Chapter 81: - The Lord Is With Us (2)

༺ The Lord Is With Us (2) ༻

The Academy strived for equality, valuing skills over social status. However, that also meant whoever lacked the ability would not be able to escape failure.

Even the most prestigious nobles were not immune from the Academy’s standards. This was evidenced by the number of high-rank nobles expelled from the Academy since its establishment.

There had been hundreds, if not thousands of expulsions.

Even the Empire’s top five most powerful nobles were reduced to ordinary students upon entering the Academy. In fact, the noble families rarely exerted their influence on the Academy and only felt ashamed when their children were expelled.

The Academy earned trust as an educational institution, and its strict standards were recognized by everyone, including the enrolled students.

But if you were to ask whether the academy was truly “equal”, some would deny it. Even an institution like the Academy couldn’t completely disregard the influence of noble families.

The scions of the Empire’s five families aside, the Academy was forced to grant some special privileges to members of the royal family and the highest-ranking representatives of foreign countries. It was a precautionary measure to relieve the academy of responsibility in case problems arose.

Such was the case with the royal princess, who entered the Magic Department as a first-year student this year. Despite being far down in the line of succession to the throne, she still possessed the blood of a dragon. As a result, the academy had to provide a separate annex specifically for her.

Another such case was the woman sitting across from me.

The warm sunlight reflected off her silver hair and cascaded down her back. Her smooth, flawless skin, finely sculpted features, and captivating pink eyes came together to create a unique presence.

Although she was dressed in a priestly robe that symbolized the Church, it was impossible to conceal the alluring figure of her feminine body. Her physical appearance embodied both divine holiness and sinful temptations.

She was the Saintess, an illustrious title bestowed upon the one maiden who had received the favor of God Arus in each generation.

A new Saintess would emerge around every 30 years, but until then, the current “Saintess” held great influence within the religious institution. Being the “Saintess” meant she personified the existence of God Arus.

According to the scripture, God had created humans from his flesh and taught them civility and faith. The first disciple of Arus inherited the title of “Pope” and passed it down from generation to generation while guiding the faithful.

However, in reality, this tradition was based on human laws. The selection of the next pope was designated not by God, but by the cardinals of the Holy Kingdom.

On the other hand, the “Saintess” could not be arbitrarily chosen by humans as they were girls born with extraordinary divine power. Thus, the “Saintess” possessed the symbolism of being chosen by God, and their existence was highly valued by the Holy Land.

In terms of hierarchy, she ranked above Archbishops but below Cardinals. Still, as one of the highest-ranking figures in the Holy Church, the Academy had no choice but to grant her special privileges.

One such privilege was the small building I was sitting in that was located right next to the temple, fittingly named the “Sun’s Shelter”.

Although it retained a modest appearance without any lavish decorations, it still exuded an elegant atmosphere. This was where the Saintess, along with her knights and attendants from the Holy Land, resided.

It was rumored that the Saintess disliked special treatment. She kept the number of her escorts to a minimum. Even then, she only had them guard her during the night while only her trusted bodyguard, Yuren, accompanied her during the day.

Those rumors seemed to be true.

From the time I entered the Sun’s Shelter and headed to the reception room on the second floor, I didn’t see a single other person.

It was a chance to be alone with a woman as beautiful and noble as the Saintess, in a place other than the temple’s treatment center.

I would have normally rejoiced at my luck...

If it weren’t for her current demeanor.

“......So, you don’t remember anything?”

Her voice had a chilling undertone, and her irritation was palpable.

Her pink eyes were brimming with discontent as she played with her hair, twisting it around her index finger.

The stark contrast to her normally kind and gentle disposition made me feel even more uneasy.

Was this really the Saintess? This woman?

It had been a long time since her once warm gaze had turned sharp. A sigh escaped her lips.

Bang!

Her palm slammed down on the table as she rose to her feet. She leaned forward and brought her face closer to mine. Then, she growled, almost shouting in frustration.

