Narrator POV 

  

  

  

  

  

Meanwhile in Vestir. 

A commotion is happening within the walls of the church of life. 

4 days ago, a huge incident happened that caused this commotion. 

  

  

4 days ago. 

The same day when Kazue left Vestir. 

  

  

Aaron Van Zelle. 

Captain of the holy knights. 

One of Calm Eastertale's personal guards. 

  

  

"Calm, please be safe" <Aaron> 

It has been 4 days since the attempt to assassinate the saint had failed. 

Aaron who is Calm Eastertale's guard had been occupied with finding the saints were about. 

During that day, the saint is on her way to visit her mother, Lehala Tetian Eastertale. 

Calm was looking forward to this day but in the end, it ended up in a disaster. 

  

  

Aaron repeatedly reads the report of the guards protecting Calm that day. 

According to the report they were ambushed by assassins who were in disguise as bandits on the road leading to Calm's hometown. 

  

  

A letter was sent to Aaron 2 days prior to Calm's departure. 

"Ecclesia is aiming to assassinate the Saint, Trust no one." 

This short message was written on that message. 

He was skeptical of this letter, he even thought that it was just a letter to prevent the saint to leave the city. 

  

  

Shortly after the carriage left the city, the carriage the saint was on was attacked by assassins. 

Their numbers were too much for Aaron to keep in check. 

Sure, if he were to fight them even with their numbers he could somehow do something. 

But this time was a bit different, he needs to protect the saint. 

He has several skills to do this job well but the assassin was more capable than he expected. 

He could not protect the saint while fending off the assassins. 

He and his comrades were overwhelmed by the skilled assassin that was sent to kill the saint. 

They were no pushovers. 

Not only that, some members of Calm's guards were a part of this conspiracy all along and betrayed the saint. 

At this rate, Aaron could not trust anyone to protect Calm other than himself as he does not know who's the enemy or who's an ally. 

  

  

Aaron is strong, he is one of the elites of this country when it comes to combat abilities. 

In terms of strength, Aaron's capabilities could be compared to the top A-rank adventurers. 

But the Assassin sent this time was also skilled. 

They managed to keep Aaron busy and they even succeed in separating him and the saint. 

  

  

It was just a matter of time before they could reach the saint. 

He knew that he could not let the remaining guards protect Calm as he doesn't know who was who at this point. 

What if the one whom he entrusts Calm was on a boat in their plan all along? 

He could not risk it. 

But at the same time, he was thankful. 

  

  

Aaron was thankful for the fact that he did something before all of this happened. 

Aaron thought of a way for the saint to escape in such situations. 

A day after receiving the anonymous tips of the saint's assassination plan beforehand, Aaron gave Calm a magical item for this kind of emergency. 

It was a blue spherical orb that is capable of casting the skill "blink" once. 

He gave Calm this magical item that allows one to randomly teleport from one place to another at a great distance. 

  

  

This item is a rare item that can only be found in dungeons' chests. 

Selling one would be worth a fortune as this item is the kind of item one can use in a dire situation. 

Leaving aside its downside of teleporting the user to a random location this item is useful when an adventurer would find themselves in a situation where escape seems to be impossible. 

As a result, this small blue crystal that is about the size of an eyeball ended up saving adventurers from death's door. 

Such an item is perfect when an adventurer is in a hopeless situation.  

This item is like a guardian angel who would protect you from harm. 

As such this item was named "Angel Wings". 

  

  

If not for that anonymous letter Aaron received 2 days ago, the saint's fate was seal at that moment. 

Thanks to the fact that Aaron took the content of that message seriously ultimately saved Calm's life. 

Thanks to that letter, he managed to find an "Angel Wing" and give it to Calm. 

  

  

"CALM USE IT NOW!" <Aaron> 

He screamed as he knew he had no other choice. 

What he needs to do later is to find Calm first before the assassin would find her. 

This was the best Aaron could muster with the limitation he had, to be honest finding an "Angel Wings" was a miracle by itself as it was so rare and precious that adventurers who end up finding this item would not sell them easily. 

