Chapter 85

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Despite the many truths that had come to light, Lilian and I acted as usual. Unlike me, who had anticipated this, Lilian was completely blindsided but still treated me without much change in attitude. If anything had changed, it was that she seemed a bit more at ease around me.

As soon as we arrived in the capital, Lilian and I made our way to the Church, where we were able to meet one of the Cardinals residing in the Holy Office. Normally, it would be impossible for a mere noble lady to meet a Cardinal, but since she was the cherished child of the Marquis of Portus, it was a different story.

“A mana user.”

The Cardinal glanced at me, his eyes devoid of any emotion. Cardinal Abren, he was known for his integrity and had a name derived from one of the goddess’s angels, Abirein. In fact, even the current Emperor had taken such a stance, which meant his acquaintances were mostly similar individuals.

“I understand for now. I will report this to the Emperor.”

“Um. Okay. When should I visit again?”

“No need for that.”

At that moment, the sound of the reception room door opening was accompanied by an old man’s voice. Turning my head to the direction of the door, an elderly man entered, leaning on a cane. The Cardinal, who had been silently observing the sound of the cane tapping on the marble floor, approached the old man and supported him.

“Thank you, Abren.”

“It is nothing, Your Majesty.”

Seeing the Cardinal’s respectful demeanor made me realize the old man’s identity. After all, an old man who could open the Cardinal’s reception room without permission was bound to be someone important. The Emperor, supported by the Cardinal, settled into a plush chair and gazed at us.

“Ah, so you are a mana user… and the noble lady of the House of Marquis of Portus.”

The Emperor said, looking at Lilian and me. Lilian immediately stood up slightly and bowed.

“May the goddess’s blessings be upon you. It is an honor to meet the Emperor of the Church.”

“May the goddess’s blessings be upon you. It is an honor to meet the Emperor of the Church.”

“Pleasure to meet you. I may be just a senile old fool, but I hold the position of Emperor at the Church,” he said with a chuckle.

I followed Lilian’s lead in greeting, and the Emperor waved his hand as if to say ‘sit down’. So, we took our seats, and the Emperor quietly spoke.

“Now… could you show me what you can do?”

“Oh, yes.”

Raising my hand, I activated my mana. It surged like a torrent, rising above my palm. I fashioned a blade of mana, reminiscent of how aliens created weapons in old space war games, and I maintained that mana sword while looking at the Pope.

“Whoa, fascinating. A sword made of magical power.”

“It’s like a mana blade.”

“Indeed. If I recall correctly, ancient texts referred to such swords as aura blades, right?”

“The ancient texts are more familiar to Brother Terrion.”

The Emperor nodded at Cardinal Abren’s remark, humming for a moment before calling over a waiting priest.

“Bring Lady Yulia and Sir Karon.”

“Yes.”

“Your Majesty, I can understand calling for Lady Yulia, but why Sir Karon…?”

“Wouldn’t it be unfair to have Sir Karon step aside without knowing the situation?”

With that, the Emperor turned to me and smiled.

“Then I suppose I must impose on our guest now. My apologies.”

“Excuse me?”

As I tilted my head in confusion, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed from the hallway. The reception room door burst open, and a familiar face rushed in.

“Catherine!”

“Long time no see.”

“…Have I gone invisible or something? Yulia.”

“Oh, Lilian! You were here?”

“What? You were here? Oh, come on.”

With an expression of disbelief, Lilian let out a hollow laugh as she separated Yulia and me. Then she grasped Yulia’s cheeks and started to pinch them playfully.

“Hey…”

“Seems like you and Lady Yulia get along very well.”

“Ah.”

Realizing the Pope and Cardinal were present, Lilian finally released her grip on Yulia’s cheeks. Now free, Yulia subtly hid behind me.

“Oh, Sir Karon. You’re here.”

“May the goddess’s blessings be upon you. It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”

Sir Karon knelt and showed respect to the Emperor with his head bowed. The Emperor laughed heartily and said,

“Rise. Kneeling on a hard floor like that would be uncomfortable for your knees.”

“Yes.”

