I Can Hear the Saint’s Inner Thoughts

22 – The Continent’s Strongest Mage (2)

Victoria couldn’t hide the astonishment from the scene unfolding before her eyes.

“Just… why… why go this far…?”

Her small hands clasped together, trembling, and she barely managed to calm her whirling eyes.

Right now, Victoria’s party was on a journey to subjugate the Demon Lord.

They were about to head to the territory ruled by the Succubus Queen, laying the groundwork for their great undertaking.

So why, of all times, was he trying to move to the Holy Kingdom now?

– That maniac… you’re the only psycho who’d risk his life for a girlfriend he’s only known for a few days.

– I’m just trying to prevent things from getting troublesome later.

Victoria had also overheard the conversation between Kyle and Astal earlier. He seemed like he was about to risk his life to open a space-time gate for her sake.

The tear in space, a fissure that looked like a torn wound or a cracked surface. Unlike normal teleportation magic, its form wasn’t a swirling vortex, but…

“There’s no reason to go to the Holy Kingdom of Aurelium right now…?”

The row of white buildings visible on the other side was unmistakably the Holy Kingdom of Aurelium where Victoria had resided.

Victoria’s eyes darted back and forth as she took in the sight. She began to ponder the reason behind Astal’s actions.

‘Astal-nim is usually more focused on things like defeating the Four Heavenly Kings or the Demon Lord…’

A revenge-driven man who didn’t care about anything except killing the Demon Lord and preventing anyone from dying or getting hurt.

From the stories she heard during the battle with the Hollow Dragon, it seemed his parents’ enemies were probably demons.

Astal wasn’t one to talk about his past, so this was her only way to surmise the truth.

‘Could it be… did he find out that I have a terminal illness…?’

There was no other reason for him to act like this. Right now, Astal was turning his body into living lightning and tearing through space – such bizarre behavior.

“Ugh…”

A sensation bloomed powerfully in Victoria’s chest. A warm, tender, poignant feeling.

The complete opposite of the cold, sharp, knife-like feeling she experienced with unrequited love.

It felt like their hearts were finally connecting for the first time, and her heart pounded rapidly.

‘Even so, he probably still hates me…’

Victoria placed a hand over her heart, trying to calm her racing pulse. She had a history of misunderstanding and misinterpreting situations, leading to many missteps.

Given Astal’s usual personality and actions, she figured he’d probably think it was a good thing if she was about to die.

To him, Victoria Everhart, the saintess, probably seemed like a vile, foul-mouthed, perverted madwoman.

‘…I should ask the Celestial God. I need to know why he went to the Holy Kingdom.’

To resolve her curiosity, Victoria clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and began to pray. She was sure Lumina, the Celestial God who had brought her here, would know the reason.

‘Celestial God, why did Astal-nim use such magic? We were about to head to the territory ruled by the Succubus Queen… This is going to mess up our schedule.’

Victoria’s questions kept piling up, intertwined with each other. Her desire for Astal to have done that out of concern for her was at the forefront of her mind.

– [Really, are you asking me that, my child?]

The Celestial sighed deeply, and delivered an oracle to Victoria. How could it be that these frustrating two, even after entering a contract relationship, hadn’t made any real progress?

– [He’s trying to save you. Isn’t there only one reason why that man would move like that?]

‘T-that can’t be! Lord Astal never saw me as a woman! How could he, for a trivial life like mine…’

Victoria shook her head in denial. Something was off no matter how she thought about it.

She had hidden the fact that she was living on borrowed time to the utmost. Recently, she hadn’t used her powers, so she had barely shown any signs of being unwell.

So how could that oblivious man know and put his life on the line for her?

– [That crazy b*stard actually went and took action. Who the hell would use such a reckless method to head to the Holy Nation? It’d be nearly impossible unless he was rescuing the Holy Maiden of a nation.]

The Celestial cursed, thinking of Astal who wasn’t here. There was also a part of it that felt somewhat vexing.

The idea of breaking through space using massive mass and speed was easy to say but difficult to execute.

If he had such feelings for Victoria and knew that she liked him, then shouldn’t he just confess and actually date her?

‘…R-really, is that so?’

Victoria said, acting like she was alright as she felt her cheeks turn crimson.

She was the one who had the contradictory desire for Astal to like her, and to be remembered as a woman he would think of once in a while.

“Ehehe… Lord Astal… is… doing it for me…”

Victoria made a high-pitched, adorable sound, reveling in the current joy. She even slightly covered her face with her hair because of the ticklish feeling.

Astal was always the one who worried more than anyone else when Victoria was hurt or sick, but recently, she hadn’t shown him that side of herself.

– [Still, if you’re worried, follow him. Even I think the new Pope is shady, honestly.]

The Celestial gave another oracle to Victoria.

It seemed that she had to see Astal heading to the Holy Nation’s Restricted Library herself for any progress to be made.

Right now, Victoria’s grumbling attitude and harsh words were all because she still lacked love.

