Chapter 8
Translator: True Detective
[The Saintess's Point of View - 01]
Anastasia Lacroix, my name.
The Saintess of Light, my value.
To me, those things held no meaning beyond that, and honestly, I didn't care what happened to them.
Everything was something I didn't care about, and to me, everything was nothing more than noise.
The time I realized I was overwhelmingly stronger than others was when I used magic on the person who first took on the role of educating me.
They flew away so easily that, to be honest, I was surprised.
I am strong.
I was certain of it.
But I didn't feel like doing anything with it.
Even things I was interested in soon lost my interest, and they weren't fun.
Whenever people who took on the role of educating me came, they all chattered noisily.
Education this, you are in the position of a Saintess that... they were all so loud that if I attacked them, they quickly quieted down.
I didn't attach much meaning to violence itself, but if I could use it to shut up the things that annoyed me, I considered it not a bad method.
The only one who didn't say anything to me was the old woman who was the Pope.
She just came by sometimes, watched me, and exchanged a few words of conversation. The contents of those conversations were to the point where I didn't even need to remember them; right, they were words in the realm of what you'd call small talk.
They didn't hold any special meaning.
'Boring.'
What should I do?
I searched for a reason why I had to continue living in this place like this.
There didn't seem to be one in particular.
Even if I destroy everything and leave, who could stop me?
There didn't seem to be anyone in particular for that, either.
I had thought a little about whether there might be something a bit more fun if I went out into the world. Because everything was dull, boring, and not a single thing was fun.
Besides, the person called the educator would just come and spout nonsense again, and they would quiet down if I just attacked them once or twice.
If a threat didn't work, actually inflicting a severe injury would make them quiet no matter what from that point on.
It's just that, I wanted to avoid that.
Because the room would get dirty.
For some reason, I dislike things like a room reeking of another person's blood.
'Boring.'
Should I just leave after all?
I was spending my days having such thoughts over and over every day.
People say.
Act a bit more politely.
You shouldn't attack people.
You can't do this.
You can't do that.
Despite that, when I asked 'why,' it wasn't common for them to give a proper answer.
If my interest was piqued for the first time in a while and I kept asking why, they would eventually get sick of it and get annoyed.
Weren't they the people who came to teach me?
Even when my interest was piqued for once, they didn't answer my questions.
As if I were in the wrong, they were frantic to fix me somehow, and that attitude was just annoying to me.
Boring.
Annoying.
I couldn't understand why they were so anxious to annoy me. Saintess, Saintess... They were noisy, calling me that.
If they were going to call me Saintess like that, I couldn't understand why they gave me a name. Shouldn't they have just named me 'Saintess'?
What do they want from me?
What do I want?
Why won't anyone tell me directly?
If I am truly in the wrong, I wish they would give me an answer as to what is wrong, but they never gave me an answer I could accept regarding that.
Even though I was born like this and will die like this, if they say I am wrong, then is my being born a mistake?
They say everything I was born with is wrong.
My thinking.
My methods.
My nature.
My instincts.
If they say all of that is wrong, does it mean my existence is denied, and only the title of Saintess is the sole correct thing among everything I have?
'I kind of hate that.'
I couldn't understand exactly why I hated it, but the thought of hating it occurred to me, and perhaps that was why I started rejecting others even more thoroughly.
I saw an animal.
Birds that were occasionally seen beyond the window.
I was a little curious about what it looked like inside.
I caught it, and tore it apart.
Hmm.
It didn't seem the least bit different in feeling from the blood that humans shed.
No, is it?
I don't know because I've never had a reason to look at human blood in that much detail.
The Pope will uselessly try to give me an educator again, so maybe it would be good to tear their inside apart properly this time and check if they are really different from animals.
Are the bones similar, too?
It was an interest on the level of 'what's for dinner today', but still, since it was an interest I hadn't felt in a long time, I thought it would be good to investigate it.
Because something like the difference between humans and animals could easily be known by tearing them apart directly.
If I had to speak from my perspective, I wondered if they weren't all the same once you tore their skin off anyway.
I mean the difference between humans and animals.
But I think I heard that birds are classified as avians or something, and humans are a different kind.
In that case, if I tore apart the most similar livestock, would there be much difference from humans? Interest gives birth to questions, and questions make me want to act, so it was good.
Since they hate whatever I do anyway, I just decided to do as I pleased.
Questions.
Good.
I like it very much.
Good, let's live like that.
It was around the time I was having those thoughts.
"……."
Someone was watching me.
