Ch.22Saintess Eirene (2)

The Saintess Eirene (2)

Eirene could understand at first glance when she met the hero.

‘Ah, this person is the same.’

That she too was wearing a mask of lies on her face.

She seemed to somehow know Eirene’s true nature.

While curious about how she knew, Eirene acted kindly as always.

It wasn’t difficult. This kindness was merely something she had been forced to abandon in the past. It was more like reminiscing than acting.

That’s how she came to accompany the hero.

What she learned in the process was that the hero was more cautious than expected. Since she had no backing, she couldn’t refuse support outright, so she only accepted help from Eirene as a Saintess and from one of the most prominent groups in the Empire.

By accepting just that much, she intended to filter out the riffraff trying to forcibly associate with her.

Eirene knew all this but didn’t interfere. If she acted that way, it was actually more convenient. If she wasn’t stupid, defeating the Demon Lord might not just be a dream.

‘Ah, so that’s it?’

She came to understand as they journeyed together.

‘The hero can read people’s surface thoughts.’

The catalyst was when a high-ranking demon approached them. A demon pretending to be the sole survivor of a destroyed village.

She could recognize that being immediately. She wielded holy power. There was no way she wouldn’t recognize a demon.

‘If you look closely, the destroyed village hasn’t been built that long ago.’

It meant the village itself never existed. However, Eirene didn’t bother pointing this out.

She could tell just by looking at the hero’s expression.

That the demon before them was a stronger opponent than expected. That’s why she was playing along despite knowing.

And even to Eirene’s eyes, the rank of the demon who introduced himself as Lug was unclear.

Of course, he wasn’t a noble or a famous demon, so if she used the full power of the Order, she could certainly eliminate him.

‘It’s better to observe for now.’

While keeping an eye on both the hero and Lug, Eirene began manipulating her surface thoughts from that day.

Perhaps by the time the hero first met Eirene, her purpose had already been exposed.

Despite that, the reason she couldn’t prevent Eirene from joining was because she was thinking of adjusting the party by weighing the pros and cons.

‘Maybe…’

They might really be able to defeat the Demon Lord. Ironically, at the point when Eirene decided to manipulate her surface thoughts, she abandoned her hostile thoughts toward the hero.

Of course, the hero wouldn’t be able to know about Eirene’s change.

But she thought it didn’t matter.

Even if her thoughts had changed, whether the hero failed or succeeded, the outcome would be the same as before.

***

Annoying.

That was Eirene’s assessment of their new companion, Lug.

She had considered using the Order’s forces to eliminate him several times.

But a spy, depending on how you use them, could be a means to extract information or lead into a trap.

The hero probably had similar thoughts, which is why she likely left him alone.

Or perhaps she planned to naturally increase the party’s strength and then deal with him personally.

Eirene had no intention of interfering with the hero’s plans. She knew the hero was wary of her, but she intended to be as favorable as possible.

Since she could benefit regardless of the outcome, she wanted to accommodate the hero’s wishes.

If the hero had truly been a fool, she would have pulled strings from behind, but seeing her struggle and effort made Eirene want to cheer her on.

Though she had changed herself, the fundamental part deep inside her still remained, so she tried to believe.

Of course…

“Haha, isn’t the sun a bit strong today? So, I made a parasol, though it’s not much.”

Lug’s annoyingness was enough to irritate her.

‘Well, he is good with his hands.’

Eirene received the parasol from Lug with a forced smile.

For something made of wood, the handle part was heavy, suggesting he had tampered with it.

While thinking she would dismantle and examine it later, Eirene expressed her gratitude as kindly as possible.

‘But really, what kind of method is this to gain favor when you can’t even act properly?’

This crazy guy sometimes picks flowers from the field and gives them to her.

‘Did he learn about the world from fairy tales?’

Yes, he was seriously practicing methods that would only appear in fairy tales.

It’s hard to even pretend to be deceived. Dealing with him makes her head feel like a flower garden.

Of course, Lug was useful.

He fulfilled his role as a porter faithfully and had talent for various other tasks.

But ultimately, he was a demon and a spy.

No matter what he did, he wouldn’t look good in Eirene’s eyes.

“Ah, Mr. Lug. Would you like to pray with me?”

“…Pray?”

“Yes!”

This was a small act of revenge.

