The Master of Blades Does Not Hide Their Hands – 4

“Umm… umm….”

Maria made unintelligible sounds as she slept soundly.

Recently, dark circles had become severe under her eyes, so I thought she must be tired, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.

“She’s sleeping well.”

It was like looking at my past self who had pulled all-nighters for three days straight.

“……..”

I flipped through the notebook, admiring Maria as she tossed and turned.

Her large chest rising and falling with each breath was impressive.

Is it okay for a Saint to be like this?

Well, who cares. She’s not a real Saint anyway.

After admiring Maria for a while, I shifted my gaze back to the notebook.

The densely written Korean Bible verses greeted me.

After reading the Bible several times, I realized something.

The most important value in Solarium was ‘faith.’

Of course, what religion doesn’t value faith…

[Everything God does has a reason, and those who are servants of God must believe and follow His will.] This phrase can be said to explain Solarium in one go.

All the anecdotes in the Bible are related to ‘faith.’

The Saints in the Bible also showed a different kind of faith from others, and that’s how they were promoted to Saints.

To be exact, they must show extraordinary faith and perform ‘miracles’ to be promoted to Saints.

Miracle.

It’s a very ambiguous word to define, but the miracles Solarium speaks of are as follows:

Things impossible for human power.

Single-handedly knocking down hundreds of people, moving trees to stop landslides caused by heavy rain, or reviving patients who died from terrible plagues with clean bodies, etc.

The miracles written in the Bible are mostly like this.

In the end, to summarize, a believer who performs miracles is a Saint.

Then what is a Saint?

That’s what I’ve been pondering lately.

If a Saint is simply the same as a Saint, it wouldn’t be distinguished separately.

Unlike the Saints frequently mentioned in the Bible, the Saint is mentioned less often, and even those mentions are abstract.

From several readings and information obtained by bothering Sister Maria,

It is said that they appear in a chaotic world, guiding those who believe in God to heaven.

It’s not very clear, though.

Proof of being a Saint can be done through sacred relics passed down from ancient times, and the sword I drew when I came here was a sacred relic.

When a Saint draws the sword, the blade shines white or something.

Thanks to that sword shining, I’m playing the role of a Saint, which I never expected in my life.

“…Umm?”

There’s a sound of tossing and turning on the bed.

Looking at Maria, she has risen and is looking at me with a blank face.

She still has sleepiness dripping from her eyes.

I got up from the desk, approached her, and bent down.

“Where is this…”

Still not fully awake, she mumbled with a dazed face.

Waking her up like that didn’t seem fun, so I whispered to her with a benevolent face.

“Welcome to heaven… Sister Maria.”

“…Hea, ven?”

She slowly turned her head towards me.

I placed my hands over hers, nodding slowly.

“Yes, that’s right. Your steadfast faith has led you to heaven.”

“Ah…”

Even though she wasn’t fully awake, I could see joy gradually filling Maria’s face.

“My, my life wasn’t wrong after all. Ah…”

Tears streamed down from her emerald eyes.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

Seeing Maria crying and bowing, I thought it was time to end the prank.

I flicked her forehead with my finger.

-Ttak!

The sensation of her firm forehead was felt through my finger.

Maria seemed to be in pain, as her head tilted back slightly.

“Ouch!”

Surprised by the sudden pain, Maria raised her hand and rubbed her forehead.

She seemed a little more awake than before.

“Sister Maria, wake up.”

“Sa, Saint?”

Maria’s eyes widened at my words.

Then she looked around, trying to grasp the situation.

The bed she was on, the blanket covering her body.

Maria’s face gradually turned pale as she understood the situation.

“Huh? Ah! Ha!”

Making strange noises, Maria hurriedly tried to get up.

“Shh.”

Knowing what would happen if I left her like this, I put my finger to her lips.

“Are you feeling refreshed?”

When I quietly asked her, Maria silently nodded.

“I, I’m sorry.”

When I took my finger away, Maria quietly mumbled.

“You’ve been overdoing it lately. Reviewing the Bible, training… you must be tired, right?”

When I asked gently, Maria shook her head as if she was okay.

The dark circles under her eyes were still dark, making me feel a little sorry.

Was I overworking her for my convenience? That thought followed.

“I, I’m fine.”

Maria quickly got out of bed and straightened her clothes on the opposite side of me.

My eyes briefly went to her curvy body, and I had to quickly turn my head away.

“Ah, the time is already…”

Personal time was already over.

It was time for everyone to go to sleep, but Maria still had 2 hours left.

2 hours that the Inquisitor had prepared for her to participate in the competition.

“Um, that… Saint. Thank you for your hard work today.”

Maria hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

I nodded at her words that she was going to leave now.

