Saint, You Should Quit Smoking

“Prince, have you heard that rumor?”
It was when the sun was high in the sky.
I visited the chapel to treat the arm injured in last night’s fight with the Northerner.
Among the many clergy of the Sun God Order, I was to receive treatment from the most skilled believer, the Saint.
Her flowing ash-colored hair rubbed against my body. The soft texture and fragrant scent were a bit close.
Surprisingly, there was no smell of cigarettes, which seemed to confirm her claim about purifying well with her holy power.
“Which rumor do you mean?”
“The rumor that the Prince uses a sinister technique.”
Rinet answered while stroking my arm. The sacred light emanating from her hands was seeping into the wound, healing it.
The topic she suddenly brought up was something I hadn’t heard.
“A sinister technique?”
“Yes! They say that despite being unable to handle mana, you can make others unable to move a finger.”
“Hmm.”
That was precisely true.
For the audience watching the duel at the time, they wouldn’t know by what method I did this.
I quickly understood why such a rumor had spread. Naturally, it would have been something I wouldn’t hear.
No one except those who had placed their livers outside their bellies would speak to make it reach my ears.
However, Rinet seemed to have interpreted my reaction differently.
“You find it absurd too, don’t you, Prince?”
“Do you not believe that rumor, Saint?”
“Of course not! The Prince I’ve been observing isn’t that kind of person.”
It was quite wholehearted trust.
Though I didn’t show any change in my expression, I felt quite positive about that answer.
It meant Rinet’s view of me was quite favorable.
It was a good sign for the task of ensuring a successful graduation from the Academy.
In any case, Rinet continued to express her doubts as if she really couldn’t understand.
“But I don’t understand. What audacity do those people have to insult a member of the imperial family?”
“It’s because this is the Academy.”
It was essentially a legally illegal act that could be enjoyed within the Academy, which emphasizes equality.
Outside the Academy, spreading such rumors would get one’s head cut off. For imperial nobles, the imperial family is a celestial realm they wouldn’t dare touch.
It was a situation made possible because the highest class voluntarily erased their status and accommodated.
Of course, if even that went too far, not even the Academy could protect them, but how much did the students realize that?
As I was thinking about these things, Rinet continued with a face that showed something displeased her.
“Hmm. I don’t really understand.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course! Look!”
At my question, Rinet pointed somewhere with her finger.
On the desk, numerous documents were scattered, and ink and quill pens were rolling around as if they had just been used.
It clearly meant she had been wrestling with paperwork. And not at a level that could be finished in an hour or two.
The owner of this room, the Saint, was responsible for this work.
Rinet kept speaking without stopping, as if releasing stress that had accumulated until now.
“Recently, I’ve been working constantly, constantly, constantly! What kind of Academy is this, it’s just like the Order!”
The annoyance loaded in her words made it clear how she felt about the Order.
‘So that’s what she was dissatisfied with.’
Indeed, when I visited Rinet’s room, she was already waging war against a mountain of documents.
If she had been doing such work since childhood in the Order, it was truly pitiful.
I asked about something that puzzled me.
“But why didn’t you do it until now? When I first transferred, you seemed quite relaxed.”
“That’s because I was attending Special Class lessons!”
A quick reply.
Rinet puffed her cheeks as if very displeased with the situation.
Though she must have grown up as a saint, looking at her like this, she was a girl appropriate for her age.
“When living as an Academy student, they reduced my saint duties, so I diligently attended classes, but now they say there are no more lectures! So I have a lot of work again.”
“…”
So the reason she attended the Special Hall faithfully wasn’t because she was diligent, but simply because she didn’t want to do the saint’s work.
Finding it absurd, I was silent for a moment before throwing out a question.
“Saint.”
“Yes?”
“I apologize, but are you really a saint?”
“Ugh, I am a saint!”
At my quite disrespectful question, Rinet stomped her feet and burst out in frustration.
“I’ve faithfully acted as a saint in the Order! I’m the very model for believers.”
“Then why do you smoke?”
“Well…”
At the pointed question, Rinet shut her mouth.
She immediately tried to change the subject by whistling, but I could guess the unfinished words.
‘Because it feels good.’
That must be the only reason.
I sighed deeply and said.
“That’s addiction.”
“No, it’s not! I purified all the addictive components.”
Rinet answered as brazenly as possible to my words, but soon her cheeks reddened as if she felt shame.
After moving her mouth, she sighed briefly and continued.
“…I don’t neglect my life as a saint.”
“Then why do you do it?”
“Just, you know? That feeling when you repeat the same life for 1 year, 2 years, 10 years, and you feel drained. It’s like that.”
With that, the saint closed her mouth. It meant she wouldn’t talk anymore.
Though Rinet expressed it indirectly, I seemed to understand what she truly wanted to express.
A sense of duty.
The numerous tasks, responsibilities, and behaviors that the identity of being a saint imposed on Rinet.
She was saying that she was tired of all those things.
This would be expressing part of her inner self. Probing more deeply would help in ensuring Rinet’s successful graduation, but.
‘No.’
I decided to be patient.
‘Let’s wait for the right time.’
I shouldn’t be hasty. To become friends with someone and open their heart, leisureliness is important, not impatience.
So that Rinet could naturally share her true feelings with me.
During our conversation, the light from Rinet’s hands faded, indicating the treatment was complete. Simultaneously, the pain in my arm completely disappeared.
