Ch.127126. Saint Ariya

# 126. Saint Ariya

“Huh…?”

I opened my eyes to see a familiar ceiling.

For someone like me who gets injured quite often, it was a sight so familiar that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I saw it almost daily.

I very slowly raised my body, which was worn out with fatigue.

“Ugh…”

Sharp pains shot through various parts of my body.

Only after feeling those pains did I realize why I was here.

“Ah… I lost after all.”

And only after realizing that fact did the memories come back to me.

After receiving the effect of ‘Desperate Person.’

I had managed to narrow the considerable gap between us, but that was all, and it didn’t lead to victory.

“I feel… a bit sorry.”

Because of my defeat, she would have joined the battlefield, and because of that, our team members would have been eliminated as well.

The guilt from that fact was substantial.

‘I should at least apologize…’

With such bitter thoughts, I got up from the infirmary bed, when someone spoke to me.

“Don’t move yet, stay seated.”

A warm voice like the spring sunshine, and the owner of that voice soon revealed herself.

An elegant and pure appearance that harmonized well with that voice.

And a sensual figure whose shape was clearly visible even under the plain nun’s habit that seemed somewhat mismatched with her appearance.

She gave an impression both similar to and completely different from Lilith.

“Hello? Is this our first time meeting?”

“Yes… it’s our first time.”

“Do you know… my name?”

Of course I knew who she was, and I had actually seen her before.

Being on the opposing side, I could count on one hand the number of times I’d seen her directly.

“Ariya Charlotte… ma’am.”

Hearing her full name, Ariya smiled with an expression as gentle as her voice and said:

“You can just call me ‘noona’.”

“That’s a bit… difficult, quite difficult actually.”

“Then just call me Ariya…”

I spoke to Ariya, who looked dejected after hearing my firm refusal.

“But… why are you here?”

Ariya was on a different level from other ordinary nuns.

She wasn’t someone who should be here treating injured students like this.

“Am I not allowed to be here?”

“That’s not it, but you’re a Saint… after all. And given the current situation…”

Moreover, right now it was clearly a wartime situation.

Until recently, battles had broken out in two locations, and even now, though perhaps not large-scale, fighting would still be continuing at the front lines.

In such a situation, with not only the hero Amelia but even the Saint Ariya at the academy, I couldn’t help but question it as a citizen of the Kainis Empire.

“I’m not the only priest at the front, and I’m only here like this today, I’ll be leaving right away.”

“Don’t tell me… you came because of today’s survival test?”

“That’s right.”

Looking out the dark window, I asked Ariya:

“What time is it now? And how long have I been like this?”

“It’s 1 AM now, and not long. Originally, you should have been bedridden for at least three days given your condition, but strangely, your recovery speed is fast.”

My entire body would have been frozen due to her magic and the [Absolute Zero] I was hit with at the end.

And from that state, my body had almost fully recovered in just five hours.

“That’s a relief.”

As I sighed in relief, Ariya, who had been pondering something, asked me:

“By the way… I guess it’s true that you’re dating the Imperial Princess?”

“Of course it’s true, but why suddenly?”

“Not suddenly—she was here until just now.”

“Ah…”

I was severely injured, but so was she.

Hearing those words from Ariya’s mouth, I suddenly became concerned about her well-being.

“Is the Imperial Princess alright?”

“You’re worried after being the one who injured her?”

“Of course, I’m actually more worried because I was the one who did it.”

Hearing that, Ariya smiled contentedly and said:

“Of course she’s fine. I can heal most injuries anyway.”

“Thank you.”

“Huh? Uh…”

When I expressed my sincere gratitude, Ariya was momentarily flustered, and it was visibly noticeable.

“Why are you acting like that?”

“Ah… it’s nothing.”

“Then may I leave now?”

The current time was 1 AM, so whether I returned to the dormitory or just slept here wouldn’t make much difference, but still, sleeping here felt a bit awkward.

Especially with Ariya here.

However, Ariya didn’t allow me to return to the dormitory.

“That’s not possible.”

“Pardon?”

“Even though your recovery speed is faster than others, you still need to rest now.”

“So… I have to sleep here?”

“That’s right.”

Ariya looked at me with my disgruntled expression and stood up from where she was sitting.

