Chapter 99
As Kraush walked down the temple corridor, wiping the cold sweat from his brow, he found himself in a bit of a pickle due to Bianca’s increasingly icy glare.
This was the first time he had felt so surprised by her cold demeanor.
Fortunately, they had come to an agreement to explore the Freeman Holy Kingdom together later, but it was strange that such a simple plan could diffuse her anger.
Ugh, that good-for-nothing, is he trying to bring yet another girl into his life?
At that moment, Crimson Garden appeared by the window in the corridor.
She tidied her wings and looked at Kraush with a mixture of disappointment and disbelief.
Doesn’t he know what happens if a regresssor messes around with things?
“Seriously, how do you treat people like that? I’ve never lived so chaotically!”
Hmph, do you think just playing around physically isn’t chaotic? Your very existence is chaotic!
“That’s not what I—hey, Crimson, what are you talking about?!”
Suddenly, they were engaged in a less-than-proper conversation, with Crimson Garden throwing out rude remarks so casually.
Tsk tsk, you’ll realize it when a woman appears claiming to have given birth to your child. By that time, you won’t have a leg to stand on.
“I’m telling you, that won’t happen!”
Seriously, did people see him like this?
First of all, he had zero intentions of getting involved with someone until at least the disaster was prevented.
This wretched world could explode at any moment, after all!
“More importantly, Crimson, do you remember what we talked about regarding Bianca the other day?”
I’ve already called her over to the Valheim residence.
Crimson Garden let out a long sigh.
I know what it’s like to feel helpless while watching others suffer.
Perhaps because she had often had to watch the helpless deaths of the attendants.
It seemed Crimson Garden cared a lot about Bianca as well.
Ultimately, it appeared that Crimson Garden had some fondness for Bianca.
“Thanks! I’m sure Bianca will appreciate it.”
Better than trying to head out with just the clothes on your back.
“Please make sure that doesn’t happen!”
He definitely couldn’t stand to see Bianca like that.
If you behave well, it shouldn’t come to that.
That was clearly Crimson Garden’s unspoken message to him, to not show up in such a miserable state again.
“I’ll do my best.”
Even if you die, you probably wouldn’t say you won’t come back like that.
Knowing what lay ahead, Kraush couldn’t confidently affirm that he wouldn’t appear in such a state again.
Go on and chat with the saintess now.
With that, Kraush watched Crimson Garden fly out the window with a wry smile, then knocked on the door he’d arrived at.
“Saintess, this is Kraush Valheim.”
– Ah, just a moment!
At the sound of a voice from inside, the door creaked open.
There stood Diona, the golden-haired paladin.
As he stepped through the door she held open, Astria turned to look at him.
“Good to see you again, Kraush.”
Under the sunlight, Astria looked slightly different from before.
She was in a different outfit and had put on makeup she typically didn’t wear, accentuating her beauty today.
Kraush found this appearance to be more familiar.
The saintess, often in public gatherings, always ensured she presented herself in her most beautiful form.
In Kraush’s memories, Astria had always looked like this.
“Looks like you’ve prepared well for the date. You look stunning.”
As Kraush jested, she flinched slightly and averted her eyes, just like usual.
This was the Astria he recognized.
“Diona.”
While trying to avoid eye contact, Astria called out to Diona.
“Yes, Lady Astria.”
“It’s fine. I won’t be leaving the room.”
As a saint, having a male presence with her was definitely not something she could let the public see.
So, she had no intention of exposing her interaction with Kraush outside.
Of course, it made her heart race to have a man in her room, but she did her best to conceal it.
“…Understood.”
After taking a short breath, Diona stepped back.
She believed someone of Valheim’s stature wouldn’t overstep any boundaries.
And so, Kraush and Astria were left alone in the room.
For a brief moment, silence enveloped them.
It was Kraush who broke the silence first, walking over to the chair across from Astria.
She flinched again as her hands nervously fidgeted beneath the table.
Once seated, Kraush finally spoke.
“Thank you for making time for us to talk privately.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
“You really don’t need to be so tense. I’m not presenting a serious deal, just wanting to discuss matters regarding the Holy Kingdom.”
Even if she was mature for her age, Astria was still only 14.
As Kraush showed consideration, Astria’s eyes widened.
“W-What?”
Astria responded a bit dumbfounded, and noticing her perplexity, Kraush saw her face turn red.
“Ah, um, right! Being part of the Valheim line, you might have some important things to say to the saintess.”
Astria rushed to redirect the conversation, her cheeks still flushed.
Kraush raised an eyebrow, thinking maybe he was mistaken about her perspective.
“…Did you seriously think I was asking you out on a date?”
