“Saint Aria.”
Before entering the Academy, Dannes called out to me as I looked around in wonder.
Even when I had just become a saint, I had become more meticulous in observing my surroundings. However, after handling divine power for a long time as a saint, my ability to perceive my surroundings had naturally increased in both accuracy and range.
Previously, I could barely see the shape of a person’s face and their expression, but now I could tell what kind of expression they had without focusing, and it was possible to observe several people at once.
Moreover, since this perception wasn’t solely dependent on sight, I could see what those behind me were saying and the expressions they were making.
During that time, I had also developed an ability to see through others, even if it wasn’t to the extent of reading minds as Asclyna could do.
Because of this, I could clearly read what Dannes was thinking as he looked at me.
He was worried about me.
And, he was also pleased.
“You’ve already saved many lives, Saint.”
“[But there are still many I couldn’t save.]”
“Did the Pope not tell you to never think like that?”
“[…]”
This person has become really chatty ever since he became my guardian knight.
I puffed out my cheeks.
“You’ve already done enough in the Realm.”
“[But I couldn’t conquer the Realm.]”
The reason the Realm is filled with monsters is that the Demon King Army’s commanders are located beneath it.
Having cleared the game countless times, I knew quite well that the Realm couldn’t be conquered without a Hero.
Still, the reason I headed to the Realm was primarily to maximize my talent for divine power.
After all, it was more efficient to save people using divine power in the field than to practice it confined to the church.
Secondly, countless people sacrificed their lives each year to prevent the monsters that sprang forth from the Realm.
As a saint, it wouldn’t be right to turn a blind eye to those sacrifices when I, being a saint, don’t die anyway.
Finally, and obviously…
‘It’s a matter of concept… and because it felt good…’
If I had to point out the happiest time since coming to this world, it would undoubtedly be the period I spent in the Realm.
Just my presence alone reduced the rate of deaths among those facing monsters in the Realm by 80 percent. Just imagine how much I had been able to use my abilities!
It wasn’t for nothing that I was treated like a true god there.
During my time there, my body was never in perfect condition.
It was standard for my arms and legs to get severed while healing, and sometimes even my eyes would fall out without me realizing it as I could be too injured to even see.
Moreover, I died and revived more times than I could count.
Of course, I hadn’t truly died, but due to the sheer number of injured people, while healing, my body’s pace of recovery couldn’t keep up, resulting in a buildup of injuries until I eventually lost consciousness.
After some time passed and my body healed to a certain extent, I would wake up, so there generally weren’t any major issues.
However, when I fainted, those in desperate need of help struggled to hold on and sometimes died before I could treat them.
Yet, I was able to revive those who had just recently died, but in cases where the physical damage was too severe, there were people I could not save.
In the beginning, I hadn’t been able to eat properly due to the trauma of truly dying, but as time passed in the Realm, I had naturally grown accustomed to it.
Rather, even if someone else died, I would try my best to save them.
‘It was hard, but it was also that much fun.’
Thanks to all that, my divine power had increased significantly, and I had gained confidence that I wouldn’t lose to most demons.
As I entered the highest difficulty settings, I felt it was important to pump up my abilities ahead of time to avoid panicking in life-and-death situations, so I thought it was a good experience.
Seeing those who would have been dead alive was a source of happiness as well.
However…
I wondered if I should really call this a good thing, as the reactions of those around me had been intense.
Dannes, in particular, seemed to have developed an overly protective tendency towards me after witnessing my struggle to heal the dying in the Realm.
“So… I hope you can live as a normal student at the Academy. You can make friends with peers here, and no one will say anything about living like a girl of your age.”
Look at him.From what he says, it’s as if he thinks he’s my father.
Well, while I say this, I had done some acting for that very reason.
“Then… I will take my leave now, Saint.”
With that, Dannes bowed his head as if he had nothing more to say and hurriedly left.
“[Ah…]”
Having finally met after a long time, I would have loved to talk a bit longer.
But I couldn’t exactly chase after Dannes, who was already far away, just to hold a fleeting conversation.
Especially right in front of the Academy.
‘I wish he had stayed with me at least until I entered.’
What a shame.
‘Well… I suppose I should unpack first.’
In places like this Academy, the hierarchy doesn’t really matter, and since I was going to an Academy within the Empire and had grown strong enough that most people wouldn’t even be a match for me, I declared that I didn’t need a guardian, so there was no one around except Dannes.
Now that Dannes had returned to wherever he came from, I could proceed with the admission process without any annoying interruptions.
I let out a sigh of relief.
Being a saint has its perks, but in this aspect, it really doesn’t quite suit me.
As I thought that, I made my way into the Academy.
—
‘Ah… how pleasant.’
Even now, I think refusing the escort was a really good decision.
If I had been surrounded by Paladins guarding me, then there would have been a lot of annoying commotion about the saint arriving and so on.
In that sense, until I reached the dormitory, wasn’t there no one around who recognized me?
I did worry a bit that the dormitory supervisor might realize who I was, but the only rumor spreading in the Empire was about the saint enrolling.
They didn’t know what I looked like, so the supervisor handed me the room key without noticing who I was.
That was definitely a relief.
If I got exposed here, all my plans to enroll secretly would go to waste.
I had planned to go to my room and introduce myself to whoever I would be living with from now on before executing the plans I had been mulling over since before coming to the Academy…
‘No one’s here.’
There was no one in the room.
I awkwardly set my things down.
‘This is tiring…’
It had already been two years since I came to this world.
During that time, my body had grown gradually, and I was maturing into the appearance of the girl I originally created.
However, the growth wasn’t extremely noticeable; I still looked cute and inspiring a protective instinct, so I hadn’t grown too much.
Even after rolling around in the Realm for two years, my strength hadn’t shown any signs of increasing.
Thanks to the saint’s unique ability to maintain peak condition, I didn’t feel muscle soreness, but it was still uncomfortable.
Hoping that a latecomer wouldn’t feel hindered while unpacking, I placed my belongings neatly in the far corner and quickly left the room.
‘So now there’s only one thing left.’
My plan.
I wouldn’t call it a plan, but I intended to visit each person to cultivate friendships to form the most standard party to defeat the Demon King.
The first target was none other than the Hero.
‘I don’t know if he’s here now…’
If he’s at the Academy, he should definitely be around.
And I knew exactly where he would be.
If the player had chosen the Hero, it was his choice, but as mentioned before, if someone didn’t choose that class, a character with the default stats would appear.
A character with the backstory of a commoner boy who meets a master to learn swordsmanship and ends up drawing the Sacred Sword by chance during a ceremony in the Empire’s capital, eventually being revered as a Hero.
That training fanatic would definitely be in the training grounds.
‘I’m running to the training grounds now.’
If I’m going to defeat the Demon King and return home, even if it’s impossible, I want to save people and indulge in my desires without the world collapsing, so I need to get close to him first.
I made my way toward the training grounds.
