Chapter 297


    PR/N: ''Pdins'' will be referred to from now on in lower case (i.e. ''pdins''). There was a misunderstanding in previous chapters that the pdins were a single, elite task force.


    In front of the Gate of Divinity.


    The Efnel students who hadpleted their dispatch missions in the neutral area were lined up to return to the Holy Federation.


    Rete and Lilte were also waiting for their turn.


    "My group was pretty lucky in a lot of ways, huh?"


    Happily said Lilte.


    Normally, their dispatch scores would be greatly reduced as they lost a head-to-head encounter with Kizen students.


    However, since their conductor, Figaro, had caused a terrible disaster in the neutral area, Efnel ended uppletely denying their rtionship with him.


    Of course, Lilte and her group were given a gag order. Rete herself also informed them they should watch their mouths.“Anyhow, I learned a lot by descending to the ground! Even if we are big fish, I guess we''re in an even bigger pond? I’ll hone my belief to not lose to those necromancers next ti— Sister Rete! Are you listening?”


    Lilte turned to face her.


    Rete''s cheeks and forehead were bright red, and she was faintly panting while beads of cold sweat formed across her skin.


    Lilte put her hand on Rete''s forehead.


    "Wah! Your forehead feels like a fireball! Are you alright?"


    "I''m fine."


    Rete tried her best to reply before staggering forward in the line.


    "No, you don''t seem fine at all! Did you eat something bad? Or get infected by something from the neutral area? Should I cast some healing magic on you?"


    “…It''s nothing like that."


    "Let me assist you!"


    "I said I''m fine!"


    While the two squabbled, the people ahead of them in line were all done, and it was already their turn.


    Alongside other Efnel students, they walked through the Gate of Divinity and returned to the Holy Federation.


    "?!"


    And as soon as they passed through the gate, they were greeted by an incredible sight.


    An armed group, all equipped with swords and shields and wearing full te armor, were waiting on the other side.


    ''P-Pdins?''


    The other Efnel students also looked around in confusion at the sudden appearance of these armed men.


    "Rete Sardegna."


    A man in an unusually ornate suit of armor stepped forward.


    "You''re under suspicion of interfering with the administration of the Holy Federation."


    <em>mor!</em>


    "Do you admit to preemptively attacking pdins who were carrying out the Federation''s orders?"


    However, Rete was too busy gasping for breath, her face only getting redder and redder with blood, to hear the man’s words.


    The pdin frowned, assuming she was exercising her right to remain silent.


    "Looks like it''s a waste of time to keep asking questions here. Take her away."


    Two of the pdins approached with golden chains to bind Rete, but she still didn''t budge, only gasping for air.


    "W-Wait a minute!"


    Lilte quickly stepped in front of Rete with outstretched arms.


    "Rete''s condition isn''t good enough for interrogation right now! Please do this once she recovers her h—!"


    "Do you really think such ame excuse will work?"


    "The orders were given to bring her right away. Even if she''s an Efnel student, it can''t be helped until her innocence is proven.”


    The pdins moved closer in spite of Lilte’s attempts to hold them back.


    "Move out of the way!"


    "Never! I''ll never get out of the way!"


    In the end, a pdin pushed Lilte''s shoulder and knocked her to the ground.


    A fire lit up in Lilte''s eyes as shended on her butt.


    "Sisters, what are you doing?!"


    She looked back while shouting at the top of her lungs,


    "Are you just going to stand there and let those bastards take Sister Rete?!"


    As soon as those words left Lilte’s mouth…


    <em>Whooooooooosh!</em>


    Within seconds, the whole pace was glowing with divinity. The Efnel students standing around the Gate of Divinity began to show their fighting spirit.


    The pdins approaching Rete flinched and stopped.


    "Get out of here!"


    "Who do you think you are to arrest a student of Efnel?"


    "Interfering with administration? Rete Sardegna did?"


    The pdins broke out in a sweat as the once-silent students suddenly raised their voices in unison.


    "P-Please calm down!"


    "She hasn''t been found guilty yet. She''s still under investigation…!"


    The students didn''t back down.


    "Get lost!"


