon King.

The final battle.

All they had to do was defeat the Demon King.

…But easier said than done.

The Demon King had made a pact with an evil god and become a demigod.

I knew very well how powerful he is.

Because I had faced him directly and tasted it.

But even then, I never imagined that the Hero Party, made up of those called heroes, would be so utterly destroyed.

Louis, the Hero.

Eirene, the Archmage and East Magic Tower Master.

Raven, Lord of the Canyon.

Tia, Daughter of the World Tree.

And Aris, the Saintess.

A five-member party.

All wiped out, except for the Hero.

At the moment the Demon King's sword was about to cleave Louis in two, it was the Saintess's sacrifice that saved him.

Even so, he didn’t come out unscathed.

He paid the price of defeat with his left arm.

While escaping from the Demon King’s castle, he was struck by the Demon King’s magic.

His left arm turned to ash and vanished.

“But I'm used to it now. Living with one arm’s not so bad.”

Louis smiled and flexed his right hand.

You idiot.

This fool had trained his whole life with two-handed swords.

Even now, both swords at his waist were meant to be wielded with two hands.

One-handed use was possible, but they were forged for a different stance.

And my teaching had been focused on exactly that—two-handed forms.

Losing an arm meant he’d lost some of his original swordsmanship skills.

It left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Seeing my disciple like that made me sigh.

I wanted to scold him for being so careless.

Even though none of it was his fault, it still pained me to see him ended up like this.

“Does it hurt… your arm, I mean?”

“Huh?”

I waved both hands, startled by my slip.

“N-no, I meant, does your arm hurt, sir?”

Living in the convent had softened my manner of speech.

But because I was thinking about the old days for the first time in a while, I unconsciously blurted out my old tone.

“Not anymore. Or… maybe that’s not quite right?”

He smiled, shaking his empty left sleeve with a hearty laugh.

Like master, like student.

Somehow, he reminded me of myself.

I used to be like that too.

Back then, I used to make self-deprecating jokes, just to keep others from worrying about me.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

I gently placed my hand on his left shoulder.

“I don’t know how much this will help, but…”

Closing my eyes, I began to pray.

A golden glow of divine power shimmered from my palm, seeping into Louis’s body.

“I’ve cast a blessing to ease the aftereffects.”

I know this kid.

He’s like family to me.

We were together from the day he was a runny-nosed brat until the day I died.

And he’s always been the kind to hide his pain.

“You lied about being fine, didn’t you?”

Louis only gave a crooked smile.

Some things never change.

That same fake grin, he always wore it when he lied.

I reached up and ruffled his hair.

“You look like an idiot when hiding pain like that… but it’s kind of cool.”

Louis's expression, which had been smiling brightly, gradually relaxed.

Then, slowly, with wide, dazed eyes, he looked up at me.

Ah—! Crap!

I realized I’d slipped.

Spoken and acted like I used to.

“A-anyway! I won that duel, okay?”

I quickly pulled my hand away from his head and briskly marched back into the convent.

*

2.

Really, what a strange thing.

He kept seeing his master's figure overlapping with that girl.

‘You idiot.’

Even when scolding Louis harshly, his master’d always affectionately pat his head.

‘But it’s kind of cool.’

It's a nostalgic feeling.

Louis placed his hand on his left shoulder.

The warmth still lingered.

The excruciating pain that had clung to him like a curse was now completely gone.

No amount of healing could ever rid him of it before.

Yet with just a single prayer, it had vanished.

Forget swordsmanship, her divine power alone proves she's no ordinary girl.

Could she really be the Saintess from the prophecy?

No, even if she isn’t the prophesied saint, she’s still someone we need.

With abilities like that, she would be an immense help.

To the next Hero…

Because Louis couldn’t do it.

He might be able to return to the battlefield, but not in the condition to defeat the Demon King.

Right now, he's training a successor.

And if it’s that girl, she could be the strongest pillar of support for the new Hero.

“Maybe I should try persuading her again…”

They’d made a deal during their duel.

Knowing Elia, she’d probably ask to join the Imperial Army.

Even if she becomes a knight, she’d be a powerful force.

Her swordsmanship skills already surpassed that of most soldiers.

And from the brief clash they’d had, Louis could sense her skill was well beyond ordinary.

She could likely use sword aura as well.

She can go to the battlefield right away without any difficulty.

But…

It would be a waste to let such divine power rot in a military unit.

Let’s be blunt.

The world has plenty of people with the potential to become Sword Saint.

