Five minutes before the magic beasts appeared in the imperial capital——
“Everyone……is gone.”
The Saint was lost.
She had been distracted by a villainess novel on sale at a stall, and thought she’d just have a little peek inside——and by the time she noticed, she was standing entirely alone.
“Hahhh, honestly……Ro and the others are hopeless. I take my eyes off them for one second and they go and get lost.”
She has not yet noticed.
That she herself is the one who is lost.
“Well, I’d better go find the troublemakers.”
Luna gives a ‘good grief’ sort of shrug and sets off walking down the road.
When this sort of thing happens, the conventional wisdom is that lost people should not wander aimlessly——but.
With no awareness that she herself is the lost party, the Saint proceeds dauntlessly through completely unfamiliar streets.
“Ro? Sarko-san? Wendy-san? Where are you?”
She calls out their names as she walks, but no sign of them, shadow or shape, is anywhere to be found.
After walking for a while, she notices something off.
“……Huh? Come to think of it, didn’t I pass this spot earlier……?”
Having wandered without aim, Luna has come around in a loop and arrived right back where she started.
(Could it be……that I’m currently under some kind of magical attack!?)
Of course she is not under any such attack.
She will never admit it herself, but she has an absolutely catastrophic sense of direction.
At the Saint Aptitude Test held previously, she had managed to carry the unconscious Sarko and climb out of the Valley of Death——that part was fine. But after that, she had no idea how to get out of the Miasma Forest, wandered around and around the same-looking places, and ended up exceeding the time limit. That is her record.
“……Could it be that I’m the one who’s lost……?”
She is finally touching the edge of the truth——but Luna’s small pride fights desperately against it.
(N-no no no no……. That can’t be……right? I’m the Saint. I’m fifteen years old. There’s no way I could get——)
While she is occupied with self-justification and escape from reality, something ‘black’ rustles past her feet.
“Hyah!?”
She jumps back——and there:
“Mraow.“
A small black cat is yawning enormously.
“O-oh, it’s just a cat……”
Exhaling in relief, Luna looks around again.
“……”
Alone, in an unfamiliar back alley off the main streets of an unfamiliar city——
Thinking about it that way suddenly made her feel, somehow, quite scared.
In truth, this Saint is deathly——literally deathly——bad with anything in the category of ghosts and strange occurrences.
(N-no no, it’s fine, it’s fine! Have a good look around, Luna-san! The sun is still plenty high up, there’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of——)
“——Eeeaaaaaaaah!?”
Suddenly, a man’s tremendous scream rings out.
“Who goes there——!?”
Luna quickly gets into a guarded stance——what her eyes find is a swarm of magic beasts, close to a hundred strong.
“Oh. Magic beasts.”
The reaction is about as thin as if she had spotted a gnat.
As the magic beasts trample through the city——
(……Where on earth did everyone actually go.)
Luna walks, listless and trudging.
(Going to the Holy Knights’ lost-child center……I really don’t want to.)
At fifteen years old, walking up and saying ‘excuse me, I’m lost’ is……a little embarrassing, even for her.
(But at this rate I have no way of finding the others, and if I keep wandering alone, everyone is going to worry……. I guess I’ll have to swallow my pride and go after all……)
She is seriously deliberating whether or not to go to the lost-child center when——
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaah……!?”
Far ahead, a small child’s scream is heard.
And there, impossibly——a mother and child being attacked by a massive magic beast.
“M-Mom……!”
“You——run, quickly!”
“But……!”
The mother, shielding her child behind her, grips something like a stick and stands her ground before the magic beast.
A hopelessly amateur stance——what awaits her is clearer than fire.
“That is, if I remember……a cyclops, wasn’t it?”
What floats through Luna’s mind is the lesson from Jurall she had just the other day.
[The cyclops is an extremely weak magic beast. Despite its large body, its agility is among the lowest of all species. Not only regular Holy Knights, but even you students should be able to dispatch one with ease.]
(If my memory is correct……a cyclops is supposed to be a very, very weak magic beast……)
A magic beast that even students at the Saint Academy, let alone regular Holy Knights, could easily dispatch.
Which means——taking that thing down won’t draw any unusual attention.
“GWOOooooooooo……!”
