Concerns (1)

After sending Lillith and her guardian, Ethan, back to the Dormitory from the Church’s 1-person hospital room.

As Celista tidied up the 1-person hospital room where Lillith had been until just now, she quietly pondered a private concern she couldn’t share with others.

“I definitely felt it….”

That mysterious yet familiar power she felt from Lillith’s body.

Celista had been the one to examine and treat Lillith’s body most closely over the past three days.

She was already the one among her peers in the Church who could wield the strongest Divine Power.

It was a natural outcome that such a Celista steadily developed her talents as a Priestess.

Now, her ability to wield Divine Power was so exceptional that she was more skilled than typical mid-level priests, truly deserving the title of Saint.

Furthermore, her current ability allowed her to react much more sensitively to even small amounts of Divine Power compared to other priests.

Celista could clearly detect even the faintest power emanating from Lillith’s body.

That faint Divine Power, which one could never possess without receiving priestly ordination from the Church.

“Perhaps, she had previously received priestly ordination from the Church….”

She considered that possibility for a moment, but it was an entirely unlikely scenario.

To prevent Divine Power from spreading indiscriminately, the Aurelia Church strictly managed priestly ordinations, performing them only once every five years for a select number of individuals.

It was also their principle not to ordain those of noble birth or from noble families, to prevent too much power from concentrating in one individual.

However, within Lillith’s body, which she had encountered over three days, a faint yet undeniable Divine Power was clearly felt.

It was only natural for Celista to have doubts because of Lillith’s assertion that she was a noble.

“Perhaps, Lady Lillith truly….”

Divine Power residing in her body despite being of noble birth and not having received priestly ordination.

Celista, who couldn’t possibly be unaware of what that implied, felt a growing unease in her heart.

Because she could easily realize that Lillith was indeed the ‘True Saintess’ the Aurelia Church had once so desperately sought.

Unlike herself, a ‘Fake Saintess’ who had been created.

-Thump.

“…….”

Sitting on the bed, where Lillith’s Divine Power still faintly lingered, Celista quietly fell into thought.

Was it truly a good choice to reveal right now that she had found the ‘True Saintess’ the Aurelia Church had been searching for?

For Hero-nim, wouldn’t Lillith, who was the Saintess herself, be more helpful in future crises than Celista, who was merely at the level of a High Priest?

…And if she were to reveal the existence of the True Saintess, what fate would befall her?

The True Saintess, whom the Aurelia Church had failed to find.

Celista didn’t know the reason why they hadn’t found her, but at the very least, she was acutely aware of how precarious her own position was.

She, the Fake Saintess, had been created by the High Priests of the Saintess Search Team to deflect their own responsibility.

It had already been five years since the High Priests had suddenly appeared before her, who was merely a novice priest from an orphanage, and abruptly made her a Saintess.

At first, she was content with simply eating slightly more delicious food than usual and sleeping in a soft bed instead of a hard one.

But as time passed and she matured, Celista keenly realized just how heavy the title of Saintess she bore truly was.

Countless times, she had been crushed by that pressure and wanted to abandon the title of Saintess and run away.

The world probably needed Lillith, the True Saintess, more than a weak Fake Saintess like herself.

Celista was convinced that Lillith, with her resolve to calmly face even a colossal Monster like a Kraken, would be far more helpful to Hero-nim and the world than she herself could be.

…Of course, whether she could tell the Main Church this truth she had discovered was an entirely separate matter, regardless of her thoughts.

“If I were to tell the Main Church this….”

It wasn’t difficult to imagine what her future would be like once she was no longer useful as a Fake Saintess.

If it merely meant being stripped of her Saintess status and returning to being an ordinary Priestess, she wouldn’t care.

Or, even if she were excommunicated and expelled from the Church for impersonating a Saintess, that would be acceptable.

However, Celista instinctively felt that the title of Fake Saintess she had been given was not an issue that could be resolved so simply.

The moment she revealed that she was actually a Fake Saintess and had found the True Saintess, she would undoubtedly be eliminated to cover up the Church’s shame and ensure her silence.

