The Unexpected Saintess of the Ludria Church
I had accidentally run into the Saintess of the Ludria Church.
First, I told her, and used the Sword of Order to free her from the binding holy law.
I greeted her first.
“I’m the Hero, Abel. The Saintess who travels with me is Estelle.”
“…The faithful servant of the Ludria Goddess, Celine…”
Celine’s face when she greeted me was terribly dark. Anyone who saw it would think I was intimidating her…
“…Why did you run away?”
“…I know.”
…Suddenly she knew what?
“The decree from the church asking me to bring you to them!”
“…Ah.”
She must have heard about the decree too.
“So that’s why I ran… but I didn’t want to go back.”
Was that the only reason? What on earth had happened to make her act like this?
“What happened to make you say that?”
“…He hit me on the face.”
“Huh?”
He hit her on the face? Who…? Could it be Levius?
Celine explained everything to me. Levius had fought Elfride at the banquet he was invited to, got so angry he threw things around, and then hit Celine when she tried to stop him.
“…So you ran away because of that?”
“…That’s not the whole story. This was just the last straw. Levius the Hero had been like that before.”
“He’d been like that before?”
“The Hero hated me. Called me a boring woman. So he would get angry for no reason, and verbal abuse was normal. He didn’t hit me personally, but he’d throw things… and…”
Wow, what a bastard. No wonder the strange holy sword had chosen me.
“But this time he actually laid hands on me? So I couldn’t stand it and ran away…”
“…I didn’t see it like that. He really was a complete bastard.”
“…Huh?”
Celine stared at me with wide eyes.
Why? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?
“Levius that bastard. A Hero is supposed to be a Hero, yet he acts like that toward the companions he travels with. Even toward others who aren’t companions, it’s obvious he wouldn’t.”
Estelle next to me nodded.
“I guess rumors like that aren’t just rumors.”
“Exactly. If I’d been there, I would have given him a good punch.”
“Oh my, Hero. If you do that, you’ll be the one getting beaten up♡”
“…That’s what you want?”
Damn it, I already knew.
“…He doesn’t act like that toward all the companions. Only toward me…”
“What?”
…Why?
“Besides me, Levius the Hero has companions, Natalie and Sonia.”
“Ah, those ladies?”
“Yes… he doesn’t usually act like that toward them. Of course they know to stay out of his way too…”
Then why single me out?
“What’s the reason?”
“…Just a guess, but I think it’s because I don’t sleep with him.”
“…What?”
My head went blank for a second. Had I heard wrong?
So… he treats people that way because they don’t give him sex?
…Is he really the Hero?
“Do you know about the Holy Sword of Joy?”
“Yes, I do.”
“To use its power, Levius the Hero asks women for their bodies. Honestly… I don’t think the method is wrong. After all, it’s probably the fastest way to get a lot of pleasure.”
“But now that you’re a Saintess, that wouldn’t work, right?”
“…The Ludria Church doesn’t have a doctrine that its female priests must remain virgins.”
…So a Saintess doesn’t have to be a virgin? This is a bit much, isn’t it, Ludria Goddess? How open-minded.
“But I think it’s right to have that kind of relationship with the person I love…”
“…Ah.”
People like that are everywhere.
“So when I refused, our relationship worsened. And I also say some harsh things…”
“You do say harsh things, Saintess.”
Those words were said in a completely shitty tone.
“In fact, there are few Saintesses who don’t say harsh words. A Saintess goes with the Hero to support him and guide him on the right path. But Levius the Hero probably didn’t want to hear anything I said.”
It was a bit sad. If I sent Celine back now, the situation would only get worse. If Levius had been acting like this the whole time, she probably wouldn’t reflect on her own running away.
I turned to the Saintess.
“What should I do?”
“…Hmm.”
The Saintess looked troubled too. After all, it was a conflict between Hero and Saintess, so there was a lot to think about.
The Saintess asked Celine.
“You don’t want to be taken back to the church?”
“…If I go back to the church, I’ll definitely end up back by Levius the Hero’s side.”
“But the decrees are coming to every church, so no matter where you go, you’ll end up back.”
“That’s true, but…”
Celine looked like she wanted to say something but was hesitant. I gave her the chance first.
“If there’s something you want to say, go ahead.”
“…If the Hero Abel takes me as his companion, that would solve it…”
“What?”
I already have a Saintess right next to me. Apart from personality, the Saintess here had real looks and real skills. Honestly, finding a better priest than the one by my side wouldn’t be easy.
“As you know, Saintess Celine, I travel with Estelle the Saintess. Is it okay for one Hero to bring two Saintesses?”
“…There’s no law saying one Hero must bring only one Saintess. It’s common, but…”
So that’s just the custom, right? Custom is something you follow anyway…
“I! I know how to use the holy law pretty well, and I know how to use swords and bows! If you take me as a companion, I can handle one person easily!”
Celine suddenly started appealing to herself, like a job-hunting graduate preparing for an interview.
But I heard something a bit unexpected.
“You know how to use swords and bows?”
“Yes!”
