[The Saintess Realizes - 12]
[The Saintess Realizes - 12]
"The power of shadows, it's incredibly convenient."
After securing the two main culprits, the Saintess-nim said this while we were exiting the forest, having slipped into the shadows.
Well, I hadn't really seen anyone else use it like this besides me.
It's true that I wasn't good at it from the start, and when I first tried, all my comrades around me laughed in unison, saying there was no way such a thing was possible.
But in the end, I did it, and I succeeded in making this magic my own.
It might sound strange to say this, but real combat is truly hundreds of times more efficient than practice.
In a battle where your life is on the line, your techniques sharpen, and that sharpened sense definitely remains within me, often significantly raising my base abilities.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that my survival until now is a product of coincidence, but my current skill was forged by combining all my past experiences.
"It's quite complicated to use, though. Are you alright, Saintess-nim?"
"I've already healed everything. How about you?"
"I have no problems. I'm quite used to combat. As I said before, they easily lost because they mistakenly tried to counter my abilities. If it had been a head-on fight, I might have actually gotten a few scratches."
"Are you actually skilled? This man?"
"Surviving for a long time as a mercenary is proof enough of strength. It's a common saying around here: if you see an old person or a child on the battlefield, run away."
"Why?"
"There's no reason for an old person to be in such a place, so it's highly likely they're involved. And being an old person means they've survived in active duty until that age. They're bound to be strong."
I once met an old man during an operation, and he was a weapon master who knew how to wield every kind of weapon.
He could cut anything regardless of the weapon in his hand, and seeing him cut through a wall with a broken tree branch at the end made my blood run cold, and I'm not joking.
It was a fight that made me realize that being able to freely wield whatever is in your hand is a talent and a strength in itself.
"Then what about children?"
"If a child is standing there nonchalantly in such a place, it's highly likely they are either caught in an irreversible hallucination or they are something in the shape of a child... I can at least anticipate the old man, but I can't even predict the child."
"Or maybe someone like me?"
"Certainly, well... Saintess-nim is also dangerous on the battlefield."
If she were to indiscriminately unleash attacks that just crush the enemy with firepower rather than a 1-on-1, there's a high chance the enemy wouldn't be able to cope and would fall into chaos.
Since they wouldn't be able to instantly create a barrier capable of blocking the Saintess-nim's maximum firepower attacks, using the Saintess-nim like a surprise bomb would be quite useful.
As my thoughts reached that point, I looked at the Saintess-nim and said.
"I'll say this in advance, but Saintess-nim, you are not going to the battlefield. No, you cannot go."
"I know. You think that if I go to a place where people's lives are on the line, I'll be influenced by it, right? You've worked hard educating me for half a year, so if I get used to 'killing' or 'death' on that battlefield, that would be a disaster, wouldn't it?"
"It's absurd hearing you say that yourself."
"Can't you just say I've started to be objective? Through this incident, I realized I'm not invincible. No, I should have already known that when I lost to you, but it seems my learning ability is lacking."
"......."
It wouldn't be strange for someone with the Saintess-nim's level of power to fall into such arrogance.
Losing to me was only because she lost to a trick she didn't know, so it wouldn't be strange if her confidence remained unshaken.
Furthermore, there was no one around who could beat her in a head-on fight, and in fact, the two people we just caught would have had no way to win if they had fought the Saintess-nim head-on.
What could they do if she fired light magic to the point of covering the sky?
Even thinking about that coming in rapid-fire, one would naturally say, "If this isn't cosmic horror, then what is?"
"You are strong enough. What you lack is knowledge and experience."
"That rope, could you untie it without being noticed? I couldn't. I could have untied it if I tried, but it would have definitely taken more than 10 seconds, and it would have certainly leaked out that I was the one untying it. My mana seems to be too honest."
"Mana is honest for everyone. It's not just a flaw unique to you, Saintess-nim. Depending on the person, there are even those who can see through lies using mana. Hiding it well is also experience."
"Anyway, can you do it?"
"The Mana-Sealing Rope, you mean? The one that was binding you, Saintess-nim, was by no means a low-quality rope. But as for me, I could untie it without being noticed."
Of course, it might have taken a little time, but I could definitely untie it without getting caught.
"Is there such a technique?"
"Yes."