The agitated cyclops lets out a thunderous roar and charges at the mother and child at tremendous speed.
(……Yeah, still slow.)
Luna watches from a distance, thinking calmly.
(No one around to see……and even if someone sees, it’s just a weak magic beast, so there’s any number of explanations I could give.)
Even if she killed that cyclops and saved the two of them, the risk of Saint exposure is essentially zero——that was Luna’s assessment.
However, there is one significant problem here.
(I quit being the Saint. I swore I would never help anyone who was in trouble again. So——I won’t help. Sorry for those two, but I have my own circumstances to think about.)
Luna steels her heart and turns her back on the tragedy that is about to unfold.
(……)
A fraction of a second later, she glances back.
The agitated cyclops is bearing down on the humans——and the mother with the stick steps forward.
Of course, she has no chance of winning.
She is charging in with desperate resolve, to protect her child.
(W-well……it’s not like I’ve fought a cyclops since reincarnating into the present day? And knowing the actual strength of a magic beast everyone calls ‘weak’ is important, isn’t it? It’s a rare opportunity, so there’s plenty of value in trying it out. Not that I want even the tiniest bit to help those two, obviously, not at all.)
The Saint, who can never just be honest, begins a strange set of justifications for an audience she cannot identify.
(No one around to see. Even if someone sees, it’s a weak magic beast so it’s fine. It’s my first cyclops in the present era, so the return in experience value is definitely worth it……)
A hair faster than the cyclops’s claws can close around the brave mother’s throat——Luna’s ‘ironclad armament of reasoning’ was complete.
(Right, let’s go!)
The instant she lightly kicks off the ground, a massive crater forms in the paved road beneath her feet, and a distance of over a hundred meters closes in an instant.
“There we go.”
“BAGRAK!?”
The cyclops that took Luna’s right straight explodes apart like a water balloon.
The mother and child are both completely unharmed, and with that it seemed like the whole matter was settled——when a ‘massive irregular event’ occurs.
“Phew, that was clo——gah!?”
“……L-Luna-san……?”
Standing there was one ‘completely unexpected witness.’
Of all people, it was her classmate at the Kingdom’s Saint Academy, and secret imperial agent——Wendy Triard.
“Um, that just now, what was that……!?”
“Th-this is……well……”
Luna shows a flash of genuine panic——but immediately rallies.
(No no, it’s fine! Because that magic beast just now was a cyclops!)
Not understanding the difference between ‘standard’ and ‘Mutation’ variant, the Saint deploys her arguments with full confidence, relying on logic that wouldn’t hold up even as used paper.
“Cyclopes really are such weak magic beasts, aren’t they. All bark and no bite, or something——my feeble little punch took it out in one hit!”
“Y-yes. Regular cyclopes really are, genuinely, very weak……(but the one just now was without question a Mutation variant. The external features matched completely, and its actual movement was remarkably agile.)
Wendy considers quietly.
(……Luna-san’s speed just now was clearly ‘abnormal’……. This wasn’t the level of something charming like enhancement through a divine gift or magic, or a sword saint’s superhuman physical ability……)
Wendy has been a secret operative with rigorous combat training since age five.
And she literally saw nothing.
Not just Luna’s movement——when it happened, where it happened, what kind of attack was used——all of it, nothing.
By the time she registered it, the Mutation variant’s upper body had been blown apart——and Luna was standing there.
(……Thinking back now, that potion was strange too. The materials I handed her were mid-tier, and yet what was produced was an Elixir-level masterpiece……no, wait. It must have been a ‘genuine Elixir, full stop.’)
Wendy’s sharp mind drives toward the truth.
(According to the legends, the Saint was terrifyingly powerful and could produce Elixirs without limit……. The person His Majesty had his eyes on as the Saint, Ro Steinclaw, is from the Spedio domain. And Luna-san is the same——also from the Spedio domain……)
Dot by dot, the points connect, and finally ‘a single line’ forms.
(……There’s no question.)
She is certain.
The evidence is not yet perfectly complete.
And yet——something that can only be called a sixth sense is telling her, absolutely, that it is so.
(——Luna-san is the Saint’s reincarnation.)
Wendy has finally arrived at the Saint’s true identity.
