Chapter 283

…This woman is Saint Lepheria?!

I stared at the Archbishop, my eyes wide with shock.

The Archbishop met my gaze with a gentle smile.

Her expression seemed to say, “Yes, that’s right.”

An eerie silence filled the room.

It took me a while to gather my thoughts, my mind reeling from the revelation.

Saint Lepheria.

An indispensable figure in this game.

The academy itself, the main setting of the game, had been built to honor her achievements.

Even the name of the capital city, Holy City, was a tribute to her.

She was a legendary figure who had saved the world.

But.

She was also a figure from the past, long dead.

She had lived a thousand years ago.

I had naturally assumed that she was no longer alive.

But.

‘She’s still alive…?’

It was unbelievable.

But I couldn’t deny the evidence I had seen with my own eyes.

The status window didn’t lie.

*Thud.*

I sat back down on my chair awkwardly.

“…It seems like I’ve made a mistake. We need to talk again, calmly.”

“Yes, we do.”

The Archbishop, no, the Saint, smiled and sat down across from me.

“Um, could you please stop using formal language…”

“Is there a problem?”

“It’s uncomfortable, uncomfortable…”

“Oh my, then I should do it even more.”

The Saint chuckled playfully.

Uncomfortable.

…Seriously uncomfortable.

I scratched the back of my head.

“Um, ma’am…”

*Thump!*

…The Saint fell backward.

Her expression was as if she had been struck in the back of the head with a hammer.

Her lips trembled.

“H-H-H-H-How dare you, student.”

“…”

D-Did her eyes just flash red…?

It must have been my imagination…?

Anyway, I felt a genuine threat to my life and quickly tried to salvage the situation.

“Sorry. That was a bit too far, sis?”

*Thump!*

…The Saint, who had been trying to get up, fell backward again.

Oh, this wasn’t good either?

“…I apologize, Saint. I’ll be more careful.”

I said, my expression serious.

“It’s okay, my cute little brother. I’ll endure it.”

The Saint smiled sweetly.

Uncomfortable.

So uncomfortable.

I had made a mistake.

I had made a big mistake.

“…Saint, I’ll be good.”

I repented.

* * *

After the brief commotion (?), we returned to the main topic, our expressions serious.

I was on high alert.

Because I knew that this meeting would have a significant impact on future events.

It was that important of a meeting, that important of a relationship.

‘We’re connected in so many ways.’

Not to mention the academy, the secret of the forbidden underground, which I had thought was a clue to the ending, the hidden dungeon in the Abandoned Land Castle, the hidden dungeon on the island… they were all connected to the Saint.

And she wasn’t even a dead figure from the past, she was alive and well?

And she was the Archbishop of the academy?

If I couldn’t grasp the significance of this connection, I didn’t deserve to clear this game.

The Saint was definitely a key figure related to clearing the game.

There was one important question I had to address.

Enemy or ally?

‘Honestly, she’s an unpredictable person. But her words about wanting to save the world probably weren’t a lie.’

The Red Rain was plotting to resurrect the Dark God.

To destroy the world by resurrecting the Dark God.

Their goal was to destroy the current world and create a new one, whatever that meant.

But the Saint was different.

She was the one who had defeated and sealed the Dark God to prevent the world’s destruction.

And it seemed like her intentions hadn’t changed.

She had declared the leader of the Red Rain as her enemy.

It meant that,

‘She’s not an enemy. And the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’

I wasn’t naive enough to blindly trust her just because she was the legendary Saint.

But I believed in the logic that the enemy of my enemy was my friend.

Because that was the truth of the world.

My decision was made.

“Saint.”

“Yes, speak.”

“I want to join forces with you.”

I said directly.

There was no need to beat around the bush.

There was only one option.

“That’s a tempting offer, but I need a reason.”

The Saint asked, twirling a strand of her plucked hair between her fingers.

She seemed attached to her hair.

Was it all a wig…?

“That was creepy. What were you thinking just now?”

She was smiling, but her eyes weren’t. It was a chilling sight.

“N-Nothing, really…”

“Really?”

“Y-Yes, really.”

“Then why are you stuttering?”

“I-I’m nervous, nervous. I’m human too, you know.”

“Hmm, fine.”

She let it slide.

…I was too scared to even think straight.

I chuckled wryly and sat up straight.

“Can I tell you the reason now?”

“Go ahead.”

“Because it would be mutually beneficial.”

“Mutually beneficial.”

The Saint looked at me expectantly.

I continued, “Honestly, my encounters with the Red Rain and my interference with their plans have all been coincidental. I wouldn’t want to get involved with them otherwise.”

A truth mixed with a lie.

One encounter was coincidental, but the other wasn’t.

It was true that I didn’t want to get involved with them, but I had to confront them eventually.

To prevent the bad ending.

But I lied.

Because I had to show her that there was a price for my cooperation.

“Hmm, I see.”

The Saint nodded slightly.

I concluded, “But now that I know what they’re planning, I can’t just ignore them. It’s something I can’t tolerate. However,”

“However?”

“I don’t have the courage to face them alone. But if you were with me, if you supported me, I would feel much more confident.”

