Having passed the Saint Aptitude Test, Luna returns to the Saint Academy dormitory.
And right now——
“Ahhh……heaven, pure heaven……”
——she is soaking up to her shoulders in the bath, washing off the fatigue of the day.
“The bath at the Spedio house was nice, but this one’s pretty great too……”
As Luna melts away in the warm water, Ro’s voice drifts in from outside the bathroom.
“——Luna-sama, how is the temperature?”
“Perfect. I might just dissolve in here.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Saying this, Ro withdraws from the changing room.
“Civilization really has come a long way.”
Soaking in the warm water, Luna is moved by the wonders of modern convenience.
The ‘Washer’——a cylindrical rod packed with fire and water magic stones; run magical energy through it and warm water gushes from the tip, letting you wash your hair and body whenever you like.
The ‘Heater’——an iron ring fitted with a fire magic stone, installed across the bottom of the tub; run magical energy through it and you can raise the bath temperature freely, soaking in a wonderfully warm tub.
Three hundred years ago, none of this existed.
Washing your hair and body required fetching water from outside. Heating the bath meant loading firewood and building a fire.
“My, what a convenient age we live in……”
Luna murmurs this with genuine feeling and savors every moment of the warm bath.
After a while, she gets out of the tub, pats herself dry with a fluffy towel, changes into her nightwear, and has Ro dry her hair.
Right after the reincarnation, she had refused and said “I can dry my own hair!”——but Ro had stubbornly insisted “caring for your hair is a lady’s maid’s duty,” and since there was nothing to be done, Luna had let her comb it just once——and it had felt so unexpectedly good that she’d simply kept asking after that.
Ro blots the moisture from Luna’s hair gently with a soft towel and works through it carefully with a wooden comb.
“——Done.”
“Thanks as always.”
“Of course. It’s only natural.”
Bath finished, Luna pulls a glass bottle of fruit juice from the large rectangular box packed with ice magic stones——the ‘Fridge.’
“Hmm-hm-hmm-hm-hmm.”
Humming cheerfully, she pries the cap off with her fingernail and knocks back the ice-cold juice in one long pull.
“Haaah. Nothing beats the post-bath bottle, it’s just different!”
“Waf!”
Responding to her pleased master’s voice, Tama barks brightly.
“Alright Tama, let’s play!”
“Wan!”
After playing with Tama using a small toy ball, the three of them have dinner together.
As a side note——cooking and cleaning up are done on rotation.
Ro had said “I will handle everything myself,” but when Luna convinced her that “we live together, so we should share the housework!”——Ro had very, very reluctantly given in with “if that is what you wish, Luna-sama……”
Time ticks on, and midnight is nearly upon them.
“Yaaaawn……g’night, Ro.”
“Good night, Luna-sama.”
The two move to their respective beds and settle in for a proper rest ahead of tomorrow.
After the Saint Aptitude Test concludes, the Saint Academy temporarily shifts to morning classes only.
This is a measure out of consideration for the students’ physical condition, applied as a rule for roughly a week.
And today——the students who have overcome the grueling test are treated to a pleasant event: a field trip.
The destination is the Elgia Royal Museum, located in the outskirts of the capital.
Exhibiting rare and valuable pieces——historical artifacts, cultural crafts, artworks by celebrated painters——it is one of the foremost tourist attractions in the Kingdom of Elgia.
This museum has a colossal ‘main attraction’ that draws people from all over the world.
The name of the exhibit is the ‘Sacred Relics’——the ultimate treasure of human history, left behind by the legendary saint’s party.
Right now, the Saint Academy students gathered in front of the museum are seated by group a little to the side of the main entrance, so as not to inconvenience general visitors.
“Heh, I’m so excited about the museum tour!”
Luna says this, heart fluttering——and Ro and Sarko on either side of her smile gently.
“You really are, aren’t you. Luna was so wound up last night she couldn’t get to sleep for ages.”
“My, Luna is still quite the child, isn’t she.”
“H-hey, Ro, I said that was a secret! Sarko-san, please don’t laugh!”
Luna has grouped with the familiar Ro and her new friend Sarko.
As a side note——the reason Ro isn’t using honorifics is because Sarko is right nearby.