Meanwhile, the Saint, who finds herself in an unprecedented crisis——
(Phew, that was close. I had no idea Wendy-san would be somewhere like this……. But I knew cyclopes were weak magic beasts, so I managed to get through it safely. This is exactly what Jurall-sensei meant by ‘knowledge saves lives’!)
——has not yet realized that she has not, in fact, gotten through it safely.
(The Emperor’s order is——’the assassination of the Saint.’ But Luna-san is a genuine monster who one-shots a Mutation variant with a breezy expression……. The smart move here is to pull back for now.)
While Wendy is thinking this, the mother and child who had been attacked by the cyclops slowly rise to their feet and bow deeply.
“You saved us when it mattered most——truly……truly, thank you so much……!”
“Thank you, big sis……!”
“Not at all, I’m so glad you’re safe.”
At the same moment Luna smiles softly——cheering erupts from one corner of the city.
“Th-they came……the imperial army is here!”
“His Majesty the Emperor must have sent them!”
After that, the imperial army, arriving on scene, dispatches the magic beasts overflowing through the city with what can only be described as devastating momentum.
Standard types cut down solo, advanced types surrounded by several soldiers together, Mutation variants brought down through the coordinated effort of multiple officers.
The imperial army is extremely powerful——in morale, in equipment, in training, none of it comparable to the kingdom’s forces. They are a ‘real army,’ prepared for the battles that are to come.
(Wh-wow, they’re kind of cool……)
Luna’s eyes are sparkling as she watches the imperial army’s ‘anti-magic-beast suppression operation’——when:
“F-finally found you……!”
“Hah hah……Luna, so you were all the way over here!”
Ro and Sarko catch up and reunite——and catch their breath at the horrifically mangled magic beast remains scattered at Luna’s feet.
“Whoa!? Th-this……you did this, Luna……?”
“Quite the berserker, aren’t you……!”
The two are somewhat taken aback——no, considerably taken aback.
“N-no no, it’s not like that! Well, it is, but it’s not! This is a cyclops! I gave it a little punch and it just sort of——boom——”
“Oh, a cyclops?”
“That would make sense then.”
Luna’s explanation is accepted without the slightest doubt, smooth as anything.
(That’s amazing——the ‘it’s just a cyclops’ excuse……incredibly convenient!)
If something like this happens again, she’ll call on Cyclops-sensei again——Luna quietly resolved this in her heart.
After that, in response to the magic beast attack, the Great Reincarnation Festival’s official cancellation is announced.
The Emperor announces that the mastermind behind the incident——the designated criminal organization ‘Magic Beast Co-Existence Society’——has been located and already suppressed by his direct palace guards.
A little more time passes, and at six o’clock, everyone having gathered their luggage, Luna and the others assemble in front of the Triard manor.
“Everyone, you really have to go already? If you could stay even one more day, my husband would make it in time……”
Taylor looks very reluctant to let them go.
As an aside……Marquess Triard, who had the misfortune of being away on a distant business trip, has kicked his murderously packed schedule entirely to drive a carriage back to this manor——to see his beloved wife awake for the first time in ten years, and to convey his gratitude to the great benefactor named Luna Spedio.
“I’m sorry, we truly appreciate the sentiment, but……”
“We have school tomorrow, so we really need to be getting back.”
“We were in your care for two days, thank you so much.”
At Luna, Ro, and Sarko’s words, Taylor murmurs “well, there’s no helping it then” with a disappointed look.
“See you at school tomorrow then, Wendy.”
“Yes, see you tomorrow, Luna-san.”
Here they part with Wendy for now.
She will enjoy a quiet meal with her mother and the family tonight——and head to the Kingdom’s Saint Academy on an express horse first thing tomorrow morning.
Luna and the others board the Triard carriage and set off on the road back to the Saint Academy.
Along the way to the dormitory——
“The Great Reincarnation Festival was so much fun!”
Luna says this, and Ro and Sarko both nod.
“There was some pretty hairy trouble in the middle, but all in all it was a fun little trip.”
“It would be wonderful if we could all go again together next year.”
“Yeah!”
And so Luna returns to the Kingdom of Elgia, heart full to the brim with happiness.
