Chapter 15: The Swordsmanship Prodigy Saintess

Saintess (6)

1.

The Hero, Louis.

My one and only disciple.

Even after nearly 20 years since I last saw him, that pretty-boy face of his had barely changed, save for a slight touch of time.

Well, he had grown.

The boy who used to look up at me, I now had to look up at him.

His build was so large that even I felt small in comparison.

…Not that I wasn’t small.

Or should I say… big?

I lifted my breasts with both hands.

Soft, but heavy.

Among all the women here, mine were the most fully developed.

Other sisters often cast envious glances my way, but… is this really something to envy?

There’s not a single good thing about having a big chest.

It bounces uncomfortably with every step.

There were even times I couldn’t get through a narrow gap because my chest got caught in the way.

It’s basically no different from iron balls chained to a prisoner’s ankles.

Still, if I had to name a good point: the soft, squishy feel is therapeutic.

It’s mentally healing to absentmindedly knead them while spacing out.

…Don’t get the wrong idea.

It’s my own body.

Why shouldn’t I be allowed to touch it?

“Hello?”

Just as I was gently cupping my chest with my right hand, Louis, who had been surrounded by the nuns and clearly flustered, was suddenly standing in front of me.

“Ah, uh… ahem! Ahem!”

I quickly moved my hand away and cleared my throat.

“Are you Elia?”

My face flushed with heat.

Did… did he see that?

I didn’t do anything wrong, but it felt like I had committed a crime.

“…Yes.”

I stood with hands properly folded and nodded politely.

I never imagined our reunion would happen like this.

I wanted to appear dramatically on a battlefield—ta-da!—like a hero.

Instead, here I was, a master caught fondling her own chest in front of her disciple.

Guess I’ll have to hide my identity for life.

“…And you are?”

I played dumb.

Even if I recognized the Hero’s existence, it’s not like I’d necessarily recognize his face.

Would some rural village girl have a reason to know what the Hero looks like?

Sure, his face appears in newspapers now and then, but I pretended I knew nothing.

“Ah, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself.”

Louis gave a light laugh.

“I’m Louis. Commander of the Imperial Knights, and… also the Hero.”

…Shouldn’t that be the other way around?

Shouldn’t he say “I’m the Hero, and also serve as Commander of the Imperial Knights”?

I suppressed the urge to comment out of habit.

Louis held out his hand for a handshake.

“…I’m Elia,” I said quietly, taking his hand.

I accepted the handshake.

And in that moment, Louis gently squeezed my hand.

“Wait...! W-What do you think you’re doing…!”

Startled by the oddly sticky, almost perverted touch, I yanked my hand back.

“Amazing.”

“What is?”

“There’s not a single callus on your palm.”

Calluses—proof of training.

Anyone who trains in swordsmanship ends up with thick calluses on both palms naturally.

But this body of mine refused to allow any such blemish.

Anytime calluses tried to form, they would vanish without a trace.

It had been like that ever since my divine power fully awakened.

Even small wounds heal overnight without needing healing magic.

So of course my body doesn’t feel like that of a swordswoman at all.

“Your hand is soft… like a baby’s.”

I looked down at Louis.

Tch.

I didn’t raise my disciple to be some smooth-talking playboy hitting on nuns.

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

“No, it’s just surprising.”

“Surprising in what way?”

“I heard from the Holy Knight. That you’ve got incredible swordsmanship skills.”

Only one person could’ve told him that.

The Papal State sure is persistent.

So when a Holy Knight failed, they sent the Hero?

Well, I guess I’d still rather it be the Hero than another one of those knights.

“But your hands show no sign of training at all?”

Louis’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Hehe, that's my disciple.

Seeing him take a deep interest in anything sword-related—it’s like looking at a younger version of myself.

“…Did you come here to find me?”

Time to stop with the chit-chat.

Let’s get to the point.

It’s nice to see you.

Really, it is.

But this isn’t the time or place to show it.

“Yeah.”

“For what reason?”

“To bring you with me to the Papal State.”

“I’ll pass.”

As expected.

If we had a duel, he should have respected the outcome, that Holy Knight.

But no, now they’re dragging the Hero into this?

Persistent. Truly persistent.

Should I just go and have them verify that I’m not a Saintess?

But I was anxious.

What if I really am destined to be a Saintess?

“Why not?”

“Because I’m going to join the Imperial Army.”

The nuns around us started murmuring in surprise.

Even if I wasn't the Saintess, they must’ve assumed I’d walk the path of a nun.

I had never told them I planned to join the army.

And why should I have?

“Is that so?”

Louis smiled.

“Well then, I’ll be the one refusing this time.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I'm going to refuse your admission with the authority of the Commander of the Knights.”

The way he said it was polite, but the contents were anything but.

This ungrateful brat?

Clearly he made bad friends somewhere along the way.

The Louis I knew wasn’t this sly.

“You’re okay with that, being the Hero and all?”

He gave a carefree shrug with a smirk.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You really think that’ll make me follow you to the Papal State?”