Astria’s mouth snapped shut, and her face turned beet red, giving away that he had struck a chord.
Seeing her reaction, Kraush was suddenly hit with the realization of his slip-up.
‘Maybe Astria wasn’t as sharp as I thought back then.’
His first encounter with Astria was at the graduation ceremony of the Rahelrn Academy.
Back then, she had already grown more than she had now.
Kraush scratched the back of his head.
Then the question hit him.
So why on earth did she accept the date then?
If she genuinely thought it was a date, she should have rejected him outright.
After all, he was a rude braggart casually throwing around such an inappropriate invitation.
A saint could definitely refuse an arrogant man’s date request, no matter his royal lineage.
But why did she say yes?
“…Saintess, you don’t loathe my face, do you? You think I look like a bad boy or something?”
“N-No?”
Kraush’s question triggered her to blurt out that she’d misunderstood the situation.
“Um, I… I think you’re rather handsome…”
At that moment, overwhelmed by shyness, she abandoned her usual poise entirely.
Realizing what she had just confessed, her eyes began to swirl with anxiety.
It was almost as if she wanted to vanish, and tears were threatening to spill.
She’d never shown such vulnerability to anyone before.
Meanwhile, Kraush froze at her words.
‘Did her tastes change so drastically in just a few years?’
Seeing a blushing Astria, he realized that what she said came from the heart.
Or perhaps…
Maybe she had always felt that way from the start.
Recalling the various comments she’d made in the past, Kraush pieced together a new understanding.
He had thought she had grown to dislike him, but it seemed Astria had harbored some feelings for him all along.
Her harsh words were merely her way of concealing her true feelings.
Who would’ve thought it would be this late before I discovered it?
Kraush stifled a laugh, realizing how skillfully Astria had hidden her emotions back then.
As a saint, she had to exercise immense restraint about her feelings towards the opposite gender.
But at one point, her true feelings had slipped out, and Kraush had responded by avoiding that date.
He slowly rubbed his face.
What a jerk!
Even if he had acted due to circumstances surrounding the journey, it remained an incredibly disrespectful act towards Astria.
And now it was too late to apologize. She can’t hear them even if I say it now.
Kraush looked at Astria, still unable to raise her head.
“Saintess, do you know about the fake saintess?”
To ease her embarrassment, he decided to dive into the main topic.
This brought Astria back to the present.
“Fake saintess…?”
“Of course, I’m talking about the one seen in the Holy Kingdom recently.”
Astria tilted her head in confusion.
“What if the saintess isn’t actually a fake?”
Kraush watched as Astria’s expression changed immediately.
Finally, she was back to her usual self, more focused on his words than her embarrassment.
“In fact, it might be better for you not to hear this, Your Holiness.”
What he was about to say was a deeply guarded secret of the order.
Thus, Kraush hesitated for a moment before proceeding.
“It sounds like you have something quite significant to share.”
Astria’s beaming smile could light a whole room.
“Please, tell me. I don’t want to miss anything regarding information about myself.”
Her enthusiasm perfectly matched her saintly charm.
With that, Kraush finally revealed the truth.
“The so-called fake saintess is the entity declared dead for 300 years.”
“Wha—?”
Astria’s smile vanished, completely shocked by this unexpected revelation.
This was a story she had never encountered before.
“And it’s related to your future, too.”
BAM!
In that moment, the door swung open with a bang.
Standing there was none other than Diona.
She had been quietly eavesdropping outside, but had rushed in upon hearing Kraush’s revelation.
“Diona!”
Astria’s eyes sharpened like never before.
Don’t you dare interrupt this!
“Astria!”
Diona blinked, clearly startled by the abruptness of the situation.
She cast a worried look at Kraush.
How does a direct descendant of Valheim know such a secret?
This was knowledge known to only a select few within the Holy Kingdom.
“It’s okay. Please continue.”
“The saintess is a semi-immortal being.”
The holy powers embedded within a saintess grant her a longevity that closely resembles that of immortality.
Her aging body retains its youth indefinitely because of the divine power coursing through her.
In a sense, a saintess might be the closest thing people see to Crimson Garden.
However, there was one major difference.
Divine power cannot preserve one’s mind.
While one’s body remains vital throughout life, the mental state of the saintess tends to breakdown, on average, around the age of 250.
Most end up living lifelessly in the Holy Kingdom, treated like others who have lost their will to live.
Thus, to keep the saintess cycle going, they typically switch them out every 200 years.
This is done by placing the mentally deteriorated former saintess in a glass container, then forcing her divine power out, and infusing that power into water.
In turn, a child of suitable age is raised within that water – thus ensuring the saintess is passed along.
This is known as the Holy Grail.
And this is how a saintess’s legacy continues.
