episode_0034

“Bishop, please raise your head now. Please, I beg you.”

“But, Saintess…”

“Your judgment was not wrong at all. In order to protect the entire Air Grants Church, I would have done the same thing. Rather, you have done a lot for me despite the fact that it was for the entire Air Grants Church. So, please raise your head. Please.”

“Saint…”

Late at night, an old man was kneeling in repentance in the main building of the Basilica of St. Marcelino, and after receiving a visit from someone, he was bowing his head and asking for forgiveness.

The person seeking forgiveness was none other than the saint, Milicia Airgrants.

Immediately after the duel, the bishop quickly paid the adventurers who had accepted the commission and settled everything. After that, he rested, but even though he was sure that no one would say anything, he did not sleep for several days and knelt in the cathedral and prayed for repentance.

And when the saint heard the news of the bishop and came to see him, he turned his head and did something that would make the saint uncomfortable.

The saint could understand the bishop’s feelings and sympathized with his actions, but at the same time, deep inside her, emotions welled up. Although this time, he could not provide much protection for the saint’s future, he did the best he could.

He helped Glenn and the saint meet and train smoothly, delegated the saint’s duties to the monks under her command, and personally took charge of all preparations for the duel.

Even against the saint’s objection, he emptied the assets of the church and the bishop himself to pay the adventurers. It was strange that the salary of Glenn, who was hired directly by the saint, was the lowest (Glenn himself did not expect a high reward), but there were many things the saint felt sorry for and grateful for.

‘My Lady, please stop the bishop. I am so worried.’

‘Monk Benedict, what are you saying?’

‘The bishop has been kneeling and praying in the cathedral since he was made to feel guilty and has not eaten a single sip of water or food, so I am very worried about his health.’

‘My Lord, Bishop… why…’

‘Maybe it is…’

‘ah…!’

However, what he witnessed in the cathedral he hurried to after hearing the words of the Benedict monk was dismal. Bishop Abraham was bowing his head like this, feeling responsible for the saint being involved in the duel itself, and also feeling guilty for not knowing at all that she had newly awakened as a saint.

Because it was one of his responsibilities. Because it was one of the things he had to know.

Because that is an ability that parents who raise children must have.

But it wasn’t like this. No one wanted it like this.

Finally, the saintess decided not to hold back and spoke strongly. Tears began to flow out of her eyes little by little.

The saint remembered the days of the past. The bishop, who was solemn but sometimes had a gentle smile and stroked her head. The kind figure who brought her something sweet from somewhere whenever she had a hard time during her harsh lessons as a child.

So, it was more difficult for the saint to bear the sight of the bishop looking frustrated and guilt-ridden.

“Bishop. Haven’t you always said that it is impossible for mere humans like us to fully understand the will of God? Haven’t you always said that teachings are difficult to fully understand no matter how many times we ponder them? Haven’t you taught us that life is something that we cannot know even an inch ahead of us? Even if you are our leader, isn’t it impossible to foresee the entire future? Please take it away. I, I… I can’t stand this attitude of the one who has protected and cared for me since I was young.”

“Saint…”

The bishop looked up and saw the saint. From the beautiful statue, a lively action was seen. It was tears. Tears of love, flowing from her. Tears of mercy. And that was not all. He saw. He witnessed the light that only a true ‘divinity’ can radiate. He witnessed the ‘sign of wings’ that only a saint can show. Once again.

Oh, God. You have taken away this old man’s mistakes, you have forgiven this old man. I am truly grateful. But, even so… the bishop could not easily straighten his kneeling posture. There was another reason.

“Saint…my attitude is not just because of that. After the sign appeared again, I realized it through the old book. After the sign appeared again to you…you also know the new fate that has come upon you.”

“Ah…”

At those words, the saint’s beautiful face hardened. Yes. She had vaguely understood, but she also knew. Her sudden awakening was by no means a coincidence. It was something like fate. It was an absolute fate that she had to overcome.

“I know…but please wake up now.”

“Saint…”

Nevertheless, the saint reached out and raised the old bishop. The bishop stood up hesitantly, but his complicated expression did not disappear.

How compassionate is this person, this saint?

Even though he will face new hardships and collapse from exhaustion, no one will be able to say anything.

Still…

“The grace of God that was given to me again… reminded me. The path I should take. The future I should pursue. And… what I should do for all of us.”

I walked slowly and stood in front of the stained glass window, the pride of the cathedral. I put my hands together and prayed under the moonlight.

It felt like the moonlight had grown stronger. No, it was real.

The moonlight was shining only on the saintess, as if giving a revelation.

So cold, so sacred.

“1 year, the grace of God that was given to me again can only be used for one year. And within that one year… I must travel around the world and purify all the ‘signs of manifestation’. That is my destiny.”

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The Northern Kingdom, the Kingdom of Steraria, sought to develop in various directions in order to survive the attacks of the Demons. Morbius Academy, which is today called the continent’s best educational and academic institution, was one of the Northern Kingdom’s struggles.

It was an academy that the country supported with great effort to cultivate numerous talented people, promote the development of the country, and cultivate the power to stop the Demon King’s army.

Most of the students were children of the nobility, but there were some who were not like that. They were commoners who passed the difficult entrance exam, or foreigners who came as exchange students for exchange with the southern kingdom of Alcrea.

