The Saint Is Born
“This is Mielta. The great city of Moran! She’s definitely there right now!”
The young mage squeezed every last scrap of memory from the conversation that had passed by in a blur, desperately trying to make up for his mistake.
The first person to open the communication line had been a mage who looked worn down by life. He’d identified the location as the Mielta branch. Then he’d said he would connect them to their guest, and the face that appeared was none other than Jeanie Crowell.
“Who recognized Crowell first!”
“It was me, Headmaster.”
Another mage who had been pushed into the corner by the commotion cautiously raised his hand. His posture was rigid, clearly terrified that the sparks might fly his way.
“Are you certain it was really Jeanie Crowell?”
“Positive! The motive was basically a Jeanie Crowell stalker, so if it was that face, there’s no way I’d forget it. That tone of voice, those eyes—how could I possibly forget?”
“……Hemp!”
“Yes, Headmaster!”
The teaching assistant whose name had been called quickly stepped forward. Only then did he look as reliable as usual.
“We can’t just sit and wait. We must send people to Mielta immediately. Hurry and request an audience with His Majesty the King! And you—contact the Crowell family estate. And you, stay right where you are in case another call comes through.”
“Yes sir!”
“And also…… also, what did I say? I told you she wasn’t the kind of child who would die so meaninglessly!”
The headmaster looked as if he had been swallowed by a whirlwind of chaotic emotions. He let out a small, strangled cry, then laughed, then gasped in horror, then turned serious again in rapid succession.
“Meaningless…… a dragon……”
“We must head to the royal palace at once! Lead the way!”
That day, Drike Academy was more uproarious than it had ever been, and the ripples soon reached all the way to the royal palace.
It was the return of Jeanie Crowell, whom everyone had believed dead.
“Haaam, why do my ears feel so itchy?”
As I dug around in my ear with my pinky, I realized I really needed to trim my nails.
I glanced at my overly long fingernails and strolled lazily across the plaza.
When Rai gets here, I’ll have to sharpen them on his paw pads. That part of him is the only soft spot on his body, so the hardness is perfect for filing nails.
Being a metal spirit really did have its uses in the strangest ways.
“Hey, blonde miss!”
“Hm? Me?”
“How about some delicious lamb skewers? Buy now and get two for 20 coppers! Normally one is 12 coppers!”
“Hmm.”
The plaza was packed with street stalls, many of them selling snacks. Hawkers were everywhere.
After hearing the stall owner, I realized I was a little hungry. Maybe because I hadn’t eaten breakfast, my feet stopped in front of the stall on their own.
“It’s on me! The weather’s nice, so one for 10 coppers!”
“I was going to buy two.”
The stall owner didn’t miss a beat and skillfully handed me the skewers first.
“Alright, I’ll knock off 2 coppers—18 coppers!”
I wondered if I even had that kind of change. Ah, good thing I’d just gotten some coins back from the mage tower. I had a silver coin.
I’d sent a few telegrams and tried two video calls that didn’t even connect, and it had cost me nearly four gold.
When you considered that one skewer was 10 coppers, it really wasn’t cheap.
I handed over one silver and bit into the meat on the skewer, wondering where Bright had gone.
I’d finally decided to make a video call in this body, and he was on vacation? How rude.
If he thought I was dead, he should have been quietly crying in his room. How dare he go on a cheerful little vacation? I suffered so much just getting out of that jungle!
Annoying. So annoying.
The most useful guy for getting things done was nowhere to be found.
“Seriously, he’s never around when I actually need him.”
Grumbling, I devoured one skewer in the blink of an eye.
I’d wanted to call Bright here, have him take Einy with him, hand over this famous sword to the headmaster—there were so many things I needed to ask him to do, but since he’d gone on vacation, there was no way to reach him.
I never imagined I wouldn’t be able to get through to anyone.
I had naively assumed that as long as I used communication magic, I’d be able to see their faces and talk.
The most important thing on today’s agenda had been telling the headmaster about Einy, but I couldn’t even manage that.
Having a carefully made plan fall apart was never pleasant.
“The headmaster’s always busy, so I guess that’s fine, but where the hell did Bright go? He wouldn’t have gone off to hunt a dragon to find me, would he?”
Feeling disgruntled, I glanced to the side and saw something else worth eating.
That stir-fried salamander tail looked good. If I bought some of that freshly baked bread and stuffed it inside, it would be perfect.
I wandered over there as if possessed. The city after so long was full of things to enjoy.
While I was feeling frustrated that I couldn’t reach anyone, Ash’s group finally woke up. Rai sent an unnecessarily powerful mental plea saying he would dump Einy on them and come to me, so we decided to meet nearby.
Since I was terrible with directions, the plaza was one of the few places I could reliably find.
Plazas were usually at the center of towns.
“What’s that?”
