Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Saint-3
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Ariasfil was feeling an intense displeasure right now.
It was because her Leonardo and that person—who might be a saint or a saintess—had been stuck together for 32 minutes and 34 seconds.
'...No way...'
Ariasfil was cool-headed and objective beyond her years, excelling not only as a hero but also as a warrior.
However, there was something both she and Leonardo had overlooked...
'...No way... she's stealing him...'
Her obsession and lust regressed all manner of causal relationships, including romantic ones.
Right now, Ariasfil's mind was screening a ridiculous, melodramatic soap opera that didn't exist.
In her imagination, Lumiene mobilized every healing spell to treat Leonardo's pains and scars.
"Mr. Leo, are you okay? That must have hurt so much. Who on earth inflicted such barbaric wounds? I can't forgive them. You must be too weak to move, right? It's okay. Rest comfortably on my lap."
"Thank you, Priestess Lumiene. As expected, you're far better than that violent girl Arias, who just swings her holy sword around wildly. If it's not too much trouble, could you pray for me every day?"
"My, that's practically a proposal. I love it. I've always liked men with firm abs like you, Knight. How many kids should we have? Boys? Or girls?"
"Let's book the wedding venue first and think about it then. Don't worry. I'll make sure not a drop of water touches our Lumiene. Right now, we should focus on making love, right?"
"Oh, you're such a tease, Knight."
"Hahahahahahaha!"
...It was a delusion utterly devoid of plausibility, one that even a three-year-old would scoff at seriously. But the fact that Ariasfil was capable of such bizarre fantasies was proof that her intelligence had plummeted.
'...Nah, no way. Leonardo's too principled for that...'
As she shook her head, the two emerged from the sickroom.
"Hahaha, it would be nice if we could meet like this from time to time."
"This is the first person I've ever conversed so well with."
They were disgustingly chummy.
Grind
Why were Ariasfil's teeth grinding like that?
Why did it sound like Leonardo's lifespan was grinding away?
Only Ariasfil knew the answer.
The Sage, reduced to a shapeless wisp of smoke, somehow spat out his taunt. Seeing it gave the satisfaction of ten years' worth of indigestion clearing at once.
Like a chicken about to be eaten instead of a dog on the hottest day of summer, the tattered angel flapped its seemingly molting wings and issued a threat that fell on deaf ears.
Lumiene's smile felt refreshingly bright that day—was it an illusion? Thinking about her own psychology, it probably wasn't.
"Hahaha, it would be nice if we could meet like this from time to time."
Ending this brawl after just one round felt too regrettable. Meeting occasionally on holidays would make for excellent entertainment.
{Priestess Lumiene, tell the Sage's disciple to stop spouting nonsense.}
Even amid the saintess-turned-angel's sharp tongue, their expressions as they exited the sickroom were all smiles.
"This is the first person I've ever conversed so well with."
Lumiene seemed to wholeheartedly agree with Leo's sentiment, expressing her approval with a radiant smile.
In the end, it wasn't they who hurt—it was those specters destined for the dustbin of history. So what did it matter?
To put it bluntly, Leo and Lumiene felt endless joy at discovering a way to torment the fallen angel and senile evil spirit without harm to themselves.
"You okay? Leo?"
Chris peered into Leonardo's eyes out of concern.
"Thanks to Priestess Lumiene. Even the aftereffects are completely healed."
"Good. That's a relief. Your complexion does look better."
It was certainly due not only to physical fatigue but also to the thorough thrashing of the stress-inducing presence.
'...Complexion looks better...?'
Come to think of it, his smile was refreshingly bright now. Unlike usual, it had a very invigorated hue.
In truth, it was largely because the Sage nagged incessantly at his side every hour, but Ariasfil had no way of knowing that.
"Are you alright, Lumiene?"
"Is there any reason I wouldn't be?"
The escort holy knight looked surprised as well. The smiles Lumiene had shown until now weren't feigned hypocrisy.
But this smile was genuinely refreshing and relieved. Its form was firmly etched into Ariasfil's eyes.
"...You two seem close. In just 30 minutes."
Ariasfil's displeasure amplified, so she crossed her arms defiantly and asked.