In particular, at the university facilities of Morbius Academy, a considerable number of students from the Southern Kingdom were still studying hard today.

Among them, there were two people who stood out. They were two brothers who always wore the same brown cloak and boasted tall stature. The older brother had his brown hair tied into a ponytail, while the younger brother had long hair that was neatly styled.

While the older brother always had a sharp expression on his face, the younger brother maintained a calm and comfortable aura.

They were the eldest and second sons of the Schwenheiser Baron family of the Kingdom of Alcrea, and the senior adventurers of the Southern Kingdom Adventurer’s Guild, brothers Eldaus Schwenheiser and Elderis Schwenheiser.

These two people, who possess outstanding talent for magic, and even for a very rare attribute of magic, decided to study abroad after working as adventurers in their home country, and entered Morbius Academy as exchange students a year ago, satisfying their thirst for learning and devoting themselves to research activities.

The guildmaster requested that two outstanding high-level adventurers be sent to the Northern Kingdom as a sort of dispatch, and the king, who was interested in nurturing outstanding talents, approved. The older brother was talented in magic that manipulated space, and the younger brother was talented in magic that manipulated time.

It was a very rare talent, and there was no reason to block the development of those with such talent. Of course, the Northern Kingdom had no reason not to accept them either.

“Huh? Hey, bro. Look at this.”

And, among the brothers who were devoting themselves to research in their personal research labs set up at the academy, the younger one gestured to his older brother while looking through the telescope.

Unlike his younger brother, who was obsessed with using a telescope to observe the sky, his older brother, Elsadus, was devoted to reading. He was in a posture that was exactly like someone who had remained in the Southern Kingdom.

“Huh? What is it?”

Even their speech patterns were similar. So, during the time when they were adventurers together, Elsadus and Glenn were sick of hearing, “Aren’t you two brothers?” Of course, whenever they heard that, the two denied it by saying, “What’s similar to that short-skinned senior?”, “What’s similar to that arrogant guy who’s like a long pole?”

Elderis, who was his real brother next to him, didn’t stop him at all, and the other two friends enjoyed the scene while teasing him. It was hard, but it was a good time.

“The twinkling of these stars, something is strange. This place is definitely…”

Anyway, Elsadus, who had closed his book and come to the telescope at the call of his only brother, took the place of Elderis, who had left, and looked at the telescope. Astronomy was a subject that was mainly studied by those among magicians who were interested in prophecy or predicting the future.

Of the two, Elderis was most interested in time manipulation magic, and naturally wanted to learn about predicting the future. Elsudus was also talented in space distortion magic, and was interested in astronomy, which involves observing the distant sky.

So, we were doing astronomical observations by sharing a large telescope that was so expensive that people outside couldn’t even imagine.

“Don’t over-interpret. Let’s see…”

Unlike his younger brother, who muttered ominous words with a bad expression on his face, his older brother looked at the bookshelf with a calm expression and carefully searched for books related to constellations.

As he was flipping through the book, he finally came across a picture of a star and cautiously asked a question.

“Hmm, those were definitely the stars that were shining next to Sagittarius? There were five stars shining in a sort of pentagon shape. ”

“Yeah. Sure.”

The younger brother answered while checking the astronomy in real time through the telescope, while the older brother closed the book and fiddled with his chin. The book explained it clearly.

Five stars. Their twinkle.

It was a sign that was simply too difficult to dismiss as a coincidence. It might have been possible for an ordinary person, but it was impossible for two aspiring magicians who were passionate about their research.

“I guess I should tell Professor Polyus, right?”

“Well, you’re interested in astronomy, but you’re not an expert, right?”

The younger brother mentioned the name of a professor who was close to him and his older brother. However, the older brother, Elsa, shook his head. This was because he was thinking about the person’s area of expertise.

Instead, he looked out the window, not through the telescope, but with his own eyes, at the bright constellation Sagittarius near the moon, and five faint stars shining beside it.

Finally, he discovered something.

“This…”

Near the window, something was flying. It landed on the window railing and made a loud thud, hitting the window glass.

Elsadus frowned. Her younger brother Elderis opened his mouth in surprise. She knew very well what the unexpected intruder was.

It was a western city. That too…

“This is the guild master’s…”

“Yeah. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it. It’s the messenger that the guild master uses to make emergency contact with high-level adventurers. ”

Perhaps, only high-level adventurers who have been on long-term missions or dispatched to distant places can see it. After slightly opening the window, Elsadus reached out to the carrier pigeon. This pigeon had a small note tied to its ankle.

Elsudas reached out and unwrapped the note. As if flowing water, Elsudas read the contents of the note, and Jeon Seo-gu soon moved away from the window.

“Fuck.”

With a bad expression on his face, Elsa handed the note to his younger brother, muttering curses. The younger brother quickly read it and looked at his older brother with a pale face.

The question that face was asking was clear. There were no words, but I could understand.

“Let’s go see Belzeph tomorrow.”

The younger brother nodded. The meaning was conveyed, and his brother had made the right decision. Of course, any high-level adventurer who had figured out this short story would have done the same.

Brother, Elsa Schwenheiser muttered in a mocking tone, frankly confessing his feelings about the sudden contact.

“A super special request to prevent the destruction of the world. Our country also has really poisonous hobbies.”