The curion search-and-destroy operation in Luzarigue proceeded smoothly. Even though there were way too many of them to finish things in a day, we still had managed to take out around five hundred to a thousand in total.
This time, there were zero casualties on our side. That none of the curion hunters had become curions themselves like last time was cause for celebration. Our current objective was to reduce the number of enemies. Losing an ally meant they would become another enemy, which was incredibly disheartening.
Finished for the day, we all celebrated everyone’s safety outside the gate. As the mission would take several days, we were staying in the closest city rather than returning to the academy.
“I’m glad everyone’s okay.” The blue-haired Linum, the squad’s source of comfort, mumbled with relief as she looked around.
“Yeah. Things went much smoother compared to last time. I feel like I can move even faster now.”
“No, Cuphea. No matter what you say, I won’t remove your protection.”
“I-I know,” the red-haired Cuphea pouted. By forgoing her Physical Protection in favor of Physical Enhancement, she had obtained incredible speed during her rematch against Agrimonia. Perhaps reminiscing about how that felt left her unsatisfied with her performance in the Forbidden City. However, Linum wasn’t going to risk removing her protection in a situation where one bite would spell the end. Cuphea understood that, so she just silently pouted.
“I understand the feeling. As a fellow holy knight, watching Sir Albert fills me with both admiration and frustration.” The androgynous holy knight Hypericum expressed her sympathy for Cuphea.
“Exactly!” Cuphea enthusiastically nodded her head. They were both quite skilled for their age. It was just that despite looking eighteen, I had three hundred years on them, and I trained diligently enough that it wouldn’t be easy for them to catch up.
“It might feel frustrating, but you two are still growing. That said, I’m gonna keep getting stronger, so you’ll never catch up to me.”
“There you go again... Just you wait. I’ll get even faster,” said Cuphea.
“I’ll endeavor to get closer to you one step at a time,” Hypericum added. The belligerent Cuphea and quiet Hypericum both burned with competitive spirit, and their holy women watched over them. Their desire to improve was admirable.
Blizzard had already distanced themselves from us and were greeting the instructors and Orlaya’s squad.
“Albert, I’m going to report the number of curions we saved,” said the princess.
“All right, I’ll go with you.” Leaving our squad behind temporarily, the princess and I went to go make our report.
Because curions from three centuries ago turned to dust, they didn’t leave behind any proof of their defeat. So how did they calculate the number of defeated curions? Surprisingly enough, it was done verbally. If someone said they had defeated ten, then that number was added to the count. It might seem like that would lead to people inflating their results, but that wasn’t actually the case.
To start with, excessively inflating your numbers could lead to your downfall. Stronger individuals were more likely to be sent to dangerous locations, so making yourself look better than you actually were would only hasten your death. While that was a good deterrent, it didn’t completely remove the possibility of falsified reports. However, the second reason all but prevented any lies.
The reports were delivered while in the presence of a statue of the goddess—the very same goddess that granted holy women their magic. What holy woman would be able to lie in front of the goddess who granted them her power? It might not seem obvious to those who weren’t religious, but for those who believed in a god, lying in front of that god was a grave sin. Even some of the most evil people out there were honest only in front of their god. In the case of this goddess in particular, she granted holy women her magic, so her existence was undeniable. That was why holy women had to give the reports.
“The pair of Linum and Cuphea defeated twenty-four, Agrimonia and Hypericum defeated twenty-one, and Astrantia and Albert of White defeated sixty-four, one of which possessed the Embodiment of the Spirit. Is that correct?” A member of the exorcism agency saints belonged to was present to receive the reports. Although students usually reported to their instructors, due to the large-scale nature of this mission, things were being handled a bit differently.
The staff member pulled out a document from a plain desk and recorded the extermination numbers. She was a serious-looking woman wearing a different uniform from the holy knights and holy women. While I would have loved to get intimate with her, now wasn’t the time to hit on her. There were better ways to get to know someone. My eyes were subconsciously drawn to her chest, which was nearly large enough to rest on the desk, but I held myself back. There was a small, wooden statue of the goddess next to her.
“Yes, that’s correct,” the princess answered.
“Do you swear to the goddess?” The staff member looked at the statue.
