It felt like her heart was being peeled open.
Although the heart beating in her chest right now didn’t actually have a shell to peel away, Kristina couldn’t help but feel that way. Her very core, which she had never wanted to show anyone, and the surface of her emotions, which even she couldn’t clearly grasp, felt like they were being rifled through by Eugene.
As such, she couldn’t stop her control over her expressions from faltering. It was extremely brief, but that momentary loss of control felt like it had lasted for a lot longer to Kristina.
‘What kind of expression did I just show?’ Kristina asked herself.
She wasn’t sure. It didn’t feel… like she had been smiling. Kristina unconsciously raised her hands to caress her cheeks. She touched the smile that she had always kept on her face and had started to take for granted.
‘It was different from my current expression, but I’m not sure what it was,’ Kristina continued to ruminate.
The Pope was elected from a selection of priests who held the strongest faiths in all of this expansive Holy Empire.
After the previous Pope received his final rites and before his soul rose to Heaven, the Pope’s soul would appear in the dreams of all the Church’s bishops. In this way, the pope would look into the souls of all the bishops, examining their faith, and then he would select his potential successors by engraving a stigmata onto the bodies of those bishops who possessed sufficient faith.
The bishops who were marked by this stigmata would enter ‘the Audience Chamber,’ deep within the Vatican, and one among them would be chosen by the Light. The chosen bishop would then become the Pope, while the bishops who were not chosen would become his cardinals.
The current Pope of Yuras, Aeuryus, was also chosen by the Light within that Audience Chamber thirty years ago. The Pope selected through this process was considered in Yuras to be the Emissary of the Light.
Saints were different from the Popes and the Cardinals. While the latter two were chosen from among the bishops for their piety, the Saintess was bestowed by the Light. In this generation, Kristina may have been the only candidate for Sainthood, but in the previous generations, there were usually three or four candidates for the next Saint.
‘The Blessing of the Light,’ the process by which Saint candidates were selected, required certain conditions. They had to be a girl raised in a monastery, someone who had been orphaned or abandoned. Among those girls who fit this background, some would suddenly start to radiate light, and even as children, they would be able to perform miracles that were incredibly powerful.
If ‘the Blessing of the Light’ that was bestowed upon each of these girls gradually diminished as a candidate grew older, this meant that they had been disqualified as a candidate. Among these candidates, the one whose light shown even more brilliantly rather than diminishing would be officially recognized as a Saint. It was through this method that the Saintess became an Apostle of the Light.
The Hero.
—Long, long ago, back when the Demon Kings didn’t even exist, and the boundaries between demonfolk, demonic beasts, and monsters hadn’t even been established, the God of Light descended from the heavens and created a sword from his own flesh and blood to illuminate the Darkness.
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That sword was the Holy Sword Altair — the first child of the God of Light, the most brilliant torch that the God left behind for the sake of the world.
After the God left the earth once more and ascended to the heavens as a ray of light, no one in the Holy Empire would prove able to pull out Altair and reveal its light. Only the Great Vermouth from three hundred years ago and his descendant, Eugene Lionheart, had ever managed to draw Altair and draw upon its light.
It was for this reason that Heroes were special. Heroes were neither an Emissary of the Light nor an Apostle.
They were an Incarnation of the Light.
So what was so strange about a Saintess sacrificing herself for the Hero? It was only natural for her to do so. Kristina believed in this truth without a doubt. So if a situation arose where it became necessary to do so, and if Kristina was the Saint at that time, she would be willing to give her life for the sake of the Hero — for the sake of Eugene.
Ever since the day she had become a Saint Candidate, that was how Kristina had been taught. How noble and glorious the duty of the Saint was had been engraved into her heart. The face she had been born with, the fact that she was selected by the Cardinal, and the Blessing that was bestowed upon her — she had worked hard to become a Saint worthy of these gifts. She had worked hard so that she could step forward into her role as the second coming of the Faithful Anise from three hundred years ago.
