TLS 08

Chapter 8

The Controllers and Holy Knights exchanged awkward greetings and immediately began their training.

“I don’t really have much of an awakened ability.”

“Me neither.”

Will and Rina muttered nervously.

Gabriel smiled reassuringly at them.

“You don’t need to worry too much. As I mentioned before, a Controller’s ability has a much stronger effect on monsters than it does on humans.”

Only then did Will and Rina relax and nod in relief.

“Today, we’ll practice observing the effects that occur when a Controller recites a prayer over a Holy Knight, and then create a defense plan based on those effects.”

As Gabriel spoke, he looked at Noah.

Without realizing it, Noah shrank her shoulders.

“Holy Knights, please focus on Priest Noah.”

All the Holy Knights turned their attention to Noah.

Not knowing where to look, Noah simply stared at the ground.

“Lady Noah, please create a barrier.”

“Yes.”

With everyone watching her, Noah squeezed her eyes shut, raised her hands toward the sky, and shyly recited the embarrassing prayer in a small voice.

“Ta-da…”

“Lady Noah, please recite the prayer one more time.”

Noah opened her eyes at Gabriel’s words.

Maybe it only manifested yesterday because I was lucky?

Wondering if she had been asked to recite it again because it was not working today, Noah looked up.

A beautiful, circular barrier of light was floating above her.

“Please recite it one more time, but louder this time. We’d like you to create a barrier in the shape of a dome that can cover everyone.”

Gabriel gestured with his hands to show the shape of a dome.

Noah quietly answered, “Yes,” and recited the prayer again.

Dome shape. Dome shape…

“Ta-da.”

Then something unbelievable happened right before Noah’s eyes.

The barrier actually changed shape and transformed into a dome that covered everyone.

“Lady Noah, we’d like to test the barrier you created today.”

“Yes.”

“From now on, the Holy Knights will strike the barrier. If you feel any pain, tell us immediately. If you’re fine, we’d like to see how durable it is.”

“Yes? Yes.”

At first, Darren only drew his sword and lightly tapped the barrier.

“Are you all right, Priest?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Gabriel added from the side,

“Lady Noah, you need to keep thinking about blocking the attacks.”

“Yes.”

Darren swung his sword hard.

Bang!

The sound rang out, but the barrier remained intact.

Noah flinched at the loud noise, but otherwise seemed fine, so another Holy Knight drew his sword.

Bang, bang!

Every time the sound rang out, Noah flinched in surprise.

Then she squeezed her eyes shut.

Just think about defending… Defense. Blocking. Blocking…

For a long time, the sound of swords striking the barrier continued.

Then it finally stopped.

“Lady Noah, release it.”

“Huh? Oh…”

Noah stood there blankly, her face having gone pale in that short moment.

Rina approached her and said,

“The release prayer is ‘Piyung,’ Piyung.”

“Oh, right. Piyung.”

The barrier slowly disappeared without leaving a trace.

“I heard rumors that Lady Noah is a Saintess, but you really are incredible.”

Noah was startled by Darren’s words.

A Saintess? Who? Me? Since when?

“Lady Noah is uncomfortable with being called a Saintess. The Order has also chosen not to make an official announcement yet out of consideration for her, so please be careful.”

At Gabriel’s words, Darren nodded.

The Order hasn’t announced it because they’re considering me? What does that even mean?

“This is really reassuring. With such a capable Saintess with us, there’s really nothing to worry about during the Urbas Subjugation.”

Holy Knight Heron smiled as he spoke.

Several of the other Holy Knights also looked toward Noah.

Then Lan Alkarai slowly walked in front of Noah and knelt down.

Huh?

“Uh? W-why…”

Being a prince from another country, Lan’s status alone was already intimidating to Noah.

But despite his cold first impression, Lan did something that left Noah horrified.

He kissed the top of her shoe.

“I greet the Saintess.”

There was dust all over Noah’s shoes, but Lan did not seem to care.

Noah’s face turned pale.

Please don’t do this. Why are you doing this to me? Why are you doing this to me when you’re supposed to be a prince of another country?!

Flustered, Noah nervously tapped Lan on the shoulder.

No, she only lightly touched him.

“P-please don’t do this… I’m just an ordinary person. Please stand up.”

But the eyes Lan raised toward Noah were already filled with awe.

“Sir Alkarai, I know well of your devotion to the faith and the Order. However, Lady Noah wishes to serve from a humble position, so please refrain from showing her such excessive respect.”

At Gabriel’s words, Lan slowly rose to his feet.

Then he looked down at Noah.

Noah stood there, trembling.

“I apologize. My height is excessively tall, so I have committed the sin of looking down upon the Saintess.”

Noah waved her hands.

There was no reason for the prince to feel sorry about something so trivial.

