Taming the Evil Saintess

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“Saint Lady! Let’s go over there too!”

“Uh, sure….”

“What’s that over there?”

Why on earth are we here? What on earth did this kid eat to be so full of energy?

As she was tugged along by the tiny hand, Ophelia mumbled in confusion.

“…Why am I…”

It had already been two hours.

The scale of the Cathedral couldn’t be considered large even if I said it was. But the buildings densely packed within that area and the bustling streets were certainly enough to catch Emily’s interest.

However, the problem here was that Emily’s fascination was a bit over the top.

“Saint Lady! There’s something over there! Wow—it’s huge! What kind of building is that?”

“Just….”

“Just?”

“It’s just a statue.”

“Oh! So it’s just a statue! How fascinating!”

Emily was even curious about the stones rolling on the side of the road. Because of her antics, Ophelia felt utterly drained right now.

She had thought her stamina had increased after nearly two weeks of beatings disguised as training from Elliot, but it turned out she had no resistance to this kind of exuberance.

Having been raised as a saint since childhood, surrounded only by servants and knights, Ophelia had no experience being thrown around by a girl her age.

“Ahh~ Saint Lady, I envy you so much.”

“Envy you say?”

Emily beamed brightly at her.

“Yes. I’m so envious of you. You live in such a bright and beautiful place. The Magic Tower where I am is all gloomy, and it even smells weird!”

“….”

“It doesn’t even qualify as a place to live, right?”

“W-Well, I guess that might be true.”

With every sentence, Emily added a question for confirmation, and Ophelia found herself nodding or agreeing each time.

As a result, Emily was all smiles, feeling somehow like they were having a proper conversation.

“Well, um… Emily?”

“Yes?”

At some point, Emily had asked her to call her Emily without needing introductions.

Is this what being friendly means?

It felt rather uncomfortable.

“Don’t you think that woman… I mean, Evangelin might be looking for you…?”

“It’s alright! We’re planning to go back tomorrow anyway. Today, we can wander around until dinner! Oh, but thank you for worrying! I’m really happy that the Saint Lady is thinking about me!”

“….”

Wander until dinner, huh?

Had she already gone around the Cathedral at least three times?

Despite her small stature, she was roaming the streets for nearly hours, showing no signs of exhaustion or losing interest.

‘Is there… no one… around…?’

It was the first time she had wished so fervently for divine salvation.

While thinking that, she caught a glimpse of an old man looking this way from a distance.

“Ah.”

Archbishop Belwin. He was watching Ophelia from the second-floor terrace of the Cathedral.

Ophelia waved her hand as discreetly as possible to avoid being seen by Emily.

It was a plea for help.

However…

“Our Ophelia… finally has a friend now. I thought I wouldn’t see this before I die… How lovely…”

Belwin was just waving back at her, unable to hide his surging emotion.

‘…What a ridiculous old man.’

Ophelia scrunched her face and clenched the hand that had been raised. Then she subtly raised her middle finger.

Emily, oblivious to Ophelia’s indignation, simply pulled her hand along.

*

“You’re late coming in.”

“….”

As soon as Ophelia entered the room, she glared at me with a face full of hatred.

When I tilted my head in confusion, she trembled her shoulders and threw down a golden brooch she had been holding.

“Ahhh!”

With a scream of despair, Ophelia stormed past me.

By the time I turned my gaze, she was already diving onto her bed.

“I want to die.”

“Suicide is bad.”

“You bastard, that’s not what I meant… ugh, forget it.”

Clearly tired of talking, Ophelia buried her face in her pillow.

She was completely spent.

Even when I took her out for training, she had never been like this.

Was wandering around with Emily that much of a mental ordeal?

I suppose for Ophelia, who had no social skills, it might indeed have been.

“By the way, what’s this?”

I glanced at the brooch that Ophelia had tossed aside.

I thought it was made of pure gold, but it wasn’t.

“She gave it to me.”

“Emily, you mean?”

“Yeah. She said it was a token of friendship, hmph.”

Ophelia scoffed as she finished her sentence.

I picked up the brooch quietly; it was just some cheap trinket from a street vendor in the Cathedral Square.

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to keep it? It was a gift given sincerely by someone after all.”

“Why should I? I have better accessories than this piece of trash.”

“I’m not talking about material value.”

I sighed.

An unobservant brat who can’t even accept other people’s kindness.

That was my evaluation of Ophelia.

“If I were Emily Barried….”

