The Saint's Bold Challenge to the Hero
The Saint? Why do you call our hero “our hero”!?
“Holy Saint, are we going straight to the cathedral?”
I asked, and the Saint gave a light nod in reply. But Cloe offered a different opinion.
“Shouldn’t we first report to the city guard that we’ve dealt with the bandit group?”
“We can send someone to the cathedral branch. If we go directly to the city guard, it’ll take more time, so this way is more efficient.”
Just informing the city guard about our arrival was something I could handle with someone familiar with Lancaster City’s geography. We also had to find the path to the main headquarters. That was inefficient, right?
…It wasn’t because I was too lazy to go there.
“Follow me.”
Following the Saint who told me to follow her, a hugely large and dazzling white building soon came into view.
“Is that the cathedral branch?”
“Yes~♡ It’s the Lancaster Cathedral, the branch that manages the seventh great diocese of our Solaria Church.”
It was enormous. It felt like seeing the world-famous great cathedrals, something like Notre-Dame.
Cloe also seemed overwhelmed by its grandeur and walked around, moving her head a little as she admired the cathedral.
“Hero-nim, you’re looking at it with childlike wonder~♡ Haven’t you seen a cathedral before?”
“…Huh?”
Why not? …Oh, the Holy Sword.
I cleared my throat once and said.
“Back then, the cathedral wasn’t this big.”
“Ah~♡ That’s because this is a branch that manages the great diocese. It handles not only Lancaster City but also Habsburg City, which we visited before~.”
“So there was no branch in Habsburg City.”
“That’s right~♡”
At that moment, Cloe muttered to herself from the side. It was quiet enough that I heard it, but not loud enough for the Saint to notice.
“…As expected, the church with the most followers on the continent.”
…So the Solaria Church really was the strongest denomination on the continent.
Of course. It was said that they worshipped the Goddess of the Sun, right? Any religion naturally considers its sun god the most important. The sun has great symbolic value, and it’s an essential star that humans literally cannot do without.
So it made sense that the church worshipping the Goddess of the Sun, Solaria, would be the largest.
The Saint stepped into the Lancaster Cathedral grounds without hesitation. I asked about her carefree attitude.
“But can we just walk in like that?”
“Originally, the Solaria Church’s cathedrals are open to any faithful of the church. As long as you’re not a monster, anyone can enter~.”
“Eh, really? Isn’t it a bit dangerous?”
This was the era when human trafficking was common. It meant the moral standards here were relatively lacking compared to the modern world. Was there a cathedral open to everyone in such an era?
What if a nun or priest got into some trouble?
The Saint replied with a chuckle to my worried question.
“I understand your concern. But Hero-nim, there won’t be anyone in our cathedral doing such a thing~♡”
“Why? Because you don’t know how the accident will happen, that’s why.”
“Fufu♡ If you try something like that, you’ll turn the entire church into enemies. Even a Hero-nim who’s as intelligent as a goldfish would understand what I mean~?”
Hmm… She really had that much confidence. Since the Solaria Church had the largest following on the continent, anyone would want to avoid making the Solaria Church their enemy.
“Holy Saint, please stop calling Hero-nim a dummy. Why is Hero-nim a dummy?! He could be clueless.”
…Cloe?
I looked at Cloe in a startled gaze as she suddenly sped up. But Cloe seemed to be saying something as if she’d held back a lot.
“Don’t insult our Hero-nim like that!”
…Oh, the world.
I was moved. Cloe was scolding the Saint who spoke so harshly about the Hero-nim. She pitied me too, Cloe!
The Saint stopped abruptly.
From her reaction, it seemed something was pricking her conscience too. Of course, hearing it said by a third party would make anyone feel guilty.
This was the perfect chance to reflect on her actions and improve…
“Our~? Our Hero-nim?”
…Why is the other side picky in such a place?
The Saint stopped walking and walked straight up to Cloe, pointing out her words.
“Why do you call Hero-nim ‘our’ Hero-nim!? What authority do you have?!”
“Why?! I’m your comrade too, even if it’s only for a little while!”
“Yes, that’s true. But by adding the word ‘our’ to the Hero-nim you’ve done nothing for, are you claiming he’s yours and lecturing me?!”
