After the War Ends (6)
“Saintess… I’ve come because I need your help. I know you’re busy, but if you could spare some time…”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Well, it’s…”
Thankfully, the arrival of an outsider stopped their fight. It was a bit forced, though, so the tension between them remained sharp. Amid it all, Cloi shot a glare at the back of Estella’s head, looking ready to chase her out the door at any moment.
I whispered softly to Cloi.
“Don’t.”
“What am I doing?”
“If I didn’t stop you, you’d do something.”
“Senpai, are you taking her side right now?”
Cloi grumbled. She clearly hated this situation. The two of them were like oil and water anyway—impossible to mix. You know the type: someone whose very existence just rubs you the wrong way, making you want to keep your distance. That was Cloi and Estella to a tee. Their auras clashed perfectly, and while their personalities had some similarities, the differences made them despise each other. At their core, they were polar opposites.
Of course, this was more extreme than in the novel. They’d only just met, so their instincts were kicking in hard, overreacting to the other’s presence around me. My mistake. I should’ve sent Estella off before Cloi showed up.
The others get along fine, but these two…
The main cast of Akacheonma all had great personalities with few rough edges. You could tell just from their actions. They were so well-rounded that being around them naturally brought a smile to your face. That’s why they were so popular—not just with others, but with me too. There was good reason for it.
Sure, if you looked at it broadly, neither of them had real issues. Estella acted perfectly fine in public as the saintess, only showing her true colors in private. And Cloi… well, her personality wasn’t purely sweet, but she never caused trouble for anyone but me. In fact, aside from that one time with Rana, she’d never clashed with any other leads.
That’s why they synergized well with the others. But leave Cloi and Estella alone together, and problems erupted. It was so bad that even a 100% solvable issue became 0% in their hands. A sure win turned into a guaranteed loss.
That’s why the game based on Akacheonma had a tip: never put those two on the same team.
What the hell am I supposed to do with them…?
Lost in thought for a moment, I felt eyes on me. Naturally, it was Cloi, staring with enough intensity to bore a hole through my face.
“Senpai.”
“What.”
“Be honest. Are you being blackmailed?”
I gave her a what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about look.
“It doesn’t make any sense otherwise. Why else would you look after her?”
“You take care of me too. Think I can’t handle a saintess?”
“Come on~ I’ve known you for months now. Almost a year soon. You think I don’t know you?”
Cloi pointed at Estella.
“At the very least, I know you hate types like her.”
At that moment, a thin barrier formed in front of me. Beyond it, I could see holy power enveloping Estella. Holy energy.
“See? You’re grimacing.”
Cloi poked my cheek as she said it. I’d tried not to show it, but it must’ve slipped out unconsciously. I smoothed my expression and swatted her arm away.
“Don’t say things that could be misunderstood.”
Cloi looked even more baffled. She muttered thoughtfully.
“Hmm, what did she get over you to make you defend her like this? Must be that cheap body of hers…”
“You’ve got a foul mouth. Talking trash right in front of her.”
Estella had returned after finishing her conversation. She might not have heard everything, but she’d clearly caught Cloi’s last line.
“Oh, didn’t you know? I said it loud enough for everyone to hear. So why don’t you just disappear from senpai’s side already?”
“Why don’t you leave? I’m worried you’ll pass something nasty to the Saint.”
Estella fired right back without missing a beat. I sighed at the sight. Their faces didn’t even twitch as they traded barbs. I wedged myself between them.
“Enough already. You just met—why are you fighting like this?”
“Fighting?~ I’m just helping senpai.”
“This isn’t fighting. I’m protecting the Saint as a saintess.”
Denying the mind games in perfect sync. They matched annoyingly well on this.
“…So, what’s the issue?”
I sighed inwardly and turned to Estella.
“It’s a standard purification request. They want you to cleanse some contaminated land. Short on manpower, I guess.”
“Makes sense.”
Monster Season inevitably left behind tons of aftermath. Especially blood. Rivers of it soaked the earth, polluting it beyond natural recovery. Depending on the blood type, it could be impossible to restore without intervention.
But there was a solution: the holy spell Purification. It could perfectly revert the land to its original state. Problem was, priests were limited, and even they had caps on how many times they could cast it.
