Chapter 111

EP.111 Winter (2)

How long has it been since I’ve seen that expression on his face?

After Regis, with a rare emotionless expression, boldly stepped into the Meeting Room where an unknown threat might lurk, Dawna was lost in thought for a while.

”How could she make Lowville this angry… Saint… What kind of person is she…?”

“Y-Yes! That’s definitely anger, right? It is, isn’t it!?”

Marianne quickly caught Dawna’s flustered mumbling.

Even though it was rude to dare question a hero revered by the entire nation, her unconscious action was born from a strong desire to resolve the heavy doubt resting in her heart as soon as possible.

Seeing Regis, who had been known for his gentle, almost foolishly kind nature, getting upset at the Saint was simply shocking.

Moreover, the stark contrast in visual information only fueled Marianne’s suspicions.

Just moments ago, he had been looking fondly upon the injured, now he stood staring coldly at the Meeting Room door like a wax figure, sending shivers down her spine.

”Ahem, you are… Marianne, I believe…?”

”A-Ah! S-Sorry! Even if you were wearing something completely different! To not recognize you, a member of the Hero Party, Dawna! And to question you before even greeting you! Please forgive my rudeness! I am Marianne, the personal secretary of Sister Beltein, who oversees all affairs of this monastery! I apologize for my late introduction!”

”Ah, I see. I didn’t mean to admonish you, so please lift your head.”

Dawna realized her appearance and suddenly turned red, avoiding eye contact as Marianne bowed her head as if she would bury it into the floor.

In reality, it wasn’t completely her fault that Marianne couldn’t recognize Dawna right away.

It’s rare to find someone who could identify a Mage in a nursing uniform specifically designed to emphasize feminine curves with no practical use at all.

Dawna didn’t want the subject of her impulsively chosen outfit to continue any longer, so she hastily changed the topic.

”Ahem! By your words, it seems Lowville’s behavior hasn’t changed here either… Just to be sure, have you ever seen him make that face before?”

”Ah, no… I’ve never seen Priest Regis, who was as gentle as a lamb, so enraged in my entire life…”

”Hmm! Of course, that makes sense!”

Marianne felt a sense of unease from Dawna’s slightly self-satisfied demeanor, but such a minor impression quickly faded under the weight of her rising certainty.

‘Priest Regis… was indeed a member of the Hero Party…!’

The fact that Regis had once been part of the Hero Party had already been told to Marianne by Sister Beltein, but seeing the reality with her own eyes made the feeling more powerful.

”Well, it’s not surprising. Lowville’s frustratingly limited nature has always been a hot topic within our party. It’s easy to call him limited, but really, he could just as easily be labeled as an easy target. He used to give away all the rewards we earned to beggars in the streets and always kept prayers saved for party members even when his own life was in danger. He was something else.”

”Ah, I see…”

Marianne involuntarily gasped at Dawna’s sudden flood of words.

But Dawna’s complaints, reminiscent of a wife airing her husband’s grievances, showed no signs of stopping.

How long had it been?

As Dawna’s endless chatter seemed to stretch into eternity, Marianne’s once-clear consciousness began to droop like cheese left in the oven.

”But even for Lowville, there is one thing he absolutely cannot tolerate.”

”…Huh?”

The words murmured with a distinctly different emotion drew Marianne’s scattered consciousness sharply back to attention, revealing a heavy weight beneath them.

”In front of a heartless person who carelessly handles the lives of others, he…”

◈◈◈

Despite the unnameable heat rising from my lower abdomen, a certain decision made in my mind only turned more chilling.

”O-Oppa…”

”Don’t come any closer. I’ve told you clearly, Saintess.”

Did she think my cold rejection was merely an echo carried by the gusts of wind?

Once again, I firmly deterred the Saintess from carelessly closing the distance.

”H-Huh…!”

The red eyes, unable to turn away from reality, were now glistening with unshed tears, droplets forming on her thin lashes.

If it were the usual me, I would have certainly softened at that point.

It hasn’t been easy to harshly speak to a girl who was crying so sorrowfully, especially as a member of the clergy, and level harshness at another was something I deeply detested.

But now that I felt firsthand how my irresponsible choices could lead to ruin, I could no longer indulge in a comfortable path.

”If you step even one inch closer, I swear I won’t show my face to you again, Saintess.”

”…!”

The Saintess came to a dead halt.

My calm tone was unlike me. The cold expression I wore lent a heavy sincerity to my declaration.

Right then, her expression twisted in pain as if she had been stabbed in the gut, revealing just how terrifying it would be for her never to see me again.

There were two reasons the Saintess stopped approaching me.

First, to protect the Sister, who was on the brink of death and whom the Saintess presumably had harmed.

Second, being compelled to face that pitiful expression up close was bound to dull the resolve I had so painfully solidified.

”Ugh, ugh!”

Clang.

At that moment.

An unpleasant noise of heavy metal intertwining erupted from behind the Saintess, just as I quickly brought the Blade of the Rosary to my throat.

”…!”

Clang!

Like a bolt of lightning clearing the sound, when I regained my senses, the chains that had burst forth from behind the Saintess were already closing in on me.

But this sudden attack did not reach my body.

The blade I had pressed lightly against my throat, crimson droplets leaking from its tip, brought the Saintess’s body and mind to a sudden halt.

”If you try to force me to leave, I will slit my own throat right here.”

”Ugh, ugh!”

The Saintess was trying to physically restrain me from leaving.

That was something I could easily anticipate, and I had a clear way to resolve it.

Self-harm. The most effective bargaining chip against the Saintess, who feared injuries above all.

Up until now, I had hesitated to use this option solely out of concern for her mental health.

But in a situation where a life could be extinguished, I had no reason to hold back on using this card.

”Re-Reigis… Priest…”

”Don’t worry, Sister. I’ll get you out soon.”

”Ah, as I hoped…!”

While it was certainly good news that the Sister regained enough strength to speak, it wouldn’t be unusual for her temporarily improved condition to deteriorate again in this terrible cold, so I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

I had no way of knowing why the Saintess had brought the Sister to such a state.

Even for me, who had observed the Saintess from a close distance for a long time, her mind was hard to grasp.

The tantrums, minor whims, picky eating.

Perhaps this madness was driven by the thought that if the Sister, who had taken care of her in my absence due to health issues, disappeared, I might visit again.

Crunch.

The fire that had been simmering in my thoughts flared up again.

All the gentle hopes I had harbored for the Saintess had crumbled at this moment.

No matter how erratic her actions may be, the tiny flicker of hope that once convinced me she wouldn’t repeat a mistake again was now extinguished.

The slight expectation that she would never harm someone as devoted as the Sister was simply shattered.

In their place rose intense disappointment toward a being so indifferent to the lives of others for her own purpose.

And an overwhelming hatred for my own self for allowing her to reach such a state.

”Well then, I’ll take my leave, Saintess.”

”H-Huh! Ugh! O-Oppa… O-Oppa!”

Perhaps because I had been embracing the Sister.

As I pushed open the Meeting Room door, which felt heavier than usual on my back, the Saintess’s tearful pleas briefly stopped me in my tracks.

But my response was utterly simple and clear.

”I am not your oppa. Saintess.”

That had never been the case, and it certainly wouldn’t be in the future.