WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
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◈ The Regressor and the Blind Saintess ◈
Chapter 36: Realization
──────
Two weeks later, in the flower garden outside the lodgings.
Vera was sitting on a bench beside Rene, passing the time, when he suddenly asked,
“How are your lessons?”
He had not heard her speak of them in some time.
Startled by the sudden question, Rene jerked before realizing a moment later that Vera was speaking to her. She hurriedly answered,
“Oh, they’re good! Lady Terisa is teaching me very well.”
Thump. Thump. Even as she spoke, her heart beat wildly.
Vera rarely started conversations himself. That he had offered a topic first was enough to make her feel this way.
Rene thought it was happiness. Terisa would have called it excitement.
Wanting to continue the conversation Vera had unexpectedly started, Rene went on, her face brightening.
Her voice bloomed with cheerfulness.
“Lady Terisa’s Authority is really helpful.”
“The Authority that connects people, correct?”
“Yes! She connects herself and me with it, then when she uses divine arts, I can feel every movement of her divine power. Um... It feels as though I’m the one using those divine arts.”
“That is rather fascinating.”
“Right? Ah, would you like me to show you what I’ve learned so far?”
“It would be an honor.”
“What is so honorable about that?”
A small laugh escaped Rene.
Amused by Vera’s stiff response, Rene stretched out her hands and released divine power.
“It is healing arts. Lady Terisa said it would be best to learn this first.”
“Yes, since it makes the best use of the vitality inherent in divine power itself.”
As Vera answered, he watched pure white divine power take shape.
The divine power that had spread like mist transformed into a cluster of light at Rene’s fingertips. It condensed into a sphere and drifted around her fingers.
Vera’s eyes widened in admiration.
“That is remarkable. For only two weeks of learning, it is highly refined.”
“Oh, it is all thanks to Lady Terisa.”
Rene giggled as she answered.
Hearing that, Vera thought once again that the Authority of Love was certainly exceptional for teaching.
‘No wonder His Holiness treats her with such respect.’
Seeing it directly, he understood.
‘It must be a mechanism for sharing the experience accumulated by an instructor.’
Sharing sensations was no different from directly driving the skills an instructor had honed for a lifetime into the student’s body.
In other words, it allowed a concentrated wealth of experience to be passed on in a short time.
It was remarkably versatile. Truly an ability worthy of being called an Authority.
However...
‘...It cannot be used in war.’
He now understood why Terisa had not gone to the front lines after the Demon King’s emergence in his previous life.
It was an ability that could swiftly raise one person to a higher level, but it could not be used efficiently on a battlefield where people died in droves the moment things went slightly wrong.
No matter how far one trained someone, if they died on the battlefield, they would have to start all over again with another person.
‘It is inefficient.’
It would be useful on a battlefield, but not necessary. There was no need to use it.
As his thoughts wandered, Vera fell silent, and quiet settled over the space.
Rene, who had been demonstrating divine arts, felt uneasy at the sudden silence. With an awkward expression, she withdrew her divine power.
“Um... That is all!”
“Ah, that was excellent.”
“Hehe...”
It was praise she heard often, but somehow, it always sounded new.
Rene fidgeted with the hands resting on her thighs. Not wanting the atmosphere to grow quiet again, she searched for a new topic of conversation.
What should she say? What topic would let them keep talking for a long time?
Nothing came to mind, and Rene thought so hard her head felt hot. Then she blurted out the first thing that occurred to her.
“Ah, right! Sir.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“What do you do while I am in class?”
Vera turned his gaze toward Rene.
She had lowered her head slightly, her fingers intertwined as she waited for his response.
What did he do?
Vera could not answer honestly.
How could he say that he was constantly summoning the other Apostles to beat them senseless?
After briefly considering his answer, Vera's lips moved before he replied.
“I devote myself to personal training.”
It was not entirely untrue. He had merely embellished it a little.
After all, since the beatings took the form of “sparring,” could they not be considered part of his swordsmanship training?
“Ah...!”
Rene nodded at his answer.
“You are very diligent, Sir.”
“It is only natural. I believe I must quietly do at least this much to become a person worthy of the Saintess.”
Rene’s shoulders twitched.
‘Again...!’
He spoke like that again. He said vague things that made her misunderstand in strange ways.
Of course, she knew he did not mean it strangely! But what if someone else heard him? Would they not suspect there was something between them?
Rene’s cheeks flushed at the thought.
The thoughts had arisen without her intending them to. Thoughts she could not examine closely even herself.
All Rene could do was panic at the feelings that came with them.
“Saintess?”
“Yipe!”
She raised her head sharply.
Her voice came out in a high, squeaking pitch.
Resenting herself for looking foolish again, Rene squeezed her eyes shut.
“M, maybe I am coming down with a cold...”
