The Saintess's Token
“Th-that, I don't know either! I really don't!”
The village chief was shaking his head as if he'd truly never seen it before. I tilted my head at the object clinking in my hand. This round, flat thing emitting a strange glow felt oddly compelling.
“Hmm, whatever. Turn around and get on the ground.”
I first tied up the trembling village chief securely and waited for Ian. Tonight, I had to rescue those children from the hunters no matter what.
“My lord. I have brought him.”
Ian returned with a blank expression, dragging the staggering Xavier along. Xavier still seemed half-asleep, unable to fully wake up. Agni followed silently behind them. He looked the most compos mentis, so I spoke to him in a rather curt tone.
“Sir Agni, the hunters will be here soon. You're in charge of getting the knights back in fighting shape.”
“……”
His gray eyes, heavy with gloom, met mine. Then they shifted to the bound village chief on the ground beside me, and to the shattered magic communicator next to him. Once he'd grasped the situation, he nodded gravely.
“Understood.”
At least he had the quick instincts of a knight order commander. I let out a small sigh and approached Xavier, who was still blinking dazedly.
“Teacher, try to pull yourself together.”
“Ughhh.”
“Teacher!”
This frail otaku wannabe. Tsk. I clicked my tongue inwardly and shook him. Xavier was a southerner, yet he knew the North as well as any northerner. Destined to become the crown prince's advisor, he often helped the prince, who was shunned by northerners. I'd meant to ask him about the monsters in this area, but he was completely out of it.
I was debating whether to slap his cheek when Xavier finally opened his eyes.
“Ah... huh? Lady Abigail?”
“Ahem, you're awake now.”
I awkwardly lowered the hand I'd raised. Fortunately, Xavier shook his head, oblivious to how close he'd come to getting smacked.
“What in the world... what happened to me?”
“There's no time for a long explanation, Teacher.”
I gave a brief rundown of the situation to the confused Xavier. Focus gradually returned to his eyes. He scratched his head in bewilderment, then looked back at me.
“The hunters are coming soon?”
“Yes. I plan to capture them and make the village chief spill everything. But...”
I showed him what had been nagging at me. It was ridiculous to focus on this when I needed answers about something else, but I couldn't ignore it. A faint magical power emanated from this small stone etched with a mark. It wasn't the fierce, menacing mana like mine, the duke's, or the knights'.
“What is this, Teacher?”
A soft glow was emanating from the flat stone. It seemed even brighter now that I was holding it. As I frowned at it, Xavier's eyes widened upon seeing it.
“This is...!”
“...?”
My mouth went dry watching his shocked reaction. Don't keep it to yourself—tell me! I wanted to yell, but I waited patiently. Xavier took the stone suspiciously, turning it over in his hand. Strangely, it emitted no light in his grasp. With near certainty on his face, he handed it back to me.
“You don't feel any mana from it?”
“No, I do.”
“What does it feel like?”
I thought for a moment before answering honestly.
“It's unpleasant.”
“……”
My dragon's mana was a fairly violent power. It felt like handling a fierce dog that resisted its master's commands every time I used it. But taming that willful mana and making it fully mine was exhilarating and satisfying. This stone's mana, however, felt too docile—almost boring. Holding it was like feeling calm water flowing quietly in my palm, tickling my skin.
“In my opinion, this seems to be a marker used by holy knights.”
“Holy knights?”
I eyed the stone curiously. Now that he mentioned it, it did look a bit fancy for a mere pebble—like a brooch for clothing.
“Why would a holy knight's marker be here?”
“Who knows.”
Holy knights were rare even in the South; they wouldn't be in a place like this. Chosen by the gods, these sacred warriors were knights who wielded holy power like priests. Holy power only manifested in southerners, so no northerner had ever become a priest or holy knight. I'd assumed I'd only see their noble faces years from now, during the monster outbreak. In the original story, they hovered around the saintess heroine and clashed with Abigail, who wasn't on good terms with her.
