Chapter 300 : Side Story (2)
Chapter 300: Side Story (2)
The next place Lian headed to was none other than the Cathedral.
Most of the people he knew had come to visit him when he came back to life….
No—perhaps it would be more accurate to say when he woke from a near-death state.
Putting that aside, the truth was that most of the people who had formed a connection with Lian had visited him while he lay in his hospital bed.
Cecilia, Yuran, and Allen, of course, and also Professor Windy May, Yeriel, Deiare, and Sister Roberta.
The siblings Behad and Mercedes.
Velita, along with Anette and Tesrad who followed her.
Even Dragons such as Amaruah, Menoruka, and Junongren….
Among all those people, there was only one person who had never visited his hospital room.
Berenistella.
‘No, if I’m being precise… Arpentia too. That makes two people.’
Even so, meeting them again here at the Academy and personally visiting them to exchange greetings carried a different meaning.
That was why Lian had decided to personally visit, one by one, the people who had come to see him while he was bedridden.
“…….”
…Since that day, however, he had not been able to meet Berenistella even once.
No—he hadn’t even been able to exchange a single word with her.
It wasn’t that something had happened to her.
Judging from what he had heard from others….
Nine times out of ten, she was hiding herself because she felt guilty about the fact that Lian had sacrificed himself and died.
In fact, she had even said that if the situation had allowed it, she would have erased every memory and trace related to herself from Lian’s mind.
And recalling the personality she had shown while they lived together, it was certain she was avoiding him because she felt she had no right to face him.
‘…And yet she called me the troublesome one.’
Lian let out a small sigh.
Lost in thought as he walked, he soon found himself standing right in front of the Cathedral.
“Sister.”
After entering the Cathedral, Lian gently called out to the woman who, as always, was keeping watch over the place.
At his call, the woman who had been carefully cleaning inside the Cathedral raised her head.
“Oh my goodness…! Lian!”
Sister Roberta approached him in surprise.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but the wrinkles on her face seemed to have deepened a little.
“Is your body alright now?”
“Thanks to your concern, I’ve recovered a lot.”
“Really? You’re not overexerting yourself, are you?”
Lian gave a small smile at her worried question.
“Anywhere else would be one thing, but I can’t lie inside a Cathedral.”
This wasn’t empty politeness—it was the truth.
When he had first opened his eyes, not a shred of strength remained in his body.
For a time, he had even wondered if—like Berenistella, his mentor—he had lost all his power as the price of being revived.
‘Thanks to that, I almost really died trapped inside a stone coffin.’
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—that fear had been unfounded.
Lian’s power was intact.
It simply took a long time to recover now.
Much longer than before.
“So that’s a relief….”
Sister Roberta let out a small sigh, seemingly reassured by Lian’s confidence.
She was one of the few people who knew the truth of that day….
In other words, the shame of the Holy Sun Church.
She also knew Lancia’s true identity, and was someone whose influence reached even the higher ranks along with the Agents.
…Yes, Lancia.
In truth, the reason Lian had come to the Cathedral first wasn’t simply because it was nearby.
It was because of Lancia.
The last thing he remembered about her was how the faith that had supported her entire life had collapsed completely.
Because of that, among all the people he had left behind, Lancia was the one he had worried about the most.
‘…Even when she came to visit me, she just stared silently and left.’
Lian glanced around and asked,
“Lanci… no, Senior Jintia?”
“She’s the same as always.”
Sister Roberta gave a bitter smile.
“It’s been a long time since she came to the Cathedral, so I don’t really know.”
“…….”
He had expected it, but it seemed worse than he thought.
He knew she had quit working as an Agent, but he hadn’t imagined she had also stopped coming to the Cathedral entirely.
“But she’s definitely somewhere nearby. …I sometimes meet her and exchange greetings.”
Sigh.
Sister Roberta murmured softly,
“Though we’ve never spoken beyond that.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
Just as Lian finished thanking her and turned to leave, Sister Roberta spoke again.
“Please, Lian. I couldn’t find the words to comfort that child’s heart. I hope you’ll be different from me.”
“…I’ll try.”
When Lian stepped outside, he didn’t need to search for Lancia.
“Ah.”
Because Lancia was waiting for him right outside the Cathedral.
“Senior.”
“…….”
Lancia slightly lowered her head in response to his call.
She looked at Lian and spoke.
“…If you don’t mind, would you walk with me for a bit?”
“Yes, of course.”
Lian also wished to speak with her.
The two of them immediately headed toward the small park beside the Cathedral.
