Chapter 7: Watch my performance when things are going against me.

“I see that the Saintess has no major issues. If necessary, we can perform another purification once we reach the royal capital.”
Bishop Zain, who had already given CocoLiss a preliminary purification, had not extracted any impurities from her body.

“That’s the only way then. I didn’t expect them to actually come after us.”
The golden-haired Hero lowered his head to look at his longsword, which was still emitting a golden glow. “That abyssal kin earlier was not simple. She was probably the leader, and she could completely ignore the suppression of the holy artifact.”

“So if such a being appeared inside the royal capital, it would be even more troublesome.”
Bishop Zain pointed with one of her aged hands in the air. The four white horses that had previously dissipated reappeared, steadily pulling the carriage forward once more. “I injured her, but she truly managed to escape from my hands.”

The dazed CocoLiss beside them naturally figured out the reason.

The strange words that figure had spoken were probably the sins committed by her pre-amnesia self as an abyssal kin.

Although she didn’t know what exactly she had done, judging from the other party’s inhuman, ghostly appearance, it had likely been an extremely grave offense.

So, without her knowledge, her pre-amnesia self had created a rather powerful enemy for her.

She felt the halo above her head had become even more solid.

She might not even ascend to heaven and would instead have to go to hell.

Of course, she couldn’t say any of this out loud. Otherwise, just explaining why she could understand the language of abyssal kin would require countless lies.

Lying in front of these two important figures felt like courting death. She would be an honest good girl.

“Speaking of which, Lady Zain, Lord Joshua, it seems you already knew we would be attacked on the road?”

“We did know that the Abyss had planned a deliberate assault targeting the yet-to-mature Saintess. That’s why we didn’t choose to teleport directly to the royal capital. Otherwise, civilian casualties would have been hard to avoid.”
The red-robed bishop still spoke in that gentle tone.

So they really could have teleported directly after all.

Upon hearing the explanation, CocoLiss nodded in understanding, then pointed at herself. “What about me?”

“A single great bishop can protect anyone within the empire.”
Joshua checked the surroundings and only spoke after confirming that the abyssal assault had completely retreated. “Bishop Zain is one of the few Saint-rank great mages in the empire right now. Even if a large abyssal force came, she would be enough to escort you safely to the royal capital.”

“Then how did you know I would be attacked?”
CocoLiss now felt somewhat grateful for the early departure. If they had left later, the town might have been raided by surprise.

“Because someone leaked the news that the Saintess had been found. Of course, this was also intentional on our part. In short, there are abyssal hands at work inside the royal capital as well. We are working hard to root them out.”
Bishop Zain spoke personally, as if to comfort the frightened little nun.

“Then wouldn’t it be unsafe for me to go to the royal capital now?”

“You would be even less safe anywhere else. At least in the royal capital, someone will be protecting you at all times until you can stand on your own.”
Bishop Zain’s words carried a tone of earnest persuasion.

CocoLiss nodded obediently.

She didn’t have the courage to leave her current backers when she knew someone was out for revenge.

The atmosphere inside the carriage became slightly less heavy than at the beginning.

The little nun took the opportunity to dump all her questions at once.

“May I ask, what is the Saintess training like? Will it be very difficult?”
In truth, the second half was what the little nun wanted to ask most.

“Taking the Saintess’s current situation into account, we will first conduct systematic learning. Only after reaching at least the entry level of an elementary mage will special training begin.”

“Oh…”
CocoLiss understood only half of it, but she felt this “systematic learning” sounded somewhat familiar.

“It means going to school.”
The golden-haired Hero beside her directly provided the answer.

The little nun shrank back again. The refusal on her lips hadn’t even come out when she saw the red-robed bishop gently shaking her head.

It looked like this old thing was going to become a student inside a school.

While there was still some time before reaching the royal capital, the red-robed bishop began supplementing CocoLiss with some common knowledge, such as the ranks of mages, swordsmen, and other professions, and what kind of skills could be learned at different ranks.

These were all things she hadn’t needed to understand as an ordinary imperial citizen or a little nun in a remote border town.

And also…

“Lady Zain, what exactly is the Abyss…?”
CocoLiss recalled the terrifying monsters that had tried to take her life earlier.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand it very well either. But what we do know is that they have their own culture and civilization, their own wisdom, their own races, and so on. They are completely different from everything within the empire. However, since we cannot communicate and meeting means a fight to the death, there has never been an opportunity to communicate with abyssal kin or learn the abyssal language. Moreover, neither side can survive on the other’s territory, so any abyssal kin capable of coexistence…”

A trace of reminiscence flashed in the great bishop’s eyes before disappearing. “There may have been some, but we will never encounter them again.”

“Saintess, I am truly sorry for pulling you into this position. I know it means risk, and it means bidding farewell to the life you may have wanted. But the empire needs a Saintess. So if there is anything you want, feel free to tell us. We will do our best to fulfill it.”

The white-haired old woman in front of her bowed her head like this toward her. No matter what, CocoLiss could not bring herself to make any excessive demands.

“Being able to contribute a share for the people of the empire is actually something I have always wanted to do.”
The little nun helped the red-robed bishop up. “I am honored to serve as the Saintess.”

The white-haired great bishop had tears in her eyes. The golden-haired Hero wore a face full of astonishment.

Perhaps he also couldn’t understand where this high level of ideological awareness came from in CocoLiss, who had clearly violated countless rules of conduct for church nuns.

During their conversation, the carriage stopped once again. This time, there was no need for the halo above CocoLiss’s head as a light source. They had safely arrived at the gates of the royal capital.

“Wait a moment.”
Seeing the carriage stop, the guards at the royal capital gates spoke to the few people getting out of the carriage. “Routine inspections are required during this period. We hope you understand.”

“Indeed. It seems there are abyssal kin skilled at disguise appearing. We have to be cautious.”
The red-robed bishop obediently stepped forward, waiting for the two guards at the gate to perform the check.

CocoLiss, standing behind, watched as the old woman was swept over by a beam of light.

“No issues. Thank you for your cooperation.”

She seemed to understand. This thing appeared to be able to detect whether someone was human or an abyssal kin pretending to be one.

Damn it. Wouldn’t going up there be equivalent to handing over her own head?

“Do I have to be checked too?”
CocoLiss asked quietly.

The dazzling golden hair swayed gently in the evening breeze. A gaze that did not belong to his age fell upon the girl.

Then Joshua spoke, “I don’t need to be checked, right?”

He gripped the golden longsword in his hand. With a thought, it transformed into a brilliant golden bracer that settled on his left wrist.

This was proof of being the Hero. Only the Hero could use the holy artifact.

Of course, many people knew similar magic, but Joshua’s face was highly recognizable, and Bishop Zain beside him was the real deal.

“Of course, of course.”

Seeing the two guards relent, CocoLiss behind them followed suit. She transformed the halo above her head into a staff and then back again.

“What about me? What about me?”

“Is it the Saintess?”
One of the guards seemed to recall something.

The other guard was startled. “Wasn’t that just a sensational headline?”

Bishop Zain nodded from the side, acknowledging the girl’s identity, and then raised a finger in a shushing gesture.

But the golden-haired Hero beside her had already grabbed CocoLiss’s wrist and stepped into the royal capital. The moment they entered, golden light swirled around them once more, and they disappeared from the spot.

Before CocoLiss could even recover from being brought to who-knows-where, she saw Joshua in front of her stretch out his hand.

“You had something you didn’t want to be discovered earlier. Hand it over quickly while you still can.”
The Hero frowned. “The Saintess absolutely cannot show any corruption in front of the public. If you hand it to me now, I can still pretend I know nothing.”