32-Quiet Story 4 War Maiden Paladin Captain Lumina

My name is Luminaria Arx Franciscu.

She was born into the world as the second daughter of an earl in a country.

I was raised as a butterfly and a flower, and at the age of nine years old I became a son and daughter-in-law of a high-ranking marquis in my father's faction.

At that time, I think I was a quiet child who loved to read, except for learning etiquette and the state of the country.

The righteousness of adulthood, the change from child to adult, is generally received at the age of fifteen, but not for the nobility.

This is because they set the direction of their education from an early age.

Thus began the coming of age festival, which was to change my life in a big way.

I prayed to the Lord God, Klair, to choose my profession, and in the righteousness, I drew a holy knight.

The holy knight has the aptitude for either light, holy, or one of the attributes of magic, and various status parameters are greatly increased.

It's a profession that is even higher than the common professions of warriors, healers and mages.

Originally, it was a profession so high that kings, emperors, and priestesses in the elementary position of VI could perform the righteousness of choice, or perhaps a further level of advancement was required.

But I was not pleased. I knew the reality.

I wondered if my parents, who pretended to be happy, were crying inside.

The next day, when my father heard about the release of my forgiveness from my father, he and my mother stopped caring about me as much as they should.

A holy knight has to choose between being a knight of the country at the age of fifteen or being a holy knight of the church headquarters of St. Surreal, but I had no choice.

There was no way they could make me a holy knight, as I had been mired in the mud of the marquis family.

My etiquette turned to martial arts training, my time for crafts and painting turned to horsemanship, and the books I read turned from stories to magic books.

Thus, at the age of fourteen, I was sent away from home and assigned to the Holy Knights of St. Surreal.

I've been reading stories of heroes, brave men, priestesses, wise men, and holy knights for ages.

They may not be noble, but they have high aspirations and are committed to serving their people.

As a holy knight, as in those stories, I thought I would live a noble life like my parents, even if I was abrogated.

However, the reality of the church was sloppy.

Bribes were struck, and as they are said to be money men, they use money to gain power and destroy what they don't like.

The demons of evil spirits of rivers and mountains dwelt in the Fusuma-den.

I cried out in horror.

But the position of a holy knight was much higher than the healers and higher than the priest knights.

I vowed to improve myself through training. Ten months later, when I reached the age of righteousness, God gave me a special eye.

I named my eyes "demon eyes" because I could see magic in them.

I can see the aptitude of a person's magical power and the character of that person.

This eye didn't have any special color and people didn't recognize it.

I spent all my time training to get used to these eyes, biting hard to get used to them.

Then, at the age of eighteen, I was summoned by Lady Catherine Frenat, the captain of the holy knights, who said to me, "Follow me.

'Follow me.'

Ha.

And it was in the Pope's room that he was brought in.

'Catherine, is the Lord really retiring?'

'Yes, sir. The Holy Knight's injustice must be taken up by me, the captain.

But they sent them into the maze.

That's not enough to clean out the pus in the church.

''...''

As I listened to the story, I was astonished that Catherine-sama's progress was at stake.

This is my Luminaria, and I changed my name to Lumina when I came to church.

Sometimes if you have the same name, it stays the same, but when you join the church, you lose your last name.

Well, I was abolished, so I lost it.

Because Catherine-sama was the one who currently reigned at the top of the knightly order, which was both a Holy Knight and a Priestly Knight.

Since he was on par with the Bishop-sama, his authority was far quicker to count from the top.

After such an achievement, he would be given a new surname by the Pope.

My mind was in turmoil that this Catherine-sama would be stepping down.

'So, I would like to ask you a favor.

What is it? Most things are forgiven.

Thank you, Your Grace. I would like you to divide the current Priest Knight and Holy Knight into eight.

I... Why?

'Yes, sir. I will have to move behind you to get the pus out. And the pus will erode itself without getting its hands dirty.

"Hmm.

'The reason I'm dividing it into eight is because there aren't enough people who can move in the shadows and I don't want someone as good as her Lumina to be used on the chin by someone just older in the same profession.

So, how do I do it?

''Yes, sir. We have already elected three trusted priest knights and three holy knights.

''... Didn't you say earlier that we were going to divide them into eight?''