"Indeed. It was an honor to glimpse even a fraction of the priestess's ethics and philosophy."
{Judging by how glibly she wags that three-inch tongue, she truly is the Sage's disciple.}
What discourtesy. The Sage actually isn't much of a talker.
"I too was pleased to hear even fragments of the knight's valor and wisdom."
Even if he said it was something he wanted to but couldn't do, she wouldn't listen. She wasn't human to begin with anyway.
{You half-dead geezer!!}
The second round ensued, but with people around, it was a shame they couldn't spectate the melee closely. Both seemed tired, though—it didn't even last 30 seconds.
"I see. So you two were having such an enjoyable conversation. I had no idea."
Ariasfil barely masked her displeasure with feigned courtesy and a smile, swallowing her anger. They rarely showed such expressions even in front of her, yet they flashed them so easily to someone they just met today—it twisted her guts.
"Then, shall we get to the really important talk...?"
Still, she didn't want to show it in front of her knight, so she relaxed her expression as much as possible.
"Then, sorry, but Knight Leonardo, you'll need to leave. This is a revelation meant only for the Reinhardt bloodline."
<What's the big deal?>
He had no particular objections. Even for Leonardo, who had achieved great feats, there was no qualification to hear the hero's revelation.
It was a strictly separate matter. Even in his previous life, he hadn't heard the hero's revelation directly.
"Understood..."
"No, that's not right."
Ariasfil grabbed Leo's sleeve as he moved to leave and raised an objection. Her grip was so strong it pulled his entire arm.
"Doesn't Leo have the right to hear this too?"
"...Pardon?"
Caught off guard by the unexpected development, Leo looked flustered for a moment. Seizing the chance, Ariasfil yanked his arm, hugging it to her body.
"Because we're like family. Right, Leo?"
At the same time, she shot Lumiene a smug look. She must have thought she'd won as a woman, but Lumiene wasn't a woman to begin with.
The angel chimed in with understanding, her gaze somehow unsettling. If he had a proper guardian spirit, he'd want it to go smash that face right now—the displeasure welled up that much.
"Treating a divine revelation with such childish sentiments..."
"No, Ariasfil has a point."
Chris, who had been listening, backed her up.
"The holy sword chose Ariasfil mid-battle with Leonardo. Doesn't that possibly relate to the revelation?"
It was a fairly logical argument for Chris. Even Leonardo, flustered by Ariasfil's actions, could accept it.
"...What do you think, Priestess...?"
"It should be fine. Knight Leo doesn't seem the type to blab."
At those words, Leonardo sat without much hesitation. He even thought that if there was a connection between the revelation and his regression memories, he could help.
"...Um, Lady...?"
The only thing to mind was how tightly she clung to his arm. The two family heads—one current, one former—were present.
Family Head Gladio's gaze was icy and sharp, and for some reason, Marken was checking his sword's edge in advance.
Both could pick—coffin or the afterlife—and get lost.
"Um... Lady..."
"Leo."
Ariasfil fixed Leonardo—her knight—with a stiff smile.
"You seem close with the priestess now? Calling her by a nickname already?"
"...Pardon?"
Amid the overlapping chatter of living and dead, Ariasfil vented a bit of her displeasure.
"Already using a pet name?"
"...Pet name?"
Come to think of it, it did seem that way.
He'd shortened "Leo Knight" to "Leo," which could be called a pet name.
"It's just easier to say that way?"
Squeeze
Without room for questioning his mistake, Ariasfil clamped down harder on Leo's arm.
"I see. Just because it's easier to say?"
"...Ah... that's..."
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
She didn't add, You're mine anyway. Given the situation, even Ariasfil set aside her childish emotions to listen intently to the esteemed saint candidate's revelation.
"...Then, I shall convey the revelation."
As the atmosphere calmed slightly, Lumiene produced the revelation she had received.
"Ariasfil Reinhardt. From this moment, from the instant you drew the holy sword, you are appointed as the Hero."
Resonating with the divine revelation, the holy sword's light began to flicker faintly. A resolute power akin to the divine force that had scarred her chest welled up.
"From now on, until you receive a direct revelation from the temple, you must undergo training as a Hero."
Ariasfil's expression hardened slightly. It almost seemed wrapped in unease.
