The Saint's Bizarre Training Method
The days slipped by after my return to Aetherlina. It was about time. The nuns, I mean. I’d like to meet Seria and the young master of House Rivelt too, but the nuns were the problem that needed handling before the Pope arrived. They were probably in the Holy Kingdom by now.
“My lady.”
“Hm?”
Claire, who had been matching my pace, approached me cautiously. She handed me a newspaper.
“It says Lily and her mother are dead.”
“That so?”
The front page carried the story of the mother-daughter pair. The article had been carefully crafted to paint Ashtar as the victim and stir up public sympathy.
“Yes. It’s strange. Neither of them was a succubus.”
“What, maybe Lily got lucky and awakened under Nora’s influence, ran off to Moran, clung to her mom, and when Mom tried to abandon her, she went ‘let’s fucking die together’ and infected her with succubus corruption? Then they fought each other and got subjugated by adventurers. Something like that?”
If it was the assassination guild’s work, that much was easy to predict.
“…? What do you mean by ‘die together’?”
“Let’s fucking die together?”
What’s the problem?
“Where did you learn such vulgar language? Shall I give you proper noble education?”
“I’ll be careful.”
I bowed my head since she looked genuinely scary.
Still, now that the mother and daughter were dead, they did seem a bit pitiful. It wasn’t like I killed them myself. I’d only fanned the flames a little, and they’d ended up killing each other. The Empire’s brave adventurers had simply come to exterminate monsters.
Revenge doesn’t end with death. Even after Lily and her mother died, their names would remain. The world would remember those two women as villains, ensuring they could never rest in peace. For a while, the mother-daughter pair would be cursed by everyone. Maybe they’d even become undead?
It would be nice if they turned into undead. Then I could kill them again. Watching an undead mother and daughter fight each other would be pretty entertaining.
“Still, your deduction makes sense, my lady.”
“That bitch Lily handled succubus powers better than expected. Even Nora was surprised, so the transformation must have already begun back then.”
At that level, it was possible she had instinctively charmed nobles to protect herself while undergoing succubus transformation.
“But is that even possible without having relations with men?”
“It’s extremely rare, but there are cases of succubus transformation like that.”
Usually, people contract with a succubus on purpose. Cases like Lily’s—where someone keeps failing to fulfill the contract conditions and transforms automatically—are uncommon. That was why Lily had become so skilled in that particular area.
“You seem to possess quite extensive knowledge?”
“At this point, it’s only natural I’d know.”
“Will Aetherlina be all right?”
“Well.”
Seria and that prince from Rivelt were a bit of a problem. Besides, Claire already knew what had happened between me and Seria. Which meant she had also figured out that Seria and I were romantic rivals over Noah.
Even though I wasn’t interested in the slightest.
“Yes, you thought well. By the way, what is all this?”
Claire asked while looking at the weapons piled up in front of me.
“Swords, guns, spears, bows—the basics? Oh, there are blunt weapons too.”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to…”
“The church knights are already strong, so that’s fine. These are for the nuns.”
I had to turn the nuns into something on par with church knights.
“No, what exactly… are you saying you’re going to train them right here?”
“Is it too sudden? That’s why I told you to gather them. I’ll be the one training them.”
I’d raise them perfectly.
“You personally, my lady?”
“Using only the assassination guild would leave a tail.”
The assassination guild was also favored by the Emperor. If the church suddenly strengthened its ties with them, it would definitely draw attention.
“Since I have to train them anyway, I should at least give them weapons, right? Gather the nuns in the chapel.”
The nuns have been gathered in the chapel.
The nuns were all assembled in the chapel. They were young, fresh-faced girls. That pig of a Pope might have had his eyes on them. The nuns in the chapel were buzzing with anxiety.
“I heard the Pope here is a fat pig?”
“They say he plays around with women all the time.”
“What are we going to do? If someone like that is the Pope, then all of us…”
“Don’t worry. We have the Saint! The Saint will protect us!”
Yeah. It was nice to see them trusting me. But why the hell would I protect you?
You need to gain the strength to protect yourselves from that pig. I could manipulate that swine with a flick of my finger, but this was one of the reasons I had deliberately left him in place.
I stood before the nuns and clapped my hands.
“All right, everyone. It’s a beautiful morning. Starting today, I’m going to teach you something good.”
The nuns stared at me blankly. Were they simply thinking of me as the Saint? Well, to girls, a Saint was an ideal figure. Unlike a princess born with the blood of Armenia, a Saint could be anyone as long as they had the talent.
“Now, pick up the weapons in front of you. Even if it’s not your preference, choose one that seems at least somewhat manageable.”
At my words, the nuns’ faces filled with confusion. It was only natural to find it strange when the Saint suddenly told them to pick up weapons.
I led the nuns out behind the church. It was originally the training ground for the church knights, but I had brought the nuns here instead.
“Is there a reason we have to hold these weapons?”
“The Empire’s Goddess Church has only just established itself and must eradicate evil. Therefore, the nuns must also be strong.”
In other words, combat nuns. A different kind of existence from inquisitors would be born.
“Us… doing that?”
“Depending on your performance, I will take responsibility for your families in the name of this Saint.”
At my declaration, the nuns began picking up weapons one by one. Easy. Money was something I had in overflowing amounts. The Pope probably had no idea where the money he handed out was actually flowing.
“Saint, what exactly are we supposed to do with these weapons?”
