Chapter 2
Translator: True Detective
[Let's Educate the Saintess - 01]
"In charge of the Saintess's education, you say? It has only been three days since I was assigned here."
"I know."
The Grand Cathedral located in the capital of the royal domain.
I had been stationed at the front lines, fighting constantly against troublesome monsters as if in a never-ending war. A few years after the fighting had gradually died down, a few personnel from the front lines were drafted.
My name was among them, and the place I was assigned to was none other than the Grand Cathedral.
Being assigned to the Grand Cathedral as a Holy Knight was quite an honorable thing, but for me, it was too large and too suffocating a space, so it wasn't without its discomforts.
Above all, there were people who made sarcastic remarks simply because I fought on the front lines.
There were quite a few who sarcastically implied that while they did holy and clean work, those on the front lines did dirty work. Every time that happened, I realized the true level of those who only did desk work in the rear.
Administrative work was by no means of lesser importance, and I didn't look down on them.
It was because of them that the world we protected could run a little more smoothly.
In other words, we were all cogs and lubricants meant to make the world turn more seamlessly.
Yet, the people in administrative positions actually had a tendency to look down on those fighting in the field.
Peace is protected by the field workers, while order is maintained by the administrative workers.
Despite it being a simple matter, to them, the administrative roles were superior, and it seemed they treated the field workers as beneath them.
"Adrian Valtus."
"Yes."
"No one could have ever imagined that such a talent would emerge from the Valtus family."
"You overstate it."
"It is no joke. You must have experienced countless battlefields in the field, and I heard you were in charge of education on the front lines."
"I only did my best in the duties assigned to me."
The family of my 'current life,' the Valtus family.
Embezzlement.
Oppression.
Murder.
It was a family that had struck out directly with three strikes.
Despite being an insignificant rural family, they used their status as rural nobles to create their own little kingdom, and they were of poor quality, heavily abusing their power.
As a result, the head of the family was beheaded as the one responsible.
Fortunately, although the blood of the Valtus family flowed in me, I was strictly from a branch family, and I only saw the head's face maybe once a year, which was why I managed to survive.
Effectively, my father took over the Valtus family, and we, the branch family, became the main house.
Still, the criticism of the 'Valtus' family did not decrease, and honestly, it could not be called a pleasant experience.
"Becoming the youngest Holy Knight and playing an active role on the front lines... without your heroic tales, the Valtus family would have already been exterminated while bearing the stigma of 'Bloodstained Valtus'."
"Even now, there are many who call it that. In fact, because I piled up countless corpses on the front lines, there are even more people saying such things."
"Tsk, tsk, it truly is utterly bleak. No matter how much one tries to enlighten them, without an incident, there might be a limit to what education alone can do."
"……."
The old person next to me right now.
The highest-ranking person in this Grand Cathedral.
The Pope, Serapion Lumentio.
It seemed she originally had a different surname, but all those who succeed the position of Pope must change their surname to 'Lumentio.'
It appeared to be considered a kind of ritual, signifying that one would dedicate their family and everything they have to the Goddess.
For that reason, in cases where a considerable amount of time had passed, the Popes' true surnames were sometimes lost.
"I have grown quite old now. I might go to the Goddess's side soon."
"You are still robust enough."
"Even if it's empty flattery, I am glad to hear it."
The benevolence of religion personified seemed to be exactly this woman named Serapion Lumentio, and even though she had aged, the brilliance in her eyes had not faded.
So many people had been saved by her, and her achievements were so dazzling that it was even said she was more like a Saintess than the actual Saintesses of her era.
"Huu."
The Pope let out a breath for a moment and then looked at me.
"Do you know who the current Saintess is?"
"Yes, Anastasia Lacroix. I heard that she is currently unable to participate in outside activities due to an illness and has not yet awakened as a Saintess."
Because of that, there were people calling this Saintess a 'dud'.
It was because the Saintess herself could not cure her illness and had failed to achieve her awakening as a Saintess.
"That is a lie."
"……. Well then, I believe I have been hearing she couldn't come out due to illness for about 8 years now."
"There is no illness. She achieved her awakening a long time ago. You could even say she was in an awakened state from the moment she was born."
"……."
She awakened as a Saintess as soon as she was born?
Usually, 'the awakening of a Saintess' was a realm one could reach only after coming of age, undergoing endless training, and having their faith tested.
Although there were slight differences from person to person, the moment the Saintess's awakening occurred, there were not many who could catch up in that field.
Excluding special cases like the Pope, there was no cleric who could rival a Saintess.
