The Saintess Follows
I was caught off guard. I didn’t even need to ask; I already knew. Julia had come looking for me. It wasn’t a misunderstanding… or so I told myself. If that weren’t the case, there would be no reason for her to stand right in front of me, staring with such piercing intensity. The only problem was the reason behind it. Why? Why had Julia sought me out like this? I couldn’t make sense of it at all. After all, in this life, Julia and I had only exchanged a few brief words. Had I caught her interest? Maybe that was it. The idea made a certain kind of sense, yet it still didn’t feel like a complete explanation. We had simply bumped into each other and spoken for a short time. Of course, the circumstances had been anything but ordinary—running into each other by a deserted lakeside in the dead of night. We had even introduced ourselves. Still, I hadn’t imagined that would be enough to make her come find me in person. Just what reason could Julia possibly have for seeking me out?
I studied her face, hoping for an answer, but found none. Julia rarely showed her emotions through her eyes or expression. And we couldn’t simply stand here forever. The stares around us showed no sign of letting up, and Julia herself didn’t seem inclined to speak. In the end, I broke the silence first.
“…Is there something I can help you with?”
I hadn’t particularly wanted to rush her. I didn’t want to drive Julia away with my own hands. But the concentrated attention was becoming a problem. This scene was clearly strange and bound to draw even more notice. From my current position, it was far from ideal. So I asked. At the same time, I didn’t hold out much hope. Thanks to the two years we had spent together, I knew her well. Julia was extremely sparing with her words. Even if I asked directly, there was a good chance she wouldn’t answer at all. In fact, that was the more likely outcome. I had expected the same this time.
But then—
“…Just.”
Against all expectation, Julia gave me a reply. …Though it wasn’t exactly one that cleared anything up. Just. She had simply come to find me? With no particular purpose? That answer only made it harder to know how to respond.
Then—
“Th-the Saintess spoke…!”
The surroundings stirred at Julia’s answer. Ah. I had wondered what all the fuss was about, but thinking about it, their reaction made perfect sense. Ever since she had appeared at the Academy, Julia had not spoken a single word. I couldn’t say what she did out of sight, but at least in public, where eyes could reach her, she had remained completely silent. She hadn’t even parted her lips during the introductory address on the dais. Because of that, a quiet rumor had begun to circulate among the students—that perhaps the Saintess was unable to speak for some reason.
Yet now, that same Julia had spoken for the first time. No wonder they were reacting this way. When I glanced over, even the priestess standing behind Julia had her eyes wide open. It seemed to be quite unexpected for her as well.
However—
“But… why Kyle Berwen of all people…?”
The way things were developing didn’t look good. This is bad. Truthfully, I no longer cared about the stares or my reputation. There was nowhere left for it to fall, and even if it did, it wouldn’t matter. The real problem was that this situation might not end with my reputation simply taking another hit. It could very well drag Julia’s reputation down simply because she was involved with me.
Having thought that far, I spoke.
“I’m sorry, but the next lecture is about to start, so I should get going.”
I bowed my head toward Julia as I said it. I still had no idea what was going on, but until I could decide how to treat her, it seemed best to keep some distance. I also needed time to figure out how to handle all these eyes on us. That was the reasoning behind my words, but it wasn’t entirely a lie. The next lecture really was approaching. If I skipped class or arrived late in my current state, it would only give the Academy more ammunition. I needed to attend on time. So this wasn’t some hastily made-up excuse.
“…….”
Julia stared at me quietly for a moment, then gave a small nod. I felt both relief and regret at the same time. I was glad she seemed to understand, but that didn’t make forcing distance between us any less painful. Still, what couldn’t be helped, couldn’t be helped.
“Then I’ll be going.”
I bowed once more and began walking toward the lecture hall.
But then—
Step. Step.
“……?”
I heard footsteps. When I turned around with a puzzled expression—
“…….”
Julia was following me with that same blank expression of hers.