The princess clasped her hands together in front of her chest and nodded. “I swear to the goddess that my words are true.”
“Excellent.” That concluded the report. It might have seemed casual, but swearing to the goddess was a big deal. To the faithful, it was more than sufficient.
“S-Sixty-four?”
“Their other members also got over twenty.”
“In total their entire squad got over one hundred.”
“Our squad didn’t even get twenty total.”
“They even beat one with the Embodiment of the Spirit?”
“Th-That must’ve been some crazy battle...”
Our surroundings were abuzz with chatter. Our results were apparently a little above average. Blizzard had killed forty themselves, but I knew they hadn’t been going all out. I was curious how Orlaya’s squad had done—they’d probably taken down even more than we had.
“I’ve already said as much, but you did an excellent job, Albert. It’s no wonder everyone is shocked. First-years don’t usually report numbers like that.” The princess seemed to have heard them too.
“Well, we’re not typical first-years.”
“True. It may seem like a small number compared to what you have already done, but freeing sixty-four souls is something we can be proud of.”
As the Skeleton Sword Saint, I had killed all the undead in my city. Sixty-four was nothing compared to that. Still... “You’re right.” For three centuries they had been unable to die, filled with the false happiness the witch had forced upon them. I had allowed them to move on to their next lives. No matter how small the number, that was a saint’s duty.
“I’m quite proud of you.”
It felt kinda somber, so I asked the princess a question on the way back to change the mood. “Hey, Princess.”
“What is it?”
“If a holy woman lied before the goddess, would she lose her magic?”
She paused to think for a moment. “That’s what I was taught, but I don’t think it’s entirely accurate.”
“You don’t?”
“You lose the ability to use the goddess’s magic when you lose faith in her. So even if you lied to her—”
“As long as your faith doesn’t waver, you won’t lose your magic?”
“I suspect so.”
It could be kinda hard to wrap your mind around, but for example, if a loved one were kidnapped and you were forced to lie to the goddess, that could be a scenario where you had to lie while still maintaining genuine faith. In that case, the goddess probably wouldn’t take her magic away from her follower. Although you’d lie with your words, deep down, you would remain faithful.
“Of course, lying to obtain rewards and prestige is unacceptable behavior as a believer, and the goddess would surely be disappointed.” In short, believers couldn’t inflate their achievements in front of the goddess.
“Believing in a god sounds rough.”
“No, knowing the goddess is watching keeps me motivated,” she responded without hesitation. It seemed she really believed that.
I guess you can’t go against her teachings if you think the goddess is always watching.
“Do you not believe in the goddess?” she asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.
“If you believe in her, then I’m sure she exists.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
“I’m saying I believe in you, not some goddess I’ve never seen.” The princess stopped in her tracks. I turned around out of concern and saw her flushed cheeks. “You all right, Princess?”
“Y-Yes. I-I’m fine.” Although she nodded repeatedly and started walking again, her gait was awkward and forced.
“You don’t have to get so embarrassed. We swore to the goddess to be together for the rest of our lives, didn’t we?” That promise had been made the same day we’d defeated the Pestilent Guardian Dragon. Compared to that, this conversation was just small talk.
Remembering our promise, the princess trembled and nearly tumbled over backwards. I quickly wrapped my arm around her back to prevent her from falling. Her body was soft and slender, and it felt like it could fade away at any moment. It was also surprisingly warm.
“Sorry, guess I kinda overdid it with the teasing.” It seemed like it had been too stimulating for the pure princess.
“You were teasing me?” There was a hint of moisture in her reproachful gaze.
“Yeah. But none of it was a lie.”
“Is that right?”
I helped her to her feet, then backed away. Had I made her mad?
“Me too.”
“Huh?”
“I believe in you too.” Leaving it at that, she started walking again. Even though I was behind her, I could see how red her ears were.
Not good. Although she was outside my strike zone, lately I’d been finding my master extremely cute. I caught up to her and walked by her side. “Sorry, Princess. I didn’t quite catch that. Could you say it one more time?”
“That’s not true. This is just more of your teasing, isn’t it?”
“Let me rephrase that. I heard you loud and clear, but I still want you to say it again.”
“No. And stop grinning before I curse you.”
I laughed as she puffed out her cheeks. “I’m already cursed.”