Chapter 178: 97.2

“Are you really going to be okay without an escort? Of course, no ungodly person would dare to harm the Saintess candidate, but just in case…”

“It’s really fine. I can defend myself.”

Ophelia pointed at the mace slung around her waist. Seeing the heavy mace, the priest swallowed his saliva. He had seen her lift and sway it like a child toy moments ago.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s right. I guess I’m worried about nothing. Then please be careful.”

Leaving behind the priest to focus on his work, Ophelia left the church. It wasn’t until she had left the church building and its premises that Ophelia dropped her smile.

‘I’m tired.’

It took her over a week just to get permission to go out. They had been insistent on getting her a host of escorts, but somehow she had managed to convince them out of it.

‘I can’t get used to it.’

It wasn’t to this extent in her childhood.

They had no reason to care so much about her, as she used to be only a little nun. However, after she became a saintess candidate, everything was different. The church tried to monitor her every move.

Even now.

They thought she wouldn’t perceive the two people they had employed to tail her?

‘This never happens when I’m with hero.’

Without him, it immediately took a similar turn.

‘A saintess candidate… it would have been better if I hadn’t been one.’

She sighed and moved on. After a while of strolling, the place she arrived at was a shabby inn. There was only one guest at the inn, and the one she was looking for.

“You are eating.”

Ophelia approached Eri, who was stuffing sausages into her mouth at a table in the corner of the inn. Even though she came pretty close, she just mechanically ate the sausages.

“Eri?”

“Whoops! O, Ophelia? What a surprise! You suddenly popped out of nowhere! Definitely surprised me!”

Eri lowered the staff she had, by reflex, aimed forward.

“I came over calling you, Eri. You didn’t hear me.”

“…was it? Sorry. I’m not so observing these days.”

“It’s because you don’t take proper sleep.”

Eri’s eyes were dark, and her skin was flaky. There was no vigor to be found in her eyes. It was the result of staying up all night for several days straight.

“It can’t be helped. Sooner or later, the research will be completed. How to sleep in such a situation? If I sleep, I’m disqualified as a wizard.”

Saying that, Eri stood up from the table, as she crammed the rest of the sausage into her mouth roughly.

“I have to continue the rest of my research, so I’ll be going upstairs.”

Eri headed for the stairs as Ophelia looked at her back with concerned gaze.

“Please get some sleep at night. You’ll otherwise break yourself.”

“Worry more about Neria than me. I only expend my mind, but she? She expends her body, right?”

Eri shrugged her shoulders and climbed the stairs. Ophelia looked for a moment at the stairs as Eri climbed, then she sighed and left the inn.

“That’s right… Neria’s situation is more precarious…”

After she left the inn, Ophelia headed for the royal arena. Inside the arena, numerous knights were honing their skills, and Neria was one of them.

“Ha!”

One of the knights slammed her sword down at Neria, perpendicular to her. Neria parried off the sword with her shield, and she immediately turned around to dodge another.

Block and avoid, block and avoid.

She seemed busy enough with that repeating motion.

That was also true, for she was sparring with eight people at the same time.

Not just eight ordinary soldiers, but eight knights.

‘She didn’t do this at first.’

Neria couldn’t deal with eight knights at the same time from the beginning. She sparred with one by one and when she defeated them all, she started sparring with two at the same time.

As it continued, she reached a level where she could deal with eight knights at the same time.

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It was clear that she had grown to this extent in a little over half a year, which was great. But it was also clear that she was overdoing it.

Because of her big and small injuries, she visited church almost every day, and when her injuries were serious, she even came to visit Ophelia herself.

That made Ophelia more concerned than proud of her.

“OMG!”

Neria pushed the last of the knights with her shield and hit her helmet with a wooden sword. Neria, who had passed her ordeal of defeating eight knights, flopped down tired.

As she stared at the floor and breathed heavily, a white handkerchief appeared in front of her eyes.

Knowing who the owner of the handkerchief was, Neria smiled.

“When did you come?”

“A little while ago. You’re doing great. It’s really spectacular to compete with eight people at the same time and win.”

“Thanks.”

Neria wiped the sweat with the handkerchief handed to her. Ophelia watched the scene and cautiously opened her mouth.

“At least now, hero will think you’re great enough.”

The hand that was wiping the sweat froze. The expression on her hardened face soon loosened up again. Neria smiled bitterly.

“…maybe so.”

“Well? Hero must be…”

“But maybe not. He might even think that I am not good enough.”

“Neria, hero didn’t leave you alone because he thought you were lacking.”

“…”

Neria didn’t answer. She just silently wiped off the sweat. Ophelia felt tight in her chest. The same was with Eri as was with Neria. Everyone thought that the reason Cloud left was because of their lack of ability, so they pushed themselves endlessly.

‘They are holding on somehow…’

But if they keep doing this, sooner or later, they will break.

‘I have to stop it.’

She had to somehow put some leeway back in the hearts of the two of them.

Just when Ophelia was choosing the words to persuade Neria in her head.

– Pound!

Suddenly, her chest tightened strongly.

An eerie sensation spread through her body, and cold sweat drenched her back.

Ophelia slowly turned her head.

Palace.

An evil aura was flowing from within the palace. An aura strong enough to weigh down her sainthood candidature. Even that was being suppressed and overpowered.

And it felt like that suppressed energy would explode soon.

Her lips trembled slightly.

“Oh my…”

“Ophelia?”

“Run away! Everyone, get out of the palace right now!!!”

Having said that, Ophelia grabbed Neria by wrist and started running. She could feel the commotion behind her back, but she didn’t have time to pay attention to the chaos. She couldn’t even answer Neria’s question why she was doing what she was.

She just kept running.

The moment they finally got out of the palace proper.

– Crumble!

The palace collapsed, revealing a huge monster with numerous tentacles.

An evil aura enveloped the entire city, and dark clouds covered the sun.

Lupus, the capital of the Kingdom of Prona and a city teeming with life.

There, the apostle of the end had arrived.

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