The Calm Before the Holy Knights
After sending the letter as he wished, Licht's mind felt much lighter. It was a strange sensation, blending disgust at his own hypocrisy with the relief of unburdening the knot in his heart.
His visible wounds had mostly healed, so after descending to the city, he began sharing meals with the others at the convent. They were awkward at first around the sudden outsider but soon adapted, approaching him without hesitation. Licht didn't push them away entirely but kept a subtle distance. He never knew when he'd have to leave.
Life at the convent was monotonously routine: after breakfast, he'd swing his sword or hole up in the library, day after day. The children dragged him to a few services, but he wasn't keen on it. Just like at Bailen Cathedral, he simply didn't fit in with that world.
His top priority was recovering his circles. And.
"Is your body feeling better now?"
In the abbess's office, the elderly woman seated across from him asked.
Licht, who had stayed at the convent for several weeks, occasionally visited the abbess's office, receiving all sorts of considerations. Thanks to that, they could converse quite comfortably now.
"Yes. All the external wounds have healed."
Licht answered sincerely. The abbess smiled kindly.
"I'm glad to hear that. Truly fortunate."
"It's thanks to you, Abbess. I've received so much care. Thank you."
"Not at all, brother. It was only what should be done."
The abbess waved it off gently.
"Since you arrived, everyone's mood has brightened. Just look at the Saintess."
"...Has it?"
"Yes. She's certainly improved since leaving the Papal Court, but she still can't shake her sense of duty."
"......"
He already knew that Stella Evgenia, the Saintess, had walked out of the Papal Court of her own accord. He'd gleaned bits of her inner thoughts too. They often exchanged stories about the girl during their talks. The abbess always gazed at her with that fond look.
They must have had a connection even before.
Of all the convents, the reason she'd come specifically to Hyeris Convent. There seemed to be some bond between the abbess and the Saintess. You could tell just from how she cherished her like a daughter.
"Being chosen by Lady Istaria is certainly joyous... but an oracle is something detached from human will. Not everyone welcomes it. The weight of the title 'Saintess' is never light."
"She didn't seem to want it."
"...She was the same as a child. She lost the previous Saintess far too early."
This was about her birth mother, Libre Prelude.
"His Holiness the Pope is always busy, so she was often alone. Due to her status, she had no peers she could call friends."
"The other priests..."
"They were intimidated. The young Saintess seemed like a doll... Whether she matured too early for her age, or closed off her heart after the previous Saintess passed—that, I couldn't say. All I could do back then was stay by her side, offering steady words."
"It seems even that wasn't done properly," the abbess added bitterly, smiling wanly.
Licht glanced out the window before asking, "How long has she been here?"
"Over a year already."
"A year..."
"When she first left the Papal Court, she rarely showed emotion, but she's much better now. Especially since you arrived."
"She can't stay forever, can she?"
Licht cut to the chase. He knew it was rude, but he had to ask. For him, it was a matter of life and death. If the Papal Court didn't know his whereabouts, the Holy Kingdom's holy knights would move based on the Saintess's actions.
"......"
The abbess didn't answer right away. It was only after a long pause that the elder spoke again.
"...No, she can't stay here indefinitely."
"......"
"Half a year ago, holy knights came from the Papal Court. Just before January 1st, the Day of Creation."
"What happened?"
"They didn't force her. They seemed to respect her will."
"Then this year..."
"I don't know."
The Saintess was a cleric who received an oracle—arguably closer to Lady Istaria's proxy than even the Pope. It made no sense for such a figure to linger here without a single escort. Even if Hyeris Convent was in a remote corner of the Holy Kingdom, anyone determined to attack would cause trouble. Yet they turned a blind eye. Was it mere consideration for the Saintess? Or perhaps the elder before him was a powerhouse rivaling a cardinal.
"If holy knights come again... it won't be so easy next time."
Sadness flickered in the old woman's eyes.
"January 1st next year."
"...Probably before then."
"Is it alright for me to stay like this?"
Licht said, his words laden with implications. The rampaging seven rings. The top-tier artifacts he'd carried. The golden holy sword forged in Orkin style. His myriad wounds alone told the tale. They were healed now, but someone like the abbess would instantly recognize they came from an Executioner or equivalent holy knight.
"It's fine."
Yet the abbess gave the same answer as before.
"We get advance notice when holy knights are dispatched from the Papal Court. It takes at least four or five days from the capital Ceres to Hyeris Convent, so no issue."
"...I see."
Silence filled the office for a time. Licht glanced out the window again and slowly closed his eyes.
***
After burning the jet-black tome describing the resurrection ritual, Licht scoured the library's books thoroughly. He was searching for any other volumes with crucial Holy Kingdom information or rites. But since then, there'd been no significant finds.
Ancient myths. Histories of the continent and Holy Kingdom. Worn teaching manuals for novice subdeacons. Mostly stuffy tomes crammed with doctrine.
Licht returned the spread-out books to their shelves one by one. He could safely say he'd seen every book in this library now. Just to be sure, he'd pulled each from the shelves one by one, but unlike before, nothing changed.
He stepped outside. Heading to the backyard, it was empty as always.