"Until then, your status as Hero cannot be announced, but I, Lumiene Angelus, Saint Candidate, and the current Holy Emperor will devote ourselves to you as Witnesses of Light."
Upon hearing this, everyone from House Reinhardt wore grave expressions in their own ways.
"What exactly does 'training as a Hero' entail?"
To Gladio's question, Lumiene explained concisely for clarity.
"You will learn prayer and divine power as a priest and holy knight. And the history and records of past Heroes."
"Then... when can she return?"
To Rios's question, Lumiene replied with a heavy expression.
"Not until she receives a revelation through her training."
"...So, when does the training end?"
"...That's... impossible to set precisely. According to records of past priests and holy knights, it takes at least 7 to 8 years."
Ariasfil's face completely froze.
"...Is there such a thing as visitation?"
"Nothing like that exists. Do the descendants of Reinhardt take the weight of the Hero lightly?"
The escort holy knight's rebuke drew a collective wave of intimidation from the entire Reinhardt family—including Leo.
"Calm down, Charlian."
"...My apologies, Priestess Lumiene."
Lumiene steadied the mood with a gentle, considerate tone. Even the Hero's descendants, radiating intimidation, calmed down.
"...The temple was caught off guard too. The holy sword was drawn before the revelation, and with the delayed oracle, we couldn't prepare properly."
As a regressor, Lumiene understood thanks to Leo's presence, but the sudden revelation had flustered her too. She simply maintained composure due to her role as Saint Candidate.
"But now that the revelation has come, we cannot defy it. The Hero's duty must be accepted once decreed..."
"...No."
Ariasfil stood and declared.
"I don't want... that...!!"
"W-Wait! Ari...!!"
With that, Ariasfil bolted out of the room. As everyone reacted in shock and chased after her, Leonardo calmly remained seated.
Thinking back, whenever Ariasfil vanished—including Sirica's birthday—it was always Leonardo who found her.
<It was similar before regression too.>
Back then, she was of age to become a saintess, following standard procedures to inherit the holy sword and Hero name, so the symptoms were milder. But at her current young age, it was naturally a heavy, burdensome weight to accept.
<...I don't know. Honestly, I don't even know what's best for Ariasfil.>
In the future where she gained the holy sword and became Hero, Ariasfil died. But if she abandoned it and fled, the world would face crisis.
No one knew which was truly best.
<But whatever Ariasfil chooses, I'll cooperate fully.>
That was the purpose of his return.
Ariasfil was currently in the stables behind the outer garden. People, startled by the spirit and the bolting horse, would assume she was riding it—buying her some time.
"Hoo..."
"You made quite the dramatic exit."
Startled, Ariasfil wrapped herself in a haystack like a blanket.
"...How..."
Leonardo couldn't help but chuckle at her words.
"...Reminds me of the old days. You did this on Lady Sirica's birthday too."
"...The day you suggested tuxedos and dancing, but it ended in a sword fight?"
That's how she remembered it—not wrong, so he smiled.
"Dancing with swords like that... It's been two years already. Time flies."
Her mood was too stuffy and uncomfortable for nostalgic reminiscing.
"...You here to persuade me? To become Hero and spend years in bleak training at the temple with that saintess?"
Leonardo scratched his head with a troubled look. Ariasfil fumed, thinking even Leo was no different.
It wasn't just the indefinite training or the weight of Hero duty.
The duel she'd fought to keep Leo close had instead torn her from him—that was the source of her rage.
Even a god wouldn't go this far.
"Where to start..."
After organizing his thoughts, Leo spoke.
"First, Saint Candidate Priestess Lumiene is a man. He has a misleading appearance, but he dislikes it, so please avoid such implications as much as possible."
Ariasfil was stunned. Utterly absurd, she went blank.
All her delusions, jealousy, and sniping until now—wasted solo efforts. Embarrassed, her face flushed before any rage.
"And... to be honest, I'm not qualified to persuade you to become Hero."
Leonardo then brought out his own approach.
"So, if you really don't want to become Hero..."
What he produced was like an old mirror reflecting the past.
"...Run away with me. Together."
The difference was that this flight wasn't a mere day's escapade—but a lifelong flight together.