Emergency Escape!
Holy Front Knights. All members. Prevent the escape of Saintess Candidate Levia Leviathan.
My escape plan had been exposed. Since when? The only one who knew about my plan was Skadi. There was no way Skadi would have leaked it. That meant someone else had caught on... but who?
For now, I had to play innocent.
"Bout. What are you talking about? Escape? I have no such plans."
"You're lying."
"It's true, though?"
"Then could you entrust your subspace pouch to me for a week? I'll return it when His Eminence comes back."
"..."
"And would you refrain from going outside until His Eminence returns? Just so we can trust your words, Lady Levia."
They'd even figured out that I'd been saving money instead of spending it. On top of that, being stuck in the Entat Parish until my father returned was a fatal blow.
There were several reasons I'd kept putting off my escape. Wandering around this world as a child without any real understanding of it was dangerous. I needed time. Time to get used to living in this world and to build enough power to protect myself.
I wanted to leave with an easy mind.
I didn't want anyone to die in the Entat Parish after I left, especially with demonic beasts invading on a regular basis. That was why I'd participated in the training myself and even tamed Behemoth as my pet monster. The last and most critical obstacle was my father, Benedict.
There was no one in the Entat Parish who could beat me in a one-on-one fight right now. But if we were talking about holy laws, only one person could defeat me—my father. I couldn't win against him. The reason Carlo was the "Archbishop" and my father was the "Cardinal" wasn't without cause. If my father was truly determined to stop me, breaking through would still be difficult.
At least for now.
That was exactly why I'd set my plan for a year later.
What now? Should I hand over the subspace pouch for now and sneak out later? I couldn't break through while facing all these people at once. The Holy Front Knights had already surrounded me, cutting off every escape route. Thanks to Behemoth's appearance, they'd even prepared holy laws in advance.
I needed to conserve enough strength to travel far—very far. Carlo wouldn't help me; if anything, he'd assist the knights. Even if the old man supported my desire to abandon the whole Saintess Candidate business, he would definitely oppose me running away.
"Heh heh heh. Levia. Are you really planning to run away and leave this old man all alone? I can overlook many things, but not this."
Carlo's words hit exactly as I'd predicted. Just as expected.
I had to choose: wait for the next opportunity or break through now.
...Choose? There was only one answer.
"Behemoth."
"What? I mean, yes?"
"See that old man over there?"
"Oh. He's quite strong, isn't he?"
"Block him."
"Huh...?"
Boom!
The moment I gave Behemoth the order, Carlo charged at me. "Hup...! W-what's this all of a sudden?!"
Maybe the title of King of Demonic Beasts wasn't just for show—Behemoth reacted to the old man's swift and powerful charge and blocked it effortlessly.
"Stop her! We must prevent Lady Levia from escaping!"
At Bout's command, the Holy Front Knights attacked with sheathed swords.
"Not so fast! Sorry about this, Uncle Chunbong!"
I grabbed the arm of Uncle Chunbong, who attacked first, and hurled him toward the path I'd come from with all my strength. The formation collapsed instantly from the powerful impact.
"Aaaargh! Why do I always get the worst of it?!"
Because your name sounds so friendly!
"Graaah... Look how heavy Chunbong's gotten from all that eating lately!"
"It's called bulking up!"
The escape route was open.
"Behemoth! Do everything I told you to do! And get along with the uncles!"
"Hey! Where are you going?! I thought I was your pet monster!"
There it was with the casual speech again.
"I'm off to find freedom! I'll give you some later too, so wait patiently!"
I made the promise to Behemoth while running. The ultimate transportation! I couldn't pass it up! You're mine now!
"For real? You mean it?! You really mean it!"
I didn't bother answering. The situation was way too urgent! The Holy Front Knights were hot on my heels!
"You brats!! If you let her get away, hell training is back on the menu!"
From the main gate that had already grown distant, Carlo's roar reached me.
"No way! Anything but that!"
"That crazy old geezer doesn't even give us treatment after he beats us!"
"At least training with Lady Levia had rewards!"