While the three of them are chatting away merrily, a crowd gripping holy crosses begins assembling at the museum’s main gate.
“——Come, everyone, let us offer our prayers to the Saint today as well!”
At the call of a man who appears to be their leader, every person gathered raises their voice to the bursting point.
“[Crowd]: Saint-sama……! Saint-sama……! Saint-sama……!”
They cry nothing but ‘Saint-sama,’ over and over, with extraordinary fervor.
What a passionate group.
“U-um……what are those people doing……?”
To Luna’s deeply disturbed question, it is Sarko——well-acquainted with the goings-on around the capital——who answers.
“Ahh……those are the Saint Church.”
“Saint Church?”
“A gathering of fanatics based in the capital who worship the Saint. Every day, at their designated hour, they offer prayers to the Saint like that.”
“That intensity, every single day!?”
“Yes. ……I shouldn’t say this too loudly, but it’s best not to get involved with the Saint Church. Their aggressive proselytizing is something else entirely.”
“I-I see, noted. (The Saint Church……a dangerously zealous group……)”
Luna’s wariness of the Saint Church goes up considerably.
While all of this is happening, Jurall finishes confirming attendance and clears his throat to get everyone’s attention.
“Students, today we will be conducting a field trip as an extracurricular activity. The Elgia Royal Museum receives many visitors not only from our own nation, but from neighboring countries such as the Empire, the Holy Nation, and the Spirit Nation as well. Please conduct yourselves with strict propriety so as not to diminish the dignity of the Kingdom of Elgia——is that understood?”
“[Students]: Yes.”
“You will have two hours of free time starting now——dismissed.”
Jurall claps his hands, and all of the students make their way toward the museum’s entrance gates.
“Ro, Sarko-san, let’s go!”
“Hey, you’re pulling too hard.”
“Heh, how energetic.”
Luna takes Ro and Sarko by the hand and heads inside.
“Whoooa……I don’t really know what most of this is, but there’s so much stuff that looks valuable.”
Looking all around, Luna makes her way to the first exhibit.
“Wow, what a beautiful painting……”
As she looks up at a gorgeous landscape painting on the wall, Sarko adds commentary from the side.
“That is a landscape painting titled ‘By the Shore of Lake Rawnes,’ painted by Dafud Ro Elgia, the fifth king of the Kingdom of Elgia. It is a masterwork painted by the bedridden King Dafud using a single index finger that could barely move, as he recalled a visit he and the queen had made to Lake Rawnes in their youth. The glittering surface of the beautiful lake, the lush green of the meadows, the unbroken blue sky——the rough yet delicate brushwork moves the heart of all who see it.”
She explains the exhibit smoothly, without a single pause.
“Sarko-san, you really know your stuff here, don’t you?”
“Wait, have you been here a few times before?”
To the questions from Luna and Ro, Sarko gives a small nod.
“Yes. When I was little, I would often beg my father to bring me here, again and again, so I know about nearly every exhibit.”
“That’s impressive!”
“So, could you do that introduction thing for more of them?”
“But of course——easy as breathing.”
Saying this, Sarko turns her attention to a nearby exhibit.
“This is the jet-black robe said to have been worn by the Demon King. The Demon King’s magical energy still remains within this robe, so it is displayed under multiple layers of powerful sealing magic.”
“Oh, that brings back memories. (Now that I think of it, the Demon King did wear something like this……)”
Luna makes this offhand comment——and simultaneously——
“[Both]: Brings back memories?”
Ro and Sarko’s voices overlap perfectly.
“Uh, ah, well……”
Realizing she has said something catastrophically careless, Luna puts her excellent saint brain to work at full power to find a way out of the predicament.
The result——
“You know, it’s nostalgic! Didn’t this kind of black robe used to be really fashionable? Right!?”
——no brilliant plan comes to mind, and she attempts a forceful frontal charge.
“Hmm, did it? I can’t remember anything that tacky being in fashion.”
“Nothing of the sort was happening in my social circles.”
“R-really……? Huh, that’s weird, maybe I’m remembering wrong?”
The two of them look at the visibly flustered Luna, and——
“Eh, Luna being odd is pretty par for the course.”