“I-I actually like looking up! I look up at the sky all the time, and I’m also very good at looking up at people!”

Feeling burdened by Lan’s excessive behavior, Noah blurted out whatever came to mind.

“Lady Noah, this way…”

Rina rescued Noah from the uncomfortable situation.

She moved close to Noah and whispered,

“Sir Lan is a handsome fanatic. I didn’t know because nothing about that was mentioned in the articles. I thought it would be better to keep some distance from him, so I deliberately came over to talk to you.”

“Thank you.”

Noah felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward Rina.

To avoid catching Lan’s attention again, Noah pressed herself close to Rina.

Fortunately, the fanatic Holy Knight did not look at Noah. Instead, he was busy discussing something with Gabriel.

Meanwhile, Anas, Will, and Rina practiced by reciting the prayers again.

Noah watched them while occasionally glancing toward the Holy Knights.

Then her eyes met Gabriel’s.

He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

Gabriel is a good person. Even after noticing my pathetic sincerity yesterday, he still smiles at me so kindly.

Noah gave him an awkward smile.

Perhaps their eyes had not met by chance, because Gabriel called out to Noah.

All the Holy Knights looked at Noah with warm expressions.

But Noah was like a microorganism that had lived in a cold region all her life, so this warmth felt less like warmth and more like—

Ah! Too hot!

Flinching, Noah reluctantly walked toward Gabriel.

“Lady Noah’s holy power is so exceptional that you’ll probably need to be careful not to travel alone.”

“Huh? But it’s so safe here.”

“It is here. However, once we set out for the Urbas Subjugation, things won’t be quite as safe.”

Noah clasped her trembling hands together.

As expected, I really don’t want to go on some dragon subjugation. It’s too scary.

She bit her lip.

Without realizing it, her clasped hands were trembling.

“I, Lan Alkarai, would like to serve as the Saintess’s escort.”

Lan suddenly stepped forward.

Noah’s face turned pale at the fanatic’s expressionless yet crazed gaze.

“Wait. When deciding Lady Noah’s escort, Lady Noah’s opinion is the most important thing. Lady Noah, shall we talk for a moment?”

“…Yes.”

Gabriel gently placed an arm around Noah’s shoulder and led her away.

As they walked, he asked,

“I didn’t mean to worry you. People naturally gather around someone with exceptional talent. Besides, since you’ve spent your life as a priest, you probably don’t know much about the ugliness of the world.”

“Yes…”

“I’m worried that someone with bad intentions might approach you. So it would be better for you to have an escort.”

As Noah walked beside Gabriel, she gradually calmed down.

With his arm around her shoulder, she somehow felt at ease.

After her parents died, Noah had rarely had any physical contact with other people.

She herself did not realize it, but Noah tended to feel comforted when she was physically close to someone.

It gave her the reassurance that she was not alone.

Of course, Gabriel had not put his arm around Noah’s shoulder with any thought of that.

“You don’t need to worry too much.”

“I know, but… I’m afraid of dragons.”

“For this subjugation, the dragons will be dealt with by me and the Holy Knights. You only need to faithfully fulfill your role as the Order’s public symbol, so please don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

A lie.

Every time she recited a prayer, her abilities came pouring out without any effort. Would they really bring her along just to serve as the Order’s public image?

“Is having an escort uncomfortable for you?”

“No! Since I’m scared, I think it would be good to have someone with me. It’s just… now that I think about it, it’s really starting to feel like I’m actually going to the Urbas Subjugation…”

“Lady Noah, in this subjugation, the thing you need to be wary of isn’t the dragon. It’s people. Your only experience with society so far has been working as a teacher at an educational center. If you meet someone who deliberately sets out to deceive you, you may not be able to handle them.”

“Oh…”

“There are many evil people in this world. I seem to keep saying that, but I truly believe this is the biggest reason.”

Gabriel held Noah by both arms and spoke while looking directly into her eyes.

“Your abilities are already strong enough that Urbas won’t be able to do anything against you.”

Noah looked at him with disbelief, but Gabriel only smiled.

“As I said, holy power is weak against people but incredibly powerful against monsters.”

“Th-then… I’d rather have Sir Darren Gould protect me instead of His Highness Alkarai.”

Noah subtly changed the subject.

“Sir Alkarai abandoned his position after becoming a Holy Knight. So you should call him Sir rather than Your Highness. He wants that as well.”

“Oh, yes. I-I just… feel a little uncomfortable with Sir Alkarai…”

That fanatic’s eyes are too much for me. I really do need an escort, but Lan makes me uncomfortable.

“He can’t become your escort simply because he wants to. Besides, Sir Alkarai is currently in marriage talks with Princess Kyria, so it would be better to avoid creating an unnecessarily uncomfortable situation.”

“Huh?”