A Child Is the World's Future
"The girl in the basement is gone and a Holy Relic is missing too? What the hell are you talking about?"
The Archbishop slammed his fist on the desk and bellowed at his aide. It made no sense whatsoever. This wasn't some other branch—this was the Yeouido Branch, renowned for its ironclad security.
"A three-colored bear appeared out of nowhere, and most of the security forces rushed off to subdue it."
"...What the hell are you talking about?"
As if he had anticipated the Archbishop's reaction, the aide tapped at his watch and played a video he had prepared in advance.
It wasn't a lie. Even the Archbishop, who had seen all manner of things on his climb to this position, had never laid eyes on a bear like that. And it was so swift, so powerful, that the Holy Warriors couldn't so much as twitch.
"The bear may be unusual, but Yeouido has that old man. Jeolji-ah."
A legend among the Holy Warriors. An irritating thorn in their side, to be sure, but no one disputed his skill.
"He was in the interrogation room on suspicion of associating with that girl."
"Damn it."
That explained it. Without that old man, the Yeouido Branch might as well have been operating at less than half strength.
"We're erasing all the information for now, but there's not much we can actually do."
The truth about the girl was top secret. If she were revealed to be a genuine Saintess, the entire Order would be turned upside down, and even the Pope would be in danger. He had no intention of running any tests to determine whether she was a witch or a Saintess, and he didn't want to know.
A Saint and a Saintess couldn't coexist. People would clamor to see the Saint, who was supposedly in prayer—and then everything would be over.
"Track the girl in secret and bury everything related to this. Hold the Yeouido Branch Bishop accountable and remove him."
"But that would severely compromise the speed and accuracy of the search."
"There's no other way. Instead, we'll make some moves on another front so it won't matter even if she turns up again. Contact His Holiness the Pope and convene an emergency Archbishop council. And one of the new Holy Warriors has gone missing?"
"Yes. He vanished in the chaos, and there's been no trace of him since."
The Archbishop's mind began to race. The Holy Relic... the new Holy Warrior...
"Announce that the new Holy Warrior stole the Holy Relic and fled. Make it as big a story as you can. Sensational enough to bury everything else. Brand him a heretic if you have to."
The Archbishop's expression turned sinister. Ever since they had done that to the Saint, there was no going back.
"How about this? Or this?"
Dozens of outfits were already piled beside Chaerin and Ellie. Chaerin's own closet was stuffed with nothing but athletic wear in more or less the same style, but Ellie looked like she'd been born to wear whatever they put on her, and Chaerin simply couldn't stop.
Like grooms waiting for a bride to finish choosing her wedding dress, they all burst into applause and admiration every time Ellie emerged in a new outfit.
I'm glad I came along.
If Chaerin hadn't been there, they probably would have had Ellie try on a few things at random and called it a day.
"I've never worn clothes like this before."
Ellie kept turning this way and that, as if the girl in the mirror were a stranger.
"I think this one's the prettiest. What do you two think?"
Chaerin looked to Karen and Director Kang.
"It's pretty."
"She's truly beautiful."
She was so naturally adorable that it wouldn't have been a stretch to say the clothes were wearing her, not the other way around.
"There are clothes that look best at this age. She should try on plenty."
"Then I'll take pictures!"
Samsaek, who had a broadcasting watch built for photography, began darting left and right, flash bursting as he captured Ellie from every angle.
"Tuck your chin in a little, and put your right foot slightly forward!"
"L-Like this?"
"That's it!"
Samsaek barked directions with all the authority of a professional photographer, and Ellie, caught off guard, found herself posing along. Everyone watched the two of them with warm, fond smiles.
"I can't believe Lady Ellie is only ten years old..."
Director Kang, who had raised a daughter of the same age, tilted his head as he said it.
"Uh..."
Chaerin flinched at his words, as if she were about to say something, and Karen asked,
"What is it?"
"Nothing. That's not for me to say—Ellie should tell you herself. Oh? That outfit's pretty too."
Chaerin changed the subject with conspicuous awkwardness and went over to Ellie with another dress in her hands.
"There's something there."
"Yeah."