“Oh…”
She knew that too? A Saintess using cold weapons was a bit surprising. But the Saintess next to me said,
“…So what?”
“What?”
“What good is that? Just because Saintess Celine knows how to use swords and bows doesn’t mean she can be a swordswoman or archer, right?”
“…That’s… that’s what Estelle Saintess said…”
Yeah. That’s not the same thing. Knowing how to use weapons and knowing how to fulfill the role are completely different.
…What am I supposed to do. If I send her back to the church, Celine will end up back with Levius after all, and that would be pushing her back into the hell I barely escaped.
But I couldn’t just take her with me like this. I was already taking two Saintesses. And Celine didn’t seem like she’d be stronger than the one I had.
Taking two Saintesses with me wasn’t very efficient.
“…For now…”
“What?”
“We’ll keep her with us until the regular report meeting. Saintess.”
Celine looked happy when she heard that, and the Saintess narrowed her brows slightly.
I made the decision after thinking about it, so don’t look at me like that…
“After that, no matter what we do—make peace or whatever—we can decide then. At that time, things might change again.”
“…Hah, again it’s a woman.”
“What?”
It’s not efficiency, it’s the fact that she’s a woman that’s the problem…?
“Okay. If that’s what you want, Hero, we’ll do that.”
Even though she answered like that, the Saintess looked like she wasn’t very happy with it.
…She wasn’t pouting again, was she?
“Thank you, Hero! I’m grateful too, Saintess Estelle!”
Celine bowed her head deeply. She was that happy she didn’t have to go back to Levius.
…She looked a bit pitiful. I could see how she’d been treated, and it made me sad. I’d have to treat her well while we traveled together.
#
After that, Celine joined our party. It had been a week since she left.
Once Celine joined us, we continued walking toward Poculum. After crossing the Minerva Kingdom border, we were now in neutral territory.
The Saintess in front stopped suddenly.
“Hero.”
“What?”
“Shall we start?”
…She must have found something again.
“…Yes.”
With a slightly more familiar tone, I drew my holy sword. Celine tilted her head.
“Hero? What are you doing?”
“Training.”
“What?”
The Saintess led us into the forest, and I followed. Celine followed behind us, showing a puzzled expression.
“Hero, why did you come into the forest? There might be monsters here.”
“That’s why I came.”
“…Huh??”?
Celine didn’t seem to understand my words. Levius probably hadn’t grown up this way.
“Come and see for yourself.”
A picture is worth a thousand words, so showing it directly would be faster. With Celine, we followed the Saintess deep into the forest.
“Sit down.”
The Saintess whispered very softly and lowered her body. When I lowered mine to follow, she pointed ahead and said,
“Do you see that? Even with your weak eyes, it should be visible♡”
“…I see it~~”
Damn it, she thinks I’m blind?
The monster in the direction she pointed was a White Tiger. Strangely, it had a huge horn on its forehead. Was that really a monster? It looked like it could even be mistaken for a divine beast.
“It’s called a Horn Tiger. In terms of classification, it’s a middle-class monster, but the strength of a single individual is far greater than an orc or the Goliath we fought before.”
“…I see.”
“Horn Tigers are strong with their front paws. But they’re weaker with their hind legs. You get it~♡”
“Yes.”
“O-over there…”
At that moment Celine asked us.
“Hero Abel, you’ve been a Hero for about three months, right…?”
“Yes.”
“But you’re trying to catch a Horn Tiger without any blessings? Isn’t that taking too much risk?”
…Why suddenly?
Celine probably felt worried about me. The Saintess answered her with a smirk.
“It’s fine. Even though the Hero is still weak, I can catch something like that. More than that, Hero♡”
“What?”
“This time, let the Hero start the fight♡”
“…How?”
“Runes, you learned them, right?”
Before Chloe left, after crossing the border, I had briefly learned how to draw simple runes. Back then I had scribbled a few known kanji, and Chloe had been shocked and amazed, calling me a genius.
It had just been a few kanji I knew, but Chloe had been incredibly surprised and amazed.
…It’s coming.
“I haven’t learned many… but I’ll try.”
“Yes~♡”
I closed my eyes for a moment. Because I was still too inexperienced, it was hard to gather mana without focusing with my eyes closed like this.
“…Done.”
“Now aim at the Horn Tiger over there.”
“Yes.”
I drew a rune—kanji, in other words—on my finger with gathered mana. While writing the rune for Ice, I chanted.
“Ice Spear.”
A sharp ice spear appeared and flew toward the Horn Tiger.
Pow!
And the ice spear stuck straight into the back of the Horn Tiger.
…Behind?
“…Huh?”
“…Hero, no matter what, that’s too much, isn’t it?”
“U…”
The Horn Tiger was thrashing wildly, with an ice spear still stuck in its back. This is completely ice crap…
I glanced sideways at the two of them. They were looking at me with strange eyes.
…I’m really unlucky! That wasn’t what I intended!!
But the look in their eyes said I wouldn’t believe my excuses. Just catch it quickly…
“…I’ll catch it right away.”