“Sister Maria, you’ve worked hard too. Tell me if you’re tired in the future. You can sleep here.”

“No, no. Oh, I’m really sorry today. Next time, I’ll be more alert…”

“It’s okay. I’m not scolding you for dozing off. Anyway, tell me if you’re tired. How can the body of someone who serves the Saint be in bad condition?”

I calmed her down with a whoa, whoa gesture.

“Th, then I’ll be going now. See you tomorrow.”

After saying goodbye, Maria hurriedly opened the door and left.

30 minutes after Maria left.

I’m still wrestling with the Bible.

No matter how much I read it, I can’t see the end. The abstract and metaphorical content makes my head throb.

“Hmm….”

Should I go for a walk?

It’s bedtime, but no one would say anything to me anyway, since I’m the Saint.

While taking a night walk without deciding on a specific destination, I wondered if Maria was doing well, so I headed to Solacius.

Perhaps because everyone had gone to sleep, I didn’t see anyone except for the Holy Knights patrolling.

I evaded them and headed to the training ground where Maria was likely to be.

Even though I had lost my Inner Force, the stealth skills I learned from Master could be used sufficiently even without Inner Force.

“Hap!”

As I got closer to the training ground, I heard Maria’s voice.

Perhaps because it was night, her voice was clear.

The training ground was a large open space, but it looked more dilapidated compared to the place where the Holy Knights trained.

There were a few torches lit in the training ground, illuminating Maria’s figure as she wielded her sword, practicing on a scarecrow.

“Iyap!”

Maria’s figure, wielding a huge greatsword and attacking the scarecrow, looked strenuous.

“Hmm….”

If she swings like that, continuous attacks will be impossible. There are obvious gaps in each movement.

“Haap!”

A movement of lifting from below.

There’s too much force in her shoulders, lacking accuracy.

It might work if she used the sword as a blunt weapon, but it’s not enough to cut anything.

I grabbed an old wooden sword from the weapon rack on one side.

Then, after taking a deep breath, I kicked off the ground.

“Heua… Ah?”

I used the wooden sword to deflect Maria’s sword as she came down towards the scarecrow.

Due to the strong recoil, Maria fell on her butt.

“Ugh… who… Saint?”

Perhaps having recognized the face of the person who knocked her down, Maria froze.

“Sister Maria. Is the training going well?”

I said, pointing the wooden sword at her.

“Yes…? Ah, that’s…”

“Get up.”

I didn’t give her time to think.

At my words, Maria hesitantly got up.

“Grab your sword.”

She picked up the sword she had dropped.

Maria is the one who helped me a lot in adapting to this world.

So, wouldn’t it be okay to help her this much?

“I’ll watch your posture. Swing your sword once.”

“To, to the Saint?”

“Yes. Come at me with full power, without holding back.”

As I stepped back and took a stance, Maria frowned as if she was troubled.

“Sa, Saint. How can I…”

She stepped forward with her right foot and swung her sword.

-Clang!

With a refreshing sound, the sword Maria was holding flew away.

It would be faster to make her understand this way than to persuade her with words.

“I am stronger than you think, Sister Maria.”

I said in a calm voice, pointing the sword at her again.

“So, grab your sword.”

Maria picked up her sword again.

“Grip the sword tightly.”

As soon as I finished speaking, she swung her sword as before.

-Clang!

Maria’s body staggered greatly, but she still didn’t drop the sword in her hand.

“Good. Then try blocking this.”

After retrieving the sword, I lifted it above my head and struck down as it was.

Maria tried to block the sword with the flat side of her greatsword.

“Good attempt, but your body is open.”

I retrieved the half-lowered sword and gently poked her stomach with the tip of the wooden sword.

“Ugh…!”

Maria’s body collapsed forward.

The impact seemed greater than I expected.

“Are you okay?”

I patted Maria’s back as she gagged.

She coughed for a while, then wiped her mouth with her hand.

“…I’m fine.”

Maria, staggering, took her stance again.

Her usual gentle look was nowhere to be found, and her eyes, full of enthusiasm, were directed at me.

I don’t know if she was angry or if her competitive spirit was aroused.

Anyway, it’s a good look.

I couldn’t hide the corners of my mouth rising without realizing it, and I raised the sword again.

The heavy sensation of the wooden sword was transmitted through my hand.

In fact, my body had been itching for a while.

There’s also the reason of helping Maria, but the truth is that I also want to move.

“Now, do you have the will to give it your all?”

I asked Maria with a grin.

Maria slowly nodded with a tense face.

“Good.”

Right now, I am not Saint Kang In-ho.

I am Kang In-ho, disciple of the Heavenly Demon.