A sudden memory came to mind, and the past and present began to faintly intersect in my mind.
But at that time, the child and Ophelia seemed like completely different people no matter how I looked at them.
'Why did you save me? Just let me die.'
A sly little boy with empty eyes that didn't match his age and who seemed to have given up on life.
"Ahem! His Holiness the Pope says that evil forces are active throughout the empire and are threatening the peace we have just regained! So let's join forces and defeat the evil!"
"So... That's why you came to me."
"Yes! The god whispered to me to defeat the evil while giving me the stigmata. Of course, I can't do it alone, so I need a companion, and the adults of the church said that you are the perfect person for the job!"
This bright girl, who proudly reached out to me and smiled brightly as if she had jumped out of a fairy tale, had nothing in common with me.
By the way, subjugating evil? What kind of nonsense is that? And what about the fact that I am the right person for the job? I suddenly felt like I had been caught up in something incredible.
I tried to smile at Ophelia, who had casually blurted out such an outrageous statement, and said.
"I see... Please sit down for now."
"Yes... Ah! These cookies look delicious. Can I eat them?"
"They were brought out for guests to eat in the first place, so you don't have to be concerned about them."
—Crispy, crunchy!
"Huh... delicious! I've never had anything like this in the convent. I feel like I've wasted my life..."
"Saint! Maintain your dignity!"
"Yes, yes… Sister Scarlett…"
I glanced at the girl who was munching on cookies filled with various nuts like a squirrel, and lost myself in thought for a moment.
First, leaving everything aside, the most important thing was that Ophelia knew Lieutenant Laurent.
That alone created a huge connection between her and me.
Because only a very small number of my old comrades remember her who died in battle without even leaving a body behind due to a fatal mistake I made in the past.
'Even if her appearance changes, her memories don't change. So is she really that child?'
If that's the case, that gloomy little girl not only grew up to be unrecognizable in a few years, but also became a saint of the Church of Heaven and came back to me.
I could somehow organize it in my head, but it was a story that was hard to accept.
"Hey… why are you staring at me so intently all of a sudden?"
"Excuse me. I was so tired that I was absentminded for a moment while talking."
For now, I tried to cover up the situation by looking at the saintess who was tilting her head while staring at me.
I had just drawn a sharp line like that a little while ago, so it was a bit awkward to pretend to know now.
… But, even during the growth period, hair and eye color don't change, right?
I remember that child's blond hair wasn't that bright, and her eyes were closer to brown.
Did her body mutate due to divine power? It was strange in many ways.
"Oh! Your complexion didn't look so good... Oh, could you give me a hand for a moment? I'm confident in healing and restoring energy!"
"Yes, saintess."
Meanwhile, when I reached out my hand to Ophelia, instead of doing anything, she started looking around my hand as if it was strange.
—Jumujumu
"It's so big... How can the scars and calluses be like this... It's more than twice the size of my hand?"
I fiddled with it with both hands, and spread my tiny hands wide to overlap them with my palms. I was playing with it as if it were a fun toy.
I was fiddling with it so much that Scarlett, a priestess who couldn't stand it anymore, yelled out.
"Saint! What are you doing so manly?"
"Hehehe... This is a healing act, a healing act! Then... Hehe!"
Ophelia, unable to bear the nagging, cutely shouted and summoned her divine power.
I recalled how she had just summoned a storm of divine power instead of a blessing, and carefully raised my spirit to prepare for any disaster.
—Hwaaak!
"This is…"
However, Ophelia's divine power contained much more power than I had thought.
The fatigue from having sex with the Master all night yesterday completely disappeared, and the vitality in my body that had been squeezed and emptied was instantly restored.
An overwhelming sense of fullness. This level is on par with the blessing of the World Tree that was contained in the Master's kiss.
Is it true that no matter how clumsy a saint is, she is a saint?
"Hehe, how is it? Do you feel a little less tired?"
"Yes, thanks to you, it's much better. Thank you."
"I'm glad it helped!"
She looks different now. She wasn't completely sloppy.