“On a nice day like today, the birds are chirping.”
Somewhere, I could see a flock of unusually large sparrows chirping outside.
“Chirp! Chirp chirp cheeeeep!”
“The weather is lovely.”
“Chirp! Chirp!”
That one looked exactly like the sparrow from before. Its behavior reminded me of Lily 2.0. But there seemed to be quite a lot of them. Maybe they were some kind of monster?
A surge of irritation hit me. I stepped forward and hurled a knife at the bird.
Thud!
The bird let out a single shriek and fell to the ground.
“See that? For today, let’s start by catching sparrows. Those are harmful birds.”
“How are we supposed to catch them?”
Were they actually idiots? On Lily’s level. No, at least that much should be possible. The fact that they were listening to me at all meant they at least weren’t as brainless as Lily.
Fine. I’d explain it simply.
“Shoot them with arrows.”
“But we’re girls and we’ve never even used a bow before.”
The women of the Kingdom, who had lived under the threat of the Demon King until recently, had no choice but to develop combat abilities. But the Empire was too comfortable, so the girls here were like this.
“Tsk. Do you think death distinguishes between men and women? Especially you women—don’t you know you’re in even greater danger? Some monsters even rape human females. If the Imperial Church wishes to expand further, it needs the strength of its sisters. Do not speak weakly.”
When teaching, one must be ruthless.
This time, another girl raised a question.
“Um… I have a club.”
Hm, a club instead of a bow. So what?
“Throw it and hit them.”
Just throw it. Simple.
“I have a mace!”
“You all subconsciously chose the weapon you thought you should pick when I ordered you to take one. In other words, the mace chose you because it deemed itself optimal for you, sister.”
I had commanded the nuns to pick up weapons earlier. Even if it was semi-forced, people tend to make the optimal choice in such moments. Those who thought a sword suited them picked up swords, and the same went for clubs. There was no rule saying a mace couldn’t be the same. While a mace was certainly a difficult weapon to handle, if used well, it could become far more brutal than anything else.
“Was this the only one left? I had no choice…”
How unfortunate. But there was nothing to be done. Having only a mace left was simply fate.
“This too is fate. Throw the mace and hit them.”
“But that’s impossible…”
There is no such thing as impossible in this world. In the end, if you do it, you can do anything. Because I did it. Since a mage like me reached this level, there’s no reason you couldn’t do the same.
“You can do it. If you do it. Eventually. Before you become a grandmother, wouldn’t it be possible?”
“Do I have to catch sparrows with this until I become a grandmother?”
“Surely not. No matter what, you wouldn’t take that long.”
Normally, you’d get it after doing it a few times.
“No, normally it’s impossible!”
“Instead of making such firm declarations, why don’t you just try it, everyone?”
Young people these days have so many excuses. I could probably catch a passing bandit and make him do it.
“If you do it, I’ll pay you generously.”
“Um, I have a question.”
One nun raised her hand.
“Go ahead.”
“I’ve been curious for a while… Is it all right to ask this before training?”
“Yes.”
“Saint, don’t you usually wear a nun’s habit?”
That was true. Right now I was wearing Aetherlina’s school uniform. It certainly didn’t suit a nun.
“A Saint is someone who can wear any clothes as long as their faith in God is sincere.”
“Then can we also…?”
Even so, complete freedom in attire would be problematic. The church would become nothing more than a gathering place for commoners.
“As long as you carry the title of church nun, for example, wearing armor over it should be fine, no?”
“That would just make us even hotter and more likely to die.”
“If you’re dissatisfied, train your holy power diligently and become a Saint yourselves.”
The nuns looked unhappy but kept their mouths shut. If you’re upset, become a Saint. What else can you do?
“For today, let’s start by cleaning out the birds in the church.”
Amid the nuns’ screams, I turned around. I was curious how many would survive.
“Um… my lady.”
Claire whispered in my ear.
“Yes?”
“No, there’s no need to kill the birds… Shouldn’t we start with the basics? Like basic swordsmanship or spearmanship. Learning the fundamentals first…”
Normally that would be the case. Normally.
But that would be too much of a hassle. People need to find what suits them individually.
“Just doing that will naturally lead them to learn the basics on their own.”
“Pardon?”
“Throwing a sword to catch a bird itself means they’ve learned the basic technique that suits them, and they’re catching birds with that foundation. The same goes for maces and everything else.”
I had done the same at first. That crazy bastard Eugene had handed me a sword, telling me to do his work for him, and the beginning of it all was when I used that sword to kill a Demon King’s army officer.
“But… normally that’s impossible.”
What the hell are you talking about?
“It’s not normally possible?”
“My lady. I know you’re strong, but comparing yourself to commoners who weren’t born with any special bloodline is unfair. For now, please leave the birds alone.”
Claire seemed strangely fixated on the birds. Ah, I see. So that’s what it was.
I clapped my hands and spoke.
“Claire, do you like birds?”
At my question, Claire’s mouth fell open before she answered carefully.
“Uh, um. Yes, I like them.”
“Got it. Got it. I’ll make fake birds.”
I could use the ones I’d handed over to the slum thugs—things like baby sparrows. I gathered my hands and created hundreds of mana-constructed birds, sending them flying into every corner of the church.
“The problem isn’t the birds, it’s the training method…”
What could possibly be wrong with my perfect training method? When I glanced at the nuns, they were all sighing. No, what exactly is so difficult about this?