Chapter 65

Since leaving for the Academy, it’s the first time I’ve met her, so I’m feeling a bit nervous.

For this girl named “Aria,” Asclina, who is currently pretending to be the Pope, is like a parent to me.

I thought that I should meet and be taken in right away as soon as I came to this world, and since I know her true identity, it’s not the same as if I didn’t know anything; I would have regarded her as my benefactor.

Even now, I still see her as a benefactor, but knowing who she is makes it feel a bit less so.

However, if you ask me if I’m not welcoming her, I can honestly say no.

“[Your Holiness!]”

I dashed over to her, or rather, to my grandfather, and hugged him.

“Oh my, Lady Aria…!”

She, who has transformed into my grandfather, welcomed me with a gentle smile.

When we are together, the Pope treats me just like a grandfather, but since we both hold positions as equal leaders, she raises her voice when speaking to me in the presence of others.

She claims that it’s proper.

I chuckled and rubbed my face against her chest.

What can I say? There’s a really comfortable feeling when I’m with her.

As a guardian dragon who has protected this world for ages and as someone who likes and wants to protect humans, she’s endearing, but once we develop this grandfather-granddaughter relationship, it makes me want to act more childish.

It truly feels like I’m with a real grandfather.

In reality, calling her a sister would be more appropriate, but…

Is it okay to have such thoughts in my head?

I guess it’s okay to say I’ve become comfortable.

It’s not entirely accurate, but since becoming a Saint, I can somewhat read the surface of people’s minds, though not as accurately as before. Plus, the Divine Sense isn’t something that’s always passively active, so I can think freely in my mind now.

That Divine Sense doesn’t work well with similar ranks and loses its value against higher beings.

“[Ahem… I apologize.]”

After a brief moment of being close, sensing the gazes around us made me pull away with a slightly flustered expression and an awkward smile.

Most of the gazes are likely from the Paladins.

Seeing my expression, they might be thinking that even the Saint has such sides to her.

I thought it was a bit odd that I could only be seen as a perfect saint… though I’m not acting with that thought in mind.

I was just truly happy to see my grandfather after a long time.

Since I came to this world, he’s been the one helping me, and isn’t it strange to not be happy to see a dragon like that?

“[It seems there are too many people to talk here, so let’s go into a room.]”

“Then let’s go to this room…”

After I said that, she glanced around and seemed to agree that it wasn’t appropriate to talk here and took me to a room.

Once we arrived in the room and sat down, I met my grandfather’s gaze.

…though it’s hard to say we’re locking eyes since I can’t see them.

To talk naturally, we should look at each other.

Since I know roughly where she is due to my Divine Power Detection, it was easy to turn my head in her direction.

As I turned to face her, she smiled and patted my head.

“Are you having a tough time at the Academy?”

“[I’m okay. In fact, I’m enjoying it.]”

Actually, it’s not the Academy experience I imagined.

I thought it would be a vibe of causing all sorts of incidents while attending classes with other kids, but coming from the perspective of a Saint, causing chaos honestly doesn’t make sense, and with being in the Department of Sacred Studies, it’s definitely harder than when I was at the Cathedral.

If I said I found those things boring as a Saint, wouldn’t that seem odd?

So, I have no choice but to respond that I’m enjoying it.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

As I sensed earlier…

She seems to have a lot to say to me.

‘Since various incidents happened when I entered the Academy, she must have plenty to talk about…’

Right after I enrolled, a high-ranking Demon tried to invade the Academy, and there were big incidents during the class allocation exam as well.

Though she hasn’t said it to me, she clearly knows about the class allocation exam and what happened on the day of the entrance ceremony.

Once Arhen knows, there’s no way this grandfather wouldn’t know.

Since we’re meeting after a long time, it wouldn’t hurt to chat a little about regular things.

But those kinds of discussions can happen anytime, so I might as well get to the main topic.

“[So… what brings you here?]”

“Um… since the story will be long, it’s better to get right to the point.”

Considering she mentioned it would be a long story, I knew she was referring to matters regarding the future.

And if there’s anything she might exclusively be unaware of, there’s only one thing.

“I came to talk about that necklace.”

The Gem of Radiance.

I was talking about this necklace I possess.

—

In this world’s creation story.

The goddess named Romania, the creator of all things and the one who bestowed light, introduced light into this world and gave birth to life.

After creating life, the goddess split her power into three parts so that the beings she created could live in this world.

The God of the Sun and the one responsible for the purifying power among the Divine Powers in this world, Solanis.

The God of Water and the one responsible for the healing power, Naias.

Finally, the God of Earth and the one responsible for the barrier power, Um dio.

The goddess’s three siblings came down to the world and opened a new era, but there were those who tried to invade this newly sprung world and claim it for their own.

That was the evil god Ellahan, leading his underlings, the Demon King, to invade the world created by Romania and the three siblings, serving as the antagonists in the story.

Since direct intervention in the world is prohibited, arrangements were made.

The first measure was the existence of the guardian dragon Asclina Sunlight, secretly maintaining peace in the world.

The second measure is the Sacred Sword Esther and its owner, the Hero.

And the last measure is…

“That necklace you’re holding right now… is the ‘Sacred Artifact,’ which is the Divine arrangement. It’s even the ‘Gem of Radiance,’ the Sacred Artifact of Solanis, the God of Purification and the Sun.”

“…”

I already know this.

It’s mentioned in the game as well.

I fiddled with the necklace and asked with a somewhat pitying voice.

“[So it was something I shouldn’t possess. I had somewhat expected that.]”

I chuckled inwardly while saying that.

Is there such a thing in the world?

Of course, if an ordinary person possesses a Sacred Artifact, most people from the Romania Church would want to reclaim it, but this case is a bit different.

First of all…

“That’s not the case. It’s something you can keep.”

“[Huh? But…]”

“I’d rather thank you for finding it. The ‘Gem of Radiance’ is one of the Sacred Artifacts we lost… Aria, if it weren’t for you, we might not have found it for a lifetime.”

That’s true.

Since I’ve played the game a lot, I memorized all the locations and went searching for it. For a normal person, it would be placed in an extremely difficult-to-find area.

Most Sacred Artifacts, if thrown away in the world, have their causalities manipulated to go to some hidden place, so it can’t be helped.

That’s the work of the Divine Power that resides in the Sacred Artifact, along with the consciousness existing within the artifact.

‘I plan to find each Sacred Artifact from now on.’

I’ve already found Solanis’s Sacred Artifact, the Gem of Radiance, so if I find Naia’s and Um dio’s artifacts, I’ll be done.

And I already know where they are.

It’s just…

“[Then what I want to say is…]”

“First, I have one question for you. How did you find that Sacred Artifact?”

“[It’s not a difficult answer.]”

I had an answer ready, even if it might sound a bit ridiculous.

“[While wandering the Realm, granting blessings to those who needed my help, I accidentally fell below a cliff.]”

“You… fell from a cliff?!”

Was she that surprised by my falling from a cliff? She reacted excessively, looking over my body and asking if I was okay.

No, what does it matter now when that was ages ago?

I wanted to laugh, but I held it back and continued the story.

“[After falling below the cliff… I felt a destiny that was almost inevitable.]”

As I walked along the path pointed out by that destiny, I explained that I found the necklace placed on the altar.

“That’s…”

“[At that place… I met those I had never seen before.]”

The northern ethnic minority and beastmen.

Of course, my grandfather would know who they are.

It was only natural for me to act as if I didn’t know.

As far as I know, and…

“[They said that the time has come for the sun that will end the eternal frost.]”

I explained to my grandfather exactly as they had said.

Hearing my explanation, my grandfather’s expression hardened.