''Yes. Wouldn't it be easier to convince others if you win the position of captain by merit?

"Hello.

'Yes. We will have a tournament. I'll be the judge of all the tournaments and will not let you cheat. Furthermore, two of the units we just elected are completely black with no evidence to support them.

You do that and you risk the survival of the church.

"Yes, sir. So I'm gonna die trying to drain the pus out of you.

"...All right.

Finally, when this Lumina becomes captain, let her squad be organized entirely by women.

Hmm. Very well. I'll be looking forward to it.

Ha.

Thus I left the Pope's room in confusion.

'What do you mean by that? I'm not going to win the tournament by any stretch of the imagination, am I?

Hmm. There's no way. Lumina, you can take this seriously. No, if you can't do this, Holy Knight, the survival of this church is in jeopardy, so you have to be serious.

I'm going to...

'I know. I know that kindness, that cowardice, that look in your eyes, so that's an order. Be the captain.

'How did you know about the eye?

'When I was assigned, there was someone who had the same eyes as Lumina's. It's not just the color of the magic, it's also the color of the waves and the color of the magic. And if you use it too much, it can cause symptoms similar to magic depletion.

Who is he?

He's gone. The money men have led me down a path with the other knights.

Okay.

"Lumina, please. You may not be able to make the Church honorable, but you can help us make it good.

Please don't. Okay, I'll do my best. I'll do my best.

I was splendidly beaten by the nobility of Lady Catherine, who bowed her head.

A month later, as the captain of the War Maiden Holy Knights, I was the captain of the War Maiden Holy Knights, and I went around the country with five people from the Holy Knights in my squad, and three years later, when the Holy Knights had grown to ten, I met a boy in the city of Meratoni who was timid but emitted a powerful wave of magical power that shone powerfully.

My name is Lumina, and I'm the captain of the War Maiden Holy Knights, the fourth squad of the Holy Knights of the prosperous St. Schlur Church.

My main duty is to eradicate and deal with the enemies of the church, whether they are people, demons, or church officials.

Captain Catherine...Currently, she's Cattleya-sama, but she seems to be working on accounting and negotiations inside and outside the church.

When I met her some time ago, she was softer and more feminine than when she was a Knight Commander.

I'm trying to take a page out of the old Catherine's book, and I'm trying to speak in a high-handed manner, but I'm not always able to do it well.

I've been going from place to place and returning to the church to give information to Master Cattleya, but it seems that there is not enough material to detect the injustice.

This is the best way to find out if someone is capable of walking through the maze.

He was blabbing about such things.

As I recall, the case currently handled by the stiff and famous Granharto-dono, whom Cattleya-sama trusted, was mainly to appoint a healer as an exorcist and prevent demons from coming out of the labyrinth.

''Cattleya-sama, let us capture the labyrinth for you.

I advised Lady Cattleya to get rid of her gloom.

'Lumina, you can't do that. You can't go there, let alone with me.

'It's not like you, Lady Cattleya. I've been in the maze many times before.

"This is the labyrinth of the immortal world. It's a labyrinth in which only the undead can enter.

Undead a demon that moves even though it is not alive. As I recall, it must have smelled very bad.

''...It's okay. We'll get through it.

Now, there's a labyrinth that was built more than fifty years ago and hasn't been trampled upon yet. The holy knights and priest knights back then were the real deal, not the imposters we see sitting on their hips today, right? And the immortality attribute uses dark magic.

"...do they become delirious or do they?

Yes. It's a good thing that you're not the only one. That's why it's difficult to find someone who can defeat the immortality attribute without being afraid of dark magic.

I see. It's a very good idea to be able to have a good time. I didn't know it was that big of a deal, I'm sorry.

It's fine. Speaking of which, there's a new exorcist coming from Melatni.

'Is this from Melatni? There was no one there before, say, two years ago, who could be an exorcist?

'There's something unusual about that boy, he's been training in the Adventurer's Guild all the time instead of working in the Healing Institute.

''...What is the Meratni branch doing, yearning to be an adventurer without the power of a god and using it?

''That's why that girl, her Holy Attribute Magic skill was V within a year of registering, she's been called a genius or a heretic for a healer. It has many other horrible names.

