Catherine? It was a na I was hearing for the first ti.
That was inevitable. Rene had no interest in the Holy Nation of Bretus, and even if she did, she couldn't possibly know the na of a saint who wasn't publicly known.
However, Rene felt an indescribable strange feeling the mont she saw Catherine.
Should she call it familiarity? At the sa ti, should she call it sympathy?
anwhile, Catherine quietly stared at Rene with unreadable eyes.
'Does she know ?'
Just as Rene was beginning to feel uncomfortable under that gaze, a bright smile spread across Catherine’s face.
"Oh my, who are you? You're very pretty."
"Wh-what?"
"What's your na? Are you a student here?"
"Ah, I'm Rene. Yes, I am a student here. Though I'm only a first-year."
"First year? That must be nice. By the way, what are you doing here? Did you tend to this flower bed?"
Her first impression gave off a sowhat mature and holy feeling, but now actively asking curious questions showed she was typically a cheerful person.
Rene was a bit bewildered, but thinking she wasn't a bad person, she answered honestly.
"I didn't grow this flower bed; it was tended by a senior I know. I was just resting here because I wasn't feeling well."
"Rest, I understand. When I have difficult tis, I often sit quietly in places where no one is around."
"Oh, you too, Catherine?"
"My goodness. Calling 'Catherine' sounds too formal. Just call 'unni' comfortably. Unni."
"Um, but still..."
"Co on. Try saying it. Unni."
"Um, unni."
When Rene shyly murmured, Catherine smiled brightly like a blooming flower.
"How cute."
"By the way, Catherine un-ni, what brings you here?"
"? I just ca to Theon as a guest and was taking a walk because I was bored. Then I happened to see a cultivated path and ca here, not expecting to find a visitor."
"Ah. I see. Not many people co here."
"Yes. It certainly feels that way. Should I call it your secret hideout? That feeling is strongly present. I had sothing like that too, it's nostalgic."
"You too, unni?"
"I had many difficult tis when I was young. Actually, I still do, but back then it was almost unbearable. So once, I couldn't stand it and ran away, hiding in a place where people didn't co."
It was a sudden story from the past, but Rene listened attentively out of curiosity.
"I was alone and feeling miserable, sniffling, when suddenly soone ca."
"Wh-who was it?"
"At first, I thought it was soone coming to catch because I ran away, but that wasn't it. It was a boy about my age. As it turned out, the place where I was hiding was a spot that boy frequently used. Do you know what's even funnier?"
"What is it?"
"Normally, when a young girl is crying, one should ask why she's crying or if she's hurt, and comfort her by saying it's okay. But that boy, the mont he saw , said this: 'Get out.'"
When repeating the words "get out," Catherine spoke in a solemn and rigid tone.
"Whaaat? Really?"
"I'm telling you, it's true! Isn't that ridiculous? In the world, a girl is crying, and to that he says 'get out'! Thinking about it again, it was truly absurd."
"So what did you do, unni?"
"What did I do?"
Catherine laughed cheerfully and said as if it was nothing.
"I imdiately rushed at him and pulled his hair!"
"..."
At such an unexpected answer, Rene's lips quivered.
It seed like a touching first eting, but the first action was actually fighting by pulling hair.
"Thinking about it now, it's quite a mory."
"I-I see."
"The reason I told you this story is because running into you while coincidentally finding this place overlapped with that ti. Sorry, was it not very interesting?"
"No! It was really interesting!"
"Hehe. You're really kind, aren't you? Yes. With such a good heart..."
Catherine was about to say sothing but swallowed her words.
"Anyway! Since we've t by chance, do you have anything you want to talk about?"
"Ah, no, I..."
"Just looking at your face, I can tell it's full of worry. Tell . I might be able to give you the perfect answer."
Rene hesitated to answer.
It was burdenso to share all her anxieties with soone she'd just t today.
But sowhere in her heart, she felt a desire to confide everything to Catherine.
It was strange.
Despite eting this person for the first ti today, she felt such familiarity.
"Well, that..."
Yes. Rather than suffering alone, it would be better to seek advice from soone else.
Just as she was about to speak indirectly rather than directly, it happened.
"So this is where you were."
A woman in white attire wearing a tiara around her eyes appeared.
"I've been looking for you. Unni."
"What is it? Suddenly looking for ."
"Of course I had to look for you when you disappeared. The Chancellor of Theon is personally coming out to greet you."
"How botherso. Can't you all do it without ?"
"...Unni."
"Ah, alright, alright. I'll do it."
Catherine apologized to Rene.
"I'm sorry. I was going to listen to your story, but suddenly I have so urgent business."
"Ah, no. I'm fine. Really."
"Still, I said I would listen, and ending here wouldn't satisfy my pride. Here."
Catherine took out a piece of paper from her bosom and handed it to Rene.
Unconsciously taking the paper, Rene looked at Catherine’s face with wonder, feeling the warm sensation from the snow-white paper.
"What is this?"
"Keep this and co find . This paper will tell you where I am. I won't stay here for long, so if you're going to use it, it's best to do so by tonight."
"You don't need to go this far."
"I'm doing this because I want to."
Although she accepted it, it was too burdenso, so Rene inwardly pledged not to use it.
If it weren't for Catherine’s next words, that is.
"The scenery you glimpsed as you passed by. I can tell you about it."
"...What? How can you know that?"
"Well, I'll be going now!"
Before Rene could ask how she knew, Catherine was already waving goodbye and going far away.
She was truly like the wind.
The woman with the tiara around her eyes who had co to get Catherine stared at Rene for a mont before leaving the garden following Catherine.