The curves of the corners of her mouth, the position of the corners of her lips, the rise and fall of her voice, the direction of her gaze, and the way she smiled with her eyes — she had practiced such expressions repeatedly while hiding all her inner thoughts and feelings. Kristina had been taught that things that didn’t need to be revealed shouldn’t be revealed.
So for Eugene to tell her that being a Saint didn’t mean that she should be willing to sacrifice herself for the Hero made her question whether he still didn’t want to admit that he was the Hero?
‘But then, what about me?’ Kristina asked herself.
No matter the era, the Saint could always be found in Yuras. But what was so special about Kristina was that, just like the Faithful Anise from three hundred years ago, she had found herself living in the same era as the Hero.
Just like Anise, Kristina hoped that she would be able to fulfill her duties alongside the Hero. She felt that being born with an appearance similar to Lady Anise’s and having the Hero be born to the Lionheart family once more were all a part of fate’s design.
However, if Eugene were to refuse his role as the Hero and refused to fulfill his duty….
Then would there be any meaning to how she had lived to be acknowledged as the Saint?
‘…That ring.’
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A thought that she didn’t want to pay any attention to, that she shouldn’t pay any attention to, kept popping up in front of her eyes and rolling around inside her head. Kristina recalled how she had held Eugene’s hands earlier. On the ring finger of his left hand, Eugene was now wearing a gold ring that he hadn’t worn when they were together in Samar.
Kristina was also well aware of what wearing a ring on one’s left ring finger meant. Such a ring was an item that the Saintess, a Companion of the Light who was to remain pure for the rest of her life, would never have anything to do with.
‘Have three whole months… really gone by so quickly? During that time… after all, nobles do often get engaged even before they become adults.’
Furthermore, Eugene had been evaluated as the best talent that had ever been seen in the prestigious Lionheart clan since the Founding Ancestor. From Kristina’s point of view, Eugene’s personality had some serious flaws, and his mouth was as dirty as a filthy rag, but his appearance was so outstanding that even she couldn’t help but recognize it.
As for his skills? Was there any need to even bring them up? If she had to find some kind of flaw, it would be that Eugene was a foster child, not someone from the main line and that he had already given up the right to succeed as the next Patriarch. But considering everything that Eugene had to offer, any number of aristocratic families must be willing to arrange a marriage with him no matter what flaws he might have.
Eugene was only twenty years old. An age that would be considered not just on the younger side but the very younger side. Even if he couldn’t become the Patriarch of the prestigious Lionheart clan, this young Eugene Lionheart had the potential to become anything that he wanted to be. A Tower Master of Aroth? The Commander of Aroth’s Court Wizards Division? He could even become a Commander of Kiehl’s Imperial Knights or swear allegiance to a completely different country.
‘Who could… the other party be? A high-ranking noble on the same level as the Lionheart clan… they might even be royalty.’
This wasn’t something that Kristina should care so much about. But, although she tried to tell herself that, her heart wasn’t following her orders.
But… wasn’t that ring too modest for an engagement ring? In engagements between high-ranking nobility, it should be common for the engaged to wear expensive rings, both to commemorate the event and show off to other noble families.
Kristina wanted to take another look at it to confirm her suspicions, but she suppressed the urge to do so. Such an impulse was unnecessary. There was no need for her to do so. She didn’t want to feel any more unneeded confusion and was worried about potentially meeting Eugene’s eyes.
As such, Kristina just kept walking quickly. Without asking the reason for the sudden rise in pace, Eugene also just kept walking behind her. Then, when Eugene suddenly turned around, he spotted Mer, who was diligently trying to catch up to them with her short gait.
“So, Sir Eugene, you are finally paying attention to me,” Mer spat angrily.
Eugene held his cloak open with an awkward expression, and Mer quickly dived into the cape as if she had just been waiting for the opportunity.
‘This will be my first time riding a train. Have you ever ridden one before?’ Mer asked excitedly.