Merely being an expert of a level comparable to a Saintess was an honorable badge that a cleric could boast about for the rest of their life.
"Then why are you hiding the Saintess while telling such a lie?"
Since the Saintess also had a symbolic aspect for the religion, she was exposed to 'outside positions' even more than the Pope, conveying the feeling that the symbol was immortal and eternal.
Because of that, those who bore the Stigma of the Saintess received education for diplomatic activities from a young age.
Nevertheless, hiding her until now meant she was not in a suitable state for diplomatic activities, and if it wasn't a physical problem...
There was only one answer.
"There is a reason you cannot show her to the outside, then?"
"I am glad you are quick to understand. She cannot get along with people, she listens to no one, and she is truly arbitrary. Yet despite that, her power is incredibly strong."
"Is that so?"
"Despite not receiving an education, her power to wield light is far superior to that of an average cleric. It truly befits the title of a 'Blessed Saintess'."
"……."
"Looking at the mere amount of mana, she has more than my aged self."
"That is amazing."
Awakening as soon as she was born.
Knowing how to handle power instinctively without being educated, and having more mana at a young, pre-adult age than the Pope—who, no matter how much her mana had decreased due to aging, was once evaluated as being more incredible than a Saintess—was by no means an ordinary thing.
The expression 'a genius among geniuses' was undoubtedly meant for times like this.
"Currently, no one can stop her. ……She is literally like a bomb. Under the current circumstances, even if we sent her out for diplomatic activities, it would only increase the bad reputation of the Goddess Religion. And above all, there is no guarantee that no one will get hurt because of the Saintess."
"Get hurt, you say?"
"……."
The Pope mumbled for a moment before speaking.
"Let me rephrase that. There is no guarantee that no one will die."
"I recall the Saintess is currently 13 years old. Are you saying she can kill a person at that young age, without any prior experience?"
"At least, that is how it appeared to me."
When was the first time I fought a person?
I also fought at a quite young age, and I had been through countless battles.
Although my opponent was a criminal, the sensation of killing a person for the first time still remained in my palms, and I couldn't forget it even now.
Even so, she could kill a person at that young age?
If she had grown up as a child soldier or in such a special environment, it might be something to pity, but the Saintess wasn't like that.
"Right now, I sympathize with her. That innate temperament she was born with can truly be called a trial from God. It would be good if she overcomes it, but if she fails to overcome it……."
"It would be dangerous."
"Yes, there are already many within the Goddess Religion who consider the Saintess to be more than just a problem child, but an obstacle. Until now, they haven't been able to take direct action against the Saintess because I am here, but if I were to retire or return to the Goddess's side……."
The Pope did not speak further.
However, I could understand what she was trying to say.
"You mean there will be no one left to protect the Saintess."
In the worst-case scenario, shortly after the Pope went to the Goddess's side, the Saintess might join her, or perhaps the people trying to send the Saintess away would be the ones to go.
"Yes. So I want to place my trust in you. Will you please listen to this old Pope?"
"I do not like false expectations. Therefore, I cannot say, 'I will definitely succeed.' I will merely promise to do my absolute best."
First of all, I needed to know exactly what the problem was.
If there was a problem, I had to recognize it, and my top priority had to be determining whether it was a congenital issue or an acquired one stemming from some experience or environment.
"That is enough."
"Then I would like to meet the Saintess right away."
"I will guide you."
The existence of the Saintess could not quite be called the hope of humanity, but it could be considered a very special position.
People value faith highly, and the Goddess Religion exists as the one and only religion.
Among other things, the physical proof known as the Stigma of the Saintess, said to be bestowed directly by the Goddess, could be called a pillar that kept the Goddess Religion from shaking.
The fact that the Saintess, who was that pillar, was not in a good state was by no means a positive thing.
"It is here."
"You haven't locked her in with a barrier? Did you not consider the possibility of her running away?"
"I did."
"Then why?"
"Because there is no one who can stop her. I cannot monitor her 24 hours a day, can I?"
"……."
In other words, if the Pope didn't monitor her personally, she could break right through even if they confined her with a 'barrier.'
Putting everything else aside and comparing only 'talent', she might be the most outstanding among all the Saintesses in history.
"Hmm."
I let out a deep breath for a moment and then opened the door.
Upon opening the door, inside was.
"……."
"……."
I saw the figure of a young girl, tearing apart a bird she had brought from who knows where with her bare hands, as if dissecting it.
Those empty-looking eyes.
They were literally so utterly void that I could tell right away.
That this young girl had absolutely nothing inside.