Sorry, uncles. Looks like you'll be suffering for a while. But what do they mean by rewards? I don't remember giving them anything after training.
Oh. Right. I should at least say goodbye.
"Take care, uncles! I'm throwing off this burden of being a Saintess Candidate and leaving to find my freedom!"
"Nooo! Don't go! We'll die if you leave!"
Yeah. No can do. Go back!
I poured even more speed into my run. I wouldn't use divine power yet. Since my destination was quite far, I needed to conserve both stamina and divine power.
The forest I'd eyed before would appear soon. It was the perfect escape route! Run! Like an enraged wild horse! Like a snake, stealthily!
"Catch her! We have to catch her! If we don't, we're all dead!"
Breathing hard! Don't interfere with my freedom! I absolutely won't get caught!
It seemed like all my plans had been discovered, but so what! All I had to do was break through! I'd waited so long for a day like this! I can't give up now! The assassins are annoying enough! Engagement? Engaaagement?! Am I crazy enough to get engaged to a guy?
If I ran away, the assassins who kept coming after me would probably think I'd given up on being the Saintess Candidate. While traveling the world, I might even find that quiet clown bastard who's been silent for the past few years! I'm definitely going to smash that guy's skull in. Not his puppet—the real body's skull!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The moment I entered the forest, magic spells came flying. All aimed at my delicate (?) body! They said they were going to catch me! But this power was clearly meant to kill!! This can't be what all that hellish training was for! They said they were grateful for advancing their realm thanks to me, but apparently they'd been holding grudges inside! I wouldn't die from this level of power, but it still hurt my feelings!
"Faster! Pick up the pace! This isn't enough to catch Lady Levia!"
Oh. As expected of the captain. Raising the knights' morale like that!
"Please! Saintess Candidate Levia Leviathan! Stop! I mean, please stop! If we can't catch you, we're all dead!"
Ah. So they're begging for their lives. Is Carlo's hell training really that bad? I thought it was fun. Getting stronger every day was nice. That feeling of holy muscles being created every single day...! Once you taste it, you can't go back. No wonder I'd packed the training artifacts into the luggage I'd prepared in advance!
But if I ran away with them like this, does that count as stealing...? These are pretty expensive. ...I'll have to secretly return them later.
"Fire away! Whether it's magic or holy laws, hit her with the intent to kill and stop Lady Levia!!"
"Captain! Have you lost your mind? What are you saying to Lady Levia!"
Oh. Jacob! As expected of my business partner! He's taking my side!
On the other hand, the captain is a disappointment! After all the time we've spent together! To say something like that just because he's scared of the old man! What a timid, money-obsessed goat-beard!
"Jacob, make your choice right now. Are you going to die by my hand? Or should I suggest to that damned old geezer that you get hell training first?"
"All troops! These are the 'Captain's' orders! Pour everything into stopping Lady Levia's escape! As long as she doesn't die, it'll work out somehow!"
Jacob, give me back my感动.
"Lady Levia! Are you really planning to abandon your duty as the Saintess Candidate?!"
"How many times do I have to say it! I won't do it!"
These uncles just won't believe me! Every time I say it, they treat it like a joke! 'Aww~ Stop joking, Lady Levia. Who in the world would refuse to become the Saintess?'
Right here! Try getting your life threatened every single day! Would you want that?! I don't want to be reincarnated again! In this life, I'm going to live for a very, very long time. If I happen to return to Earth during that process, even better. So I can get revenge on the bastard who killed me. If it's possible to come from that side to this one, the opposite should be possible too.
If I run just a little more, I'll be out of the forest. I need to shake them off before that. Otherwise, not only would the Holy Front Knights be able to receive support from other parishes, but the fact that the Saintess Candidate had run away would become known. That would mean my location could be exposed even faster to the assassins targeting me.
The Eighth Cardinal, was it? That person doesn't know how to give up. The Eighth Cardinal, who clearly sees me as a powerful rival to the Saintess Candidate he selected, would definitely send even more assassins if he learned I'd escaped. Since there wasn't even a barrier that required a high-ranking clergy member's help to penetrate, he'd see this as a golden opportunity.