This healer, is he long and lanky, with a graceful appearance?

'I don't know that much. But when I signed up for the Healer's Guild, there were reports that I couldn't even use my heels.

"...I know that healer.

'Really? You know what he is?

'I think it had very clear magical vibrations. It seemed timid, but it was also very powerful.

It's rare that Lumina gets that much praise.

I'm just telling you the truth.

"May he be a good boy somehow.

Would you like me to find out?

Well. Granhardt is in charge and I'll tell you when he gets here.

Yes, sir.

Six months have passed since then.

Then you can each have lunch.

Yes, sir.

I headed to my private quarters.

Although there was no schedule for the upcoming expedition, since the Empire had recently strengthened its military again, my squad might have to be sent out.

As I was thinking about this, the magic ball glowed, and as I held it in my hand, I heard a voice say, "This is a magic tool.

This is a very wonderful thing that allows me to separate myself from the opponent who has had his magic power read into it with a magic tool.

''He's arrived.

What about him? [...]

The child of Melatni, as I told you.

Yes. To Master Granhardt's? [...]

Yes.

Okay, I'll make contact. I'll make contact.

Nice to meet you.

Thus, I hurriedly made my way to Granhardt-dono's place.

I was surprised to see a young man who found Lord Granhardt and walked with him. His hirsute frame had grown thicker like an adventurer's, and he was as good as the Priest Knight Granhard-dono.

While I was surprised, I called out to him with relief when I noticed that the surge of magic power hadn't changed from that time.

''Oh? You led them to the Healer's Guild in the city of Melatni, I believe it was... wasn't it Mr. Louise?

Oh, it's been a while. Lumina-sama. And my name is Luciel. I'm sure you'll be able to find out right away that it's me, even though I've changed quite a bit in size.

It seems that I was using the wrong name. It's a good thing.

I'm not going to be the only one who can do that.

Oh, shoot. I bypassed them and taught them that magic power is visible.

'Thank you for your help at Melatni. I've managed to get my fledgling healing done in the past two years.

Luciel-kun didn't show any interest in me being able to see the demon at all. For some reason, I feel like I've lost.

''I see. Oh, I don't have time for this now, so come to my room later.

When I told him so, I called out to him with a mixture of voices that only Lord Granhardt could hear.

'Lord Granhardt, (Lady Katrena has expressed an interest in him.) Later, let someone show him to my private quarters.

"...yes.

Lord Granhardt's expression hardened, but he was apparently a bad actor. Thus, I decided to wait in my private room for him to arrive.

Before he went to his room, he said, "Elizabeth, you and I are going to train this afternoon, yes, Lucy will be fine. We'll join you late. You guys will be starting the training alone.

Yes, sir.

Elizabeth said and headed for the training ground.

'Lady Lumina, is anyone coming?'

Yeah. Not so close as an acquaintance I met a while ago.

The water was boiling and the tea was being prepared when there was a knock at the door.

'Lady Lumina, this is Luciel, whom I met earlier. I'd like to thank you for coming at once.

That's what he called out to me and allowed me to enter the room. He was ignorant and yet he could knock, which reminded me of growing up, but as soon as he entered the room, he seemed to freeze when he saw the room.

'What's wrong?'　

'I just came from the room I was in with Lord Granhardt to Lady Lumina's room, and the gap between us was so great.

That makes sense. They must have taken him to the interrogation room.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. After what happened, I guess.

'Did you know why I came here, to this church headquarters?

What? Was I being careless? We won't have to hide it here.

Yeah. So I've nailed Master Granhardt to the wall to make it quick.

I see. Thank you so much for everything, both this time and your time in Meratni.

The completely unguarded part hasn't changed.

Good. You've already been thanked. And I don't like to be overwhelmed. Please, make yourself comfortable.

'I'll take your word for it. By the way...

I waited as the water I had boiled to make tea cooled down.

"Let's make some tea first. Why don't you go sit on one of those chairs over there?

Oh, yes. Thank you.

With a soft smile, he sat down in his chair.

(That's pretty bleak!) I feel like I'm being thought of as such, so I just say it.

''It's pretty bleak, isn't it?''

''Excuse me.''

You're right. Well, it's not a flattering room for a woman. I couldn't resist making an excuse.