‘This will be my first time riding one as well,’ Eugene admitted. ‘There wasn’t anything like a train around three hundred years ago.’
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There were trains in Kiehl as well. While it was common for nobles to use warp-gates for long-distance travel, ordinary people who couldn’t afford the high cost of doing so would use trains when they needed to travel long distances.
Because the internal machinery of trains was mainly composed of magitech, they hadn’t completely replaced horses and carriages yet. However, since trains could run anywhere as long as rails were laid and they were overwhelmingly easier to maintain than warp-gates with far less risk of accidents, the introduction of magic trains and the creation of new train routes were slowly spreading.
With this increase in demand came a corresponding rise in technological developments. According to Melkith, the alchemists of the White Tower of Magic were recently working on a ‘magic car’ that would be able to drive on the roads in place of horses and carriages.
‘It’s funny how they’re being so blatant,’ Mer giggled as she lay comfortably inside the cloak.
Befitting of an empire, the Holy Empire of Yuras had a wide land mass, and the penetration rate of the warp-gates was very low.
Divine magic, which was derived from faith, and normal magic, which made use of mana, had completely different systems. The high-browed and high-ranking priests of Yuras disapproved of wizards who could perform miraculous acts without even a hint of faith, and there had been a long discrimination against wizards in Yuras.
Of course, that was all in the distant past. After the war with the Demon Kings, the world had changed so much that even black wizards were publicly accepted into magical society. Though, in fact, rather than the reason that times had changed, it was more likely because they could no longer ignore the fact that, in many ways, most magic was more convenient than divine magic.
‘After all, it’s not like all believers can use divine magic,’ Kristina sighed regretfully. ‘Although the same goes for normal magic, unlike divine magic, ordinary magic can also benefit non-wizards. As long as they have the money for it, that is.’
Ordinary people without the ability to fly in the sky could use one of Aroth’s aerial carriages as long as they had the money for it. Long distances that would require days of travel by horse and carriage or by train could be crossed in an instant through the use of a warp-gate if you just had the money for it. Even in the cold, snowy winter, if you could pay the price for one, you could install a magic boiler and use hot water to your heart’s content.
It was also thanks to the magic that the current Eugene didn’t have to carry around a heavy money pouch and identity badge. He had a magical identity card linked to his blood and a magic debit card connected to his bank, which meant he didn’t have to carry any cash with him. All this was the result of the daily-life magic being spread and developed by Aroth, the Kingdom of Magic.
While there were miracles designed solely for convenience even in divine magic, unlike ordinary magic that could be sustained by the mana in the air or by mana batteries created through alchemy, such miracles were far less enduring. In addition, divine magic used the imprecise power of ‘faith’ rather than mana, so the level and power of a holy spell all depended on the level of the caster’s faith.
‘Yuras is one of the richest countries in the entire continent. They probably have more wealth accumulated in their treasury than Kiehl does, right?’ Mer asked in confirmation.
‘Probably,’ Eugene agreed. ‘Apart from their taxes, the people of this country even have to pay tithes to the churches they attend. These tithes are sent up from the churches to the Vatican… and on top of that, they even receive the money collected from churches in other nations.’
‘Even though they have so much money, the penetration rate of warp-gates is much lower than in Kiehl. The current Kiehl even has warp-gates installed in your hometown, Gidol, and even in a place that stinks of cow dung like Bollanyo,’ Mer pointed out.
Although warp-gates had been installed there, they didn’t see much use. Such warp-gates were only used by nobles or the wealthy who went down to the countryside to recover their health. The commoners living in such rural areas saw more use in horses and carriages or trains.
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‘This country is obviously brainwashing its subjects. Don’t indulge in the comfort of magic and don’t go too far from home, so if they are free, then they have no choice but to go down to their local church. But even while creating such an environment for their subjects, the high-ranking priests will probably use a hidden set of warp-gates, right?’ Mer remarked cynically.
