[The Saintess, Anastasia Lacroix - 10]
[The Saintess, Anastasia Lacroix - 10]
The Saintess-nim slowly took steps and looked around.
"Is this a place where people live?"
"The capital is vast. Among it, there are bound to be places where the poor live. The gap between rich and poor is something that exists everywhere."
If you walk just a little from the splendid capital, this slum reveals itself.
It was basically a place where people who struggled to make ends meet lived, and naturally, there were people for whom every day was a struggle.
If it weren't for the perception-blocking hood the Saintess-nim was wearing, everyone would have already been staring at us.
For me, it was a matter of solving it with magic.
If nothing else, magic to hide one's presence or conceal one's existence was, without exaggeration, essential on the battlefield.
If you had to fight even when you weren't in a state to fight right then, you had no choice but to hide with this magic and pray for the enemy to pass by.
Even so, there were times when we were discovered, but in those cases, we just had to fight.
After having such experiences time and time again, you had no choice but to improve your proficiency in these spells, whether you liked it or not. It was literally magic you had to learn if you didn't want to die.
Annoyingly, right after I learned it, tools that eliminate one's presence suddenly started becoming commercialized, which gave me a headache.
Other comrades also lamented, "Ah, I spent years learning this..."
Of course, it's not that there's nowhere to use it, but there's no doubt that it's more efficient to just pack a tool and use that.
The perception-blocking hood the Saintess-nim is wearing now hasn't been developed for that long either.
It's only been a few years, and since it's a product that can be used long-term rather than being disposable, the price was quite high. Though it would be absurd if the Saintess-nim in the Cathedral couldn't obtain something like that.
"Can't you do something about it?"
"It's not easy."
"Aren't there any jobs you can give to the poor?"
"It's not impossible if one wants to, but since there isn't much profit, not many people step up to do it. No profit is practically synonymous with incurring a loss, so there would be pushback. Even if they do, it's often passive or not on a large scale."
"If I pull it off, will everyone praise me?"
"They would. However, there are many corrupt people among those in power, and they might not look upon it favorably."
Annoyingly, among those corrupt people, there were some who were talented. They use that talent to further corruption, and as long as they can take their own profit, they don't care what happens to everything else.
There were truly many people among the powerful who lived with that mindset.
It wasn't for nothing that problems occurred between nobles and commoners at The Academy every year.
It even went beyond that, and issues of discrimination between races would occur.
Elves were somewhat okay, but Beastkin were often discriminated against.
"This way. We're getting close."
"Yeah."
"It's coming."
"Hm? What is?"
Tuung!
As a shadow rose up to block it, the girl frowned without realizing it and shook her fist. The Saintess-nim looked at the girl as if she were interesting.
I was also slightly surprised.
Is she really a slum dweller?
She didn't look like she was living well-fed and comfortably.
She had a body that hadn't been properly nourished, having starved for days, but the power of that punch just now was absurd.
It was a level of power where it wouldn't have been strange for an ordinary adult to be hit and sent flying straight into a wall.
Her physical ability seemed absurdly high.
It felt a bit off to call her an ordinary human.
"You followed me all the way here? You're persistent! I gave the wallet back, didn't I!"
"Usually, we don't call it 'giving back' when it was snatched away after being caught."
"Urgh."
Her pupils are slightly dilated, and her breathing is unstable.
It seemed like she had developed mental issues due to starvation for the past few days.
And there was a high probability that her vision was blurred, and that there were issues with her cognitive abilities as well.
"Interesting. You, follow me."
"A-are you trying to take me!? Do you think I'll just get caught?!"
"No, that's not it."
"Grrr."
A low growl of a beast.
"Ed, what did I say wrong this time?"
"No, if I had to say, the other side is just too hot-tempered this time."
"I see. Someone focused on emotions. They're the hardest type to understand, so I can't quite get used to them. I think I need a little more time to understand the logic of where their emotions jump to. ...That aside, look."
"Yes, I see."
Beast ears and a tail started to become visible.
And the sight of her nails growing longer felt somewhat out of place to call her human.
"Is she a Beastkin?"
"Usually, the fact that she can transform into a Beastkin form while having a human form is proof that her Beastkin blood is thin. In other words, there's a high possibility she's a quarter."
"Isn't she a half?"
"Halves usually have ears and tails. It's quarters who can bring them out temporarily."
That said, the increase is a bit high.
You can occasionally meet quarters with Beastkin.
They temporarily increase their physical abilities by transforming like that, but at most, it was at a level similar to a half Beastkin.
However, the increase of the girl in front of me right now was a bit too high, and it was rising to a level almost similar to a pure-blooded Beastkin.