The girl's bright smile was refreshing just by looking at it, and her long, curly blonde hair swayed as if asking to be touched.
—Ssssss
I put my hand on her hair, which was very messy, and gently stroked it. It was an action I did without thinking because the height was just right.
"Hwaaah… It's been a long time..."
Ophelia then let out a pleasant snort as if she were a pet.
"I, Lord Wolfgang. It would be bad if you touched the saintess's body without permission."
'Oh, this.'
I realized belatedly whose hair I was stroking, but I didn't really care. I've stroked the hair of the imperial princess and the general to my heart's content.
If you don't mind, then fine.
Anyway, it was time to talk about work again.
—Crackle!
"As expected, there's a rumor that the Black Lion Knight Commander is a womanizer..."
"If this continues, even the saintess might be in danger..."
I slowly opened my mouth, lightly ignoring the gazes of the priests and knights who were starting to feel a little stingy for some reason.
"Well, Saint. You clearly said earlier that I was the most suitable person to be your companion for the mission given by the Heavenly God. However, I don't think I can give you a definite answer right now."
When I hinted at a subtle refusal, Ophelia asked back with an expression as if she had lost everything in the world.
It was unfortunate, but it couldn't be helped. Regardless of my personal affection for the little boy who I met again as if by fate, I had to make sure to move on from this.
"Huh?! Why?"
"As the commander of the Imperial Knights, I am loyal to His Majesty the Emperor. In other words, in order to conduct a joint military operation with the Heavenly Church, you must formally request cooperation through the Unified Command."
"Huh? I haven't heard anything like that from the Pope or the Grand Inquisitor..."
Oh, this Saintess too.
After talking to her briefly, she seems to know absolutely nothing. She's literally no different from a little boy.
I feel a sense of duty, but I have a lot of authority and responsibility, and I know nothing about it.
Somehow, I see myself as a new officer when I was confused.
"I understand that the Cheonshin Church has no authority to give me a mission. In peacetime, not wartime, the joint operation plan must be submitted and approved first, because there is a separate chain of command between the two groups."
"I, I understand what you mean. Ha, but I..."
Seeing Ophelia's shoulders drooping and her intimidated appearance, I decided to leave room for a smirk.
"I'm not saying I'm going to refuse outright. It's just that we need more time to do something together. If the saintess handles things poorly, it will be difficult for the subordinates, not the saintess."
"Hmph..."
"It seems that you are not yet accustomed to your position as a superior. You will gradually need to get used to this kind of formal handling of affairs."
In the first place, if the Eclipse guys were trying to cause another accident, I had no intention of refusing to stop them.
As a knight and bureaucrat of the Empire, I feel very sorry for those guys who dare to join hands with the cursed North Korean guys and threaten the peace that I personally created.
In addition, the new greatsword I just got has the properties of a perm, and I was also reading the devil strategy book I received from my master with great interest.
My body was already itching, and if I could get the help of the saint, even though it was clumsy, it would be even easier to make them good.
I left the sad-looking saint behind and spoke to the red-haired priestess next to her.
"You said Priest Scarlet? It seems that you are the actual leader of this group, but I would like to speak to you instead of the immature saint."
Then she answered with a strange look in her eyes.
"Yes, that's right. I heard you're a very rough and wild person. I guess you can't trust rumors."
"Haha. I'm used to such misunderstandings. Because of your appearance."
Ophelia, who was so grown up, pouted and grumbled, being treated like a child so naturally.
But the problem was that the content was so jarring to my ears.
"Ugh... You're just like an old man and an old woman..."
I would have thought it would be okay if it happened once or twice, but even while talking about work next to me, she kept mumbling as if she was singing a round song to herself.
Even though their age difference was only five or six years, how could she act so childishly?
I couldn't stand it anymore and snapped at her.
"What did you say, you little brat?"
Then, the saintess who kept grumbling as if she wanted me to hear it.
He shut his mouth as if he had never done that before and ran towards me with his eyes shining.
"Sir! You remember me, right?"
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