But it seems that his effort in finding this item was worth it. 

Thankfully this was proven to be useful as this let the saint escape. 

The only thing they have to do is to find her. 

If possible he wanted a teleport device that would transport Calm to a safe location rather than at random but there is no such thing in existence. 

The closest thing to it is the "Space-Magic" that the Scale Atelier uses. 

Unfortunately, this top-secret magic is not being shared by the Scale Atelier. 

  

  

The Assassin escaped after realizing that their mission had failed. 

Aaron tried to catch at least one assassin and chased them but the assassin he caught committed suicide as soon as they were caught. 

He looked up at the sky thinking about Calm Eastertale. 

"Calm, please be safe" <Aaron> 

He ventured and looked for the saint. 

  

  

------------------------- 

  

  

It was getting dark and somewhere within the fields not too far from Vestir. 

Calm Eastertale found herself eating in front of a campfire with a Female adventurer and her 3 wolf familiars. 

It was quiet and peaceful. 

She took a bite out of the salted piece of meat that the female adventurer handed her for their dinner. 

The two sat opposite of each other with the campfire in between the two of them. 

She stared at the campfire thinking about his Guards who tried to defend her from the assassin a few days back. 

In particular, she was thinking of one particular person amongst her guards. 

[I hope Aaron is OK, he must be desperate to look for me] 

She thought thinking about the man who protected her with all he had. 

She knew that her life is being targeted by someone. 

She couldn't just trust anyone. 

After all, some of her guards whom she thought were her ally had betrayed her and aimed for her life. 

While all of these thoughts were running through her mind, all of a sudden... 

  

  

"Hey... I think it's about time for you to tell me the truth. Who are you? seriously..." <Kazue> 

"!!!" <Calm> 

-Cough- 

Calm Eastertale suddenly coughed out the food she was eating after hearing the words that came out of her companion's mouth. 

In the past 2 days, she had been moving together with this female adventurer around the fields of Vestir. 

Before, Calm introduced herself with a fake name to this female adventurer. 

That fake name she made up was,  "Carise". 

She was taken aback as the female adventurer suddenly asked a question she was not ready to answer. 

As the two were eating their dinner, the female adventurer suddenly spoke and asked her to drop her lies and tell her who she was. 

She was taken aback as the female adventurer, Mizusawa Kazue asks her to tell her the truth. 

  

  

"What are you talking about Kazue-san? What truth?" <Calm> 

Calm tried to put up with her lies, but this time Kazue did not back down. 

"The truth about who you really are." <Kazue> 

Calm knew that Kazue had an idea that she was lying. 

All this time, Kazue pretended and let her lies slide all this time. 

It seems that Kazue's curiosity got ahead of her and she ended up asking for the truth. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." <Calm> 

Calm said while her eyes were wandering around, she was trying to not look at Kazue's eyes. 

She was afraid that if she looked into Kazue's eyes. 

Calm did not want Kazue to get involved with her problems. 

Kazue was looking at her with her sharp gaze. 

Ultimately, Calm could no longer lie. 

How can she lie to the girl who is practically her savior? 

If she did not help her Calm is as good as dead. 

The assassins may not be able to kill her but the monster in the area might have had. 

It was thanks to her that she managed to walk around safely. 

As Kazue gazed at her with an even more intense look she was not able to speak a word. 

  

  

"Haah..." <Kazue> 

Kazue let out a loud sigh. 

"Listen, I know you're cautious and all but... I think by now you should have realized that I have no bad intentions toward anyone. I am just a random adventurer around." <Kazue> 

Kazue helplessly said toward Calm who was still hesitating to tell her the truth. 

Calm could not refute Kazue's claim of innocence. 

She realized that Kazue has nothing to do with her pursuers. 

Calm knew this for a long time now. 

She just did not want her to get involved with her problems. 

Despite that, she had no one else to rely on other than her. 

She cannot simply trust anyone at this point, especially someone whom she just met. 

