The Fiery Saintess
The last saintess blinked. “…What?”
Ernen couldn’t help but give a dumbfounded reply. It was the last thing he had expected to hear. Yet the woman before him—the saintess—paid his reaction no mind. As though she hadn’t been asking for an answer at all, she turned away from his slack-jawed face and made to enter the Academy.
But—
“Saintess! Wait a moment!”
A youthful voice called out and stopped her. From the carriage the saintess had just stepped out of, a girl hurriedly descended. She had sparkling golden hair, a petite frame, and a youthful face—altogether an adorable appearance. Though she looked no older than a child, she wore the formal robes of a priestess of the Bellinu Church, the branch of the Goddess Church that served the Goddess of Knowledge. In other words, this seemingly young girl was a fully ordained priestess of the Bellinu Church. Considering how rarely the Goddess Church granted the title of official priestess, it was quite the rare sight.
Anyway, the young—no, the childlike—priestess planted her feet on the ground and quickly called out to the saintess who was about to step into the Academy.
“You can’t just walk in like that!”
The sight of the young priestess, chirping like a skylark, was enough to make anyone unfamiliar with the situation pause mid-step. Everyone except the saintess herself. No matter how many times she was called from behind, the saintess never slowed her pace.
“Saintess!!”
Finally, the girl broke into a run with her short legs and planted herself directly in the saintess’s path. At last, the saintess stopped. Then—
With a delicate frown, she spoke.
“Move.”
Her unrealistically beautiful features, sharp eyes, and cold voice combined to create an intimidating presence. Even without any overt killing intent, the atmosphere she exuded was overwhelming. Anyone else would have been forced to step aside after hearing those words.
However—
“No!”
The small priestess appeared to be the exception.
“You still have to greet him!”
At that, the saintess furrowed her brow and asked, “Greet? Who?”
“That person over there, of course.”
In response to the saintess’s question, the priestess pointed with her finger—at Ernen, who had been watching their exchange with a rather dazed expression.
When the saintess’s gaze turned toward him, Ernen quickly collected himself and introduced himself.
“…It’s a pleasure to meet you, Saintess. I am Ernen Lihel, the crown prince of Lihel and the student council president of the Academy.”
His greeting was flawless on the surface, but his mind was still in turmoil. Not only because of the unexpected words he had heard earlier, but because the saintess’s personality itself was the most confusing part. He had known that Alice, the Saintess of Bellinu, wasn’t particularly sociable. He had received that information from the agents the Goddess Church had dispatched for cooperation. Still, he hadn’t expected it to be this bad. With a personality like this, wouldn’t things be difficult this time as well?
That despairing thought crossed his mind, but Ernen quickly shook it off. This wasn’t the time for such thoughts, and he didn’t want to entertain them anyway. Yes. This was only because she didn’t know his true identity yet. Now that she knew who he was, her reaction would surely be much better than before.
Just as Ernen allowed himself to feel a flicker of hope—
“I see.”
His expectations shattered.
Even after he revealed his status, Saintess Alice’s attitude didn’t change in the slightest. It wasn’t just an act. The look in her eyes as she regarded him still held not a single trace of interest.
“Saintess!”
Once again, the priestess scolded Alice. But—
“That’s enough, Rita.”
Alice didn’t react the way she had before. With eyes sharpened to a razor’s edge, she glared at the priestess, Rita, and spoke.
“There’s a limit to how much I’m willing to tolerate.”
Faced with that piercing gaze—
“……”
Rita eventually averted her eyes. She knew well enough that pushing any further would be unwise. Of course, crossing the line wouldn’t result in her coming to any physical harm. No matter how fiery the saintess’s temper was, she wasn’t the type to resort to violence against those who weren’t evil. So what was Rita afraid of? It was the fact that no one could predict what the saintess might do next.
Alice Blaze. Just like the burning flames reflected in her eyes, she possessed a fiery personality—one that could never be controlled. She was someone who never cared about what others thought. Even after becoming a saintess and representing the Church, she paid it little mind. The reason was simple: she had never wanted the position of saintess in the first place. She had no attachment to the title. If she so desired, she could cast it aside and leave the Church at any moment. The only reason she hadn’t was because she still needed the Goddess Church’s assistance. Her goal was to completely and utterly erase the Dark Cult from this world. To achieve that, she still required the Church’s help.
