episode_0013

There is a lot to hear when you are in the church.

Since the list of believers was essentially the same as the list of residents, news from the nearby towns and villages inevitably flowed into the church. And more than anywhere else, news from the Papal Court was bound to spread quickly.

That’s why the children who spent time in the church surprisingly had a knack for such information.

Especially someone like Lycia, who worked diligently among the novices, rather than doing menial tasks like weeding or cleaning. In a church with not much entertainment, all they could do was gossip, so it was natural for tongues to wag among the novices.

Although he was a variable, an emperor who could have easily been overthrown before even fighting the Pope, fortunately, the Emperor moved as Lycia had hoped, perhaps out of pride.

“…Is it really fortunate?”

Is it really fortunate that the Empire is once again divided and ready to fight?

And is it really appropriate for someone as selfish and lacking in faith as herself to have the qualifications of a saint?

It was still something she didn’t fully understand.

That’s why she wanted to go see the saint of the university.

*****

The knight who brought her to the ball, his name was Raven, if she remembered correctly.

Lycia had done some research on him. Well, calling it research was a stretch; she had simply gathered rumors from the surroundings and verified them.

It wasn’t difficult to hear stories about him.

Knights were rare, and a knight who wandered without serving a lord was even rarer. Shortly after Raven left for the north, she could hear such stories in the market.

“I heard that the barbarians who were thought to have returned to the north have come back.”

“But didn’t the lord of that place send his soldiers elsewhere? It would be difficult to defend with just an old city wall.”

“So he asked for help from those who are strong and experienced like mercenaries nearby. And it seems Raven is involved among them.”

“If it’s that Raven… is he the one I know?”

And it seemed that the knight named Raven had made a name for himself among those knights.

It seemed like people recognized who he was just by his name. Lycia hadn’t seen him wield his power. Was he a knight with exceptional skills?

“Right. Who else could it be around here?”

“Yeah, the plague of Bolle…!”

…But his nickname was a bit strange.

As with all those who enjoy stories, when someone achieves great feats or has their own uniqueness, people tend to give them nicknames.

If they conquered a vast territory, they would be called a conqueror, if they had great knowledge, they would be called a scholar, and sometimes they would be called bald just for their physical features.

But as far as Lycia knew, there was no nickname similar to “plague.” From here on, she had to dig deeper.

After finishing her conversation with the guest, Lycia asked the bakery owner, who was about to resume his business.

“Sir.”

“Hmm? Oh, Lycia, right? The girl who came to the church earlier?”

“Yes. Can I have one bread over there, please?”

The girl handed the owner the coin she received as pocket money from Father Phepin and received the bread. But her real interest lay elsewhere, so she decided to ask right away.

“By the way, about the story you mentioned earlier.”

“What story? Oh, Raven?”

“Yes. Could you tell me more about him?”

“Well, there’s no reason not to tell a guest that much.”

Although the bakery owner’s words were somewhat exaggerated, typical of the stories circulating in the market, when she filtered out the exaggerations and summarized, the information roughly boiled down to this.

One, he wasn’t settled anywhere and was a wandering freelance knight, but because he spent his childhood in the church of Bolle, he was given the name of the city in front of his name.

Two, as people fell like flies on the battlefields he passed through, it seemed like he was spreading a contagious disease, hence the nickname “plague.”

Three. Whenever he teased her, she would blush and harden.

…But still, the title of ‘Plague’ does seem a bit strange.

However, I understand his skills well. So, what about his personality?

“He used to be quite rough in the past. Well, it’s understandable since he lost his family at a young age. Now, he seems quite gentle, almost to the point of wondering if he was really like that.”

“Is that so?”

“Sometimes he says things that don’t make sense, but apart from that, he seems like a decent guy.”

Overall, he seemed like a person with no major issues. He showed responsibility and consideration by bringing her to the church without overdoing it, and he seemed to have enough power to ensure safety.

