Chapter 624
After spending over a year since enrolling in Keyzen, Simon prided himself on having met all the strange people he could possibly encounter in a lifetime.
But this person, who introduced herself as a Saint, was unlike any other.
Her body was marred by horrific burns that looked nothing like those inflicted by ordinary fire. Her eyes were sealed shut with stitches in the shape of an X, yet the thread had loosened enough that her lids parted ever so slightly.
“Hmmh-hhhuh—heh.”
She made odd, languid sounds as she slumped there, appearing to be of mixed blood, her long ears dangling with heavy ornaments that clattered against each other.
‘……This is the Saint of Harvest.’
Simon broke into a nervous sweat as he watched.
‘Something’s off.’
He recalled the Saints he knew.
Anna, the Saint of Miracles. Lady Israfil, the Saint of the Divine Sea. Lete, the Saint of Stars.
Compared to those women, this Saint’s appearance was grotesque to the extreme.
‘But she’s strong.’
Even though the artifact she wore seemed to suppress her holiness, an alien, overwhelming power still poured out from her body.
Even Kajan seemed strained just by standing near her, so he stood a step behind Simon.
“So you’re the ones who’ll be guiding meee—?”
Her words dragged on lazily, as if she were half-asleep.
Simon quickly nodded, recovering from the initial shock of meeting a Saint.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The arrangement had already been discussed.
The agents from Neftis had decided that active students Simon and Kajan would serve as her guides. They would draw less suspicion that way.
“……I must admit, this is unexpected.”
Kajan scratched one of his many scars, as was his habit.
“I never imagined one of the so-called Seven Saints herself would descend here.”
“That’s how seriously we are treating this situation.”
Thump.
The Saint grabbed a plump chicken leg from the table.
“If that so-called ‘Ever Kire’ really has entered Roke Island—”
Crunch!
She tore into the leg like a beast, ripping away browned skin and white flesh with her teeth.
“It’ll be ruin, y’know. The end will be war between the Federation and the Alliance.”
“Does the Holy Federation know of this?”
“No waaay. This is an unofficial journey. My own affair. I came here at the request of Sister Israfil.”
Simon’s eyes lit up.
‘I knew it, Aunt Israfil is involved!’
If the woman most opposed to war had taken the initiative, then this could be trusted. Kajan also seemed to recognize the name, nodding grimly.
“We owe the Saint of the Divine Sea a great debt, then.”
“Yaaas.”
As she bit into the chicken again, something sprouted from the flesh—wheat. The Saint of Harvest wrinkled her face and slammed the leg back onto the plate with a thud!
“Don’t like vegetables.”
Simon sweated nervously.
‘What the hell is she even saying.’
Perhaps it was the Saint’s power leaking through its seal. Not only the food, but wheat stalks also began sprouting all over the cave. The once-gloomy cavern suddenly looked bright and lively.
“Can’t you do something about this?”
Kajan gestured toward the spreading wheat. The Saint of Harvest fiddled with the choker necklace around her neck.
“Complain to this artifact. Supposed to seal a Saint’s power, but doesn’t really workie.”
Simon realized immediately.
‘That’s the same necklace Lete wore.’
He remembered Lete in the Holy Federation, wearing the choker designed to seal saintly powers. It was the same design.
Now that he thought of it, it even resembled the necklace Loraine used to seal her own special abilities.
“Then let’s get to business.”
Kajan cut to the point.
“We’ll travel across Roke Island together, tracking signs of the fanatic. We’ll rely on you for detection.”
The Saint of Harvest was said to be able to sense anyone who set foot upon the land within her radius, so long as her bare feet touched the ground.
Her sensing range was vast, enough to cover the entirety of Roke Island.
“Combat will be handled by me, Simon, and the necromancer agents. If a Saint herself were to wield holiness in battle, it would draw too much attention.”
“Yaaas.”
She answered languidly, arms dangling loosely.
“But here’s the real question—”
Her stitched eyes narrowed.
“Can you people even beat Ever Kire?”
Kajan’s brow twitched.
“Of course. Even if, by chance, we can’t defeat her, once we confirm her location, Crow-class necromancers will immediately arrive for support.”
“Numbers and strength don’t mean victory against that one.”
The Saint of Harvest smiled.
“You must understand why Sister Israfil sent me here.”
“……”
“For now, I’ll go along with your plan.”
She rose from her seat.
“Though I doubt you’ll even find her.”
Simon, Kajan, and the Saint of Harvest stepped outside together.
Because her appearance drew too much attention, she was dressed in a plain brown hooded robe.
Simon walked close at her side, shielding her from the eyes of the crowd.
Step. Step.
Wherever her bare feet touched—streets, wagon roads—wheat sprouted, unseasonal and lush. Simon busied himself trying to obscure it from onlookers.
‘Lete’s stars used to appear whenever she moved… are all Saints like this?’
“Hweeeeh—”
She sighed heavily, waddling along in her odd way.
Deciding she was unpredictable but not hostile, Simon tried making conversation.
“As Student Council President, let me thank you once again, Saint. I never imagined you’d come all this way to help.”
The Saint of Harvest looked at him.
“No need for thanks. The misfits that slip through our grasp are ours to handle.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Simon asked quietly.
“Then… may I ask, what kind of person is this Israfil, the one who sent you?”
“Ah, Sister?”
She tilted her head.
“Funny thing for a necromancer to be curious about, don’tcha think?”
Simon flinched, realizing his mistake.
He’d forgotten for a moment—priests, by doctrine, reject the very existence of necromancers and despise them.
