Chapter 735
“It is your surveillance.”
At Simon’s reply, Richard’s expression twisted grotesquely. The other necromancers blinked and exchanged glances.
“Surveillance? On me? All of a sudden, why?”
“Lady Neftis is concerned that Commander Yona’s private affairs may harm the operation.”
Pfft.
Kik.
Some subordinates burst into laughter.
“So it really is from Lady Neftis.”
“Perhaps she’s even seen the future.”
Turning back, Richard silenced them with just his eyes, then violently brushed back his bangs.
“That senile hag… all this nonsense.”
“Still, it’s an order. Shouldn’t we at least pretend to comply?”
Simon said with a mischievous smile. Richard exhaled deeply, then looked with a more serious gaze at the necklace around Simon’s neck.
“You, that necklace.”
“Yes.”
“The order wasn’t for you to hand it over to me, but rather for you to wear it and stay at my side?”
“You are correct.”
Their eyes met.
Richard clicked his tongue, then strode off first.
“What are you doing? Let’s go.”
Simon’s eyes lit up, and he nodded quickly.
“Yes!”
* * *
Holy Federation formation.
Inside the fortress was still noisy. People were chanting, “Long live the Saint of Miracles”, celebrating the victory of repelling the necromancers’ invasion.
“Back to your posts! Who knows when those cunning necromancers will strike again!”
“Prepare for a night raid. Repair the walls, purge the remaining undead outside!”
As the commanders came forth to restore order, the soldiers finally began to move.
From here and there came the clattering sounds of repair work. Priests were returning to their tents for rest when—
“Make way!”
A sudden, aggressive shout rang out.
At the massive pure-white tent where the Saint resided, an unidentified intruder had been caught sneaking in by the guards.
“This one’s an infiltrator! Seize her!”
“Huff! How is this brat so strong?”
“Let go!”
It was Lete. Having broken through the guards, she shouted out loud.
“All I want is to meet Saint Anna!”
“What?”
“Ugh, ngh! Do you think the Saint is someone just anyone can meet?”
“Ah, seriously, so petty! It’s not like she’ll wear out from being seen a bit!”
For someone caught sneaking in, the intruder was oddly brazen.
She displayed monstrous strength and managed to push into the white tent where Anna was, but the soldiers had packed tightly to block her from going further.
“Force her to kneel!”
“Bring the magistrate! Put this woman under interrogation!”
Grab!
As one of the guards seized Lete’s shoulder, sparks lit in her eyes.
“How dare you—”
She twisted the guard’s arm in reverse, shifted her weight onto her right leg, turned her waist, and hurled the guard straight across.
“Touch me!”
Kuuuuung!
The flying guard slammed into the tent hard.
The entire tent shook, and a nearby pillar wobbled. Startled guards scrambled to hold it steady.
Shing! Shing!
At last, the guards drew their spears and blades. Not only them, but even the elite paladins charged with directly protecting the Saint stepped forward. Lete snorted dismissively and clenched her fists.
“To have allowed an intruder to get this far, even right after battle… the army’s discipline has slackened.”
It was a middle-aged paladin with a long mustache, twirling it with his fingers.
“Who are you? Surely, an assassin sent by the Dark Alliance.”
“I.”
Lete ground her teeth and released holiness.
Fwaaaaaaaaaaah—!
Everyone present—soldiers and paladins alike—flinched. The vast, pure holiness filled the tent.
“Do I truly look like a necromancer? Shall I pluck your eyes out, scrub them clean, and shove them back in?”
Such pure holiness was the very symbol of faith in the Goddess.
The soldiers’ sword tips began to tremble.
“It’s simple. Restrain her and interrogate.”
The mustached paladin, veteran as he was, responded calmly and assumed his sword stance.
At that moment—
“Stop.”
A beautiful, graceful voice spread through the tent.
As if the voice itself carried magical power, everyone there halted as though entranced.
“Saint!”
The mustached paladin turned in haste and spoke anxiously.
“You must not come here, it is dangerous!”
“It is all right.”
Her voice resounded.
“If there is a subject seeking me, then I believe it is the Saint’s duty to meet them and hear their words.”
Along with soft footsteps, someone was approaching. The mustached paladin, without another word, respectfully sank onto one knee.
“What are you waiting for? The Saint is coming forth!”
Clatter!
Clack!
Everyone present dropped to one knee in unison. Lete lifted her head, gazing at the one walking toward her.
It was a woman clothed in white sacred robes. Her face was veiled with cloth, hiding her features. Both hands rested gracefully atop her stomach, and beneath the sacred robe, faintly, Lete could make out the familiar Efnelle academy uniform.
‘Ah.’
Lete felt her breath quicken, her hands and feet trembling. The Saint opened her palm.
“Come here.”
Lete, as if entranced, followed after the Saint. The mustached paladin, uneasy about her, kept drawing and sheathing his blade, but dared not move.
Following her, Lete soon entered a quiet room. For the Saint’s quarters, it bore little distinction. An uncomfortable-looking cot, a table, and various snacks were visible.
She sat gracefully upon a chair, and gestured for Lete to do the same.
“If you don’t mind, please sit.”
Lete had thought she might be made to kneel on the bare ground, but to be given a seat, she was grateful. She sat as politely as possible, folding her hands neatly upon her thighs.
‘This person.’
The voice indeed carried Anna’s feel, but it was far too youthful.
Even the tone, the inflection, was different.
It was certainly a different feeling from before, was she really Teacher Anna? From the very first moment, Lete’s instinct told her this was Anna, but she felt a powerful urge to see her face.
