Chapter 9
Translator: True Detective
[The Saintess's Point of View - 02]
I thought I would easily win this match.
I had the self-awareness that I was strong.
After all, no one had been able to properly oppose me.
Mostly, I had just attacked them telling them not to annoy me, but I am strong.
Even if I were to fight head-on, I would definitely be stronger than anyone facing me. I had that confidence, and I was certain it wasn't a delusion but because I was actually strong.
Since everyone called me a genius, a monster, and the existence that would become the strongest Saintess, it was a rightfully natural self-evaluation. It was no exaggeration to say there was no need to speak further at that point.
I am strong.
That alone was an absolutely unchanging truth.
Just by looking at him, unlike the educators I had met so far, this man somehow seemed to have something called combat experience. I didn't have the eyes to distinguish such things, so it was nothing more than a mediocre intuition, but his atmosphere was different from the people who had tried to educate me until now.
But what about it?
If I just crushed him with power, even if he had some technique, there was nothing he could do.
Technique was only meaningful when the levels were somewhat matched, and I considered myself an existence who couldn't be beaten by such cheap tricks.
'With this, I can finally live quietly.'
Certainty.
Arrogance.
Conceit.
You could call it whatever you like, but I was certain of my victory.
The shield that would protect me from annoying things from now on, that man had to sit in that educator seat and work as a scarecrow going forward.
What was his name again.
Hmm.
Ed.
Ed, something.
Anyway, I specifically decided to attack only enough to moderately knock him out. If he dies, a new educator would just come again, so I couldn't kill this man, and I just needed to attack moderately. Controlling my power wasn't my specialty, but since he challenged me, he must have some level of skill, so he would take care of that part himself.
Perhaps he was considering it doable because I was young.
That in itself felt like I was being looked down upon, so it wasn't a good feeling, but thinking about the scarecrow educator made me feel a bit better.
"……."
I watched the man warming up his body by stretching.
"Huu."
The man let out a light breath and stood in front of me.
"Shall we confirm the conditions one more time? If I win, you will quietly listen to my education and obey my words until you come of age, Saintess."
"On the contrary, if I win, you will stay in that position as a scarecrow of an educator, and you won't bother me until I come of age……. Right?"
"Yes."
That was all I needed.
"Good, let's finish this quickly."
Because it was sparring, I placed the condition 'Do not kill' for now, but as I said earlier, if I wanted to keep this man as a scarecrow educator, I couldn't kill him whether I liked it or not. Therefore, I immediately nodded and accepted it.
Well, blowing off about one limb would make him realize the difference in our levels.
The amount of mana that flowed out and began to activate wasn't all that much. Among the educators I had met so far, there were plenty with more mana than this man, and those guys had also fallen before my attacks. I didn't really have high expectations, but at this level, attacking without killing might be quite a hassle.
No matter how much mana isn't the measure of skill, with this much of a difference, it wouldn't even be a match.
"Here I go."
"Yes, let's begin."
Light wavered in my hand.
The outcome was obvious.
And the sparring began.
Huh?
Huh?
What the?
I lost?
"Cough, cough."
I rubbed my neck.
It was definitely the moment I was unilaterally cornering him and launching my final attack. Before I knew it, I was being choked by the man, and as my concentration dropped, I couldn't use magic. Due to the pain coming from my neck and the inability to breathe from being choked, I became completely unable to make the calculations for light magic.
But before I knew it, my attack was shattered, and the man rushed at me.
What is that.
I don't know anything like that.
The sensation of magic being slashed as if ruptured, completely breaking apart.
The sensation of the mana, which should naturally play within my hands, escaping my control and becoming completely uncontrollable.
And the sensation of the enemy approaching, and that I might lose.
Furthermore, being choked, the sensation that I might die if I stayed like this.
Everything was new, and because everything was something I was experiencing for the first time, I felt as if I were becoming addicted to those sensations. It was no exaggeration to say this was also a process of resolving an 'inquiry' in a certain sense.
I was choked just like that and almost fainted, but because the man let go with good timing, I managed to avoid fainting.
"I have won, Saintess."
"……."
I looked up at the man.
It definitely wasn't that the man was without injuries, and depending on the method, I could have won as much as I wanted. If I had to pinpoint the cause of defeat, could it be called a lack of information and a lack of experience? That man knew what I did not know. And. That man also knew what I knew. As a result, I was defeated.
I smile.
Saliva was dribbling from the corners of my mouth, but I didn't care much. I looked up at the man, smiled, and tried to remember his face.
Just.
This situation of someone looking down on me was so.
So overwhelmingly alien that I couldn't stand it.
"Good morning, Saintess."
"How did you do that yesterday?"
My life, about 13 years.
In all my life, I had never wanted to know something this much. To what extent, you ask? To the point that I couldn't sleep well at night because I was so curious about how he did it.
The man, still wearing that affable smile and seemingly observing my reactions, still looked as if he were studying me, but I didn't care about that at this point. That was because my inquiry was far more important than such things.
"Good morning, Saintess."
Huh?
I tilted my head without realizing it.
"Huh? I heard you. I mean, how did you do that yesterday……."
"Good morning, Saintess."
At those words spoken in a slightly stronger tone than before, I subconsciously flinched my shoulders slightly. It stimulated a sense of incongruity within me, saying, 'Something is strange.' When I blankly looked up at the man, he still wore an affable smile and spoke to me.
"Saintess, when you meet people, you must greet them."