Suddenly recalling the heroine's connection to the holy knights, I tilted my head.
“...The heroine?”
“Pardon?”
No way? With a hunch, I looked at the stone again. If the heroine was here? It made sense if she'd deliberately dropped it. She might want her searching holy knights to find her. The original episodes often had her secretly dropping markers after being kidnapped.
Half-convinced, I gripped the stone tightly.
“Teacher, can we track the owner's location with this?”
“Mm, probably. The method is...”
“I know.”
Of course I did—I'd read the novel. I infused mana into the holy knight's marker. But my dragon's mana made it spark and resist.
“...Hah.”
This mere stone dared reject me? Furious, I overwhelmed the mana inside it completely with my own. Only then did the marker obey.
“Follow me, Ian!”
“Ah, Lady Abigail?”
Oddly, a map appeared in my mind, guiding my body automatically. Ian followed close behind when I called.
As I ran, I glanced back at the stunned Xavier and shouted,
“I'll go on ahead!”
“W-wait, Lady Abigail!”
I heard Xavier calling but didn't stop. If I didn't hurry, I didn't know what would happen to the children. And the thought of possibly meeting the heroine thrilled me.
Yurina Florence. The saintess chosen by the gods. Among the novel's characters, she was my favorite. A bit scatterbrained, but bold and responsible for her actions. Pure curiosity as a reader bubbled up—what would the young heroine look like now?
We were racing down a path cleverly hidden by thick underbrush when Ian spotted a hunter on watch and slit his throat with a dagger without hesitation.
“Gurk!”
“Wh-who...!”
The hunter collapsed without a proper groan. I slashed the leg of another who'd frozen in shock.
“Aim for the legs so they can't run.”
“Yes.”
We moved swiftly. This didn't seem to be the main site yet—the guards were too few. Fortunately, reinfusing mana updated the map in my head. The marker's owner was moving somewhere. I had to catch up fast.
“Hurry!”
Urgency gripped me. My feet sped up through the forest path. As visibility dropped in the dim woods, the hunters' base came into view. They had arrayed weapons like massive flails and stared grimly into the forest depths.
“Shouldn't it be time to go now?”
“Wait a bit more. No signal yet.”
“Ah, if it weren't for that wench.”
The muttering hunter's face was full of discontent. Armed like that, they seemed to be the ones tasked with killing monsters distracted by bait humans.
My blood ran cold. It meant the twins had already been used as bait, heading into the monster habitat.
“Damn it all!”
“Wh-what the—?”
The hunters gaped at us bursting from the trees. I blew past them, ordering Ian,
“Ian! Deal with those guys and catch up!”
“...Yes.”
Ian hesitated a moment before turning back to the armed hunters. They carried heavy weapons to quickly kill monsters focused on bait humans, so Ian could handle them alone.
Now by myself, I called Fenrir.
“Pel!”
Finally calling for me.
Ignoring Pel's grumpy voice, I climbed onto his back. Even the rough-and-tumble Bellio Knights feared Pel and rarely summoned him. Pel bolted forward like an arrow with me aboard.
“Over there!”
Amazingly, Pel knew the way without guidance—probably sharing my senses to some extent. Soon, the scene ahead made me draw my sword without a second thought.
A massive, larval monster was lunging at a girl with its maw wide open. Dazzling light poured from the girl's hand as she blocked it.
Before doubt could form, I leaped from Pel's back at the sight of the monster and poured power into my sword in one motion.
Boom!
“Kieeeek!”
The Vermira—a worm-like monster—split in two, screeching long and loud. Covered in its fluids, I grimaced. That noise might draw more monsters.
I turned first to check if the children were safe. My eyes met those of a girl with pink eyes.
“Ah...”
“……”
The girl's eyes widened upon meeting mine. Pale pink irises, yellow hair glowing white in the moonlight, tips fading to pink like her eyes.
No doubt about it. As I'd guessed, she was the novel's heroine, Yurina Florence.