  

  

"Fine, If you insist to lie, I would not mind. I am telling you this because I will now return to Vestir since I've finished all of the quests that I took, thus I will now return to Vestir to claim my rewards." <Kazue> 

"...." <Calm> 

Calm stayed quiet. 

She was thinking things over. 

If she returns to Vestir now, she will probably get attacked once again. 

She did not want Kazue to get involved but at the same time, she needs her cooperation so that she could return to safety. 

Calm knew that Kazue was asking her to tell the truth. 

Kazue wanted to know the truth so that Kazue could think of a way to help her in one way or another. 

  

  

Kazue patiently waits for Calm's reply. 

Moment past. 

The two were silent. 

Soon Calm decided to tell her her circumstance. 

"Alright, I decided." <Calm> 

  

  

Calm stood up from the log where she sits, took off the hood over her head, and looked straight at Kazue. 

Kazue, who is on the opposite side of the campfire could not help but gasp from the sudden change in her attitude. 

"O-oh..." <Kazue> 

She was amazed once again upon seeing the beautiful face Calm possessed. 

Now that she took her hood and revealed her face to Kazue, Kazue was able to appreciate her appearance more. 

Despite that Kazue's facial reaction did not change and kept this feeling of awe to herself. 

  

  

"To tell you the truth I lied about my name." <Calm> 

There was no change in her reaction. 

"Ah... you can skip about that, I already know about you lying about your name." <Kazue> 

Kazue replied. 

"Eh?! since when?!" <Calm> 

Kazue show Calm a "are you serious" face. 

kazue knew it from the start, to be honest, she was more surprised with how Calm thought that her lies were not exposed yet. 

"Huh? I never believe that your name is Carise in the first place." <Kazue> 

"GAAANNN" <Calm> 

Calm was shocked that this female adventurer never believed her lies in the first place. 

She did have a suspicion that Kazue already knew she was lying but it never crossed her mind that Kazue never believed any of her lies. 

  

  

"Ahem!" <Calm> 

Calm ended up faking a cough and straighten her back. 

She stood confidently and continued explaining her circumstance to Kazue. 

"To be honest I did not want to tell you my real identity as I don't want you to get involved with my problem." <Calm> 

"Ahuh... and I have no intention of involving myself with your problem as much as possible. But I guess I can't do that now huh?" <Kazue> 

"Fufufu, Kazue you're really funny... Anyway.." <Calm> 

She shows Kazue a courteous bow. 

Like a beautiful illusion, at that moment Calm looked like a dignified lady. 

  

  

"Let me re-introduce myself. Kazue-san... in truth..." <Calm> 

She breathes in a large amount of air to relax. 

She mustered her resolve and raised her head. 

She looked straight into Mizusawa Kazue's eyes and talked in a serious tone. 

"My real name is Calm Eastertale, People also know me as the Saint of Riles." <Calm> 

  

  

------------------ 

Kazue POV 

  

  

"My real name is Calm Eastertale, People also know me as the Saint of Riles." <Calm> 

When I heard her saying her real name I could not believe it at first. 

[Eh? did she just say she's Calm Eastertale?] 

  

  

Kazue recalled the details she observed about this girl who now calls herself "Calm Eastertale". 

Her name was not Carise, I knew that from the start. 

[To be honest, I am shocked, I knew that she was hiding her real name but I did not expect her to be THAT person.] 

  

  

"Hehe." <Kazue> 

'Why are you laughing? did I say something weird? EH? Or maybe you think I'm lying again? I know it's hard to believe someone who is claiming to be the Saint of Riles all of the sudden but please believe me. I am not lying this time around!" <Calm> 

[Sure, Sure, I mean... I was expecting the saint to be more... Yeah... dignified... and smart... Now you're telling me that this Airhead is the saint...] 

-sigh- 

I shook my head. 

I could not believe this to be true, but since this girl is easy to read, I knew that she was not lying. 

  

  

"Seriously?" <Kazue> 

I asked just in case. 

