Episode 656: Saint Catherine (2)
Catherine? It was my first time hearing this name.
It had to be that way. Line was not interested in the Holy Kingdom of Bretus, and even if she was, she couldn’t even know the name of the saint who was not known to the outside world.
However, the moment Line saw Catherine, she felt a strange feeling that was difficult to express in words.
Should I call it friendliness? At the same time, should I say it is a pity?
In fact, Catherine just stared at Line with eyes that did not know what she was thinking.
‘Does this person know me?’
Just when Line was starting to feel pressured by those gazes, a wide smile appeared on Catherine’s face.
“Oh my, who are you? “You’re so pretty.”
“yes yes?”
“What’s your name? Are you a student here?”
“Uh, my name is Lee. I’m a student here. “I’m only a freshman now.”
“1 Grade? It’s a good time, isn’t it? Rather, what are you doing here? “Did you take care of this flower bed?”
My first impression was that he was somewhat adult and saintly, but now that he was actively asking questions like this, he seemed like a typical cheerful person.
Although Line was a little embarrassed, she answered honestly, believing that she was not a bad person.
“I didn’t grow the flower bed here, but a senior friend of mine tended it. “I’m feeling sick for a while, so I’m taking a break here.”
“It’s a break. I understand. “When I was having a hard time, I often sat quietly in a place where no one was around.”
“Oh, Catherine too?”
“Oh my. Speaking of Catherine, you are very stiff. She just conveniently calls me her sister. sister.”
“Uh, anyway… … .”
“ruler. Follow me. sister.”
“Uh, sister.”
As Line muttered shyly, Catherine smiled brightly, like a flower in full bloom.
“You’re cute.”
“Well, Catherine, what are you doing here?”
“me? I just came to Seorn as a guest and was bored so I took a walk. “Then I came across a paved path and came here, but I had no idea there were customers.”
“ah. You said so. “This is a place that other people don’t often visit.”
“huh. It sure feels that way. Should I call it your own secret hideout? It gives off that feeling. I used to be like that too, and I miss it.”
“Your sister too?”
“I had a really difficult time when I was young. Actually, it’s still hard, but at the time it was so hard to bear. So, there was a time when you couldn’t bear it anymore and ran away, hiding in a place where people wouldn’t come?”
It was an old story that started suddenly, but Line listened to it out of curiosity.
“I was alone and sad, so I was sobbing, and suddenly someone came.”
“Who, who?”
“At first, I thought he was someone who ran away and came to catch me, but that wasn’t the case. It was a boy about my age. It turned out that the spot I was hiding in was a spot that the child often used. “Do you know what’s funnier?”
“What is it?”
“Usually, when a little girl is crying, you have to ask her why she is crying or where she hurts and reassure her that it is okay. But this is what the boy said as soon as he saw me. go away.”
When Catherine told me to go away, as if she was repeating what I heard back then, she spoke in a solemn and hard tone.
“Yes? “Really?”
“Really? Isn’t it really absurd? Oh my god, there’s a girl crying, and you can’t stand it! “If I think about it again, it really made no sense.”
“So what did your sister do?”
“How to do it.”
Catherine smiled cheerfully and said it was no big deal.
“He jumped right at me and ripped my head off!”
“… … .”
Liné pursed her lips at the very unexpected answer.
It was our first meeting where it seemed like we were saying something affectionately, but what we actually did from the beginning was to fight and gnaw at each other.
“When I think about that, it really is a memory.”
“Well, that’s right.”
“The reason I told you this story is because I coincidentally ran into you while looking for a place. Sorry, it wasn’t much fun, was it?”
“no! “It was really fun!”
“Hehe. Are you really nice? okay. Because you have such a good heart… … .”
Catherine was about to say something but swallowed her words.
“anyway! “It was fate that led us to meet like this, but do you have anything to tell us?”
“Oh, no, I…” … .”
“Just looking at your face, it looks like you’re full of depth? say it. “Maybe I can give you the right answer.”