I had done a good job of sweet-talking her.

And it seemed to be effective.

“Is that so? Haha, then very well.”

The Saint smiled brightly.

“It’s the Archbishop’s duty to support a student’s actions. And it’s the Saint’s duty to support a believer’s actions.”

*Swoosh.*

She extended her hand.

I took her hand and shook it.

“If you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll do my best to assist you.”

“Thank you. Likewise, if you need anything, please contact me. I’ll do my best.”

I smiled.

The Saint smiled back.

It was a heartwarming scene…

“Then shall we begin right away?”

“Huh?”

Her unexpected words made my eyes widen.

Begin right away? What was she talking about…?

“Please protect the academy.”

“The academy…?”

“The last and most important piece for the Dark God’s resurrection is buried within the academy.”

“…”

I was speechless, staring at her blankly.

The Saint chuckled.

“Was my explanation insufficient? Let me put it simply. This academy was originally built as a disguise, to hide the fact that the Dark God is sealed here.”

* * *

I laughed.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Because I had finally found the answer I had been searching for.

No, I had been told the answer.

I felt a sense of relief.

It was such a relief that I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

“So that’s what it was. No wonder I couldn’t figure it out.”

I muttered to myself, chuckling.

Most players had suspected that the academy held an important secret.

But this wasn’t something you could figure out just by making superficial guesses.

To reach this answer, you had to clear several difficult tasks.

You had to conquer the forbidden underground and uncover the hidden secret from a thousand years ago.

You had to learn about the Dark God and the Saint and the Great Sage’s failed attempt to seal him.

And you had to learn that they had dismembered the Dark God and sealed his body parts separately in various locations around the continent.

But that wasn’t enough.

You also had to know about the Red Rain.

And not just know about them, but you had to encounter them at the sealed locations and realize their true objective.

And most importantly,

You had to survive all of that, the forbidden underground, the encounters with the Red Rain, and the conflict with the Church.

Could any player do all of that?

Probably not.

I had miraculously succeeded.

That’s why I was able to finally uncover the academy’s secret.

“The key was the Archbishop.”

You had to learn the Archbishop’s true identity.

And you had to cooperate with her.

That was the key to reaching the answer.

In the end,

“That’s why it’s the academy.”

The place that had to be protected to prevent the world’s destruction.

The place built by the Saint, who was now the Archbishop.

There was no other place that could be both the beginning and the end of the game.

“So many things make sense now.”

I smiled, feeling a sense of clarity.

I finally understood why so many strange incidents occurred at the academy.

Because I had seen it.

How the forbidden underground had been warped by the Dark God.

The entire underground had become a bizarre and twisted space, its laws different from the surface world.

And the academy, where an important piece of the Dark God was sealed, was no exception.

The Saint had been suppressing it with various measures.

But she was reaching her limit.

She had said it herself.

– The time is coming.

– What time?

– The time of my death.

– …

– I’m old and weak now.

Her words had made me realize another important fact.

The Saint was a legendary hero.

She had defeated the Dark God and successfully sealed him.

So as long as she was alive and well, the academy should have been safe, even with those who plotted against it.

But it wasn’t.

The hero was old.

She was weak.

She was no longer able to properly handle the incidents that plagued the academy.

She was no longer able to stop the Red Rain from breaking the seals around the continent.

“Well, that’s how the story works, I guess.”

I muttered, nodding.

Anyway, many things had become clear.

It meant that I could prepare for the future with more certainty.

‘I have more questions, but this is enough for now.’

Her relationship and history with the leader of the Red Rain.

I had tried to pry it out of her, but she had only given vague answers.

It probably meant that I wasn’t worthy yet.

‘Anyway.’

I stood up.

“I have work to do.”

My steps were light, buoyed by the significant progress I had made.

* * *

“Why didn’t you tell him?”

A figure materialized out of thin air, like a ghost.

A pale, middle-aged man with cloudy eyes.

Sigmund, the 2nd ranked Guardian Knight.

No one knew that he was actually the Saint’s confidant.

Because he kept it a secret.

“Tell him what?”

The Saint smiled gently.

“Where the ‘true’ last piece is sealed.”

Sigmund’s gaze was fixed on the Saint’s right breast.

It was a meaningful look.

“Haha, I can’t trust him completely yet.”

“I thought you trusted him, considering you even plucked out your hair.”

“…Why that part?”

“Huh? Hair is very important…”

“Never mind, never mind.”

The Saint shook her head, clicking her tongue.

A brief silence.

Sigmund scratched his head and asked, “…How are you feeling?”

“I’m still holding up.”

“Your eyes turned red…”

The Saint’s eyes were originally an ocean blue.

A change in her eye color meant that she was being influenced by something else.

Sigmund knew the reason.

“It was just a momentary lapse of control, because I was shocked.”

“Shocked? By what?”

“He called me ‘ma’am’.”

“That part…?”

“What else could it be?”

“Ah… Yes… I see.”

“Do you find my reaction unpleasant?”

“N-No…”

“Get out!”

…Sigmund was kicked out.