If you truly liked someone, you would throw away your pride and face and desperately pursue them.

“…I was planning to follow him even if you hadn’t said so, Celestial.”

Victoria nodded her head firmly, and gazed with a stern expression at the rift in front of her. The pure white scenery beyond was one of the places she never wanted to return to.

But,

“A mage who uses his body so recklessly, I, as the Holy Maiden, will definitely have to scold him.”

It was a place that the man she loved had gone to, using his own body to push through.

He’d even abandoned his mission of getting revenge on the demons and monsters, solely for Victoria Everhart.

What woman in this world wouldn’t follow him after that?

Victoria once again felt grateful for having fallen in love with a mage named Astal.

* * *

“Alright, time for me to do my thing, I guess.”

Right after Astal left, the hero Kyle drew his flaming holy sword from its sheath.

The gate was immune to interference magic, so it was clear that the demons and monsters who sensed the anomaly would be coming.

Kwooosh!!

Immediately, a beast’s loud roar echoed, and the vibrations of countless monsters approaching were felt.

“…They’re here already. That couple is a handful, I tell you.”

Kyle plunged his holy sword into the ground, turned the hilt, summoning his armor while speaking. There were easily over 50 monsters just judging by sight.

No dangerous ones were visible yet, but soon many enemies would be drawn by the rumors.

A space-time gate meant they could invade the continent more easily than ever, after all.

Then, a shadow flashed past Kyle’s side.

“Excuse me for a moment, Hero.”

Unlike when she addressed Astal, her tone was stiff, and the identity of the woman scattering petals and platinum blonde hair was…

“…Victoria?”

The Saintess of Flowers, Victoria Everhart.

“I can’t leave that idiot alone.”

While Kyle was flustered and unable to stop her, she threw herself straight into the gap in space Astal had created.

Victoria instantly transformed into a streak of lightning and vanished, leaving Kyle alone in the empty space.

“How did she even know about this? Astal clearly said he checked that Victoria was asleep before he came here…”

Kyle clicked his tongue in disbelief. This meant Astal’s plan to go unnoticed was going to fail.

“…They really do have some similarities, don’t they. How did two people so in sync even meet?”

Kyle muttered his purely personal thoughts on the two, finishing his preparations to fight the approaching monsters.

It was the same back when they fought the Void Dragon.

Whenever Astal came up with some crazy plan, Victoria would always assist or back him up from the sidelines.

From here on, only fate would guide their path.

“Okay, no one’s getting past this point!”

Kyle looked at the incoming horde of monsters and smiled confidently. He was certain that if he were in the same situation, his companions would have done the same for him.

He had to act in a way that was befitting of the name of hero.

* * *

The Holy Kingdom of Aurelium, a space where pure white buildings were lined up as if not allowing even a single bit of impurity.

“No matter when I come, this place gives me the creeps…”

Thud, thud.

Having already tumbled once on the ground and successfully landed, I brushed the dirt from my body and cloak, then looked up straight ahead.

First, transforming my body into living lightning through elemental conversion, then using that explosive power and speed to pierce through space with magic.

The chain magic of using the Thunder Lord and Astrape in sequence was just too much of a shock to my body.

“…Look, someone just crashed into the wall!”

“Who the heck is that? They just suddenly appeared. There was nothing there a moment ago…”

“Are they okay? Their forehead is bleeding…”

Mutter, mutter.

Since I’d just ripped through space and collided with the building wall, people were gathering around me.

‘Good thing I put up an anti-recognition spell just in case.’

I pulled my blue robe further down over my face and began walking towards the location of the Papal Palace, repairing the crumbled remains of the building with magic as I went.

If it were known that I was in the continent and not the demon realm, the Demon King might naturally see an opening to strike.

My companions from the hero’s party would recognize me, but there was no way Victoria or anyone else would be here.

‘…Well then, how about I go threaten the Pope into telling me how to save Victoria?’

Soon, without any hindrance, I arrived at the Papal Palace, the largest building in the Holy Nation, and came face to face with the paladins guarding it.

“Greetings! I am Paladin Wilhelm! Please state your identity and name!”

A paladin wearing a white mask stood proudly, blocking my path. It was as if he was there to prevent any external individuals with uncertain identities from entering the Papal Palace.

“……”

I scratched my chin, considering for a moment. The epithet of “The Harmless Mage,” or my title as the continent’s strongest mage, flashed through my mind briefly.

“…Saint Victoria’s lover.”

I couldn’t help but say those words after seeing Victoria’s likeness sculpted right above my head.

This would get Victoria in trouble later, wouldn’t it? It was punishment enough for teasing and provoking people every day.

“……? Is that…really true?”

Paladin Wilhelm’s eyes widened at my words, and he looked at me with a kind of reverence.

Huh, something about his reaction was strange.

“Finally, our saint has found a partner! And, it’s the famous Harmless… *muffled noises*”

I realized that something was terribly wrong and immediately clapped my hand over Wilhelm’s mouth.

This paladin, my anti-recognition magic wasn’t working on him.