'Never mind. This is just a place to do paperwork and sleep, and most of us aren't here.

Speaking of which, a week after we met in Meratni, I wanted to thank you for learning to heel, and when I asked the guild, I was surprised to hear that you were back at headquarters.

'My job involves moving around quite a bit, from place to place. More importantly, were you summoned by Granharto this time? Or are you moving on?

This time it's in the name of the Pope. I've been transferred in the name of the Pope.

I see. So Lady Cattleya knew about it from the beginning.

"From Lady Fluna, Luciel, you must be quite brilliant.

'Hmmm, I don't think that's quite right. Actually...

He told me what the world thought of the church, not as a healer, but from a general perspective.

'Hmm. "Hmmm," he said. So, what are we going to do now?

He wouldn't be involved in the injustice, but he seems gullible and I fear for his future.

'Hmm. I guess so. Actually, I've been transferred, but I have no idea what I'm supposed to do.

Ignorance is still the same, or I should say carelessness here.

''You're probably talking about yourself. What are you so fluent in... Come to think of it, you said Master Granhardt called you just now.

Yes, sir. In the Pope's name, Ms. Granhardt called him.

Then your job, Luciel, may be a bit risky.

Are you sure?

Yeah. But there's no doubt it's a great way to get ahead, though.

This is how I taught him to be careful in the labyrinth. And, of course, the smell.

''Eh? That's not a problem at all.

But he was full of motivation, as if it didn't matter.

When he left the room, he called Cattleya-sama.

''The subject has left.

So how did it go? [...]

''That's right. There are a few omissions, but generally I have no problems with my personality.

Does he think he'll do well in the maze? [...]

''Yes. I got the impression that that was pretty much like a knight who had performed melee combat.

Is that so? It's funny.

''Yes. And he was already good enough to use purification magic.

''So you've raised the holy attribute to VII in two years? [...]

《Yes. Are you quite a hard worker? [...]

All right, I'll see you tomorrow, and we'll see what we can do. I'll see you tomorrow, so we'll see what we can do.

Yes. It's nice to meet you.

You can help her if you have any problems.

I understand.

Well, that's unusual.

Yes, sir? [...]

If you don't know, that's fine. Then good luck with your training, Lumina.

Thank you, sir.

I cut off the communication.

'With all those healers in training, we holy knights have to work hard too.

Thus, the second encounter between me, Lumina and the healer Luciel, ended with my motivation ignited.

I, Lumina of the War Maiden Holy Knight Squad, had come to the dining hall with my subordinates Lucy and Queena.

The purpose was to meet with the healer, Luciel-kun. It's not like a love affair.

Yesterday, Cattleya-sama contacted me and said that he had defeated the Lord in the Lord's room on the tenth level for the first time in over a decade.

Of course, it was Luciel-kun who did it. However, Cattleya-sama said that he did a very reckless attack.

When he heard that story, he asked me to help him.

So this is how I waited for the time he always visited.

''Lumina-sama, aren't you going to the dining room?

''As expected, just standing there...''

Lucy and Queena don't know about Luciel, so it can't be helped.

As they were thinking this, Luciel came over.

''Luciel.''

Lucy called out to me and I said it can't be helped and headed to the dining room.

Good morning. Good morning, Lumina-sama, Lucy. I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say about this. I'm Luciel.

"Good morning, Mr. Luciel.

Good morning.

Good morning. My name is Queena, and I'm assigned to Lady Lumina's unit.

Good morning again. Ms. Queener. Are you all here for breakfast?

'Yeah. We always have breakfast after we finish our morning drills, you know.

'I see. I'm a little later than usual, so I see we've met.

I hear you've been at war for ten days.

''Oh, that story? I haven't stopped thinking about it since yesterday.

Hmm. I'm listening if you want. Would you like to come over for breakfast?

Yes. By all means.

Hmm. If you're the same age and one year younger than Luciel, then Luciel will be easy to talk to.

Thus we ended up asking Luciel what happened yesterday.

'I heard that the attack was unusually smooth until the tenth level?

''Yes. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I've been training in the Adventurer's Guild for two years, so I was able to manage after I entered the labyrinth.

'Is this your first fight with a demon?

Yes. I've been training all this time.

