It was a moment I had been waiting for for a long time.
'I finally get to see you again!'
—Thump, thump!
Ophelia gently placed her hand on her chest and barely managed to calm her pounding heart. Everyone has a fateful encounter at least once in their lives, they say.
The girl thought. For her, now was definitely that moment.
Visiting the house of her beloved benefactor, the girl quietly closed her eyes and fell into thought, anticipating the reunion that would come soon.
'Yes, this is fate.'
An ordinary girl from an orphanage who had just become a lower-ranking priestess received a revelation from the heavens and was called a saint.
A sudden turning point in the trajectory of her otherwise ordinary life. It was truly fate.
I still can't believe it, so I pinch my cheek every morning to see if I'm not fully awake.
There was something else that surprised her even more.
'Saint. Estella's brightest star. There is work you must do to spread the grace of the Lord to the whole world.'
The first task given to the girl who was newly reborn as a saint of the Church of the Angels was to condemn the evil group that went against the will of the Angels.
Of course, it was a burdensome task for Ophelia, who was still unfamiliar with everything.
'Your Holiness, Pope. I'm just a low-ranking priest…'
'Don't worry. You will have a strong assistant on your journey.'
'Helper…? Who is that?' 'I am the Commander of the Black Lion Knights, Sir Wolfgang. His skills have already been proven. In addition, since he has served with the brothers of the church, he will surely be of great help to the saintess.'
However, the name of a certain man mentioned by the Pope brushed past her ears.
'Wait a minute! Who did you just say? Sir Wolfgang?'
'Hehe, I see you know him. Well, he is said to be the most notable figure among the young nobles of the empire these days.'
The burden that had been weighing on the girl's heart completely changed into anticipation.
How could she possibly forget?
In the midst of the flames of war, the name of the man who reached out to her as she waited for death in the pit of despair.
'Why did you save me? Just let me die.'
'Nonsense. Where in this world can you leave a child to die?'
The name of the person she was most grateful for, who gave her the strength to move forward again when she thought she had nothing left.
'Get up, kid. This is not your place.'
'I'm not a kid. A strange soldier.'
'Mister... My name is Wolfgang. Well, that's exactly what the kids see. Anyway, follow me.'
It was all thanks to his grace that I was entrusted to the church instead of the orphanage.
I met good people and was called by the pretty name of Ophelia instead of the swear words like 'trash' and 'cursed bitch.'
It was all impossible without him that I was able to heal my past wounds and regain my girlish appearance as time went by.
I always thought that if I ever became a priest, I would meet him again and show him how I had grown up so well.
'Have you heard? Outside the fortress... '
However, according to the news coming in through the tall fence of the convent, the man named Wolfgang was said to have a great reputation.
While I was anxious, wondering if I had become someone I couldn't meet even if I wanted to.
—Thump, thump!
"Do you remember me?"
I could only think of it as a divine guidance, or fate. I finally met him again in such an unexpected way.
His face, which I had not seen in several years, was covered in scars, and he looked haggard, as if he was very tired, but that didn't matter.
The girl could definitely recognize him.
However, did he really not recognize the girl who had changed so much?
Even when I subtly mentioned the past, or even when I slyly called him "uncle" to show my intimacy, Wolfgang just tilted his head.
"Saint. I know it's presumptuous of you to call me by such strange titles. Do you know me?"
"…You really look like you don't remember at all."
Moreover, seeing him constantly pushing her away and openly setting up a wall, Ophelia felt as if the past and present situations had been reversed.
'Mister... '
She felt bad.
How much hardship must he have gone through for that reliable uncle to have changed like that?
No matter how famous he became, did he have countless wounds deep inside that he couldn't tell others?
So this time, it was her turn to heal his wounds.
So, she intentionally tried to act as gentle and playful as possible and help her benefactor return to his former self.
As a result.
"What did you say, you little brat?"
Finally, she began to gradually see the uncle she knew in him.
"Mister! You remember me, right?"
Saint Ophelia's eyes sparkled and she grabbed Wolfgang's hand.
The sight of the girl staring at me with her face right in front of my eyes was extremely disconcerting.
Aside from the fact that she suddenly barged in, the distance between us was so close. It was a precarious distance where our noses would collide if we moved even the slightest.
The soft scent of perfume from her long, wavy blond hair brushed my nose, and the halo that had begun to rise again made her pale skin look even whiter.
"Really, this is too much. Why on earth did you pretend not to know until now?"
"...."
I reluctantly had to admit to that. Her appearance alone felt truly sacred.
