saint ch21

Lesson (3)

“So… Practice Hall One was destroyed?”

Vice-Dean Claire felt a headache coming on as she read the urgent report.

She rubbed her forehead and reread the report several times, but the contents remained unchanged.

Martial Arts Practice Hall B, half destroyed.

What on earth, what on earth could have happened there to reduce a building made purely for sparring to such a state?

“Repairing the damaged outer walls and rewriting the protective magic will solve the problem, but the construction will take at least a few weeks…”

“How could this happen?”

Of course, it wasn’t impossible for a practice hall to be damaged.

It wasn’t as if a practice hall had never been damaged during sparring in the academy’s long history.

However, the fact that such an incident was rare, even in the academy’s long history, did not diminish the seriousness of the current situation.

It was obvious what kind of disruption would occur if a practice hall was out of commission for at least a few weeks, given the academy’s tightly packed schedule.

Practice halls weren’t buildings that could be so easily destroyed.

“Could there have been a problem with the protective magic?”

Thinking that way, it would mean a rather significant problem, a leak somewhere in the academy’s inspection system, but it was easier to understand that way.

It was easier to think that a hidden problem had simply erupted through this incident.

“No such circumstances have been identified so far.”

“So, the practice hall was really half-destroyed because of a duel between two people?”

Claire’s voice trembled slightly at the unbelievable reality.

“Yes.”

“Unless Commander Gorg of the Steel Anvil royal guard deliberately caused a disturbance, how can this be possible?”

“We also find it hard to believe, but the testimonies of the personnel on site…”

Vice-Dean Claire sighed, for what felt like the hundredth time, and looked back at the report.

Commander Gorg of the Steel Anvil royal guard happened to pass by Martial Arts Practice Hall B and visited it.

He declared that he would give some pointers to the students taking the practical sparring class that was in progress.

He sparred with the students taking the class, as well as the instructor in charge.

In the meantime, Saint Ronan and First Princess Azelia visited.

Commander Gorg of the Steel Anvil royal guard recommended that Saint Ronan learn martial arts.

First Princess Azelia dissuaded him, and the conversation became heated in the process.

Saint Ronan tried to dissuade them, but First Princess Azelia judged that she could not back down from the situation given Commander Gorg of the Steel Anvil royal guard’s remarks, and requested a duel.

So far, so good.

Reading it, she couldn’t help but wish they would keep their political squabbles outside the academy, but since they had accepted their presence in the academy, they had to put up with this much.

But what followed was the problem.

After that, Practice Hall B was half-destroyed through the duel between First Princess Azelia, who had received holy magic from Saint Ronan, and Commander Gorg of the Steel Anvil royal guard.

Objectively speaking, this duel should have ended in Gorg’s unilateral victory.

Although the academy’s information on the princess’s level of martial prowess was several years old, and she hadn’t worn any special equipment at the time, so there might be some discrepancy with the current information, there were still limits.

No matter how much the princess had improved since graduating from the academy, there was a limit to human growth.

No matter what method she used, a fight against Gorg, who was called a master-class powerhouse, should not have been possible.

The argument that it was possible because Gorg fought with restrictions didn’t hold water either.

That was because Gorg, who had admitted his defeat from the start, continued the duel, even using holy magic in earnest.

Since there was the pretext of a duel, he didn’t fight with all his might, but the duel ended with the building being destroyed after a duel with a master-class powerhouse who had put in some effort.

Nothing made sense.

“What is the probability that Princess Azelia is a master-class powerhouse?”

At Vice-Dean Claire’s words, several of the professors present exchanged glances before coming to an answer.

“It’s such a slim chance that it’s meaningless to speculate. That’s true even if we assume that the imperial family has a means of abnormally strengthening martial prowess in a short period of time.”

That must be it.

Claire had asked because she couldn’t believe it either, but she knew the answer well enough.

“Which is more likely, the assumption that Princess Azelia is a master-class powerhouse, or the assumption that Saint Ronan can strengthen a chief knight-level person to a master-class powerhouse through holy magic?”

The answer to this was already clear.

“The probability that Princess Azelia is a master-class powerhouse is so low that it approaches impossibility, but the assumption that one can gain the martial prowess of a master-class powerhouse through grace is simply impossible.”

“If there had been such a case in the history of the continent, all the martial artists in the world would have become zealous believers.”

That must be it.

If one could gain master-class martial prowess through faith in God, who in the world wouldn’t have faith?

“In the first place, it’s impossible to strengthen to that level. Countless holy knights strengthen themselves through holy magic to fight, but the essence is no different from knights who strengthen their bodies through magic.”

“That’s right. No matter how unpredictable the possibilities of holy magic are, there are limits to the human body. Even if there is a way to give one the output of a master-class powerhouse with holy magic, it is normal for the recipient of the grace to not be able to handle that power.”

“We have sought advice from other clergy, including the Steel Anvil royal guard, but bestowing grace that increases physical abilities to others is several times more difficult than using it on oneself. There is also a clear limit to the extent to which one can strengthen without side effects.”

Those gathered here began to express their opinions on the incomprehensible phenomenon in turn.

The conclusion was always impossible. Impossible. Impossible.

Even for them, the current situation was incomprehensible.

If Princess Azelia wasn’t a master-class powerhouse, the only remaining possibility was that the princess had gained enough power to fight on par with a master-class powerhouse through the grace Ronan had bestowed, but that was a more absurd assumption than Azelia being a master-class powerhouse.

