I Stole the Heroines’ Tragedy Flags

The next day dawned, and I still hadn't learned anything about the Sage's whereabouts.
My mind was completely occupied with thoughts of him, and I couldn’t remember a thing from the classes that morning. After the theoretical lessons, which had passed in a blur, I parted ways with Kiana and reluctantly found myself heading to the morning class again.

The subject I was going to attend was Divinity Studies. It was a class that second-year Aria and first-year Seria both attended together. Given the nature of Divinity Studies, the division between grades didn't really matter, so all students across different years attended the same class. It seemed like there might be too many people, but in reality, not many students had signed up for Divinity Studies that year.
There were two main reasons for this.
The first reason was obvious: Divinity Studies required the ability to handle divine power. Unlike aura and magic, the percentage of people with divine power was relatively low. On top of that, very few people were able to learn divine spells in the first place.

The second reason was… the class was just plain boring. Teaching about divine spells was fine, but it was the constant praise of the gods that made the class unbearable. The history of the gods, their grace, their mercy—Divinity Studies was basically about endlessly talking about these things in a monotonous, dull way. For someone like me, who had been an atheist in my past life and still had no particular faith, the material had no value whatsoever. Even in the game, I would always skip through that part.
‘…It’s not like I can’t use divine power just because I don’t believe in the gods.’
I could definitely feel how much had changed since a thousand years ago. Back then, there were indeed ways to receive divine power through intermediaries, but even without belief in the gods, there were still plenty of ways to wield divine power.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
But now, if you had no connection to the gods, you couldn’t even touch divine power. It was all because of those damn scumbags running the current Holy See. Those assholes deserved to drink with the emperor and not care about anything else.
‘I really should have killed those bastards.’

Regret like this always hit me too late. Once something was spilled, there was no turning back. I sighed deeply and finally looked up at the building I had arrived at.
‘…I saw it in the game, but seeing it in reality, it’s really fucking huge.’
According to the guide, I had arrived at the massive cathedral. The size of the building was far beyond anything I’d seen in the nightmares of my childhood. Looking at this vanity-filled structure, it was obvious where all the donations had gone. I rubbed my furrowed brows as I entered the building.

...
‘What a sight, really.’
As I walked to the prayer hall where the class was being held, I clicked my tongue at the expensive exhibits lined up along both sides of the path. I knew exactly whose money had been used to make these pointless trinkets.

[Prayer Hall]
Finally, I reached the door of the classroom. As I had experienced in the Magic Engineering class, there was a lot of noise coming from inside. The difference here was that it wasn’t the usual loud commotion, but rather murmured voices, as if the students were praying. Hearing that made me already start to feel repelled by the upcoming Divinity Studies class.
***

"Greetings, believers—! I am Cardrik Hopecell, a follower of the God of War Ureta, and the bishop in charge of this branch of Ella Academy."
A man with half-closed eyes greeted us with a prayer. In response, the students in the class prayed as well.
Of course, I didn’t.
Not only would I not pray to that guy, I didn’t even want to greet him.

‘It’s even worse seeing him in person after so long.’
Cardrik Hopecell. The man who served the God of War had a completely opposite nature compared to the calm demeanor he showed now. Just by looking at the name of the god he worshipped, it was clear he was a psychopath who loved the blood and flesh gained from slaughter more than anything else.
Ureta, the God of War himself, wasn’t much better. Although his rank was just below the Sun God and Moon God, making him quite powerful, he was constantly consumed by inferiority complexes and hated the two gods above him. It was common for him to torment the followers of the Sun and Moon gods through his own followers.

"Cardrik is truly pleased today! This year, the Saint of the Moon God, Seora, has joined my class!"
"Believers! Let us pray for the Saint, who always works hard for us!"
The nonsense continued as he prayed again. Following him, all the students in the front row, including Seria, offered their prayers.

