saint ch29

Class (10)

“Lady Rita. You mustn’t do this.”

“…”

I definitely heard her ears twitch just now.

That detestable beastwoman was just pretending not to hear and kept urging the horse on.

Should I jump off the horse right now like in a racing action movie?

Honestly, I don’t think I’d get hurt.

The problem is, I don’t know what that crazy bitch would do if I did.

Stop, please stop, Belarus.

Good girl.

Half in a state of escapism, I placed my hand on Belarus’s body and kept repeating that to myself.

As the saying goes, I wasn’t really expecting her to stop.

But miraculously, Belarus gradually began to slow down.

The agent’s expression showed panic as Belarus, who had been running alongside her, slowed down and turned back towards us, so it didn’t seem intentional.

Is it because she’s a good horse that cares about the person riding her?

There’s really nothing but animals.

Beastmen aren’t animals.

From now on, I won’t forgive anyone who equates beastmen with animals.

“It seems Belarus really likes the Saint. She ignored my words and stopped.”

Belarus seems to be able to resist her superior’s unfair orders.

Good girl, good girl.

I ignored the agent’s words and carefully stroked Belarus’s mane.

It was the most protest I could muster.

“It’s a bit difficult to talk about it here… Would you mind following me a little further?”

“I think the professor must be very surprised.”

“It’s not a very important matter.”

She really was just a weird person!

“I have the title of Trainee Saint. There are many people who would be troubled if you acted like this.”

I threw that bait out there in advance to block any room for nonsense.

She still seems to harbor goodwill, but I don’t understand why she’s acting like this while harboring goodwill.

“It was worth enduring.”

If she thinks it’s worth enduring this, I really don’t want to hear what she has to say at all.

“I have no intention of forcibly dragging the Saint away.”

Was I voluntarily dragged here on horseback until now?

Did the dictionary definition of the word “forced” change without me knowing?

“I have no choice. Belarus doesn’t seem to want to move anymore, so I’ll say it here.”

From the agent who said that, I could feel a strange longing, an anticipation.

“Do you remember the holy magic Saint Ronan showed during the welcoming ceremony?”

“Of course.”

“May I ask why you used that kind of holy magic at that time?”

I tilted my head slightly.

I have no idea what the intention of the question is.

“It doesn’t have much meaning. I just wanted to let the people there know that God is not something far away.”

In the end, the only thing I could say was something abstract like that.

“Then why did the wings appear at that time?”

Wings?

Well… first of all, they look cool and stand out.

Wouldn’t anyone think of an angel first?

An angel preaching the will of God, that’s roughly the image I intended.

“Does the Saint not even know yourself?”

“I just used a familiar image…”

“Wings are not a familiar image in human holy magic.”

That’s interesting… Huh?

Wait, what?

“Not just humans. Wings are not a familiar image to elves or dwarves either.”

Wait.

Just a moment.

How can that be?

Wings are a symbol of transcendence, of being able to fly in the sky, of being able to approach God.

Even in my original world, birds were often compared to angels just because they had wings, so how can they not be familiar here, where there is an actual God?

“Only we beastmen are relatively familiar with them through the birdmen.”

…Huh.

“That’s because wings are a foreign organ to everyone except the birdmen, aren’t they?”

I fell into thought.

In this world, what is “sky” or “flight” to people from a religious and symbolic point of view?

There are beastmen called birdmen who have physical characteristics similar to birds.

Of course, they wouldn’t be revered just because they can fly with wings.

If that were the case, the birdmen would have been called angels long ago.

The reason why the sky was equated with God in the place where I lived is because it was a space that humans could not reach with their bodies, although they could recognize it.

But here?

There are wizards who use magic.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that wizards are common, but people can actually fly.

The sky is not an unknown realm that can never be reached.

Would they necessarily think that God is in the sky?

I then realized that I was making a very big mistake.

Could it be that this world is…

“Only Herna has wings like the ones Saint Ronan showed.”