Of course, dealing with the remnants themselves could be accomplished with her own power alone. Even if it wasn’t enough, borrowing the strength of the other saintesses would surely make it possible. The real problem wasn’t fighting the remaining Dark Cult members—it was finding them as they hid across the continent. To accomplish that difficult and tedious task, she still needed the Goddess Church’s support. Knowing this, she hadn’t yet discarded the title of saintess. But conversely, it also meant that as long as she didn’t quit, anything was possible.
Alice’s warning now was exactly that kind of warning. A warning that if they continued to bother her, she would actually cause an incident they wouldn’t be able to handle. It wasn’t just a threat. Rita knew that the saintess standing before her was someone who could carry out such acts without batting an eye. The biggest problem was that even if she did, she wouldn’t suffer any consequences. No matter what kind of incident she caused, as long as she didn’t cross the line, her position as saintess wouldn’t be revoked. After all, she had been chosen by the Goddess herself.
In the end—
“…Haa.”
It was Rita who let out a sigh. The one holding the reins had always been Alice.
“Fine. Do whatever you want, Saintess.”
“Hmph.”
Alice snorted, clearly displeased, and began walking again.
“W-wait—”
Ernen hurriedly tried to stop her, but he couldn’t. Before he knew it, Alice’s burning eyes were fixed on him.
“I’ll warn you in advance. Don’t bother me.”
Her voice itself was calm. Yet Ernen felt an indescribable pressure from her eyes and tone. He sensed that if he ignored this warning, something terrifying would happen. Under that suffocating pressure, Ernen stood frozen, unable to say a word. Alice snorted and looked away from him. Then she resumed walking, heading straight into the Academy without hesitation. Ernen could only stare blankly at her retreating figure.
“I’m sorry. Our saintess is a bit prickly.”
Rita bowed her head toward him. Genuine remorse showed on her face. The sight of the small girl bowing apologetically was pitiful yet endearing, but Ernen couldn’t bring himself to respond.
“……”
His grand plan. The plan he had staked everything on as his final hope. He could hear it crumbling to pieces in real time.
***
While I was training as usual, I suddenly lifted my head. It was because of a thought that had come out of nowhere.
‘She should be arriving soon.’
It was because I figured it was about time for Alice to come to the Academy. Based on what had happened with Lana previously, I didn’t think they would space out the arrivals too far apart, and this was also a deduction made using information I’d obtained through Belka. Even though information about the saintesses within the Goddess Church was difficult for even Belka to obtain, this case was an exception. News that the saintesses would be taking turns staying at the Academy had already spread publicly, making it essentially an official event of the Goddess Church. Because of that, it was entirely possible to estimate Alice’s approximate arrival time based on the Church’s overall movements.
So Alice would arrive at the Academy soon.
‘Or she might already be here.’
If she had arrived, she would be meeting with the Academy’s representatives. People like Ernen, for example. That guy seemed to have some kind of intention toward the saintesses, so he was probably running out barefoot to greet Alice right now. He’d probably try to approach her while hiding his true nature, smiling in a friendly manner.
‘It won’t work.’
If it was the Alice I knew, she wouldn’t fall for his tricks. She was sharp and full of suspicion. If her personality hadn’t changed much, Ernen might end up in quite the predicament.
‘I want to see it.’
The thought crossed my mind that it would be quite entertaining to witness that scene with my own eyes. Though in reality, there was a high chance she hadn’t arrived yet.
Just as I shook off those thoughts and tried to focus on training again—
“Kyle Berwen.”
A voice called out. Reflexively, I spun toward the direction it came from and froze completely. Because an unexpected face was standing there.
Hair as red as rose petals. Eyes that reminded one of burning flames. An unrealistically beautiful appearance, as though a goddess had truly descended. And an aura so sharp it went beyond that—ferocious. Alice was standing there. Meeting my gaze directly with those burning eyes, she spoke.
“It’s you, right?”