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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Psyche had been saved twice.
-Let’s get out of here, Psyche.
First, she was saved by Kroon when she was being abused at the orphanage, which was a disguised slave training facility.
-Kroon…! Kroon!!
And in a dungeon she entered unknowingly… when all her precious companions were lost, and only she and Kroon remained, she awakened as the Saintess and was saved by God.
After that, things seemed to fall into place.
Kroon became one of the strongest individuals on the continent, and she, as the Saintess, could live a life completely different from her childhood.
Of course, Psyche didn’t lose sight of her initial intentions.
Using her position, she searched far and wide for children like herself, both materially and spiritually.
Whenever a battle with demons passed, innocent victims were left behind.
She traveled all across the front lines, the areas classified as border regions.
Kroon also silently followed her actions.
When many territories were reclaimed, all stories eventually led to the final battle, the battle against the Demon King.
Everyone knew that this chain of events couldn’t be broken unless he was eliminated.
And amidst this chaos…
-Psyche, please.
Only Psyche survived.
.
.
.
Still within the red and dark Pandemonium.
“Why are you two here?!”
The ashen-haired man answered immediately, without a hint of surprise.
“Didn’t I tell you?”
“Huh?”
“We came to escort you, Saintess. That’s all.”
“…Womaniz…”
The demon girl’s mouth seemed to open, but then closed.
“And as you can see, without your help, I’m as good as dead.”
He shrugged, and he truly seemed to have no other intentions.
In other words, he was telling the truth.
Psyche asked her next question.
“Then how did you know…?”
He answered this question as well, as if he had prepared for it.
“Well. Things just happened this way.”
“…?”
“But one thing is for sure… isn’t all of this meant to reunite you with Cynatis…?”
“You know Cynatis…?!”
“Yes, we even have a contract.”
This wasn’t a lie either.
‘As expected, it was Cynatis…’
The crossbow he had fired just now carried a familiar scent of the wind.
It was the scent of Kroon’s companion monster, a scent she had always felt around him.
It took Psyche a long time to open up to Cynatis.
If he had formed a contract with her… it did alleviate some of her suspicions.
“L-Lastly, just one more thing… What’s your relationship with each other?”
“…”
This time, the ashen-haired boy didn’t answer.
Instead, the sky-blue haired demon girl, munching on something, answered for him.
“Junior-kun seduced me.”
“Huh…?”
“I can’t run away anymore. I’m completely this womanizer’s slave… Mmm!”
“Saintess, let’s ignore her and go.”
“……”
Psyche covered her mouth with one hand.
There was no hint of falsehood in their words.
She had thought he wasn’t an ordinary man, considering he had communicated with Cynatis.
But this girl was a demon.
The love between a demon and a human? She had never heard of such a thing.
Moreover, a human keeping a demon, whom they would normally look down upon, as their subordinate…?
Something unimaginable in Psyche’s time was unfolding before her eyes.
‘Cynatis…’
Surely Kroon had warned her to be wary of humans, and she was worried that this man might have some kind of hold over her.
Psyche gathered her strength, for the sake of those she had to protect.
“Alright, let’s go back quickly.”
“Thank you for trusting me, Saintess.”
“Hmm~”
Looking at the man skillfully handling the demon girl, Psyche thought once more.
‘By the way, he definitely said… womanizer… right?’
A title given to lecherous men with a reputation for womanizing.
‘!’
Suddenly, she remembered Aria Bluebell.
The successor who would follow in her footsteps and become the Saintess.
“No!”
“Saintess?”
He approached her, as if wondering what was wrong.
As always, without hesitation.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Psyche waved her hands to stop him.
“Yes, please tell me if anything comes up.”
“Yes…”
That child, with a heart as pure as freshly fallen snow… was precious.
‘I should warn her to be careful of that kind of person.’
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Members of the Denec family belatedly visited Clarice Academy.
Even though they were estranged, death was quite a shocking event.
His mother attended the funeral, and now his father, the head of the family, came personally to hear the details.
That was all.
Perhaps he… would be forgotten like this.
Aria finally began to feel the reality of his death.
‘I will never… forget you.’
She couldn’t deny reality any longer.
That’s what the Hero Academy was like.
For the sake of the future, the training of cadets wouldn’t stop. It would only accelerate.
