That day, the kingdom was turned upside down.
[The Saintess Bersia, wrapped in the radiance of the High God, floated a holy ring and drove out the sickness!]
It took less than two days for the miracle that appeared in the Ocia territory to spread beyond the kingdom to the entire continent.
As rumors tend to do, the events of that day began to be exaggerated as they spread from mouth to mouth.
Thus, a title was given to Saintess Bersia, and it was…
“The Miracle Saintess.”
“…”
“Miracle Saintess, where are you going?”
“…Please, stop it.”
The Miracle Saintess, Bersia.
And Usher, who was the person involved, was currently blushing bright red and trembling slightly.
Bersia followed him, whispering the words “Miracle Saintess” repeatedly.
The location was her garden, and this scene had been playing out for two tiresome days.
Usher kept his lips tightly shut and glared at Bersia as he had done all this time.
Only then did Bersia smile, seemingly satisfied, with a languid smile.
A sigh escaped Usher’s mouth immediately after.
“Honestly, I feel like I might lose my mind.”
“This is your karma.”
“How could I have expected it! I had no idea the saintess’s holy power would be so vast…!”
“Are you blaming me now?”
“N-No, that’s not it…!”
When Bersia opened her eyes wide in response, Usher looked like he was about to cry.
In fact, if he were to think about it, it was true that he had recklessly wielded his holy power.
The Miracle Saintess, or whatever, feeling troubled by the strange nickname she had created as a holy knight, started to set in.
Walking through the church, seeing priests kneeling in reverence, and the scholars of the order rushing over with foaming mouths, shouting, “Was this also a revelation!?”—he still hadn’t gotten used to it.
Then Bersia spoke.
“Well, nothing serious happened, right? That’s lucky.”
“That may be true, but…”
“But what?”
“…I apologize.”
As she said, nothing else had happened beyond the nickname “Miracle Saintess.”
Yes.
Even her “My life is ruined” line was just a cruel joke.
How his heart had pounded when the incident first happened.
Thinking Bersia had unleashed hidden power out of fear of excessive burden, he was so guilt-ridden that his mind went blank.
But it was all unnecessary anguish.
—Oh, it was a joke. Everyone who knows me knows about my holy power.
—Why would such flowery words like “world’s favor” even come about? I’m actually quite outstanding, you know?
Her holy power was already widely acknowledged as the strongest of the strongest.
Some even said that the current pope, Sergio, couldn’t surpass her.
Thanks to that, there was no interrogation.
Well, not entirely, just a question here and there, like “Why did you suddenly do that?”
Bersia’s instructed answer to that was simple.
—Tell them there were too many patients and not enough time, so I handled it all at once.
It was a nonchalant answer, but even that satisfied the cardinals.
What sort of conduct did she normally have, that made them so content with such an answer?
Usher couldn’t help but fall into a strange feeling, and so, today…
“…Anyway, I’m glad it ended without incident. For a moment, I really thought things would go awry.”
Usher could now go about his day with a more relaxed heart.
He still disliked the title of “Miracle Saintess,” though.
Moreover, he had learned something from this incident.
“I think I need to train! If I can’t control my output, I won’t be able to protect the saintess…!”
He realized he needed to adjust to his own holy power.
Regardless of the situation, Usher’s duty was to guard her.
He could not afford to remain incompetent.
Bersia then spoke.
“Hmm, that’s true. If what you used that day had been a battle prayer rather than a healing prayer, the entire territory would have been wiped off the map.”
“…”
“I would have become Bersia, the Cruelest Witch, instead of Bersia, the Miracle Saintess.”
“…”
“I would have been branded as a public enemy of the continent for something I didn’t even want. My life nearly got ruined.”
“I’m sorr—”
“I couldn’t just leave my body behind, so I would have followed you, Sir Knight, into hiding. Just the two of us, living quietly in a forest somewhere…”
“???”
As Usher listened, he sensed that something was off. Lifting his head with a suspicious look, he saw Bersia smirking crookedly.
And then, in an exaggerated tone, she said:
“Oof, oof. Apologize with your body.”
“Ah! Come on!”
“How is it? I learned it yesterday.”
“Wh—?! Who in the world taught you something like that? If there’s someone in the church spouting such vulgar language, they should be disciplined…!”
“Marvin.”
“We became friends somehow.”
Usher’s pupils trembled as if struck by an earthquake. Was Marvin really like that? And how did they even become friends? Marvin had certainly never spoken to him that way before.
Countless thoughts swirled in his mind.
“After chatting a bit, he said something like this: ‘You’ve been through a lot, and now you have some masculinity in you. Yeah, back then, I even worried about how pious you tried to be. You’ve got to live a little. This is a better look, my friend.'”
“…”
“He also said, ‘Now you can even make jokes,’ and that was our conversation yesterday.”
“…”
“Sorry. I stole your friend, Sir Knight.”
Usher’s lips moved wordlessly.