Left alone, Rene blankly stared at the paper in her hand.
For so reason, holding it made the aching in her eyes disappear.
The priest who secretly followed Catherine after she left the garden asked.
"Unni Catherine. Is this okay? Even now, we could imdiately..."
"It's fine. That child doesn't know what her power is yet, so we can leave her alone."
"But ignoring it while knowing about it, isn't that against the Holy Emperor's will?"
"Not particularly. That child will definitely co to Bretus."
"Did you see such a future?"
"Well."
Despite Catherine’s playful response, the priest found it hard to suppress a sigh, knowing it was a familiar occurrence.
When they reached the eting place, Catherine could see a white-haired woman waiting for her.
From a distance, she looked white-haired, but up close, the inside of her hair was light pink.
A beautiful and mysterious woman like a mixture of white lotus and cherry blossoms.
"Nice to et you. Chancellor of Theon, Elisa Willow. I am Catherine."
"The honor is mine. Saint Catherine."
Seeing Elisa respond skillfully, Catherine thought it wouldn't be easy.
A woman who achieved the 6th tier at a young age and beca the chancellor of the magical academy Theon.
Despite Catherine being a saint and visiting without prior notice, Elisa was responding calmly without panic or surprise.
"If you had given us notice of your visit, we would have welcod you more grandly, which is a bit regrettable."
"There's nothing to regret. I actually find excessive hospitality burdenso. eting just the chancellor like this is much more comfortable."
"Oh my, is that so? As expected, Saint has such a broad mind. Shall we talk while walking?"
"I don't mind."
Catherine walked with Elisa.
The priest and knights who joined later tried to follow behind, but Catherine directly stopped them.
"Everyone wait here. I want to have a private conversation."
"B-but Saint. We have a duty to protect your safety..."
"I said I'm fine, so why insist? Besides, this is Theon. With the chancellor accompanying , what danger could there be?"
Catherine smiled and asked Elisa.
"Right? Chancellor."
"Of course."
While Elisa smiled and spoke, internally she narrowed her eyes and revised her assessnt of Catherine.
She had thought a saint would be an unworldly young lady, but from her speech and skillful responses, she was no ordinary person.
Thus, the two walked along a quiet forest path.
"It's amazing. To think there's such a large and beautiful forest within the grounds. The reputation of Theon spread throughout the continent is not unfounded."
"Thank you for the complint. But it's still lacking compared to the Holy Nation where you reside."
"Bretus has many waterways, giving it its own beauty, but there's no such lush and large forest near the castle, making it feel desolate at tis. I actually prefer it here."
"If you say so, I'm grateful."
Catherine spoke while watching lower spirits wandering among the trees.
"Have you made up your mind, Chancellor?"
It was a question that ca sooner than expected, but Elisa wasn't surprised.
"Of course. Even though we have independent rights, we can't sit idle when the entire continent is in danger. The teachers, including myself, plan to participate in the holy war."
Of course, not all of them.
Elisa deliberately omitted the latter part.
Revealing only part of the truth was the most important aspect of negotiation.
"That's an excellent choice. Certainly, facing the Demon King, having you with us is reassuring."
Catherine added:
"By the way, this person called Heathcliff, I heard he worked as a teacher here. What kind of person was he?"
"..."
Elisa narrowed her eyes.
Why suddenly ask about Rudger here?
'What is this? Is she testing ?'
Being a saint, Catherine would naturally have heard all about Heathcliff's actions.
If so, she would also know that he worked as a teacher here.
But asking what kind of person he was, what could she be thinking?
'Is she asking this to classify as a heretic? But the question itself seems sowhat strange.'
When Catherine first ca here, Elisa had anticipated the worst-case scenario.
Since Theon was where the Demon King Heathcliff had stayed, there would be nothing to say if Theon itself was classified as heretical.
But Catherine hadn't brought up anything along those lines.
Was it confidence that Theon couldn't touch her? Or complacency?
If so, why seek this one-on-one private eting?
Elisa sensed it.
Saint Catherine was fundantally different from the people of the Lunsis Order she knew.
"He was an excellent teacher."
At Elisa's answer, Catherine stopped walking and looked at her.
"Mr. Rudger Chelici, that is."
"What do you an by that?"
"After the demon incident, Mr. Rudger Chelici went missing. He returned later, but the Empire took him away, claiming he was Heathcliff."
Elisa deliberately brought up the story of Rudger's disappearance.
In other words, she was indirectly stating that Rudger Chelici and Heathcliff were separate individuals, and Theon had no connection to Heathcliff.
Catherine smiled and nodded.
"I see."
She could have beco angry at the deception, or pointed out the petty tactics, but Catherine acknowledged Elisa's words and moved on.
"I hope this Rudger returns safely as soon as possible."
"Yes, of course. We're searching everywhere, so good news should arrive soon."
"Then that's fine. You must have had a hard ti as chancellor, thank you for making ti to et ."
With those words, Catherine extended her hand toward Elisa.
"Let's do well going forward. Having a comrade to rely on in the holy war is a good thing."
"Of course."
Elisa shook hands with Catherine.
Catherine spoke with a satisfied voice.
"Let's go to Bretus together and defeat the Demon King."
"So she's not here either."
Rudger couldn't find any trace of Catherine in the citadel.
Should he be relieved that she wasn't still here?
Or should he lant that she was moving according to the Holy Emperor's will?
Either way, it seed inevitable that the two would clash in the future.
"Catherine."
The two who were once friends were now completely different people.
A saint and a demon king.
They were beings that could never coexist.
"I hope you do not co to Bretus."
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