“Ah, I haven’t done anything yet, but I’ll do lots of things from now on!”
Do lots of things for him… No, why are you fighting?
“Hah! What can you do with that flat body?”
“It’s not flat!!”
“It’s flat! That squished chest!”
“Ugh, I’m still growing! And even if it’s small, I can satisfy you plenty!”
“You’re sixteen and still growing? Even if that’s true, how much more could you grow~?”
…Why did the conversation suddenly turn in that direction!?
Feeling gazes on me, I glanced around. Private citizens who had visited the cathedral were passing by, stealing glances at us.
…Yeah, of course they’d stare. Two women fighting violently in a cathedral. If this were the real world, someone would’ve already filmed it. They’d probably have been banned from the cathedral and had their videos taken down as “Annoying women causing a ruckus in a church.”
The argument between the two was growing heated. There was no sign of it ending soon, so I decided it was time to intervene.
“Hey, you two? You know this is a cathedral, right? Stop this nonsense and go do your duties.”
“……”
“…Sorry.”
The Saint let out a big sigh and nodded. Cloe apologized. She didn’t need to apologize to me.
“Let’s go quickly.”
The Saint and Cloe walked away from me for a while, and I squeezed myself between them. They were arguing again. That was…
…It had started after Cloe threw that sudden bomb. That was why I couldn’t understand the Saint’s actions anymore.
Even though she didn’t like me, why was she acting like this?
“Hero-nim, Cloe.”
The Saint called out to the two of us following behind her.
“We’re going to meet the diocesan bishop from now on. He’s a fairly high-ranking person in the church, so please show proper manners.”
“If it’s a diocesan bishop, is it the same as a bishop?”
“No, a cardinal.”
…An incredibly high-ranking person.
The Saint led us into the cathedral. As soon as the Saint entered the interior, the priests and nuns there bowed their heads politely toward us.
At first I thought they were greeting visitors to the cathedral, but the direction of their greetings was exactly toward the Saint.
The Saint accepted their greetings so naturally. Now that I thought about it, this was basically her home.
Since Cloe and I didn’t know the internal structure, we just trailed after the Saint like chicks following a hen.
The Saint suddenly stopped walking in the corridor. Then she spoke to the middle-aged man in front of her.
“Cardinal Antonio.”
Cardinal? So this man…
Cardinal Antonio held a cross that was hanging around his neck and greeted the Saint respectfully.
“Antonio, faithful servant of the Goddess, greets the Holy Saint.”
The man called a cardinal bowed deeply to the Saint, who was much smaller and younger than him.
…From this, I could see I was traveling with someone truly great.
“When did you arrive at the cathedral?”
“Just now. There was something I wanted to ask for.”
“I see. The people behind you…?”
Cardinal Antonio turned his gaze to Cloe and me. It was time to greet him.
“It is an honor to meet Your Eminence, the Cardinal. My name is Abel.”
“Ah, you must be the Hero Abel. It is an honor to meet you, Hero-nim. However, who is the woman beside you?”
The Saint glanced at Cloe and said.
“She was turned into a monster by a mutation stone. I saved her.”
“I’m Cloe. Nice to meet you, Your Eminence.”
Cardinal Antonio looked slightly surprised at the word “mutation stone” from the Saint.
“A mutation stone? Holy Saint, did you use your power?”
“I had no choice.”
“I had no choice”? She talks as if there’s a problem using her power.
…Was there something the Saint hadn’t told me?
Cardinal Antonio asked after hearing the Saint.
“…You said there was something you wanted. What do you need from the Holy Saint?”
“First… as you can see, my priestly robes are ruined, so I threw them away. Could you give me a new one?”
“It’s not difficult, but you’re saying the Holy Saint’s priestly robes are ruined?”
Cardinal Antonio looked slightly confused. Given the Saint’s strength, it made sense, but there had been an unavoidable incident.
I answered for the Saint on that point.
“The priestly robes melted because of the digestive fluid of a slime, so I couldn’t use them.”
“…A slime? You were caught by a slime, Holy Saint?”
“Yes. Is there a problem with that?”
“There’s no way the Holy Saint would be caught by a slime… ahem.”
Cardinal Antonio suddenly looked startled and cleared his throat once.
