Chapter 4: The Swordsmanship Prodigy Saintess

I Have Been Reborn (4)

1.

There are two major forces in the world.

Mana and Divine Power.

Mana is something everyone is born with.

Some people use it to power magical devices in their daily lives.

Others study spellcasting.

Some channel it into their swords, converting it into sword aura.

Of course, the way it manifests varies from person to person.

The amount of mana.

The color of mana.

The quality of mana.

These three factors determine your innate talent.

So-called archmages are individuals who usually have exceptional traits in all three categories compared to others.

In any case, the point is that mana is universal.

Everyone has it. Everyone can use it.

Divine Power, on the other hand, is different.

Divine Power is something that develops after birth.

It’s acquired through faith, study of divine scripture, and diligent training.

But that's not always the case.

Some people are just born with it.

Those chosen by the God — like the Pope, Cardinals, and Saintess — are born with Divine Power in their very souls.

And ironically enough…

So was I.

It’s not like I’m deeply religious.

I sleep through theology lectures, or ditch them outright.

And yet, for some reason… this body possesses Divine Power.

And I can even use it.

Just like using mana, I simply will it to activate.

And with it, I can heal people, just like a proper priest.

I can use mana as well.

In my 70+ years of life, I’ve never seen anyone who could use both at once.

But since I’ve got it, I might as well use it.

I approached the man lying on the ground.

Arold, I think his name was.

His abdomen was torn wide open, blood gushing freely.

Frankly, it was a miracle he hadn’t gone into shock and died already.

I rolled up my sleeves — bloodstains are a pain to wash out.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

I placed my hand over his stomach.

Then, just like they do in the temples when treating patients, I recited a prayer.

“O Divine One, lend your daughter the power to bring forth salvation.”

If I say 'son,' it seems like I won't get any power.

Divine energy stirred from my palm—

Warm and gentle.

Golden rays of light glimmered softly, seeping into the man’s body.

The wounds healed instantly.

The gashes sealed.

New flesh grew in, smooth and clean, leaving no scars.

Still amazing, every time I see it.

This level of healing rivals that of a high-ranking priest.

The healing was completed in an instant.

I brushed off my hands and stood up.

“A… Are you a priest…?”

The boy who had bravely stood against the massive wolf looked at me with wide, stunned eyes.

“No.”

I shook my head.

“I’m a knight.”

Even if my body has changed…

The heart of a knight is etched into my very soul.

“A k-knight? Imperial Army?”

“Not yet.”

I’d love to enlist right away, but I’m still underage.

“You’re hurt, too. Hold still for a second.”

I reached out and healed him with Divine Power as well.

Honestly, this stuff is practically a cheat.

Even without knowing exactly what’s injured, just casting the spell heals everything.

This is going to be incredibly useful on the battlefield…

If I get hurt in a fight, I can just heal myself and keep going.

Perpetual motion.

Being a berserker from legends might not be such a dream after all.

But for now, I’ll focus on retraining this body in swordsmanship.

I can figure out how Divine Power works later, no rush.

“This one won’t be getting back up.”

I gave the severed head of the giant wolf a few light taps with my finger.

“Sorry. I should’ve made sure it was really dead the first time.”

“No, don’t apologize. You saved us.”

The boy gave a sincere bow of gratitude.

“Then I’ll leave the rest to you this time, for real.”

“Got it. We’ll handle the monster processing. What about the reward? With beasts like these, the Guild’s gonna give out a big payout.”

I waved him off.

“Don’t need it.”

“Still, it’s a lot…”

“Seriously. Just take it all.”

I really need to go back now.

My body was exhausted.

Honestly, I felt like I could collapse and start snoring right there.

I usually start nodding off around 9 p.m., and that had definitely passed by now.

Not to mention I’d used a bunch of mana and Divine Power — I was wiped out.

“Well then.”

I gave a polite bow and turned to leave.

“W-Wait…!”

Geez, this guy really doesn’t give up, huh.

I paused and glanced back over my shoulder.

“Can you… tell me your name?”

Hmm…

It’s not like I couldn’t tell him.

But giving my name might just lead to more trouble later.

And right now, I was living under the convent’s care. I didn’t want to stir up any unnecessary attention.

“El.”

