Kidnapped the Saintess of the Hero Party

7 – The Art of Discarding (4)

“If asked if I could fight and win against a Wyvern, I could answer that I could win by myself. Not being able to penetrate the defenses of a knight was most effective. Warriors, wizards, and any mercenaries of Hainite rank were unable to defeat a wyvern. Only a knight could ‘match’ it. Additionally, I was also ordained. A knight capable of self-healing. A celestial shield that never breaks, no matter how many enemies attack. I didn’t fall to the point of getting tired, so in my past life, I was called a 【Holy Knight】.

Fortunately, our position wasn’t visible from the wyvern’s nest. The wyvern looking down from above was not that big. In the first place, if it was bigger than a wyvern, it would not be called a wyvern anymore. A wyvern, unable to breath fire and no better or worse than a flying lizard. Yet, with its claws that can easily pierce a person’s throat and wings that allow it to fly, it appears as a death god to beginners. It can dodge most long-range attacks thanks to its flexible body movements. Conversely, most adventurers can never block a wyvern’s attack. Even if they somehow manage to land an attack, its thick skin is drastically different from other beasts. It’s so dangerous that even a single encounter with a wyvern could wipe out an entire party, so the Adventurer’s Guild is reluctant to offer wyvern subjugation missions. Despite all that, it’s still just a wyvern. The reason wyverns are not often encountered in the wild is due to their health benefits. They also taste good, which is why they haven’t survived. They can’t be used as pets because of their ferocity, so if caught, they are immediately butchered and served for dinner. Wyverns indeed provide the finest ingredients, to the point that there are hunters who specifically capture them for consumption. Even so…

‘Even this tiny howld is drooling.’

I wanted to smack Howld’s head, but in fact it was what I’d been hoping for. My first adventure. My first battle against a wyvern. Wasn’t it the best possible enemy? Any adventurer with sound judgment would choose to run away, but I was different.”

“What should we do?” Sia waited for my answer. She seemed to want to escape before the dragon noticed us. Down the hill, we could see the dragon playing with a fawn. It wasn’t moving, even though there were plenty of animals around to eat—apparently, it wasn’t very hungry yet. If we were careful, we might be able to sneak past without being caught… “Woof!” Hauled barked. The dragon was very vicious; at the sound of Hauled’s bark, it immediately lifted its head. The fawn it was playing with got frightened and ran away, but the dragon didn’t even try to chase it. After all, it could catch the deer whenever it wanted, hence the nonchalance. We’d been noticed by the dragon, but there was still a chance to escape. Hauled’s barking wasn’t usually a threat to predators…however, “Sion! I think it’s noticed us!” Your shout confirmed it. The dragon abandoned the departing fawn, and flew up into the sky. “Screeech!” Its roar cut through the air – an immediately annoying sound. Birds startled by the dragon rose in a flurry. There were quite a lot. The dragon, sometimes referred to as the devil of the skies, roared again.

Biryong does not seek out enemies. If an enemy enters its territory, it charges straight ahead. After all, it has no natural predators in the wild.

‘Perfect for pre-emptive strikes.’

I drew my sword from my waist.

“It’s too late to run, Shia. We have to fight!”

“Wha-”

“But!”

Shia looks down at herself. Objectively, she was in no condition to fight. She wore a white cotton outfit, similar to a training uniform. She held no tool to fight with in her hand. At least during practice, she was given a stick.

Now she was unarmed.

She wouldn’t even want to touch the reptile skin of Biryong.

It was the skin that even warriors on the battlefield shied away from.

“I’m scared.”

Her hands were trembling.

A genuine reaction.

I still had not told Shia anything about our future. Neither that we were going to confront the Devil king, nor the fact that we would have to fight every day.

I merely made her build up her sacred power through prayers, constantly strengthen her stamina, and made her do all sorts of tasks for flexibility.

I showed her me wielding my sword every now and then but never actually made her fight.

Shia naturally learned to buff in her everyday life for two years after the previous life.

She realized that when she put the sacred power into her words of encouragement for me, I became stronger.

However, it seemed that I couldn’t objectively assess how strong I was.

Even with one hand, I could beat the Leviathan.

I showed my desperate expression.

“Run away. You can buy some time.”

Sia’s eyes widened in surprise.

I turned my back to her.

The inevitable confrontation we would always face.

When confronted with a wild beast, I used to stand like this as well.

“You can’t do that!”

Sia would not know.

The fierce-looking Leviathan could be taken down with one punch.

“Do you remember, Sia?”

The only buff I had taught her.

I said it in a way that meant she could fight with that.

“A magic that prevents you from getting hurt.”

Sia hesitated before responding.

“Yeah.”

“Please.”

Body enhancement.

All sorts of buffs are included, but I explained it that way.

A magic that prevents you from getting hurt.

The actual effects include skin hardening, flexibility increase, cardiovascular endurance enhancement, pulse acceleration, and about twenty other things.

Even if it’s not a chant, a word of encouragement helps.

Therefore, I cheered for Sia.

