Ch.144144. Bring the Saint

After coming outside and walking around, I realized that we had become celebrities in Ritten overnight.

First, we caused a stir with the princess issue as soon as we arrived yesterday, and today we set off the saint issue. It was only natural.

“…Should I cause some trouble too?”

“Please refrain, Senior Alkine. I don’t think we could handle it if you joined in.”

“Okay, I will. By the way, we’re going on a date today, right?”

“Do we really need to bring that up right now?”

“Yes.”

Honestly, this is the most troublesome part for me… anyway.

For my date with Alkine to proceed peacefully, I should first get rid of these absurd rumors about divine judgment, right?

Actually, I had considered just leaving it alone and running away. I thought that since it was a sudden rumor, it would die down quickly once we, the subjects, disappeared.

But… Belmont said that all religious figures currently staying in Ritten were gathering together. If we left them alone, who knows what they might discuss or what love calls they might send to Lilith.

“Ugh, I really hate that.”

Since Lilith showed such a disgusted reaction, it seemed we needed to handle this cleanly before leaving.

And in a way that would keep Lilith out of the spotlight. That would prevent any love calls coming her way.

“Belmont said he’d handle the aftermath if we just create the right flow. We need to do something.”

After finalizing the contract, I had thoroughly discussed this matter with Belmont.

Belmont said he would intervene and resolve things if we could twist the rumors appropriately… which made it even more difficult.

It’s good that he’s confident he can counter whatever approach we take, but as a gamer, I’d prefer being told exactly what to do.

I’ve become a passive person accustomed to following given quests, so I can’t help it.

Now it’s too late, and I have to figure it out myself.

“Hmm… should we clarify that it wasn’t divine judgment but the saint’s judgment?”

“Then you’d have to show that feat again, Lilith. Can you do it again?”

“Wait a moment. Um… I don’t think I can.”

The idea I came up with after brief consideration was rejected due to Lilith’s lack of skill.

I briefly considered trying to replicate it with Celia’s magic, but quickly abandoned that thought. Celia’s magic doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe. If we did that, we’d be annihilating people, not just spreading rumors.

While I was deep in thought, I suddenly met the gazes of the three women looking at me.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

I asked, suddenly annoyed by their silent stares.

“Because Ludion looks handsome when he’s thinking.”

I shouldn’t have asked.

That came out of nowhere.

I mean, I know it, but since we usually avoid complimenting each other’s appearances, it makes me blush every time I hear it.

“Well, I’ll go along with whatever Ludion wants to do. I’ll keep my opinion to myself.”

“I… can’t think straight because I’m excited about our date.”

“Don’t ask me to use my brain. You know I’m not good at that.”

Wow… they’re so confident and shameless that I don’t even want to probe further.

So I have to come up with something on my own… what could it be?

A saint involved in divine judgment…

The more I thought about it, the more hopeless it seemed. No matter how we resolved this, wouldn’t it only elevate the saint’s image?

It’s basically advertising, “Look how amazing our saint is!”

As my head started to ache from these thoughts…

“Kyaaaak!!”

A scream came from somewhere. Judging by how everyone around turned in that direction, I hadn’t misheard.

What could be happening so suddenly? When we went to check, three suspicious men were holding someone hostage.

“What do you want?”

“Bring us the saint.”

“We’ve never even seen the saint!”

Let’s see… it looks like the Elnos Association is up to something again.

“Are you saying you don’t care if your comrade dies?”

“Damn it…! They won’t listen!”

For some reason, they seemed to be looking for Lilith.

They probably decided it would be difficult to find her on their own, so they grabbed someone who looked like a priest and were making demands… We were just walking around nearby, they could have searched a little more. No patience at all.

I don’t know who they are, but they seem like minor henchmen. Judging by their crazed looks, I doubted that priest would be released unharmed.

Still, I decided to ask Lilith what she wanted to do.

“What do you want to do? Getting involved might complicate things further.”

“Damn it. We have to go, what else can we do?”

Right. That makes sense.

I thought all of us getting involved would only create confusion and make things worse, so we decided to just send Lilith into the situation.

While I, Celia, and Alkine discreetly stepped back, Lilith stepped forward alone.