Maybe the image of a winged angel itself doesn’t exist?

“So, Saint. I’ll ask again.”

While I was panicking as I came to an internal conclusion, the agent, who had come close enough to feel my breath, was staring at me with a very dangerous look in her eyes.

“If the God that the Saint serves is Orion, then whose appearance did the wings shown at the welcoming ceremony imitate?”

I don’t know either!

I just thought of a popular angel image.

Of course, it seems that it’s completely different from the popular image in this world, but it’s too harsh to ask me to think that far.

“Our Nine-Tails are like the High Priest’s hands and feet. If Saint Ronan actually becomes the High Priest…”

The agent, who had already covered the back of my right hand with saliva, licked her lips.

It was a gesture so blatant that it was embarrassing to watch.

“Lady Rita. I have no intention of belittling Herna, but I am a believer who has placed my faith in Orion. I think there’s some misunderstanding.”

Actually, I don’t have that much fervent faith in Orion either, but if I said that here, I think I’d really get kidnapped.

I’ll try to reason with her here…

“Saint Ronan. Do you know?”

?
“In the land of the beastmen, there is no problem with fighting through a fair declaration, not an ambush, and taking what belongs to the loser.”

…Princess Emong, help me!

She’s not someone you can talk to!

Among the clerics I’ve seen, she’s a complete madwoman comparable to a crazy fanatic!!

Dwarves also have stubborn aspects, but not to this extent.

To think that the beastmen were the most barbaric.

Who could have predicted that?

As our faces got closer and closer, the agent’s eyes turned cold.

She twitched her ears once and turned her gaze in the direction we had come from.

“I should have moved a little further after all.”

After uttering those meaningless words, the agent released me as if the atmosphere until now had been a joke.

“Let’s continue the story next time.”

She returned to the “I’m harmless” expression she had when we first met, and it was extremely disgusting to see her wink.

And soon after, I saw the princess riding a horse and rushing towards us with a terrifying momentum.

Princess Emong!

You really came to save me!

The princess, who had gotten close enough to see each other’s faces and confirmed my appearance, gradually slowed down and approached us.

“Acting Deputy Rita. Even if you are a representative of the beastmen… this is going too far.”

A voice filled with suppressed emotion flowed from the princess’s mouth, trying not to reveal her emotions as much as possible.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Princess Azelia.”

“Saint Ronan is a Trainee Saint of the Orion Order and is enrolled in the Loven Academy, whose safety is guaranteed by the Imperial Family.”

“I will not deny that.”

“The act that the Acting Deputy has committed now is an act of greatly threatening the safety of the Trainee Saint and opposing the Imperial Family.”

“Such blasphemous words. How could a priest who serves God harm the Saint? I just wanted to show the Saint the joy of riding a horse.”

The scariest thing is that she’s serious when she says she has no intention of harming me, even after all that bullshit.

In fact, a world where God exists may be a world where people have no choice but to get sick.

“Even if the Acting Deputy has no such intention, don’t you know that it may not be received that way?”

“Is that so? I’m sorry. We have some barbaric aspects by nature. I hope for the princess’s generous understanding.”

After saying that, the agent smiled so brightly that all her teeth were visible.

I once heard that the origin of a smile is to reveal hostility towards the target, and that smile would be perfect as evidence for that theory.

“I was ignorant of civilization and made a mistake. I’m really sorry. Since the princess said so, shall we go back now? Come on, Belarus. Let’s go back.”

The agent said that, unconcerned about the cooled atmosphere.

Even after hearing those words, Belarus didn’t move and started tapping me with her tail.

It was as if she was asking what to do.

Are you perhaps a reincarnated person who was reborn as a horse?

Without answering, I quietly stroked Belarus’s mane, and Belarus seemed to understand my heart and didn’t budge from that spot.

If the three of us go back together, I might die of shortness of breath.

