Chapter 8: It’s a blackout, but it’s a saint (2)

Next morning.

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping.

I was being hugged by Eliya and Haruna.

Haruna definitely slept by the wall, so why is she on top of me now?

Does she sleep rough?

Both of them were sleeping soundly, and it seemed I was the only one awake.

It was awkward to move, so I just wiggled around under the blanket.

A noble’s bed, it’s so soft and nice.

If I experienced something like this, it felt like I would never be satisfied with my old bed at home again.

Normally, it would be time to get up with Eliya and go do delivery work, but now it didn’t matter if I just lay here.

After all, the maid would prepare a hearty meal for me.

‘Is this how freeloaders feel? I don’t have to go to the Academy. I just want to live here forever.’

I closed my eyes again and tried to fall back asleep.

“Ladies! Lady Tereze. Lady Eliya. Please wake up!”

When Lugna appeared, opening the door wide and shouting, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

Eliya blinked her eyes open and got up, and Haruna woke up a little later.

“Good morning, Eliya.”

“Mm…”

Eliya familiarized herself with my greeting and stood up.

“Good morning, Haruna.”

“Yes… Oh, wh-what?”

Haruna seemed to wake up instantly upon seeing Eliya and me in the same bed, raising her head abruptly and standing up.

After a moment of surprise, she realized she had been the first to fall asleep while they were talking yesterday, and she shivered with embarrassment.

After that, they washed up, ate, and the four of them set off on the road towards the cathedral.

For the first time, I left the slums and came out onto the main street.

A bustling thoroughfare.

Seeing the countless large, pristine medieval-style buildings lined up, I let out a gasp of admiration.

People with various hair colors passed by.

“Woah…”

I looked around with a sense of wonder and excitement.

There was a warrior dressed in adventurer-style clothing, and children playing normally.

A woman who looked like a mage wearing a wide-brimmed hat.

When I looked up, I saw wyverns flying in the sky.

And wyvern knights riding those wyverns.

“Dragons! Dragons! Look there!”

I excitedly grabbed Eliya’s hand and said.

Dragons! The realization that I had finally come to a fantasy world hit me, and I jumped up and down, shouting.

‘I’m going to enter an academy like that.’

As I jumped around, the surrounding people glanced at us as they passed by.

“People are staring, please don’t do anything embarrassing…”

‘Oops, I got too excited.’

‘To others, I must have looked like a slum child who had never been to the city, or a country bumpkin.’

‘I’ve done something embarrassing in front of Haruna, a noble girl.’

“Sorry.”

I scratched my head and apologized.

“There are so many people.”

Eliya, perhaps experiencing such a crowd for the first time, looked around.

“I know this area well. There’s a really delicious tea house; let’s go together sometime.”

“What’s tea?”

“Have you perhaps never tried it…?”

‘Eliya has never tried it.’

‘Of course, I haven’t tried it in this body either, so we’re comrades.’

Haruna, with her shocked expression, suddenly seemed annoyingly cute.

“Hmph!”

I poked Haruna’s side.

“Kyaak! What are you doing?”

“You’re just too cute.”

“Hey, Tere. Am I not cute?”

Eliya smiled brightly.

“It’s just a short walk to the cathedral now.”

Lugna, who had been watching us playfully with a pleased expression, pointed with her finger and said.

At the tip of Lugna’s finger was a massive cathedral.

The largest cathedral in the kingdom.

Even the front gate looked larger than most buildings.

Around the cathedral, numerous statues were lined up.

“I saw those statues at the mansion too…”

Eliya muttered.

And Lugna, hearing that, explained to Eliya.

“Ah, those? They are statues depicting the Saintess and Echion, who is said to have bestowed power upon her.”

Lugna also told Eliya in detail about goddesses and myths.

I wasn’t particularly interested, so I only half-listened, but Eliya seemed interested and listened intently.

‘Perhaps she’s trying to increase her knowledge since she’s going to become a Saintess now.’

‘Wait, if I enter the Academy, will I have to study?’

‘People usually only think of magic classes, duels, and virtual monster battles when they hear ‘Academy,’ but in reality, one had to study more than a typical Korean high school.’

‘And at the same time, one had to be good at martial arts, meaning it was a place where people skilled in both academics and combat were forged.’

‘A life of waking up every day and repeating study, training, study, training, and exams.’

‘No. I can’t accept that future…’

I clutched my head.

Just hearing the word ‘study’ gave me a headache.

If asked whether I was good or bad at studying, I’d say I was good, but if told to do it again, I could definitively say I’d hate it.

Eliya was listening to Lugna and Haruna explain about Saintesses and the history of the kingdom’s church.

‘Was I the only one despairing over this fact?’

‘On the contrary, those two seemed even more motivated upon hearing they could study many things at the Academy.’

‘Right, is studying important?’

‘There was a lot I had to do once I entered the Academy.’

‘For example, saving the citizens from the terror of magical beasts or demonkin.’

‘In other words, there’s no need to specifically focus on studying.’

‘Hmm,’ I nodded, rationalizing to myself.

Feeling a little refreshed, I looked around with a calm heart.

Children, adults, women, men, the elderly.

Various people were living their lives.