"Why?"
A question that slipped out without me realizing.
"A greeting is something people do as a matter of etiquette when they meet or part ways. From now on, you are going to learn etiquette, Saintess."
"……."
I kept silent.
Etiquette?
Commonly, including the educators, the maids bow, lower their heads, use honorifics, and try to accommodate me somehow when they see me. If that was what etiquette was, I didn't particularly want to learn it. But regardless, I had lost the promised sparring match, so whether I liked it or not, I had to listen to this man's education until I came of age.
But etiquette. Isn't that something the weak do because they are walking on eggshells around the strong?
Is it not? Now that I lost to this man, I became weaker than him, so do I have to show courtesy to this person?
Thinking like that, it wasn't unacceptable, but this man seemed to be talking about courtesy directed towards others, not himself. In fact, he didn't seem to care much about my attitude toward him.
'I don't understand, yeah. I don't understand it.'
The man matched his eye level with me as I sat in the chair and spoke.
"It is okay if you do not understand."
At that single phrase spoken as if he had read my mind, I was momentarily startled.
This man kept surprising me yesterday and today. It was the first time I had been surprised this consecutively.
To begin with, the sensation of being 'surprised' itself had become quite blurred to me, so perhaps I was just lacking a bit of resistance to it.
"You probably cannot figure out why you have to do it, right? Saintess, from now on, you are going to become a good person."
A good person?
A kind person.
A virtuous person.
Does he mean I should act like a Saintess?
Is the conclusion the same in the end?
Say what you will, I understood that this man, just like the other educators, only wanted to raise me into an existence fitting for a Saintess. Well, it couldn't be helped. Since I was the one at fault for taking the sparring lightly and losing, I decided to listen for now.
Besides, the condition was to listen to the education, not to obey it.
I could just let it go in one ear and out the other.
"You can curse internally all you want."
'Huh?'
Unknowingly, I opened my eyes wide and looked at the man.
What did he just say?
"You just have to be polite and a good person on the outside."
Huh?
Is that okay?
I knew a Saintess was naturally supposed to be holy, kind, gentle, and an existence that must be a role model for all people. One who performs all good according to God's will, must have the vessel to forgive all evil, and yet punishes those who walk the path of evil.
But brings those who regret on the path of evil to repentance, and accepts them.
That was exactly what could be called a Saintess-like character.
But now, this man was telling me to pretend to be a Saintess on the outside, regardless of what my inner thoughts were.
For some reason.
My heart pounded.
"Then, is there a meaning to it?"
"There is. People care about the 'surface' a lot more than you'd think. How you think on the inside isn't really that important unless someone can read your mind."
"……."
"What matters is how you act."
Silence.
I kept silent.
The man said that no matter how much I cursed internally, or what filthy thoughts I had, my actions were everything.
The educators up until now had somehow tried to change my thinking.
My thoughts.
My nature.
By denying them all. They wanted me to act like a true Saintess by changing me from the inside out, and they dismissed all my actions as the childish, ignorant, and immature behavior of a young girl. But this man was actually telling me that if that's who I am, it can't be helped, but I should pretend to be a good person on the outside.
I-Is that really okay?
That's acting.
Fake.
In other words, isn't it deception?
Is a Saintess allowed to do that?
But if everyone considers me a Saintess because of that, wouldn't that make me a good Saintess?
"Even if you don't feel sad no matter how many people die, if you feign sadness out of courtesy and say words of mourning for them, you have fulfilled your role."
Is it really okay?
Is that right?
Confusion.
The things I had learned living as a Saintess until now, the things the educators and many people around me had told me, and the things the man right in front of my eyes was saying were mixing together and causing confusion in my brain.
"It will be difficult. This standard is different for everyone, and in extreme situations, you'll be criticized no matter what you choose."
"Yeah."
I don't think I've ever experienced listening this closely to someone's words.
I just ended up focusing.
Is it because his voice is slightly low and pleasant to hear?
"But you will be able to do it. What else can we do? We already had our match, and since I won, you have to listen to my education until you come of age."
The man smiled slightly.
"At the very least, until you enter the Academy, I will teach you to the best of my abilities."
"Teach me what?"
"How to pretend to live like a proper human being."
I had the self-awareness that I was strange.
But if everyone denied it as being wrong, I also didn't want to affirm them.
"……."
Blankly, I brought my hands together and moved them toward my chest.
Being told to adorn my exterior instead of correcting me was a first, so even if it was just a little, it was difficult to react. I pondered a little on how to react. I couldn't even distinguish whether I should get angry, or whether I should like it, be sad, or be happy.
I surely don't understand myself either.
I just looked at the man.
"You, what's your name?"
I had heard it a few times, but the existence giving the 'inquiry' was the important thing, and the 'existence' giving the inquiry wasn't important, so I didn't pay special attention to it.
But for some reason, I felt like remembering it.
"Adrian Valtus, a Holy Knight."
"Too long. I'll call you Ed from now on."
"Well, please do as you wish regarding that part. Have you made up your mind to listen to the lessons?"
"I'll listen quietly until I get bored."
Adrian Valtus.
Well, it seemed we'd be together for a long time anyway, so I decided to at least remember his name.
More than that.
"And."
"Yes."
"Tell me how you did that during the sparring."
At my question, Ed still wore an affable smile.
That smile, it pisses me off for some reason.
"If you listen well to the lessons for a week, I will tell you."
"……."
This bastard?