“I see… Understood.”
“?”
What was he looking at that made him so startled? With me behind him, Cardinal Antonio asked the Saint.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“Please contact the Vatican and request my credentials. I need to use them.”
“I’ll prepare them as soon as possible. In the meantime, please rest and refresh yourselves at the cathedral.”
“Sure.”
The Saint turned to Cloe and me and said.
“Think of this as your home and rest comfortably. The nuns will show you to your rooms.”
“…Yes.”
“Cardinal, could you spare some time?”
“Of course.”
The Saint went somewhere with Cardinal Antonio, leaving Cloe and me standing there alone. A nun came over to guide us.
“I’ll show you the way, honored guests.”
I couldn’t help but clear my throat when I saw the nun who was guiding our rooms. Her chest was so prominent it couldn’t be hidden even by her fluffy nun robes.
To receive guidance from such a magnificent woman… It was really the best to have power!
“…So the Holy Saint’s words were true.”
…What was that all of a sudden? Cloe, who had muttered something meaningful, narrowed her eyes and looked at me.
“Cloe? What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing.”
Cloe quickly changed direction and followed the nun.
…Why was she like that?
#
Cardinal Antonio entered his private office and glanced back over his shoulder.
The woman who looked as if she’d been transplanted directly from the Solaria Goddess looked around the office.
“Nothing has changed.”
“That’s why I like familiar things.”
Cardinal Antonio first asked Estelle.
“Did the Holy Saint have something important to tell me?”
“About the mutation stone.”
Cardinal Antonio narrowed his brows slightly at Estelle’s meaningful statement.
“You mentioned that the person named Cloe ate the mutation stone and became a monster. Is there any connection?”
“I heard about the circumstances of how Cloe swallowed the mutation stone. It was the work of another human.”
“…That’s a horrifying thing.”
“So I’d like you to investigate the distribution route of the mutation stones. Contact the Athens branch.”
“Athens? She’s not an imperial citizen, then?”
“She’s from the Minerva Kingdom. A student at the Royal Magic Academy.”
Cardinal Antonio nodded, understanding.
“So Athens. Understood. I’ll contact Cardinal Florence. Then, the Holy Saint plans to cross the border.”
“That’s why I need my credentials. Cloe is, if you think about it, an illegal immigrant. It was unavoidable.”
“I understand. I’ll send someone to the Vatican right away and have them bring it as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, please do.”
Cardinal Antonio examined Estelle’s face.
Her expression seemed slightly different from before, but it was still the noble Saint he knew. And that noble Saint seemed to have something more to say.
“You have something more to tell me.”
Estelle hesitated for a moment. Then she said, watching Cardinal Antonio’s expression.
“…You didn’t slap me. You said you used power as a proxy.”
“I won’t report it to His Holiness. Surely the Holy Saint would be greatly worried if it were brought up.”
“…Thank you, Antonio.”
“The Holy Saint isn’t using her private time for this. Saving a person turned into a monster is something a Saint should do.”
As he said that, Cardinal Antonio looked at Estelle with a worried gaze. That gaze overlapped with the image of the young Estelle he had raised in the Vatican since she was a child.
Looking at her with eyes full of care, Cardinal Antonio asked cautiously.
“…How much did you lose?”
“…Just a little. I didn’t use that much power.”
“Seeing the Holy Saint use power means the Holy Sword of Order hasn’t awakened yet.”
“You know how difficult that is. Still, there has been progress. The handle part has changed.”
Cardinal Antonio’s eyes widened slightly. He knew that only a few months had passed since Abel, chosen as the Hero of the Empire, began his journey, yet she had already taken a step forward.
At the unexpected good news, Cardinal Antonio’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“There’s a possibility. That’s good news.”
“…Of course.”
Estelle smiled faintly.
“No matter who says what, our Hero-nim tries his hardest. He’ll probably become stronger than anyone someday.”
Cardinal Antonio, seeing that expression, wore a clear and kind smile and asked Estelle, who had grown from the young girl he had once cared for into a noble Saint.
“Were you enjoying your travels?”
The Holy Saint remained silent for a moment at Cardinal Antonio’s question, then answered with a bright smile.
“Yes, it was super fun!”