That’s why they called Estella. No one else wielded such vast holy power and could spam Purification endlessly.
“Then go on.”
Perfect chance to separate them. I waved her off.
But Estella didn’t budge.
“Here’s the thing. Isn’t it tough staying here all the time? Come with us?”
“No.”
I rejected her outright.
“Come on. You’re all healed up, and it’s boring here anyway. Can’t the Saint tag along as a saint?”
“No…”
“Saint, we’d be grateful if you joined us.”
The visitor, who hadn’t left yet, chimed in.
“Purification will be fine without me.”
“It’s not that. We need you for guidance and escort. Everyone’s out right now, so we can’t spare more people.”
“……”
Fair enough. With Rana, Evan, and Veil all out helping, probably everyone except the injured was working.
“Fine. I’ll go.”
I didn’t want to, but oh well. Cleanup was always the busiest part. Rana and Elraim might complain, but they’d understand given the circumstances.
“Thank you!”
“Don’t hug me.”
I shoved Estella away as she lunged with arms wide. Soon after, we headed to the contaminated site.
Holy power compressed in Estella’s hand. The soccer-ball-sized orb held dozens of times its apparent power. She then pressed it into the ground.
Holy Spell—Purification
A wave of pure white light spread out. The holy energy expelled the contamination from the earth. The blackened soil regained its original color, and the monster blood within was purified into nutrients for the land.
Just like that, about 5km of tainted ground returned to normal in an instant. The soil brimmed with nutrients, ready to bloom flowers at any moment.
“Whew, that’s this area done.”
Estella stood, straightening her knees. Despite unleashing such massive holy power, not a drop of sweat beaded her skin. As expected of someone so favored by the gods—she rarely ran low on holy energy. With enough stamina, she could do this all day.
“Then, guide us to the next spot.”
“Got it.”
I started walking. Estella fell in on my left. She glanced at the other side and spoke up.
“So… why’s she tagging along?”
“Any problem with a junior following her senior?”
“She’s not escorting you like a saint. Just freeloading, isn’t it?”
“Freeloading? I’m doing my job properly. Keeping some bitch from slacking off.”
“Haa…”
I let out a heavy sigh. They both glanced at me and looked away. Cloi hadn’t planned to come but insisted when she heard I was going alone with the saintess. Estella, annoyed, picked fights like this every time purification ended. And Cloi gave as good as she got.
An hour into the work, the bickering hadn’t stopped once. I kept intervening, but it was just a band-aid—no real fix.
Goddamn…
I knew it’d be like this, but experiencing it was frustrating as hell. I wasn’t asking them to be besties. Even I couldn’t force friendship with mismatched personalities. I just wanted a little peace.
“Wait here. I’ll be back.”
We reached the next site. Estella left us and headed to the center. A normal priest would suffer from the tainted aura, but not the saintess.
Meanwhile, I turned to Cloi.
“You two gonna keep this up?”
“No way, senpai~ What’d I even do wrong? I’ve been quiet since we started moving.”
“That’s quiet to you…?”
Reading my look, she continued.
“And I just can’t stand her on a gut level. Unlike with Rana-unnie, even you begging won’t change this.”
“Really?”
“Not even those puppy eyes work.”
Tch, no dice. Estella returned from purifying, and immediately targeted Cloi.
“Excuse me. Can’t you leave now? The Saint’s suffering because of you.”
“What nonsense! It’s because of you, not me.”
Another spat erupted.
Guess I have no choice…
I pulled out my last resort, the one I’d been saving.
“Stop.”
“Senpai, I’m really wronged…”
“It’s not me, it’s you…”
As they geared up again, I deployed a magic circle. Then I told them.
“I won’t see you two until you stop fighting. Figure it out without me.”
The simplest, most reliable method: remove the common factor. Me.
They rebelled.
“Senpai! What do you—”
“Saint! Leaving me behind—”
“Chase me, and it’s forever. I’ll seal you off with magic.”
I glared a warning.
“……”
“……”
Speechless. I added,
“Reconcile, finish the job, whatever. Call when it’s done.”
I teleported to Tianis. As I vanished, their faces were etched with despair.