I had an expression of disbelief on my face. 

To be honest I'm pretty much sure that she is the saint but I ended up asking, maybe I just did not want to believe it. 

Calm looked at me eagerly and replied 

"Yeah, Seriously..." <Calm> 

"So you're... serious... -sigh-" <Kazue> 

I am now convinced. 

I raised my arm toward Calm and showed her an open palm as I supported my head with my other hand asking her to wait. 

"OK... let me process this for a bit." <Kazue> 

Calm cutely tilted her head before saying "Sure". 

  

  

Come to think of it, Now that I think about it, it all adds up. 

She was working with the church, she seems to be important judging from the clothes she wears under that robe.  

She had amazing healing and support abilities similar to that of Chiho.  

Her name starts with "C-A". And last but not least her otherworldly beauty.  

[Why did it not come to me that this girl was the saint? Ehh??? Seriously? No... come to think of it... With all those clues I should have suspected her to be the saint from the start. Just why did I not think of it to be the case?] 

  

  

In my defense, I was not expecting to meet the saint in such a place.  

I mean, she appeared out of nowhere. Her appearance might be a given but she's too much of an airhead to be the saint.  

She sucks at lying, she's like an open book with all those expressions on her face I was not expecting that the saint is actually like this.  

[Ugh... my head is starting to hurt.] 

Many things came to my mind after hearing this. 

"Are you done processing things in your mind now?" <Calm> 

I slowly lifted my head and looked at the face of the gorgeous Saint looking at me with her innocent eyes. 

With a sense of resignation, I accepted this fact and moved on. 

"yeah." <Kazue> 

[Whatever] 

  

  

. 

. 

. 

  

  

Calm explained to me what happened before we met. 

About the Assassin 

How she Escaped 

[About the reason she has to leave the city for a bit] 

  

  

"I see, so you managed to escape thanks to the magical item that allowed you to teleport to a random place within a significant distance." <Kazue> 

Calm nods at me and pulled something out of the pocket of her robe. 

She shows me a small pale-looking orb she claims to be the item she used to cast the random teleportation spell, an "Angel Wing". 

Unfortunately, since she already used it once the orb lost its blue hue since this item can only be used once. 

  

  

"hee~ so that's the thing..." <Kazue> 

"Yes, and thanks to this I managed to escape..." <Calm> 

She passionately looked at the pale sphere grasping it tenderly and placing it over her chest. 

  

  

"Hmnn" <Kazue> 

"..." <Calm> 

"Oh! right!" <Kazue> 

I exclaimed because I suddenly remembered something. 

I dropped all my disappointment aside and accepted things as it is. 

Isn't this a situation I should be thankful for? 

  

  

I went toward miss Calm who was shocked by my sudden change in attitude. 

"This is perfect!" <Kazue> 

I said in a loud voice as I approached Calm. 

Calm was shaken enough that she took a step back from me who is approaching her all of a sudden. 

"S-S-Stop!" <Calm> 

She tried to cover her face with his hand. 

From the looks of it, she seems to misunderstand the reason why I suddenly approach her. 

I bet she must be thinking that I'm an enemy and was about to attack her. 

[Hehehe, sorry to disappoint you but that's not the case] 

I grabbed her hand and this only made her turn paler, a clear expression of fear was printed on her face. 

Once again, I ignored this and continued what I was doing. 

  

  

I loosen my grip and grasped her hands gently to help her realize that I was not doing something bad to her. 

Then I pulled her hands closer to me. 

"Believe it or not, I was looking for you! I have a lot of things to ask!" <Kazue> 

From fear, the expression on Calm's face changed into a confused expression. 

"Eh? Yes? you were looking for me? Why?" <Calm> 

  

  

"You may not believe this but I'm an Oracle just like you... Well technically I'm but not yet one... but I will become one sooner or later." <Kazue> 

"You? An Oracle?" <Calm> 

"Yeah!" <Kazue> 

[Well... right, Asking the saint who is the Oracle of a goddess all these questions all of a sudden would probably confuse most people. From what I heard Oracles are rare existences. Claiming to be one would rather be considered blasphemous to a certain degree.] 

