The Saintess Has Arrived
"Bangabanga, Hamtori!"
"Have you lost your damn mind?!"
Beltein's sudden roar exploded straight at Apis. "How could you just let Priest Lazis charge into an unregistered dungeon all by himself?! You're the one who knows better than anyone that he doesn't have the ability to handle something like that! Apis! It's you, of all people!"
The desperate plea clearly carried some extraordinary meaning behind it. Yet Apis, who had turned her back on that troubled voice and was calmly tending to her own equipment, didn't seem to feel it was even worth responding to such a reprimand.
"It's not too late yet! We have to find a way to rescue the priest! Apis! If it's you—the one who's cleared the most dungeons in the entire Capital! A member of the Hero's Party! Surely you must have some kind of secret plan!"
"····"
"Apis!!!"
The venomous attitude she directed at someone she'd been terrified of just moments ago was almost unbelievable. Even she herself didn't fully understand what emotion had triggered such a drastic change in her behavior. It was because a long-time acquaintance had been caught up in a disaster. Because she couldn't just stand by and let someone under her jurisdiction die. Because he was an irreplaceable figure in stabilizing the Saintess's mind.
She could have come up with any number of excuses if she wanted to. But Beltein's self-awareness unconsciously refused to give that particular feeling a concrete name.
"Don't you even care what happens to Priest Lazis, Apis?!"
It sounded almost like a resentful, sorrowful rebuke. Right after that, Apis—who had been silently staring at the black pillar with her back turned—finally parted her heavy lips for the first time.
"That guy will come back."
Her tone was as calm as if she were gazing at a perfectly still lake. There wasn't a trace of the fierce impression she'd worn until now.
"····Huh?"
"That idiot may be stupid, but he's not a complete moron. He doesn't have the guts to pull off something that reckless without some kind of safety net. He's the kind of pathetic weakling who treats his own body like his first grandchild."
"What the···· what are you even····."
"So if we just wait, he'll come back safe and sound soon enough. That guy will."
"How can you be so sure of that?!"
"Because if he doesn't, I'll kill him myself."
"Ugh!"
It was nonsense. Empty words. Complete rubbish. That bizarre logic, which didn't even have basic consistency, was something Beltein—who viewed everything through rational judgment—couldn't even begin to decipher the intent behind. And so it was only natural that Beltein, unable to contain his frustration, suddenly ground out a harsh burst of irritation.
"Fine! That's enough! I won't ask for your help anymore, Apis! I'm terribly sorry for imposing on you like this!"
Beltein, who rarely raised his voice in anger, spun away from her in a huff. Even though his behavior could easily be seen as rude, Apis's gaze remained firmly fixed on the black pillar.
But right at that moment—
"Huh?"
Beltein had been hurrying toward the monastery to ask the other guardian priests stationed at the Cathedral for help. His steps suddenly faltered, as if he'd come face to face with a ferocious beast.
"W-wait, what?"
It was a single syllable of tense breathing that couldn't even be called a word. But there was no doubt that it was thick with shock and horror.
Beltein rubbed his eyes. Maybe he'd seen wrong. He had to have seen wrong. In that brief instant when his hand blurred his vision, he desperately prayed that the mirage-like figure that had appeared before him without warning would be gone.
But his fleeting wish shattered the moment he lowered his hand and his sight cleared. The faint hope he'd clung to never materialized, and the reality he'd tried so hard to deny appeared vividly even on his pale retinas.
The murmurs of passersby, filled with fierce gasps and astonishment, stirred Beltein's already chaotic mind once again.
There was no mistake. It was her. There could be no more escaping reality. That noble figure. That refined grace. That sacred aura. There was no way Beltein—her only blood relative—could fail to recognize her.
"W-why····!"
With a look that couldn't hide the chill running down his spine, Beltein hurled an urgent question toward the person in front of him. His voice overflowed with reproach. She was someone so reclusive that even taking a single step outside the Audience Chamber would make front-page news. There was no way she would have come here of her own free will.
Which meant the truly familiar man standing right behind her, sweating profusely, was the most likely culprit behind this current disaster. It was only natural for Beltein to shoot him a glare full of resentment.
