Taming the Evil Saintess

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A branch shoots at me fiercely.

Crash! Even though I raised my holy sword to block it, the overwhelming force numbs my grip.

Ophelia is not a knight. But she wields divine power, which surpasses even the sword energy of a lifelong swordsman, wrapping it around her weapon and striking. It may have been a reckless method, but the mark she possesses enhances all techniques that use divine power.

In other words, even if her methods are simplistic, the power Ophelia generates now is not that different from Albrecht’s strikes.

Of course, her technique leaves much to be desired. If I was determined, I could easily sever the hand gripping that branch.

But—

“Ugh!”

“Damn it! Don’t hold back!”

“Should I just take the hit and die?”

“You’ve got that right!”

Ophelia crouched low and pushed her shoulder against my chest.

Thanks to the difference in our physical builds, I only staggered back a step, but in that fleeting moment, Ophelia thrust the branch forward.

Such boldness. With just the intent to kill the man in front of her, I was left scrambling to fend off Ophelia’s strike.

I’m confident I can win. Ophelia’s combat power isn’t that high. However, it wasn’t easy to overpower her, who was attacking with the intensity of a real battle, without getting a single scratch on her.

“Hey! Emily! Hurry up and explain!”

“But what’s the point of explaining?”

The most infuriating thing was Emily Barried.

She sat in a cat-like pose, yawning lazily, watching our fight like it was some kind of entertainment.

I guess for her, this situation must be as exciting as a movie.

As if to prove that, she added more fuel to the fire.

“Last night was fun, wasn’t it, Brother Elliot?”

“What?”

“…Hehe.”

That troublemaker Emily grinned mischievously, and at that moment, I deflected the branch of the World Tree coming at me with my gut.

“Isn’t this dangerous?!”

“I swung it to be dangerous! I’ll cut off that filthy little branch!”

“…”

Before I could recover from the shock of hearing something so lewd from a saintess, Ophelia skipped and leapt into the air.

Thinking it was my chance, I aimed to wrap my waist around her, but at that moment, a strong shock knocked my hand away.

A small shield was strapped to Ophelia’s left hand.

Practicing the parry techniques I learned from Azar, Ophelia executed it perfectly.

Clang!

Once again our swords clashed, but this time Ophelia turned her body and rendered my holy sword ineffective.

Then, she struck at my groin with her foot.

“…Did you dodge?”

“Ophelia, I can explain everything.”

Ophelia naturally responded with the branch of the World Tree.

I tried to seize her lower body with the back of my sword, but it was effortlessly blocked by her shield. When I attempted to grab the hem of her clothing with my other hand, a golden holy circle spread out, pushing my body back.

Combining swordsmanship with the casting of holy magic.

I began to regret giving Ophelia such a powerful weapon as the branch of the World Tree.

“Tsk.”

My mouth felt parched.

As long as I didn’t get slashed there, it seemed like it wouldn’t stop at all.

Unlike Ophelia, who used all her divine power, mark, and shield techniques, I hadn’t unleashed my sword energy. A mark? I’d be insane to use that. It would only provoke Ophelia’s anger further.

“Did you enjoy it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said it was a hot night.”

“Could you be serious?”

“I’m not serious.”

Ophelia raised one eyebrow.

“If I believed you, would we be having this conversation?”

“…”

Seeing that reaction, I understood.

Ophelia was furious, but she wasn’t completely oblivious to the situation.

Most importantly, causing such a ruckus since the crack of dawn would cost both of us a lot. Not only Emily, but many passersby were staring in shock at our fight.

In other words, Ophelia was reining me in and trying to coerce me.

It would be best to comply with her wishes in this situation.

I sheathed my sword and stepped forward.

“Ophelia.”

“What? Do you have something to say?”

“I was wrong.”

“…”

Ophelia’s eyes widened.

As if she didn’t expect such informal speech from me.

“I’m sorry for making you misunderstand. But… I absolutely had no intention of that. It’s because Emily was playing around.”

“…”

Ophelia puffed up her cheeks and glared at me.

Then she murmured softly.

“Is that all?”

“Well, not really.”

I looked around.

Emily was sitting with her hands before her like she was watching the climax of a movie. The onlookers also had curiosity gleaming in their eyes.

It reminded me of the time I was tried during the Continental Conference.

Biting my lip, I gazed at Ophelia.

She was looking at me with an expectant gaze.

“Ophelia, I have no attraction to either Emily, Erwin, or Cecilia, nor have I ever thought about them that way.”

“…”

“Honestly.”