When I turned my head, the door was open, and the Pope and a man I had never seen before were there.
That man stared at me quietly.
It felt as if he were observing me, so it wasn't a very pleasant gaze.
"Who are you?"
Displeasing.
It felt as if he were observing even my voice. It felt like he was using me from one to ten as material to analyze me, but I didn't care either way.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Saintess Anastasia Lacroix."
"……."
Hmm.
It had been a long time since I was called by my name.
Because they were all noisily calling me Saintess, Saintess.
Honestly speaking, at the moment I was called, it was to the point of feeling awkward whether that was my name.
"My name is Adrian Valtus. Starting today, I will be in charge of your education, Saintess."
"Ah, another one……. Okay."
An educator?
It seemed they had sent another one without getting sick of it.
It was gradually getting annoying to threaten them and send them back every time.
If I just killed one, would they stop sending them?
Would they stop annoying me?
It might not be bad to try and resolve that question.
"What are you doing?"
A question.
That is soon an inquiry.
"I am looking at the inside of an animal."
"Why is that?"
Why?
Rather, I couldn't understand that question, so I tilted my head slightly.
"Because I want to see the inside?"
"Are you enjoying it?"
"Not really."
Enjoyment.
If it meant a feeling or state of being pleased and happy without anything offending the mind, I kind of wanted to try feeling what that was like, too.
If the cheerfulness, merriment, and liveliness obtained from a certain action itself are all called enjoyment.
If it means all of that emotional fulfillment.
I wanted to try and find it someday.
I had a desire to resolve this question.
Because if many people in the world live happily and can obtain enjoyment, I would definitely be able to obtain it, too.
"Then."
It's getting annoying.
A light flashed instantaneously and grazed past that man's cheek.
What was his name again.
I heard it just a moment ago, but I wasn't interested, so I ended up letting it slip by.
At any rate, he wouldn't last more than a few days at most, and at the earliest, he would quit right today, so the name of someone I wouldn't have any reason to meet in the future didn't matter.
Still, as someone who called my name for the first time in a long time, I might remember his existence for a few days.
"You're noisy, shut up. I'm focusing right now."
"……."
Again.
This guy.
Usually, when this happens, people tend to tremble, get angry, or make some kind of emotional response, but just like before, he looked as if he were observing even my attack.
Even though his cheek was cut and blood was flowing right now.
It felt as if a snake had coiled up and was wrapping around my body, so it wasn't a very good feeling.
'Phew, whatever. He's someone who will leave soon anyway.'
If he annoyed me again, I felt it would be better to definitely inflict a severe injury this time.
Then I would definitely be able to know the difference between this bird and that man, so it might actually be a good opportunity.
No, just making him like that right now might also be one method.
However, I hadn't completely seen the inside of the bird yet, so it seemed better to focus on this first.
Because if I look for a human, there are so many around to the point of disgust.
"Saintess."
I flinched slightly and was surprised.
When I turned my head, that man from earlier was still standing in that spot.
"……."
Honestly speaking, I was a little surprised.
Why is he still here?
"Would you like to play a game with me?"
"A game?"
I felt a bit of cognitive dissonance at the sight of him conversing so casually, as if he had already forgotten that I had attacked him.
Although I didn't quite like that face smiling so affably.
"I am the person who will be educating you until you come of age, Saintess."
I heard those words every time.
I had heard once that it was uncommon for the educational role to change several times before coming of age, and there was no one who changed as constantly in short cycles as me.
I don't remember who I heard it from, but I think it was one of the countless educators who passed by.
"But surely, you don't want to receive my education, nor do you see any reason to receive it."
"……."
I kept silent for a moment and looked at the man.
Because it was true, I gave a slight nod.
"So, would you like to play a game? If I win the game, you will quietly listen to my education until you come of age."
"……Hmm."
Does he want to change me by making me submit somehow?
He's not much different from the other guys.
"However, if you win, I will become a scarecrow of an educator until you come of age. I will not bother you anymore."
"……."
Those words were quite interesting.
No, they were good.
In other words, if I beat this guy, there won't be anyone bothering me by changing educators from now on, and this guy will do nothing while filling the empty spot like a scarecrow?
I was happy just with the fact that he wouldn't bother me anymore.
Because all the educator guys were just annoying and displeasing.
It was annoying to meet such guys and attack them every time in the future, too.
If I just beat this guy, I could be liberated from that annoyance.
Checking my reaction, that man gave another affable smile and spoke.
"Are you interested?"
For some reason, I hated nodding right away, but.
It was true that my interest was piqued.