"Eh? Uh? What? Kazue-san? an Oracle? But I thought I was the only one. Ehh?! What? Pftt... now look who's lying hahaha! " <Calm> 

Calm suddenly started laughing. 

It seems that she thinks that my words were a lie. 

[Well, what reaction would you expect from an airhead? But, it kinda frustrates me that she thinks that there's no way I could be an Oracle. I wanted to hit her once...] 

  

  

"Uh... so... I know you're confused, so for now how about we relax and think about the situation, OK?" <Calm> 

"Uh... " <Kazue> 

This bit**, ahem... This saint, she does not believe me. 

  

  

"Oi! Come here." <Kazue> 

I guide Calm toward the makeshift chair I made out of a thick trunk of a tree and let her settle down. 

"Just now, you did not believe me did you?" <Kazue> 

"Eh?" <Calm> 

"Don't, "Eh" me." <Kazue> 

"Are you serious?" <Calm> 

"What do you think?" <Kazue> 

I glared at Calm. 

"You are serious... Eh??? Eh??? You? are you an Oracle too? Seriously?!" <Calm> 

This time Calm was in a panic as she could not believe me at all. 

  

  

"Have you calmed down?" <Kazue> 

"Ah... yeah... mostly..." <Calm> 

"That's great...." <Kazue> 

She nods and looked at me hesitantly as if peaking. 

"So... Kazue-san, are you an oracle?" <Calm> 

"Well... not yet but I have this weird Mission? A Quest? It is from a god who calls itself "Themis". Apparently, "Themis" is the God of Judgement and gave me a Mission. Trial? Quest... ahh whatever, let's just call it a Trial that will eventually allow me to become its Oracle." <Kazue> 

"Hee...." <Calm> 

"Is there a problem?" <Kazue> 

I asked Calm as she only looked at me in awe. 

She shook her head to get a grip on herself before she replied to me. 

"Ah! oh! right! Sorry... I am just surprised that another Oracle would appear in front of me. I just don't know how to react." <Calm> 

"Ah, I see..." <Kazue> 

[Hmnn, I guess she's just that surprised huh?] 

  

  

"..." <Kazue> 

"So... the reason you wanted to see me is to ask about Oracles, yes?" <Calm> 

I nod to confirm the words of the saint. 

"I see... can you wait for a bit?" <Calm> 

"uh... okay?..." <Kazue> 

  

  

I wondered why she asked for a moment. 

As soon as she heard my reply she closed her eyes and closed her eyes. 

"???" <Kazue> 

I wait for a bit but she only stayed in that position for a while without moving and saying a thing. 

[Is she trying to communicate with the goddess I wonder?] 

At a glance, it appears that Calm was praying quietly. 

When I closely observed her figure I realized she was not even breathing. 

It was as if time paused for her. 

The wind blew, and her silky smooth curly long blonde hair danced with the wind. 

The mere sight of her figure praying made me speechless. 

I went closer to her and observed her closer. 

  

  

"Calm-san..." <Kazue> 

I said in a whispering voice to inform her of my presence. 

I placed my hands in front of her mouth and nose to confirm if she was breathing or not. 

[Whoaa... she's not breathing.] 

I then withdrew my hands. 

"She's fine right?" <Kazue> 

I knew that she asked me to wait but I did not expect her to be in this state. 

"She's not dead, is she? I don't want to be blamed for the saint's death so please be OK." <Kazue> 

  

  

A few moments passed by... 

Because of boredom, I continued to observe the Saint closely as I was curious about her state. 

"Wait... don't tell me I am also in this state when I pray?" <Kazue> 

I said realizing that this state of hers is similar to when I pray to "Themis". 

After all, she and I share a lot in common for being involved with existences such as Themis and the Goddess of Life. 

  

  

[Hey, Isamu, Kaori, Hayate... Am I like this when I pray?] 

