Chapter 75

Glaria can handle a sword, but that doesn’t mean she can’t use magic at all.

She might not be soaring through the skies like some wizards, but she could at least run while kicking off the air.

Moreover,

*Ka-ching!*

Every time Ria stepped down, ice formed beneath her feet. Glaria and Han Yu-ri were creating that ice as they dashed to the sides.

…Wow, these people are practically inhuman. Ah, right, I mean, Hunters like them are beings that could never exist in my former world.

Even in such a situation, Glaria and Han Yu-ri seemed to be aware of each other, exchanging glances.

On the gigantic monster—so enormous I couldn’t even think of a name for it—ice had crystallized on its arms too. Ria had preemptively created a path for her to step.

*Bang!*

I took down one of the monsters that sprouted from that arm, removing the magazine from my fixed gun.

“Your shooting skills have improved.”

“…Saying that in a situation like this is astonishing.”

At this point, I wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or not.

When I glanced down for a moment, Glaria and Han Yu-ri, and even beneath Ria’s feet, the lake’s surface was continuously freezing over.

Among the knights, and even among Hunters, there are wizards. Some even set fire to the middle of the lake to block the monsters rising from below.

Perhaps it was effective to pile up magically charged sand in bagfuls, as I could see the lake bubbling even from this high up. It quickly turned black, but I also spotted clear water mixed with sand in between.

This has to be working—

As I felt a bit relieved, I saw a bright light far off at the edge of the lake.

It wasn’t light falling from above like it was trying to tell me something; it was white light rising from the ground towards the sky.

At first, I thought it was Sophie’s power, but the figure appearing in the distance was male.

“…Lee Si-yoon?”

Ria murmured as if a bit flustered upon seeing him.

“….”

Chocolate.

I had given two to Han Yu-ri yesterday. I had given a piece to everyone else—at least the people who were with me.

It seemed that Han Yu-ri also gave one to Lee Si-yoon.

Could it be that the Saintess’s power was the clue to this awakening? Indeed, it had been said in the novel that she had a body that could easily receive Saint Power. I didn’t know exactly what that meant.

“Ria.”

“Oh, right.”

*Crack.*

My shoulder and arm, which had been frozen stiff, shifted just a little.

A puddle of sludge was forming beneath us.

“Do you remember the dance?”

Ria smiled at me. One hand was still wrapped around my waist, but my feet were now planted on the ice as if I were mimicking Ria.

“I’ll lead, so follow me.”

“Y-Yes—!?”

Before I could respond, Ria took off running atop the arm.

No, with this, regardless of leading or anything, I’m just being dragged along…?

But without even a moment to voice that thought, Ria wrapped one arm around my waist and twirled as she walked.

With a sound reminiscent of ice cracking, the monster poking its upper half through the surface was cleanly stomped down by Ria’s leap. She lightly kicked at a few and swung her sword at others that were sticking out.

The once pristine ice was smeared with a black liquid. The many people who had trodden across it turned it into a mess, like dirt mixed in with melted snow.

I gave up shooting the monsters with my gun long ago and decided to concentrate on my prayers instead.

I closed my eyes and let my body relax in Ria’s hands.

Yes. Despite my fears, I trust Ria. The strength of her arm around my waist fluctuated, but there was no way she would let go of me.

Without my toes slipping, I leaned into Ria.

The sun shone hot above us, while the ground was cold. On top of that, ice shards kept splattering on my face.

Yet amidst it all, Ria’s body heat remained constant.

It was a little annoying, but just having Ria next to me was enough to bring me some calm.

*Whew.*

…Suddenly jolted up, I accidentally bit my tongue a bit, but oh well.

My vision brightened.

It wasn’t just because of the blazing sunlight.

As I opened my eyes, I noticed white smoke overflowing from my hands. It looked like very cold ice melting, but the sensation of the material in my hand was anything but cold.

I glanced over at Ria.

A pair of crimson eyes was staring right at me.

As if saying she believed in me, unwavering.

I turned my head again.

We were flying at a high altitude before I knew it.

I must have gone quite high when Ria leaped earlier. Even in that situation, I had not touched her at all, and I wasn’t falling.

How reassuring that fact is.

A massive magic sphere—around the monster’s eye, another lance formed—

“Where are you going!”

I heard Glaria’s loud voice from a distance, followed by the sounds of her chanting something, and a thick wall of ice rose in front of the lance.

*Crack!*

Seeing the lance stuck by the ice wall, Glaria turned with an annoyed glance beside her. There was Han Yu-ri, also floating in the sky with a smile.

…How did that happen the moment I wasn’t looking? Well, if I told the two directly, they’d both be extremely angry.

Conversely, if those two said such things to me and Ria, I wonder what reply I’d give.

I’m not sure.

However, I had a strange feeling that I wouldn’t be getting angry.

I might have to pretend to be angry but—

Ria sprang off the air and turned her body. My own body shifted slightly into a position ideal for swinging my arms.

