Saint, Advent (3)

『Title: Saint of Prophecy』

After receiving Celista’s consecration and finally awakening as a Saint, I clasped my hands and checked my information window, confirming my title had changed from ‘Ethan’s Exclusive Maid’ to ‘Saint of Prophecy’.

And as soon as I confirmed my newly changed title, the first thought that came to mind was not relief at having safely awakened as a Saint, but a question as to why the title ‘Saint of Prophecy’ was attached.

‘Why did I become the Saint of Prophecy instead of the Saint of Fate?’

According to the information I gained from my memories of clearing 『Luminor Academy』 24 times, if Lilith were to receive the Saint’s consecration according to the original storyline, the name of the Saint she should become would normally be ‘Saint of Fate’.

The Hero of Prophecy summoned from another world, the Saint of Fate with the power to change the future.

These two combinations would have been the IF storyline that would occur if Lilith hadn’t deviated from the original 『Luminor Academy』, so it was a moment when I couldn’t understand why I, too, suddenly became the Saint of Prophecy, just like the Hero.

‘Anyway, since I did awaken as a Saint, it probably doesn’t matter much….’

What was important was that I could now wield Divine Power and could defeat MacHart, so it wasn’t a big problem. Of course, apart from that, I couldn’t help but be bothered by this abnormal phenomenon.

At the very least, if it had been ‘Saint of Indomitability’, which Lilith was supposed to awaken as in the original game, I would have just accepted it, thinking it was the same as the original game, but ‘Saint of Prophecy’ was a title that didn’t even appear in the game.

‘The fact that the future Seraphine sees with her future sight is changing, makes me wonder if ‘I’ and ‘Lilith’ from the game are indeed treated as different beings.’

If I had my way, I wanted to talk with Celista about Divine Power and Saints, but unfortunately, neither she nor I had the leisure to talk right now. I, who had become a Saint after receiving Celista’s consecration, had to quickly go through the discharge procedures right here instead of returning to my hospital room on the 3rd floor of the church.

‘Leading this body filled with divine energy, if I were to go back to be hospitalized, it would be like publicly announcing that I had become a Saint.’

Unless I wanted to announce the fact that I had become a Saint both inside and outside the Academy, I had to get away from the church as quickly as possible while everyone was asleep. And if possible, I shouldn’t encounter anyone who handles Divine Power until the day of the operation.

The fortunate thing was that since it was vacation, the number of Theology Department students remaining at the Academy was small, and even those who remained would mostly be in deep sleep at this hour. As an educational institution based on religion, the Theology Department Dormitory had its own strict rules, and early rising and early bedtime were almost strictly enforced.

Naturally, there wouldn’t be any Theology Department students attending the ‘Impure Nobles’ Gathering’ that would take place soon. Such an event was precisely the kind of place that students serving a devout God should avoid the most.

“I’ll go through the discharge procedures now, but I’ll explain to the other priests that you were discharged as soon as you woke up early in the morning. Many people would find it strange if they knew Lady Lilith was discharged at this hour.”

“Understood, Saint Celista-nim.”

As the High Priest of the Academy Church, Celista could wield authority in patient admissions and discharges, so going through the discharge procedures wasn’t difficult.

“And ‘Saint-nim’? Now, the Saint-nim is Lady Lilith, not me.”

“That’s true, but publicly, the known Saint-nim is still Lady Celista. And I also believe that Saint Celista-nim will surely be able to become a Saint.”

And because I’m going to make it happen.

Celista just laughed off my words, saying, “Thank you for saying that,” but I was certain. Once this matter was over, Celista would receive this Saint’s power from me and soon become the true Saint, and if I just made her a Saint, the story progression would become easy enough that most crises wouldn’t even be crises.

Perhaps because the fact that I was a Saint and the game’s clear condition, which I had worried about for a long time since possessing this world, were about to be resolved all at once, my heart felt light in many ways.

“I have to put away the items used for the consecration before I go in… I’m sorry I can’t see you off.”

“No, not at all. And since it was a consecration I received, I should have been the one helping you, but I couldn’t, so I am truly sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. This is my job, after all.”

From Celista, who spoke as if subtly lowering her own position, I felt a strange sense of incongruity, but at the moment, I didn’t have the leisure to resolve the true nature of that puzzling feeling.

Leaving that slightly uneasy feeling behind and simply gazing blankly up at the sky, as I made my way back to the Swordsmanship Department Dormitory, the night sky on my first night as a Saint seemed to sparkle even more brightly than usual.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The Swordsmanship Department Dormitory, where I returned after receiving consecration as a Saint from Celista.