"Hoo..."
Licht slowly relaxed his body. Closing his eyes and deliberately blocking his senses, he felt the five rings near his heart. The first circle, slowly rotating even now. And atop it, the second one he'd just activated yesterday. The third, fourth, and fifth remained tangled and frozen at the outermost edge, pushed aside to avoid clashing with the active ones.
How long will it take?
Stabilizing the second and unlocking the third would take another two to three weeks. At 3rd Circle, he could handle even top-tier Sword Experts.
But.
It wasn't enough. He needed to recover his circles as fast as possible.
It's not that I don't trust the abbess.
If Hyeris Convent were just an ordinary forest retreat like any other, Licht might have relaxed more. But it wasn't. The Saintess was here, placing him in a fragile peace at the eye of the storm.
Holy knights could show up any moment.
The Saintess, who should be at the Papal Court, lingering in this backwater. That alone justified dispatching holy knights—unrelated to his own pursuit. If he were discovered...
"......"
Licht slowly spun the second ring he'd just unlocked yesterday. It resonated over the first, bursting with mana. At the same time, he drew the Ascension Sword with his right hand. With a familiar metallic ring, the golden blade emerged.
He channeled refined mana from his heart to his fingertips, and soon a faint glow enveloped the blade in pure white mana.
Whoosh!
The surroundings brightened in an instant. The snow-white blade traced dozens of sword paths, leaving hazy afterimages. Unlike at 1st Circle, with two active rings, Licht now cloaked his blade in mana and swung freely. Each stroke whistled through the air, white mana shards dissolving into the void.
How long did he swing? Licht calmed his furiously spinning circles and halted.
"Ahaha, caught you again, oppa."
"......"
He hadn't even used wind magic this time, yet the children emerged from the bushes on their own. He wasn't as cold to them as before. Since that day in the city, he'd had quite some interaction with Willie, Ben, and Emma. Though it was mostly them pestering him one-sidedly.
But Licht soon tilted his head inwardly.
"...Where's the other one?"
"Oh, Ben?"
It was just two, not the usual trio. No action-leader Emma, playful Willie, or the big kid dragged along.
"Ben's in remedial class today."
"Remedial?"
"He's slow on the uptake. The guy's always been a bit dim."
Willie, who now sported boyish bangs flipped up, held a long wooden stick. He finished with a grin.
"...I see."
Licht slowly sheathed the Ascension Sword, its long blade vanishing into the scabbard with a click. Willie's eyes sparkled brighter than ever.
"Um, hey."
Willie fidgeted, mouthing words.
"Willie wants you to teach him the sword!"
Emma yelled, losing patience.
"H-Hey, Emma!"
"You're just standing there like an idiot, so I said it for you."
Emma poked Willie's back. Licht's gaze fell on the long wooden stick in Willie's right hand. Blushing with embarrassment, Willie suddenly jerked his head up.
"Um, excuse me!"
"......"
"Teach me the sword!"
No sooner had the words left than Willie bowed deeply. It was an astonishingly polite posture compared to his usual playful demeanor. The wooden stick trembled in his white-knuckled grip.
Still bowed, he continued. "I've dreamed of becoming a holy knight since I was little."
"......"
"But the nuns won't teach swordsmanship. I practice alone every day, but it feels lacking..."
Everyone has dreams. The convent orphans were no different. Some hoped to become novice nuns like the sisters who raised them; others yearned to leave for the wider world. Among them, Willie wanted to be a holy knight. To join the Holy Kingdom's premier order, the Knight Secreta, and stand as the Saintess's guard.
"You're the strongest swordsman I've ever seen... Even a little. Please teach me the sword. I beg you!"
Willie squeezed his eyes shut, head bowed. Licht silently looked down at him.
A brief moment passed.
"...A holy knight, huh."
"Y-Yeah!"
"No."
"Huh...?"
Licht's curt reply held no hesitation. Willie's brightened face plummeted into gloom at the sharp refusal.
"No...?"
"I'm not a holy knight."
Regular knights and holy knights differed. Unlike aura-wielding knights, holy knights drew from holy power. Their foundational strength was entirely different. Moreover, for Licht...
"I can't teach you anything. I use circles."
"Circles..."
"A real mage...?"
"Then swordsmanship at least...!"
"That won't work either."
Licht's swordsmanship relied on body reinforcement. Most practical styles did. Shyrta, Execution Sword, Ascension Sword. Even basic kingdom forms assumed aura for reinforcement. Without aura, not even the first stance was possible.
He truly had nothing to teach. Willie deflated upon hearing the explanation. Then—
"Oppa...?"
Licht's impassive face, gazing down at the children, chilled in an instant.
"Hyung?"
Willie noticed the shift. But Licht couldn't respond.
One, two, three...
Four, five. His heart sank. Spreading his mana wide, he sensed high concentrations of holy power approaching the convent from no great distance.
Not one. Five.
The three frozen rings atop his two slowly spinning ones began to twist. Suppressing the instinctively stirring circles, Licht whirled around.
"Willie! Emma!"
The big kid was just exiting the building, spotting them and running over.
"Big trouble! The Knight Secreta are...!"