In this world, mana is like a cure-all, so if something strange happens, it's because of mana, and if there's fuel, it's thanks to mana; there are countless things that start with mana and end with mana.
Magic is mana.
Physical enhancement is mana.
Moving a Mana Car is also ultimately mana.
Magic stones are also lumps of mana.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that mana is what makes up the world, and naturally, depending on the technique for handling mana, a person's potential can unfold infinitely.
Since it's a spell woven with mana, if you know that, it wasn't difficult to undo it somehow.
"They call it a mana seal, but it doesn't make it completely zero. You know that since you were tied up yourself, Saintess-nim."
"Then why do they call it a seal?"
"Because it's infinitely close to a seal."
In my old world, there were things labeled 'zero calorie', but when you actually looked at the ingredient list, it was just infinitely close to zero, and there were quite a few cases where it wasn't truly zero calories.
You can think of it as similar to that.
It was a seal because it makes the amount of mana flowing out close to zero.
Therefore, if you had the technique to untie it, it was possible to tear the rope apart with that small amount of mana.
However, because you have to bypass a quite complex spell, it consumes a considerable amount of concentration, and naturally, it takes a corresponding amount of time.
If I were tied up with a rope and it wasn't a situation where I was a hostage, but rather a moment where I had to fight, I thought it might be better to just say my last words in advance.
If I were really lucky, I might survive, but usually, fighting someone who uses mana without using mana yourself is suicide.
"That's a scam."
"The world is just like that. Saintess-nim, don't trust absolute numbers like 100% or 0%. Most of it is a scam."
"......."
"Shall we talk about something a bit more constructive than that?"
"Should I twist these bastards' heads to the left, or to the right?"
"Still, you are the Saintess-nim, so please speak a bit more nicely."
"Should I turn these bastard-nims' heads to the left, or to the right?"
"No, seriously."
I let out a sigh, dumbfounded.
That wasn't what I meant.
Let's take it slow.
It had only been half a year, and until the Saintess-nim becomes an adult... in other words, until she enters the Academy, there was plenty of time, so there was no need to move too impatiently.
Her attitude at the cathedral has become quite soft, and for now, there are changes little by little.
"Shall we talk about your family?"
"Suddenly, what is it?"
"Upon learning that you had been kidnapped, Saintess-nim, your younger sister cried and begged me to save her sister. Your parents also bowed their heads and begged me."
"......."
"You said you came to sever ties, right? I respect you, Saintess-nim. A mere word from me won't fill the void of the past, and objectively speaking, they were never good parents."
The Saintess-nim is a being who has had a deficiency since birth.
However, the Saintess-nim's parents, who didn't face that properly and lived as if running away, might not be able to be called good parents no matter how nicely you package it.
But the face they showed when they bowed their heads and begged me was clearly the face of parents, so I thought it would be okay to give them a chance to face her.
Not yet.
Yes, not yet.
Nothing fatal has happened.
If something had happened, it might have been irreversible, but at least I thought they hadn't crossed any lines yet.
"Of course, this is just information. The choice is yours, Saintess-nim."
"Do you think they are good people? Do you think it's right to get along with family? Is that what a Saintess is?"
"No, right now I'm not talking to the Saintess, but just to Anastasia. You can continue your ties with your family, or you can sever them as you said, and I won't say anything."
"......."
The Saintess-nim was silent.
She made a somewhat difficult expression, then soon continued walking and said.
"I will become a good person to you."
"Yes?"
"In my life, value is something so distant. After all, I don't feel any value regardless of whether someone dies or not. Even for myself. Just a moment ago, when I was beaten by that man and thought I might die before you arrived, all that was in my head was the feeling of 'It's a shame I can't resolve my questions now,' and I had no particular thoughts about death."
"......."
I continued to remain silent and looked at the Saintess-nim.
"But I think I've found a value in my head now. If this feeling of sensing value is a feeling of cherishing, and at the same time a feeling of being special, I intend to think, contemplate, and ponder a bit more."
"What do you mean?"
The Saintess-nim looked at me.
"I won't tell you. ...Let's go, because my family will be waiting. I have to show the appearance of a 'good Saintess-nim' and a 'good daughter'."
"I think you weren't a good daughter anyway, though."
"At times like this, you just need to shut your mouth and support me from the side."
"Yes, yes, I understand."