Marvin’s face flashed through his mind. He was always the friend who, with a grumpy face, would offer words of concern.
A friend who he felt both grateful and guilty toward.
Of course… he knew Marvin wasn’t one to be as devoted as he was.
He also knew that crude words were something healthy men often used.
He understood it all.
So why did he feel so betrayed?
An empty feeling settled over him.
“Shall we discipline him? Although disciplining someone over a little inappropriate talk among friends might be excessive… but if the Miracle Saintess commands it, what choice do I have?”
“…”
“Shall we proceed, Miracle Saintess?”
Usher’s head drooped deeply.
Despite everything, he couldn’t bring himself to say it, thinking about Marvin, who would be punished for reasons he didn’t even understand.
Finally, Usher spoke in a voice that sounded almost defeated.
“…Still, such words are inappropriate.”
“Hmm, I’ll try to refrain.”
“You really should! If you conduct yourself well, Marvin will understand my sincerity! This is for Marvin’s sake, so the saintess must restrain herself! True health comes from a sound mind! While Marvin and I may be strong from training, if crude thoughts dominate, then surely….”
“All day, you’d be… stiff…”
“No, that won’t happen!”
“Kaak!” Usher almost growled, his expression fierce, his eyes nearly bulging from the tension.
Bersia just shrugged, smoothly changing the topic.
“Alright, then. Shall we proceed with the training you mentioned?”
Now, Usher understood.
She was signalling that she had her fun and was ready to stop teasing him.
How could she be so infuriating?
If he could, he would have pinched her cheek and stretched it.
“Fine! I’ll focus, so please don’t interrupt!”
Turning around sharply, Usher closed his eyes and clasped his hands.
And so, the training to “use just a little holy power” began.
Bersia sat with her legs crossed, watching Usher’s back. Though it was technically her own back, it was no longer a strange fact for her.
Something more important demanded her attention.
Sssss…
“Ooh?!”
Bersia observed closely, watching the moment Usher activated his holy power and the phenomenon of his prayers radiating with divine light.
With that, she came to a certain conclusion.
‘As I thought…’
He isn’t an ordinary person.
Verification was necessary.
Bersia gathered her own holy power, attempting to manifest a prayer in her hands.
But—
Pffft!
The faint glow flickered briefly and then fizzled out.
It was pathetic.
If this were her original body, the healing prayer would have manifested completely by now.
Why was there such a disparity?
It wasn’t simply due to the quantity of holy power.
The difference was in completion.
The mechanism of holy power, despite being dubbed a “Blessing of God” or the “Wll of the Divine Parent,” was oddly technical. The key lay in how precisely the power was structured, and how densely the particles of each force were connected to amplify it.
To put it in terms of output:
If you possessed 100 units of holy power but had a completion level of only 10, the output would be one-tenth, or just 10.
However, if you had only 10 units of holy power but achieved a completion of 100, the output would be the full 10.
This was the principle at work.
Bersia recalled the halo from that day.
She remembered the miracle he had performed.
It wasn’t…
‘It’s not just 100.’
This wasn’t a mere case of perfecting 100 units of holy power to achieve 100.
It went beyond that.
She could confidently reach this conclusion because her own prayers were close to 100 in completion.
Of course, Bersia could manifest a halo herself, and even replicate Usher’s miracle, but it would require considerable effort.
At the very least, she’d experience dizziness or nausea.
Even if she’d been in perfect condition, she’d have shown symptoms like shortness of breath.
But Usher?
He’d merely looked flustered, wearing an innocent expression.
What did that mean?
‘Completion above 100.’
The thought made her chuckle incredulously.
It meant that what Usher had accomplished wasn’t just the perfect answer but a new solution that surpassed it.
He was a person who could utilize holy power with output beyond 100.
‘Has anyone else managed that?’
She wasn’t well-versed in history or notable figures, so she couldn’t be sure, but no one Bersia knew had ever achieved it.
Her gaze fixated intently on his back.
“Agh, why can’t I…!”
He struggled clumsily to control his holy power, looking flustered.
Yet somehow, that sight looked different now.
‘He’s a monster.’
That foolish-looking knight was anything but normal.
His abnormal, twisted talent was enough to ignite a faint curiosity in Bersia’s heart.
Perhaps it was a sense of kinship.
One could only wonder.
Was such talent and ability part of a grand design?
Was it given with a profound purpose?
…These were mysteries that could not be unraveled now.
Bersia brushed off her thoughts, stood up, and approached Usher.
Then she asked,
“Is it not going well?”
“…!”
“Hmm, perhaps it would be best to seal all battle prayers for a while?”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t be discouraged. I’m not in much danger, and I’m quite satisfied with how easily you react to teasing.”
“You shouldn’t assign a guard for reasons like that!”
“If I don’t assign one for reasons like that, what other use would I have for you?”
“What…!”
Usher looked up at her with the expression of a wounded puppy, as if hurt.
Bersia felt unusually amused.