Chapter: 301
_Peeww!_
With her eyes closed, Phoebe was reciting the divine magic incantations surrounded by countless magic circles.
_Voom! Vroom!_
Each of those magic circles was more refined than what most clergy could manage with a single spell.
_Wooooosh!_
There’s no need to explain how monstrous Phoebe must be for maintaining all that.
_Hum!_
Johann, who quietly observed the scene, noticed some tremors at the edges of the magic circles and slowly opened his mouth.
“Hehe, Saintess. Let’s call it a day for now.”
“Bishop! I… still can…”
“No need to push yourself. Any more and it’ll hinder tomorrow’s practice.”
With Johann’s firm voice, Phoebe sighed deeply and opened her eyes. The divine energy enveloping her dispersed, landing with a bright shimmer on the ground.
“Thanks for your hard work.”
“No, I didn’t do anything much.”
Phoebe wiped away her sweat, humbly downplaying her efforts, but Johann shook his head at her humility.
“Excessive modesty can actually be harmful. The growth you’re showing, even from my standpoint—having seen many—stands out.”
“Is… that so?”
“Do I look like someone who makes jokes?”
Johann had spent decades working at the Jushin Church right after leaving his family.
For him, who had seen countless clergy, Phoebe’s growth was indeed astonishing.
Phoebe was no newbie just stepping onto the priest’s path. She had already accomplished enough to be called a Saintess.
It’s common knowledge that as the levels go up, it becomes harder to rise higher, but the growth Phoebe was showing went against that common sense head-on.
Seeing someone who’s already reached a high level show such rapid growth with no foundation—it was shocking!
“Ahaha! It seems the training method the Young Lady taught you has really helped out.”
“Indeed, the method she shared was excellent.”
The training method gifted by Jushin’s beloved was so different from what Johann had known.
It was a rough method, like a mindless workout a knight would typically use, which nobody at Jushin Church would employ.
“It was enough to let an old man waiting for death experience the joy of growth.”
Yet, Johann believed in Lucy Allen far more than in Jushin Church, leading to Phoebe’s remarkably fast progress.
“However, Saintess…”
Involuntarily speaking out, Johann paused when he saw Phoebe tilting her head.
What he wanted to say was that Phoebe’s sudden growth was not simply due to a change in her training method.
The extent of her growth was too great to be just from an altered training method.
Had she perhaps gained some insight while recreating miracles in the Burrow Territory?
The reason he didn’t say it all was that Johann had a rough idea of the cause of her growth.
This is something she needs to feel and realize by herself. If it comes from another’s explanation, the meaning would fade.
“Bishop?”
“Ah, excuse me. I was just curious why the Saintess keeps calling Lady Allen ‘Young Lady.’”
So Johann switched topics, hoping Phoebe would come to realize it herself someday.
“…Huh?”
“While other Young Ladies are called simply ‘Young Lady,’ I was curious why you call Lady Allen ‘Young Lady.’”
It was something Johann had often found puzzling, so he continued without hesitation.
The one thing he hadn’t expected was that with every word he spoke, Phoebe’s cheeks began to redden.
“Saintess?”
“Uh… that’s… so…”
“Is there perhaps a reason you can’t say it?”
“No! It’s not that. It’s just that when everyone else calls her ‘Young Lady’ and I call her ‘Young Lady’… it sticks out, you know?”
With her voice fading away as if dying, Johann couldn’t hold back a laugh.
What was making it hard for her to speak was wanting to be noticed by Lady Allen!
“Don’t laugh! I’m serious!”
“C’mon, but just imagining how much you must have struggled deciding on that title makes me giggle.”
“Bishop!”
Seeing Phoebe’s flustered face, Johann couldn’t help but smirk.
Come to think of it, the reason she had sought out lessons was also to win against Lady Allen.
Wanting to be regarded as special by someone she herself holds dear—how pure!
“Lady Allen would find it very entertaining if she knew.”
“…You mustn’t tell anyone?!”
“We’ll see how Saintess handles it later.”
“Ugh. I wish I’d just kept my mouth shut.”
Throwing away her dignity as a Saintess, Phoebe waved her arms up, hastily begging Johann to keep the secret before escaping his room.
If she was like this, what kind of reaction would Lady Allen have if she directly asked her about it in the future?
I really hope she asks in front of me, ’cause that’d be fun.
“Did you hear that, Karia? The Saintess is asking us to keep her secret.”
How long had it been since Phoebe left? When her footsteps faded, Johann spoke up, and the door opened, revealing Karia.
“Don’t worry! I’m not the kind of person to spill something like that.”