Their faces looked bright, and they seemed to be living peaceful lives.

‘Yes, let’s protect these people.’

‘And no matter what method I use, let’s stop the original plot from unfolding.’

‘Three years until entering the Academy.’

‘Two years until the kingdom’s destruction after enrollment.’

‘I can do it.’

“Ah.”

As I was firming my resolve, I bumped shoulders with a passing girl.

The crowd was so dense that I hadn’t noticed her.

“Excuse me.”

I reflexively apologized and looked at the girl’s face.

“No, I should be the one apologizing.”

She was a girl with red hair and twin tails.

A girl around my age.

Her face was cute, if one could say so.

But that was due to her twin tails; her face itself exuded a cool charm.

“…Is there something you want to say?”

As I stared intently at the girl, she narrowed her eyes slightly and spoke.

‘Staring fixedly at someone’s face was rude.’

I waved my hand.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“…Alright, then I’ll be taking my leave.”

The twin-tailed girl bowed her head and disappeared.

I watched her retreating back.

Her swaying twin tails, her unhesitant gait.

I felt a sense of familiarity.

“Tere? What are you doing?”

“Oh, right. I’m coming.”

At Eliya’s call, I quickly matched her pace and walked alongside her.

“Oh, look there. They’re Academy students.”

Where Haruna pointed, students wearing Academy uniforms stood.

They were wearing uniforms that blended half of a realistic aesthetic with half of a fantasy one.

‘Uniforms in a fantasy world? It suddenly struck me that the Academy fantasy genre is strangely inconsistent with historical accuracy.’

As I looked at the white-based uniforms, I suddenly realized.

“Aaaaaaah! I remember now!”

Eliya and Haruna looked at me with strange eyes as I suddenly screamed.

‘That girl who just passed by was also one of the heroines from the original story.’

‘A girl who uses fire, and one of the Academy’s disciplinary committee members.’

‘If I’d known this, I should have talked to her more!’

The kingdom’s central church and cathedral.

We arrived at the First Millia Cathedral.

Having arrived here, I realized how Lugna had managed to allow us to visit the Lady.

I couldn’t help but be amazed by the magnificent and glittering interior.

And countless nuns walking around in their habits.

‘Was it just my imagination that their gazes seemed to be focused on us?’

‘It definitely wasn’t my imagination.’

“Oh my, little ladies, are you perhaps aspiring nuns?”

“Ah…”

One of the nuns approached and spoke to us.

‘We must have looked somewhat nun-like, or holy, at first glance.’

Just as I was wondering how to deflect her politely, Lugna intervened.

“These children are Lady Ray’s friends.”

“Ah! My apologies. Please enjoy your time.”

‘Why did she blush and disappear?’

Anyway, with the interruption gone.

We walked through the enormous cathedral.

It seemed there were separate areas for common people, for prayer, and for healing.

We were occasionally spoken to as we walked, but once we mentioned the Ray family, they seemed to understand the situation and moved aside.

“Nobles, indeed.”

“Oh, come on. It’s not that much.”

It was understandable that Eliya would instinctively express admiration.

I looked back at Lugna.

‘We’re friends who’ve only known each other for a day.’

‘Even though we, who had just become friends, suddenly wanted to visit her mother, Haruna didn’t question it at all.’

‘Perhaps she wanted to introduce us to her mother, who might soon pass away, as quickly as possible.’

Lugna also hesitated at our sudden proposal at first, but eventually agreed when we earnestly pleaded.

“It’s here.”

Lugna opened the door.

Inside, there was a woman lying on a bed, dressed in a white gown, with her eyes closed.

Her face was pale and haggard, yet she was still remarkably beautiful.

She faintly opened her closed eyes and looked at us.

“Haruna… And who are you two…?”

A hoarse voice escaped her lips.

Anyone could tell she was suffering from a severe illness.

“…Mom.”

Haruna approached her mother and hugged her.

“Yes, Haruna. …But who are those two children behind you?”

“We’re Haruna’s friends. I’m Tereze.”

“I’m Eliya.”

Both of us bowed our heads and greeted her.

At the mention of ‘friends,’ she seemed surprised, her eyes widening for a moment, then she gently stroked Haruna’s hair and spoke.

“You’ve made friends.”

“Mm…”

“Oh, my apologies for the late greeting. My name is Heline. I hope you’ll get along well with Haruna.”

She smiled with her haggard face.

On her face was a resignation to her approaching death.

“I’m sorry I can’t properly celebrate given my condition.”

“If there’s anything you wish for, tell me.”

‘I don’t particularly want anything.’

‘At most, getting a recommendation letter for the Academy and being allowed to live in Haruna’s mansion?’

“Tere.”

Eliya extended her hand to me.

I took her hand.

Platinum-colored magical power surged from Eliya’s body.

Everyone except Eliya and me widened their eyes in astonishment.

‘I understand.’

‘Because I was just as surprised when I first saw Eliya’s magic.’

‘Whether Eliya is the mastermind or not, I can’t say for sure yet.’

‘There might be some circumstances.’

‘But one thing I can say for certain is.’

‘Eliya is the Saintess, and I am her childhood friend.’

A pure white light enveloped the room.