Upon concluding his explanation, Diona cast her gaze downward.
She already knew all of this.
“So, the fake saintess is merely the shell of a former saintess.”
The false saintess wandering around now is actually the result of the divine power being squeezed out of the saintess who passed away 300 years ago.
The saintess represents a closely guarded secret of the Holy Kingdom that must never be revealed.
So, how could she be out and about?
Her presence was enabled by the power of a new faction that opposed the cycle of the saintess’ legacy.
And this marks the beginning of the effort to cut ties with the saintess in the Freeman Holy Kingdom.
All this had stemmed from a conversation Astria had shared.
Even the current Astria probably knew about the Holy Grail.
But the intricacies of how it was formed were still a mystery to her.
This made perfect sense.
She likely found out about the entire process after Diona aligned herself with the faction opposing the saintess’ legacy and had subsequently died fighting the Holy Kingdom.
And that moment was also the catalyst for her joining the Skyclad Generation.
Harnessing her alliances with heirs across kingdoms and empires, she threatened the Holy Royal Family and Temple.
Would they reveal her existence on a global scale, thereby shaking the foundations of the Holy Kingdom?
Or would they grant her freedom?
The answer was clear.
As the saintess, she had decided to formally join the Skyclad Generation to support its cause.
She had picked up the torch of freedom passed on by Diona.
Taking a moment to collect herself, Astria turned to Diona.
“Diona, you didn’t tell me this for my sake.”
“…I.”
Diona struggled to finish her thought, gazing anxiously at Astria.
She likely hoped that she wouldn’t suffer from the weight of this knowledge.
But Astria was strong.
If I could return to that moment, I wouldn’t let Diona die because of me.
Kraush remembered the words she had spoken.
That was precisely why he decided to share this knowledge with her today.
“I’ll stop here with my disclosures.”
Astria looked back at Kraush.
She couldn’t comprehend why he had shared this information with her.
From Kraush’s perspective, this was nothing short of a terrible burden.
If he were to keep this secret to himself, it would serve as a potential leverage against the Holy Kingdom in the future.
Yet, conversely, if he spoke out about it, he could easily become a target for the Holy Kingdom.
And now he was sharing it directly with a saintess, the very essence of the Holy Kingdom.
This was definitely not a trivial piece of information.
“Kraush, why…?”
“Are you wondering why I told you?”
Astria fell silent.
Seeing this, Kraush smiled briefly.
“I can’t stand being indebted to anyone.”
The point where the early Skyclad Generation had been attacked, escorted away while the advance team was missing.
Kraush found himself in grave danger during that incident.
Both sustained significant injuries, but Astria would somehow manage to heal.
On the other hand, Kraush was in an even worse state than Astria could fix.
The curse gathering within him thrived along with his wounds, gnawing at his being.
To save him, Astria had made a simple yet desperate choice.
“Don’t die. You, whoever you are, don’t die.”
Using all her divine power, just like during the ritual for the Holy Grail.
She had poured her divine energy into saving Kraush.
When he opened his eyes again, Astria was gone.
Despite his remaining injuries, she had sacrificed herself to infuse him with her divine power.
There was only her lifeless body left behind that day.
That day, Kraush received a grace.
And thanks to that, he managed to survive.
The divine energy within Kraush became a reflection of Astria’s will.
So long as he didn’t suffer a fatal blow, his body would continually recover.
That’s why Kraush fought through the surge of curses within him, determined to keep living.
If he died, he would never see Astria’s face again.
And now it was time for Kraush to repay that grace.
Of course, he wouldn’t say this aloud.
“This time around, I survived thanks to you, Saintess. It only makes sense for me to help you choose your path, at least a little.”
“That’s just a natural consequence of a hero’s actions. As a saintess, I should’ve helped someone in such an awful condition, after all.”
But Kraush shook his head.
Instead, he insisted, “What saved me was you, Astria. Not just the saintess.”
Astria’s face turned blank, showing her surprise.
This was the first time anyone had ever expressed gratitude to her for simply being Astria.
“No one has ever thanked me simply for being me.”
“I remember someone told me once to take care of myself first.”
This was something she had heard too many times, so it often felt like nagging.
“I think it’d be okay for you to think about that yourself, once in a while.”
With that, Kraush got up from his seat.
And just before he left, he said some final words to the still-dazed Astria.
“I may look like this, but I’ll get stronger, you know.”
Kraush’s smile, playful and carefree, reminded him of their shared youth.
“If those shackles of yours annoy you, just say the word. I’ll help cut them off.”
That last promise was directed not at the saintess, but rather to Astria herself.
Leaving behind a speechless Astria, Kraush walked out of the room.
He left her there, still lost in her thoughts.
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