“Oh my… Belarus doesn’t listen to me at all. I’m a little sad. I guess I’ve been thoroughly disliked. I should go back first.”

With those words, the agent turned her horse around without any regrets and started to return first.

I really can’t figure her out.

From now on, the number one danger factor in this academy is not the Orion Order people, but that agent.

She said that she was barbaric and didn’t know, and asked for understanding, but she was just walking a very delicate tightrope.

That agent knew full well that this incident, which could not only lead to religious disputes but also damage trust in the academy’s safety measures, could never be made public.

A capable madwoman… terrifying.

“Shall we go back too?”

I, who had been blankly watching the agent disappear, spoke to the princess, who was still frozen.

“What on earth happened?”

“Well…”

I was almost kidnapped by another Order.

If I say that, I don’t know where the story will go.

At least for now, I don’t want to induce such an unpredictable situation.

That agent, thinking about it again, walked the line well.

“Nothing really happened. Lady Rita is definitely good at riding horses.”

“I apologize for failing to fulfill my duty.”

The Princess offered me that apology as if she didn’t really believe it.

It’s not the Princess’s fault.

It’s not like she was right next to me, and who would have predicted that a priest of a different race would suddenly go berserk like that within the academy?

I’m just worried that the professor who was right next to him might have had a heart attack.

“It’s not Lady Azelia’s fault.”

“No. As long as I was next to Saint Ronan, no excuse can justify it. It’s my negligence.”

Well, when she puts it like that, it’s also true.

Even if being a bodyguard is just a formality, if something comparable to a real kidnapping happens like this, it’s right that she bears responsibility for the situation, regardless of her own fault.

But Princess.

This is like a natural disaster.

Even in small to medium-sized companies that are close to being black companies, most of them acknowledge it if you can’t come to work due to a natural disaster.

I gave a bitter smile and reached out my hand to the Princess.

“Nothing happened. So, let’s just move on.”

Actually, from my perspective, it wasn’t that bad.

Of course, being kidnapped by a crazy woman is not pleasant at all, but I also corrected one of the errors in my thinking about this world, and I gained another option to choose from, even if its safety isn’t guaranteed.

And the bizarre level of faith and goodwill that the alien race handlers have for me, or rather, for the Saint, which I confirmed several times today.

After experiencing such a huge difference in perception, to the point where I wondered if Orion’s arrogance had bugged out, I had a lot to think about.

The thought that it’s a double-edged sword doesn’t leave my mind, but wouldn’t it be easier to secure my safety if I used the alien races?

Well, how can you be full on the first spoonful?

If I keep increasing my options like this, someday I’ll snatch the honey pot from those mean-spirited Cardinals and monopolize it… Oops, I keep revealing my true intentions.

“Lady Azelia, I’m really grateful to you today. So, don’t be disheartened. I mean it.”

I, who was about to drool without realizing it, comforted the still gloomy Princess and headed home.

It was a long day.

I want to go back and sleep now.

After all, it’s dangerous outside the blanket.

Someday, I will win a life where I don’t have to get out of bed all day.

“I will… absolutely make sure this never happens again.”

I felt sorry that the Princess seemed to be feeling overly responsible for the situation, but on the other hand, I was a little happy.

I’ll get direct feedback on my safety.

Very desirable.

As I was organizing my thoughts, I suddenly noticed that the movements on Belarus were as calm as before, so much so that I didn’t even notice that the agent’s guidance was gone.

Come to think of it, Belarus is the biggest gain today.

That agent handed it over to me under the guise of a gift, but it seems he never thought that Belarus would actually stop listening to him.

Because he kept panicking whenever Belarus didn’t listen to him.

Serves him right.

Belarus, if things get tough, let’s run away to the end of the continent together.

With you and the holy magic that the agent showed earlier, I feel like we can run away anywhere.

Belarus thumped me with its tail as if telling me not to have strange thoughts.

Can you really read my mind?