episode_0046

After pounding on the gate a few times, an arrow filled with powerful force pierced through the air and disappeared.

The magic occasionally spat out spark-like fragments as if in dissatisfaction, only to melt away as if nothing had happened.

Lycia turned around slowly with slightly trembling eyes.

Following the slender, outstretched hand, she could confirm who the owner was.

The opponent had a long black hair and black eyes, with a sharp face. Although not familiar, she felt like she had seen him somewhere before.

She remembered the face of Bishop Gilberto, who had passed by briefly. Likewise, she had only seen her once in the darkness, but she had not forgotten.

“Back in the village…”

“Do you remember? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

When Lavine was fending off the bandits who attacked in the middle of the night, a woman who woke up in the church next to her.

Introducing herself as Amelie, she had come up behind her without a clue.

She thought she was a resident of the village. But seeing her wandering around so freely, she was not an ordinary person.

Reflecting on what she had encountered on the way here, she realized that traveling between cities was not something anyone could do.

Could she have been following her from that village?

If she wasn’t after the riches of the wealthy knights or targeting herself, then it meant she knew her identity.

Reaching out as if waiting, she grabbed her hand, adding weight to that hypothesis.

It was a secret she had not revealed to anyone but Lavine. But how did a stranger know about it?

“If it’s for self-defense, it’s okay.”

It seemed like the right time now, should she use magic? She was already busy enough.

The girl glared at Amelie with a guarded look in her eyes.

“Oops, does this hurt? I’ll let go.”

Amelie released Lycia’s wrist.

It wasn’t hurting her, so there was no problem with moving, but the girl fidgeted as if there was something wrong with her wrist.

“Calm down. I didn’t come to harm you. I came to help.”

“Help? What kind of help?”

“As a senior, I came to give advice to a junior.”

“Senior…?”

“You’re going to the university, right? You want to receive teachings from the saint.”

“How did you know that?”

Lycia raised her guard to the maximum internally.

It wasn’t an answer that could come out just because she was following her. Lavine always said she was going to the Vatican, so she shouldn’t reveal her destination.

If she had come from Bolle, she could understand that she had heard it from Priest Pippin. But they hadn’t just met in a distant village.

What was her identity? Lycia’s sharp gaze pierced Amelie.

Amelie seemed to think that was enough haste, as she smiled bitterly and spoke.

“I am the saint of that university.”

“What?”

Lycia, who was contemplating what magic to use, froze in place.

*****

The grand master plan that the Count and his advisors had devised could be summarized in three lines.

One, infiltrate the city wall with a small elite force.

Two, secretly open the gate.

Three, hold out until reinforcements arrive by taking advantage of the narrow passageway.

In that sense, when the soldiers who saw the gate open immediately rushed in, what they expected to see first was the knights and acolytes guarding the door at the cost of their lives.

And after expressing their gratitude to the knights, they would clear the way while they regrouped in the rear.

Surely they had come with such a plan.

“The gate is opening!”

“Yeah, hurry up before it’s too late. Go now, we don’t know when it will close!”

“The knights are waiting and enduring just for us! We must live up to their expectations, so run faster!”

“These sneaky thieves, we’re back… huh?”

“No one here?”

When they finally came face to face, there was only one soldier standing casually in front of the door.

Where did the fierce battle go? In an unexpected situation, the commander approached the soldier and asked. Judging by the insignia on his clothes, he was a comrade.

“Is it okay to go in?”

“You’ve arrived! The area around the door has been cleared, but there are still remnants in the castle. And the knights are waiting inside.”

“Got it. Let’s all go in.”

As they hurried through the door, they found the knights gathered and doing something. There was no sound of metal clashing or shouting, so it was definitely not a battle.

Approaching closer, they saw the knights sticking a head on a spear and moving it around.

“Everyone, let’s take a look at the commander’s face one by one. You’re not used to seeing it often, so it might look unfamiliar.”

