19. Saintess Ashera Gibri Juvice
19. Saintess Ashera Gibri Juvice
She wasn't human, in fact. Well, who could expect a being who'd lived over three thousand years to be human? Anyway.
Ashera's true identity was that of one of the angels who had served under the Main Goddess in the distant past. She could even be called an elite among elites, having once attended the Main Goddess at her closest side—a position that commanded the respect of all angels. She had essentially played the role of a chief angel.
But... she had committed some sin, incurring something akin to the Goddess's wrath. And so she was cast down to the earth.
Now, to return to the heavens someday, she carried out her duty here as the Goddess's emissary, the saintess, preaching the Main Goddess's will to the world. More or less.
The reason for phrasing it as "something akin to the Goddess's wrath" was because, from the Goddess's perspective, it was exasperating, but not quite enough to truly anger her—and punishing her outright felt wrong, since she was still a cherished angel, after all.
In the end, it was a reluctant decision: mete out some punishment while sending her to the chaotic earth, now troubled by the emergence of the Demon King, to toughen her up a bit...
The first hundred years after her descent, she had indeed minded the Goddess's watchful eye and diligently fulfilled her saintess duties to combat the Demon King. Thanks to that, she even made some friends of sorts and forged genuine camaraderie.
Even now, three thousand years later, she occasionally thought of those people from back then. Especially that foolishly innocent Fist King's face stood out. The cute girl who had shattered her holy relic and forcibly received a blessing, dooming her to live eternally as a child—that one.
After defeating the Demon King anyway... one by one, her comrades from those days passed away from old age. Even the Fist King, who had stuck around the longest, asked to be sealed away to break her immortality blessing.
Gradually, her motivation waned, everything became a hassle, and burnout set in.
The slothful Ashera spent the next roughly 2,900 years holed up like a total hikikomori, venturing out only when she sensed the Goddess's gaze or an oracle descended—briefly cleaning up the fools who dared mock the Main Goddess before retreating back into seclusion.
And just like that, three thousand years had slipped by.
This time, she had no choice but to emerge from the Great Cathedral of the Holy Nation after receiving some bullshit oracle from the Goddess about looking after "her little brother."
Upon arriving in the Kingdom of Tronen, she received quite the lavish welcome. She found herself rather liking this kingdom.
Days turned into one, two, three, four... She was settling in, forgetting why she'd even come out in the first place.
Then, one day, Aria's attendant Sierra came to relay that she was summoned. Annoyed as she was, the hospitality had been impressive, so she decided to pay a visit to Aria's office as a token of gratitude.
The moment she entered, several gazes turned her way. Among them, a very familiar face caught her eye. No mistake. She couldn't have been wrong.
...Why the hell is she here?
Tanned skin, a mischievous imp of a girl with an adorably playful face. Dinaria el Rasad.
Her hairstyle was neater now—those green locks tidied into double buns on either side, unlike the wild mess she'd sported back then—but that exceptionally cute visage was unforgettable.
After all, in Ashera's early days, when she'd been most active, Dina had been her constant companion, a comrade she missed so much she even appeared in her dreams, as mentioned before. If anything, among her three thousand years on earth, Dina was the one etched deepest in her memories.
The instant she saw her, Ashera flinched. Come to think of it, had it really been three thousand years already?
...Then the fated connection leading to Dina's destiny...
She realized the man sitting beside Dina was him. And the moment she saw him, it clicked.
Ah, right.
I came here on the Goddess's oracle, didn't I?
Only then did Ashera recall the mission she'd completely forgotten. She remembered telling Aria to find this man, the Goddess's little brother, and bring him to her.
So that man is... the Goddess's...
The Goddess's little brother, and Dina's fated partner? What an exquisitely coincidental situation.
Considering that the Goddess herself had once foretold Dina she'd meet her destined one three thousand years later to break her blessing, Ashera realized this must have been the Goddess's deliberate arrangement for her own brother.
What a remarkably fortuitous twist.
In that fleeting moment, having sorted her thoughts, Ashera turned to Ian with a smile. Dina was Dina, and pleasantries could wait. Reunion stories could come later. First priority: leave a good impression on the Main Goddess's little brother.
"My, we have guests."
She was about to offer a polite greeting when—
"Delighted to see you, lewd bitch..."
"Lewd bitch..?"
