Chapter 16: The Swordsmanship Prodigy Saintess

Saintess (7)

1.

“…Master?”

Louis couldn’t believe his eyes.

For a moment, he saw the image of his master overlap with that of the girl standing before him.

Impossible.

Completely impossible.

And yet… there was something so familiar about Elia.

The way she stood holding a sword.

The habit of inhaling between her teeth with closed eyes right before a match.

Everything was exactly the same as his master’s.

It could just be a coincidence.

How many people are there in the world?

But the way she moved when she swung her sword—

That wasn’t something coincidence could explain away.

When he trained swordsmanship under the Sword Saint, Louis had sparred with him every single day without fail.

The number of matches alone exceeded hundreds.

That's why Louis knew better than anyone what it felt like when facing his master with a sword.

“W-What nonsense are you talking about?!”

Elia handed back the Holy Sword.

“Anyway! I won!”

She turned away abruptly, her golden hair cascading to her waist fluttering.

A soft, peachy fragrance lingered in the air.

“I’ll think about what favor to ask.”

She strode off briskly—

As if running away from the backyard.

“Wait!”

Louis reached out and grabbed her arm.

“You… who did you learn swordsmanship from?”

Did he just call her Master?

He hadn’t meant to.

There was no way this girl was his master.

It was simply not possible.

It had been a long time since the Sword Saint Adrian had passed away.

He had seen with his own eyes the funeral and the entombment.

Unless his master’s soul had somehow taken refuge in this girl’s body…

But even that defied logic.

Still, the mystery gnawed at him.

How could she use the sword exactly like his master?

“I trained by myself.”

“Come on. Tell me the truth. No one moves like that from self-training alone.”

“I am telling the truth. I really practiced alone.”

“Your real combat experience is already too polished…”

But strangely, there were no signs of formal training anywhere on Elia.

Soft, smooth palms.

A petite, delicate frame.

Nothing about her physique said “swordswoman.”

Yet when she moved, she did so without hesitation.

Wasn't it difficult to boldly swing a sword at another person, not just a monster?

That kind of confidence only comes with experience—

Even if it wasn't from real combat, she would have dueled hundreds of times.

But that wasn’t all.

In those few brief exchanges, he saw she could adjust her body with mana effortlessly.

Not only was she good at handling a sword, but she could also handle both mana and divine power.

He didn't know where to begin being amazed.

“You really learned all that by yourself?”

Louis’s blue eyes gleamed with burning curiosity.

“How many times do I have to say it…!”

Elia was sweating profusely.

This was bad.

She knew well the tenacious nature of her disciple, who wouldn’t let go once he got fixated on something, until his curiosity was satisfied.

And no matter how many times she said “I trained alone,” he’d never back off.

But it was true…!

Elia’s swordsmanship were all self-taught—

Or more precisely, they were from her past life.

Until her memories of her previous life returned, she really had just been an ordinary girl.

Hmmm…

Even if she told the truth, he wouldn’t believe her.

Elia understood that.

If she were in Louis’s shoes, she wouldn’t believe it either.

It just doesn’t make sense.

No matter how talented a genius might be, being good at swordsmanship and learning swordsmanship were two very different things.

Even prodigies needed someone to open the door for them first.

Someone had to show them the path, especially in the beginning.

For a swordsmanship prodigy to be born, they would’ve had to encounter swordsmanship through someone.

But in this remote countryside village, opportunities like that were rare—

And the chance to encounter the Sword Saint’s style? Even rarer.

If she really had learned it on her own, her swordplay would’ve looked raw, unrefined.

But Elia’s swordsmanship was precise and polished.

It was refined technique.

And that’s why Louis couldn’t stop questioning her.

“You’re so persistent…!”

Elia muttered.

It reminded her of the old days.

When Louis was younger, he’d bombard her with questions every time she taught him a new technique.

He even used to wake her up in the middle of the night to ask something.

And once, he stayed up for three days straight practicing until he nailed a particular move.

Anyway, she had to give some kind of answer.

Elia racked her brains.

Since she mostly solved problems with her fists, Elia wasn't good at using her head.

“…Fine.”

Louis’s eyes sparkled.

“I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone this secret… but I’ll let you in.”

Elia put on her most convincing act.