“Why are you comparing yourself to her? If you combined your face with her personality, it’d be a true nightmare fusion.”

“If you keep this up, I’ll start nighttime training from now.”

At that, Ophelia sealed her lips.

It clearly worked well.

“Anyway, if I were Emily, I’d feel quite pleased seeing Ophelia wearing this brooch the next time we meet.”

“What does her happiness have to do with me?”

“She’d have a good impression of you.”

“Why should I care about making her think well of me?”

“There’s no reason to think badly of you.”

I let out a deep sigh.

Ophelia furrowed her brows, clearly perplexed.

“In the first place, it’s your fault! Why did you try to match me up with that strange girl!”

“Let’s stop talking about this.”

Well, it’s probably a problem that can be solved slowly.

Hopefully.

“So, what did you think of Emily Barried?”

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you find her a bit strange?”

“Strange? She’s been weird all day.”

“I don’t mean strange in that way, but rather, um, dark inside. Like she has some schemes.”

In the original story, Emily Barried was a really awful person.

In fact, if Ophelia and Emily were placed in the same scenario, they would make things particularly nasty for each other.

Was this the same as reality?

“Not really. That girl’s just a head full of flowers.”

“Is that so?”

I nodded thoughtfully.

No matter what, it seemed like the characters appearing in this world were somewhat different from their original personas.

Then, would the other characters be the same?

I needed to confirm.

“Oh, right.”

Ophelia turned around as if suddenly remembering something.

“Have I grown up in a blessed environment?”

“Why do you suddenly think that?”

“That airheaded girl said so. She envied me.”

“….”

Not saying anything, Ophelia continued her train of thought.

“I thought about it and I don’t think I’m wrong. Her family stinks and it’s gloomy over there. Monsters pop up during dull moments. Meanwhile, I haven’t had to deal with any of that, have I?”

“Hmm.”

After hesitating for a moment, I answered.

“Well, objectively speaking, that’s true. You’ve grown up in one of the best environments on the continent.”

“Is that so?”

“But if you think you aren’t, then you aren’t.”

Ophelia frowned.

I shrugged.

“Well, even the best environments might not feel good for the person living in them. It can be tough, you know? Everyone has their own troubles. You never know until you live through it.”

“I don’t really get it.”

“That’s because you’re still a kid.”

“Shut up, I’m already past adulthood!”

“This is what makes you seem like a kid.”

I chuckled softly.

Ophelia yelled at me, but I paid no mind.

Anyway, it looks like the Envoy Group will remain in the Cathedral until tomorrow.

With Emily’s personality, it seems beneficial to keep her paired with Ophelia in many ways.

What she needs is a friend of her age, after all.

―――Knock, knock, knock.

While I was thinking this, a knock sounded.

There hadn’t been any signs of anyone just a moment ago.

This meant it wasn’t Belwin or the servants. I instinctively tensed up.

“Go check who it is.”

Ophelia instructed with a scowl, and I opened the door to the chamber.

There stood a man I had never seen before.

“There you are, Knight Elliot.”

“…Who?”

“There’s no time for introductions.”

With that, I scrutinized the visitor’s appearance.

He seemed to be in his late thirties, with a dark beard and short black hair, wearing gray armor with a black cloak draped over it.

“What brings a Cathedral Knight to this place?”

A Cathedral Knight.

Unlike a mere Knight like me, he was an elite belonging to the Holy See. Essentially, he represented the Cathedral’s military strength. Each one was a monster at the level of the Empire’s Swordmasters.

In other words, he wasn’t my concern.

That’s why I asked.

He twitched his eyebrows in displeasure but didn’t pry further.

“Knight Elliot, you have been summoned by the Holy See.”

“Summoned, you say.”

“Ugh.”

Ophelia frowned.

She absolutely hated facing the Pope.

I pondered for a moment.

A summoning from the Holy See would likely mean that Evangelin had conveyed a letter from the Emperor.

They probably intended to discuss matters related to the Demon King’s Army.

I stepped aside from the doorway.

“It would be better for the Saint Lady to speak to you directly about such matters.”

When the Cathedral Knight’s eyes met Ophelia sitting on the bed, he nodded lightly.

Then he raised his head and looked straight at me, saying:

“It seems there’s some misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding are you talking about?”

“The Holy See has summoned not the Saint Lady, but you, Knight Elliot, specifically.”

At those words, I glanced at Ophelia, and…

She ground her teeth and shouted.

“What’s with that look! I didn’t do anything!”

“I haven’t even asked yet.”