But only someone chosen by the God can become a Saintess.

Louis clenched his fist.

He had to try convincing Elia one more time.

Persistence was his specialty.

It was the same way he mastered swordsmanship—through endless, stubborn effort.

If she says no ten times…

Then ask eleven times.

*

3.

I returned to my room.

“Haaah…”

I let out a deep sigh and collapsed onto the bed.

My thoughts were a mess.

The story about the Hero’s party weighed heavily on me.

…To think the Saintess had really died.

Her mysterious, otherworldly aura still lingered in my mind.

She was so young, but somehow always seemed so mature.

Before she’d come of age, she used to call me “Sword Saint Grandpa!” and follow me everywhere.

“Tch…”

The Papal State had yet to officially announce her death.

Instead, they claimed she was in seclusion, recovering from illness.

Because the Saintess is more than a person—

She’s a great symbol of the Celestial God Religion.

If word got out that the Daughter of Celestial God had been slain by the Demon King, it would send the believers into waves of grief and rage.

To prevent that… they needed a new Saintess, quickly.

Someone to fill the void left behind by Saintess Aris.

Of course, besides that, the Saintess is a necessary existence for the Papal State for political reasons as well.

I just hope that child’s resting in peace now…

Aris was someone who sacrificed everything for others until her death.

She probably couldn’t close her eyes comfortably even in death, worrying about the church she left behind.

‘Please rest in peace now…’

Those were her final words to me.

Even at the end, she was sorry for me and worried about me.

As if my own death had been her fault.

She looked so heartbroken.

“Hah… damn it…!”

I roughly ruffled my hair.

Time to return to the battlefield again.

This time, I’ll fulfill the dream I couldn’t achieve before.

But…

If it’s for that child…

If it means repaying her even just a little—

“Should I pay the Papal State a visit?”

It’s not like it’s been confirmed I’m the Saintess.

I could be…

But I could also not be.

“Ugh…”

What a dilemma.

Should I just go ahead and enlist in the Imperial Army as it is?

Or swing by the Papal State once and check?

Then, what if I really am the Saintess?

The moment they confirm it, the Papal State will never let me go.

That thought makes me shudder.

If I didn’t have the memories of my past life, I probably would’ve accepted the title with joy.

But now that I’ve remembered everything from my time as the Sword Saint…

The choice is even harder.

Even I know I’m not just some ordinary girl.

This innate divine power—

It’s clearly something granted by the God.

Would they have given it to me without a reason?

It’s practically an announcement:

You are the next Saintess.

But why?!

Why me, of all people?

“What even happens if I become a Saintess…?”

Just like all the Saintesses before me, given my age, I’d likely be sent to the Imperial Academy’s Theology Department to study divine theology.

Then after graduation, I’d continue religious training under the Papal State.

That whole setup… is just not for me.

It would be one thing if I got into the Swordsmanship Department when I entered the academy.

Sure, I study to some extent now—at least a bit.

But when I was a kid, books were the last thing on my mind.

Born as the son of a serf, I spent my youth farming instead of learning to read.

Once I was old enough, I joined the Imperial Army and became a knight.

My body’s made for battle, not for books.

“Ugh, I can’t decide…”

The thoughts swirled endlessly and my worries only deepened.

“……Alright.”

Clutching my pillow in my arms and thinking for a long time, I finally reached a decision.

“I’ll go. Just once.”

Eugh… I sighed deeply.

Just one visit to the Papal State.

I’ll get it confirmed, whether I’m the Saintess or not.

And after that, I’ll decide what comes next.

Either way, the Papal State would keep hounding me regardless.

Whether I enlist or not, they wouldn’t stop.

So might as well settle it cleanly now than to deal with them every time.

I got up from bed, walked out of the room, and dragged my feet down the corridor.

Where’s Louis…?

It didn’t take long for me to find him.

He was lurking not far from my door.

“Ah! What a coincidence!”

Yeah, sure it is.

“Fine.”

“Huh? What is?”

“I’ll go to the Papal State with you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Either way, you or that Holy Knight were just going to keep pestering me until I gave in, right?”

“Thank you!”

Louis placed his hand on top of my head.

“Smart choice.”

And then… he started patting me.

“Eek…!”

My skin crawled.

To think a former disciple was patting their master.

I shoved Louis away with a strong push.

“Don’t touch my body!”

I shot him a death glare filled with pure loathing.

I was genuinely horrified.

I probably had goosebumps all over my arm.

“A-ah… s-sorry…”

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