“Yes, that is true.”
——without any particular suspicion, move on to the next exhibit.
Luna has escaped successfully——but.
(Wait, am I……really that odd……?)
Her feelings on the matter are quite complicated.
After that, making their way around various exhibits, they spot a large crowd gathered in a particular hall.
“There’s a lot of people over there. I wonder what they’re all looking at?”
“Hmm? Oh——that looks like the Sacred Relics.”
“One of the museum’s main attractions. Let’s go.”
The three head straight over——and there they find three large glass cases lined up, with items believed to be Sacred Relics displayed inside.
Being the museum’s headline attraction, security guards line the area and keep a sharp watch.
Standing boards near the exhibits describe the Sacred Relics in minute detail, and a woman who appears to be a guide is delivering an explanation.
“This is said to be the dagger used by Zel, the great swordsman and member of the legendary saint’s party. It is said that he cut down many a demon with this small knife.”
Listening to the fluent commentary, Luna marvels inwardly.
(That’s the one, that’s the one! He used to cut vegetables and butcher meat with that all the time! Heh……Zel’s cooking. What memories……)
Other Sacred Relics on display include the blanket of the great mage Shasha and the hat of the high priest Fiona, among others.
Looking at them, Luna lets herself be pulled back into memories of three hundred years ago.
(The legendary saint’s party……. Everyone’s gone now)
The saint’s party was humanity’s most powerful mercenary force, gathered from across the world to defeat the Demon King.
A gathering of people with wounds in their hearts——all of them having suffered in various ways precisely because each had grown too powerful.
They were a terribly difficult party, and the time they spent active together was less than a year——and yet the time she spent with them was something Luna could honestly call ‘fun,’ without a word of a lie.
Swordsman Zel, mage Shasha, priest Fiona——gazing at the mementos of her former comrades while listening to the guide’s commentary, Luna notices something strange.
(……It’s missing.)
Zel, Shasha, Fiona——everyone’s names are properly written on the standing boards. The phrase ‘the Saint’ appears everywhere. But her own name is nowhere.
The proper noun ‘Luna’ has been scrubbed from existence, to a degree that is almost conspicuous.
(Hmm……why would that be?)
Puzzled, Luna tries asking Ro and Sarko.
“By the way……what is the Saint’s name?”
It is Sarko who answers.
“That is……unfortunately, something no one knows.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Saint’s name and deeds have been almost entirely erased. By the worst stain on human history……the abominable ‘Saint Eradication Movement’……!”
“The Saint Eradication……Movement?”
Luna tilts her head at the unfamiliar term, and Sarko explains carefully.
“The Saint Eradication Movement was the most terrible of events, occurring after the Saint’s execution. The foolish humans who had heaped all blame onto the Saint declared her entirely ‘evil,’ and in order to erase every trace of her having existed in this world, they attacked her former home and places associated with her——burying her from history.”
“That’s……that actually happened……”
“More importantly, Luna……how on earth did you pass the written examination without knowing that? The Saint’s execution and the Saint Eradication Movement that followed are part of the preparatory school curriculum.”
“Ugh!? W-well, that’s……”
As Luna struggles to explain herself, a helping hand is extended from the side.
“Actually, this one got run over by a carriage not too long ago, and it did a bit of a number on her head.”
“Oh, is that so. Now that you mention it……she did say something strange when she saw the Demon King’s robe, and there are moments in everyday life where I think ‘hm?’ too.”
“It’ll probably settle down after a little more time, so just bear with her.”
“I see. Of course.”
Having brilliantly rescued her master from the predicament, Ro discreetly gives Luna a thumbs-up.
(I’ve covered for you, Luna-sama)
(Honestly, Ro, you brat……!)
Having finished viewing the Sacred Relics of the legendary saint’s party, the three of them make their way to the gift shop attached to the museum.
“Oh, this is cute!”
Luna says this and picks up a small piglet cushion.
“Hmm, really? It’s kind of ugly, isn’t it?”
“This is……actually quite acceptable!”
“Right!? I knew it!”
“Are you serious?”
Shopping and bickering, the three of them look like perfectly ordinary girls.
Luna has been smiling a lot lately.