And she thought of a plausible lie to get through this situation.

“There was this old man.”

“An old man?”

Louis leaned closer, showed even more interest.

Several swordsmen came to his mind.

The first one was, of course, his master.

But he immediately shook his head.

Timewise, it was impossible for his master and the girl to meet.

“I don’t know his name. I found him collapsed in the woods a long time ago. After I helped him, he started teaching me stuff… sword techniques, how to use mana, things like that.”

That was the best excuse she could come up with by squeezing her brain.

A mysterious old mentor. Classic but useful trope.

“Do you remember what he looked like?”

Elia shook her head solemnly.

“It was such a long time ago…”

“By any chance… do you know the name Adrian? Adrian von Lycard?”

Of course, she knew.

How could she not?

“Oh… right! I think I’ve heard of him. He’s the Sword Saint, right?”

More accurately, the former Sword Saint.

There was a new one now.

Before she died, she’d personally recommended the current one—

A brat who’d been the Knight Commander of the 10th Order.

Can’t believe that guy really became the Sword Saint…

“You’ve heard of him?”

“Yes. That old man told me…”

She racked her brains even more.

“He said... he had learned swordsmanship from him in the past.”

“What?”

Louis’s eyes widened.

He seemed to believe it for now.

“H-He did…?”

“Yes. He said he trained under him a long time ago. Back when he was wandering the Demon Realm.”

Louis’s mind jolted with recognition.

It was decades ago.

That was before Adrian became the Sword Saint.

While performing a mission in the Demon Realm, he fell into a trap and was adrift in the Demon Realm for a full year.

“I’ve heard that story…!”

Of course you have, Elia thought.

‘Back when I was just a mid-ranking knight… It was a day as still as glass. The wind was unusually calm and the battlefield was quiet. I had been ordered by my superior to carry out a mission…’

Whenever she drank, she would grab Louis and go on and on about his adventures in the Demon Realm.

That one-year gap.

Elia had simply added a fictional figure to the timeline.

A student who supposedly learned swordsmanship from Adrian.

Of course, no such person existed.

Adrian had survived that time in the Demon Realm alone.

But since Elia had only ever shared the major highlights of that year with Louis, he didn’t know the finer details.

So her lie had plausibility.

In short, it was a hastily created setting that there was another disciple of the Sword Saint that Louis didn't know about.

“He said it was only for a short while.”

“Why?”

“Um… he ran into a demon, and they got separated during the fight. He managed to make it back safely but retired soon after because of his injuries. They never met again after that.”

Yeah, that should do it.

Not bad for something made up on the spot.

Elia mentally patted herself on the back.

Louis’s expression grew more serious.

His master had another disciple.

He didn’t fully accept it, but it wasn’t completely unbelievable either.

He had heard various stories from his master, but he hadn't heard all of them.

It made sense that there’d be things Louis didn’t know.

Above all, if this girl had really learned from someone who trained under his master, it was somewhat understandable that her appearance overlapped with his master's.

“Where is he now?”

“I don’t know. He stayed in the woods for about a month and then suddenly disappeared one day. Didn’t say a word.”

Ahem ahem!

Elia internally cheered and admired her own wit.

Good job, me!

She had always thought she'd meet her old disciple again someday—

But now, seeing him like this, while she was in this form… was awkward.

Not only had she become a woman, but a nun on top of that.

It wasn’t the nun’s habit that bothered her—

It was the fact that nothing fit this overgrown body.

Her chest was practically bursting through the neckline.

She’d gotten used to it by now, but… ahem! Moving on.

“So? Satisfied?”

“Yeah… I guess so.”

Louis finally nodded, though his expression remained complicated.

Considering his master's eventful life, nothing was strange no matter what happened.

Having another disciple wasn’t out of the question either.

A lot of people had wanted to learn from the Sword Saint.

And Adrian had occasionally mentored other knights as well.

“Um… can I ask you something?”

Elia, who was about to return to the convent, turned back and asked Louis.

“Your left arm…”

Elia stretched out her finger and pointed to Louis's left arm.

From earlier, it had been nagging at her.

The oversized coat hanging on his shoulders swayed in the breeze.

And underneath it, the absence was clear.

Her brows furrowed.

“...What happened?”

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