The night of the day the Great Reincarnation Festival was brought to an early end, Wendy receives a summons and visits the Emperor’s study.
Inside, Adrinus Odo Albas is seated in a lavish chair, with his closest aide Rado Tsezgenia standing at attention behind him.
The Emperor addresses the quietly kneeling Wendy with words of appreciation.
“Diamond, well done in coming. Let’s get straight to the point. ——Were you able to get a hold on Ro Steinclaw?”
To that question, Wendy answers immediately.
“My apologies. Nothing as yet.”
Regarding Luna Spedio, the ‘real thing’——rather than getting a hold, she had pulled off a clean catch——but.
As for Ro Steinclaw’s tail, she truly has nothing.
An honest answer.
Not a word of it a lie.
It is, of course, sophistry.
Knowing the Saint’s true identity and not reporting it to the Emperor, keeping it held inside.
An indefensible betrayal, a clear act of treason.
But——
(Luna-san is my great benefactor and a very dear friend……)
Even if it means defying the Emperor, she will not sell out a friend to whom she owes so much.
The girl called Wendy Triard is the proud-spirited possessor of a soul worthy of a Main Heroine.
And beyond that——within her right now, ‘a certain suspicion’ is rising to the surface.
(……The Emperor has, with extremely high probability, placed a curse on my mother……)
After successfully lifting the curse from Taylor, she had the manor’s servants investigate the curse-effigy sculpture——and everything Sarko had said was entirely correct.
Of course, there is some non-zero possibility that the doctor dispatched by the Emperor had acted on his own in placing the cursed magic tool.
Non-zero, but——it is still natural to think that he had been ‘acting on Adrinus’s instructions.’
(If Luna-san hadn’t come to our house……if she hadn’t made that Elixir……. Mom would surely have, after all that suffering……died……)
Relief that her mother is safe. Terror at the thought of how differently it could have gone. Boundless gratitude toward Luna. And toward Emperor Adrinus——suspicion and resentment.
The Emperor had taken something from the Triard family. Ten years that should have been spent all together, happy. A warmth of family and togetherness that no money could buy and that could never be gotten back.
She wants to fly at the Emperor right now and demand the truth.
But doing that would have the entire family executed.
(And besides……I hear that Adrinus protects himself with powerful ‘Sacred Relics’ all over his person……)
Even if she challenged him here and now, she would only be cut down.
(For now……it is a time for patience.)
She decided to continue this work for a while longer, acting as the Emperor’s hands and feet.
The position of imperial secret operative is, thinking about what lies ahead, one of considerable value.
As Wendy burns with a cold flame of revenge, the Emperor holds her gaze for just a moment——and makes a low sound in his throat.
“……I see. In the midst of this commotion, Ro Steinclaw didn’t move. Well, it would be no fun if she showed her hand that easily. ——Diamond, you are to continue your infiltration and surveillance at the Saint Academy.”
“Sir.”
Exiting the study, Wendy passes through the deployed by the Empire’s senior magic officers and jumps to the dormitory of the Kingdom’s Saint Academy.
“Hahhh……I’m exhausted.”
Back in her own room, she showers first thing and washes away the fatigue of the day.
“Phew……much better.”
In a pink camisole and a thin beige wrap, she finishes preparing for tomorrow and readies herself for bed——then collapses onto the mattress with a flop.
“……Luna-san is such a big person……”
Wendy is overwhelmed by the scale of the Saint’s heart.
(The Saint immediately after reincarnation has apparently experienced severe deterioration of her power and memory. That’s why she needs Silver, the proxy, to protect her. Which means right now, the Saint being identified——the Saint being exposed——is something that puts her life in danger, something that must absolutely be avoided. And yet……Luna-san, knowing the risk, still helped my mother.)
There was no benefit for Luna in producing an Elixir there and curing Taylor’s curse.
On the contrary, it was nothing but taking on the enormous risk of Saint exposure.
(……She’s incredible.)
Luna’s unstained heart, her crystal-clear goodness——was blindingly, helplessly bright.
(Luna-san. You saved me. You saved the family I hold most dear. So next time——it’s my turn.)
She would support that good-natured, wide-open-to-attack Saint from the shadows, quietly, without anyone knowing.
Wendy swore this firmly in her heart.