A Reward Beyond Imagination
I was left utterly speechless by the reward, which far exceeded anything I could have imagined. I had expected a hefty amount of experience points and regular points, of course. After all, the episode I had just cleared was part of the main storyline. But this…
'To think I’d even receive a new technique for the Divine Archer.' To be precise, it was less that I had been given the skill and more that I had been shown how to use it. I focused on the stream of new information flowing directly into my mind. Once I had absorbed every detail, I could only click my tongue inwardly.
'What kind of ridiculously broken skill is this?'
It was so absurd it nearly made me laugh out loud. At this point I was seriously wondering if it might actually be a bug. From the enemy’s perspective, it would feel as though time itself had stopped. You freeze your opponent in place and then fire the arrow. The technique known as Time Arrow.
Time Arrow
A first-awakening ability of the Divine Archer class. Distorts or completely halts time for the designated target the moment the arrow is fired. From the victim’s viewpoint, the world freezes while the arrow approaches.
“Hmm? What is it, my disciple?”
At that moment Miroel looked at me with an innocent, wide-eyed tilt of her head. Seeing her like that, I once again realized just how absurdly monstrous the elf standing before me truly was.
'She created something like this herself.'
If that was the case, just how powerful had the original hero party been? A group composed entirely of people on the same level as Miroel. Well, they had sealed the Demon God, so of course they were strong, but I had never imagined they would be on this scale.
'In the game I had only set it up as a simple status window entry.'
Anyway, that was beside the point. Obtaining a new technique was definitely a good thing. If I could use it properly, I would become far stronger than before. However—
Talents: Mana Application Lv. 3, Archer Mastery Lv. 3
Even after growing to this extent, I still couldn’t use it.
'I understand it in my head, but the fact that I can’t actually use it is seriously annoying.'
I had received the new technique, yet with my current level I couldn’t wield it properly. My level simply wasn’t high enough yet to use Time Arrow.
'I’ll probably need to level up more and use Possession before I can pull it off successfully.'
On top of that, I would need to ask Miroel for guidance to raise my proficiency. Otherwise I might end up giving myself internal injuries. For some reason I felt like I had only taken a loss, but—
'Well, getting it at all is still a win.'
In truth, this was power the current me should never have been able to obtain. Miroel seemed to know that and had refrained from teaching me until now.
'Then I suppose I should head back to the dormitory.'
With that thought, I hurried toward the lodging before any unnecessary misunderstandings could arise. And that night, I was coincidentally caught by Sherry for having slipped out.
The next day, a great many things happened in the Holy Federation in the span of just a few days.
The sudden murder case involving several Holy Knights. Yet every single one of those knights turned out to be apostates. Some of them had even been captured alive thanks to evidence provided by the Saintess. Even that alone was an unbelievable turn of events. But as if that weren’t enough, the demon who had been colluding with those apostates was found dead as well. In a place renowned for being cleaner than anywhere else, both demons and traitors had appeared. How could the public not descend into chaos?
“Haa.”
The Saintess let out a soft sigh as she reflected on the current situation. Thanks to this incident, every last apostate within the church had been rooted out. They had even succeeded in killing a mid-ranking demon officer. She should have been rejoicing. After all, she had finally exterminated all those cockroach-like traitors.
Yet she couldn’t bring herself to feel genuine joy. The reason was simple.
'I don’t know who actually solved it.'
Someone had resolved the church’s problems without anyone knowing their identity. The church had announced that the Heresy Inquisitors were responsible, but from Aria’s perspective it still felt deeply unsettling. The only plausible guess she could make was—
'Someone from the academy.'
Hadn’t the Sun God said it? That one who would defy fate would appear. Perhaps that person had been the one to resolve everything this time. The academy’s arrival had coincided perfectly with the Sun God’s prophecy, after all.
'But who exactly is it?'
There were hints, yet so many likely suspects existed that she couldn’t pinpoint anyone. Just who had solved this incident? As she stood with arms crossed, sinking deep into thought—
“Oh? Saintess?”