Line hesitated to answer.
Because it was a burden to tell all of my insecurities to someone I met for the first time today.
But somewhere in my heart, I felt a desire to tell Catherine everything.
It was an amazing thing.
I met this person for the first time today, and I can’t believe I felt this closeness to them.
“Well, that… … .”
okay. If you’re going to suffer alone like this, try seeking advice from others.
It was a time when I wanted to speak in a slightly different way rather than speaking directly.
“You are here.”
A woman in white clothes with a tiara around her eyes appeared.
“I was looking for it. sister.”
“What? “He suddenly comes to me.”
“Since my sister disappeared, of course I have to come visit her. “Because the president of Seorne himself is coming out to welcome her sister.”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“plaguy. “Can’t you do it instead of me?”
“… … sister.”
“Ah, okay, okay. “If you do it, it won’t work.”
Catherine apologized to Line.
“Sorry. “I was trying to listen to your story, but I suddenly got busy.”
“Oh, no. I’m OK. really.”
“Still, I said I would listen, but my pride wouldn’t allow me to end it here. ruler.”
Catherine took out a piece of paper from her arms and handed it to Line.
Liné took the paper without realizing it and stared at Catherine’s face as if amazed by the warm feeling she felt from the pure white paper.
“What is this?”
“You can come to me with this. This paper will tell me where I am. “I won’t be staying here for long, so if I’m going to use it, I’d better use it tonight.”
“You don’t have to do it like this.”
“I do it because I like it.”
Although she received it, it was too burdensome, so Line promised herself not to use it.
If it weren’t for Catherine’s next words.
“The scenery you saw in passing. “I can tell you that.”
“… … yes? Well, how do you do that?”
“Okay then, I’ll just go!”
Before Line could ask how she knew, Catherine was waving her hand and walking away.
She was truly a woman like the wind.
The woman with the tiara on her eyes who came to pick up Catherine stared at Line for a moment and then followed Catherine out of the flower garden.
Leanne, who was left alone, looked blankly at the paper in her hand.
I don’t know why, but as I held this, the throbbing in my eyes disappeared.
* * *
The priest who secretly followed Catherine as she left the flower garden asked.
“Sister Catherine. Are you okay? Right now… … .”
“it’s okay. “That child doesn’t know what his power is yet, so you can leave him alone.”
“But isn’t it against the Holy Emperor’s will to condone this even though you know it?”
“Not really. “That child will definitely go to Bretus.”
“Do you see that kind of future?”
“well.”
Despite Catherine’s playful response, the priest had a hard time holding back a sigh, even though he knew it was something he was used to.
When she arrived at the meeting place, Catherine was able to see a white-haired woman waiting for her.
When seen from a distance, the hair was white, but when viewed up close, the inside of the hair was light pink.
A beautiful and mysterious woman who looks like a mixture of white lotus and cherry blossoms.
“Nice to meet you. Elisa Willow, the president of Seorn. “My name is Catherine.”
“It is truly an honor to meet you. “Saint Catherine.”
Seeing Elisa skillfully responding to this situation, Catherine thought that it wasn’t easy after all.
She is a woman who achieved the 6th rank at a young age and even became the president of a magic academy called Seorn.
Even though this was a saint and she visited without prior contact, she was not embarrassed or surprised and reacted calmly.
“If the saint had told us in advance that she would be coming, we would have welcomed her more grandly, but it’s a bit disappointing.”
“Do you think it would be regrettable? I find excessive hospitality burdensome. “It’s much more convenient to just meet the president in a small way like this.”
“Oh, I see. As expected, the saint has a broad heart. Would she like to walk and talk for a while?”
“It doesn’t matter to me.”
Catherine walked with Elisa.
The priest and the paladins who joined later tried to follow, but Catherine herself stopped them.
“Everyone wait here. “Because I want to talk about it alone.”
“B-but, saint. We have a duty to protect the saint’s safety… … .”
“I said I’m fine, why are you doing this? And this is Seorn. “I heard that the president is with us, so is there any danger?”