Just like last year, even though the Academy was bustling with new students, this place remained eerily quiet and deserted.
“…How have you been lately?”
After walking in silence for a while, Lian cautiously opened his mouth.
When they had first met, she had been visibly shaken, burdened with painful turmoil.
But over the past year, had she found some sort of answer for herself?
At the very least, the Lancia before him now looked far calmer on the surface.
“I’ve been living as usual.”
Lancia replied calmly.
“I practice swordsmanship, diligently follow the Academy’s schedule, and learn and experience many things that I couldn’t… no, didn’t do when I was an Agent.”
“I see.”
“And prayer as well.”
She continued.
“I haven’t neglected it. …After all, it was part of my life.”
“…….”
Lian fell silent.
He had a feeling that her words shouldn’t be answered lightly.
“It’s just that now… even I’m not sure what those prayers are directed toward.”
“…May I ask what you’re praying for?”
“In the past, I prayed that my faith in Ilionel would never waver. And that my desire for revenge would never fade.”
After a brief pause, Lancia continued.
“But now… I simply pray for peaceful days. And for the well-being of those around me.”
Her voice was perfectly calm.
Yet Lian could easily sense what lay beneath that calm… the shattered remains of a once-unshakeable belief.
“If you intend to apologize, please don’t.”
Lancia spoke first, as if preemptively cutting him off.
Just as he had expected.
Rather, she began by saying that she should be the one apologizing.
“…Saying I didn’t intend it may be meaningless, but because of me, you nearly lost your life, Lian. And you were dragged into a filthy scheme and a massive vortex of events.”
She shook her head.
“No—if it had been anyone other than you, they would certainly have died. That is why it is even more my responsibility to apologize to you.”
“……?”
Lian tilted his head slightly.
Something about what Lancia had just said felt subtly off.
But he brushed it aside as his imagination and spoke.
“…Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that I deceived you. I even swore it was the truth.”
“If it was something you did, Lian, there must have been a reason worthy of it. Ordinary people cannot understand great purposes.”
Lancia answered firmly, without the slightest doubt.
“After all, didn’t you save the world? Someone like me… could never accomplish even a fraction of what you achieved.”
With a faint, empty smile, she murmured,
“If only someone like you had existed in my village… no, even someone one-thousandth or one-ten-thousandth like you.”
“…Senior.”
“Yes? What is it, Lian?”
Lian finally couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“Why do you keep addressing me with honorifics?”
“That’s because you deserve respect, Lian.”
Lancia answered in an utterly serious tone.
“I’ve heard enough fragments of the story. For the sake of the world… you cast aside your life without the slightest hesitation. That is something no ordinary person could do. It is an act worthy of being placed among the ranks of saints.”
As she said that, her expression twisted slightly.
“…And yet the high-ranking figures who pretend not to know, trying to bury the matter out of fear that their shame will be revealed—I feel nothing but disgust toward them. They say the world and the continent would fall into chaos… Ha! Their excuses were quite convincing.”
She continued without pause.
“To return to the point, long ago, the Saintess willingly plunged a dagger into her own heart in a Self-Sacrifice Ritual. You performed the same act and saved the world just as she did. How could I possibly treat you casually or speak down to you? If anything, it is embarrassing that this is the only way I can express my feelings.”
“…….”
Lian fell silent.
…What in the world had happened during the time they hadn’t met?
‘Wait….’
Now that he looked closely, Lancia’s eyes were shining with unmistakable admiration as she looked at him.
“Ah! I must have said something that made you misunderstand, Lian.”
Perhaps interpreting his silence differently, Lancia waved her hands lightly.
“I only respect and admire you, Lian. I have no intention of worshipping you as an idol like the heretics people speak of. So please don’t worry.”
She added quickly,
“You know how many followers of the Holy Sun Church call upon the name of the Saintess rather than Ilionel? Some even invoke the names of other saints. Please think of it in that same context.”
“…So you’re saying.”
Gulp.
Without realizing it, Lian swallowed dryly and spoke carefully.
The Lancia Jintia he knew had been a devout believer of the Holy Sun Church, someone who constantly spoke of her faith in Ilionel.
She had never proclaimed such devotion even toward the Saintess.
But now…
“…Senior Lancia, are you saying that person is me?”
“Yes.”
Lancia nodded.
Her expression was firm, as if asking whether that was a problem.
“You… Lian, you yourself are the very faith I searched for my entire life.”
“…….”
Lian suddenly felt dizzy.