That was what slipped from her mouth.
* * *
That night, in Rene’s lodgings.
Leaning against the headboard, Rene let out a long sigh.
Naturally, it was because her body simply would not listen to her whenever she was with Vera.
No matter how much she thought about it, she could not understand why it acted so freely. Her frustration only grew by the day.
Tap. Tap. Her clenched fists struck the blanket.
Hella, who had been preparing Rene’s bed, tilted her head at the sight and asked,
“What is wrong, Saintess?”
“Hm? Ah, I think my thighs are tense.”
A lie that came out without a moment’s hesitation.
After answering, Rene grew frustrated all over again, wondering why she felt so comfortable around Hella, yet became especially unsettled whenever she was beside Vera.
Watching Rene tap her thighs, Hella straightened and continued.
“Would you like a massage?”
“What?”
“A massage, ma'am. I might not look it, but I'm damn good at giving them.”
“Uh...”
She had only made up an excuse, yet Hella gave her such a serious response.
Feeling her conscience prickle, Rene pulled back the blanket and nodded.
“P, please.”
“Yes, excuse me.”
Hella climbed onto the bed, placed her hands on Rene’s thighs, and began moving them carefully.
“My father used to say that if I had become a massage therapist, I might have been the best on the continent.”
As her thighs were pressed, Rene gave an awkward smile.
“I, I see. It really does feel nice.”
She only said it because she felt guilty and flustered. Then Hella spoke again.
“You are still young, Saintess, so you must take good care of your body. If you overwork yourself from now on, you will not develop properly.”
It sounded like nagging, but it was Hella’s way of showing affection.
Rene gave a small laugh at Hella’s continued words. Then, for some reason, the words “young” and “develop” caught her attention, and she asked,
“Hella?”
“Yes?”
“Um... Do I look that young?”
Thump. Thump. Her heart beat anxiously.
She was afraid Hella would say yes. For some reason, she did not like the thought.
At the question, Hella looked Rene over from head to toe. After humming thoughtfully for a moment, she answered,
“You have a fresh charm.”
“What?”
“You are so innocent and fresh.”
Rene tilted her head.
So, did she look young? Or mature?
It was not a clear answer, only something vaguely ambiguous.
Her face twisted into a strange expression as she prepared to ask again. Then she thought that asking so persistently might seem suspicious, so she simply nodded.
“Ah...”
The unanswered question only troubled her further.
* * *
The next day, in the outdoor garden.
Rene sat with her eyes closed as she waited for Terisa.
‘...It has been a while.’
How long had it been since she had been alone like this?
Ever since coming to the Holy Kingdom, someone had always been with her. That made the quiet atmosphere feel strange.
As Rene basked in the warm sunlight and listened to the cool breeze and rustling grass, a smile formed on her lips at the comfort welling up inside her.
A thought came to mind.
At some point, she had become accustomed enough to the Holy Kingdom to enjoy time by herself.
A place that had once felt entirely unfamiliar had become so familiar.
Only a little over two months had passed.
Rene had learned the paths well enough to move around the lodgings alone, and she could now distinguish people she often met by their footsteps alone.
She gave a small laugh at the thought, then felt proud of herself.
Was that not so? She had become used to being called the Saintess.
She still thought herself unworthy of that title, but she no longer felt resistance toward it.
It was progress by leaps and bounds.
Rene thought,
‘The reason I was able to become like this...’
It had only been possible because of Vera’s help.
Everyone in the Holy Kingdom was considerate of her and helped her, but if she had to name the person who had helped her most, she would choose Vera.
Was that not so?
Vera had always treated her with the utmost care and remained by her side with unwavering constancy. That alone gave her strength.
Then, all at once, everything that had happened with Vera passed through Rene’s mind.
From when they had first met in Lemeo, to the attack they had faced on the way to the Holy Kingdom, to the hand that had always held hers since they arrived, and the voice that had reached her ears.
And...
‘Th, those...’
Lips.
The day Terisa returned to the Holy Kingdom, in that meeting room, she had touched Vera’s face to get a sense of his features. Then her thumb had brushed against his lips.
As she dwelled on it, she felt as though that sensation returned.
Rene felt as if her mind had burst with a pop.
Her fingers fidgeted as she repeatedly rubbed her thumb.
For some reason, she could barely breathe, and she held her breath with a sharp inhale.
Thump. Thump. She could feel her heartbeat pounding through her whole body.
Her thoughts scattered again. Rene’s skin heated until it could not have grown any redder.
A short while later, Terisa spotted Rene from afar as she approached. Seeing the sight before her, she let out a dry laugh.
‘This is...’
Her eyes narrowed.
At the end of her gaze sat Rene, completely engulfed in a pink glow.
‘...This will not be easy.’
Terisa slowly shook her head.
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