Catherine asked, smiling at Elisa.
“Yes? President.”
“Tell me this.”
Elisa said with a smile, but internally narrowed her eyes and revised her assessment of Catherine.
Since she was a saint, I thought she would be a girl who didn’t know anything about the world, but she was not an ordinary person, both in how she spoke and how she responded skillfully.
So the two walked along a quiet forest path.
“That’s amazing. There is such a large and beautiful forest within the grounds. Ceorn’s reputation, which spreads across the continent, was not in vain.”
“Thank you for the compliment. However, compared to the Holy Kingdom where the saint resides, it is insufficient.”
“Bretus has many waterways, so it has its own beauty, but there are no such dense and large forests near the castle, so it sometimes feels desolate. “I actually like it here more.”
“If you say so, I would be grateful.”
Catherine said, looking at the lesser spirits wandering between the trees.
“Have you decided what to do, President?”
The question came sooner than expected, but Elisa was not taken aback.
“Of course. No matter how independent we may be, can we remain silent when the entire continent is in danger? “I and other teachers also plan to participate in the crusade.”
Of course not everything.
Elisha didn’t bother to say anything.
Revealing only part of the truth. Because that was the most important point of the negotiation.
“That’s a great choice. Anyway, we have to deal with the devil, and if the president is with us, we feel confident.”
Catherine added an afterthought.
“By the way, that Heathcliff man is said to have worked as a teacher here. What kind of person was he?”
“… … .”
Elisha narrowed his eyes.
Are you suddenly asking me about Ludger?
‘what? ‘Is it really possible to think about it?’
Catherine was a saint, so of course she would have heard everything about Heathcliff’s actions.
If so, you would also know that I worked as a teacher here.
But what kind of person are you thinking when you ask me?
‘Is this question being asked to define me as a heretic? Then the question itself is somehow strange.’
Elisa had assumed the worst when Catherine first arrived.
The place where Demon Lord Heathcliff stayed was Seorn, so even if Seorn itself was defined as a heresy, there was nothing to say.
But Catherine didn’t even say anything about it.
Is it because he is confident that Seorn cannot dare to touch him? Or complacency?
If that’s the case, why did you treat me one-on-one like this?
Elisa had a hunch.
Saint Catherine, at least, is somehow fundamentally different from the people of the Lumensis Church she knew.
“He was a great teacher.”
At Elisa’s answer, Catherine stopped and stared at her.
“Mr. Ludger Chelisi.”
“What does that mean?”
“After the demon incident, Teacher Ludger Celisi went missing. He later came back, but the Empire took him away, claiming he was Heathcliff.”
Elisa intentionally brought up the story that Ludger was missing.
In other words, Ludger Chelish and Heathcliff are separate people, and Seorn is not related to Heathcliff.
Catherine smiled and nodded.
“okay.”
Although Catherine could have been angry at her for deceiving her, or criticized her for acting in a dishonest manner, Catherine agreed with Elisa’s words and moved on.
“I hope that Ludger returns safely as soon as possible.”
“Yes, of course. “We are currently searching in every possible way, so we will hear good news soon.”
“Then that’s enough. “You must have gone through a lot as president, but I am grateful that you took the time to meet me.”
Catherine said that and held out her hand toward Elisa.
“I hope you continue to do well. “It’s good to have a comrade who has your back in the temple.”
“Sure.”
Elisa took Catherine’s hand and shook it.
Catherine said in a satisfied voice.
“Let’s go to Bretus together and defeat the Demon King.”
* * *
“As expected, it’s not here.”
Ludger could find no trace of Catherine in the castle.
Should I say I’m glad she doesn’t stay here?
Otherwise, should we feel sorry that things are going according to the Emperor’s will?
No matter what, a future in which the two would collide seemed inevitable.
“Catherine.”
The two people who were once friends have now become completely different people.
A saint and a devil.
The two were absolutely incompatible.
“I hope you don’t come to Bretus.”
fantasy,