"Priest Lobel! What the hell have you done?! How could you bring her outside the Audience Chamber without proper authorization?! This place is crawling with dungeon entrances! An offense of this magnitude would be enough to send even you straight to the religious tribunal—your head could fly off without so much as a trial! Do you not understand that?!"
"I-I'm sorry, Sister! B-but—!"
Startled by Beltein's fierce interrogation, Lobel shrank back and tried to offer a defense in a voice as quiet as an ant crawling. His wretched appearance, like a cat limping from an injured leg, looked quite pitiful. But even that utterly pathetic behavior was nothing more than fuel for Beltein's rage right now.
"Why on earth did you bring the Saintess all the way out here?!"
If words could have blades, theirs would have rivaled a guillotine. The proof was in how Lobel's face grew paler and paler with every second, like a prisoner receiving his death sentence.
"I-I'm sorry! Sister! I am fully aware that this act of mine is an unforgivable blasphemy! B-but····. Th-the Saintess···· The Saintess····!"
"I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses! If you want any leniency for the sin you've committed, then take the Saintess back to the Audience Chamber right this—"
Beltein, who had been firing off words like arrows, suddenly fell silent. His expression remained as indifferent and emotionless as ever. But the way his cheeks were puffed out like a hamster that had stuffed its mouth to the limit made it painfully obvious just how massively displeased the Saintess was right now.
"Hmph!"
"S-Saintess?"
It happened right then. The Saintess strode forward with angry, determined steps straight toward the black pillar ahead. Beltein, horrified by the shocking sight, desperately lunged forward to stop her bold advance.
"Saintess—!"
Unfortunately, the moment Beltein's outstretched hand reached her was exactly the same instant her pure white hand touched the black pillar.
Yeah. At this point, I guess I have to admit it.
I haven't lived such an exceptionally shameful life that I'd mock my own humanity by saying, "I've spent my days full of embarrassment." Nor have I lived so honorably that I could proudly declare to the heavens, "I have not a single regret in my life." But I had naively assumed I could at least live an ordinary life not so different from everyone else. I needed to correct my own foolishness for ever thinking that.
"And then?! And then?!"
"S-sometimes when I fix her hair···· her pure white nape is····."
"And then?! And then?!"
"M-more? U-um. Oh! R-right! I thought her toned, firm legs with just the right amount of muscle were really attractive····!"
"And then?! And then?!"
"Huh? W-well, that is···· um, her abs? I think the faint abs that show sometimes when her stomach is exposed are incredibly s-sensual····!"
"Ooh! I see!"
If there was a hell, this had to be it. Given how many sins I'd committed in life, I'd never expected to die peacefully. But I never dreamed I'd get a preview tour of hell while still breathing. Looks like you really do live and learn.
"H-Hero····. Isn't this enough by now····?"
"What? Is that really all····? Is the only sexual appeal you feel toward me limited to just those few things····?"
"N-no! There are still plenty more! Um! Ah, well! Could you give me about five minutes to think? Hero?"
"Of course! I can wait as long as you need! Absolutely!"
God. Please save me. Or better yet, just kill me. I know full well that I'm a sinner who has committed unforgivable crimes. But no matter what, isn't it too heavy a punishment for a mere mortal to have to endlessly list how sexually attractive his own niece-like acquaintance is?
It was right around the time when a vague cry for help—its target unclear even to me—echoed within a mind filled only with pain and sorrow.
"Huh?"
"Ack!"
Crack. Craaack.
The dungeon's gradual collapse suddenly accelerated. It felt artificial, like someone had poured water onto a sandcastle that had been slowly crumbling. It was definitely a strange sensation I'd never felt before. Yet for some reason, I sensed an indescribable familiarity in that very strangeness.
Was it déjà vu? No, that wasn't it. I couldn't say for sure what it was, but there was one thing I could declare with absolute certainty.
I had definitely experienced this sensation before.
"S-Saintess····?"
It wasn't mere intuition. It was instinct. Something so deeply ingrained in my body that even I was surprised by my own words—an intangible, unconscious instinct—was sounding an alarm inside me.
And right after that.
The collapsing dungeon began to slowly lose its shape, like mist scattering before a fierce wind. The space that had been out of sync with reality gradually began to regain its original form.
"Mmmph!"
The Saintess, her cheeks puffed out like an angry hamster, suddenly appeared before us like a desert mirage.