Ghosts of the Past (2)
Sera tilted her head slightly. “Something to say?”
Isabel lowered her voice, glancing around warily. “As you know, Saintess, the official destination of this pilgrimage is Hstel.”
Sera nodded faintly. The strategic stronghold in the empire's south, Hstel. The goal of this pilgrimage was to inspect the barrier there. It had a church branch like Liberno, but infusing the Holy Barrier Device that sustained the barrier required pure divine power—and that meant the touch of a Saintess was essential. Strengthening the protective shield that kept the demons at bay was a grave responsibility indeed.
“Of course, that's an important mission... but the real objective of this pilgrimage is something else.”
“...Pardon?”
Puzzlement clouded Sera's eyes. Isabel checked left and right before leaning in to whisper cautiously into her ear.
“We'll pass through Hstel and head to Kallisten.”
Sera's eyes widened. “Kallisten...”
Isabel pressed a finger to her lips. “It's a direct secret order from His Holiness. No one except you and me can know. There will be people waiting for us in Hstel.”
“...”
Sera swallowed hard without realizing it.
The Battle of Kallisten. The massive clash that lasted four days and nights against the demon hordes that poured through the suddenly collapsed barrier was famous across the empire. Thousands of Holy Knights had fallen, piling demon corpses into mountains in the ferocious fighting. In the end, Lien had unleashed a miracle enveloping the entire city in divine power, earning her the title of “Empire's Hope.”
But the cost of victory had been horrific. Even seven years later, the aftermath lingered, and Kallisten had become the empire's most wretched city, unlivable for its people.
Sera spoke cautiously. “Why do we have to go there?”
“Well...”
Trouble flickered across Isabel's face. She hesitated, looking almost apologetic to even broach the subject, then answered in a small voice.
“...A Holy Relic. We're going to find a Holy Relic.”
“A Holy Relic?”
“Yes. Sometimes, when Saintesses perform great miracles... an object imbued with the goddess's power remains at the site. We call it a Holy Relic.”
Sera recalled what she'd learned in the church. Objects near a Saintess at the moment of a miracle. Often something she carried, but sometimes even a random pebble at her feet became one.
Diaries, flowers, rosaries...
The Holy Relics stored by the church often looked utterly ordinary. The issue was...
“How do we find it?”
“That's...”
Isabel paused. After a moment's hesitation, she let out a deep sigh and added, “...You'll have to help us, Saintess.”
The reason the church kept Holy Relics wasn't just symbolic—to prove the goddess's power and remember the Saintesses' footsteps. They had a special function. A Holy Relic could reproduce the miracle that birthed it. And to activate it, a Saintess was required.
Holy Relics responded only to the goddess's power.
In other words...
“I need to be there to find it.”
“...Yes, that's right.”
Isabel bowed her head apologetically. But one thing still didn't make sense.
“...Wouldn't it be better for Saintess Lien to come instead?”
One thing Sera had realized training alongside Lien: her divine power was on a level Sera couldn't even approach. Even a simple demonstration of emitting holy light from her body had been blinding. Sera could barely produce a glow at her fingertips with intense focus—the gap was stark.
“...”
Isabel turned away, looking troubled by the question. She fidgeted with her mouth for a long while before steeling herself to speak.
“Normally, I shouldn't tell you this, but...”
Isabel forced out the words slowly, as if squeezing them free.
“...Saintess Lien's divine power... is fading away.”
“...So, in summary.”
It boiled down to this: A few years ago, Lien's divine power had begun to dwindle bit by bit. At first, it wasn't noticeable—a temporary fluctuation from her condition, they'd thought. But the loss was accelerating.
That's why she'd been going on pilgrimages that once wouldn't have required her. The Pope and some priests were searching for a solution, but nothing had worked yet. The only option was an external infusion of divine power.
“That's why we need the Holy Relic.”
They couldn't just pump any divine power into a Saintess's body. It had to come from a Holy Relic born of her own miracle—one from a feat that unleashed immense power, no less.
“With that, we can treat Saintess Lien.”
“...There's a possibility, but... yes. That's right.”
Isabel murmured softly. Sera drew in a sharp breath without thinking.
They'd said Lien wasn't joining this pilgrimage for treatment.
Is that why she seemed off?
Sera recalled Lien's occasional odd behavior. After a moment's thought, she met Isabel's eyes with resolute determination.
