Rischel (6)
Rosaria Holy Empire.
Great Cathedral Prayer Room.
A sacred ritual was underway in this place bathed in soft moonlight.
"…Understood."
"If that is your will…"
The woman praying before the goddess statue with hands clasped together murmured endlessly toward someone.
"I shall gladly obey."
At that moment, a gentle halo descended upon her head.
As the light—blending gold and silver in perfect harmony—settled over her, the woman who had been praying rose slowly to her feet.
With that, her platinum blonde hair, brimming with holy power, scattered sparkling radiance around her.
Once she stood fully upright, the ornate robes draping her voluptuous figure completely covered her toes, which had peeked out moments before.
"Pierre, are you there?"
Right after, a familiar voice responded to her quiet murmur before the goddess statue.
"…You called for me."
Even as the massive man in pristine white robes appeared abruptly, she showed no surprise, simply stating her business in a calm tone.
"I'm going out for a bit."
"An outing, you say?"
"Yes, so please make the preparations."
"…Understood."
There were no questions.
To question her, the proxy of the gods, was sin enough in itself.
He simply nodded silently, following divine will.
"Thank you, Pierre."
She smiled faintly down at the man bowing politely, then lifted the cross now in her hand and pressed it to his forehead.
Moments later, a brilliant light emanated from the cross.
"…I see. Indeed."
"I hadn't planned to tell you the reason, but the Lord is pleased with your faith."
"…Such gracious words."
Having explained the situation to him through the miracle's power, she flung open the prayer room doors wide.
The knights guarding the entrance spotted them and bowed in unison.
"We greet the Great Saintess!"
"Rise."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Captain Olivia."
At her call, the female knight at the front—who had been bowing—looked up.
"How many knights do we have available right now?"
"Only our 'Venus Knight Order' and the 'Saint Chermia Convent' can be mobilized immediately."
"Fewer than I expected."
"Yes. The 'Libonia Knight Order' is holding the front lines toward the Holy Land, and the 'Ziel Knight Order' is currently subjugating monsters at the empire's borders."
"Hm. The timing isn't ideal."
She touched a hand to her lips briefly, pondering, then spoke.
"Relay this to the Saint Chermia Convent. They will accompany me on this outing."
Olivia's eyes sharpened at the Great Saintess's words.
"…A revelation has come."
There was no reply, but she was certain.
For the Great Saintess—an icon of the empire—to move was tantamount to the will of the gods.
Her personally leading her subordinate knights into the field carried the weight of a holy war for them.
"I'll relay it at once!"
"I leave it to you."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Olivia, captain of the Venus Knight Order, left with a resolute expression.
Meanwhile, watching her go, the Great Saintess turned to the man beside her.
"I'm entrusting the empire to you, Pierre."
"Leave it to me. I won't disappoint."
"Hehe, I'm not worried. As the Pope, you'll handle your duties admirably even in my absence."
Pope Pierre hunched his shoulders further at her words.
"For the Great Saintess to rate me so highly leaves me at a loss."
"Have confidence. You're doing well."
"……."
The Pope bowed lightly, then addressed the prostrated knights with a curt command.
"From now on, all of you are to act as if the Great Saintess is still here."
The knights bowed their heads in unison, accepting the order.
"Is it all right not to take them?"
"To avoid attention, there's no choice."
"I see."
The position of Great Saintess was akin to the empire's very symbol.
As humanity's first saintess, she had shared in the empire's founding and history, her iconic status surpassing even the Pope's.
Needless to say, the faithful adored her, and her renown drew the gaze of unbelievers in foreign lands as well.
Every move she made attracted countless eyes.
If word of her outing leaked in such circumstances?
'Nine times out of ten, the revelation would be jeopardized.'
Of course, if the Lord had foreseen even that, there'd be no argument—but according to the revelation she'd shared, it didn't seem so.
She wouldn't summon a knight order for a mere casual outing.
'Calling the Saint Chermia Convent from the start is anything but ordinary.'
Among the many knight orders, Saint Chermia specialized in inquisitions against heretics.
Summoning them meant a moment for their talents was imminent.
And even beyond heresy, their combat prowess was top-tier among knight orders.
In terms of raw power, Saint Chermia was a bold choice.
Which implied this outing was no trivial matter.
'It must be a revelation set to shake the continental balance!'
Though he'd shared the revelation from the Great Saintess, its nature left no specifics on events—so no one knew exactly what would unfold.
Thus, the Pope planned to tightly control information to keep her movements secret.