“What is your name?”
At the Saint’s sudden question, Lete snapped back to her senses and answered.
“L-Rena, my name is Rena!”
“I see, Rena. Why did you say you had to see me?”
Lete felt her mind turn completely blank.
In truth, the instant she had seen Anna’s younger self, all reason and thought had already flown away. The words she had prepared in her mind now refused to come.
“T-that is…!”
Outside, she could feel the paladins pricking their ears, eyes burning.
A single misplaced word, and it would all be over.
“I, I, I have a request to make of you!”
“If it is something I can do, then anything at all.”
But her reason had already evaporated.
At this moment, Lete’s thoughts were consumed by only one desire.
—She wanted to confirm for herself if this truly was Anna of the past!
When it came to Anna, Lete simply could not stay sane. Even the scenarios she had prepared ahead refused to appear in her mind.
“An…”
“An?”
Face reddening, Lete stammered.
“May I… hug you?”
Thump.
The moment she uttered those words, it felt as though the last shred of reason, banished far to a corner of Andromeda, was screaming, “You lunatic!”
She could be dragged off for blasphemy, beheaded, or burned upon the red cross, and she would have no excuse.
“As much as you like.”
The Saint opened her arms kindly. Though the veil blocked her smile from view, warmth radiated from her voice.
With that permission, Lete’s body moved before thought. Stumbling to her feet, she rushed straight into the Saint’s arms.
Fwoop—
She collapsed into her embrace.
‘Ah.’
In that instant.
Lete knew with certainty this was Anna.
This distant embrace, this scent, this warmth.
Even the gentle hand stroking her back as she held her, it was all Anna’s.
“Oh my.”
The Saint let out a surprised sound.
“You must have been through so much. Is there sorrow upon you?”
Before she realized, tears were streaming from Lete’s reddened eyes. She shook her head quickly.
“No, it’s just… I’m so happy.”
Slowly, Lete stretched out her hand. Her pounding heartbeat embarrassed her.
She could not hold back the impulse. Having already gone this far, she resolved to see it through.
Her hand reached, and gently lifted the veil that hid Anna’s face.
“…!”
The world blossomed into a field of flowers.
A delicate, beautiful young girl, cheeks tinged with bashful blush, smiled shyly.
It was beauty beyond this world.
Far lovelier in person than any photograph could have shown.
“Teacher Annaaaaaa!”
Lete wept aloud, clinging to her tightly.
“T-Teacher?”
Anna gazed down at Lete with wide, spinning eyes.
“I am a Saint. And if anything, I’m closer to a student than a teacher.”
“Uuuhhh!”
Overcome by fervent admiration, Lete stroked Anna’s cheek with her palm. Anna squealed in surprise.
‘So cuuute!’
She looked the same age as Lete, or perhaps a year or two younger. Just as Anna had once tugged at her cheek when scolding her, Lete now tugged Anna’s cheek in turn. Her cheek stretched, and Anna made a pitiful little whine.
Even this was adorable, lovable. Lete felt she might go insane.
‘How could I ever give this Anna to Richard! I’ll just marry her myself!’
Tears of ecstasy would not stop flowing.
Anna tried to calm her down, but the frenzied devotee would not relent.
“Step away at once!”
Shing!
A sword pressed against the back of Lete’s neck.
At last regaining a sliver of composure, Lete rolled her eyes backward.
“How dare you treat the Saint this way! There is a limit to blasphemy!”
The sharp voice was oddly familiar.
Short, sea-blue bobbed hair down to the neck.
A scowling face.
Eyes drawn long to the sides, sharp as razors.
Lete’s jaw dropped as she realized who it was.
“…C-could it be, Lady Israfil?”
It was completely different from the image she had of Israfil.
The woman’s face twisted at those words.
“How could a vermin like you know my name?”
‘V-vermin?’
That famous leader of the moderates, the Saint of the Divine Sea, Israfil, saying such a thing? Impossible.
The woman who would always smile gently with eyes closed, no matter the provocation.
Just what had happened to her in these decades past?
“Saint Anna…! No, Lady Saint! This blasphemer must be nailed to the cross and made an example before all!”
“Calm yourself, Israfil.”
Anna chuckled warmly, stroking Lete’s hair.
“I do not think she is a bad person.”
“What?”
Israfil leapt up in outrage.
“Not a bad person? She dared toy with the Saint’s face! Even I have never pinched my sister’s cheek— I mean! She has defiled you! And though she used holiness, we already know some priests have become traitors, cooperating with the Dark Alliance!”
Eyes blazing, she ranted.
“She is surely a spy sent by the Dark Alliance. The mere fact that she can wield holiness does not mean she is on the Goddess’ side! This outdated, black-and-white thinking will never win us this war! Have I ever been wrong? Was I not the one who foresaw that the 7th Legion Commander Yona’s appearance on the northern front was a ruse, and that this fortress was their true target?”
“Of course, Israfil. I too depend greatly upon your brilliant strategies.”
Anna spoke gently, soothing Lete’s back as she whimpered like a weak child.
“But this one, she is a good person. I can feel it.”
“……”
Just as Israfil’s strategies had never been wrong, Anna’s discernment of people had also never failed.
Israfil bit her lip hard.
Peeking out.
Then Lete turned her head slightly from Anna’s embrace. Sticking out her tongue cheekily, she tucked herself back against Anna.
“Y-y-youuuu…!”
Israfil’s face burned red, her body trembling with rage.
For Lete, life in the Holy Federation already felt like it was going to be fun.
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