Volume 4 Chapter 18 People Cannot Change Easily. Still Struggling And Fighting――
Saint Catherine went missing... but it was resolved in an instant.
"Seriously... what a bothersome girl as always."
"Shut up! Who do you think is to blame for this!"
With half-tears in her eyes, Saint Catherine faced the young Church Knight who bowed his head and said, "I'm sorry."
About an hour ago, Randy found Catherine standing still in the deepest part of the Cathedral's underground dungeon, looking exasperated at the Church Knight.
―――――
"Actually... Saint Lady Catherine is missing."
Annabelle started, saying that Catherine had been out of sight for about an hour.
"She disappeared after finishing the rehearsal for the 'Saint's Parade' inside the Cathedral."
Looking down, Annabelle heard Randy raise an eyebrow and say, "Maybe she's in the bathroom?" Luke nudged him with his elbow.
Even if it was Catherine, Luke silently protested that it was a bit sad to assume she was missing for an hour just because she was in the bathroom.
"Well, we did search various places..."
Annabelle said, pulling out a piece of paper.
It read, 'I will return for tomorrow's performance.'
This was undoubtedly a note left by Catherine.
"Well, if she's coming back, that's good, right?"
"You're such an idiot. There's also the possibility of kidnapping."
"Yeah, that's true..."
As Cecilia frowned, she pointed out that it wasn't impossible for a kidnapper to leave a note to buy time. But imagining Catherine being quietly kidnapped was hard to picture.
She had made such a fuss and caused a scene even with Randy. If it were any ordinary kidnapper, the commotion would likely attract someone's attention.
"You searched inside the Cathedral, right?"
"Yes."
Annabelle nodded, saying that they had already split up with the Church Knights to thoroughly search the Cathedral.
"Well, there were no sightings of her going outside, but just in case, we went outside to check..."
"So that's when you saw us... or rather Randy."
Luke sighed, and Annabelle nodded.
"If she's not coming out from the Cathedral, what about the dungeon underground?"
"I haven't seen any knights on guard."
Randy said, tilting his head, and Annabelle shook hers.
"Still, if she comes out, it's going to cause a commotion."
Luke pointed out. Many of the believers gathered in front of the Cathedral were supporters of Catherine. If they spotted Catherine, it was only natural for them to react in some way.
"Then for now, let's check inside... The dungeon might not just have one entrance."
They all started searching about an hour ago. And then...
――――
"Why on earth would you go to the dungeon right before the big event?"
Randy sighed, and Catherine pouted, "It can't be helped." They had already evacuated from the dungeon and were now in a room set aside for Catherine, where everyone, including Annabelle, surrounded the Church Knight and Catherine.
Catherine, looking dissatisfied, spoke up about wanting to make the 'Saint's Parade' a success no matter what.
"With the upper management of the Church in such a state, the believers are getting anxious."
That's why she wanted to recreate the parade from back then, to show her presence as a Saint and reassure the believers, she said, still avoiding eye contact and pouting.
Hearing her reasoning, Randy turned to Annabelle.
She hesitantly nodded and explained that Catherine had indeed been putting in extra effort for the rehearsal. However, her hard work wasn't aligning with the temporary upper management of the Church.
The temporary upper management, like Catherine, also wanted to put a lot of effort into this parade. But the current Church didn't have the resources to do so.
To be precise, they had enough funds to make the 'Saint's Parade' extravagant, but emotionally, it just wasn't acceptable.
"Don't go overboard... Even I can tell that's a bad idea."
Catherine pouts, and she's right; if they make it too flashy, people might think, "Wow, the Church has a lot of money."
Creating a luxurious float and hiring stage actors to put on a show would definitely get people excited. But there's no way they can do something that ridiculous. No matter how much they want to show off the Saint's presence, that's just too much.
What the Church should really be worried about is being seen as "not having changed since that time" because of their reckless spending.
"So... if I can gain a little strength for everyone..."
Catherine murmurs, revealing why she had been going into the dungeon.
They can't spend money, but if Catherine can increase her own power even a little, the scale of the Holy Magic she can show to the crowd will grow.
In other words, she can get closer to the legendary image of the Saint without needing anyone's help.
Helping her with this is Leon, a young Church Knight who is still by Catherine's side. The two of them had discovered another entrance during a previous investigation, and now, along with leveling up, they dove back into the dungeon to search for the [Saint's Staff] once more.
They made a tough journey to the deepest part, but in the end, the staff didn't just appear conveniently... It was Randy who rescued a stunned Catherine, and that's how the story begins.
It's not great that they worried everyone, especially Annabelle, but still, Catherine's actions were her own thoughtful decisions.
Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances and let out small sighs.
Catherine is right; if she gains strength and can unleash large-scale Holy Magic, it would create excitement that's different from just being flashy.
It would definitely be a true, holy 'Saint's Parade' that would be incredibly lively.
Everyone looks at Catherine, wondering what to do as she faces the Saint in her own way...
"Catherine, if you want to make the 'Saint's Parade' a success... that's great, but what's your true intention?"
Randy frowned, and Catherine's voice rose as she said, "W-what? Didn't I told you!?"
She wanted to ease the believers' hearts. Even now, Catherine was looking at Randy with a furrowed brow, thinking she had said that, but Randy shook his head.
"Don't hide it. Everyone knows you're just a worldly Saint."
Randy snorted, and Catherine shot back, "Who's worldly?!"
"Stop pretending. If you pull off this parade successfully, the believers' trust will skyrocket, and at the same time, your influence in the Church will increase, right?"
"Ugh..."
Catherine stumbled over her words, and Randy let out a sigh of disbelief.