Neither Karen nor Director Kang had gotten where they were by missing things. They both looked at Chaerin with a hint of suspicion, but neither pressed her. There would be a reason.
Chaerin and Ellie disappeared into the fitting room together, and Karen and Director Kang settled back onto the sofa outside to wait. Neither of them particularly enjoyed shopping, but Ellie looked like a different person every time she came out, and they never got tired of it.
"Master! How's this look?"
Unable to sit still even for that brief stretch of time, Samsaek—who had vanished with Tori—reappeared with a red ribbon tied around his neck. He couldn't have fastened it himself, so Tori had clearly tied it from behind.
"It does hide some of the chub."
The ribbon was about the size of Samsaek's entire face. A cat showing up in a ribbon he'd had tied on was one thing—but however much of a Divine Beast he might be, how had a mouse learned to tie a bow?
"Wooow! Samsaek! It looks so good on you!"
Ellie came out of the fitting room, spotted Samsaek, and let out a delighted cry.
"Ahem! Look, Master!"
Samsaek puffed up on the spot and began strutting forward one arrogant step at a time, as if he were a supermodel working a runway.
"Your fur is all over that, so we have to buy it. I'm taking it out of your snack money."
"Kku-ing? That's not fair!"
"What's not fair? Food is a necessity, so I let you buy as much as you want. That's a luxury. You don't even wear clothes. What's a ribbon for?"
"..."
Samsaek looked up at Karen with a face full of wounded injustice, but Karen ignored the stare burning into the side of his head and made a point of looking only at Ellie.
"To my eyes, that's the one that suits you best."
The pale pink dress, accented with a yellow collar at the neck, made Ellie's blonde hair and fair skin stand out all the more.
"Really?"
At Karen's words, Ellie broke into a grin so bright it put everyone else's compliments to shame.
This was the prettiest one to my eyes, too...
It was such a little thing, but knowing she and he felt the same way made her happier than she could say.
"All right, let's go. It's already morning."
Department stores were deliberately built with almost no windows or clocks, and they had been so absorbed in shopping that more than four hours had slipped by without anyone noticing.
"Which ones shall I wrap for you?"
A clerk who had been standing by stepped forward to ask. Karen was about to answer when Ellie quickly fetched one of the outfits she had tried on.
"This one, please."
The dress Ellie had chosen was the cheapest of everything she had put on. So that was why she'd been checking the price tag every time she changed.
"This one is enough for me. It's the prettiest!"
Ellie clutched the dress to her chest as she said it. But no matter how mature she was for her age, everyone here had been through far too much—and one of them was a Spiritual Beast. They weren't about to fall for it.
"We'll take everything she's tried on, and all the bestsellers too."
Karen swept a finger across the piled clothes and then across the entire children's section.
"Per the Chairman's instructions, there's no need for you to pay. We'll have everything delivered by the end of the day."
"Hm? The Chairman?"
"Yes. He said to take whatever you want, as you please."
"Tell him I said thanks."
Karen had more than enough money not to care about the cost, but a kindness like this was easier on everyone if you simply accepted it.
"Yes. I'm certain the Chairman will be delighted."
The clerks bustled in and disappeared to wrap the clothes. Ellie stood there in a daze at the sudden turn of events, then snapped back to herself with a start and looked up at Karen.
"I'm really fine! Okay?"
Flustered, she caught hold of Karen's sleeve with trembling hands. She was already so grateful that he had rescued her, and that he had indulged her stubbornness. That alone had been more than enough.
"Ellie, if Karen wasn't going to buy them, I was going to. We've got plenty of money, you know?"
Chaerin said, ruffling Ellie's hair.
"But still... these are too expensive! You two need to save for later too. That's right! You said you have to prepare for retirement!"
"Hm?"
Retirement—to an S-Rank Hunter and the world's greatest alchemist...
Chaerin turned away and bit her lip to keep from laughing, afraid Ellie might take it to heart, while Karen looked down at her with a fond, proud smile.
Ellie glanced back and forth between the two of them, completely at a loss as to why they were acting that way.
"You growing up well is our savings."
Karen said, taking his turn to ruffle Ellie's hair after Chaerin.