I was wandering around munching on snacks when something noisy caught my eye.
A crowd had gathered in a circle. It looked like acrobats or a street play.
It reminded me of when I’d gone to the festival in Elan and watched something similar.
Even though I’d been kidnapped by slave traders that day, the festival itself had been pretty fun.
Come to think of it, that was around the time I’d gotten close to Bright. He’d cried and apologized so much—even though my kidnapping wasn’t his fault—that I’d actually felt a little sorry for him.
I strolled leisurely toward the crowd.
I had time to kill, and after so long without any peace, I was completely relaxed and ready to enjoy anything.
“Oh! Great Dragon!”
“Please quell your wrath and forgive humanity!”
I squeezed between the standing spectators and found a modest little play in full swing.
Like most simple street performances, it looked crude, but the audience was watching with rapt attention.
In a world where entertainment was rare, even this seemed interesting.
In a relaxed mood, I sucked on a piece of candy and slipped into the crowd of onlookers.
A few shiny cloths hung high was all there was for a stage, but it was clear enough that the setting was a banquet hall. At a glance, it seemed to involve a dragon.
If they were trying to claim that the paper dragon mask was a real dragon…….
“Offer up your jewels, humans!”
Ugh, dragons really are a pain in the ass no matter the era. They’re basically natural disasters. They just refuse to stay dead and keep coming back.
“If you don’t, I shall destroy you all!”
“Kyaaak!”
“Oh dear, what are we going to do!”
The acting was painfully awkward. The actors dressed as the king and his ministers all looked half-starved, skin and bones.
What king would look that gaunt?
Was that crown made of woven leaves? The cloak looked like a flour sack. And instead of using breath, the dragon was sprinkling yellow-dyed salt.
It was a truly low-quality production, but the highlight was the princess—her natural hair color seemed to be brown, yet she was wearing an unnaturally bright golden wig.
I could guess the rest without watching. The dragon would kidnap the princess, and then the prince would come to rescue her.
I didn’t know it well, but it seemed like an incredibly old classic. I looked around for the title.
「The Birth of the Saint! Day of Sacrifice」
I easily spotted the old, tattered signboard in the corner. The lettering had been rewritten so many times it was falling apart. It was a play title I’d never seen before.
And above all, it was complete garbage.
As was typical for plays based on mythology, the plot was ridiculously childish and over-the-top…….
It looked like Rai had arrived. Since he was nearby, I could tell which direction his voice was coming from. Soon enough, Rai appeared between the legs of the person next to me.
“Looks like some trendy new play.”
Yeah, no kidding. It’s not even interesting, but something about it feels weirdly familiar, so I keep watching anyway.
“Great Dragon! Please take me—Jeanie Crowell—instead!”
“Pffft……”
“Spare everyone else, we beg you!”
What…… what the hell?
This is weird. Why is my name coming up? Don’t tell me this is…….
“What the—?!”
Was this seriously about me?!
The moment I realized what was happening, a very real scream burst out of me. In my shock, my voice came out much louder than intended and actually interrupted the play.
The actors and audience all turned to glare at me, but I couldn’t regain my composure and just stood there trembling.
As I staggered from the shock, the dragon grabbed the golden-haired princess—no, me.
“Human! Your noble spirit of sacrifice has moved me!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Shh!”
Someone next to me even warned me to be quiet because I was being too loud during the performance.
Whether I acted like a crazy person or not, the play moved straight on to the next scene.
It only got worse from there.
“In honor of Jeanie Crowell’s sacrifice! Her family shall be elevated to the rank of count and honored as heroes of the empire!”
“Long live the Saint!”
“All citizens of the empire shall remember her sacrifice for all time!”
“Long live!”
“Glory to her!”
Don’t remember me. I’m not even dead…….
Ah, I can’t watch this anymore.
I was starting to tear up now. Not from emotion, but from sheer humiliation. Did I really have to prove with my own body that humans could die of embarrassment?
“What the hell am I even looking at? I can’t believe this……”
Whether in my past life or this one, there was one thing I could never tolerate even after dying and coming back to life—cringe like this. I’d rather have a knife shoved down my throat.
“Ooooh!”
“Ooooh!”
The actors dressed as nobles launched into a grand chorus of praise, and the play finally ended. I, having witnessed something I should never have seen, was suffering serious aftereffects.
My stomach churned. My insides felt so violated I thought I might throw up any second.
“Ugh……”
“Exactly! That’s what I’m saying!”
Turning that whole incident into a play was already insane, but I never imagined it would be glorified in such a bizarre way.
The unfamiliar, over-the-top praise gave me goosebumps all over.
The embarrassment was so intense I could barely breathe.
When the audience clapped and someone actually shed tears of emotion, I genuinely wanted to turn into dust and disappear.
Why do I have to be the one feeling ashamed?!