When I applied force to my arm and moved it around, it functioned without any issues. Feeling satisfied, I stood up.
“Then I’ll be going now. It must be tough, but please continue to put effort into your duties as a saint.”
I leave this small comfort and prepare to depart. As I put on my clothes and move towards the door.
“W-wait!”
I heard Rinet’s voice calling me from behind.
When I turned my head, there was a girl looking at me with flushed cheeks.
“What is it?”
“…Would you mind sparing a little more time?”
It was a sudden proposal.
I tilted my head and questioned.
“Is something the matter?”
Having completed the treatment, the purpose of my visit here was over, and there was no reason for her to spend more time on me.
What reason could she have for stopping me?
At my question, Rinet remained silent for a few seconds. Her face became increasingly flushed, as if about to be completely cooked.
“C-cigarettes…”
“Pardon?”
“Please stay with me while I smoke. If I go out alone, they might suspect I’m slacking off.”
“…”
“A-and it’s also boring to smoke alone…”
Seeing her expression, embarrassed yet still saying what she wanted to say.
I think I maintained courtesy just by not frowning.

Again, midnight.
At exactly the same time as last night. I entered Bardishe Bar.
Ding-a-ling- Ding-a-ling-
The bell sound announces my entrance to the bar.
Like before, the dim lighting and hazy light sources made the bar’s atmosphere bar-like, but.
Contrary to my expectation of wondering what kind of gazes the students who had entered earlier would give, no one was present.
Except for one woman sitting at the counter ahead and the owner.
The owner, like before, was quietly making drinks so as not to disturb the customers.
The woman was also wearing a hood, lowering her presence.
I took a step towards them and asked the woman.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“Hehe.”
Finding my words amusing, she laughed softly.
“How could that be? I’m always here. It’s not about waiting.”
Always here, she says.
It was information that provided evidence that she was the target I was looking for.
As I approached the woman, she also stood up from her seat to face me. The hooded woman was still dimly visible.
There was no need to drag out the conversation. What I needed was certainty that she was the one I was looking for.
Just as I was about to reveal my business to her, the woman spoke first.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
“You have something to say to me, don’t you? That’s why I asked the master to turn away all the people. It would be a hindrance if it were noisy.”
“…”
‘Not bad.’
She seemed to be quick-witted.
Knowing that I had specifically targeted her when I entered last night.
I silently affirmed while gazing at her.
Though I couldn’t see inside due to the deeply pulled hood, somehow she seemed to be wearing a deep smile.
“I have a criterion for choosing who to talk to. What do you think it is?”
“Hmm.”
A criterion for choosing conversation partners.
Though she was speaking as if giving a riddle, it wasn’t a topic that required much thought.
It was simple considering her behavior so far.
This is Bardishe Bar. She is a figure who resides in the bar. Her hostile reaction when prevented from drinking her alcohol.
Organizing the evidence, the conclusion comes quickly.
I sighed and answered.
“Do you really have to drink?”
“Hehe. I don’t dislike men who are quick-witted.”
The woman stepped aside slightly, making room for me to sit.
Right beside her. It was a position selection that could lead to misunderstandings, allowing us to look at each other up close.
“Keeping me company until I’m satisfied. Then I can open my mouth.”
“Alright. Let’s do that.”
Hearing my answer, she was about to sit down right away, but before she could, I spoke up.
“However, I also have a request.”
“Yes. What is it?”
A woman wearing a hood and not showing her face. To her, tilting her head, I directly request.
“Please take off your hood. I need to at least confirm that you are the person I’ve been looking for.”
“My, my.”
At my words, the woman let out a small exclamation. My request seemed to be outside her expectations.
She put her index finger inside her hood. Though not clearly visible, she was probably placing it near her lips.
The woman responded as if my request was not to her liking.
“Don’t you already have some idea of my identity?”
“There’s a difference between directly seeing and assuming. It doesn’t matter if you refuse. It just means your drinking companion will disappear.”
“Hmm. That’s a bit troublesome.”
To my clear intention that I didn’t need to accommodate her if she wouldn’t remove her hood.
The woman shrank as if troubled, but eventually let out a sigh as if there was no help for it.
“Haa. I have no choice. How could a frail, ordinary woman refuse when the Prince himself requests it?”
Her eloquence in speaking contradicted her being a frail, ordinary woman, but I didn’t pick at that specifically.
She straightened her posture towards me and raised her white, slender fingers to grasp the hood.
And then she whispers softly.
“Alright.”
The voice coming from inside the hood is incredibly sweet. Like a drop of concentrated honey falling.
“I’ll show only you, Your Highness.”
With a tone like sticky sugar water flowing, she concluded her words and removed her hood.
Swoosh. As the hood came down, jet-black hair fluttered long.
For a moment, I had the illusion that a dazzling night sky was spreading inside this bar.
Even though the interior was already so dark, a shining darkness filled Bardishe Bar.
Then, eyes like obsidian stared directly at me. A coquettish voice pierced my ears.
“Nice to meet you.”
The woman concluded her words and bowed at the waist.
No, there was no need to call her “woman” anymore.
Her identity had been clear from the moment she removed her hood.
“I’m Adela Ciagria, the Sage of the Pitch-Black Tower.”
The second individual pertaining to the task of ensuring the successful graduation of all members of the Academy Special Class.