There's not going to be anything to be sorry about, is there?

''I was nervous at first, but it was crisp, and it wasn't just the cleansing magic, but when I channeled the magic into my sword and spear, I was able to defeat the demons without feeling them slash or poke me.''

'...What are the ranks of sword and spear?

I'm up because of yesterday's incident, so I'm II.

''... You mentioned swords and spears earlier, but do you change weapons every day to challenge them?

'What? I'm not that troublesome. Right now, I want more hands, so I have a short spear on my left and a single-handed sword on my right.

"...Right. Keep going.

''Yes. After ten days of searching up to the tenth level, I fought with swords and spears if there were a small number of them, and with purification magic if there was a horde of them, so I heard that there would be a horde of demons in the place where the hierarchical lord would be, but I didn't take it easy.

As per the information, there were a lot of uncountable undead inside, but I thought I could handle it, so I started fighting and found out that I couldn't use magic. I was in a hurry. From there, I attacked them, wielding my sword and spear, and kept fighting.

So I got bitten and scratched, but I managed to defeat all the demons.

'You've been through a lot, haven't you? Did the potion heal your wounds?

''Oh, come to think of it, it might have been a little easier if I had a potion.''

'What?

''Haha. I didn't take that much damage once, so I didn't take any potions or anything with me.

Can you... can you advance the potion?

I did, but it was pretty expensive, so I thought I didn't want it. And then, when I saw the wight in there, I was stunned.

"...you pulled out your shield there? So you're probably using warding magic as well, so it's managed.

''...No...I didn't even use ward magic, so when I entered the boss room and was surrounded, it was tough. Honestly, I would have given up if it wasn't for the pain of being slashed and prodded in the Meratni Adventurer's Guild.

Besides, if I had known the wights were going to come out... if I had known I couldn't use magic, I would have been a little more efficient in flesh and blood combat.

''...I see. Knowing that there is a hierarchical lord, without any recovery potion and no warding magic beforehand................you won well.

''That's right. I didn't expect the bow I bought the day before to be the clue to my strategy.

But you've made it to the tenth level in ten days. Have you been taking a good rest? And you need the training.

'What? I don't need a break. I want to move quickly in the labyrinth, and I've been slaying zombies every day in training, so I'll be fine. Oh, I'm continuing my basic training in magic.

"...By the way, when did you start using the sword and spear fighting style?

That was the day you entered the maze.

When I saw this Luciel, I finally realized that he was lacking in common sense. I realized that he lacked human common sense. I couldn't help but open my mouth. No, not just me, but Lucy and Queena as well.

''...What the hell are you doing?

Do you have a death wish?

'You're an idiot. I just got lucky. Normally I'd be dead.

"Ah, just when you thought you'd outgrown your ignorance, you start acting like a reckless a**h*le.

''In the meantime, I've had half a day to reflect alone since yesterday, so please don't let that stop you. My spirit is already a wreck.

Even if your mind is in shambles, you'll die if you don't change the root of it. I'm about to say this when Lucy speaks up, "So what do you want to do?

"So what do you want to do?

"I need to return to Meratni and retrain myself to be strong.

He muttered, staring off into the distance with shaded eyes. But.

As a general rule, healers are not permitted to transfer from Headquarters unless they have received an official letter of resignation.

Yes. I'm not that easy to admit. Besides, it's what Master Cattleya told me to do, so let's get him into training.

If you want to train me, I could help you.

'What? Are you sure?

Oh. I know it's a tough job for a healer, but I can get you in on the Holy Knight's training. However, I won't be tutoring you individually.

'... If it doesn't interfere with the search, may I ask?

Hmm. So, once a week, we'll have an intense training session on Fire Day.

'Yes. Nice to meet you.

Thus, it was decided to participate in the training of our War Maiden Holy Knights of Luciel.

We finished our Luciel meal and headed to the training camp.

On the way there, Lucy opened her mouth.

''Is it good to have him participate in the training?

It's okay. Since he is a healer, he is much weaker than our Holy Knight, and his status is lower. I heard you were level 1 when you came here, but I'm sure you're a little stronger.

"I'm afraid that's not going to keep up with the training.

