saint ch6

Charm (1)

…Is someone talking about me?

My ear felt itchy for some reason.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

I’d grown quite used to Celia’s questions, as she consistently asked if I was alright even if I only paused for a moment.

It’s a little strange how she seems to know even when I only think something to myself, but I have a rough idea why she’s so obsessed with acting as my attendant, so I’m letting it go.

I was mistaken because she has the last name Sobeon, but Celia isn’t a noble; she’s the child of a ruined noble family.

What’s more, her parents’ whereabouts are unknown, and she was raised by her older sister, making her practically a commoner.

If she hadn’t awakened her Divine Power, she wouldn’t have had a very bright future waiting for her.

I don’t know if things have gotten better since she came here.

Among the commoners who make up the majority of the Trainee Clerics, she’s ostracized for being a noble, and among the few nobles, she’s ostracized for being practically a commoner.

Apart from a few exceptions, the children aren’t inherently mean-spirited, so there isn’t any blatant bullying, but there’s a subtle sense of distance.

It’s a difficult thing for a young girl in her impressionable years to handle.

It seems to me that this is happening with the tacit approval of the clerics to some extent, so there’s nowhere to turn for help.

I haven’t been able to figure out why Celia was intentionally isolated, though.

But those things have decreased significantly since she became my attendant.

People are hesitant to talk to me directly, so they ask her about things, and as a result, a virtuous cycle of sorts has been created where they become somewhat friendly.

Besides, even without that, she’s secured me as a conversation partner, isn’t she?

It still seems like she finds me excessively difficult to approach, though.

Since the Order officially considers me only half a Saint anyway, I wish those three would treat me with even half the ease they treat each other.

“Saint Ronan, it’s finally the day of the Divine Power test.”

“If I remember correctly, Saint Ronan wasn’t very outstanding… Has anything changed since you became a Saint?

“Since he’s become a Saint, he’s naturally more outstanding than anyone else, isn’t he? It wouldn’t make sense otherwise.”

The three of them, as if they think I’ve become easier to approach these past few days, spoke to me one by one as if they were just talking to a classmate, only adding the title of Saint.

Demian is trying to inflate expectations of me, perhaps to put pressure on me.

At this point, it’s almost cute.

“Haha, Orion didn’t teach me how to handle Divine Power, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to do well.”

“Watch me carefully.”

“Since you’re a Saint, you’ll be able to follow along quickly.”

“If you have outstanding talent as a Saint, you’ll follow along immediately.”

Take back what I just said.

I really want to flick them on the forehead.

The reason these guys can be so arrogant is, surprisingly, because these three are ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the Trainee Cleric group I belong to in the Divine Power test.

Divine Power is a special power called the grace of God.

Holy magic is the power to realize miracles in the world through Divine Power.

Naturally, it’s generally accepted that the more Divine Power one has and the better one is at holy magic, the more devout one is.

In other words, it’s an easily verifiable measure of faith.

That’s why other children don’t doubt the faith of the children of high-ranking clerics and are easily moved by them.

So, do these guys really have high faith and Divine Power?

The basic test of manifesting light through Divine Power begins, and the three of them succeed immediately without any difficulty.

They also showed that they could freely manipulate the light, moving it, making it bigger, or shrinking it, although there were differences in degree.

“Wow…”

“As expected, the blood of the Cardinals is different.”

“They must have deep faith since they’ve believed in Orion since they were young.”

That was why the other children envied the three of them, while barely managing to create a small light or having it extinguished soon after.

From my perspective,

“Seriously, stop cheating so much…”

It was a scam that made me want to say that.

It’s extremely difficult to awaken Divine Power at a young age.

Dozens of times more difficult than awakening magic power.

Rather, it’s still difficult to awaken magic power even as you get older, but it becomes relatively easier to awaken Divine Power, so the difficulty of the two becomes similar.

That’s why the number of children gathered from all over the world where the Order’s infrastructure reaches is small enough for the headquarters to accommodate.

There’s no way that children with such devout faith and genius talent would inherit it just because they were born into the bloodline of high-ranking clerics.

Ah, correction.

They did inherit it.

Divine tools.

The light that those guys are creating is all activated by borrowing the power of the divine tools they’re wearing, such as necklaces and rings.

Of course, divine tools that allow Divine Power to be used arbitrarily are items that are very strictly controlled under the name of the Order.

At least, they weren’t items that could be taken out to be used for playing house here.

I really want to make a shocking announcement…

The three of them’s own Divine Power?

Surprisingly, they did have a tiny bit, no matter what method they used.

It was less than most of the children here, though.

Originally, they wouldn’t have been able to create light, let alone control it.

The three of them, who had finished their demonstration as if it were their own ability, returned to my side, boasting about their stolen talent.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“I believe you’ll show us a beautiful light.”

The eyes of all the Trainee Clerics, the Teachers who were scoring, and even some people who were secretly present here turned to me.

Whether it was to execute me publicly or not, my demonstration order was set aside alone, not at the same time as the others.

It was the result of a strong request from the three, especially Demian.

In addition, the Teachers were secretly curious about the level of my Divine Power and holy magic, so they reluctantly accepted the request.

As I stepped aside to demonstrate and stood alone, Celia’s eyes, looking at me with a slightly uneasy gaze, caught my eye.

And then, as I looked around, everyone’s eyes came into my sight.

