Chapter 348: Thump

“Liya... where is your knight?”

The Saintess gazed into Liya’s eyes and asked softly. Her voice was gentle; even with that rare hint of seriousness, it carried not the slightest offense. Nor was this a question meant to make things difficult, or one hard to answer; on the contrary, when facing each Saintess candidate, the Saintess would always make a point of asking exactly this. But although it was such a simple question, one that by rights required no hesitation at all, Liya fell silent, not knowing how to answer.

“I...”

Liya lowered her head, her fingers habitually clutching the hem of her skirt. As for a Divine Attendant Knight—of course she had one. From a very, very early time, there had been a girl who could be called her knight, always standing in front of her, shielding her from wind and rain, opening a path. And from a very, very early time, she could only keep her eyes fixed on that girl’s back. According to the original course, that strong and brave girl should at this moment still be standing before her, scattering all shadows in blinding radiance. But now, she wasn’t here. Now, there was only Liya herself. Therefore... she could only...

“Muen...”

All of a sudden, a soft call rose from the bottom of her heart, startling even Liya herself. She hurriedly drew a deep breath and drove out of her mind that golden-haired figure who, for some reason, had replaced the original girl and appeared before her eyes. No, Liya. You’ve already brought Muen enough trouble; you’ve already been helped by Muen enough times. You must not drag an innocent him into your whirlpool again. You mustn’t. Moreover...

Liya bit her lip, and a thread of resolve gradually surfaced in her eyes. You can do it. Liya Anjier, you can. Even without the help of your own Divine Attendant Knight, you can do it. You have grown; you are no longer that weak person who had to live within someone else’s shadow. Even when facing those terrifying enemies, even a natural disaster, you can now summon your courage and meet it head-on. It’s only being alone. For you, there is nothing to fear.

Therefore...

“Speaking of which, who even is this Saintess candidate?”

Suddenly, after the Saintess spoke, the cathedral hall—which had quieted out of respect or decorum—filled with a few noisy murmurs. The voices were low, like whispers traded with the companions at one’s side, but... they were so clear.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of her. Have you?”

“The other candidates, even if they can’t reveal their identities, have already made a name for themselves, right? But this Liya Anjier—I’ve never heard of her.”

“Then what has she even been doing these years during her mundane-world trials? She’s this cute; even doing things casually shouldn’t leave her so unknown. Don’t tell me she never thought about how to be a proper Saintess.”

“Shh, don’t talk nonsense. Maybe her ambitions just don’t lie here.”

“Heh. If her ambitions don’t lie here, does she still deserve to show up?”

“...”

The little hand gripping her skirt tightened until the knuckles suddenly went white. The head Liya had just tried to lift now felt as heavy as a thousand jun, impossible to raise. Her chest felt as if something were stuck there, making it hard to breathe, let alone answer. The gazes gathered upon her were like a tide, drowning her...

“...I get it.”

Muen suddenly struck his fist into his palm, enlightenment dawning.

“This is that kind of plot, right? The kind where a beautiful girl falls into a dilemma, despised by everyone, and at the last moment before she’s forced to a dead end, the protagonist shows up right on cue, sweeps everything aside like an autumn wind through fallen leaves, slaps every face, and wins the girl’s heart in one go—the classic.”

That’s right. It had to be like that. Just like in some Firmament tale—the true protagonist always arrives right on the dot! Then it makes sense why Ariel hasn’t shown up yet.

“But at this point, Ariel should be here already.”

Thinking that, Muen craned his neck and looked toward the cathedral doors, waiting for that figure who ought to descend like a god at this very moment. But while Ariel’s pair of A’s didn’t appear, he did notice the people around him were all giving him strange looks.

“Kid, don’t tell me you don’t know.”

“Know what?”

Muen frowned and looked at Pink Bear, who had spoken.

“It’s just...”

Pink Bear hemmed and hawed, and a rare trace of shame crossed his bear face.

“The Ariel you’re talking about probably won’t be showing up.”

“Eh?” Muen blinked. “Why?”

“Because... up to now, she still hasn’t come to the Holy City.”

“Impossible!”

Muen’s voice shot up on the spot. She still hasn’t reached the Holy City by now? How could that be? That Forest of Deathbane is huge, yes, but even with me and Liya being chased and entangled by enemies, we walked out in two days. And how long has it been since Ariel entered the forest? Nearly ten days, right. With her skills, with her pace, how could she still not have arrived?

Muen shot a doubtful look at Senior Fanny and the others around him, then suddenly pulled out a transmission stone. He hesitated for a moment, then still dialed that frequency. After a few seconds’ wait, a voice as stern as a soldier’s sounded from the other side.

“Young Master Muen, what are your orders.”

“Count Eller, let me ask you...” Muen took a deep breath and said, “Have you found any trace of Ariel?”

“...My deepest apologies, Young Master Muen—no.”

Eller fell silent for a moment, then answered: “Although, due to the awakening of the calamity, we cannot send people into the forest to search again, we have already set up patrols and warding magic outside the forest, and the Adventurers’ Guild has sent people to help. In theory, the moment the daughter of the Bugaard family walks out of the forest, we would sense it at once... but I’m sorry—up to now, there has been no news of her.”

Muen said nothing, cut the line, and suddenly felt a heavy weight on his chest. Damn it. Where did things go wrong again. Why would the protagonist least likely to drop the ball have an accident at the very last moment? If Ariel isn’t coming right now, then Liya...