‘Do such plots come up in the novels you’ve been reading these past few days?’ Eugene asked.
‘How did you know? Even though Yuras’s name isn’t specifically mentioned, anyone would be reminded of Yuras when they read about a theocracy like it. In that novel, the high priest is shown to revel in the depths of their city’s underworld,’ Mer chattered in an excited tone that had Eugene tapping his fingers thoughtfully. ‘I’m sure the high-ranking priests of Yuras must do the same thing. How can a person live so stoically when they have a large amount of money and power? While pretending to be ascetic on the surface, they must surely be indulging in pleasures when on their own and living a comfortable life.’
‘Mm… it feels like it would be better if you didn’t say such things to Kristina,’ Eugene reminded Mer.
‘I’m also tactful enough not to do something like that, you know? But Sir Eugene, isn’t it quite strange?’
‘What is?’
‘I resemble Lady Sienna because she made me into a familiar based on her childhood appearance, but Lady Anise wasn’t a wizard, right?’ Mer asked doubtfully.
‘Kristina isn’t a familiar,’ Eugene corrected her. ‘She’s probably a distant descendant of Anise.’
Kristina probably wasn’t just an ordinary descendant. Eugene recalled how Anise had risen from Kristina’s back while unfolding her eight wings. The Blessing of Light that was bestowed upon the Saint Candidates… perhaps it had some connection to Anise, allowing her to dwell within the body of her descendants.
‘…Hm… is that so?’ Mer muttered as she tilted her head to the side.
Even so, Mer still felt like there was something indescribable about Kristina.
“How long does it take to reach Tressia Parish by train?” Eugene asked, breaking the silence.
“Unless an accident occurs mid-journey, we should arrive there by midnight,” Kristina replied.
Tressia Parish was the home of Cardinal Rogeris. Although Eugene felt like it would only be natural for the parish of a high-ranking priest at the level of a Cardinal to have a warp-gate, neither Cardinal Rogeris nor any other Cardinal had installed warp-gates within their parish.
It wasn’t just the cardinals, either. Among the many ancient holy sites and other historical sites within Yuras, it was actually rare to find any with a warp-gate installed nearby.
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“It is because the meaning of a pilgrimage will only be lightened if one can easily come and go through a warp-gate,” Kristina replied softly as she assuaged Eugene’s complaints. “A pilgrimage, as a rule, requires a certain amount of hardship. It’s only natural for a person to not want to do difficult and cumbersome things, especially when their bodies are tired. Overcoming such hardships, pilgrims will continue to wander and visit other holy sites for a long time. It is only when they manage to overcome their desires with their faith like this that it can be called a true pilgrimage.
“So when you insisted on wearing your priestly robes in that sweltering, muddy jungle, it was something like a pilgrimage for you?” Eugene asked thoughtfully.
“Aaah, so you’ve finally realized!” Kristina celebrated excitedly.
“But you didn’t really manage to overcome your desires, did you?” Eugene continued asking. “You washed your clothes as soon as they got dirty. You also ate a lot.”
“Meals have nothing to do with a pilgrimage. And what does wanting to keep your priestly robes clean have anything to do with my desires?” Refusing to turn around and look at Eugene, Kristina continued speaking, “I’m also aware of how convenient warp-gates are. However, when you pursue the comfort of the body, the mind becomes lazy. Especially in Tressia Parish, or the other parishes governed by the Cardinals, which are regularly visited by the faithful of other parishes who come to offer their prayers.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, that is indeed the case. Once a month, the Cardinals will personally appear in their churches and preside over a service. On such a day, the train stations will be full of believers from other parishes who want to attend their service, and if they get there too late they won’t even be able to purchase a ticket. Do you know what that means?”
“No… I can’t really say for sure,” Eugene admitted.
“It means they won’t be able to participate in the service without moving faster than the others. Yet even so, some ardent believers will refuse to take the train and walk there on foot. It is faith that allows them to choose to perform such self-mortification,” Kristina declared passionately.