“Glad to hear that.”
As soon as the door closed, Johann got up from his seat and headed for the cupboard.
“How’s that ring I gave you?”
“I lost it. I think I dropped it somewhere on the street, but I couldn’t find it.”
“Is that so.”
Following the pre-arranged code words, Johann’s relaxed demeanor vanished, replaced by strictness.
“You’re here to hear about the church’s movements, right?”
“Right. I have a general idea, but verifying it with you, Bishop, is the most accurate approach.”
“Understood. First, I must tell you that the Jushin Church is still looking for the one who saved the Burrow territory.”
The Inquisitor who had visited the Burrow territory had claimed to see the divine presence of Jushin enveloping the entire region.
So even after the Apostle of the Arts Church had claimed the credit, they did not trust that story.
Officially, they praised the Apostle’s achievements, but behind the scenes, they were frantically searching for the true savior of the Burrow territory.
“Though it seems they haven’t found any viable clues.”
When the church members officially visited the Burrow territory, Lucy and her group had already wiped out all traces of their presence.
Even with the church’s immense authority, it was impossible to create something from nothing.
That group, no matter how desperately they searched for the savior, found nothing substantial.
“They seem to be looking around for leads, but this side isn’t faring much better either.”
“Are you and the Saintess still under suspicion?”
“Due to matters related to Lady Allen’s mace, we’re currently said to have returned after staying in the Artea territory. Besides, the church still doesn’t know who Lady Allen really is, so you needn’t worry.”
“Well, this corresponds closely to what I’ve gathered too. So that’s a relief.”
“Though should we really consider this a relief? The one beloved by Jushin is in a position where they must hide their identity.”
Having ridden in, Johann felt a bitter taste and pulled a jar of sugar cubes from the cupboard.
“Do you like sweet things?”
“Fair enough.”
“Then I’ll put in two.”
“Yes, please.”
*
Phoebe’s flushed face began to return to its original color only after she reached near Soul Academy.
_Sigh…_ I should’ve just kept my mouth shut, but the memory of that strict Bishop Johann popped up, and I blurted it out without thinking.
…He won’t spill it, right? He wouldn’t tell Lady Allen, right?
If she knew that I wanted her to think of me as special, I’d be so embarrassed I’d just die!
“Saintess!”
“…Huh?!”
In the midst of her flurry of thoughts and worries, Phoebe unknowingly answered someone’s question with a dumb little voice.
“I’m sorry! If the Saintess is thinking about something, I didn’t mean to…”
“No, it’s alright! So, what’s up?”
“Did you see the notice up in the plaza?”
“No, I was out earlier today.”
As Phoebe shook her head, the face of the female student brightened noticeably.
“They say all grades will be taking the dungeon studies exam in the same dungeon!”
“…Really? Is that true?”
“Yep! You’ll find all the details over in the plaza!”
Phoebe thanked the girl and headed towards the plaza.
Even though it was just before an early winter night, many gathered at the plaza to look over the notices.
If I worm my way through them, I might end up being a nuisance, so let’s just enhance my vision to see the details.
The notice hanging in the middle of the plaza read like this:
This dungeon studies exam will run throughout the final exam period. The number of challenges is unlimited.
Party composition can be freely decided.
While the dungeon’s foundational structure is the same, different sections will vary by grade.
Several other points were listed, but the most striking was about the rewards for clearing the dungeon.
“…An accessory personally crafted by the Apostle of the Arts Church?”
Phoebe roughly knew how much a blessed accessory made by the Arts Church would sell for.
Even a bishop-level item would be priceless, but if an item was crafted by the Apostle of the Arts Church…
_Whoa!_
This might be a big deal.
Since the Apostle wouldn’t hand out accessories unless they acknowledged someone, it’s clear this reward was requested by Lady Allen.
Otherwise, the Apostle wouldn’t allow their accessory to be put up as a reward in the first place.
This means that Lady Allen deemed the dungeon she created as challenging enough to warrant an accessory crafted by the Apostle as a reward.
For someone with differing standards compared to ordinary folk to have come to such a conclusion means that the completed dungeon is a level of magical labyrinth that no one could pass through.
…
I need to gather those who will do the dungeon with me.
We need to discuss this quickly.
They are surely in the training grounds right now, right?
Phoebe’s assumption was spot on.
Arthur, Joy, and Phoebe were gathered at their usual spot in the training grounds.
But one thing was different from usual: there was an uninvited guest.
“Younger sibling.”
Cecil Soladin.
The Second Prince of Soladin Kingdom was looking down at Arthur.
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