Muen raised his head; his gaze passed over layer upon layer of people and finally fell upon that girl—the one who seemed abandoned by the whole world, so lonely it hurt to look at her. Now, who was supposed to help her?

“Tsk tsk tsk, this lass really is pitiful.”

Pink Bear scratched his butt and sighed.

“Even if her original knight didn’t show up, if she’d walked out earlier, maybe some degenerate gambler would’ve taken a chance and volunteered to be her knight. But... she just had to be the last to step forward. Now that all the big bad wolves have shown their claws, this sweet and tasty little lamb is walking in alone—who’s going to be stupid enough to stand behind her now? Don’t you think so, kid?”

Pink Bear looked over with a half-smile and arched a brow.

“Whoa, what’s with that expression—like you’ve been constipated seven days and seven nights? Need me to fetch you a doctor?”

“...No. I just suddenly understood two things.”

After a long silence, Muen let out a deep sigh.

“Oh? Which two things?” Pink Bear asked curiously.

“The first...”

Muen’s face cycled through a tangle of expressions—doubt, anger, self-mockery, disbelief—and then... a smile.

“This thing called fate really is a bastard born of a bitch.”

“Mhm, I agree with that. And the second?”

“The second...”

Muen smoothed the collar he’d let get a bit messy lately, then twisted his neck and stretched lazily. Then, word by word, he said: “I’m a dumb fuck. A big dumb fuck.”

“Can you hurry up and answer!”

The white-silk loli named Anne, likewise kneeling before the Saintess, was already showing impatience. She turned and glared at Liya, her sharp tone displeased: “It’s such a simple question. If you have one, you have one; if you don’t, you don’t. Don’t waste everyone’s time, okay!”

“Now, now.”

Freya beside them straightened slightly and soothed gently: “A little time can be spared. Perhaps Miss Liya has some difficulty she cannot speak of?”

“What difficulty could there be—don’t tell me she...”

“All right, quiet.”

The Saintess’s voice was gentle yet firm. But she still kept her eyes on Liya and, refusing to let up, asked again: “Liya, your answer?”

“I...”

Liya drew a deep breath again, but still couldn’t suppress the turmoil in her heart. Those gazes, those words, were like a cold, deep sea, drowning her and casting her into the loneliest place in the world. She wanted to run. She really wanted to run. But... but... what good would that do? This was the road she had chosen; how could she give up now. Being alone—wasn’t that something she had long since braced herself for? There’s nothing to be afraid of.

“My apologies, Saintess-teacher.”

Liya finally lifted her head and, with all the strength in her body, answered: “As for a Divine Attendant Knight, actually, I do not—”

“Ah, pardon me. I’m late.”

Into the deep sea, a beam of light broke through. It felt like an illusion, yet the presence so close at hand was this real. Liya jerked around and saw that familiar golden-haired man—handsome features, tall and straight—standing in the light without fear, standing... right behind her.

“Ah, the sacramental bread from the Church was too delicious, so I couldn’t help eating a little more.”

The golden-haired man looked ruefully at the dining fork in his hand, scratched his head, and then, using etiquette of a standard not a single person could fault, placed a hand to his chest and half-knelt under Liya’s stunned gaze: “I didn’t keep you waiting long, did I, my... Lady Saintess.”

“Muen, you...”

Liya’s eyes were full of confusion, and yet it was as if a misty haze were spreading there.

“W-why?”

Why did you come? I clearly didn’t ask you to.

“Because...”

Muen smiled faintly, then suddenly leaned close to Liya’s ear and murmured: “I suddenly remembered I invested a full five hundred thousand in Liya. If Liya can’t become the Saintess, wouldn’t I take a huge loss? Hmm? Or is Liya planning to stiff me on the bill?”

“N-no way.”

Liya stared blankly at Muen—so handsome he made some of the onlooking girls give involuntary little cries—then suddenly showed an expression that was not quite a cry and not quite a laugh. But just as she was about to speak, another ill-timed voice cut in:

“My, this knight seems unfamiliar as well.”

“Good-looking, though.”

“Tsk tsk, a knight who’s only handsome paired with a Saintess candidate who’s good for nothing but face and boobs—now that’s a perfect match...”

Boom— In an instant, that unpleasant clamor was snuffed out—by a single thunderous report. A resounding thunderclap, like dozens of bolts of lightning roaring all at once, with a wild, ferocious, unstoppable momentum, suddenly tore apart all this frigid air.

But it was only a dining fork. A single fork that flew past many famed elites as if it were an unreasonable blade, pinpointing the man who had been hiding behind the crowd and steering the mood since just now, and nailing into the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) side of his face. The fork still thrummed; the ordinary-looking man’s face had gone pale, and blood was running down his cheek. And the one who had thrown the fork merely rolled his wrist at random and, with a handsome smile that would make any girl blush and heart-pound—peaceful, yet awe-inspiring—said,

“Sorry. I happen to be a dyed-in-the-wool boob man, so... please don’t casually profane my faith, all right?”

“...”

In that moment, the world fell silent. And the girl stared blankly at Muen. In her field of vision, everything unnecessary vanished—those startled faces, those incredulous looks, everything else. There was only that familiar golden-haired man, and that familiar smile.

She reached out and touched her own chest. Her heart, right now within her breast, was pounding—hot, burning, exalted. As if roaring with all its might.

Thump!