“...I'll help too.”
They'd spent only a short time together, but she was someone Sera knew. As one Saintess to a senior, it felt right. Plus, there was still so much Sera wanted to ask about Elijah.
Above all, she wasn't the type to ignore someone pleading for help right in front of her. It was just her nature.
The pilgrimage was already underway. This could be a chance to get closer to Lien.
Isabel gazed at Sera for a moment, then slowly bowed at the waist. Her shoulders trembled faintly.
“...Thank you.”
Sera clenched her fist watching her. She must be so worried.
They could have just informed her as the Pope's order. Instead, Isabel had gauged her reaction and broached it carefully—she clearly hadn't wanted to impose.
Isabel probably knew sides of Lien that Sera didn't, having watched over her as her guard knight for so long.
I'd like a friend like that too.
The thought crossed her mind. She cherished Elijah, but he was family, after all.
When I get back, I should ask Saintess Lien about getting a guard knight.
Ideally someone around her age. With that in mind, Sera took Isabel's hand.
“Let's find it together.”
Isabel stared blankly at her for a moment, then flashed a grin.
“...Yes. Thank you, Saintess.”
A short while after Isabel composed herself, she pulled a small pouch from her bosom and offered it to Sera.
“Please take this.”
Inside were a few faintly glowing gray pebbles and a small dagger.
“This is...?”
“Emergency signal flares and a dagger for self-defense. Standard Holy Knight Order issue. Normally, you wouldn't need something like this, Saintess, but...”
Isabel paused, then continued. “...Just in case. If danger comes when I'm not with you, use it without hesitation. I'll come running.”
It was for Sera, who couldn't yet wield divine power skillfully. Kallisten's security was bad. Not just poor—bad. Especially the resentment toward the church ran sky-high.
One might wonder why they'd resent the church when a Saintess had reclaimed the city, but when people hit rock bottom, they always looked for outsiders to blame.
The demons reacted to divine power. So the barrier's collapse, the massive horde—it was all the Saintess's fault. Without her, they wouldn't live so miserably. That was their logic.
A city barely clinging to life, economy and production paralyzed. A haven for criminals and illegal mercenaries—that was Kallisten.
Of course, Isabel could handle dozens of those mercenaries with ease... but things never went exactly to plan. Preparation for the worst was necessary.
“Thank you. You didn't have to go this far...”
Sera nodded with an awkward smile.
“It's only natural as your guard. And I was asked to.”
“Asked?”
“Yes. Elijah specially requested it of me. To protect you no matter what.”
Sera's eyes flew wide. When did Brother prepare this?
She recalled the hand stroking her hair as they parted.
“Brother...”
Sera clutched the pouch tightly. Then a sudden doubt arose.
How could her brother—a sinner—make such a request of the Saintess's personal guard knight?
“Um... if it's not rude, how do you know my brother?”
Isabel glanced out the window, then dropped a bombshell in a flat tone.
“We were close. I liked him.”
“...What?!”
Sera's scream shook the carriage.
Liked him... meaning they were that kind of... involved...?
A whirlwind of imaginations stormed her mind, her face flushing instantly. Some were quite risqué and stimulating.
...The knowledge gleaned from pleasure districts combined with a teenage girl's vivid imagination was potent.
“Ah, sorry for startling you. That came out wrong.”
Isabel noticed Sera's fluster and hurried to clarify.
“It was one-sided on my part. He was my senior and someone I admired. Though that's ancient history now...”
“O-one-sided?”
“Yes. Not anymore. It was just a young girl's admiration mistaken for a crush. Elijah was so obsessed with the sword back then... he wouldn't have noticed my feelings anyway.”
Sera finally exhaled in relief at Isabel's self-deprecating laugh.
Good.
Elijah was... well, very handsome. Great body... tall... sure, but still! Imagining him getting intimate(?) with some woman she didn't know soured her mood.
Sera looked at Isabel. Seeing her slightly slumped shoulders stirred an odd sense of kinship.
With a bright voice, Sera said, “Then, Lady Isabel, tell me about Brother!”
He never shared old stories. This was her chance to dig up all his embarrassing black history.
As Sera's eyes sparkled, Isabel couldn't help a small smile.
“...Ahem. Where to start? Should I begin with the time Elijah took down ten knights in the training grounds?”
And so, the carriage filled with the chatter of the two women.