As soon as I returned, Stella approached me with a look of surprise on her face, as if she had just realized something.
“Is it true that the Department of Sacred Studies doesn’t have exams?”
Huh…
Why is she asking that all of a sudden? If we’re all attending the Academy together, it doesn’t make sense that there are no tests…
It seemed she was quite envious.
Well, from her perspective, the Academy’s exams wouldn’t seem appealing at all.
After all, she was only working hard to prepare for the scholarship to comfortably attend the Academy, and it was clear enough through our time together that she wasn’t particularly fond of it.
Anyway, since she asked, I should respond.
“[It’s not that there are no exams at all.]”
It’s not like there are none.
After all, this time the exams include both written and practical components, so while the written part might just be answering questions about the words of the Goddess, the practical part would be different.
If I am to act as a priest to heal someone outside, I need to be able to use Divine Power to heal or buff someone in any situation.
‘Thanks to that, I’ve been cramming to memorize.’
I have to memorize the scripture, of all things.
In the game, you simply needed a certain faith stat to automatically score full marks, but since I’m living in reality now, that kind of thing is impossible.
If I were to get a low score on the exam, it would definitely raise questions for those who think it’s unacceptable for a Saint to perform poorly, so to maintain my concept, I have to get a good score this time.
While I left the preparedness for Maleficent’s attack to Arhen, I also had to practice handling sacred artifacts and study to keep my exam scores up.
I don’t even know why I’m doing this just to stick to a concept.
“So, you’re saying we’ll have exams anyway…?”
“[Y-yes…?]”
“…”
Even with my answer, Stella still looked unsatisfied.
… Why?
I truly don’t understand…
*
“Sigh…”
– Why are you sighing, Evan?
“Not…nothing…”
Evan was looking at Aria as she talked with Stella and let out another sigh privately.
“Ever since that time, we haven’t been able to talk at all…”
– That’s because you keep avoiding her because you’re embarrassed to face her.
“…”
That was true.
It was nice to confess back then, but after actually confessing, every time I saw Aria’s face, the memories of that moment kept coming back, so I couldn’t even make proper eye contact and was too busy avoiding her.
Looking back now, I regretted how I confessed that way.
“Maybe it would have been better to slay the Demon King first and then confess…”
For Evan, who was experiencing romantic feelings for the first time, Aria was a really tough existence.
I had to spend time with her at the Academy, but treating her like before, as a friend, would remind me of that moment and feel awkward.
How could I treat her as just a regular friend after having confessed my feelings for her?
I thought that I should confess, fearing that someone might take her away, but after doing so, it wasn’t easy to act like a friend, and I couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
I just couldn’t figure out what to do…
– Just approach her and act like you normally do… After all, Aria isn’t the type to care much about such things, right?
“Ugh…”
– It’s nice to be fresh, but this feels a bit too frustrating…
For Estelle, this was a situation that was incredibly annoying.
Of course, the biggest issue was that she was a sacred sword and not a human, so she couldn’t understand human feelings.
Even so, it was impossible for her not to feel frustrated watching Evan’s actions.
– Hmm…
This won’t do.
She felt too bored to see such behavior continuously.
As she pondered what to do, she suddenly remembered that Aria mainly used thoughts.
It was a fact she couldn’t forget, even if she wanted to.
The reason Evan found out that he liked Aria was mainly because Aria used thoughts.
If she hadn’t used thoughts, Evan would likely remain oblivious unless he directly went to consult with her or saw him confessing with his own eyes.
So…
– ‘Should I ask Aria for help this time?’
If things continued like this, it would surely be a long time before they spoke to each other.
That would be something she absolutely couldn’t let happen.
– ‘I will definitely bring them together…’
Having resolved this, she firmly pledged that she would eventually turn the awkward Evan and Aria into a lovey-dovey couple.
Estelle immediately sent out her thoughts.
Having spent a long time as a sacred sword, she was quite skilled in handling thoughts.
Naturally, sending thoughts that only Aria could hear was easy for her.
– Aria, can you hear my voice?
“[… Huh? Estelle?]”
– It seems you can hear me well, thank goodness.
– ‘I may be the one responsible for making their relationship like this, but…’
Still, what can I do?
Since things have turned out this way, shouldn’t I take responsibility for it?
‘I would be happy to see the two of them being affectionate, and Aria and Evan would be happy to be together…’
Wouldn’t that be a decent deal?
– Do you remember when Evan confessed to you…?
“[Ah… That time, right…]”
Huh?
Her reaction was quite lacking.
– ‘Is Aria not particularly fond of it…?’
No, that wasn’t it.
If she didn’t like it, she would have shown an indifferent reaction, just like back then. She wouldn’t be flustered about what to do.
That means her reaction isn’t because she dislikes Evan…
– ‘Does this mean she’s contemplating…?’
The contemplation isn’t a happy one, indicating that she might be struggling with how to reject him, or perhaps there’s a reason she cannot accept the confession.
Either way, it wasn’t a good situation.
Aria might end up rejecting Evan’s confession.
It may be inappropriate to say this suddenly, but if Aria were to immediately reject the confession, it could negatively affect Evan.
– ‘It might be good to at least hear what’s troubling her…’
If it’s something I can help resolve, I’ll gladly do so.
– Um, is it because of Evan’s confession that you’re feeling troubled?
“[Ah… No… I’m actually happy to hear that someone like me likes him. It’s just…]”
Aria was hesitating and fumbling her words.
She seemed to be contemplating whether to say this or not.
However…
If she doesn’t say anything, the situation won’t resolve itself.
Was she having such thoughts? It seemed that Aria eventually decided, and clearer thoughts came through than before.
“[I’m worried that Brother Evan might be troubled because of me… And when I’m gone, would he be sad? Can I truly love Brother Evan when I’m unable to see or hear… I’ve been thinking about this and wonder if it would be better to reject him.]”
– Hmm…
“[But if I were to reject him, I’d feel too sorry for Brother Evan. So I’m stuck in this situation where I can’t decide anything.]”
Oh my…
How can someone be so kind?
Estelle was almost chilled to the bone as she looked at Aria.
In all her life, she had seen countless Saints, but she had never encountered one with such a pure heart.
Of course, most Saints have good hearts.
Considering that one cannot be chosen as a Saint without a pure heart, that’s not so surprising…
But she never expected anyone to be so considerate of others while being aware of their own circumstances and conditions.
Moreover, this wasn’t a peaceful time, and they were supposed to embark on a journey to slay the Demon King, so she was even contemplating strongly rejecting the confession because she worried that if she died, Evan might be sad.
– ‘Pass…’
This is a pass.
There was no way she could fail this.
From this point on, she vowed to do her utmost to bring them together, imagining the historic couples of Saints and Heroes.
Of course, Aria’s inner thoughts were simply that she would have to reject him when she returned to her original world, causing her to worry about how to reject him.
But Estelle had no way of knowing such a thing.
That was all there was to it…
