The Cathedral of Light was the brightest place in the entire Human Kingdom.
At least, that was the theory.
As for the reality, it was probably just as bright—after all, even if you’re naked, you’re still Light.
Today, Ella noticed that the Saintess was putting in an extraordinary amount of effort, kneading dough with such vigor that she almost ended up playing a dangerous choking game with herself.
“You’re telling me you had already planned to gamble that I could keep you alive before you risked yourself like that?”
Leah’s righteous glare pressed down hard, her fierce eyes barely inches from Ella’s.
“You’re so smart, you definitely thought it through. That’s just too much! What if I hadn’t been able to heal you?”
Wow, that sudden lunge shocked all the girls, and the Saintess was so scared she couldn’t even speak properly, forgetting how to recite the blessing and the prayer of mourning on the spot.
If she hadn’t instinctively thrown in a threat-style prayer when emotions ran high, who knows how it might have ended.
The Saintess grew more and more frightened as she thought about it, and the more frightened she got, the more intensely she pressed down, kneaded, and rubbed.
“Press! Knead! Rub!”
“N-no no… ah, really, I didn’t!”
Ella said, feeling very wronged.
“It was just a split-second decision—I couldn’t have thought of all that.”
And that was true.
If she had the ability to think through so much in a single second, would she have had to push herself to the limit against Cesa for the last few minutes?
But hearing this made Leah even angrier.
“You didn’t think that much, yet you still rushed up there? Did you not consider at all what would happen if you died? I—I…”
“I’ll top you off!”
The Saintess suddenly delivered a righteous knee-elbow combo, earning a cute little squeal of “Kyah!”
Tears welled up in Ella’s eyes, and she had so many reasons she wanted to say.
Like, the enemy had already reached her, so she couldn’t just keep holding back.
Or that fighting Cesa was better than fighting the Evil God’s direct minions.
But Leah had her own words to say, mumbling on and on about pressing her to death, kneading her to death, rubbing her to death, and topping her off.
***
Evening came, and night fell—the time to rest and sleep.
The satisfied Saintess lay down and sighed softly, “Sigh, Vina has always been suspicious of us, and this time she almost caught us slipping.”
Ella glanced at her quietly, thinking, You knew everyone was suspicious and still dragged me here to join the church, but you only talk about it now after lying down.
What, has she switched to Sage Mode?
“But it’s fine. Celes didn’t find out, and Zero believes we’re innocent,” Leah stretched comfortably.
“Only Vina is suspicious. As long as she didn’t catch us red-handed, that’s good enough.”
Ella blinked slightly.
What was that?
Zero believed we’re innocent?
After asking, she learned that after the assassin girl came back, she spoke on her behalf and publicly declared she was not siding with the little witch.
“Well, that might be… um, that…”
“What are you mumbling about?”
Leah grabbed Ella’s cheek and gave her a kiss.
“Good night!”
Zzzz
After thanking the goddess for three days straight at the Cathedral of Light, Leah finally allowed Ella to return to the camp.
On the day of departure, the girl’s long, slender legs felt a bit unsteady on the ground.
She should have ridden a Dragonhawk back and forth—her legs felt almost unable to carry her.
Only Celes was at the camp; Vina had been called away by senior members of the Magic Court for some business and would return in a few days.
Zero had gone to visit Rolls, since he was her nominal guardian.
As for the lone Sword Saint Maiden left in the empty nest, she looked visibly downcast.
“You’re back,” Celes mustered some energy.
“Want something to eat? There’s still food in the kitchen.”
“No, I ate already. The church has a cafeteria,” Ella replied as she sat beside her, tentatively asking, “Still haven’t found a suitable weapon?”
“Yeah.”
Celes led her to the courtyard, where several broken swords lay scattered on the ground, and a dozen or so swords rested on the nearby rack.
“I had someone bring these over—crafted by the Royal Blacksmith Workshop in the Capital. They’re well-made and good quality, but they’re missing something.”
What exactly they were missing could be seen by the broken swords on the ground.
Ella cautiously asked, “Did you maybe put too much pressure on them?”
Normal sword practice wouldn’t break so many.
Celes shook her head, “If they can’t even withstand my training intensity, there’s no hope for actual combat.”
The shadow of the broken sword from the battle with Cesa still haunted her.
That knight’s sword was the one she had when she first returned, the sword that accompanied her through many battles and helped her earn the title Sword Saint.
In that process, her resilient spirit was infused into the blade, growing together with her.
So it was difficult to find a replacement now.
Ella’s eyes twinkled.
“Celes, I don’t know how to help you, but I think you’re putting too much pressure on yourself,” she said softly.
“How about we take a break? Everyone could go to the seaside to relax for a bit.”
“Seaside relaxation?”
“That’s right.”
“But…”
Celes looked puzzled.
“Where by the sea can we go to relax?”
The Human Kingdom hadn’t opened sea routes, let alone any seaside tourism.
Except for the fishermen who had lived by the sea for generations, no human would willingly go to the wild and untamed ocean.
After all, there really were sea monsters out there.
“Harbor City.”
Ella blinked.
“That’s our city. Don’t you want to see what it looks like now?”
Harbor City…
Celes’s heart stirred.
She actually missed that place a little.
She thought of the people there and whether the policies she left behind before leaving had brought them a better life.
“Let’s discuss it after they return,” she said.
Ella’s eyes curved into crescent moons.
“Great~”
Alright, alright, sad people are easy to convince—now everyone could go to Harbor City again.
Once there, Ella would subtly redirect the Hero Squad’s attention toward the Demon Territory.
Reclaiming the top position was just around the corner!
Ella approached the weapon rack and pretended to carefully choose, then pulled out an exquisite sword.
“Celes, I think this one looks pretty good. Give it a try.”
“…Alright.”
Celes took the sword and stepped into the courtyard, her momentum surging.
Swinging, chopping, and thrusting. Sword qi, sword light, moonlight.
Swish swish swish swish swish! Bang!
In a flurry of moonlit consecutive slashes, the exquisite sword couldn’t take the strain and snapped in two.
Just as expected…
“Here, here, and this one too—try again~”
Before Celes could feel down, Ella tossed her another sword.
Not wanting to disappoint her, she continued dancing with the blade.
Swish swish swish swish swish!
Ella stood behind the weapon rack, watching her movements with a satisfied smile tugging at her lips.
That’s right—practice, no slacking.
Soon you’ll have to fight for me.
You’ve got to train.
After breaking three more swords, night finally fell, and the girls who had been outside also returned.
Ella subtly gestured for Celes to tell everyone about the plan to go to Harbor City.