Starting in his previous life, Eugene had never had much time for faith. As such, he couldn’t understand why they would put their bodies under such torment for a pilgrimage that would only lead them to pray at a different location.
Kristina tried to explain, “You also sweat a lot while training, so you must also feel pain during that practice, right?”
“That’s right,” Eugene hesitantly agreed.
“Just like how the blood and sweat you have shed has made you stronger, the hardships of the pilgrimage makes the believer’s faith stronger than before,” Kristina argued.
“Hm… alright…,” Eugene slowly agreed.
Eugene had felt a sense of incongruity coming from Kristina’s expression, but he hadn’t felt anything during their conversation just now. Although her logic seemed to be based on her individual arbitrary beliefs, Eugene felt happy seeing Kristina express herself.
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Kristina changed the subject, “Sir Eugene, have you ever ridden a train before?”
“Nope,” came the short reply.
“Once you ride it, I’m sure you’ll love it. Unlike a warp-gate that’s over in a few steps or a shaking carriage, trains are both comfortable and tasteful,” Kristin said as she came to a halt. She slowly raised one hand and pointed at the stopped train, “That is Yuras’s Pilgrimage Train. Also known as the Sunnyside Anise Train.”
“What?” Eugene made a confused sound.
“It’s the Sunnyside Anise Train,” Kristina repeated.
Eugene turned his wavering eyes to the front of the train. Like the figurehead at the bow of a ship, the face of the locomotive at the front of the train was adorned with the figure of an angel praying with her eyes closed.
Upon closer inspection, the decoration was a miniature version of the statue of Anise that they had seen in the Plaza of the Sun.
“Why is Lady Anise’s name included in the name of the train?” Eugene eventually asked.
“It isn’t just Lady Anise,” Kristina explained. “All other pilgrimage trains that travel from parish to parish bear the names of the Saints.”
Couldn’t that be called a type of blasphemy? Eugene considered this question seriously. Although he hadn’t left any descendants… if he had had, and those descendants went on to build a train and name it the Sunnyside Hamel Train, then he felt like he would definitely leap out of his grave and grab his descendants by the throat.
“…Ha!” Mer, who was sticking her head out of the cloak for a better view, let out a laugh.
She couldn’t keep a straight face. Mer wasn’t laughing because she thought the Sunnyside Anise Train was funny. Instead, it was all because of what Kristina had said earlier. In fact, Eugene would have felt the same as Mer, had he not been distracted by the name.
Even though Kristina had said so much on the subject of not installing warp-gates to not get intoxicated by the comforts of magic and to not tarnish the meaning of the pilgrimage, the train in front of them was the crystallization of magic engineering with all kinds of magic incorporated into its construction.
The train was fueled by a large number of mana batteries that had been created through alchemy. Judging by the amount of output Eugene could sense, there was no doubt that the batteries were state-of-the-art. All sorts of magic had been incorporated into its design to reduce the train’s weight, increase its speed, suppress vibrations, and secure its stability.
“Our tickets have already been prepared for us, so let’s board now,” Kristina proposed as she took the lead and headed up into the train.
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“Well… it certainly looks spacious and comfortable. But it would be hundreds of times easier just to use a warp-gate than to try and compromise like this,” Mer critiqued, her head still stuck outside of the cloak and bobbing here and there as she examined the inside of the train.
The seats reserved for them were in the special-class. Muttered prayers and hymns flowed over from the general-class seats in the carriages behind the special-class, but once they opened the door and went inside, such miscellaneous noises could no longer be heard.
“The train has a different charm to it than the warp-gates, little Miss Familiar,” Kristina said with a smile. While striding through the secluded and luxurious interior to approach their assigned seats, she continued, “It’s especially peaceful and enjoyable to sit by the window and watch the scenery pass by so swiftly.”
“The windows?” Mer immediately showed interest. She put aside her disinterested expression and claimed a seat by the window for herself with sparkling eyes. “I’ll sit here.”
