The Saintess Under Interrogation

"Haa... what kind of miserable shit is this, right at the end of my service..."

"Tell me about it. Aren't you out next week?"

"Yeah. You little brat."

A sigh slipped out of him. He'd volunteered for the Air Force hoping to coast on easy duty, lost out to the competition, and only just managed to land in the Navy—less brutal than the Army, at least. So why did something like this have to happen with less than a week left before his discharge?

A kraken. Of all things. The last one had shown up in the West Sea five years ago. Word was they could fold a warship clean in half.

A kraken, folding a warship...

"Uwaaah..."

"Ease up on the sighing, will you? You're not actually going to die, are you?"

"I should've made the Air Force..."

"Don't you know the law of conservation of workload? Fewer jobs just means the ones you've got get that much nastier."

"Fucking hell."

"If it bothers you that much, you should've become a hunter."

"If I could, I would've done it already. Who are you making fun of?"

When he was a kid, he'd been sure he was going to be a hunter too. Every firearm humanity's science had ever assembled proved effective even against the invaders that came through the holes, and the need for the military only kept growing—but the incident ten years ago had killed so many people that, in the end, the government started conscripting anyone of age, height and weight be damned, disability or no. Men only, of course. Unlike the old days, people didn't think so badly of soldiers anymore. Even so, he hated the military. And on top of that, the term had stretched from a year and a half to two.

"But hunters serve three years, don't they? Grinding out two in the military is..."

"For fuck's sake, is being locked in the army the same as running around out in society?"

He looked up at the sky. A single star was shining brightly.

Please, just let nothing happen, so I can coast through the rest of this...

"What are you doing with your eyes shut?"

"Making a wish, you little shit."

"A wish... huh?"

"What?"

"That star. Doesn't it look like it's getting bigger?"

"Bigger?"

He opened his eyes again. The star from a moment ago ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was swelling—no. Not swelling.

Wasn't it coming closer?

"Shit. What the hell is that?!"

A murmur rose around them. Someone besides the two of them seemed to have spotted it as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠well. The thing he'd taken for a star grew larger by the second.

And then—

"Everybody, get clear!!!! It's coming this way!!!!"

The object was falling straight toward the deck. It swelled, and its shape came into—

"Kyaaaaaah!!!! Huh? The floor?!!! B—"

Huh? A person?

"Wai—"

KWAANG!!!!

The sound rang out. The deck rang with it.

"Wh-what just..."

He opened his eyes with care. There was a person sprawled on the deck, face planted in the steel.

"Ugh, nngh..."

What had just happened? Eila clutched her ringing head in both hands. She distinctly remembered being underwater, ripping tentacles apart, smashing a head in, beating it, and—since she was hungry anyway—stuffing tentacle into her mouth, chewing, tearing, tasting...

Ah. Right. The moment she'd thrown a punch to finish the thing off, that bastard had wrung out the last of its strength and fired something. She'd been launched off it, then something had snagged her ankle and flung her—

Click.

Metal met metal. The sound didn't come from any one place. It came from everywhere around her. Eila lifted her head and looked about.

"People...?"

They were aiming something at her. The moment she moved to stand—

Bang!

"Kyaak?!"

Something tore the air. Startled, Eila jerked her head aside and saw the deck, dented and breathing up thin curls of steam. A lump of metal that spat fire.

"A gun?"

"......"

Silence hung for a moment.

"...Can you hear me?"

A voice. Slightly staticky. From her three o'clock. Eila answered.

"Yes, I can hear you..."

"If you can hear me, raise both hands above your head..."

Eila did as she was told and lifted her hands.

"...Thank you. Please wait a moment. Just stay as you are."

"Ah, yes..."

She waited, and someone appeared from straight ahead. Three men. Unlike the one in the middle, the two flanking him were dressed the same as the people surrounding her. They looked like an escort, so Eila spoke.

"Are you the leader of these people?"

"...What? You're Korean? Your Korean is really fluent."

The man turned his head and dropped his voice to a whisper.

"I can hear all of that."

"Ahem. Uh... might I ask your name?"

"Please call me Eila. But how long do I have to keep my hands up?"

"Ah, you may lower them."

"May I stand?"

"No, that would be a little difficult."

"Then is it all right if I sit comfortably?"

"Yes."

Eila dropped down onto the deck. The posture left her looking up at him, but she didn't particularly mind—because he sat down on the deck right across from her.

"Until the ship reaches land, shall we talk?"

"The people around us..."

"You don't need to worry about them. That's their job."

"Ahh..."

Guards, then? So the man in front of her was someone important?

"I thought this country didn't have nobles."

"Not a noble... but I am the highest-ranking person on this ship."

"I had my doubts, but this lump of metal really is a ship. How fascinating."

"We're rather more fascinated that you're alive after hitting this ship at that speed..."

