Chapter 342: Admonishment
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 342: Admonishment
"You're awake?"
Liya opened her eyes. As the haze of sleep gradually dissipated, she saw images that shifted rapidly from unfamiliar to intimately known, as if surging up from the depths of her memory.
Flickering candlelight, stained-glass windows, a benevolent statue of the Goddess, and a figure rendered incredibly gentle by the soft glow.
The figure was holy, sitting with a book in hand.
"Saint... Saintess Teacher!"
The grogginess brought on by her long slumber vanished instantly. Liya bolted upright in bed. Perhaps due to sheer shock, her pink lips moved frantically, but the words still came out a bit stuttered:
"How... how are you here? Am I... am I dreaming?"
She instinctively reached up to her cute cheek and gave it a hard pinch.
Hiss.
It hurt.
It wasn't a dream!
"The time for dreaming has long since passed."
The Saintess momentarily looked away from her book, her gaze falling upon the disciple she hadn't seen in a long time. She smiled and said, "This is the Church."
"The Church..."
Liya paused for a moment. "That means..."
She had successfully reached the Holy City?
But...
Liya looked down at her hands.
On her clean, small hands, there seemed to be a lingering sensation of warm blood and the tactile memory of gripping a blade as it pierced flesh.
Waking up alongside her were the chaotic and terrifying memories of what felt like just a moment ago.
The deep forest.
The vicious pursuers.
The grueling battle.
Death.
Pain.
Wailing.
And...
The despair brought by the horrific Calamity.
Yet, amidst those fragments of darkness, there had been a warm light that never went out. It made her feel that these terrible memories weren't entirely loathsome.
Instead, they were like treasures she wanted to cherish forever.
That light was...
"Muen! Right, what about Muen? Where is he?"
Liya’s watery eyes suddenly went wide as she looked around frantically.
When she realized that familiar figure was nowhere in sight, the warm candlelight around her suddenly turned icy cold. It surged toward her like a tide, nearly suffocating her.
Vaguely, the last image in her memory was Muen throwing himself recklessly toward that terrifying Calamity. Could it be...
"Rest easy. He’s fine. In fact, he’s much more energetic than you are."
A warm voice rang out, and the candlelight became bright and gentle once more.
"Is... is that so?"
Liya let out a long sigh of relief, instinctively patting her full chest. Then, as she looked up, she met a pair of eyes filled with mischievous amusement.
"Oh my. The first thing you do upon waking isn't catching up with the teacher you haven't seen in years, but worrying about a man? Sniff, sniff. Teacher is truly heartbroken."
The Saintess made a show of wiping away non-existent tears.
"No... it’s not like that..."
Liya’s face turned beet red in an instant, and she waved her hands in a panic. "It’s just because Muen helped me so many times and was caught in such a terrible crisis, so I was just worried about him..."
"Is that so? It’s really not because you have some strange thoughts about him?"
The Saintess blinked, teasing her.
"I... I don't! Saintess Teacher, your thoughts are the ones that are strange, okay!"
Liya habitually puffed out her cheeks, but then she realized this behavior wasn't appropriate in front of her teacher. She quickly clenched her small fists, forced a serious expression, and said earnestly:
"And besides, my goal is to be a Saintess who serves the Goddess. Maintaining purity is a must! How could I possibly have those kinds of strange thoughts!"
"Purity?"
"Yes, purity!"
"Oh~ I see~"
The smile at the corners of the Saintess's mouth suddenly grew profound.
She lowered her gaze and flipped a page in her book. The crackle of the paper was exceptionally clear.
Hmm?
A book?
Following that overly distinct sound of a turning page, Liya’s gaze instinctively fell upon the book the Saintess had been reading.
Wait.
That book?
Why did it look... so familiar?
It looked just like...
It was...
Looking at the black cover of the book, which bore the faint silhouette of a woman’s voluptuous figure...
Liya’s face froze inch by inch.
The blush that had just begun to fade surged back, rapidly flooding her entire face.
Whether it was just an illusion or not, it seemed as though wisps of steam were actually rising from the girl's head due to a total mental overload.
"That... um... Saintess Teacher..."
"Yes?"
"That book..."
"Oh, you mean this?"
The Saintess held the book up so the girl could see it more clearly, then smiled. "I found it on you just now. I was curious, so I took it to have a look. You won't blame me, will you?"
"..."
The last shred of hope vanished. The girl’s delicate body began to tremble violently.
It was as if her soul were swaying in an endless storm. The light in her eyes flickered between vacancy and bewilderment. Finally, amidst a chaos that words could not describe, only one phrase echoed in her mind.
The phrase she had just uttered.
Purity.
Purity.
Pu...
Not pure at all.
"Waaaaahhh..."
Liya wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, looking like a child whose diary of embarrassing secrets had been discovered by a parent. She wished she could disappear from the world right then and there.
"Sai-sai-sai... Saintess Teacher, wh-why?"
"Oh dear, was this something I wasn't supposed to see?"
The Saintess covered her mouth, acting as if she had only just realized.
"Still, I didn't expect that after a few years apart, Liya would become so bold. My, my... it seems you really have grown up."
"Uuuugh... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Goddess, Liya is no longer pure! Liya can no longer serve you! Waaaaah..."
From beneath the covers came the girl's cry of utter despair.
*
A few minutes later, Liya had finally calmed down. she glared huffily at the wretched book that had caused her such humiliation.
Hmph.
It was all that annoying guy's fault for making her pick out "spoils of war."
If she hadn't seen this book, she wouldn't have let a tiny bit of curiosity turn into... into this...
Ugh... I want to die...
"Alright, alright. We haven't seen each other in so long, I couldn't help but play a little joke."
The Saintess gently stroked Liya’s head and smiled. "The Goddess wouldn't be angry over something that every young man and woman goes through. Besides, didn't you see me reading it just now?"
"Mm."
Liya’s eyes were still rimmed with tears as she nodded softly.
"Now then..."
The Saintess sat upright, facing the girl, and asked seriously, "Liya Angel, it has been a long time."
"It has been a long time, Saintess Teacher." Liya also straightened her back in response, looking like a student being called on for a recitation.
"Have you been well these past few years?"
"I have been very well."
"Have you grown?"
"...I have." A slight pause for thought.
"Have you become stronger?"
"...I have." A brief hesitation.
"Do you have new friends?"
"I do!" No hesitation at all.
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
"I do—wait, no I don't!"
Liya, who had almost fallen for it, turned red again. She said crossly, "Saintess Teacher... what... what kind of questions are those!"
"Oh my, you don't?"
The Saintess blinked in surprise. "I thought you and that Muen Campbell had something going on."
"We—we don't!"
Liya pouted and said earnestly, "Didn't I just explain? We're just ordinary friends."
"Is that so?"
"Of course!"
"I see. It seems I was overthinking things."
"Exactly!"
Liya pumped her small fist for emphasis.
"Then... Liya."
"Yes?"
Liya blinked, noticing a shift in the Saintess's tone.
"If there is someone you like, you must tell me right away."
The Saintess suddenly dropped her smile. She leaned forward and took the girl's face in her hands.
Within her crystal-clear eyes, there was a strange light that Liya could not understand.
"Before you..."
She looked into Liya’s eyes and whispered:
"...step onto this path of no return."