I asked my familiars. 

Isamu, Kaori, and Hayate went close by and take a look at Calm's current state. 

We moved our faces closer to her body and observed her closely. 

We circled her in curiosity. 

[Nope, Mother is nothing like this when she prays] <Kaori> 

[When Mother prays she is still breathing, She's nothing like this] <Hayate> 

Isamu nods like a stupid dog agreeing with his companion Kaori and Hayate in this matter. 

"Hee~~~" <Kazue> 

After confirming that this state of Calm was unique even to my familiars I became more curious. 

  

  

[I wonder if I manage to become an Oracle, will I be in this state whenever I communicate with the God of Judgement?] 

I realized that I was mesmerized by how beautiful this girl was, again... 

After some time I came back to looking at her face closely. 

  

  

-Stare- 

  

  

"Ummm... Kazue-san... What are you doing." <Calm> 

My eyes went around in surprise as I hear the voice of the Saint suddenly speaking to me. 

Her eyes opened and her emerald-colored eyes revealed themselves from behind her alluring eyelashes. 

I awkwardly pulled my face away from her, I did not realize that my face was closer than I have realized. 

"Oh... you're back..." <Kazue> 

She awkwardly cleared her throat, her cheeks were a bit red from the fact that my face was so close to her just a moment ago. 

"...." <Calm> 

"Sorry..." <Kazue> 

"It's fine..." <Calm> 

Her cheeks blushed red. 

She tried to pretend that it was nothing by flipping her hair back. 

[... cute...] 

 

 

  

  

When the two of us have recovered from the awkward moment between the two of us I decided to speak. 

"So... what was that earlier?" <Kazue> 

"??? Oh... I was communicating with Gaiah-sama" <Calm> 

"Gaiah-sama?" <Kazue> 

I asked in a probing manner. 

"Oh... the goddess that made me into an oracle." <Calm> 

"Ohhhh... That's amazing!" <Kazue> 

"Hehe... not really, I simply asked for her advice" <Calm> 

  

  

"Before I asked about the things I am curious about, What did the goddess advise you?" <Kazue> 

Calm gave me a reassuring smile and looked straight into my eyes. 

"That I can trust you, She said that I should answer whatever you ask in all honestly." <Calm> 

"I see..." <Kazue> 

I was a bit taken aback as I hear the words of the Goddess. 

The fact that she even said that I could be trusted makes things a lot easier for me. 

With the confirmation of her Goddess herself, the Saint would not doubt me anymore. With this, she will answer me in all honesty. 

[I'm a bit happy to know that a Goddess acknowledged me... Does this confirm at the very least that I am a Legit, Oracle candidate?] 

  

  

"Right, then let me ask away, you don't mind right?" <Kazue> 

"Please do, ah... I'm only answering with what I know so don't expect me to explain things in detail." <Calm> 

"Is that so? well... I guess that's good enough." <Kazue> 

"So... What would you like to ask?" <Calm> 

Thus, It started a conversation between me and the Saint. 

  

. 

. 

. 

  

  

As the two of us were talking about Oracle-related things. 

I heard a "bell" sound inside my head that made me react to close my eyes. 

  

  

"!!!" 

"!!!" 

It was not just me, Even Calm reacted as I did. 

Immediately after that, I noticed something. 

  

  

While my eyes were closed I notice a familiar-looking image inside my head. 

[This is...] 

Just like that time when I defeated that Ghoul in Altus 5 months ago, such a thing happened to me. 

Inside my head, whenever I close my eyes I can see an Envelop that looked similar to the "message" icon you can find in smartphones. 

I knew what it was. 

It was how the God "Themis" communicate with me. 

  

  

I imagined opening the "message" icon. 

  

  

 

  

  

Calm and I looked at each other. 

"Just now... Gaiah-sama told me..." <Calm> 

"Uwah..." <Kazue> 

[Uwah... I was trying to avoid getting involved with this chick... but now I can't seem to do that anymore...]