Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Summer Vacation - (Complete)
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Elise was a big spender.
Not just big.
Absurdly so.
"Please take this too. I stopped by the chapel last time, and it looked like you were out of holy oil. It'd be cheaper and better to get it from Bellus, the fishing village, right?"
"No, we still have a little holy oil at the chapel..."
"Just take it."
Clunk.
"..."
"Ah, would you prefer dragon lily oil instead? Should I send someone to look for it? It might be among the tribute items for the lord."
"This will do fine."
"I'm glad you like it, Priest!"
What the heck was this?
The more we wandered around Bellus city, the more my luggage piled up. It started with ceremonial daggers, then holy oil, wine, holy scriptures, and even jeweled necklaces.
Eventually, it got so heavy that Sophia had to help carry it.
"...Don't trouble the priest."
"Oh? I'm just giving gifts. Unlike some people who only freeload off meals."
"Grrrr..."
"Ah, Priest. While we're at it, should we look into a dog collar or muzzle? Your pet stray seems to have a bad bite..."
Elise didn't stop needling Sophia either.
Improving their relationship was essential for the story ahead.
However.
'It might already be hopeless.'
At this rate of enmity, there might be no room for intervention.
As I inwardly sighed repeatedly, Elise gave up strolling through Bellus city and returned to the villa.
The villa was incomparably luxurious compared to the inn we had stayed at. Apparently, she had rented out the entire place that the local lord used for vacations.
"Priest, please use this room."
"Isn't it... a bit too spacious?"
"Spacious is good."
Elise assigned me the largest room, while guiding Sophia to a closet under the stairs. No doghouse available.
Sophia, having checked her "room," looked ready to charge at Elise swinging her arms like Harry Potter, but Elise was seasoned in that regard too.
"I've called in the diocese chef to prepare a feast. It might be too fancy for a stray dog, though..."
"Nom nom."
"..."
Elise had prepared a lavish dinner, and Sophia was the convenient type who could bend her pride at the sight of food.
Watching Sophia devour it like a starved man, Elise frowned in disbelief.
For me, the dinner itself was torture.
Partly due to the nerves between Sophia and Elise, but more because of the black-armored knight watching us from behind.
'Knight Captain Gregorius.'
Mid-boss of Act 3.
The one guarding the cathedral rooftop staircase leading to the final boss after subduing Archbishop Balua.
Such a menacing mid-boss was leaning against the kitchen wall, staring this way.
'Why me, of all people?'
Especially, Gregorius's gaze was fixed on me. His eyes held unmistakable wariness.
I had no desire to be marked by Gregorius after the White Mask. So I put on the most harmless expression possible.
"After this vacation ends, what will you do, Sister? Return to your family home?"
"No. I'm planning to stay at the cathedral. I still have holy magic lessons left."
Fortunately, this matched the original.
Archbishop Balua aimed to exploit the gap during summer break when students packed up and left to execute his plan.
"You'll stay at the chapel too, right, Priest?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll visit during your free morning slots as usual. I need holy magic lessons, after all."
Elise said it subtly showing off to Sophia, who didn't bat an eye while stuffing her face.
"Master, I'll pack up and come find you after vacation too."
Elise's face stiffened slightly at Sophia's words.
"Stray, what does that mean?"
"None of your business."
"No, I need to know."
"...Hmph."
Sophia smirked mockingly.
"Living together."
"..."
Clang.
Elise's fork dropped.
I wiped the sauce from Sophia's mouth, face flushing in embarrassment.
"Miss Sophia, saying it like that could cause misunderstandings."
"But... it's the truth?"
Well, we would be under one roof, but...
It was all groundwork for Act 3, but "living together" had a weird ring to it.
As expected, Elise looked at me demanding an explanation, so I hurriedly added,
"It's just... Miss Sophia had nowhere to go during break, so I'm letting her use an empty room at the chapel. No impure intentions whatsoever."
At my plea, Elise picked up her dropped fork, but her face was full of displeasure.
'Ciris, I miss you...'
It all started from that confessional that day.
Yeah.
The first button was sewn wrong from the start.
Right after dinner, Elise summoned her strategy advisor, Helena.
"...Pardon? Living together?"
Having heard the full story, Helena frowned.
Sophia Aquilova living at the chapel with that priest over summer break?
"Heh... He's a pro. Scary guy..."
She was showing her full blonde-tanned delinquent side.
Seducing a pre-graduation academy girl so naturally, with the perfect excuse of having nowhere to stay.
But as Helena inwardly admired, Elise paced the room frantically.
"Miss Helena, this is no time to admire! The situation is urgent!"
"...Ah, yes... Right."
Helena snapped to attention. Regardless, she had promised to support Elise's romance, so she offered advice.
"Well, we've been outmaneuvered. The stray got the jump."
"Right? It's the stray's fault?"
"Fault might be too strong..."