“Does that make any sense?! I don’t know what you’re really up to, but.....”

Intimidated by her anger, I immediately drew a cross on my chest and firmly declared my innocence.

“I swear on the name of Arus.”

“It’s a grave sin to deceitfully swear upon the Lord, Brother Ian. You will receive divine retribution.”

“But it’s the truth.”

The Saintess clenched her mouth, causing the sound of her teeth grinding against each other to fill the silence. Despite my look of indignation, she continued to fiercely glare at me with no signs of trusting me.

“Hah...”

Then, she heaved a sigh in resignation and slumped back down into her chair.

She seemed to be suffering from a headache as she firmly pressed her fingers against her temples.

The attack aimed at my throat, and I instinctively raised my sword to block it. However, the assailant’s sword carried a heavy force, and I was unable to completely parry the attack as I had been caught off guard.

Sparks flew and a grating noise filled the air as two blades scraped against each other. Despite my best attempt, the attack had managed to graze my cheek.

It was a shallow cut.

As blood trickled down from the wound, I realized that it could have been fatal if I had reacted any slower. I managed to survive thanks to the ‘Dragon’s Blood’ enhancing my mana and physical capabilities, but if it was a month ago, I would have died helplessly.

I bewilderedly turned to face the man holding the sword. The man who had slashed at me had an androgynous face and jade-colored hair tied up in a ponytail.

It was Yuren. He studied me with piercing eyes, then relaxed his grip on his sword.

“...Huh, you’re weak again”

He muttered to himself while taking a step back while I stifled a bitter laugh.

I glared at him, but Yuren simply smiled brazenly as he held out his hand.

“Welcome back, Ian. I heard about your situation. You lost your memory, huh?”

“...You were guarding the door?”

“I’m her knight, after all. I overheard everything you two were discussing.”

Yuren extended his hand while congratulating me on my return to my body, but when I didn’t take his hand, he did the next best thing.

“You should be proud. There are only a few people on the entire continent who have seen that ‘face’ of the Saintess.”

“I’m not too happy about that...”

I didn’t know if I should be angry at his sudden ambush or if I should relax at his friendly attitude.

I contemplated how I should react.

However, my hesitation didn’t last long. It was unbecoming for a swordsman to make a fuss over a slight cut.

I had to be rational.

Grumbling, I slid my sword back into its sheath.

“So, you believe that I’ve lost my memory?”

“Of course I do, I just checked your skills.”

He shrugged and folded his arms while nodding his head as if he had come to some understanding.

It wasn’t long before Yuren began to reason.

“Your eyes felt so different. But it makes sense if you lost your memories. You were probably temporarily possessed by someone or something. Thing is, it’s difficult to replicate their skills even if you possess someone’s body.....”

He stroked his chin, lost in thought. He seemed to be considering various theories. However, what was important to me was not his theory of my possession.

I felt the need to interrupt him to instead focus on a key detail.

“My eyes?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Your gaze seemed so weary and jaded that I couldn’t help but remember them.”

‘A weary gaze’. I recalled getting that same testimony back then.

It was the week before I received the first letter.

It meant that the phenomenon was greatly related to the letters from the future.

There was no way Yuren could have made up such a detail.

The very fact that letters from the future were being sent to me was already abnormal. There was now one less reason to sit there and listen to Yuren’s various theories.

I decided to steer the conversation again.

“Yuren, do me a favor.”

He tilted his head and stared at me, silently urging me to go on.

“Do you happen to know what I did while I lost my memory? “

Yuren deeply pondered while avoiding my gaze but soon relaxed his arms before facing me with a serious expression.

“...Do you remember stabbing me through the shoulder?”

Uh, I didn’t remember such a thing.

Cold sweat began trickling down my back. Simultaneously, I had to resist the urge to wipe the sweat that was pouring down my face.

It seemed that I had once again done some crazy shit during the time I lost my memory.