Young Hunter And Young Saintess

――The deepest part of the dungeon.

――Goooooooooooooooooo!!

Centered on Kaine, who had driven a saw-cleaver into his heart, the Holy Sand’s rust-dust, which disintegrates everything it touches into dust, raged.

Once activated, the dust will not stop unless the caster dies or the saw-cleaver is pulled from the heart.

「…………」

Kaine leaned his back against the chamber wall and waited for the moment his HP would drop to zero from blood loss.

“(A mutual kill with the Shadow Necromancer — a fine end. Frances… Selva… I’ll go there too… If this rotten body can pass through the Gate of Heaven… that’s the idea…)”

“Lord Ka――!”

He couldn’t even feel the pain of the blessing (curse) that was eating away at his body.

Despite his near-dead body whose five senses had mostly ceased to function, he heard a voice.

“Lord Kai――!”

A woman’s voice.

“(…Who is it?)”

“――Lord Kaine!”

A voice calling his name.

It grew little by little louder.

“(Is it you…? Frances…?)”

“Lord Kaine!!”

＊＊＊

“Kaine!”

――This was Kaine Kaiwell’s life flashing before his eyes.

――Memories from twenty years ago.

“What are you doing in a place like this?”

“That’s my line—it’s time for prayer now.”

Behind the deserted cathedral.

A woman came to Kaine.

A beautiful woman with long golden hair and white, soft skin.

She was Frances Cuticle, a healer who would later be called the Saintess of Mercy and would bear Florence Cuticle.

“I snuck out, hehe.”

Hymns could be heard from inside the cathedral.

Frances spotted a small, likely handmade altar-like stand in front of Kaine and her eyes brightened.

“Ah! Could it be, young Kaine, you were praying here!?”

“The Lord watches over us lambs wherever we are—therefore, no matter where we offer our prayers, they will reach Him.”

“Even so, since we were both chosen for the Knights the of Stigmata, wouldn’t it be better to pray in the large dedicated chapel?”

“If I’m there, others won’t be able to concentrate on their prayers.”

At this time, Kaine had already taken up the 《Decay Transfer (Last to Last)》 and his whole body was being eaten by corrosion.

Without the blessed holy bandages, the pain was so severe he couldn’t lead a normal life.

“I don’t think the people of the Knights of the Stigmata care about that sort of thing.”

“Don’t worry about me. Go back to the chapel.”

“To be honest, the chapel the Knights of the Stigmata use exclusively—it’s uncomfortable, so I snuck out. You see, the seniors are all grim, right? They’re always on edge, almost radiating hostility. Selva isn’t around either—saying things like ‘If you have time to pray, you’d be better off spending it on research, ye—stuff like that.”

“Hmph… that’s so like him.”

“Even so, they can still activate holy relics, so faith is hard to understand, isn’t it?”

Twenty years ago—members of the Shikai Tribe who had awakened as Shadow Necromancers plotted to overthrow the state.

Thanks to the Holy Church’s efforts, they succeeded in defeating the Shadow Necromancers, but the Knights of the Stigmata lost many comrades in that battle.

To fill the empty seats, three promising young Holy Knights were chosen—High Cleric Frances, Berserker Kaine, and Apothecary Selva.

By the way, the ranking of the three at that time was —

Frances――Stigmatata No. Five.

Kaine――Stigmata No. Six.

Selva――Stigmata No. Seven.

――That was the case.

“So that’s why, with none of my peers around and feeling out of place, I was aimlessly wandering the cathedral.”

At that moment—the hymn that had been heard from inside the building stopped.

“Ah! Prayer time’s over!”

“There’s no rule that you may only pray during the hour of rest—you can start now.”

“That’s true. Well then, young Kaine, sorry for sitting next to you.”

Frances moved close enough that their shoulders almost touched and offered prayers before the small altar quietly set up behind the cathedral.

Kaine gave up on turning Frances away, stepped aside to make room, and resumed his prayers.

“……What is this?”

When he finished praying and opened his eyes, Kaine noticed a white water lily placed on the handmade altar.

“Ehehe, it looked bare so I added a little color.”

It seemed to have been Frances’s doing.

Looking at Frances, the floral decoration that had been on her white coif was gone.

Apparently she had placed a fresh flower there.

“Hey, can I come here and pray with you again next week?”

“Please stop. I want to pray alone.”

“Tch. Then, instead, can I leave a water lily on this altar every week before prayer time?”

“Why?”

“I want you to remember me. The scent of my favorite flower—Holy Knights, you never know when you’ll die, right? But if every time Kaine smells a water lily he remembers me, I’d be happy.”

“Even if I don’t remember, there are plenty of faithful who won’t forget you.”

Frances would later be canonized as a saintess and cherished by many faithful—even at this time she was already healing many believers’ wounds with her exceptional restorative magic.

There were many who felt indebted to her.

“Still, I want young Kaine to remember me.”

“…I’ll do my best.”

“Hehe! Thanks!”

“(Please—stop bestowing blessings (curses) on me any further)”

A memory from long ago.

Memories of the Saintess of Mercy whom Kaine admired and longed for, but never confessed his feelings to, and who died before him.

――Ten years later.

He received the news that Frances had lost her life in a battle with the Shikai Tribe.

From that day, Kaine’s desire for revenge against the Shikai Tribe grew even stronger.