Sir Karon, the knight, rose at the Emperor’s behest. That was when I began to get a clearer picture of who he was. Firmly closed lips and a sturdy gaze gave me an idea of why the Emperor had called him as well.

“A mana user has come to visit.”

“…”

“Of course, it would be unfair to have Sir Karon withdraw without giving him a proper experience. How about a spar? If Sir Karon wins, you can take your leave.”

“I’m fine with that.”

“I am too.”

I had no idea how strong this Sir Karon was. While he seemed to have developed some muscle despite wearing formal attire, I wasn’t too worried since I had already cut down demons without my sacred sword. Lilian, who probably knew the original story, seemed unconcerned either, as she stretched Yulia’s cheeks in a playful attempt. Honestly, they did look squishy.

“Shall we get started?”

“Are you sure you’re alright? You must be tired from the journey.”

“Yes. Honestly, I’m not confident I could lose, you know.”

“…”

Even with my light provocation, Sir Karon simply nodded without flinching. We led the group to the training grounds, and Sir Karon quietly unsheathed his sword. It was just an ordinary longsword, not a sacred one. Watching Sir Karon, I drew out my two swords.

“…Twin swords?”

“Yes.”

With a grin, I charged at Sir Karon as the signal to start rang out.

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The sound of wind being sliced apart filled the air as Catherine’s sword hurtled toward Karon’s waist, the most straightforward target for a quick attack. It seemed she had no intention of employing her true swordsmanship here. After all, that technique was far too deadly. The original Catherine wasn’t quite as powerful as the current one, but she had a fair amount of strength. Originally, she had been raised as a successor to the head maid position.

Having transitioned from a special force known to be monsters to the maid head of the House of Marquis of Portus, it made sense that the head maid would possess combat capabilities. Catherine, being considerably stronger than the head maid, could easily handle someone like Karon.

In fact, the spar was going so overwhelmingly in Catherine’s favor that even Lilian, who didn’t know much about martial arts, could see it. Karon’s earlier stoic face gradually transformed into one of confusion, while Catherine’s sword moved ever faster. Though it didn’t evoke the image of a tiger’s fangs as the special forces’ style did, it still moved sharply.

Catherine’s sword, graceful yet precise, eventually found its place against Karon’s neck. Realizing he was in danger, Karon sighed and said,

“I yield.”

“…Catherine is really strong. Sir Karon is supposed to be one of the strongest knights in this Holy Office.”

“Well, of course.”

Lilian surely didn’t know just how strong Catherine really was, hence she said that; however, those who could recognize true strength all wore expressions of shock. The most astonished of all was Cardinal Levelio, the chief inquisitor of the Church.

“C-Catherine!”

“Yes?”

“Once you are done with the Demon King, would you consider returning to the Church?”

“Hey! Don’t try to steal our maid!”

“P-Please, just hear me out! Just hear me out!”

Having rushed over to Catherine and trying to recruit her into the Church’s ranks, Lilian subtly looked at the Emperor. The Emperor, who had been silently watching the spar, walked up to Catherine with his cane.

“You didn’t even use your mana.”

“Even without using it, I can win.”

“Hmm. I see. I’ll make sure the sacred sword is passed to you. However, you should rest well today, as the mobilization date is tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? That’s so soon!”

“Well, that’s why I took such a drastic approach.”

If there had been more time, he wouldn’t have needed to go about things so forcefully. Sir Karon wasn’t someone hard to communicate with; he could have been persuaded slowly. Yet, the Emperor chose to assertively hand over the sacred sword to Catherine. It indicated that he believed such measures were necessary.

“Hm, tomorrow… understood.”

Catherine looked at me with a slightly perplexed expression before nodding. It couldn’t be helped since we had come after the deployment date was already set. But I wasn’t ready for this; I never imagined I’d be sending Catherine off so soon.

“Well then, I’ll show you to your resting place, so please take the day to rest.”

“Yes.”

Nodding, Catherine and I followed the priest to our accommodations, collapsing into bed the moment we arrived. Fatigue from our journey weighed heavily on us.


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