“If I offended you, I apologize.”
“Israfil Sister is—”
The Saint of Harvest suddenly said.
“—a goody-two-shoes.”
“……Ah.”
“And an idealist. Sending one of the Seven Saints to an enemy nation just to prevent war? That’s not a move many could make. It’s high treason.”
Simon swallowed hard, his face tense.
He resolved that under no circumstances could this Saint be exposed. Not for Israfil’s sake, who had taken such a risk.
The conversation died off, and they walked in awkward silence.
All around, festival-goers bustled about noisily, shouting and laughing as they ran through the streets. From the nearby stadium came the booming cry of the announcer and the roar of the audience.
“Looks funnn.”
The Saint of Harvest muttered in her hollow voice.
“Y-yes, it does! Shall I tell you a little about the festival?”
“No needdd.”
And silence returned again.
Glancing at the Saint out of the corner of his eye, Simon decided to finally broach a subject he’d been holding back.
“C-come to think of it, I heard there’s someone who only just became a Saint in the Holy Federation.”
“Ah, the Saint of Stars?”
Simon tried to hide his delight and only nodded.
“She’s prettyyy.”
That was the elder Saint’s brief appraisal.
“Have you ever met her in person?”
“Nope. She’s still a student, isn’t she. Only seen her in photos.”
“……I see.”
“And I’ve heard about her often from Sister Israfil.”
The Saint of Harvest closed her eyes.
“She said that girl has the talent to succeed her.”
“……”
As they conversed idly, they arrived at the place the Saint had mentioned.
It was a sandy beach, overlooking the sea.
“This should dooo.”
While the Saint of Harvest could sense every living being touching the ground she stood upon, detecting someone like Ever Kire—a priest hiding her holiness while moving through crowds—required a more elaborate method.
In a chosen area, she would need to construct a proper formula to fully unleash her authority.
“I’ll start nowww.”
She stepped barefoot onto the sand. Suddenly, people who had been bustling nearby began to drift away, one after another.
Simon’s eyes widened.
“What did you just do?”
“Changed the aura of this placeee.”
She patted her shoulder lightly.
“Now people feel like they wanna leave here, for no reason.”
“Ohh…”
“Back off. Necromancers might get caught in it.”
Simon and Kajan retreated as the Saint of Harvest began her work.
Shhhhhh—
Her legs traced a circle around herself, then she crouched and began sweeping through the sand, drawing symbols within the circle.
Shhhhhh—
Shhh—
With her eyes closed, she moved as if enraptured, almost like dancing. Her hands and feet left marks in the sand, sketching patterns, lines, and formulas.
‘This is…!’
A map.
She was drawing a map with nothing but her movements. Soon she lifted her hand and gathered holiness, then dropped it precisely upon the diagram.
Plink—
White holiness spread across the sandy map like rippling water. The Saint’s stitched eyes glimmered faintly.
“Found it. A holiness reaction.”
“!”
Neither Simon nor Kajan had expected her to succeed so quickly. They rushed forward, staring at the glowing sand. The entire map was bathed in white—except for one patch that remained plain sand.
She pointed to the unlit spot.
“Hereee. Don’t know where exactly, it’s my first time on Roke Island.”
“That’s near Serut Stadium.”
Kajan instantly recognized the location and sprang up.
“It’s right nearby. We need to move on her at once.”
“Wait, Kajan!”
Simon turned back.
“What about the Saint…!”
“Don’t worry about meee.”
She waved her hand casually.
“If I fight, I’ll have to use holiness, and that’ll draw eyes. But if things get dire, I’ll join in.”
“Wouldn’t it be too dangerous for you to stay alone?”
She chuckled.
“What do you take me for, necromancer?”
She was one of only seven Saints in the entire world. In truth, the idea of her needing guards was almost laughable.
Since she insisted, Simon reluctantly nodded.
“Still, it’ll be dangerous around here. Please stay here, Saint!”
“Yaaas.”
She yawned and nodded. Kajan immediately reported the coordinates through his communicator, instructing the necromancer agents to guard her.
* * *
Near Serut Stadium, in a park lined with food stalls.
Most people were inside the stadium watching the match, so the park wasn’t crowded. Simon and Kajan scanned the area, searching for anyone suspicious.
‘Who is it?’
They knew a priest was here, but pinpointing which one was impossible. Simon walked casually, but his eyes darted restlessly.
‘Which one’s the priest? Who?!’
A couple whispering on a bench, two parents chatting warmly with their uniformed daughter, men buying food at a stall, henchmen dashing past while reporting through communication crystals…
It was impossible to tell.
‘Do I just abduct everyone here?’
Simon bit his lip.
‘But for what reason? By what right? If she isn’t among them, she’ll just slip away in the commotion.’
He lifted his gaze.
The match would soon end, and the crowd would flood out of the stadium. Once that happened, it would be impossible to find anyone. Kajan had already darted ahead, checking the faces of people he thought suspicious.
But that method was far too uncertain.
‘……Right.’
A spark flashed in Simon’s mind.
He darted into a nearby public restroom.
Luckily, it was empty. Simon closed his eyes.
‘I can do anything.’
Bzzzzm!
Holy power flared from his right hand.
‘I’ll draw the fanatic out with bait.’
No matter how zealous the cultists were…
None of them would ever expect a necromancer to wield holiness.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters
Very good story and translation but half the chapter aren't for free and it is wayyyy too expensive will it stat like tjis foreve or will it get free after some time