As Edwin said, to atone for Lev, even just a little, she had to become stronger.
And the only way was to defeat demons and achieve peace.
So, Aria devoted herself to her studies.
‘Aria, aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?’
‘I’m fine.’
Despite Edwin’s worries, immersing herself in magic and endlessly reading books allowed her to forget him, even just a little.
Moreover, she could take a step closer to her goal of becoming stronger.
These two facts spurred her on relentlessly.
As Aria walked towards the library today, she encountered…
“Hello? Cute junior?”
Liris.
Aria greeted her with her eyes and tried to pass by.
But…
“You did well~.”
“!”
Her cheerful tone pricked at the lingering emotions within Aria.
“As expected, that guy was just a useless demon, right?”
“…”
When Aria didn’t answer, Liris stopped her.
“I asked if he was a demon, right…?!”
“…”
“I-I knew it. That guy, he was just lucky enough to become a demon, but he was still sane… He was nothing special… I almost fell for it.”
“…”
“Why, why aren’t you answering? Don’t tell me… he was actually a real demon… or a demonkin…?”
Liris Larochelle was a bit unhinged.
She had heard that Lev Denec’s body hadn’t been recovered yet, so her only concern was whether Lev Denec was a demon or a demonkin.
If he really was a demonkin, the actions she instigated… would never be forgiven in Pandemonium.
Helplessly, Liris decided to confirm it another way.
She leaned closer to Aria and whispered,
“Hey, hey. How did it feel? When you stabbed him… his flesh…”
“…!”
A tremor ran through her, starting from her fingertips.
-L-Lev…
-L-Liar…!
-S-Sorry…
Just as the nightmare of that day was about to resurface for Aria,
Slap!
Liris’s head snapped to the side.
“Get lost…!”
“!”
It was Yeriel.
Harsh words, never heard from her usual self, were directed at Liris.
“Wh-What are you doing…? I… I was just complimenting my cute junior for defeating a demon…?”
“Compliment? Yes, you are. I should compliment your thick skin for sticking around the academy after leeching off the student council so much.”
“Yeriel…? Are you crazy? Hanging out with the first-years has made you defend this murderer…!”
Smack!
Just then.
It was Violet, the head of the Archer Committee, who roughly grabbed Liris’s wrist.
“Yeriel Artina and Aria Bluebell cooperated fully with the investigation requested by Clarice and the Imperial Family. They are not obligated to answer your personal questions.”
“Let… let go!”
“There are matters to investigate, so come this way.”
Violet gave Yeriel and Aria an apologetic look and dragged Liris away.
“Aria, are you okay…?”
At Yeriel’s comforting words, Aria asked in return,
“Are you okay, Yeriel?”
“?”
“That… that person said… I killed Lev… with my own hands…”
“…I know.”
“…”
“But it wasn’t your intention, and above all, you’re the one who stopped me from going berserk, right?”
“?!”
“I always remember things… a little late… When everyone lost consciousness due to the magic pressure I emitted…”
“…”
“Aria enveloped me with her divine power.”
That was true.
During the final battle with Marcosias, at some point, the subordinate curse binding Aria had disappeared, and she was able to act freely.
The first thing Aria instinctively did was to calm Yeriel, who had spread her black wings.
“So, even if it’s a little hard for a while… no, maybe it’ll always be like this… but for Lev’s sake… let’s be strong together… okay?”
Despite her hopeful words, Yeriel’s eyes were filled with tears.
“Yeriel, sob…! I… I liked Lev so much… but I did that… and said such horrible things…”
“It’s okay, Aria…”
“Even though I don’t deserve to… I miss him, I miss him so much… I can’t stand it…”
“…It’s okay, Aria…”
In truth, both of them knew.
That the man named Lev Denec wasn’t someone they could simply forget with a few tears.
Therefore, they were pure maidens who could only rely on each other.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Whoosh!
A circular shape of holy light, larger than expected, illuminated a corner of Pandemonium.
A gate, reminiscent of Valhalla, the temple of the angels, appeared to greet us.
So this was how beautiful a Divine Levelation could be.
“Keep your promise…!”
Yellody, standing far away, squinted, and Psyche, the Saintess who performed this miracle, spoke.
“Let’s return. To where we belong.”
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Returning like this is so damn funny.