The Saintess (2)
One hour before Baran and Saintess Aria were to meet, Aria had once been an ordinary girl living in an orphanage. Then, without warning, holy power had taken root inside her. At first glance, it might have seemed like nothing more than an ordinary girl awakening to divinity. But the real problem was the message that appeared before her eyes.
It declared that she had awakened as the Saintess of the Sun God.
Of course, being young and innocent, she understood none of it. So she had gone straight to the director.
“Director, a strange message appeared. What does it mean?”
The director had simply offered a kind smile and brushed it off with vague words. Looking back now, the woman must have been utterly shocked, but what could a child have understood? The very next day, the Pope himself arrived from the Holy Church.
“Oh my… So this child is the daughter of the Sun God…”
Back then, the Pope had been the very picture of a gentle grandfather, the kind who warmed everyone’s hearts. Even now, he was the same. He looked after her far more attentively than the other priests. Though when he grew angry, he could be terrifying. The sight of him beating demons to death with that bizarre iron lump he called a mace was enough to send shivers down her spine.
In any case, after the Pope’s visit, Aria was taken to the Holy Church. She suspected the orphanage director had secretly contacted them. Once inside the church, she began her education—learning how to wield divinity, how to present herself before crowds, and countless other things.
She now lived a far more luxurious life than before. Most people would have been happy.
“Haa…”
But Aria had no freedom. Like a bird trapped in a gilded cage, the Saintess was confined to the church grounds. And it wasn’t just one or two guards watching over her. While living without the slightest taste of liberty, she caught wind of a single piece of news: the students of Edin Academy—the very ones she had always admired—would be visiting for field training.
As a result, a new schedule was forced upon her: bestowing blessings upon the academy students that very night. Because of it, the church was unusually quiet today. They were probably busy coordinating with the academy.
Time to escape.
Using a secret passage she had secretly prepared long ago, Aria slipped out of the church. After so long without it, the taste of freedom was intoxicating. She wandered through the street stalls, savoring spicy, stimulating foods that were nothing like the bland meals served at the church. Pure bliss.
But the world rarely lets things go so smoothly.
“Search everywhere, quickly!”
“We must find the Saintess!”
The urgent voices of her paladin guards echoed in the distance. Clutching her precious sweet ice cream, Aria quickened her pace. Then—
Thud!
Distracted for a single moment, she collided with someone’s shoulder. And not only that—
Splat.
Her treasured ice cream tumbled to the ground. It felt as if her heart had shattered. She had wanted that treat so badly, and now it was gone in an instant.
The moment her face crumpled with disappointment, a gentle voice spoke.
“Are you all right?”
A man with a kind smile extended his hand. Aria lifted her gaze—and saw a blind man with white bandages wrapped around his eyes.
“Ah, yes. I’m sorry.”
She hadn’t expected the person she bumped into to be blind. Taking his offered hand, she slowly rose to her feet. Her eyes inevitably drifted to the ruined strawberry ice cream on the ground. The man scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Did I make some sort of mistake?”
“Ah…”
She couldn’t bring herself to answer. After all, she had been the one at fault. Blaming the man before her would have been utterly shameless.
“No, not at all. It was my mistake… Please excuse me for a moment.”
“Pardon?”
Baran tilted his head at Aria’s sudden words. But she paid his confusion no mind. Lowering her head, she slipped her arm through his and held it tightly.
Squish!
An indescribable softness pressed against his forearm. Even Baran, who had anticipated their meeting, was caught off guard by this development.
I knew we’d run into each other here, but this kind of scene wasn’t in the script.
He was about to ask what she was doing when new voices reached them.
“Where could she be?”
“We have to find her quickly!”
“Haa… Why did she suddenly disappear?”
Paladins with desperate expressions were scanning the area. It seemed Aria was pretending to be part of a couple to shake them off.
Can’t be helped.
The moment Baran grasped the situation, he pulled her into his arms. Her face buried itself against his chest with a soft whump.
“?!”
Her earlobes flushed bright red. Behind him, Miroel narrowed her eyes into slits, but Baran deliberately ignored her glare.
Once the paladins had passed, he slowly released her. Then he spoke politely.
“They’ve gone.”
“Ah… You noticed?”
“It was only a guess. You suddenly acted as if we were together, so I took a chance.”
“I… I see.”
Embarrassed, Aria fanned her flushed cheeks. Then her eyes landed on him and widened.
“Huh?”
It was only natural. The uniform Baran wore was unmistakably that of Edin Academy.
“Are you a student from Edin Academy?”
“Yes. It’s currently free time, so I was trying to memorize the streets.”
“I see. In that case… would you like me to show you around? You helped me earlier, and I did bump into you, after all.”
“Hmm.”
Baran pretended to consider it. Accepting too readily might arouse suspicion. After a moment, he nodded.
“If you would be so kind, I would be grateful. My name is Baran.”
“I am Aria.”
Aria took his offered hand without hesitation. Having awakened as the Saintess, she could sense the desires of others. Yet from Baran, she felt only a pure wish to help her.
What an intriguing person.
With that thought, Aria began guiding Baran through the city.
***
Following Aria’s lead, I took a slow tour of the city. Unlike Gawen, she explained every detail with care—the capital’s best restaurants, the hidden shops only she seemed to know about. And it wasn’t just sightseeing. We ate street food together, chatting as we walked.
Hmm. Just as I expected.
Everything was proceeding according to plan. She possessed the ability to sense people’s desires. Because of it, she usually kept others at a distance—most people looked at her with twisted wants. But I had no room to entertain such things right now. Honestly, my mind was entirely occupied with how to save her in the coming events.
From her perspective, she must have found it strange. Why was I trying so hard to help her?
“By the way, even though you can’t see, you walk surprisingly well, Baran.”
Aria tilted her head curiously. I offered a gentle smile and replied.
“My other senses have grown sharper to compensate. Thanks to that, I don’t face much inconvenience despite my lack of sight.”
“That explains how you became a student at the academy.”
“It’s a small mercy amid misfortune.”
“Still, it seems we should part ways soon.”
She glanced at the slowly setting sun. It was indeed time. But before we separated, there was something I needed to give her.
“Aria, before we go our separate ways, may I have a moment?”
I retrieved a bracelet from my subspace ring. Aria tilted her head at the sight of it. Ignoring her confusion, I continued.
“I’d like to offer this as thanks for guiding me. Would you accept it?”
“Um…”
She clearly hadn’t expected a gift. Her voice trailed off with a troubled expression. It might have looked like I was making a move, but the bracelet contained a location tracker. Considering the upcoming episode, it would be far better if she kept it.
Please don’t refuse.
As I prayed silently, Aria gave an awkward smile.
“Thank you. I never imagined receiving something like this from a man.”
It seemed she had accepted after sensing I held no improper desires. Just as I prepared to respond—
“Baran?”
“Mr. Baran?”
“What are you doing over there?”
A voice as cold as ice pierced the air. It was painfully familiar. I didn’t want to look, but thanks to Mind’s Eye, their faces appeared clearly in my mind. With a sinking feeling, I turned my head. Sure enough, the ones calling me were the female members of my party.
“Wow. Baran’s at it again, seducing someone new.”
And of course, Risa’s irritating voice chimed in from the side. I’ll have to give her a good flick on the forehead later.