Someone who didn’t know her past might wonder, “she’s just living a normal life, so why does she look like she’s having so much fun?”
But for Luna——who had borne the weight of being the Saint for years upon years and done nothing but fight on the front lines——this peaceful, ordinary everyday life was unbearably enjoyable.
Going to school with friends and sitting through lessons. Getting worked up over nothing in particular during break. Taking the occasional trip on a day off. Pages from an everyday life that could belong to anyone——and she found it all hopelessly, helplessly happy.
After their brief shopping stop, the three resume the museum tour——and finally make their way to the last exhibit.
It is a national treasure of the Kingdom of Elgia, and one of the most famous books in the world.
The Saint’s book of prophecy, commonly known as the ‘Red Book.’
Every visitor here has come to this museum to catch a glimpse of the Saint’s book of prophecy.
“That is one of the ‘Seven Books of Prophecy’ left by the Saint——the ‘Red Book.'”
Where Sarko points is an enormous crowd.
(The Saint’s book of prophecy……I keep hearing that phrase everywhere……)
Luna, the author in question, has no memory of writing any such thing.
“The Saint’s books of prophecy are the national treasure of all national treasures. Naturally, what is displayed here is a copy. The originals are kept under strict security in the innermost part of the kingdom and are still being deciphered to this day.”
“They’re treated as the kingdom’s top-secret information. Apparently the copies publicly displayed are only a small portion of the original that’s been decoded?”
“Oh, I see.”
Listening to Sarko and Ro’s commentary, they join the waiting line for the Red Book.
The Red Book draws such a large number of visitors that it is housed in its own dedicated hall, and to enter it you must join the waiting line and wait your turn.
Groups of about a hundred people enter the hall every ten minutes, viewing the Red Book while listening to a guide’s commentary——this process repeats many times throughout the day.
Luna, Ro, and Sarko join the line and chat while they wait——until at last their turn comes.
“——Next group, please come this way.”
At the guide’s signal, the group that includes Luna and the others moves all at once.
The Red Book is housed in the center of a large dedicated hall, inside a triple glass case.
It is less a ‘book’ and more a collection of ‘pages’——eighteen loose pages in total, arranged neatly in two rows of nine. The original is in proper book form, but since this is a copy, the pages have been intentionally separated and laid out to make viewing easier for visitors.
“Oh wow, so this is the famous Red Book……!”
“The book of hope the Saint left for humanity……!”
“A dream come true……! I wanted to see this with my own eyes, even just once before I died……!”
While the other visitors grow increasingly excited——
“……You’re……kidding……”
Luna alone stands frozen, staring blankly.
Stunned with disbelief.
Doubting her own eyes.
Struck speechless.
Which makes perfect sense, because——
(M-my cringeworthy past is……being displayed for the whole world to see……!?)
What is on exhibit is a piece of personal fiction Luna had written three hundred years ago.
A sweet, slightly naughty love story about a saint protagonist who is adored by a white-horsed prince.
The Red Book on display has its own dedicated guide, who launches into commentary in a clear and pleasant voice.
“Please direct your attention first to line three of page five of the Red Book. ‘Ohh, you mustn’t, Your Highness……!’ This is a scene in which the Saint, residing at court, is approached amorously by Third Prince Bas Senchuri. Third Prince corresponds to ‘three’; senchuri means ‘century,’ or a hundred years; bas means ‘revival.’ Connecting these together gives us the prophecy: ‘the Saint will revive after three hundred years.’ Further attention should be paid to line twelve of page eight——”
(Please, please just stop……!)
Luna, red to the tips of her ears, covers her face with both hands.
Her life points had hit zero a very long time ago——but the guide, thoroughly unconcerned with that, carries on with relentless enthusiasm.
This is an overkill of extraordinary proportions.
(H-how can anyone do something this merciless……. Humanity really is a crystallization of evil. Creatures with karma this deep can’t be saved……!)
Luna is powerfully reminded that her past self had been correct to judge humanity harshly and lose faith in it.
(……No matter what it takes, I absolutely must destroy this embarrassment……)
Luna makes a solemn vow deep in her heart: to eliminate the national treasure of the Kingdom of Elgia——her own dark history, laid bare for all the world to see.