There had never been a failure using the purification strategy with a saintess in Soul Academy.
The saintess character, in this regard, was undeniably overpowered.
It's to the point that veteran players would purposely exclude the saintess from their party, claiming it made the ga too easy and boring.
So here I was, utterly perplexed that Faybi, of all people, had failed.
Faybi wasn’t the type to stumble at this stage.
Which ant—this was an anomaly.
An anomaly that didn’t exist in the ga.
The kind of anomaly that had persistently tornted until now.
But maybe I’ve grown used to the absurdities that have plagued so far.
This kind of anomaly now just seed… adorable in comparison.
Don’t you think?
This ti, it was just that I couldn’t cheese my way through.
It’s not like I was facing death or anything.
It’s not like I was about to fail the quest and face total disaster.
No NPC relationships were ssed up, and my reputation wasn’t in tatters.
And most importantly, this was an anomaly I could handle.
There was no reason to panic.
Blocking the incoming magical projectiles with my shield, I focused my gaze on the dragon’s chanting form and threw a question to the old man.
“Gramps! What do you think went wrong?”
The first thing I needed to know was whether cheesing was still an option.
If Faybi had rely made a mistake, all I needed to do was stall until she finished her prayer.
“Huh?”
Faith is the most crucial elent in wielding holy magic.
It’s the belief that by reciting your prayer, a miracle will happen.
That’s why it had always been easy for to use holy magic.
I was an outsider in this world.
Knowing that using holy magic would always produce results, there was no room for doubt in my mind.
“Are you saying Faybi doubted the miracle?”
Faybi doubted the miracle. She doubted Armadi.
She didn’t believe she could purify the dragon’s vengeful spirit.
The shock of this revelation wasn’t sothing I could easily shake off.
Gramps had ntioned it before.
That Faybi might be wavering.
At the ti, I brushed it off, believing that Faybi would naturally overco it.
Because that’s what she always did in the ga.
She was the type of person who would face any crisis with a smile in the end.
But that was my naive assumption.
Faybi was wavering.
She doubted herself.
She lost faith in miracles.
For the saintess to end up like this…
What on earth was going on inside her mind?
Ha. It’s a bit overwhelming when sothing happens that never occurred in the ga.
Let’s think about this.
Bringing down that lizard flying around in the sky isn’t too difficult.
If I can’t cheese it, I’ll just handle it the standard way.
The tools I bought through Alsatin for hunting that lizard are still sitting in my inventory.
It should be more than possible to take it down if I throw them and land a few critical hits when it’s weak.
But that wouldn’t work. Faybi’s already doubting herself.
Imagine hunting down that golem-dragon without her.
She’d think she was a useless burden, just sitting there and taking credit for nothing.
The Faybi I know isn’t soone whose self-esteem would plumt like that. But the Faybi I know wouldn’t have failed in the first place!
So I need to rethink this.
The Faybi here isn’t the NPC I knew.
This is the real Faybi.
I have no idea what she’s thinking.
The best approach is to help her overco it herself.
I need to help Faybi stand back up and perform a miracle again.
If her self-esteem collapses now, who knows what might happen later!
The real trials haven’t even started yet, and we can’t afford for this to happen!
It might be harder and more exhausting than the standard thod, but I’ve got to do it.
Well, whatever. For an old-tir like , this is nothing.
The situation’s still better than when Nacrad almost obliterated . No reason to give up.
Let’s think of it as new content.
Man, reality online sure updates fast.
But hey, admins.
Could you update the ga to be a bit more user-friendly?
Otherwise, your players are going to explode from all the stress!
Enough with the nonsense.
Alright.
How should I handle this?
The decision was made quickly.
There’s only one way I operate.
The sugaki way.
“Cowardly saintess!♡”
I’m no good at comforting people.
I’m not great at boosting soone’s confidence either.
And I have no clue how to motivate soone.
But there’s one thing I’m really good at.
Making people mad.
“Did you fail?!♡ Heh♡ You really live up to being the saintess of that pathetic god!♡ Just like your god!♡ I guess the doctrine of your wimpy god is to be a nuisance to others!♡”
“That’s not true!”
Faybi shouted, her face flushed red.
I’d never seen her look so livid.
She might have tolerated insults towards herself, but she couldn’t handle slander against Armadi.
“You’re saying it’s not true?♡ But that’s what it looks like to !♡ Pathetic♡ Coward♡ Useless deadweight♡”
“Take it back! I might be, but Armadi is flawless!”
As I dodged and blocked the dragon’s attacks, its wings flared again, giving us a montary reprieve.
I had to wrap this up while the dragon was resting.
I couldn’t keep up this bickering with Faybi indefinitely while dodging spells.
“Then prove it♡ Prove you’re not the pathetic saintess of a pathetic god♡”
The word "prove" made Faybi flinch.