To the followers of the Holy See, the title of "Saint" for the highest-ranking god was something untouchable. This idea also applied to student believers of similar ages, which made their behavior seem natural, even if it was disturbing.
‘This is ridiculous.’
Still, I felt uncomfortable. Was this supposed to be a Divinity Studies class, or a cult meeting? My head was starting to ache from the tiresome scene. I couldn’t see Seria’s face from the back row, but I imagined she was probably feeling very uncomfortable with the situation.

‘By the way, where’s Aria?’
I looked around while keeping an eye on Seria, but I couldn’t see Aria anywhere. Had she not attended today? It was the first class after all.
A strange feeling of unease grew within me.

Then, the unexpected words from the bishop reached my ears.
"Ah, and… I’ve been informed that Saint Aria couldn’t attend today’s class due to health reasons."
"Let us all pray again for the Saint’s health!"

The sudden news made my mind snap back to attention.
‘She’s sick? Already?’
This was an unexpected variable that completely threw me off. It was a far cry from Ren Aizel’s situation.

‘If she’s sick now, she’ll be dead before the first semester is over…?’
Seria and Aria. In the game, they lived their lives with a ticking clock. Chosen by the Sun and Moon gods, they weren’t like other saints or chosen ones. Instead of just receiving a fraction of power, they were like avatars, fully inheriting the divine powers of the gods themselves.
The problem was that their bodies were nothing more than weak humans. And the powers they inherited were those of the highest-ranking gods in this world. The combination of these two factors overloaded their bodies.

It was similar to the power of the hero that Ren had received.
‘…Shit. If this keeps up, I’ll have to move my plans forward.’
Originally, I had planned to wait and observe their progress, then make a visit to the sanctuary before the first semester ended. But seeing the changes in Aria’s condition so soon, it seemed like it would be irreversible by then. I nervously looked up at Seria.

‘Is Seria alright?’
If Aria had external changes, then Seria, influenced by the Moon God, was probably decaying internally. She might have been in an even worse situation.
"…This is a serious problem."

I muttered to myself as the sudden variable hit me hard.
***
After half-listening to the pointless Divinity Studies class, I caught Seria’s gaze for a moment, but for some reason, she quickly turned away with a strange reaction, avoiding my eyes. Her behavior was much different from a few days ago, and I couldn’t help but feel anxious.

I quickly left the cathedral and headed for the principal’s office.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."

The familiar voice welcomed me. I opened the door and walked in, facing her. As usual, she was busy with paperwork.
"...Hmm? Ain, is that you?"
"Here again. Vice-Principal."

"Just call me Sharin, it’s fine. I heard about what happened with the Headmaster yesterday."
It seemed the Headmaster had already talked about me with her.
"...Then, Sharin. I have a favor to ask."

"To me, not the Headmaster?"
"Yes."
The unexpected changes in Aria and Seria’s condition. The overload that occurred so much earlier than expected was likely because they had become saints too early. And that cause… was probably me.

‘Nothing is going the way it should.’
I had a lot of plans, but none of them were coming to fruition. After bitterly criticizing myself, I made my request to Sharin.
"Could you possibly lend me the Witch’s Crystal?"

"…Where did you hear about that? No, actually, I suppose it’s not strange that you know. You knew the Headmaster’s identity as well."
"Is it possible?"
"The Headmaster has asked me to fulfill most of your requests, so… it’s possible, but."

She looked at me with a worried expression.
"You probably already know how to use it, don’t you? Are you really sure about this?"
"It’s an urgent matter."

"…Alright. I’ll lend it to you."
She set down the papers and stood up. Then, she gestured for me to follow. Her movement was eerily similar to that of the Headmaster’s.
"You’ll be forcibly sent back in ten minutes. You need to finish your transaction before then."

"Understood. Thank you for agreeing to such a sudden request."
"…Ain, can I say something as the Vice-Principal?"
"…?"

She looked at me with sad eyes and gave me her final piece of advice.
"Don’t sacrifice yourself too much."
"…"

Click!
With the sound, my vision went dark.