With the dishonor of ‘a Priestess who impersonated a Saintess’ also being attached to her name.

“I don’t want that….”

Why had she ended up in a position where she had to ponder such a heavy topic?

She had vaguely realized the immense responsibility that came with the title of Saintess ever since she began to act in accordance with it.

But she hadn’t anticipated that it was a title that required her to sacrifice her life to uphold a greater cause if push came to shove.

Since the True Saintess hadn’t appeared for over five years, she had thought that perhaps the True Saintess was already gone or no longer a Saintess.

And if the Saintess truly didn’t appear, she had resolved to do her best as a mere Priestess to become Hero-nim’s own Saintess.

However, contrary to Celista’s expectations, the Saint of Prophecy still remained, and even her potential as a Saintess was still present.

Ultimately, she had to make the choice herself.

Whether to willingly sacrifice her life and endure dishonor for the world, and in doing so, bring Lillith, the True Saintess, into the Aurelia Church.

Or, to continue pretending to be the Saintess as she had until now, and in doing so, recklessly ignore the crises that would come in the future.

“Hero-nim…. I’ve only just met you….”

Their connection had begun with their first meeting, when he saved her from a Monster attack.

He had protected her without a shred of doubt, even though they had only just met, from those who questioned whether she was truly worthy of being a Saintess.

Hero-nim had even attributed his own achievements to her, the Saintess, continuously upholding her honor as the Fake Saintess.

Moreover, when they were alone, he had even whispered that it didn’t matter if she wasn’t a Saintess.

Celista had already fallen in love with the Hero, who was like a knight on a white horse from a fairy tale, a long time ago.

The desire to remain by Hero-nim’s side for as long as possible. And the greater cause of sacrificing herself and elevating the True Saintess for Hero-nim.

For a young twenty-year-old girl in love, it was an incredibly cruel choice.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Swordsmanship Department, Hero’s Dormitory.

Kyetmajosyegigot Bolt, the 1st Year Top Student of Luminor Academy’s Swordsmanship Department and the Hero of Prophecy, who had made many significant contributions.

He, too, like Celista, was grappling with no small amount of concerns due to the incident that had occurred two days prior.

After he transmigrated as the Hero into the world of 『Luminor Academy』, the character who had changed the most compared to the original was the Pig Prince, Ethan.

No, the title he encountered in this world was not something like ‘Pig Prince’ from the moment they first met.

From the start, he wasn’t fat enough to be called the Pig Prince; if anything, he was closer to a lean, muscular build.

Ethan of Twin Swords.

It was a simple title, but it held meaning for him.

Firstly, the fact that it wasn’t a negative title like ‘Pig Prince’ was enough for him to understand that Ethan wouldn’t simply appear as a villain, as he did in the game.

Furthermore, now, more than half a year and a month had passed since their first meeting.

The Hero was clearly convinced that Ethan was already a different person from Ethan Richard Blackwood in the game.

Therefore, Kyetmajosyegigot had naturally considered the possibility that Ethan was either a Transmigrator or a Regressor at first.

“Perhaps, he’s not a Transmigrator, but a Regressor.”

Due to the incident two days prior, the Hero’s speculation had undergone a slight change.

His bewildered and helpless appearance upon seeing Lillith in cardiac arrest on the Lakeside Promenade.

More than anything, seeing his anger towards the Hero for attempting CPR and his unwavering vigilance until the very end, it wasn’t difficult to ascertain that he was not a Transmigrator.

If he had been a Transmigrator, he would naturally have possessed knowledge of CPR, and indeed, would have attempted chest compressions to save Lillith before the Hero even arrived.

With one possibility eliminated, there were now two main possibilities remaining.

One was the possibility that Ethan was not a ‘Transmigrator’ but a ‘Regressor,’ having returned from a future where he had died once, now living his second life.

If not that, then the other was….

“Could it be that it’s not Ethan?”

The possibility that another surrounding character, not Ethan himself, had transformed him from ‘Pig Prince Ethan’ into ‘Ethan of Twin Swords’.

Although the trigger was accidental, it allowed Kyetmajosyegigot, the Hero, to begin approaching the correct answer.