Elise seemed overly dependent on Helena.
It didn't feel bad. Helena squeezed out knowledge from the book.
"Living together is a double-edged sword."
"Double-edged sword?"
"More time together amplifies flaws too. Minor annoyances overlooked in occasional meetings become glaring defects."
"...Aha."
Elise understood and clapped.
"So, the priest will see the stray's ugly true nature and come to despise her."
"High possibility... Yes."
Helena nodded. Elise brightened instantly.
"From what I've seen, the stray isn't that great personality-wise. Living together will tire him out. So, Lady Elise, keep showing your face steadily to turn the tables. As they say, the quiet cat climbs the stove first."
"Helena, you're a master."
"...Right."
Of course, Helena had no experience either.
That was all.
Knock knock.
As they huddled heads devising countermeasures,
a knock echoed.
"Who is it?"
"I'll check."
Helena rose and opened the door. A knight in black armor stood there.
Holy Empire Knight Captain Gregorius.
"Sir Gregorius, what brings you? Something wrong with the villa?"
"No, nothing unusual. I just have some questions."
Gregorius continued expressionlessly.
"About the blonde priest and knight faculty cadet you invited here."
"Is there a problem?"
"No problem. But as your escort, I need to confirm their relation to the Saintess Candidate."
Elise nodded in understanding.
Whatever, they were assigned to protect her. Under Archbishop Balua's orders, but they fulfilled their holy knight duties faithfully.
On the flip side, their loyalty could be leveraged.
Moreover, Elise wanted to imprint Priest Leo on the cathedral's higher-ups now.
The cathedral needed to know his fine character and abilities. He wasn't meant for that rundown chapel.
"Priest Leo is... truly amazing."
"Amazing?"
"Yes. More than most high priests. He's guiding me on the right path. Thanks to him, I'm realizing the true meaning of faith I never knew."
Half-exaggerated, his expression turned grave.
"So... the priest is instructing the Saintess Candidate?"
"Mm. Sort of. He has great insight. Far beyond someone like me. If circumstances were better, he might have become a saint."
"..."
"And that knight faculty cadet."
Elise pondered briefly, then blurted,
"Don't worry about her. She's an idiot."
That much was sincere.
The core of Act 3 in Throne of the Academy is as follows.
Archbishop Balua planned to manifest divine power using Elise, whom he had raised as a saintess, as a sacrifice.
As groundwork, he approached her and held a ritual under the pretext of the Holy Week prayer.
In the original, she would notice his dark intentions and prepare resistance.
But the Elise who should have is here in this coastal city.
Holy Empire knights of Act 3 surround her. So, I felt a crisis sense that anything could happen.
Thus, that evening, I called my sole insurance, Sword Saint Sophia Aquilova, to my room.
"D-d-did you... c-call for me...?"
Her face flushed red—she was clearly misunderstanding like last outing.
"I called Miss Sophia just to ask something."
"...Oh."
She seemed visibly disappointed—was that my imagination?
Anyway, I got to the point.
"Remember the knight watching us at dinner?"
"Ah... Yes. I do."
"If you fought him, do you think you could win?"
At my words, Sophia gripped her Ink Sword.
"Shall we go now?"
"No no, not to fight, just..."
This crazy brawler.
"Hypothetically, purely if you fought that knight, I'm curious if you could win."
Gregorius is strong.
Among the original's mid-bosses, top five toughest.
But Sophia opposing him had considerable combat power too. She got the Ink Sword and recently the magic core to enhance it.
'Plus, I fed her the Tear of the Sun.'
Ideally for max efficiency to Isolde or Elise.
Circumstances forced it on Sophia, but she remained my strongest available force.
Otilie Kete von Ihen Dorp was outside the scenario, but unfortunately, Erebos Royal Academy summer break—she'd be back home.
Isolde? Cooperation abandoned since Sophia's roundhouse.
"Hm..."
Sophia pondered my question, then clenched her fist.
"I can win. Definitely."
"...That's reassuring."
I hoped it would pass quietly without needing her power.
Or this twist delays Act 3 main event entirely.
Maybe Archbishop Balua just abandons the plan.
Clinging to such faint hope,
*Sniff sniff.*
Sophia sniffed.
Her face hardened.
"...Miss Sophia?"
"Something's wrong. No smell."
"What do you mean?"
"No sea smell. It was there until just now..."
Sophia's nose was always reliable.
I pulled back the curtains covering the window.
And was stunned.
"...Insane."
A sticky, translucent film like tar clung outside the window.
I stuck my head out to check around.
The translucent barrier enveloped the entire villa. Completely isolated from the outside village.
"...Barrier."
I'd seen this scene.
On the monitor, in the game screen.
Gregorius's signature pattern.
Silent Vow. A technique blocking all external communication and sound, isolating the space itself.
The boss pattern emerging now meant...
"Yeah. This is the real deal."
Hope always betrays me.