“As you like,” Eugene casually agreed.
Since all the luggage he had brought with him could be stored inside his cloak, Eugene had no need to store any luggage separately.
Eugene sat down on the wide, soft seat next to Mer and looked up at Kristina to ask, “Why aren’t you taking a seat?”
“…Ah…,” Kristina responded hesitantly and turned her head away from Eugene.
When she tried to take a different seat a short distance away, Eugene grabbed Kristina’s wrist with a puzzled look.
“Where are you going?” Eugene demanded.
Kristina blurted out, “Huh?”
“You can just sit across from me,” Eugene pointed out exasperatedly.
He didn’t understand why Kristina wanted to sit at a different seat when they had already picked a spot with four seats facing each other.
“Sir Eugene!” Mer exclaimed. “If you press this button and lean backward, the chair tilts back!”
“Yes, yes,” Eugene replied absently.
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“I checked before we came here, but I was told that a sales trolley regularly goes up and down the train. They sell snacks like sweets and candies, and they even sell lunch boxes. Would you like to try one as well?” Mer asked.
“Fine, fine,” Eugene responded in a dry tone as he opened a magazine placed next to his chair.
It was no different from a similar one he had seen in Aroth, which had listed all the tourist attractions available in the country, but this magazine focused on the holy sites of Yuras.
They even offered a train pilgrimage package that would take up an entire month…. Churches specializing in educating nonbelievers were also listed separately, and prayers to the Light and scripture verses were written on the back page.
“How enthusiastic,” Eugene muttered as he lifted his gaze to Kristina.
However, their eyes didn’t meet. Kristina had lowered her eyes slightly, staring down at Eugene’s fingers.
“Do people even buy this pilgrimage package?” Eugene asked skeptically.
“It’s very popular with the elderly from foreign countries,” Kristina informed him.
“Really now…. So it’s meant to attract the kind of people who want to obtain a ticket to heaven at a late age?” Eugene observed.
“While I can’t say that their faith is pure, that doesn’t mean you have the right to think lightly of their faith, Sir Eugene,” Kristina indignantly argued.
“Did I make you mad?”
“Not at all. I’m not angry in the slightest. Because I know full well that you are a young master from a noble clan, as well as someone so rude and mischievous that it’s hard to believe that you are the Hero.”
“But you seem like you’re mad.”
“What reason would I have for being angry with you? In the first place, I, as the Saint, can’t rightly do such a thing towards the Hero—”
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“Compared to a few months ago, you’ve regressed back to how a Saint is supposed to speak to the Hero,” Eugene pointed out with a smirk as he closed the magazine. “Could it be that you feel like there’s a need for you to do so?”
“What do you mean by that?” Kristina asked in denial.
“It doesn’t seem like you want to talk like this,” Eugene observed. “Why don’t you just admit that it feels shitty and stop? Or could it be that it doesn’t feel shitty to you?”
“Please pay attention to your behavior. Such a demeanor will make a person like you feel low-class,” Kristina warned.
—Hamel, it’s not just your posture that’s bad. Your demeanor as a whole is just awful. It’s low-class.
Eugene rejected her request, “I don’t care if I give off that feeling.”
—While correcting your manners is important, as long as you can keep your mouth shut for now, people won’t be able to tell what a filthy rag you have for a tongue.
“Rather than forcing myself to do something that doesn’t really suit me, it’s easier and more comfortable to just do what I want to do,” Eugene said with a grin as he rested his chin on one hand. “But it seems you don’t know how to do that?”
“I don’t even want to know,” Kristina sniffed.
“So what, until when are you going to keep your eyes lowered like that? What’s the problem?” Eugene inquired.
Kristina stayed silent.
“Are you curious?” Eugene asked.
He was finding it fun to tease her. It reminded him of the humiliation he had felt in Samar when he was pulled onto Kristina’s back and held up by his hips.
“About this ring, that is.”
Eugene had already felt that her gaze was focused on this ring.