It was unbelievable that this was a transformation done while not even eating properly, in a state where her condition was at its absolute worst.
She could be called a raw gem.
'Did the Saintess-nim recognize this and suggest following her?'
It was a common occurrence for a talented person to recognize another talented person.
Just like becoming a radar to find an amazing raw gem, talented people often recognize and take interest in other talented people.
If it was to the extent that the Saintess-nim took interest, it was safe to say she was quite talented.
"I happened to want to raise a pet."
"You shouldn't say things like that. It's perfect for getting criticized for racial discrimination."
"Really? Then, I'll call it talent acquisition. ...Hey, you seem to be misunderstanding, but we aren't exactly guards."
Tiing!!
I blocked the attack swung toward the Saintess-nim with my shadow.
"What, you can't even break this!?"
The other side seemed surprised, but I was also extremely surprised.
I could clearly feel the impact rippling through my shadow just now.
My shadow, which has even blocked the attack of a Battle Ogre, possesses considerable defensive power, so it doesn't even get a scratch from most attacks. She just gave that shadow an impact.
If she were in her best condition.
Perhaps.
Yes, perhaps it might not have been impossible to break it.
"She's a child overflowing with wild beauty."
"It seems like it'll be worth taming her."
"Please refrain from making racially discriminatory remarks every time you open your mouth."
"Ed, is it possible to subdue her?"
"Let's try talking first before that."
"Sure."
The Saintess-nim smiled.
"Hey, we didn't exactly come here to fight. And we didn't come to hold you accountable for stealing the wallet earlier either."
"Not here to fight? Who would believe that?"
"Do we look like guards to you? We just came to have a brief conversation with you. We have no ill will, so let's undo that transformation and talk. Honestly, you can feel it, right? That if I put my mind to it, I could burn your limbs off and force you into a situation where you have no choice but to talk."
"Saintess-nim."
"Why?"
"That remark is not good."
"Hm?"
It seemed she intended to intimidate her by threatening her a bit, but I had rarely seen threats based on power work properly against Beastkin.
They were undoubtedly a warlike race that pursued power, but they were a race that valued loyalty even more than that.
In other words, it meant that their tendency to resist if you tried to get something out of them by suppressing them with violence was truly strong.
"Shaaaaat!!"
Taking a stance as if she were going to walk on all fours, the girl was becoming increasingly feral.
"Oh, I learned one thing. Threats based on power don't work on Beastkin? I guess this is the kind of lesson you learn in actual combat, right? Ed, you'll have to teach me the necessary response methods between races next time."
"I will prepare it. So, what will you do?"
"I'll do it."
"Will it be alright?"
"If a problem arises, Ed, you'll take care of it, right? I trust you, so I'll go ahead and do reckless things to my heart's content."
That trust is a bit annoying.
I wished she wouldn't cause problems if possible. I let out a small sigh.
Because it didn't seem like the result would change just because I opposed it.
As the Saintess-nim took a step forward, the girl lunged, and the Saintess-nim's light magic rippled and took form, blocking the attack.
The way she moved quickly through the gaps in buildings, from wall to wall, felt like dealing with a beast in the forest.
'She added a strong physical nature to her light magic.'
Well, since she had shown what she could do so far, it wasn't really something to be surprised about at this point.
"Threats based on power don't work, but you understand hierarchy properly, right?"
I nodded.
Then the Saintess-nim moved her hand.
She wouldn't be able to keep up with that girl if she tried to follow her with her hand one by one.
Tuung, tuung, numerous light magic spells appeared and followed the girl, and the girl opened her eyes wide and quickly dodged them all.
Her speed was quite fast, but it seemed she still lacked combat experience. The moment she didn't notice the anomaly just now, it was her defeat.
"This time for sure!!"
The moment the girl lunged, a light magic spell hit her back with a "Twaang!!" sound.
"W-what?"
She had a face that genuinely couldn't understand.
When she fired multiple light magic spells earlier, some of them passed through the walls.
She used light magic with penetrating properties to hide them behind walls, made the girl rush toward herself, and then recalled them to hit her.
Not just the penetration, but her control skill in handling light magic was at a level that couldn't be expressed in words.
Because originally, controlling magic in places you can't see is quite difficult.
Looking down at the fallen girl, the Saintess-nim smiled.
"Then, shall we have a 'conversation'? Doggie."
"I'm a, wolf...!"
There was something I found out while spending time with the Saintess-nim.
This woman, she's basically a queen style.
It's not an arrogant personality, but she was born with an arrogant nature.
I had a conviction within me that even if she didn't lack empathy, she would have been an arrogant person.