The words slipped from Dina's mouth, referring to herself. Had she lost her mind?
Ashera's face, which had been smiling to make a good impression, froze solid in an instant. Hearing such an insult directed at her firsthand after so long ignited her hot-blooded old temperament. Her expression twisted savagely, lips parting.
"...Who're you calling a lewd bitch, you brainless twit!" She shouted.
Then—
"Oh shit...!"
Ashera realized her mistake.
First impression completely fucked.
§
"...Whoa, fuck. First time hearing a saintess curse."
"Bella, read the room."
"No, seriously, it's my first time."
"Even so, tone it down."
As the saintess bellowed and made an "oh crap" face from beneath her veil, expressing dismay at the situation, question marks popped up in everyone's minds.
"Uh... yeah. Right, that's... the saintess. Everyone, say hello. And Sierra, could you pour another cup of tea?"
"Y-yeah. Got it."
Aria belatedly snapped to attention to salvage the scene, introducing Ashera as the saintess—but the awkwardness and doubts lingered in the party's heads.
"S-so, um... Yes. This is Saintess Ashera."
"I-I'm Ian. I heard you were looking for me."
"Yes, well... That's right."
"...First off, sorry. My comrade was rude."
"No, I'm used to it."
"Pardon? Used to it?"
In that awkward atmosphere, one person stepped forward first. Naturally, it was Dina.
While the others in the room felt baffled or flustered by the situation, Dina was all smiles. Her suspicions confirmed—the saintess was indeed her old friend from the past, Ashera—and the joy of reuniting after so long was pure bliss. She didn't know how Ashera had survived three thousand years, but for now, the delight overrode everything.
She sprang from her seat and toddled over with quick steps, hugging Ashera's waist.
"Delighted, lewd bitch! It's been ages!"
"...Haa."
Ashera's head throbbed harder at Dina's embrace around her waist. That damn brat—now she remembered just how oblivious she was.
"Dina, you really haven't changed a bit. Same as ever."
Grinding her teeth, she expressed her gratitude—packed tight with malice—for ruining her first impression. Dina beamed happily.
"Hehe, thanks for the praise. The lewd bitch is always so kind."
"Not praise. And who's a lewd bitch, seriously? More importantly, Dina, why do you keep calling me that? Don't you remember my name?"
Ashera sighed deeply and asked why Dina insisted on that weird moniker instead of her name. Back in the day, Dina had been clueless, getting them into scrapes several times daily, but she'd never mangled anyone's name like this.
Dina was stumped.
"Uh? Well... Y'see... I don't know."
Truth was, even Dina didn't know why. Ever since waking from her seal, she just couldn't remember names. That's why she called Cheong-ah "grump," Bella "beast," and Ian "Yeonja."
Unaware of this, Ashera took it as Dina forgetting her name, her veiled expression twisting in offense. They'd been inseparable back then!
"...Ha? What the hell does that mean?"
"Sorry, lewd bitch. I just can't recall your name."
"How can you not? How can you, Dinaria, forget my name..!"
"Sorry. But I haven't forgotten you. Your name just won't come to mind."
"You remember me, but not my name?"
"That's right."
"...Hah, hold on. Let me see."
Ashera grabbed Dina's head with both hands, channeling holy power through her palms.
Soon, she understood why Dina called her "lewd bitch." It was an unforeseen side effect of the three-thousand-year seal. In her childlike form, Dina's mind regressed to an innocent, somewhat dim state utterly unlike her past self. Her memory had degraded in weird spots—specifically, she couldn't retain people's names at all.
Ashera was dumbfounded.
"What kind of retarded side effect is this...?"
As Dina and Ashera chatted, the room's occupants watched with puzzled gazes... until Ian finally stepped up.
"Um, Saintess?"
Dina was so thrilled, and her counterpart chatted so familiarly, as if knowing her for ages. Curiosity was inevitable.
"Ah, yes. Ian. Sorry, Dina just rushed in."
"No, that's fine. But I have a question."
"Yes?"
"What's your relationship with our Dina?"
"Ah... Well, you see."
The saintess hesitated at Ian's question. Should she say it?
If I say I've been alive for three thousand years, won't they look at me even weirder?
Then, someone chimed in with an oblivious grin. Predictably, Dina.
"She was my comrade in the past! Yeonja!"
"...Dina. Please."