Moreover, he was an extremely meticulous person. There was only testimony that he'd ordered it, with no physical evidence, so I couldn't even properly report it to the Pope.
I had no choice. I'd have to use divine power. Two stacks should be enough for the current me to shake these guys off.
"Lady Levia has used holy laws! Increase your speed!!"
At Captain Bout's command, the knights sped up even more, but unfortunately the distance between us only grew wider.
Goodbye, Entat Parish. Take care, Holy Front Knights uncles and Grandfather. Cheska, make sure you succeed in confessing to Father. Benika, stop nagging so much and go back to Uncle Dominic! When someone else becomes the Saintess someday and the position of Saintess Candidate loses its meaning, let's meet again then. Bye-bye!
After passing through the forest and running a bit more, a long tunnel-like cave came into view. Once through the cave, I'd reach the border area I'd passed eight years ago in Uncle Dominic's automatic carriage. From there, my plan was to cross the border into the Adventurers' Union territory.
If I hid my name and identity there and became an adventurer affiliated with the Union, it would be difficult for Eliac to track me down for a while. Anyone with outstanding skills could become a Union adventurer. They didn't conduct unnecessary background checks. There were cases where criminals abused it to launder their identities, but as long as it wasn't a serious crime, they usually just overlooked it.
"Lady Levia."
The moment I shook off the Holy Front Knights and tried to exit the cave, I heard a voice calling me.
"Where are you going?"
"It's Cheska."
My escort knight, Cheska.
"I'm going to find my freedom."
"Have you given peace to the Entat Parish?"
"Yes."
"Well done."
"How did you know I'd come here?"
How did Cheska know? Was she the one who'd noticed my escape plan? And had she tipped off the Holy Front Knights in advance?
"Whenever you go out without permission, you always visit this place. If you were to run away, this would be the most optimal escape route."
"..."
Whoa... I just got chills. I didn't realize she knew me this well. Is this the level you need to reach if you're aiming for the position of my mother...! Mama Cheska... you're scary.
"Are you going to stop me too, Cheska?"
"I want to, but... I won't."
An unexpected answer. I'd thought she'd oppose my escape like Grandfather Carlo.
"Why?"
"Do you want me to stop you?"
"Not really."
"I am always on your side, Lady Levia. If you decide to become the Saintess, I will help you. If you don't want to, I will help with that too."
This... is a little touching.
"I made that resolution a long time ago—ever since you removed the Seed of Sin for me. Because you saved me, just like Lord Benedict did."
"...Cheska."
"Yes."
"So when are you going to confess?"
"Whaaat? W-what are you suddenly saying?! I told you I gave up on those feelings long ago!"
Her face turned bright red and she was even stuttering, but give up? Yeah right. Her maiden heart clearly hasn't changed at all. If she'd really given up, she wouldn't have secretly muttered that Benika would make a better mother while watching her nag.
"If you're still feeling guilty about what happened that day, it's okay."
"That..."
Come to think of it, I'd never properly told Cheska. About that day when she was controlled by the clown and nearly killed me. I'd only said that it was resolved well and that it was in the past.
I'd never told her properly. That I'd forgiven her.
"I forgave you a very, very long time ago, so stop feeling guilty. At least on that day, you did nothing wrong."
After hearing my words, Cheska approached silently and embraced me. Then I felt a single drop of water fall on my head. I didn't bother checking where it came from. It had clearly fallen from Cheska's eyes.
"Thank you. Please don't get hurt and stay healthy until we meet again."
"Yeah. Take care too, Cheska. Send my regards to Benika as well."
After our farewell hug, we both sensed it was time to part. If I delayed any longer, the Holy Front Knights would catch up.
"I'll hold back the Holy Front Knights, so please go quickly."
"Okay. Thank you."
With that final goodbye to Cheska, I left the cave. I'd only been inside for a short while, but the air outside felt incredibly refreshing. From now on, I hoped I could sleep with at least a little peace of mind.