Then, approaching the infirmary door, she continued:

“Don’t worry about that. I’m leaving now too.”

“Yes… goodbye, and see you next time.”

“Next time…? Ah~ You’re coming with us too, right? With the Imperial Princess?”

“Yes, somehow it ended up that way.”

“Must be disappointing?”

“Excuse me…?”

For a very brief moment, I racked my brain intensely.

‘Is she implying what I think she is…?’

The reason for this mental exercise was to find any other possible interpretation.

But I couldn’t think of any other possibility.

And with Ariya’s next words, that possibility turned into certainty.

“You probably wanted to go just the two of you.”

“So that is what you meant…”

The saying “assumptions can kill” exists for a reason.

Seeing my reaction, Ariya spoke in a voice that somehow seemed excited:

“I could give you space if needed… but the others are the problem.”

“You don’t need to give us space, His Majesty the Emperor is coming too, so we can’t do anything like that anyway.”

Ariya gave me a meaningful look and asked:

“Anything like that? What do you mean?”

“Who knows…”

“Are you into that kind of thing? The Imperial Princess must have it tough~”

“For ‘that kind of thing,’ we’ve only…”

“Only?”

Ariya had the face of a child who had discovered an interesting toy.

Looking at her, I said:

“We’ve only held hands so far.”

“Huh? Haven’t you been dating for quite a while?”

“You might think this is an excuse, but I don’t want to rush things.”

Of course, it was also true that because I cherished her so much and thought she was precious, I unconsciously acted timidly when being physically intimate with her.

But what I just told Ariya—that “I don’t want to rush things”—was also true.

“Otherwise, it would be too empty.”

“Is… that so? That’s a bit unique…”

“Unique?”

“I meant it in a good way. Anyway, I’m going now, okay? Get some rest.”

Ariya opened the infirmary door and continued:

“After a good night’s sleep, you should be able to move normally tomorrow.”

“Yes… thank you.”

After that, Ariya turned off the lights in the infirmary and disappeared.

-Click!-

The dull sound of the light switch.

As soon as that sound entered my ears, the lights that had been brightly illuminating the infirmary went out.

“I should… go back to sleep.”

Although I had just woken up, I wasn’t not tired.

Rather, perhaps because of my physical condition, I was so tired that I could fall asleep again despite having just woken up.

As soon as I lay down on the bed, my eyes closed automatically, and my consciousness became hazy.

‘Feels like I did a lot today…’

In reality, all I had done was the final exam survival test, but it felt like I had done many things.

‘I’ll have to work hard again from tomorrow…’

With that thought about what I needed to do tomorrow just before falling asleep, I felt like the day had finally ended.

***

-Chirp! Chirp!-

The sound of sparrows singing, which decorated the beginning of each day, could be heard.

I woke up to that clear yet noisy sound.

Then I stretched and yawned languidly at the same time.

“Yaaawn…”

“Wow… your expression just now… I should have taken a photo.”

The owner of the voice that came with my yawn was Elin, who had been my enemy until just yesterday.

Elin was lying on another bed in the infirmary, looking at her phone.

“Why are you… lying there like that?”

“Why did you lose?”

“Ah… damn… did you come here to say that?”

“I’m joking, joking.”

She certainly seemed skilled at being sarcastic.

I’d like to give her a good smack, but that wasn’t possible in reality.

“So why did you come, this early in the morning?”

“Just… because I was bored.”

“Ah…”

As always, Elin seemed unable to speak the truth even if it killed her.

I spoke to her in a tone that suggested I knew everything:

“You could just say you were worried, why so…”

“That’s not it, okay? Don’t make assumptions on your own.”

“Ah… is that so?”

Normally, I would have said something like “Just admit you were worried,” but Elin’s reaction was so serious that I couldn’t say such things.

“Yeah, actually, I have a favor to ask you.”

“What is it…?”

“It’s… nothing big… you know, that person.”

“That person?”

“That… the one who was on your team in the survival test.”

The people who were on our team in this survival test were Reina, Rakel, Eve, and Leo.

And among them, there was only one person Elin didn’t use honorifics for.

“Leo?”

“Yeah…”

“So?”

“Do you… happen to know his number?”