I tightly gripped a gem infused with Saint Power in one hand.

And I hurled it with great force towards that eye.

…Ria had said I had talent. For someone like me who could never excel at anything no matter how hard I tried.

Even tossing it might be an infinitely inferior skill compared to someone among the nuns at the church.

But somehow.

I was chewing on Ria’s words. The fact that someone like Ria said those words to me was such a comfort.

Anyway.

I shouldn’t be the only hero here.

*Crack.*

The monster’s arm, which resembled raindrops descending from the sky, waved wildly. Was it Han Yu-ri who had frozen it while I had my eyes closed? The outer part of that arm, which looked like nothing but bones and skin, shattered and crumbled down.

But that wouldn’t stop that tiny gem.

“Anna.”

Seeing the gem break through the monster’s hand, Ria called out softly.

“You believe in me, don’t you?”

“Seriously, how many times do you have to ask?”

I retorted incredulously.

Ria just smiled.

Oh.

Somehow, I think I know what Ria is trying to do.

It’s not because I read it in a novel nor did we create some sign between us, but—

Looking at Ria’s expression, the strength in her hand holding the sword and her arm supporting my waist; somehow, I anticipated Ria’s next move.

Am I just getting sharper, or is it because Ria is considering me so carefully?

Or perhaps—it’s just that I’ve come to trust her.

Ria nodded and vigorously tossed me upward towards the sky.

This time I didn’t scream.

In the blue sky, there was a being shining down just for me, unbothered by the sun. Though too high to see—

I reached my hand out towards that being.

…If I keep relying on her like this every time, sometimes it will indeed come in handy.

That being high above responded, showering me with light.

For just a brief moment, I felt my body defy gravity. Even if Ria didn’t support me, and even if Glaria and Han Yu-ri didn’t cast magic, I did it entirely with my own strength.

Could this be the power of miracles I read about in novels?

I grasped the gathered strength at my fingertips.

Then I turned my body around to look down at Ria.

Ria, who had hurled me into the air, was plummeting down with her sword pointed below.

With a gaping hole in her hand, her eyes half-burst, she was aiming at the monster.

I threw the gem of gathered power towards Ria’s back.

*Tap.*

Like it was shot from a bow, the power that fell on Ria’s body was absorbed completely without bouncing back.

Somehow, just looking at her back, I feel like I can see Ria smiling.

Just as I believe in Ria, Ria also believed in me.

That we would never hurt each other.

*Thwack.*

I saw Ria’s sword pierce into the monster’s eye.

*Bang!*

The monster’s head exploded, black magic spreading all around. It seemed like it could rain down like a flood, contaminating everything in this vicinity.

But that won’t happen.

The already crafted sword unleashed all the Saint Power that flowed from Ria’s body. It was enough to burn away and purify all the magic before my eyes—

“…Huh?”

But just as it seemed everything had been neatly concluded, a very brief word flickered through my mind.

*—Not yet.*

“…Not yet.”

I repeated that word without realizing it.

Ria pulled her sword out and prepared to leap from the splitting body of the monster, all vividly drawn in my mind. Even though I had been so far away.

The next thing to arise in my mind was the dark lance that had deeply pierced Ria’s body.

Even if the magic sphere had burst, the lake remained the same. That spear had originated from the depths of that lake. The monster’s body, the magic sphere, was merely part of the lake—

“…Ah.”

But that illusion—it disappeared before me in an instant.

“Don’t do it.”

I murmured like that.

The bright light was still pouring from the sky. Only directed towards me.

*—How?*

“…How?”

I inadvertently repeated the words that popped into my mind—

How could I do something like that? I need to save her.

Yes. I can heal all wounds. Even someone who bleeds out right before death. Someone who is severely poisoned, on the brink of death.

But, there’s nothing I can do about ‘instant death.’

There’s no way to save someone with a completely absent heart.

No matter how powerful I am, Ria is still just human.

But—

“…I’m not, right?”

I know.

I don’t know if it’s how the original Saintess was. But for quite some time now, I’ve been thinking that perhaps that doesn’t really matter.

That’s right.

When I was still very young, I inexplicably appeared in this world.

I don’t remember what actions or words I made in that vague memory. But there must have been a reason why that being left me there like that.

I wouldn’t have remained there without saying anything.

“Exactly. I’m just an entity that appeared from thin air.”

Whether created from nothing or sent by someone.

I have a purpose for coming here.

Connected to that being.

*—Are you truly?*

Are you really okay? That presence seemed to ask me. Is it okay with you?

That was an earnest question filled with concern, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Really.”

This time, I said it.

“If you want me to pray, I’ll pray.”

That is the honest truth.

“Please, I—”

I trusted Ria.

Ria trusted me too.

“To repay that trust—”

I clasped my hands as I fell.

“Help me, please.”

And the scenery before me changed dramatically.

In an instant.