Eirene grabbed Lug’s hand with a smile that bloomed like a flower.

And with the intention of teaching this annoying demon a lesson, she rubbed holy power over the back of his hand.

“Uh, I, that… Kuk?!”

Her own kind of warning.

She intended to teach him with a burn mark on the back of his hand what would happen if he tried to get any closer to her.

After watching Lug’s expression as he seemed to endure the pain for a while with a genuine smile, Eirene thought it was enough and released his hand.

“When we pray together, it creates a bond. In the future, we should often…”

Eirene was speaking with full pretense when she suddenly flinched!

“I-I think I’m fine. Yes, I don’t particularly believe in gods, and wouldn’t that deity called the Heavenly God be displeased if someone who doesn’t believe prays? So…”

While Lug rambled due to Eirene’s prayer attack.

Eirene could only stare at the back of Lug’s hand with a look of disbelief.

There was no wound.

She had assessed Lug’s abilities and now she was stronger. Based on that judgment, she thought she could teach him a painful lesson.

Yet there was no wound, which meant one of two things. Either she had misjudged his capabilities, or he possessed special abilities she wasn’t aware of.

Eirene focused on the latter and decided to observe Lug in detail.

Now it was Eirene who clung to him, despite his previous persistent attachment to her.

In fact, Lug tried to keep his distance after being severely dealt with by Eirene.

‘No, why is this guy playing hard to get?’

Reaping what they sowed.

Both Lug, who tried to gain the Saintess’s favor, and Eirene, who tried to uncover Lug’s identity.

A situation unfolded that was beneficial to neither of them.

“Mr. Lug, would you like to pray with me again today?”

“…Do I really have to?”

“Yes!”

“I see…”

And so, for a while, Eirene repeatedly grabbed Lug’s hand to pray in order to uncover his identity.

***

There are no miracles in this world.

Since the Heavenly God left, all that remains are coincidences that appear miraculous.

Eirene knew this, which is why she maintained the Order through all sorts of deceptions. Because she wanted to save people regardless of the existence of gods.

But that doesn’t mean she lost her faith.

She still believes in the Heavenly God.

She desperately searches for him.

She prays that he would once again look upon humans.

Even if he would bring divine punishment upon her.

She wished there was someone who could be a ray of light for those who pray for their future while enduring difficult days.

But she knows. Such things don’t happen.

Eirene lived with such contradictory thoughts.

She was wearing down like that.

But…

“So, well.”

Eirene combined what she had investigated with what she learned through the Order’s power to find information about Lug.

Despite her determined digging, there was less information than expected. If he had been a Legion Commander or the Demon Lord, there would have been more information. Of course, this was because Lug hadn’t made any notable achievements.

And yet, information did emerge.

“A hybrid of demon and human? How can something impossible exist…?”

He was truly a miraculous existence. Because he was a being that could never have been born by coincidence.

It might be inappropriate for her to say as a member of the Order, but demons were far superior in rank compared to humans or other species.

Only the dragon race could compare.

Therefore, a demon hybrid should not exist.

Even if they shared love with another species, what was born would still be a demon.

The blood of the species was so intense that hybrids couldn’t be born.

And the same was true for the dragon race.

Neither human-demon hybrids, human-dragon hybrids, nor even demon-dragon hybrids exist.

A child born between a dragon and a demon is simply either a dragon or a demon.

They can never be hybrids.

But a human-demon hybrid?

“It must be one of three things. Either this information is wrong, it’s a miracle, or…”

Or the mixed blood isn’t human but something entirely new.

But either way, it could be called a miraculous event.

There wasn’t much information about him. Only about 5 years’ worth.

And coincidentally, during those 5 years, the Heavenly God was gone.

Eirene felt her heart race.

Expectation and elation. Things she had abandoned to protect the Order.

“I wish you were a miracle bestowed by the Heavenly God.”

Eirene unconsciously uttered those words and only later realized.

Despite having committed herself to malice, she was still hoping for a miracle to save her.

“Haha…”

She had weakened. But she was grateful that her tender part remained.

Therefore, Eirene prayed.

From that day, her disgust toward Lug disappeared. He began to appear as neither a bug nor a human.

Yes, on that day, Eirene was finally able to see Lug properly.

And the Lug she saw…

“Now that I see, Mr. Lug, you are… an interesting person.”

He was someone worth teasing.