'I suppose so. But according to the report, he has been training in martial arts for two years without a day's rest. The reason why our Holy Knights are currently the strongest despite being a small group of elite is because they have worked hard.

Unfortunately, there are only a few in the church headquarters who can make that kind of effort. Of course, I'll make them train once and discard them if that's all they are. Is that clear?

"What.

Thus, the training day arrived through talking to the other guys in the War Maiden Holy Knight Squad.

Whether Luciel was fundamentally only interested in herself or dull, she never dreamed that some healers would treat the Holy Knight as a woman.

Nor did everyone else in the squad. I didn't know that there was a man who would hesitate to attack us, who could be treated like an evil creature.

Thus, everyone received Luciel favorably, perhaps glad to be treated as a woman.

Knowing that she was more competent than me, I was surprised to hear that from the heart rather than from the top, but I didn't feel bad about it.

As a healer, Luciel must be a strong one. There's no doubt about that.

However, he is significantly weaker compared to us. But what does it mean for him to have this style?

It wasn't there, so when he had them hold it with a shield and sword, it was moderately impressive. If this is at skill level II, it seems that his master was quite a warrior.

His taisuji is not bad. But he didn't have a high fighting sense. That meant that he must have worked that hard.

But even with training, it's still not enough to create a big gap. I thrust my fist out to where I was about to swing my sword.

At that moment, he laughed. That's how he laughed. The moment my fist hit him, I saw him finish swinging his sword back with a pale light.

Was this what he was going for? A healer? It's mind-boggling how much effort I've put into chanting out while swinging my sword and moving in the first place.

It can't be helped. I'll answer to his pride.

Brilliant!

I got behind him as fast as I could and drove my sword into his neck, and he just passed out.

'Good. You all saw that. These are the healers with the basic attribute of being a low status vanguard alongside the mages. We have a high status and our skill level can easily increase, so we make an effort, but not much more than an effort.

Unfortunately, the other priest knights and holy knights aren't even trying. He's a gem who defeated the Lord of the ten levels in ten days in that labyrinth. As long as the labyrinth is there, Cattleya-sama won't be able to return. So we'll train him ourselves.

Any objections? Nothing. Then resume training.

After finishing their early morning training and eating, they resumed their training.

No one expected that Luciel's warding magic was as uniform and well-behaved as a veteran healer, and no one expected that the one who was assigned earlier would lose, just because no one expected that Luciel's warding magic was as uniform and well-behaved as a veteran healer, and no one expected that the one who was assigned earlier would lose, so Luciel's reputation went up.

The only thing left in the training that had been going well was the exercises, but here's what happened.

I'm not going to be able to say the same thing to you. Prepare your horses and assemble.

'Yes? ...Yes?''

I had a little bad feeling about Luciel, who made a strange sound.

'Is there something you don't understand?

Yes. Or rather, I've never ridden a horse before.

"....that's exactly what I wasn't expecting.

I was completely disappointed. He must have been a villager. If that was the case, he might have seen a horse, but he wouldn't touch or ride it.

But many ordinary healers, even at a young age, make a good amount of money and keep their horses. Furthermore, with such a knightly physique, I can't believe you've never ridden a horse before.

Well, that was my mistake.

It can't be helped. Luciel, you can ask the people who manage the stables to teach you how to ride a horse. I'm going to the exercise, of course, so I'll be on the lookout.

I'm sorry.

No. We hadn't thought of that either. Then you can use this place for horsemanship training. We'll be back here when the exercise is over.

All right. Have a safe trip.

Yeah. Let me show you to the stables. All right, let's move out.

Thus we headed to the exercise and he was to practice his horsemanship.

On the way to the exercise, he told us the story of how he came to be here, and we were glad to find a heretic among the healers who was the biggest cause of the church's disrepute.

This is how we would train him until we left him and headed on our expedition.

And while there is always sparse applause when we head out on an expedition, this time, the city was united in saying good luck.

This was even more tremendous than when Cattleya-sama was going into battle.

And among them I could hear zombies, doms, holy change healers and voices.

I looked for his magic and came to see him off, distant but firm.

I told everyone that it was him, and they all agreed.

We headed for the border, feeling light-hearted and uplifted by the surprise of the most popular healer in this holy city at the moment, and feeling our bodies fill with strength.