I tossed out the first name that popped into my head, then finally — finally — returned to the convent.

*

2.

The next day.

Another peaceful day was underway.

“Yaaawn…”

It was right after lunch, and I’d gone into the confessional booth to take a quick nap.

Knock knock.

Someone tapped on the wooden door.

“Elia! Elia!”

It was Millie’s voice.

I opened the door a crack and poked my head out.

“What is it?”

“Did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“Some adventurers took down a whole pack of monsters in the forest yesterday!”

She must’ve heard about it on her way back from an errand in the village that morning.

“Ah… yeah?”

It didn’t really interest me.

It was already over and done with.

Just something to briefly reminisce about.

That was fun, I thought.

It felt good to move my body again after so long.

And even better… it felt amazing to hold a sword again.

In hindsight, maybe I should’ve asked them to give me one?

“They say there were over 10 wolf beasts out there. And even a mother wolf rated at threat level 4! To think they took down something so terrifying with just 3 people... How strong must those adventurers be?”

They were just normal Silver-ranks.

Didn’t even last long enough for me to get a read on their skills.

Still, one of them had real passion, and that I liked.

I’ve always had a soft spot for passionate young people.

He reminded me of hero Louis, my old disciple.

When I first met him, he had that exact same look in his eyes.

The desperate desire to become stronger.

The courage to raise a sword no matter what danger stood before him.

…I wonder how he’s doing now?

Not that I’m in any position to be worrying about others right now.

“Come to think of it, didn’t you go into the forest last night?”

“Yeah.”

“Whoa… You could’ve run into one of those monsters!”

“I guess so.”

I was the one who went looking for them myself.

And bashed their heads in.

“Ugh, even thinking about it gives me chills…!”

Millie shuddered with a little shriek.

I nodded along, humoring her reaction.

“Also, did you hear this one?”

Here we go again.

What pointless gossip is it this time?

To be fair, Millie does love bringing me news.

It’s just that… most of it doesn’t matter to me at all.

Aside from the monster stuff earlier, it’s usually things like: Who’s dating who, who cheated on who, the village chief’s dog had five puppies — that sort of thing.

Exactly the kind of stories girls our age get excited about.

So this one would probably be more of the same.

“There’s gonna be a Martial Arts Tournament in Breezera Town!”

“...What?”

My sleepiness vanished instantly.

“A what? Martial arts?!”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me everything. Now.”

“I mean, there’s not much to tell. It’s a normal tournament. People compete in one-on-one matches, and the winner gets a prize and some money. The prize is… oh! A Potion of Growth!”

Potion of Growth?!

That’s a name I hadn’t heard in a long time.

It's a potion developed by an alchemist friend of mine.

It was originally intended to prevent hair loss, but it failed at that and only ended up accelerating physical growth instead.

I never drank it myself, but those who did said their bodies developed rapidly—

They shot up in height and gained dense muscle mass.

Which is exactly what this frail body of mine needs!

“When is it?”

“In a month.”

“Signups?”

“The chief said you can register up until the day of the tournament.”

I want to join!

I want to join!!

I WANT TO JOIN!!!

Even setting the potion aside, just the tournament alone is a gift.

There’s no better way to gauge your own skills than sparring against others.

Anyone competing is bound to have at least some real ability.

The problem is…

How do I get to Breezera Town?

From here, it’s a two-hour carriage ride at minimum.

On foot, it’d take half a day.

With mana-powered sprinting, I could probably make it in time…

But either way, I can’t just leave whenever I want.

Even if I snuck out, the tournament isn’t going to end in just an hour or two.

I’d have to skip an entire day.

Sleeping through prayer is one thing. Skipping it altogether? Not allowed.

I tried once before and got into big trouble.

The humiliation of lying face down on Sister Bertina's lap and getting spanked on the butt until I cried...

Plus five pages of apology letters and cleaning the toilets for a week.

It might seem like harsh punishment.

But for a nun, prayer is the most sacred time. I get it.

Hmmm, there must be a better way…

“Ah…!”

I just had a great idea.

A legitimate way to go to Breezera Town:

Just go straight to Sister Bertina and ask her for permission.

...She’ll say no, obviously.

I mean, as I am now, there’s no way she’d say yes.

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