#963 Relics  

I’d say that was a bit careless.

I should have been more mindful of the fact that Saintess Maradona, having returned to our world after generations of absence, has a touchy history with the royal family of the old Human Kingdom.

Maybe I should’ve waited for a better moment to bring it up?

...But hey, Letasreit is now one of the biggest presences on this farm.

She’s right up there with Sensei, Veil, and Platy.

And it’s not because she’s a (former) human princess—that’s the scary part.

What really makes her stand out here is her absolute love of beans.

You can’t really blame the saintess for staring at that huge bean warehouse on the farm.

It’s kind of funny that it’s called a “bean warehouse,” even though it’s gigantic.

“So, is royalty really that important to you, saintess?”

“Of course! The royalty of the Human Kingdom are the chosen representatives, granted power by the celestial deities! We, the church, are merely those entrusted by the royalty to carry out the sacred rituals!”

Huh, so that’s how it is.

I get now that the royal family is a big deal to her.

Anyway, let’s call Letasreit.

How, you ask?

Oh, it’s easy.

I just toss a bean I have in my pocket onto the ground.

And when the bean hits the dirt...

“Oh! Right here, a bean has fallen!!!”

See, she showed up at lightning speed.

Wherever there are beans, Letasreit will appear.

What kind of ability lets you hear a bean hit the ground from 300 meters away anyway?

But it’s just a bean, so it’ll sprout and grow; no harm done.

“Hey, Saint. Can you stop dropping beans to call me?”

“But you always show up within a second this way.”

More importantly, someone wants to meet you.

This is Saintess Maradona, from three hundred years ago.

“Your Majesty! I am honored to meet you...!!!”

“Whoa! Who is this?!”

The saintess does a dramatic jump and prostrates herself, which startles even Letasreit.

“Wow, it’s been ages since someone acted like this towards me...!”

Letasreit’s attitude is something I couldn’t have imagined when she first got here.

Now, she has really found her own identity...

“It’s natural for citizens to be respectful to royalty. Especially me, a member of the church that supports the royals. I must show utmost loyalty...!”

“But, you know, the royal family and the church don’t exist anymore...!”

It’s ironic that Letasreit, being an actual royalty, understands the current situation best.

But the saintess’ unwavering devotion to royalty is really something...

“Ehehe...Truth be told, this is the first time I’ve ever met royalty...!”

“What?”

“Yes, so I’m kind of freaking out...!”

That’s surprising.

Considering she’s a saintess, I expected she interacted with royalty all the time...

“Not at all! The Pope or a Cardinal aside, a Saintess has no right to have an audience with royalty! Our position doesn’t come with that level of authority!”

“You might not get this, Saint, but back in the old Human Kingdom, royalty was treated with extreme strictness. They were completely separated from the common world, and only a few people with the right qualifications could ever meet them. For regular people without a noble title, it was like they were rare, mythical creatures you’d never get to see.”

Hearing it from Letasreit herself really drives the point home...!

“Meeting royalty after so many generations is destiny! An act of god!!!”

Except, you know, that celestial god is currently sealed away.

“No, it’s the bean god’s doing.”

“Please don’t start a new religion.”

Honestly, with how Letasreit’s been lately, she could probably start her own cult.

“No, this is a divinely granted opportunity! Thank you, god! Now I can present that!”

“Present what?”

That sounds ominous.

“Now’s the time to... Oh, no! I don’t have any of my belongings from my previous life!!!”

Yeah, no kidding.

You were a skeleton until a few hours ago.

“Wait! Maybe the Lifeless King kept my relics from my past life! He seemed meticulous enough for that!!!”

“Relics from my past life” is quite the phrase.

And for someone who sees Sensei as an enemy, you’re awfully quick to rely on him...

“Princess, please wait! I’ll return with the treasure soon!!!”

“Um, okay...?”

Without noticing Letasreit’s annoyed expression, the saintess dashes off.

She’s probably heading to Sensei’s dungeon.

***

While waiting for the saintess to return, Letasreit and I find ourselves with nothing to do.

“One, two, three, go! Yes, I won!”

“No way! I lost? Saint, let’s play a different game! How about arm wrestling?”

No thanks!

If I arm wrestle with you, I’ll definitely lose, and my arm will be shattered to pieces!

“Sorry for the wait, Princess! I found it! I found it!!!”

Ah, the saintess is finally back.

That thing she’s holding... is it the treasure she mentioned?

“Yes! I present to you this secret goddess statue from the church, Princess!!!”

Oh, is it some kind of super-sacred artifact?

“A goddess statue from the human race? Could it be an image of Hera? Or maybe Athena? Artemis?”

“Princess, please smash this statue to pieces!!!”

“What?!”

What’s with the crazy request?!

Is this really okay? Isn’t this a valuable treasure of the church?!

“It’s fine! The important thing is not the statue itself but the magic spell hidden inside!”

A magic spell?

“A long time ago, the celestial gods granted humans a massive destruction spell. It’s hidden inside this goddess statue.”

According to the explanation, the spell is so powerful that it would cause severe damage to the land if used, so it was sealed in the goddess statue to be used only in the most desperate of times during the war against the demons.

“The church has been managing this goddess statue, but at some point, they started keeping it secret as a trump card. I bet even the current royal family doesn’t know it exists.”

“Yeah, this is news to me. But then again, everything about the church is new to me.”

Letasreit...!

As expected of the former sheltered, useless princess...!

“But I found the church’s selfish attitude distasteful, so I secretly took the goddess statue! And I decided to present it to the royal family at the right moment!”

“That’s quite something…!”

That itself is a pretty extreme act.

“I thought it was lost when I died, but that Lifeless King kept it safe! It was used as a paperweight, so I found it quickly!!!”

Sensei does seem like someone who holds onto things.

Well, grandparents are usually the type who carefully fold and keep even the wrapping paper.

‘It might come in handy someday,’ they say.

...Will that day ever come?!

“The church has no right to monopolize such an important thing! And it’s useless in their hands anyway!”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s said that only the royal family can break the seal of this goddess statue! The bloodline recognized by the gods is the key to unlocking it!”

While holding up the goddess statue, the saintess continues.

“Now, Princess! Smash this goddess statue and unleash the hidden massive destruction spell! I hear the royal family is in crisis, right?! Now is the time to use the massive destruction spell!!”

Wait, wait, wait!

Why are you suggesting something so dangerous? Didn’t you say not to stir up trouble if things are peaceful?

Well, she has a personality where if something can be used, she’ll use it.

She’ll rush ahead without thinking about the consequences!

“Okay, got it. I just need to break it, right?”

And here’s another one who doesn’t think things through!

Letasreit thrusts her fist at the goddess statue…!

“Take that!”

Bang!

With a single blow, the goddess statue was smashed to pieces.

It wasn’t the royal blood breaking the seal; it was clearly just raw strength shattering it.

With Letasreit’s bean power, such a feat was easy, and the statue modeled after some celestial goddess was pulverized along with the dangerous spell inside.

That’s probably the most peaceful outcome, though.

“What the…?!”

But the saintess was the only one left dumbfounded by this outcome.