However, despite her attractive appearance, her true nature was completely selfish, and it really seemed like that little brat from back then. That guy didn't listen to me at all.
I carefully turned my head and tried to move away from the girl, but she stubbornly met my eyes and continued to urge me.
"You said you were a brat, right? You're the only one who calls me that. The orphan you saved on the battlefield. Oh! You didn't recognize me because I was so pretty..."
"A brat. No... Saint Ophelia, please calm down for a moment."
Meanwhile, her sudden behavior seemed to have embarrassed everyone here.
Even the knights and priests who had been silently guarding their positions were so shocked that they jumped up and screamed.
"S-Saint, what are you doing right now?"
"No way! How can Estella's daughter be so light-hearted?"
"Get off me right now!"
Then, the girl, who had been shaking her shoulders and rolling her eyes for a moment, finally got away from me and returned to her seat quietly.
Judging by her slightly red face, she must have known what I had just done.
At that, Priest Scarlett shook his head as if he had a headache and let out a long sigh.
"Haa, Sister Ophelia… no, Saintess. I think you'll have to recite the precepts of chastity a hundred times tonight to come to your senses. Don't even think about going to bed until you're done."
"You're going too far!"
"No, it's you, Saintess. I already warned you once, but you made the same mistake. And Lord Wolfgang? I'll apologize for the rudeness just now."
"Oh, it's okay. You don't have to apologize. Then, about the official request for cooperation…"
After the uproar that had started a while ago died down, the meeting continued, and the Saintess began to glance at me with anxious eyes.
The bold appearance from a while ago was nowhere to be found, and now she was drooping like a rabbit that had been soaked in rain, which was both funny and cute.
Looking at his lively appearance, it was fortunate that the gloomy brat grew up well after entrusting himself to the Church of Heaven.
"...So, to summarize the story, the Church requests Lord Wolfgang's cooperation in the operation to root out the heretics and clean up the contaminated area."
"Yes, that shouldn't be difficult, but... It's a bit surprising to hear. I thought they were quiet recently, but they've completely turned the monsters' territory into a base."
On the other hand, the statement made by Priest Scarlett, who revealed the Church's position on behalf of the saint, was more shocking than expected.
While the Imperial government was showing off its health through various external events, including the Knights' War, the Eclipse guys were digging deeper into the shadows and exerting their influence.
In fact, it was impossible for a subversive force with the power to swallow up an entire county to give up just because they got hit once.
"It's only like this because it's near the capital, but if you go to the local territories, things are going worse than you think. They say they're trying to spread the puppet government system."
"Oh my, they really must be crazy. Devil worship ends with burning at the stake, but doesn't the system of collective punishment apply to conspiracy to commit treason?"
"Historically, all cultists were out of their minds. That's nothing new."
Despite her stern appearance, Priest Scarlett was a very articulate person.
She looked similar to Lord Vias, the administrator of the Black Lion Knights. Even the atmosphere was secretly similar, so it seemed believable that she was a sister.
Anyway, as I happily chewed out the Eclipse guys with her, the story flowed like water and reached its conclusion.
"I understand. As for the specific schedule and how far we will mobilize our troops…"
"The sect has already informed the Unified Command, so an official order will be issued soon."
"Good. Perfect."
It was only when night had fully fallen that I was able to bid farewell to the uninvited guests who had barged into my house.
"See you next time, mister!" "Yes, saint."
I couldn't help but snicker and laugh at the sight of the girl waving her hand vigorously and leaving.
—Waving
Not only her two hands raised high, but also her body shaking wildly here and there, so she seemed to be quite grown-up, but her actions were completely childish.
That little brat is a saint. I thought, how unpredictable the world is.
Still, judging from how much less tired she was than before, it seemed like her divine power was certain, so at least she wouldn't be a burden during her mission.
Thinking that, I went to bed.
A few days after Ophelia came to visit.
Early morning.
—Palak
[Saint, mentioning the Commander of the Black Lion Knights?]
[A precious connection from the past, someone I personally think of as very special]
I doubted my eyes when I saw an article with such meaning in a periodical that was delivered once a week between various documents.
"What is this…?"
I thought it was just a useless distraction that caught my attention, so I usually just threw it away, but today, I couldn't help but look at it.
The moment I muttered to myself, wondering what on earth was going on.
—Foodduck!
Alicia's servant horse, which I hadn't seen in the unit since I warned her not to come by without permission during work hours, flew in through the gap in the open window.
[Master, please look at me for a moment]
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