Chapter 101: Smashing Face

I couldn’t laugh.

Via put on a sullen face.

“Come on, smile! Say cheese, cheese!” Nana’s mood surged inexplicably.

“Why do I have to smile?”

“Because Via is already so cute, and smiling would make you even cuter!”

“I can’t smile at all.”

“Why~?” Nana looked utterly puzzled.

“No reason.”

“Via, you’ve gotten so weird,” Nana said, blinking her eyes.

“Last time we met, you were still so reserved, stammering through every word, but now our conversation flows so smoothly—you’re not shy at all!”

“Uh, that…”

Via only then noticed that she truly hadn’t put on much of an act in front of Nana.

“I’ve been practicing on my own; when talking to others, I can’t afford to be timid.”

“I see!”

“What about you—have you made any progress lately?” Via tried to shift the topic.

“You’re the second-to-last among the saintess candidates right now.”

“Oh, that!”

Nana raised a finger, as if about to announce something impressive.

“Zero progress at all!”

“How can you say that so proudly?”

“Because you’re here, Via,” Nana said happily.

“As long as I’m not dead last, it feels like I still have a shot.”

“What if one day I leave the Holy Land?”

“Huh?”

The smile froze on Nana’s face.

She panicked and grabbed Via’s arm.

“Don’t even say that! You have to stay in the Holy Land with me—at least for ten years!”

“You’re so selfish.”

“Via, I absolutely won’t let you leave the Holy Land!” Nana said with utter seriousness.

“I’ll do everything in my power to make you stay.”

“Is that Nana and… Via among the saintess candidates?”

As they climbed the pilgrimage stairs, a cleric on the path spotted the pair of saintess candidates.

This was a young priest, only about three years older than the two girls.

“Via, I never imagined you’d have the nerve to come back to the Holy Land?”

Via could tell at a glance that he was here to stir trouble.

But that was normal—with her status, anyone who saw her wanted to take a jab.

“Sigh, if I were you, I’d have hidden away ages ago; it’s just too humiliating!”

The young priest showed no mercy at all and launched straight into mocking Via.

“You clearly inherited Lady Sylvia’s bloodline, yet you can’t even wield holy power—how dare a cleric without holy power stay in the Holy Land— Aaaah!!”

But he didn’t even finish his sentence before a stone flew and smashed right into his face, sending him sprawling to the ground.

“Huh?”

Via looked over in surprise.

She realized the stone had been thrown by Nana.

“Nana, what are you doing!?”

The young priest clutched his nose and demanded furiously.

Blood trickled from between his fingers, dripping onto the pristine white stairs.

“Oh, sorry, sorry—my hand slipped!”

Nana scratched her head.

She said it apologetically, but her face wore a dopey grin.

“Priest bro, I spotted a fly just now and meant to smash it, but my hand slipped and hit your face instead.”

“A fly? Are you saying I was the fly just now!!” The young priest grew even angrier.

“I didn’t say that, but flies do love to buzz around.”

“You—!!” The young priest stepped forward, ready to argue with Nana.

“Uh-oh—run!”

Nana seized Via’s hand and bolted upward.

When she realized Via was too slow, she simply scooped Via up in her arms.

Via was utterly dumbfounded by Nana’s whirlwind of actions.

But she had to admit, Nana’s stamina was impressive—she quickly left the priest in the dust, no matter how he yelled and chased.

“That annoying jerk is finally gone!” Nana set Via down.

“Why’d you smash a stone into his face back there?”

“…I didn’t overthink it; I just figured it’d feel really good to see a rock hit his face.” Nana offered a bizarre explanation.

“You’re gonna get in trouble like this—maybe he’ll go crying to Archbishop Belon later.”

“No biggie! Sure, I messed up, but it’s tied to you too, Via—so we’ll get punished together!”

“You… Sigh, fine.”

Via felt utterly helpless.

But Nana was right about one thing.

When that stone hit the priest’s face, it felt really good inside.

“Plus, pulling stunts like that will lead to misunderstandings.”

“Like what?”

“That we’re close.”

“So?”

“Sticking too close to me will drag down your reputation in the Holy Land.”

“I don’t care!”

Nana flashed a thumbs-up.

“Because it can’t get any worse than yours, Via!”

Via and Nana took their time weaving through the mists.

They finally reached the peak of Mount Olens and arrived at the Holy Land.

The majestic Holy Land teemed with clerics and believers who’d come seeking blessings.

To avoid drawing eyes, Via steered clear of the main path and took a secluded route.

Nana said nothing more and stuck by Via’s side on the detour; the two reached a convent.

“Hi hi, we’re here! Saintess Candidate Nana and Saintess Candidate Via, making our grand entrance!”

Nana shoved the door open and raised her hand, announcing their arrival to the convent’s occupants in an overly exuberant voice.

Several young girls sat before a statue of an angel.

All of them, like Via, wore the standard saintess candidate attire.

These were all the saintess candidates.

“It’s the dead-last Via and second-to-last Nana?” one girl said coolly, glancing at them while hugging a doll.

She wasn’t tall at all, giving off a distinct doll-like vibe.

“You’re late.”

A saintess candidate with a deadpan expression furrowed her brow, her tone dripping with displeasure.

“Ah ha~”

Another saintess candidate sprawled on a bench yawned lazily, rolled over, and struck a new pose.

“Don’t sleep here—Archbishop Belon will be here any minute!” the serious one scolded in a huff.

“As saintess candidates, you need to act like saintess candidates!”

There were other saintess candidates besides those three.

All told, counting Via, Nana, and Sophie, the Holy Land had ten in total.

Via wasn’t close to any of them, but she recalled that these saintess candidates came in all flavors—plenty of oddballs with wildly different personalities.

One, two, three, four, five, seven, eight, nine…

Huh?

Wait—one short.

Why wasn’t Sophie here?