But despite that, the reason they were racking their brains here was because it had actually happened.

No matter how they looked at it, that was the only remaining possibility.

The Saint could bestow grace that temporarily strengthened others to master-class powerhouses, even if only for a moment.

The fact that Azelia, the recipient of the grace, was a chief knight was not very important.

The word master was such a powerful word that it could dismiss such assumptions as ‘trivial’.

One of the biggest reasons why the empire held the hegemony of the continent in the first place was because of the number of masters it possessed.

“Saint Ronan…”

Vice-Dean Claire quietly recited the name.

She could sense that he was no ordinary boy from their first meeting.

The way he prayed in front of the Orion statue alone when all the clergy were blinded by flashy jewels and decorations.

The way he thanked her as if he was grateful even when she showed him a humble building that couldn’t even compare to the Order headquarters.

The way he calmly and gently persuaded the clergy of the different race who was wielding force in front of him with a peaceful expression.

The way he felt responsible even for things he couldn’t do anything about.

All of those things suggested that he was already a mentally ideal Saint.

Some scholars judged it to be a very dangerous way of thinking for a human being who thought of himself as an accessory to carry out God’s will, but even they agreed that it was an ideal image as a Saint.

However, until then, she thought that he was still an immature Saint because of his physical limitations.

After that, the way he presented a groundbreaking perspective on faith with his eyes closed at the welcoming ceremony, and scattered feathers of light throughout the entire auditorium.

It was fascinating even now that she thought about it.

That was what God’s agent looked like, it was such a sacred sight that she unconsciously accepted it.

The feathers of light turned into light and disappeared the moment they touched the body, but the warm feeling that filled the body felt like proof that Orion was residing within oneself, as the Saint had said.

The effect was weak, but seeing him scattering large-scale holy magic that covered the vast plaza with his young body, it was clear that he had already reached a certain level of holy magic regardless of his physical body.

He was a complete Saint with no bias in mind or body, so it was easy to infer that the title of trainee Saint was due to the circumstances of the higher-ups.

However, no matter what, there were limits.

He could bestow grace that could temporarily strengthen others to master-class powerhouses?

It was a big mistake to think that such absurd things could be rationalized by having the name of Saint.

For some reason, she felt like that Saint would say something like, ‘It must mean that Orion loves humans,’ with a faint smile.

Didn’t the Order know about this?

How could they give such a Saint to the academy?

A half-baked Saint?

Wouldn’t it be more credible to say that Orion, who was saddened by the dwindling faith, had given them a much stronger Saint than ever before?

Claire’s head became even more complicated.

It was impossible to cover up the situation because there were too many witnesses.

The evidence of the half-destroyed practice hall also existed.

In fact, the fact that this incident couldn’t be covered up was the biggest problem, even more than the practice hall being half-destroyed.

It was such an absurd story that not many people would believe it even if it spread right away.

But the academy was already the focus of attention, and if such rumors spread, not only the clergy but also ordinary people would begin to realize that the value of the Saint was beyond their imagination.

If they dug into the whole story, they would notice the shattered practice hall.

What then? It was virtually certain that a storm centered on the Saint would hit the academy.

The academy was already in an unprecedented state of density, like a powder keg about to explode.

Even when three imperial princesses and princes of the empire attended the academy in one generation, it was ridiculous compared to the current academy.

It was difficult to even guess how far the chain reaction would spread once the storm started.

The imperial family had deployed troops to calm it down even a little, but… well, in Vice-Dean Claire’s opinion, the imperial family couldn’t be an exception to this storm either.

The Saint, who would be at the center of the storm,

[Desired Subjects]

Basic Cooking Theory

Basic Cooking Practice

Basic Farming Theory

Basic Farming Practice

Basic Repair Theory

Basic Repair Practice

…

..

.
She was even more frustrated because he was submitting such a course registration form.

Cooking? Farming? Repair?

Why would someone who could wield such tremendous holy magic that it was meaningless to guess the limits want to learn such subjects?

Didn’t this Saint know his own value?

Or didn’t he know that those who had power had obligations and positions befitting them?

No, maybe he just considered all the norms and standards set by humans to be meaningless.

A priest who was free from all worldly interests and only served God’s will.

Was such a hollow story really possible?

She would normally think it was absolutely impossible, but she had lost a lot of confidence because the young Saint kept doing absurd things without a care in the world.

I don’t know anymore.

Let’s just do my job.

Claire, who was overloaded with too many difficulties, gave up thinking.

“It’s meaningless to discuss the limits of holy magic here. First, let’s repair Practice Hall B as soon as possible… and try to adjust the upcoming practice schedule as much as possible.”

“I’ll seek cooperation from the Great Earth Magic Tower and put out a request for stonemasons.”

“I’ll summon the martial arts instructors, explain the situation, and ask for their cooperation.”

“Good. And… it probably won’t mean much, but keep today’s events as quiet as possible. It’s better to buy even a little time.”

“Understood.”

“Um, Vice-Dean. What should we do about that course registration form?”

Claire reluctantly turned her gaze back to the course registration form she had been trying to ignore.

Good heavens, a Saint cooking and tending a garden.

If I approve this, I wouldn’t be surprised if I got struck by lightning on the street.

“…Just, let him do as he pleases.”

Claire’s weary voice echoed through the conference room.