I, who had fortunately succeeded in sneaking in past the Dorm Supervisor’s eyes, safely entered the 2-person dormitory room where Ethan and I lived, and knocked three times to call the person inside, making sure it could only be heard within.

‘I hope Isabelle isn’t asleep yet.’

That way, Isabelle, not Ethan, would open the door from inside. Perhaps because of the secret outing with Agnes last time, returning to the dormitory at this hour felt strangely nerve-wracking.

Of course, this time I hadn’t done anything wrong, so I was confident when facing Ethan. …Probably.

‘Had I… done nothing wrong?’

If I had to say, it was perhaps that I hadn’t told him I was a Saint until now? But this was something that shouldn’t be carelessly spoken about, so Ethan would probably understand. Or I could make the excuse that I didn’t know I was a Saint until Celista recently told me.

Ethan had told me last time that it was dangerous to wander around late at night, but anyway, whether dangerous students or not, most had returned to their hometowns by now. Even MacHart, the most dangerous one, would be in the Imperial Palace now.

There was no problem with being discharged early even though my hospitalization period remained. Since Divine Power had already begun to flow through my body after awakening as a Saint, I could feel the damaged wounds inside my body regenerating on their own since I received the consecration.

‘Yep, I didn’t do anything wrong.’

Confident that Ethan wouldn’t get angry at me like last time, as I waited for the door to open, a black-haired man opened the door from inside and stepped out, and looked at me with slightly surprised eyes, seeing me return to the dormitory in the middle of the night.

“…Lilith?”

“I apologize for waking you from your deep sleep, Young Master Ethan.”

“That’s fine, but…. Why are you suddenly returning to the dormitory at this hour? Weren’t you at the church?”

“Because all the injuries I sustained in the evaluation match have healed, I went through the discharge procedures.”

“In the middle of the night…? And Saint Celista-nim allowed that…?”

I could feel a strange suspicion in Ethan’s gaze as he looked at me. As if he was considering the possibility that the person in front of him was not Lilith, but someone else.

In fact, I had specifically warned Ethan about this before, so this was an unavoidable reaction. Especially since some demons could change their appearance, it was necessary to suspect everything as much as possible during such a sensitive period.

“If you doubt whether I am truly Lady Lilith, Young Master Ethan’s maid, you are welcome to test me.”

“…Sorry, then, may I ask a few questions?”

“Yes.”

“What was the biggest crisis between Lilith and me?”

“If you’re talking about a crisis between Young Master Ethan and me, it would be when the young Young Master Ethan played an excessive prank on me and I genuinely became enraged by it.”

“…I want to be sure, can you be more specific?”

“Young Master Ethan gave me an ass poke, and I, with the laundry I happened to be holding, strangled Young Master Ethan.”

“When I had no table manners as a child, how did Lilith warn me?”

“Must I repeat the exact words I said then?”

“…Just something similar will do.”

“I don’t remember the exact words, but I believe I told you to shove that chunk of meat covered in spit and handprints into your own damn maw.”

“…When I first asked Lilith who her ideal type was, what did you answer?”

“I spoke about the types I disliked instead of my ideal type.”

“Specifically, what kind?”

“Something like a pig bastard who can’t even manage himself, or a guy who eats noisily at the table without manners, or a pervert who touches butts and gives ass pokes, saying they were the worst. Actually, it might not be exact. At that time, I hated Young Master Ethan the most in the world, so I probably mentioned all the characteristics Young Master Ethan had back then.”

“…Yes, you’re definitely the Lilith I know.”

With those words and a bitter smile, Ethan let me into the dormitory. He quietly mumbled, as if to himself, that no other maid would have been able to act like this.

I had worried that Ethan might scold me for returning at this hour, but it was Ethan, not I, who looked dejected as if he had been scolded.

…Of course, Ethan back then was still an immature child, and I, too, had arbitrarily judged his image based only on the ‘bad ending’ from the game, so I did feel a little sorry for the Ethan of that era.

“Young Master Ethan. The current Young Master Ethan is a wonderful and splendid person, more so than anyone else, so there’s no need to feel bitter about things from your childhood.”

“It’s fine. And it’s as if the Lilith of that time is why I am who I am now. Furthermore, back then, it was a time when my head could have rolled for even a single wrong word to me, yet I’m still grateful to Lilith for speaking her mind to me.”

“No, it wasn’t really words of sincere advice, but….”

Still, Ethan saying that he is who he is now because of the me from back then made me feel a little grateful.

…As expected, I should be honest with Ethan, if no one else.

Both the fact that I became a Saint from what happened just now, and that I had known for a long time that I was destined to become a Saint.