“…….”
Wondering if I had imagined it, I turned forward again and kept walking. The footsteps continued.
Step. Step.
The presence trailing me remained. In the end, I had no choice but to turn around once more.
“…….”
Our eyes met again. Gazing into those sparkling golden eyes, I spoke again.
“I… I’m heading to the lecture hall.”
Julia simply stared at me in return. Her gaze seemed to ask, So?
“…….”
At that look, I gave up on trying to converse with her and turned pleading eyes toward the priestess. But she only shook her head with a thoughtful expression.
“…….”
I squeezed my eyes shut, turned away, and started walking again. There was no need to say that the presence continued to follow me the entire way.
All eyes were fixed on us. This body—Kyle—had always drawn attention, but today it was far worse than usual. It wasn’t an exaggeration; every single person we passed was staring in our direction. The gazes refused to move on. As if nailed in place, everyone stared at us with unblinking intensity. There was a clear reason for it.
The being currently drawing the most interest across the entire continent and within this Academy was quietly trailing behind me.
“I-is that the Saintess…?”
“That’s Kyle Berwen… Why is the Saintess following him…?”
Julia Librel. The Goddess Church’s Saintess, the first to appear in hundreds of years. And the person she was following was none other than me—Kyle Berwen. A notorious troublemaker whose like might not have existed in the entire history of the Academy. Born into a noble house with a noble status, yet he had lived like a wastrel and ultimately been disowned. The sight of two people who should never have crossed paths walking together was bound to draw every eye.
It would have been nice if the onlookers had simply found the scene curious and moved on, but unfortunately, that wasn’t what happened.
“Why on earth is the Saintess following Kyle…?”
“D-don’t tell me… he’s got some kind of leverage over her?!”
“If that’s not it… I really can’t make sense of this.”
“…….”
I could hear the whispers. For now, it didn’t seem like Julia was suffering any major damage—the very thing I had feared. But I couldn’t relax. There was no telling when sparks might fly in her direction.
Yet there was nothing I could do. I had tried quite hard to shake her off. But every attempt had failed. Julia showed no intention of leaving my side. Wherever I went, she followed. We had already sat through several lectures together. Naturally, the same reactions followed us everywhere. Even the professors widened their eyes and stared at us in blank astonishment. For my part, it was agonizing. The situation honestly felt suffocating.
Having Julia nearby made me happy. But I couldn’t simply rejoice in it. Because right now, I was not Gunter—I was Kyle. I couldn’t embrace her. I couldn’t stroke her hair. If I suddenly did something like that, it would be nothing short of blasphemy. The Church would drag me away, or the Empire would seize me for treating the matter with grave severity. No, Julia herself would never allow it. My wrist would be severed long before that.
At the same time, I had no standing to push her away. So I was trapped, unable to move forward or back. What should I do?
As I agonized, I carefully observed Julia. As always, her face was expressionless. That stiff mask that seemed devoid of emotion, and those eyes that gave no hint of what she was thinking. Looking at her, the conversation we had shared yesterday suddenly came to mind.
By the lake, I had asked her if she was happy. To that question, Julia had answered—
—“…No.”
She had said no. It couldn’t have been a lie. Julia wasn’t the type to lie, and she had no reason to. So that answer must have been the truth. And that truth pained me deeply. It hurt as much as the fact that I couldn’t reveal my identity to her because of my restrictions. Perhaps even more.
Thinking that way, this could be considered an opportunity. I still didn’t know why she wasn’t happy. But I wanted her to be. Obviously, the current me couldn’t give her happiness. I knew that well. Still, perhaps I could give her a moment of joy.
…All right.
I made up my mind. It was a matter of priorities. The surrounding stares and my reputation were nowhere near as important as Julia. Having decided, I turned to look at her. My gaze settled on the female priestess who had been quietly following behind Julia. Looking straight at her, I spoke.
“Could we talk for a moment?”