"But..."
It wasn't wrong. A child was society's savings and its future—and this child would, in fact, become the Saintess who protected humanity.
"So when an adult gives you something, you just quietly say 'thank you' and take it."
The warmth of the hand on her head traveled all the way to Ellie's heart, and tears welled in her eyes. Out of habit, she bit down hard on her lip and held them back.
"Thank you."
"Good. Then let's go. Ah—and take this."
The silver bracelet Karen held out fit Ellie's wrist as if it had been made for her.
"It'll grow automatically as you get bigger."
"Thank you! I've never received anything like this before."
"Yeah. Try not to take it off if you can help it. It's a good one."
"I won't take it off even if I die!"
"...You don't have to go that far."
For some reason, Ellie's way of speaking—and the blind devotion in her eyes when she looked at Karen—seemed to be growing more and more like Director Kang's.
"Let's go. Is Hangil not done yet?"
"They're almost finished over there as well. If you head down now, you should be able to meet him."
"Then let's go down."
On the way down the escalator, Ellie kept glancing at herself and her new clothes in the mirrors running along the side.
I love it.
She's adorable.
Ellie thought she was being discreet about it, but everyone who noticed pretended not to, so she wouldn't be embarrassed.
"Is this it?"
They stepped off onto the men's floor, where neat rows of suits were displayed along one side and the latest outdoor gear along the other.
"This way."
The floor itself was enormous, so the group followed a clerk's lead toward where Hangil was waiting.
Then Ellie, whose face had been lit with a smile that wouldn't fade, suddenly seemed off. She had begun carefully steering around the clothed mannequins on display.
Just as she had when they first entered the department store, she clutched Karen's sleeve in a tight fist, her face gone pale. She was still trying to keep walking, but at last she came to a dead stop in front of one shop.
"Ellie?"
"Are you unwell?"
Startled by her sudden change, everyone crowded in around her. Then they looked ahead, searching for the cause—and every face went taut.
Ellie had stopped in front of a shop that sold nothing but belts.
"Snakes! Snakes!"
The icy silence shattered with Samsaek's outburst. He charged into the store and, with a flash of sharp claws, shredded every belt in sight.
"Squeak!"
Tori joined in, gnawing away with his tiny front teeth—and those teeth were so hard that the belts ground apart like tofu.
"Samsaek?"
Belt remnants flew through the air in front of her like shed snakeskin, and Ellie's eyes went round. Samsaek finally finished tearing them all apart, shook the scraps of leather from his fur, and padded up to her.
"I chased all the snakes away! Come here."
"Wiped them all out" would have been more accurate than "chased them away," but Ellie let out a little laugh and walked on under Samsaek's escort.
"You're scared of this?"
Samsaek booted a scrap of belt aside with a front paw and crept along right in front of Ellie's feet, standing guard.
"No. I'm not scared anymore. Thank you."
I should pretend I didn't see that ribbon earlier.
At times like this, he really was a Spiritual Beast.
"We'll pay for all of those. And Director Kang."
"I'll look into Lady Ellie's past. I won't miss a single speck of dust."
"Chaerin. I'm going to talk with Ellie this evening. So tell me what you were about to say earlier. What is it?"
He had planned to hear it in due time. But after watching Ellie's reaction just now, he had changed his mind.
"Well..."
Chaerin glanced at Ellie playing with Samsaek and Tori, then leaned in to whisper in Karen's ear.
"There are so many old scars and bruises on her back. Only on the parts that don't show—and they're vicious about it."
Karen's gaze shifted to Ellie, who was playing with Samsaek, her face bright and unclouded.
"Huh?"
For an instant, an aura erupted from Karen, and the clerks standing nearby were seized by a sudden chill, the fine hairs on their arms standing on end.
"Hahh..."
Karen let out a long breath, trying to press down the fire boiling up inside him, and slowly ran a hand from the top of his head down the back of his neck. The aura was gathered in and gone in an instant.
Sharp-sensed Samsaek glanced back at him, but Ellie was far enough away that, fortunately, she didn't seem to have felt it.
"What shall I do to them..."
Karen's eyes gleamed with a chilling light.