Is that enough?

Suppressing the urge to smack my forehead against the stone at my feet, I looked at Ophelia.

The moment she heard my words, she cautiously opened her mouth.

“So, what do you want to say… ahem, what I want to say is?”

“…What?”

“Summarize.”

Ophelia raised the branch of the World Tree and growled.

I sighed, likely recalling the words Ophelia was hoping to hear.

“…Yeah. To me, the only woman is you, Ophelia.”

That’s probably what she wanted to hear.

As expected, upon hearing my words, Emily shrieked and started banging her wand on the ground.

And Ophelia—

“Ugh!”

Clang!

With a shriek, the branch of the World Tree collided against my crown.

*

“So, you decided to have an affair in front of everyone?”

Next to me, regaining my senses, stood Cecilia Ethelgarand.

She let out an exaggerated sigh, asking about the situation, and after understanding everything, the frequency of her sighs doubled.

“What on earth did you want, saintess?”

“It seems she wanted my affirmation.”

“What affirmation?”

“You just heard it. That I look only at her.”

“…Huh.”

Cecilia shook her head, then looked at my crown, now resembling a bald hill due to the swelling.

“Then why did she hit you in the end?”

“Probably because she was embarrassed.”

“If she’s embarrassed, why knock someone unconscious?”

“That’s just Ophelia.”

I couldn’t explain it any other way.

Cecilia slightly exhaled but seemed to understand well enough.

“So why are you here?”

“Because of the Purification Church’s matter.”

“Oh.”

Upon hearing that, I checked my clothes. The holy relic I took from the Rulier siblings was missing.

“Do you know where the holy relic is?”

“…Well, I found it on Knight Elliot, but…”

“But?”

“It broke.”

“….”

It must have been damaged during my fight with Ophelia.

Now that I had broken the relic of a church, how on earth was I supposed to deal with the situation? Just thinking about it made me ponder when Cecilia spoke.

“Priest Ian said it was alright.”

“That fanatic?”

“He was just glad to have found the ruined pieces. He said he wants to discuss what happened soon.”

That’s a relief amidst misfortune.

If it’s Ian, he’d likely be a reasonable priest.

It would be better to think about the Resistance Army in bed.

Feeling dizzy, I stood up from the bed.

“Shouldn’t you rest a bit longer?”

“It’s disgraceful to lie in bed for days over just a bump on the head.”

Words aside, I also had to talk about the Rulier siblings’ crossing of the Erosion Zone.

Just as I was thinking that, Cecilia cleared her throat behind me.

“Um… Knight Elliot.”

“What is it?”

“Is what you declared before you fainted the truth?”

“…Of course it is, but what’s the problem with that?”

Cecilia shook her head.

“That’ll do.”

With that, I left the hospital room.

And next to the door, I spotted a girl with silvery-white hair, nervous and fidgeting like a cat caught in a misdeed.

“Are you feeling guilty at all?”

“Ugh, yeah.”

Ophelia had been standing watch next to the hospital room.

Determined not to face me as soon as I opened my eyes, she seemed to have waited here.

I tapped the bump on my head.

“Thanks to you, I feel like I’ve become ten years dumber.”

“…I’m sorry. I think I acted too impulsively…”

Ophelia apologized earnestly.

It surprised me that she was apologizing, and her face was as red as a beet.

“Ophelia, do you have a fever or something?”

I already knew, but I asked anyway.

Ophelia shook her head firmly and said, as if she were about to throw up.

“Uh, and… I took care of Emily…”

“What do you mean you took care of her? Did you kill her or something?”

“Hey! Do I look like that?!”

The sight of Ophelia, startled and shouting, was just too cute.

I chuckled and gently placed my hand on her head.

Without pushing it away, Ophelia averted her gaze.

“Well, if Ophelia controlled herself, then I’m still alive. That’s good enough for now.”

“…You.”

Ophelia fidgeted.

As she tilted her head, it seemed she didn’t want her emotions to be noticed, and she quickly turned and backed away.

She ended up accidentally bumping against me.

“Are you not going to speak informally anymore?”

“Informal speech?”

“You used to talk informally. Why go back to being formal this time?”

“….”

Watching her in silence, I figured out what Ophelia was getting at and smiled.

Though her personality is awful, it’s nice that her thoughts are easy to understand.

“Is informal speech easier for you?”

“…Yeah.”

“Okay, then I’ll call you that from now on.”

“….”

“Ophelia.”

At those words, Ophelia trembled.

I felt a little glad that I now had an endless source of teasing.