    "You do realize doing this in front of the Gate of Divinity is some, right?"


    "That''s right! If you''re that confident,e to the Sky Ind and go through the formal processes to take her away!"


    Although Rete had a rather cold demeanor and violent tendencies, she was still the top student of the first-year students in Efnel. She was admired and envied by all.


    Above all, her huge divinity that was as wide as the sea was basically proof of her faith.


    It was only natural that those who felt they belonged in Efnel wouldn''t allow an outsider to steal the school''s best student.


    "Th-This is an interference of a legitimate investigation."


    "Legitimate? This is nothing more than sphemy!"


    As the tension between the students of Efnel and the pdins reached its limit…


    "Move aside."


    An overwhelming voice silenced the entire protest with just two words.


    The source of the voice was a man in mythril armor and a blue cloak. Beside him was a drake, a creature often considered to be the ultimate flying divine beast.


    “…Arch Pdin!"


    Working along with the inquisitors, the pdins were one of the main forces of the Holy Federation.


    In particr, the Arch-Pdins'' skills were so far above other pdins that they found it offensive to use the same title. Only graduates of Efnel were eligible to be Arch Pdins.


    In other words, they were the direct seniors of the Efnel students.


    "I said, move aside."


    <em>Roooooaaaaaar!</em>


    An almost magical fear filled the students'' faces.


    In the meantime, the Arch Pdin strode over, pushing Lilte aside to stand in front of Rete.


    "You must be out of your mind as a saintess candidate."


    A fierceness shed through his eyes.


    "We''ll discuss the details inside."


    Even though his bloodthirsty gaze was aimed directly at Rete, she still didn''t seem to be listening.


    Perhaps she didn''t even have the strength to answer, since she was now sprawled on the ground, gasping for air. Her face and forehead were burning up with a fever, and her breathing only grew rougher.


    “…u…n."


    "What?"


    Her white hair flowed down, and she looked skyward.


    "I… said… ru…n!"


    <em>Fwoooooooooooooooooosh!</em>


    Suddenly, a huge me erupted from Rete''s body, forcing the Arch Pdin to stagger back in fright.


    The me rose with enough force that it seemed to reach the sky, illuminating everything in sight.


    Somewhere in this process, Rete''s body was engulfed in the mes, and she could no longer be seen.


    "S-Sister Reteeeee!"


    Lilte reached out toward her close friend, crying, but the others rushed out to hold her back.


    "Let me go! She''s my roommate!"


    "If you go, you''re gonna die too, sister!"


    Rete''s sudden self-immtion was something no one had expected.


    While everyone was staring at the zing fire in disbelief, the Arch Pdin''s lips were quivering.


    ''Don''t tell me, this is…’


    The color of the mes surrounding Rete began to shift from orange, to blue, to a pure white.


    <em>Fwoosh!</em>


    And, as if the pir of fire had never even existed, the mes vanished.


    Rete stood in ce with her right palm covering her forehead and eyes.


    In that thick silence, the Arch Pdin approached her with a rigid expression and reached out.


    "Hey, are you alri—"


    Then, Rete''s voice echoed through the air.


    [Don''t touch me.]


    She swung her arm out as if meaning to swat away the pdin''s hand. The sky shed, and a path opened up in the clouds.


    "Wh-What''s that?!"


    "<em>Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!</em>"


    Aet swooped down from out of nowhere and hit the ground in the direction where Rete had swung her arm.


    <em>Rrrrrrrrrrrrumble!</em>


    A fountain of divinity rose as tall as a mountain.


    From the tremendous aftermath, surrounding crates and carriages were blown away. All the pdins and students around them were forced to crouch down or eveny t against the ground or else get blown away.


    ''<em>Kugh!</em>''


    The Arch Pdin also held on by crouching and looked up.


    There was a jaw-droppingly huge pit where theet had just fallen.


    The terrain had changed.


    ''The order was to capture her by any means necessary. But at this rate…!''


    Within just a few minutes, the target had grown far beyond their power.


    <em>Thud!</em>


    The Arch Pdin dropped to one knee in front of Rete and ced his sword on the ground.


