The Reason She Is Called a Saintess
Passing through the night streets, they reached just before the orphanage.
Lily flipped her white nun’s habit as she moved forward, shielding the orphans behind her.
Beside her was Himari. She too was doing everything she could—carrying children, speaking to them, comforting them.
“Just a little further… everyone, stay calm.”
Her soft voice encouraged the children, yet her blue eyes held a sharp, strained light.
Right now, the person she was meant to guard—no, the person she truly wanted to protect—had charged alone into the enemy’s base. She had to hurry and go help him…
It was then.
“Oh my, oh my… leaving already?”
A shrill voice tore through the darkness.
On top of an old building ahead stood a jester wearing a crimson hat and mottled clothing, a grotesque smile plastered across his face.
“…!”
Recognizing him from before, Lily immediately spread her arms and stopped, placing herself before the children. Himari gasped, unconsciously pushing the orphans further behind herself.
“Please… do not get in our way.”
“I’m afraid I must. I cannot allow you to leave.”
“I see. Then…?”
Lily held her breath.
No matter how many times she tried, the holy power would not rise properly. It felt as though the channels through which it flowed had been blocked, leaving only a thin trickle.
“Haha… what is wrong, Saintess-sama? You seem terribly troubled.”
The jester flipped in the air and landed lightly, his movements as weightless and unnerving as a drifting wind.
Lily lowered her gaze and clasped her hands in prayer.
“… Lord, please… protect these children.”
A faint light wrapped around her, forming a small barrier. A holy shield arched gently overhead to guard the children.
But the jester merely glanced at it—and smirked.
“Oh my… so you can form one. However…”
The moment he snapped his fingers, a knife appeared from the void and struck the barrier. A sound like glass cracking echoed, and the shield rippled violently.
A barrier that once wouldn’t have budged was now fragile as thin ice.
“…!”
Lily tried to reinforce it, but the light dimmed quickly.
The children trembled, and Himari whispered desperately, “It’s okay, it’s okay…”
The jester opened his arms theatrically and stepped forward.
“What’s wrong? Do you really believe you can protect them like that?”
Lily stepped ahead of them all.
Her slender body stood between the children, Himari, and the jester.
“Your opponent… is me.”
Her clear, pure voice floated into the night air.
She raised her hands—and light burst forth.
Though weakened, her prayer still lived.
“──Back away!”
A flash engulfed the jester.
Yet within the light… a red smile flickered.
Untouched.
A shrill laugh pierced the cold night.
The jester bowed mockingly, hands spread wide. Behind the masklike smile, a sharp gleam lurked.
Lily held firm, answering quietly.
“… So this is a stalling tactic. You want to keep me occupied while achieving your true goal.”
“Very perceptive. But simply fighting would be dreadfully dull. So let me give you something nice, as long as we’re passing the time.”
His tone was theatrical, but his words were sharp as blades.
“You remember, don’t you? The blue gemstone I gave you… What do you think that is?”
Lily’s hand drifted to the small pendant hanging at her chest. Yes—he had given it to her as a “gift.”
She understood already: it was the reason she had failed to sense the kidnapping, failed to notice the ambush, and why her barrier was weakened.
And yet something deep within her soul had screamed not to throw it away.
She held it gently.
The truth was revealed.
“You’ve realized, haven’t you? It is not a weakening magic stone. No, no. That gemstone is a holy relic—a vessel containing the living soul of a Saintess, infused with holy power.”
Behind her, Himari gasped. Lily did not turn, only tightened her grip.
“And what do you think will happen if you let it go?”
His voice clung to her like sticky sweetness.
“The Saintess’s soul inside will shatter and die from lack of holy energy. Completely, utterly die. And you know, don’t you, what happens when a soul shatters… Saintess-sama?”
“Exile from the world… eternal darkness…”
Himari’s trembling voice escaped.
“N-No way…”
Lily shook her head slightly, stopping her, and faced the jester.
“… So you claim that I cannot discard this gemstone. That is what you mean.”
“Correct. Just as I thought. Saintesss are far too kind… too gentle. Protecting children, shielding allies, shedding tears for souls they’ve never even met. That is why you can never escape this chain.”
The jester laughed shrilly, his steps clicking on the stone as he approached.
Lily did not move.
“… What do you want?”
“As I said—simply to buy time.”
The children behind her clung to her robes in fear. Lily gently placed a hand over theirs.
“So, what will you do? Fight? Flee? Or will you—discard the gemstone?”
Lily stepped forward again, pushing Himari and the children farther behind.
“… There is no choice. I will not abandon anyone.”
Bathed in moonlight, her white habit swayed.
Even weakened, she was every bit a Saintess.
The jester spread his arms with a delighted, deranged grin.
“Wonderful… truly wonderful! Then let the comedy begin!”
The clouds parted, moonlight spilling across the scene.
“Well now, Saintess-sama. I am not a crude man. I do not stoop to ambush or trickery.”
He placed a hand to his chest and bowed elegantly. The smile on his pale masklike face was not human.
“Let us enjoy this delightful stage properly. The curtain has already risen.”
Hearing this, holy light flared in Lily’s palms. The glow was faint, but strong enough to protect the children.
“Ohh… such nobility. Pure and precious.”
The jester opened his arms in admiration.
Lily did not answer. She dashed forward.
A holy palm strike shot toward him—yet he danced aside lightly, skipping like a stage performer.
“My, how splendid. But unfortunate. You know it best yourself… that power will not reach me.”
Light again. A dancing shadow again.
Lily attacked relentlessly. Strikes, kicks, close combat—so unlike the defensive training of a Saintess. But given her weakened state, it was better to fight with light clad around her body than to fire it.
“Hehe… excellent. To resist even after losing your true strength. Saintess-sama, you are truly… my ideal.”
His tone dropped low, yet stayed theatrical, as if speaking to an invisible audience.
“But kindness is a chain. You cannot discard the gemstone. You cannot forsake that soul. And therefore—you will lose. Unless you abandon someone, you cannot save anyone. Who will you forsake? The children? Your friend? Or perhaps… your teacher?”
Lily’s mind flashed with memories.
The orphanage. The warmth. The smells. The kindness. The moments.
And the person who once saved her—with no reward, no condition, with nothing but pure goodwill.
“… Kindness is not weakness.”
“Oh?”
“With kindness, I am here. With kindness, I can stand. And I will stand… so I lose no one.”
The jester’s eyes flickered. He saw it—the expression of someone certain of victory.
Light and shadow clashed.
Lily tightened her grip around the gemstone.
After this long, drawn-out battle… the breakthrough had finally appeared.
She whispered softly:
“… I finally did it.”
The jester froze.
“…? What did you just say?”
Lily raised her gaze, looking straight at him. Her eyes were steady, unwavering—clear as a Saintess’s, even weakened.
The gemstone trembled faintly.
—To guide the Saintess’s soul… back to the heavens.
The next moment, the stage of darkness was about to be consumed by blinding light.
What do you think about this chapter?