“Ah….”

A head? Commander? The commander’s mind was in turmoil.

Why was the commander here? Even if he was hiding in the deepest place, it wouldn’t be enough.

Only then did the commander notice the sword in the knight’s hand on the opposite side.

Slightly different from other relics, the sword with a beautiful green glow had something that struck deep within. The commander already knew who the owner was.

“The Luminous Sword, I heard the story just now. Is this person really the commander?”

“He said so himself. He could have lied, but seeing his subordinates not objecting and trembling, it seems to be true.”

“Did you personally take him down?”

“That’s right.”

The commander looked around. There were no holy water droplets bursting several times, and there was no sacred place.

However, amidst the rubble and shattered wood, he could find one body with particularly good armor.

His head had been replaced with a detachable one. It wasn’t strange to see heads rolling around on the battlefield.

But his armor was torn like a piece of paper. Unless it was cut with a saw, it meant it was a single blow.

“Is this person really the commander?”

“Yes. Ah, should we have spared him? He was too resistant, so we had no choice.”

“Is that so? He was a guy who had to die anyway. We can interrogate another guy to get information.”

“Then let’s do that.”

Despite the solemn tone, the commander looked at the knight who was focused on pushing heads again and was convinced. It was indeed the work of the Luminous Sword.

The so-called commander had his armor and flesh torn apart neatly. It was a brutal sight that would be hard to believe without seeing it with his own eyes.

Capturing a leader was a significant achievement.

After verifying the simple truth, the report would be sent up. And how he was defeated as well.

With the situation now understood, the soldiers were instructed to secure the nearby area.

The wounded soldiers and prisoners were sent to the camp for treatment, and the prisoners were handed over to the soldiers who had just arrived.

*****

So, she’s the saint that you, a student, wanted to meet as a professor?

With a question in mind, Lycia asked.

“But the saint’s name as a professor is not known as Amelie.”

“Amelie is my secular name. Even the Pope has a different name as a regular clergy and as the Pope, right? Adults also have different names like that.”

“…Then why did you come to see me?”

“Our junior seems to be up to something a bit dangerous.”

Talking about magic. But why is that considered dangerous?

There was no room for error in her aim, and she made sure that her power did not cause any collateral damage.

Seeing Licia’s puzzled expression, Amelie let out a small sigh and said, “You still don’t know anything, do you?”

“It doesn’t seem like a big deal… But there’s something urgent going on right now.”

“Well, I understand why you’re anxious. But wait. He’s still alive.”

“How… How do you know that?”

“I’ll make a promise in the name of the Saintess.”

There was a rumor that followed the Saintess of the university.

It was a story that she knew everything in the world, which could seem arrogant.

If such a reputation attached to an ordinary professor, there would be people who would be furious, claiming that they had stolen the exclusive possession of the gods.

However, this story did not apply to humans who received the love of the gods. The authority that should not be dared to be shared was given to the adults.

The knowledge that no one could claim as their own belonged to the Saintess at the university,

The authority to boldly traverse the world created by the gods belonged to the knights fighting on the front lines and the followers,

And the unstoppable flow of time returned to the most fertile time for the land that had rotted to the priest who could turn back time.

Because of this, it was not strange for Amelie to see through the fact that she was the Saintess.

So the girl decided to wait for just a moment, even though she wanted to run away now. Would it be a lie for a young girl to pretend to be a Saintess?

But as it turned out,

“Viscount, the door is open!”

“And the soldiers? Did they all enter Philah as planned?”

“Yes! There are some injured, but the knights are all unharmed.”

“Oh Lord, thank you!”

Such a conversation could be heard from the barracks.

The Viscount, intoxicated with a dangerous amount of faith regardless of his age, let out a cry of joy.

Amelie, who had been anxious just a while ago, now smiled mischievously and asked Licia, who had been looking awkward, “So, are you interested in hearing the story now?”

“…Yes.”