    “…Miraculum daea."


    All the pdins fell to their knees in response to that Arch Pdin’s action.


    "Miraculum daea! Greetings to the goddess'' closest daughter!!"


    An uproar broke out.


    Employees in charge of inspecting jobs at the gate of divinity, merchants, and administrators. And even the Efnel students, who were at a loss, started kneeling down one by one. So did the Efnel staff who came to handle the situation, and…


    "S-Sister Rete…"


    And even her friend Lilte knelt before her. Everyone bowed low in worship.


    "Greetings to the goddess'' closest daughter!"


    <em>Woooooosh!</em>


    A wind blew.


    Divinity drew itself into a ring above Rete, her white hair grew in length and turned even paler, and a cloak of white mes draped itself around her shoulders.


    Divinity crackled and sshed as she moved.


    She swept her bangs back and stared straight ahead.


    Although faint, a star-like pattern formed in her pupils.


    ''Finally…''


    Rete realized after watching the people prostrate themselves in worship.


    ''We''re standing at the same level, Simon.''


    It was the moment when the next owner of the ''Essence of Purification'' had been decided.


    * * *


    * * *


    The town of Libito; the neutral area.


    A man with tattoos all over his body was running as he gasped for air.


    “Damn it! Damn it! Damn iiit!!”


    He shouted while sobbing.


    "Please stop chasing me!"


    Above the fleeing man, Simon was jumping rooftop to rooftop as he closed the distance.


    Simon''s eyes moved quickly, examining the nearby terrain. He saw that there was a long pole attached to the side of a shop’s roof with a sign hanging from it. Simon pulled his Cloud out like a string, connected it to the pole, and jumped down.


    <em>Swiiiiiiiish!</em>


    As Simon came down with the string, he kicked the fleeing man in the back with both feet.


    "<em>Urrrk!</em>"


    The man flew several meters before rolling on the ground. After making an effortlessnding, Simon approached him and cuffed him.


    ''Seems like the clean up ising to an end.''


    "Simon~!"


    From the alleyway of the town, Camibarez was walking toward Simon with a beaming smile.


    "Ah, Cami! Did you catch a lo— Woah!"


    Behind her were five gang members trapped in floating blood bubbles.


    She smiled further and pped her hands.


    "Yep! I caught a bunch of them, Simon!"


    As the mission to wipe out the Sentinels went on, Camibarez had be the Sentinels'' nightmare.


    The gang members trembled in fear at the sight of her and couldn''t even dare to make eye contact.


    "You shouldn''t say mean things!"


    Perhaps she had heard someone say something strange, since she reached out and caused the blood bubbles to rapidly oscite, flinging themselves up and down.


    The gang members inside were tossed around inside the tight blood bubbles, getting bashed and bruised with every oscition.


    After quieting them, Camibarez turned back to Simon with a smile.


    "They''re the ones who made Sasha suffer, so I''m going to put all my effort into catching them!"


    “…Cami, you''re pretty scary when you''re angry, huh?"


    The Sentinels wereposed of multiple, small local gangs, so it was difficult to wipe them outpletely. However, they had been weakened to the point of near destruction since the arrival of Group 7.


    The executives had all been jailed, and all that remained were just remnants. It had served to greatly improve Kizen’s reputation in the neutral area.


    Simon stood up, leaving his captured gang member to Camibarez.


    "Newspapers here! Get your newspapers!"


    Just then, a vendor with a tattered bag full of newspapers caught Simon''s attention.


    Agent ke would buy them at least once a day.


    Growing curious about what the neutral area’s newspaper was like, Simon walked up to the vendor and paid a silver coin for a copy.


    "Ah…!"


    Simon''s eyes widened as soon as he opened the newspaper.


    <em>New Saintess Appears!</em>


    The news of a new Saintess had shaken the entire continent.


    The picture in the newspaper showed a girl with a very familiar face. She was waving to some other people in the picture with a face full of exhaustion.


    ''So, you''re the one who was chosen, Rete.''


    Simon''s eyes read the newspaper’s headline.


    <em>Rete Sardegna, Saintess of the Stars.</em>


    ——