“Hey! The saint is here!”

…I know Lilith has impressive specs now, but what is this feeling of abandoning a child by the river?

Couldn’t she have approached more saint-like?

Since things had already unfolded this way, I decided to watch and see what would happen next.

I knew she could handle such minor enemies on her own, but it’s always fun to watch our team win.

With that thought, I kept watching… but the situation started to take a strange turn.

After exchanging a few words with the enemies, Lilith created something with light just like before… but its shape was very familiar to me.

Well, familiar only to me.

“…What is that?”

“It’s divine…”

“A new type of mace?”

Everyone was confused by the unfamiliar object.

Strangely, even the person who created it seemed confused.

I immediately recognized what it was.

I recognized it, but I couldn’t understand it at all.

What Lilith had created was in the shape of a K2 rifle, the proud friend and lover of the Korean Army.

‘Why is that appearing here?’

Seeing her grip the barrel as a handle and strike with the stock, she probably didn’t know what she had created… I really don’t understand.

System, are you perhaps Korean?

I pondered that question, but no answer came back.

///

Lilith stepped forward. In front of everyone.

“…Hmm.”

She was aware. At least of the fact that she was a saint.

And she was also well aware of how to act like a saint.

But.

But…

‘I can’t do this!’

Trying to act like a saint in front of Ludion felt extremely embarrassing.

She had shown it once before. But then… she didn’t know he was watching, and they weren’t in this kind of relationship.

So she had no choice.

“Hey! The saint is here!”

She could only step forward without pretense.

Both Celia and Senior Alkine had long since abandoned their role images. Why should she be any different?

“Saint…?! How on earth…?”

“Ah, never mind that. Just explain the situation.”

“They suddenly attacked and took our comrade hostage… then demanded we bring the saint…”

She didn’t know much.

What the Elnos Association was, or why they were looking for her.

She wasn’t Ludion, how could she know everything? She didn’t want to know either.

But that didn’t make her hesitate to act.

The fact that these people were clearly villains was undeniable.

As she was drawing up her divine power…

“Oh?”

She saw something familiar.

The flow of light… it was the same as when she had created the sword of light just earlier.

But this time, its shape was slightly different.

Though not particularly necessary in this situation, there was no reason to ignore it. So she let her divine power flow along it.

Filling the shape, solidifying it, finalizing it.

And… something appeared.

‘…What is this?’

But her only thought upon seeing the completed item was just that.

Unlike the holy sword she had created earlier, what she made this time was truly something whose purpose she couldn’t determine.

What she had created before her eyes.

It was something she had never seen before. No, really, never.

Not even knowing how to hold it, she first grabbed the elongated part at one end, and could guess it was some kind of blunt weapon.

The way it was shaped, if she swung the part she was holding, the protruding parts on the opposite end could strike an opponent.

Some kind of unusual mace, she supposed. Lilith decided to act based on that judgment.

Lilith took the presumed blunt weapon she had created… and threw it.

Whack!

“Arghhhh!”

No need for dialogue. No negotiation was necessary for this indiscriminate hostage situation.

Though it was just a mass of light with no weight, it was still a mass of divine power.

Getting hit by it would inevitably hurt.

The guy threatening the hostage immediately collapsed, and while the others hesitated in surprise, she quickly ran to retrieve the weapon.

Then she swung it at each of their heads.

Thwack-

Thwack-

It was easy.

They didn’t seem that weak, but they were all subdued with just light taps.

Unlike the battle with Enera, this was the hand-to-hand combat she was used to, so the difference was even more noticeable.

She had become so strong so quickly that all her hard work and growth until now seemed foolish.

Is this really okay? Her values were starting to crumble a bit.

As she was thinking this and about to turn back…

“Over there!!”

“Capture the saint!”

Men wearing the same hoods as the ones she had just beaten started swarming in.

Wait a minute. Ten, twenty, thirty… no, how many are there?

None of them looked particularly strong, but their number was absurdly large.

“Hey, hey! Ludion! Do something about this!”

While she could have handled it alone, the startled Lilith didn’t even have time to make that judgment before quickly hiding behind Ludion.