A Great Being (4)

That day, her life changed. Priests from the continent’s top order came to Melissa, a mere innkeeper’s daughter.

“Look. This is proof that you are a prospective Saint!”

Those who came through a search method said to have been left by the previous Saint proved that she was born with the qualities of a Saint by mixing her blood with holy water and showing how it glowed, enhancing its healing power.

‘Finally! I can escape from this damned rural village!’

While her abusive foster parents rejoiced at the considerable compensation offered by the Order, Melissa herself was the happiest.

She could leave this dirty, cramped, smelly place and live comfortably in a splendid city.

A Saint is a precious being that even other forces beyond the Order can’t treat carelessly. Since injury and illness know no class boundaries, when her power is needed, lords or royalty will tremble and beg to borrow that power.

Melissa could barely contain her joy and excitement, thinking that even the rich city dwellers draped in jewels, the refined young ladies of noble houses, and princesses of the royal family would kneel before her.

“This is Sir Ian, born under the hero’s star. Since you two are of similar age, if you train together, no one will be able to covet you.”

That wasn’t all. They already had a boy with them before coming to her.

The boy, from a similar commoner farmer background as herself, was said to be a descendant of heroes, so Melissa naturally caught the scent.

A ‘lover’ who would maximize her authority as a Saint. The priests, too, were focused on bringing the two closer together to get both the hero and the Saint in their hands.

“Honestly, I’m still not sure. I can’t do anything except digging with a shovel or pickaxe… I can’t even read.”

“You need to wake up, Ian. Those things can be learned. We’re still young, and even after 10 years, we’ll only be in our mid-twenties. If we do well, this world could become ours.”

“But the priests said the world is facing a crisis of erosion right now, so is there time…”

“How vast is the world? Surely it won’t fall that quickly? Don’t have a weak heart. We should enjoy everything we can.”

Inside the carriage they rode together, Melissa, who acted precociously with a bright smile when with other priests, changed her eyes like a beast and stuck close to Ian when they were alone, starting to implant her dreams in him.

Although Ian was too naive to understand properly, if she sticks by his side like this for life and manipulates him, he’ll eventually move according to her will.

Although she might not be able to secretly pinch or scratch once Ian fully awakens as a hero, she is to become a Saint. Even Ian wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

“Do you really refuse? I don’t think it’s such a difficult task.”

“Of course, I too find that child’s story sad, but…”

Amidst all this, Melissa encountered someone obstructing their march. Now, a trivial being who doesn’t even dare to look at her.

Melissa, who had smiled wickedly when turning her head to show only Ian, instantly changed her expression and teared up at the priest’s words.

What does it matter if the father of some lowly girl she doesn’t even know lives or dies? Melissa herself has lived well up to this point without a father since the moment she was born.

She didn’t care whether some unknown person lived or died. She didn’t like the stinging of blood being drawn, and she didn’t like this waste of time. She just wanted to quickly become a Saint.

“As the priests said, I’m worried that if I push myself before awakening, problems might arise. If I don’t awaken properly, many people won’t be able to receive help in the future…”

“That’s true. There’s no need to force yourself to use power when you’re still in an unawakened state. It’s unfortunate, but think of the greater good.”

Whether her act worked or not, the priests just wanted to use this situation.

Once she expressed her refusal, there was no need or reason to force her.

“Ah, no! Please save me! Saint!”

“It’s regrettable, but it can’t be helped. That person must save many more people in the future.”

Thus, the girl’s cries were drowned out by the noise of those who started marching again. Even though the holy knight had released his hand pressing down on her body, the girl, who twitched her body from moment to moment, couldn’t get up from the dusty ground for a long time.

* * *

“Really? A girl who reacted to the artifact appeared?”

“I didn’t hear the details. Lord Ethan just said to quickly take the spatial jump to Rotas…”

“That’s enough.”

When I had been playing and eating in the city for at least five days. Just as I was lying blankly on the bed with nothing left to do in this small city, Lina, Patrick, and Laila came to visit.

They said a report had come in to Ethan. A report that they had found the person we were targeting and were now protecting them.

“Let’s depart immediately.”

I smiled and immediately got up from the bed, put on my coat, and pulled down my hood. I intended to hear the details when we got there since that’s what I was told.

“What if it’s not the person we’ve been looking for? From what I hear, the Order has already found both the hero and the Saint and is holding a grand homecoming ceremony.”

“Nothing we can do about that.”

Laila still had a questioning look.

The Saint and the hero. Of course, I had heard those rumors too. Thanks to spatial jumps, this world can hear reports and rumors almost as fast as the internet.

However, the Saint they found doesn’t seem to be the real Saint I’m thinking of.

The focus on healing abilities and all… the image was different from the Saint who ‘purified’ cleanly by smashing the heads of approaching enemies with an iron mace while all alone.

“There’s still plenty of possibility. Don’t despair unnecessarily, just go and check for yourself.”

“That’s right.”

Setting out with the group right away, I moved to the city via spatial jump.

It’s really good that I made an adventurer’s token in advance, as it allows us to go anywhere, regardless of which faction controls it, with just this one item.

“You’ve arrived. This way.”

Ethan’s organization member was waiting for us, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, striking a cool pose. Hearing him mutter about an adventurer accompanied by multiple women, I could guess how he recognized us.

Patrick sighed, saying he would wear a hood too from now on.

“According to orders from above, we are to hand over that girl to you and leave the disposal to you.”

“What state is the child in now?”

“We haven’t done anything to her, but she’s scared since we’ve confined her in the basement of the office. Amidst all this, she’s tightly holding onto the bag of gold coins we gave her, as if she won’t let go no matter what. She’s too filthy, so we told her to wash up, but she refused and keeps repeating that she needs to go to a priest with this money quickly.”

He calmly answered Patrick’s question.

As a low-ranking member, he doesn’t even know what he’s doing this for and is just following orders. So he can’t help but be at ease.

“It’s over there. Then, I’ll take my leave. If you need anything, please call me right away.”

He showed us the door leading to the basement of an office disguised as an ordinary media company. Patrick and others who showed their faces went down first, and Arisa and I followed behind.

“—!”

“Really?”

The spirits started making a fuss first. Although it’s not certain yet, it seems it’s not a failure.

“Huh, this is something. They should have at least lit more lights. Anyone can see this is a kidnapping.”

The basement of the office. It’s used as a storage room, so there are piles of luggage and only one lamp made of luminous stone.

Patrick, who went ahead first, clicked his tongue at the sight of someone crouched in the corner. I too frowned when I saw her.

Whatever she had been through, it was clear to see that her body and mind were considerably worn out.

Her red hair was disheveled, and her face wasn’t clearly visible. As if she had been rolling on some street, her old clothes were torn here and there, and her whole body was covered in dust, yet amidst all this, she was tightly clutching a bag of gold coins to her chest.

“–, —!”

But facing her directly like this, I could understand. Just as the spirits were making a fuss, the faint, strange familiarity emanating from her was that which I had left behind 10,000 years ago.

She is the Saint. The real Saint we used to call Saint. The bloodline that woman had managed to leave behind, continuing through those long years, has now manifested in the body of a descendant at this moment.

“What should we do? It, it seems like no matter what we say, it won’t get through.”

“You guys go fetch some water. That girl is real. I should be the one to talk to her. It seems she doesn’t even know what kind of person she is right now.”

I wanted to at least make her capable of dialogue by sending Laila and Lina.

If that doesn’t work either, there’s no choice but to give her a bigger shock to make her come to her senses. I’ve met quite a few people so far, but there hasn’t been a single person I couldn’t persuade after revealing my identity.