"This outing will officially be framed as a magical beast subjugation expedition… Is that acceptable?"
"No issue. In fact, it's perfect."
A large-scale magical beast subjugation led by Saint Chermia Convent.
Of course, no one would know the Great Saintess or Venus Knight Order were involved.
If word spread that her direct guard, Venus, was there, it would imply her presence too.
This time, they'd disguise as Saint Chermia and move together.
Having swiftly devised the plan, the Pope shared it with the Great Saintess.
"Excellent. I'll leave it to you."
"I'll do my utmost."
With their brief exchange concluded, the Great Saintess opened her eyes and gazed out the window.
Her silver eyes, filled with holy power, turned toward the horizon.
'It's been ages since my last outing.'
With that short thought, she set forth.
The woman known as one of the Seven Powers, the symbol of the Rosaria Holy Empire.
The living demigod, saintess of all saintesses.
Holy Venus thus crossed the sea toward Rischel.
Meanwhile, at that very hour, Yeon Je-seong stood in Rischel's training grounds.
"This place has changed a lot too."
Surveying his surroundings, Yeon Je-seong muttered his brief impression.
It had transformed so much that the training grounds he'd visited before were unrecognizable.
The walls once scarred everywhere were now smoothly finished in sleek black stone, and the floor—always shattering under full-force spars among knights—now showed no cracks even under their all-out efforts, thanks to some magical reinforcement.
As he nodded in admiration at the refreshed grounds, Modred—tucked in his bosom—spoke up.
"This is how it was supposed to be."
"But every time I saw it, it was always wrecked."
"That's 'cause you had the knights fighting for their lives back then."
Not just regular knights but even Round Table members joined in swinging swords, leaving no trace of the place intact, she explained.
"Hm. So this is its normal state, then."
"Yeah. Round Table spars aren't that frequent to begin with."
"Come to think of it, you sparred a lot back then too."
"True, we did back then."
In the old days, the training grounds always buzzed with clashing knights, and Modred was a frequent sight among them.
'Her opponents changed every time, if I recall.'
At that thought, I suddenly asked Modred.
"Just to check, they weren't all fighting over me, were they?"
"……."
"Modred."
"…I'm invoking the right to silence."
For instance, betting on eliminating rivals.
Or promising aid to the loser.
Or deciding the order for nighttime ambushes.
Too many possibilities to pinpoint one.
As I inwardly sighed at the crimson truth I didn't want to know, my eyes met Gawain's as he entered the grounds.
"Master!"
"Gawain."
Gawain, arriving with a group of knights, spotted me and rushed over in an instant.
"Here in this place…!"
But before Gawain could finish, the knights—who had frozen—swooped toward me in unison.
"I-it's an h-h-honor to m-meet you for the first time! I'm Roswell of the Solar Knight Order!"
"I've admired… I mean, respected you forever! Isabel of the Solar Knight Order!"
They approached with shrill shrieks, flushed faces scanning him head to toe like they were devouring him with their eyes.
"To think I'd get this close!"
"Waaah! Becoming a knight was the best decision ever!"
"Hey! What's the score?!"
"Hold on a sec! Kyaa?!"
"Gasp!"
"Penny's scouter exploded…?!"
"No way!"
"Hey! Is Penny okay?"
"I-I can't believe it! Face, figure, skills… All off the charts?!"
At the words of the knight called Penny, shock filled their eyes.
Simultaneously, Gawain—pushed far back by the knights—let out a roar of fury.
"Wh-what is the meaning of this?!"
"Aw, hold on, Captain! Just let us have a taste real quick!"
"Hey, handsome, what's your type? Mature? Cute? How about older women?"
"You bastards…!"
"Whoaaa!"
"Why me first…?!"
"Vice Captain! Drag these guys out ri…!"
As Gawain unleashed his monstrous strength to hurl the knights back—robbed of his (not-quite) lover—one knight clung tightly to Yeon Je-seong's side, grabbing his hand and shouting.
"I'm Emily Austin, vice captain of the Solar Knight Order. Age 121. I love sword practice and walks. Nothing I really hate, but if I had to pick, spicy food's a bit tough for me."
"…Hm?"
"As Solar vice captain, I've got money and a house. Whatever else you want, I'll make it happen. So please, date me with marriage in mind…!"
As pink auras bloomed and hearts filled her eyes, Yeon Je-seong stepped back—and Modred snatched his hand from his bosom.
"…Princess?"
"Oppa is mine. I won't hand him over to anyone."
Right then, Gawain's frustrated bellow erupted.