A far too familiar voice reached her ears. The next instant, Aria turned her head. There, in her field of vision, were Sherry and Baran standing together alone. Seeing the pair, Aria tilted her head curiously.
“What brings the two of you here?”
This was, after all, a church. She knew today’s academy schedule was free time, so there should have been no reason for them to visit. As a question mark seemed to float above her head, Sherry spoke up from beside Baran.
“Ah, Baran said he had something he needed to check quickly.”
“Check?”
“Yes.”
Aria quietly shifted her gaze to Baran and asked in a gentle tone, “Hmm. Mr. Baran, what exactly are you trying to verify?”
“Ahahaha. It’s nothing serious. I simply came to offer prayers to the Sun God, but it felt so embarrassing that I made up a little excuse.”
“Huh? So that’s what it was? Then why have you been lying since yesterday?”
Sherry narrowed her eyes and pouted. At those words a fresh question mark appeared over Aria’s head.
“Lying?”
“Ah, last night Baran secretly slipped out of the dormitory and has been pretending nothing happened ever since.”
“·····?!”
Aria’s eyes widened like saucers. Baran had secretly left the dormitory last night? Why would he do such a thing? Of course, it was possible he had an entirely different reason. But one thing felt particularly suspicious.
'The way Baran has been worrying about me all this time.'
Even though they had only just met, he had shown clear concern for her. Moreover, right now she could sense two distinct emotions coming from him. One was embarrassment, and the final one was—
'Relief.'
Why was Baran feeling relieved? The most likely answer was that he had been the one to eliminate all the apostates. Otherwise none of this made sense.
'So the being the Sun God spoke of was Mr. Baran.'
In fact, the Sun God had given another prophecy. The one who changes fate would grant her freedom. She had believed those words, yet a corner of her heart had still harbored doubt. Just who could possibly set her free? So many Holy Knights—no, apostates—had been watching her every move. She had essentially been living a life of confinement. Yet after the apostates were removed, freedom had finally come to her. To be exact, it was because she had held a serious conversation with the Pope this time, but the fact that Baran had resolved the matter only made the gift of freedom feel even greater.
-Thump. Thump.
Suddenly her heart began to pound violently. This had never happened before. Yet why? Simply looking at Baran made her face grow hot, and she felt strangely embarrassed to meet his eyes.
'So this is what that feeling is like.'
In that instant she finally understood why all the other girls kept approaching him.
'How can I get closer to Baran?'
It was right when that thought crossed her mind.
“As a rule, men do not dislike women who approach them after drinking.”
The Sun God had suddenly offered her advice. She never imagined the Sun God would give counsel like this. Accepting the words at face value, she turned her head. The two were conversing. Or rather, it looked more like Sherry was interrogating Baran.
“Mr. Baran.”
“Ah, yes, Saintess.”
Baran turned toward her immediately at the call. Aria offered a gentle smile and asked, “Do you have any time to spare?”
“?!”
At those words, Sherry’s intuition screamed in alarm. The Saintess had clearly fallen for Baran. Her behavior was exactly the same as when Sherry herself had looked at him a month ago!
'What? When on earth did the Saintess get charmed this time?!'
Shocked, Sherry moved quickly.
“I’m sorry. We already promised to spend the remaining time together with our group.”
She linked her arm tightly with Baran’s in a clear show of possessiveness, as if declaring that Aria had no place here. But to Aria, such provocation was nothing more than child’s play. Compared to the lust she had endured from the apostates until now, this was positively adorable.
“Hmm, is that so? Now that I think about it, the academy’s return has been postponed until tomorrow because of this incident, correct?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then this works out perfectly.”
“Pardon?”
Baran tilted his head in confusion. Why was the delayed return a good thing? As he wondered, Aria continued naturally.
“Then how about we have a drink together today?”
She linked her arm with Baran’s as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Watching the scene from behind, Miroel instinctively realized that the woman before her was a fox every bit as cunning as the first Saintess, Jeanne.