In them, there was only expectation, envy, jealousy, and suspicion.

Yeah, you’re the best, Celia, worrying about me.

But there’s no need to worry.

I don’t know how well I handle Divine Power, but after trying it, I realized that it’s a structure that a modern person who has met God can’t help but be good at.

To perform, I gathered my hands near my chest as if offering a prayer to God, and with my eyes closed, I drew up Divine Power.

* * *

Divine Power is different from any other property that exists in the world.

If magic power is a natural energy that is already abundant in the atmosphere, and magic is a methodology of shaping it and transforming it into what you want, Divine Power is an energy that does not exist in the natural world in the first place.

Divine Power is an energy that emanates from the individual who handles Divine Power, and what is needed to use holy magic is not a complex formula or calculation, but a strong belief and a clear mental image of the individual.

A firm belief that God will send light through me.

A landscape of reality that you want to realize based on that firm belief.

The essence of holy magic is the miracle that is manifested to transfer one’s mental image to reality as it is when one truly and strongly believes that God’s will and one’s own will are in agreement and that it will be achieved.

However, realizing this is more difficult than you might think.

First of all, there is no one in this world who denies God, but there are very few people who think that God will act through them to spread His will on earth.

If they know little about God and the Order, it’s because they know little.

If they know a lot about God and the Order, it’s because they know a lot.

In addition, it is more difficult than you might think to draw what you think in the reality that exists before your eyes.

Aren’t humans creatures that can’t even guess what an elephant looks like unless they see and touch it?

After the sacred barrier that blocked the flames of the Great Devil in the past was realized like the door of a church, the basic defensive magic of holy magic takes the form of a church door.

After the punishment that represents God’s wrath was realized as a lightning spear, the basic attack magic of holy magic is in the form of a spear or lightning.

All of them are easy to implement because there are precedents for images that are at least familiar.

That was the extent of the images of holy magic that were at least familiar to the people of this world.

But in that sense, Ronan was an ideal talent for holy magic.

First of all, he directly met a divine being that anyone would have to think of as God at first sight.

He was possessed and even given a Sacred Imprint.

He also gained a cheat ability that may be the power of the Sacred Imprint.

He has already received power from God, so there is no way he would not believe that God would give him power.

Basically, a similar reason worked for all the Saints who handled tremendous Divine Power that was different from others.

Secondly, the image of sacred light was already familiar to Ronan.

Not only such sacred images, but also images of all kinds of things that do not exist in reality, that only exist in imagination, were clearer to him than anyone else in this world.

Ronan had already experienced enough writing and video media that spread all kinds of imaginations to satisfy modern people who were not satisfied with most visual stimuli.

He was a person who had seen and touched fantastic productions realized with all kinds of CG, such as tearing space or the existence of a world of mirrors.

The result appeared around Ronan now.

Behind Ronan, who had begun to pray, an angel wrapped in light descended.

A radiance filled with holiness spread around Ronan’s body, and from somewhere far away, a holy and solemn song seemed to be heard.

Those with deep faith shed tears on the spot and prostrated themselves, praising the miracle, and even those with insufficient faith knelt down involuntarily in the face of the sacred sight.

When Ronan opened his eyes and released his praying hands, the angel who had descended around Ronan kissed the back of Ronan’s hand and then suddenly disappeared.

Along with the radiance and song that bloomed from Ronan.

It was a preposterous sight that would have been suspected as a dream or hallucination because only Ronan was left, but still, no one could speak or move.

It was such a shocking sight.

Silence fell in the hall, with only the sound of someone sobbing intermittently.

The sound of someone sobbing gradually grew louder.

The sobbing gradually turned into wailing, to the point where everyone had no choice but to turn their gaze.

The owner of the sobbing, one of the clerics who was in charge of the Divine Power test, threw away his score sheet and crawled on his knees towards Ronan.

Honestly, from Ronan’s point of view, it was a little scary.

Because his eyes, turned red from crying, stared at him with a whitish glow, approaching incredibly quickly on his knees.

“I dared to try to judge the Saint with my humble body. How can I ask for forgiveness for this grave sin?”

“Uh… I’ll forgive you?”

Ronan was flustered by the more explosive reaction than expected.

“Would you please, please give me the honor of kissing the Sacred Imprint?”

“That’s a little difficult… It’s still only a half-finished Sacred Imprint.”

Isn’t it a ceremony that was banned because it’s still only half-finished?

There are many eyes watching, and I didn’t want to do anything that would make me stand out.

“Half-finished? Half-finished! There must be some big misunderstanding!”

What is this person, he’s a little scary.

The Cardinals were the ones who made that declaration, is it okay to say this?

“Everyone will surely acknowledge it when they see this sight. Saint Ronan is not half, but rather that the Saints until now have not been complete!”

…Was the performance a little too strong?

Well, isn’t it possible for a Saint to have a faint radiance when praying, to hear a song from somewhere, and for an angel’s illusion to show respect?

I used it after confirming that it had happened in the past.

Even if the old Saint summoned a real angel, mine isn’t a real angel either, it’s just a performance illusion.

A trick of the eye.

Only after seeing the priest, completely out of his mind, shouting about the Saint’s greatness, did Ronan think.

He didn’t know what it was, but he seemed to have gone a bit too far.

And there was a high probability that he was screwed.