"If I'd layered Body Enhancement even once less, something would have broken."

Body Enhancement. The man's eyes narrowed.

"What brings you here, at this hour, to this place?"

Eila's eyes narrowed in turn. The tone was soft, but the substance was unmistakably an interrogation. She wasn't particularly angry. It was simply so long ago that only a faint stir of feeling rose in her.

"I was on my way to Seoul."

"Seoul?"

"Yes. To find someone."

"Ha. Don't tell me—from Jeju Island..."

"Yes."

The man let out an empty laugh. It didn't make any sense. The radar hadn't shown a thing. Crossing from Jeju Island to Busan in a boat small enough to slip the radar? Had she wanted to hand the monsters underwater a snack?

"We've arrived."

"Ah, has it been that long already?"

He rose, then turned his head. Eila followed his gaze. Through the steel frame, something showed faintly: mountains and buildings. Land.

"Please stand. We'll finish the details over there."

"All right."

Eila got up and loosened her body. The impact had left the joints in her shoulders and knees creaking. She waited a little, the ship stopped, and people began to move. The man walked a few steps, looked back at her, and spoke.

"Shall we go?"

She had just started toward him.

"I'm sorry, but we'll be holding onto any weapons for the time being."

The hand of the man beside her moved toward her waist. Toward the Holy Sword. The instant before that hand could touch it—

"........."

Every body on the deck locked stiff. It felt as if something had seized their nerves and yanked. They couldn't so much as twitch. The will to open their throats the moment they moved, even a little, seemed to drive itself straight into their skulls.

"I told you. Take your hand off."

"U-urgh..."

Killing intent fierce enough to freeze even the people standing far off. The man taking it point-blank at her side couldn't get a word out. Only the thin sound of leaking breath escaped him.

"That's enough. I don't know what this is, but you're too worked up."

The man who had been speaking with Eila caught her by the shoulder.

"......"

Eila let out a breath. The air grew light. Everyone gasped. The man who had reached for the Holy Sword collapsed where he sat.

"I'm sorry."

Eila bowed her head to him. He shot to his feet, waved his hands, and sprinted off into the distance. He had fled. Eila sighed once more.

"Oho, you've got a little something. Even I was startled."

"Please don't tease me."

She was embarrassed. Someone had laid a careless hand on what the Hero had left behind, yes—but this was not an attitude a saintess ought to show. If the Hero had seen that, he would have been thoroughly appalled...

"What? It was cool. 'Take your hand off.' Kyaa!!"

"Please be quiet..."

"All right. Let's talk here."

The place the man led Eila into was a small room: a table in the center, chairs facing each other, a single door, and a mirror fixed to one wall. It looked quite different, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this was probably what an interrogation room in the Republic of Korea was. The man sat facing the door. Eila naturally sat with her back to it.

"You don't seem like a bad person, miss, so let's talk quick and be done."

"You're different from earlier. Don't you need your escort?"

"It means I trust you. That's why I let you bring that sword this far, isn't it?"

Eila stroked the Holy Sword.

"What is it you want?"

"Just tell me straight. Name, age, what you were doing in the waters off Busan. Things like that."

"My name is Eila. My age..."

Which age was she supposed to give? A body of seventeen, a mind of twenty-seven. Eila thought it over for a moment, and then:

"I'm seventeen."

"What were you agonizing over for so long?"

"The arithmetic got confusing."

"...So. Your purpose?"

"I was trying to get from Jeju Island to Seoul. I didn't have any money."

"So you crossed this ridiculously dangerous sea?"

"Yes."

"Hmm..."

The man sighed. There was nothing to say. That pressure she'd shown earlier—if the woman in front of him decided to sweep this place clean, how many of them could even put up a fight?

And that sword looks like a real headache, too.

His gaze settled on the Holy Sword. His pupils turned gold, and the world in front of him changed. A tremendous quantity of power was churning off the blade. It was his ability, Magic Vision.

The calculation was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finished. Touch that, and this becomes a disaster. An ability user like her was listening this quietly. That alone meant she had no wish to make enemies of them. Wrap the questioning up for form's sake, then get a report to the higher-ups as fast as he could...

"Um, are the questions finished now?"

His mind snapped back. What was he supposed to do? Honestly, there was plenty left to ask. The kraken. Her nationality. The true nature of that sword.

But.

"Yeah. The investigation's over."

The gentlemen up in Seoul could deal with the rest. She'd said her destination was Seoul, so they could investigate her there or interrogate her there—whatever they liked. He smiled at the thought of screwing over the people who had exiled him to the provinces. Eila smiled because he was smiling. The interrogation room filled with smiles.

Time passed and the sun rose. Eila, who had been idly chatting with the man in the interrogation room, stepped outside, accepted his send-off, and walked toward Seoul.