“No matter how vicious it looks. If Sia wishes, I won’t get hurt.”

Even though it felt corny, it was the very nature of the profession of a priest.

The blessing of the goddess descends upon you. May you be protected by the divine will. Such phrases are merely greetings to us, akin to ‘hello’.

In reality, we didn’t have the time for such conversations.

The Wyrm was already prepared to attack.

“Kieeek!”

Once it gathered its balance, it starts flying towards us.

We couldn’t afford any more delays.

“Xia!”

Xia closed her eyes and began to recite a prayer.

Inherently, one can handle holy power with just a mental image. However, articulation makes it more concrete.

Around Lucia, a white energy begins to materialize.

The white energy that should take the form of smoke gradually condenses into a sphere.

A sphere of white light begins to build up in Xia’s hand.

Xia, with her eyes closed, doesn’t know.

How much intense light her extended ‘Prayer’ is emitting.

###

Lucia closed her eyes and recited it over and over.

She remembered what Zion had told her.

She also remembered how he had trained her.

– Pour your heart into it, and hope and hope again. Just by wishing sincerely. Your wish will take a step towards you.

– I just hated being in pain. That’s why I wished. Not to be in pain. That my body would become stronger.

– Exactly like this.

– 【Celebrate】

A sphere imbued with white light appeared and looked like it wrapped Lucia’s hand.

Immediately after, Lucia cut her palm with a knife.

Her palm was perfectly fine. All that got sliced was a bit of holy power.

Xia looked at Zion as if she found it amazing.

– You can do it too, Shia. Perhaps even better than I can. Celebrate. Celebrating birth. A simple vocabulary, but if sanctity is applied, a simple sentence transforms into a chant that expresses prayer. “Celebrate.” Almost simultaneously with Sia’s cautious chant, a dull impact sound was heard. ‘Please.’ Sia was afraid to open her eyes. She didn’t want to know what was going on in front of her. She simply wished, and wished again. That Zion was okay.

###

Lucia couldn’t really accept the situation that had just happened.

‘Why did it turn out like this?’

She often roamed the forest with Zion. They repeatedly trained under the pretext of studying for the future.

– To help others, you must first become stronger. If you’re weak, you’ll only be a burden, not a help.

He thought Zion was right.

After all, the only person Shia had faith in and depended on was Zion. Perhaps most importantly, wasn’t it true that Zion’s warm sanctity was protecting her?

Additionally, Shia had once said she wanted to become a priest. She wanted to help many people by traveling around the country. When she expressed such a desire, Zion said,

– Then you should travel.

Traveling isn’t easy.

You never know what will happen, so you need to practice camping first, he said.

So while she was somewhat tense, she intended to camp with a somewhat peaceful mind, along with the thought of accumulating all sorts of memories.

What is that monster?

The first day of camping.

Sia took in the sight of the dark red aura.

It was the first time she had seen such an ominous aura.

Surely, this aura was not good.

A being filled with malice.

It had serpent-like eyes, watching us closely.

Even the usually strong Sion seemed frightened at this moment.

But he did not leave his position.

Until the very end, she believed that Sion would be the one to protect her.

So, even when Sion asked her to leave, she did not want to go. Nor did she want to let him go. Rather, she wished he wouldn’t abandon her.

With everything she had learned to this point, there was only one thing Sia could do.

Simply hope and wish.

She prayed Sion would not get hurt.

– Please, I hope you are unharmed. Sion. You have to stay with me for a long time.

She squeezed her eyes shut, just hoping.

This was all that Sia could do.

#

“Sia.”

Consumed by an excess of holy power, Sia felt dizzy.

So, it was hard to open her eyes.

“Sia. Open your eyes.”

Shion’s voice resided deeply.

It was tranquil, instead.

Sia cautiously opened her eyes.

In her field of vision was a saint, emitting an alluring aura.

One arm was raised, clutched by a dragon.

No, it was the opposite.

“This is your power, Sia.”

The dragon, it seems, tried to tear off Shion’s arm.

But instead, the dragon was desperately flapping its wings to escape Shion.

Upon closer inspection, the dragon’s foot was held by Shion. Also, no harm came to Shion’s arm.

Relief.

Shion was safe.

Her wish for him not to get hurt had really come true.

But it wasn’t over.

Boom!

Sia’s eyes widened round.

“What?”

Before Sia or the dragon understood the situation, Shion swung the dragon by its foot and slammed it into the ground.

Thud!

“Pwekweeeck!”

With a dull sound, the light in the dragon’s eyes went out.

She was startled but a part of her felt relieved.

It was rather liberating.

A momentary doubt changes back into certainty.

Indeed, Lucien is strong!

Incredibly strong!

He’s not even scared of that terrifying reptile, he brought it down in one blow.

An unbelievable event. A truly joyous occasion.

If there’s a goddess in this world, all I’d want to do is express my thanks.

Xia was content with the fact that she was with Sion.

###

Yet all Lucien could think about was this.

‘How do you cook this?’