Most importantly, he seemed a bit different from knights or mercenaries who always look for opportunities to plunder.

That was the reason why Licia decided to follow Raven to university.

*****

And on the morning they were to leave together.

“Isn’t it fascinating?”

“…Huh?! Oh, yes. It’s fascinating.”

When Raven asked her, the girl was thinking about something else.

Although she expressed a simple admiration that could be expected of her peers, it was a somewhat arrogant thought.

Licia’s thoughts were like this.

‘It seems worth a try.’

It was a thought she had vaguely since the first time Priest Phepin used healing magic on her.

Magic was something that required years of study to achieve proportional success, but she couldn’t help but feel that she was a human who deviated from that norm in many ways.

Originally, magic was something that only scholars who had devoted themselves to theology for over a decade could understand.

But for a chosen adult by the gods, such restrictions were meaningless.

At first, she didn’t delve into it in detail and just passed by, but when she saw it again, she could roughly understand how to use it.

She couldn’t explain it if asked, but it felt strange that she seemed to know how to use it. Licia arrived at the inn, trying to preserve that memory as much as possible, and lay down on the bed.

And when she was sure that Raven had fallen into a deep sleep, she hid under the thin blanket and lightly scratched her palm with her fingernails.

Licia recalled the faint white light that shone when she was healed. And she prayed in her heart for the wound to disappear.

-Poof!

“…Wow.”

For a moment, a bright light flowed out from under the blanket and sparkled even outside, disappearing when the palm was as clean as before.

It was magic. Something she thought she could never unleash from her fingertips in her lifetime.

It was the moment when Licia thought she might try something else out of curiosity.

-Rustle

“….!”

“Is it still night?”

Because of the light that had leaked out, Raven woke up and sat up. The girl held her breath as if nothing had happened. Raven, for some reason, didn’t seem to feel that she was awake and left the room without saying anything.

“…Phew!”

Only after his footsteps faded away did Licia let out the breath she had been holding.

Fortunately, it seemed like she hadn’t been caught.

But.

Did she really have to hide it?

“Should I reveal the truth?”

Being a Saint was nothing to be ashamed of, and it might even be something to be admired.

Instead of struggling to keep the secret to herself, maybe it would be more refreshing to just say it out loud and ease her mind.

With such thoughts swaying in her mind, Licia eventually shook her head.

There was a deep-seated aversion to revealing her otherness, and if she did, she might be sent straight to the Holy See.

She could get whatever she wanted, any item she desired, any education she sought.

But she still wouldn’t receive genuine interest or affection for herself as a Saint.

I didn’t want to have the title of a saint, which I couldn’t even receive from my father, nor did I desire it under the dazzling light created by that title.

After carefully sorting out such complicated thoughts, Licia decided to fill her mind with something else.

Wasn’t there a blessing shown by Sister Phepin? Let’s try that.

First, she thought of a weapon. Other than Lavender’s sword, there wasn’t much else that came to mind.

Then, she thought of that and tried to bless it as Sister Phepin had done before.

– Poof!

“Did… it work?”

Praying for a stronger power and protection in her heart, a bright light burst from her fingertips again.

And when it subsided, nothing seemed to have changed around her.

Was it a failure, or was it something of an unidentifiable nature? Licia began to ponder.

“Status window.”

Lavender’s voice came from outside.

He kept calling out something in a language she didn’t understand. When she got up and looked at where he had placed his sword the day before, it was gone.

It was there just a moment ago, but it seemed like he had taken it with him when he left the room.

“Status window!”

“Hey, it’s not even sunrise yet, what’s with the fuss already!”

Lavender continued to shout something.

At the sudden realization of a certain possibility, Licia felt a sense of fear.

“…Is it because of me?”

Could it be that she unknowingly used magic and caused his mental state to deteriorate?

The thought was terrifying, and if it was true, the guilt weighed heavily on Licia, keeping her awake in bed until morning.