Even in her anger, she stopped at that word, which ant she had no confidence.
No wonder she failed her prayer.
“You can’t, can you?♡ You’re not confident, are you?♡ That’s right, you’re just a cowardly saintess♡”
“I...”
“What about your god?♡ Must be a huge coward, too, right?♡ Probably so scared of facing an evil god that they’ve gone silent, huh?♡”
“Shut up! Lucy Alrn! I’ll do it!”
There it is.
If she doesn’t have confidence, I’ll just make her angry enough to find so.
Ah. Maybe this isn’t confidence; maybe it’s just spite or sheer grit?
Whatever.
They’re close enough, right?
As long as it works.
Faybi turned her gaze toward the dragon, its mouth opening wide.
Now, it’s ti for the old pro to toy with the boss.
“Hey!♡ Lizard-brain!♡ Can’t you see?♡ You’ve got no brains and no eyes!♡ How can you not land a single hit?!♡ What a complete joke♡ You’re trash♡ The academy professors must be idiots to have you as the boss!♡”
___________
No way. There’s no way soone like that could be Armadi’s apostle!
How could soone who was chosen by the god dare to insult him like that!
I had heard rumors that Lucy Alrn had improved a lot, but nothing’s changed at all!
She’s the sa person who caused chaos in the church!
To call Armadi... that!
Faybi bit her lip hard.
Monts ago, she had failed to complete the prayer of purification.
It wasn’t because her divinity was lacking or because the vengeful spirit was too powerful.
It was because Faybi doubted that a miracle could happen, which caused her prayer to crumble halfway through.
Until now, Faybi had never once doubted that Armadi would perform a miracle.
It was so obvious that her god would make miracles happen.
And as the saintess chosen by the god, it was natural that she should succeed in performing them.
But maybe because of that certainty, Faybi was completely unprepared for the doubt that crept into her heart.
Never having faced it before, she couldn’t stop the cracks from spreading.
After failing the prayer, what filled Faybi’s heart was a dark emotion.
Guilt toward the party mbers who had brought her this far.
Disappointnt in herself.
Doubt as to whether she was truly worthy of the title of saintess.
All of these things shed together, forming a sticky, black ss inside her.
Just as Faybi was about to sink into despair, Lucy called out to her.
And she provoked her.
Insulted the na of her god.
Faybi might have been able to bear the insults directed at herself, but she couldn’t stand hearing her god being mocked.
She beca more furious than she had ever been in her entire life.
And before she realized it, she found herself in a position where she had to prove sothing.
But Faybi didn’t find that strange at all.
With her mind dyed red by anger, she could only look straight ahead.
I have to do this.
I absolutely have to.
I need to succeed in this purification prayer and knock Lucy Alrn down a peg!
I need to make that arrogant woman, who thinks she’s above everyone just because she’s favored by the god, acknowledge Armadi’s greatness!
Fueled by that thought, Faybi clasped her hands together.
But at that mont, a flicker of doubt crossed her mind.
Can I really do it?
I failed just a mont ago.
How can I be sure this ti will be different?
The red tint that had colored her thoughts began to be consud by a creeping blackness.
The learned despair pushed her deeper into the abyss, and the strength in her clasped hands began to falter.
But just then—
“Useless saintess!♡ Are you still not done?!♡ So slow, and incompetent, just like your worthless god!♡”
Creak.
Once again, Faybi’s heart was set ablaze with red anger.
That’s right. This isn’t about whether I can or can’t do it.
I have to do this! I have to stop her from sullying Armadi’s na!
Reaffirming her resolve, Faybi closed her eyes and began reciting the prayer of purification.
She was flawless.
The prayer of purification was sothing she had repeated countless tis before.
There was no way there could be any awkwardness in a prayer she had recited for so long.
‘The reason the dead linger on the earth is...’
Faybi chanted with the single-minded determination to put Lucy in her place, as she watched the spectacle unfold before her.
A tiny girl, barely the size of a child’s shoulder, was toying with a flying dragon, laughing all the while.
“What are you aiming at?♡ Do you see ghosts or sothing?♡ Ooh!♡ So scary!♡”
How is she able to do that, even against a dragon that could crush her with one swipe?
Does that woman even know what fear is?
Watching Lucy taunt the dragon, Faybi gritted her teeth.
If I fail again while facing this dragon, I can only imagine what she’ll say.
I absolutely cannot fail.
Failure is not an option.
I’m going to prove that Armadi will perform a miracle!
As the hesitation in Faybi’s heart faded, the pace of her prayer quickened.
By the ti the dragon had stopped breathing fire, Faybi had successfully completed the prayer.
“Miss Alrn!”
Watch closely.
This is the miracle of the god you’ve been mocking!
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