"Is that really the case?"
"Y-yeah! Because if I don't move up, I'll be stuck in this role as [Saint] forever... Even if I pass it on to someone else, it'll just tie them down too. Even if people point fingers at me, even if it's calculated, I have to earn the believers' trust and rise above everyone else. Otherwise, my path as Catherine Evans won't open up."
Seeing the conviction in Catherine's eyes, Randy shifted his gaze to Leon next to him.
"Are you okay with this Saintly Lady?"
"...Well? She's more approachable than some lofty self-sacrificing person."
Leon said with a grin, and Randy returned a wry smile.
"So? Did you gain any power by doing something so reckless?"
Catherine quietly shook her head at Randy's furrowed brow.
"...At least if I had the Saint's Staff, my Holy Magic would have been stronger."
Suddenly looking up, Catherine glared at Randy.
"It's you, isn't it? Big guy. Give me back my staff."
Catherine looked like she was about to snap, and Randy snorted, "What are you talking about?"
"Do you really think I'd use a staff?"
Randy played dumb, and Liz sighed, shaking her head.
"Lady Catherine, that staff was deep inside that dungeon──."
When Liz pulled out the Staff of the Universal Law (Elexion) from the space, Catherine exclaimed, "That's it!" and stood up.
"I knew it... but I'm sorry, this staff right now──"
Liz's presence faded, and Ellie appeared.
"Long time no see, little girl."
With a wicked grin, Ellie made Catherine scream, "Eek!" and hide behind Leon.
"I don't know what your intentions are in seeking this staff, but the Staff of the Universal Law (Elexion) originally belongs to me."
With a smirk, Ellie said this, and Catherine, smiling awkwardly behind Leon, replied,
"Oh, is that so?"
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to ask for the staff back?"
"N-no, no. If it originally belongs to you... please, go ahead."
With a wry smile, Catherine spoke, and Ellie raised an eyebrow slightly. She was probably told by Liz not to bully her.
"Well, it's true that not having a staff is inconvenient."
Maybe because she got scolded, Ellie said something unusual and pulled out a stick from the space, handing it to Catherine.
"So, you can use this."
Holding the wooden stick given by Ellie, Catherine said, "Ah, thank you." and then...
"Wait! This-is-a-hinoki-stick (basic or beginner-level weapon)!"
...she slammed it down hard. As expected of a heroine. She probably has some kind of appraisal ability.
"I can't believe you found something like this."
Catherine pointed at the hinoki stick, squealing in excitement. Satisfied with Catherine's reaction, Ellie burst into laughter.
Liz was probably getting angry again inside, but Ellie showed no change. Clutching her stomach as she laughed, Ellie was met with Catherine snapping, "What is this?!" her eyebrows shooting up in frustration. Gone was the Catherine who had been utterly intimidated by Ellie—now, she looked ready to bite back at her.
"If you have that kind of spirit, there shouldn't be a problem... Randy──"
Randy, who was called out, scratched his head and said, "Tch, can't be helped." Ellie's gaze seemed to say she wanted to help, but it was probably more for fun.
"Hey, Catherine──."
"What?! Right now, I'm so angry I could take down a demon king with a 'hinoki stick'!"
Randy nodded with a smile at Catherine, who raised her eyebrows. Sometimes, being furious works better than being scared and hesitant.
...After all, strong anger can blow away tension and fear.
"You want to make the 'Saint's Parade' a success, right?"
"Of course! I'm going to make it a huge success and make those guys who dumped me with their 'no contact' nonsense eat their words, along with you all!"
Randy couldn't help but glance at Leon next to her after her comment, which felt a bit off. Leon shook his head with an exasperated smile, but he didn't seem disgusted.
(Well, it's typical of her.)
People don't change easily. No one can just throw away everything they've had until now. So, for Catherine, the 'Saint's Parade' carries a lot of different feelings.
It might be her way of struggling and moving forward, one step at a time.
(It's like a ship that's already set sail...)
On that rainy day, it was Randy and Liz who fired Catherine up. Even if Ellie didn't say to help, she probably would have helped anyway.
Randy, with a self-deprecating smile at his own kindness, said, "Alright. I get how you feel."
"What? You're just going to make fun of me, right?"
"Not at all. Whatever the reason, we're already in this together. We'll help make the 'Saint's Parade' go well."
Catherine looked confused at Randy's bluntness. She never expected to hear the words "we'll help" from someone she thought was an enemy.
"It's today, right?"
"Yeah. This year's 'Saint's Parade' is going to be talked about for ages."
Randy's words sank in, and it seemed like Catherine finally understood. Her eyes glistened a bit. It was no surprise. She had been pushing through all this time, pretending to be strong. Trying to hold back happy tears, Catherine's lips trembled slightly as she forced herself to sound tough.
"If you want help, you should have just said so from the start!"
The women showed a mix of disbelief and amusement at her quivering lips, but...
"No. You're actually, like, totally, completely, not important at all. It's just that I owe a favor to Lady Annabelle's father."
With a mischievous grin, Randy ignored Catherine's raised eyebrows and her protest of, "What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Alright. Let's do this!"
Randy clapped his hands, and everyone nodded enthusiastically.
"Hey, I'm the leader here!"
Catherine shouted, but there was a hint of happiness on her face. Leon, who was protecting her, let out a small, lonely sigh.
"Good for you, Saintly Lady."
"What are you talking about? You're helping too!"
Leon looked surprised for a moment at being included without his consent, but then he shrugged it off.
"I guess I have no choice. Saintly Lady, you can't do anything without me, right?"
He put on a playful expression, which made Catherine angry, while Randy and the others started planning their strategy.
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