“This is giving you a chance.”

“A chance?”

“A chance to come peacefully, before the Pope or the Emperor resorts to force.”

“…Is that a threat?”

He didn’t deny it.

Just shrugged again.

“Good grief…”

I let out a sigh and brushed my hair back.

Seriously.

This guy, that guy—none of them plan on leaving me alone.

It’s not like I’m running off to join the underworld or anything. I just want to become a knight to defeat the Demon King’s army.

Why is that so unacceptable?

And then—

A thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

…Did something happen to the Saintess?

I thought back to the Saintess I had last seen while bedridden.

She was 20 years old at the time.

If she’s still alive, she’d be around 40 now, still in her prime.

Unless the position is vacant, I don’t understand why the Papal State is so desperate to recruit me as a Saintess candidate.

Wait a second… vacant?

Now that I think about it, didn’t they say a divine revelation came down?

If something happened to the Saintess and the seat is empty, then everything makes sense.

The revelation.

The obsession.

The pressure.

All of it.

There hasn’t been any official announcement.

If the Saintess had died, I’d have heard about it.

But there’s been not even a whisper.

“You look like you just figured something out.”

I narrowed my eyes at Louis.

“Yeah… I think I did.”

The bitter look on his face confirmed it.

Something had happened to the Saintess.

She’d either died… or had come terrifyingly close to it.

“Shall we talk over there for a moment?”

“Sure.”

We moved to the back courtyard of the convent.

“Here, take this.”

The moment we arrived, Louis tossed me a sword.

Of the two he wore at his waist—

One was the Hero’s Holy Sword.

The other is an ordinary steel sword.

The one he gave me… was the Holy Sword.

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

I had been about to question him about the Saintess.

“A duel. You settled things by dueling last time too, right?”

Louis drew his remaining sword—the well-polished steel one.

It gleamed a cool sky-blue, reflecting the heavens.

It was the sword I gave him before I died.

The condition of the sword told me how carefully he’d taken care of it.

“If I win, you do me a favor. If you win, I’ll do yours.”

…Well, well.

He’s become bolder.

The coward who once couldn’t even bring himself to say the word duel.

“…Alright.”

There was no reason to refuse.

I preferred it this way anyway.

It's better to clash swords once than to say it a hundred times with a sore mouth.

And truth be told…

I was curious to see just how much this kid had grown after a long time.

“But before we start, let’s switch swords.”

“Why?”

“I like that one better.”

“A true swordsman doesn’t blame the sword.”

“I’m not blaming it. I just want to use that one.”

“Sorry. This sword’s precious to me, so I'm a little hesitant to lend it to others carelessly.”

You little…

I felt a lump rise in my chest.

It was… a bit touching.

“So the Holy Sword’s fine, huh?”

I drew the sword from its scabbard.

A soft golden sheen shimmered along the steel.

At a glance, it looked ordinary.

But in the Hero’s hands, it revealed its true nature, a sacred form.

“How’d you know that’s the Holy Sword?”

Oops.

Someone unfamiliar with it shouldn’t be able to tell.

In a situation like this, most would assume the sword Louis cherished was the Holy Sword.

But I confidently declared this one was the real deal.

“Uh… umm… well…”

Louis stared at me, wide-eyed.

“Oh! The marking! I knew it because there's a mark on the scabbard!”

I held up the scabbard to show him.

On one side of the white scabbard, crookedly engraved, was Louis’s name.

I’d carved it myself with a dagger long ago because Louis kept misplacing his swords.

At that time, I got scolded by the cardinals afterward for damaging the Holy Sword.

Heh heh heh.

“……”

Louis’s eyes grew even wider.

Oops.

That was a slip.

Just because a name is carved on it doesn’t make it a Holy Sword.

And the name engraved on the scabbard was almost worn out over time.

It's hard to distinguish.

It only looks like a scratch.

“Let’s stop talking. Time to fight.”

I raised the sword.

“Uh… what?”

“First to land a cut wins.”

Let’s end this quickly.

I'm going to get my identity revealed if this drags on.

Fsshh—

I dropped into stance, inhaling through my teeth.

“————?!”

It’s been a long time.

To think that the day would come when I would face this guy with a sword again.

A smile tugged at my lips.

And I struck first.

I immediately launched a preemptive strike.

There was no holding back.

I pulled the sword in close to my chest, then thrust it forward.

—Swish!

I slashed across Louis’s side.

“…Huh?”

I stood in place and blinked.

The duel was over.

I won because I cut him first.

But… what? That’s it?

This bastard couldn't even react to this?

He’s not improved, he’s regressed!

I tilted my head up to look at him.

Louis was staring down at me, wide-eyed in shock.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

He needs a serious scolding.

But then—

A single tear rolled down Louis’s cheek.

“Huh? Are… are you crying?”

Wait—

Is he crying because I nicked his side?

What the hell, this snot-nosed disciple!

How much training did he neglect while I was gone?

But the reaction Lewis showed next was something I couldn't have imagined.

“…Master?”

Next Chapter