432 Part 3
By the way, I did not know what happened to my teacher and that absent-minded sorceress. I did not want to know. He was such a cool and kind person with strong magic, not to mention his accomplishment as a professor at the academy at such a young age, as well as his high social status and high annual income. No woman would reject a proposal from such a superior being. Damn, whenever I imagined how they would be lovey-dovey with each other, I felt like crying my heart out due to frustration and jealousy. Even so, this was my way of showing how earnest I was about my feelings.
Anyway, right when I returned with a broken heart, it was finally time for the official announced throughout Helvetia that I was the real daughter of Earl Bergunt. I had already been using Bergunt family name since I was in the academy, but never explicitly stated that I was the Earl’s daughter. It was convenient as long as I maintained a stance of moderate connection with the relatives.
With this, I would not be able to turn back or withdraw from my aristocratic debut and pretended that none of this ever happened.
Since the announcement was sudden, it was a bit of a mess and seemed to have caused some repercussions …. But for Helvetia, it was not the time to worry about this issue.
The three rampaging forces of monsters, bandits, and heathens around the territory made it seemed as if the White God would want to wash everything away with a terrible flood.
The only thing that could restore order was neither the miracle of gods nor the great efforts of the brave knights — yes, it was me, who had mastered Sanctuary.
However, the Earl did not seem to have an intention to suddenly sending me to the front line. In fact, I spent a quiet month in the mansion upon my return from the academy. I was baptized at the beautiful church of Helvetia. It was at this time that I was given the holy name Aria. Named after the holy mother Aria, this name was the most popular female holy name. It was neither good nor bad, and yet possessed an ancient and honorable origin, a perfect holy name for me who did not want to stand out. The name could be considered neutral.
After fully enjoying my peaceful moment, — that incident happened.
Amidst conflicts with the heathens who were lying in ambush in the slums, the church where I grew up was burnt down. The orphans were burned to death by the crimson hellfire. Sister, who raised me in place of my parents, also had a taste of purgatory and traveled to the afterlife. She died before I could show her how praiseworthy I had become; became the daughter of an Earl, graduated from Elysion Magic Academy somehow, and became a real Sister with the holy name of Aria.
That was the first time I killed a person. Utilizing Sanctuary, I killed as many heathens as I could see.
My Sanctuary has the range of effect and strength that I wanted. As long as they were within my sight, I could block the opponents’ escape route by using the barrier to corner and crush them. It would be like trapping them in a closed room with no exits and making the ceiling fall from above to crush them. They had nowhere to escape.
After thoughtlessly played a very active role in subduing the heathens, for no apparent reason, I found myself running around throughout Helvetia with the knights.
We crushed the monsters to the west and the bandits to the east.
Defeating monsters was relatively easy since they would run away once they were defeated. Due to the bad harvest in the neighboring territory, many citizens turned into bandits and started to rob for survival. However, thanks to the countermeasure taken by the generous Earl, who welcomed all citizens of the neighboring territory with open arms and happiness, we were able to solve the bandit problem without further casualties.
Only the heathens were hopeless. So I annihilated them thoroughly.
I had brought peace to the territory without knowing it, and the Holy Maiden of Helvetia was born.
“… Don’t joke around!”
Then I became one of the pages in that new legend and was to serve in the Crusade Army on the Pandora Expedition.
“Say what you like, but it’s going to be really dangerous this time.”
“Hey, how long are you going to keep whining? The enemy is already right in front of us.”
That day was the 20th day of Gloom. The huge blizzard known as the White Dragon Nest in this region had finally passed. Once again the cloudless blue sky pierced through our field of vision.
If I were in the academy, the time would be exactly when the first bell of the day rang. While shivering in the cold morning air, I straddled through the snowfield on my favorite horse, Unicorn.
Next to me was Sebastian wearing a silver armor like a prince. Right behind us were the idiots we met on the battlefield that had been following us ever since. Though they were idiots, they were companions that could be relied upon.
Behind them were countless soldiers of the Crusade Army wearing matching white surcoats.
“Hah ….”
I let out a heavy sigh as I saw the enormous castle wall in front of me as if it was protected by a class of vicious demons.
No matter how many holes we made, was it really possible to break through a wall that high? The Earl, the church, as well as the gods who gave us the revelation to fight, must all be crazy to have us invade such a place.
That thought crossed my mind, but since we had already come so far, there was nothing else we could do.
Prepare yourself, Rin!
“— O, brave Crusaders! This marks the opening of the curtain of the True Holy War. We are standing up to our Lord’s sworn enemy, the heathens who worshipped the evil demon class Black Gods. Today, right here, right now, in the name of the White God, we will pass a holy judgment to the army of evil men. We will destroy them!”
Last night, while rubbing my sleepy eyes, I was desperately trying to memorize this inspirational pre-battle speech so I could deliver it without making any mistakes.
Thanks to my hard work, the Crusaders in the back got all excited. Among the boisterous war cries, holy prayers and cries like “Kill the demons!” and “Protect the Gods!” could be heard.
To be honest, I did not understand what kind of authority I possessed to lead this army, but I played my part since I was told to do it.
If I won this war, I might acquire my own territory. I would not need a huge territory, only big enough to build a house, a moderate field, and some sheds for livestock. That would be good enough for me. Then this time for real, I would live a secluded, quiet, and peaceful life in my territory, detached from battles and aristocrats’ expectations.
That was my hope and dream.
So please, demon Spada. Please lose this battle obediently.
With that kind of selfish prayer in my heart, I raised my favorite Staff and screamed at the top of my lungs.
“— All hands, charge!”