Great Saintess Reinforce

This was an event that occurred some time after Seyi departed.

One ship anchored at the harbor.

Disembarking in groups were knights in white garments — Holy Knights.

All of them belonging to the Tendo Church wore stiff expressions.

They formed a line and simply waited for her to descend.

“…………”

The one who came down was an extraordinarily beautiful woman.

A flaxen-haired woman clad in pure white vestments.

Her sorrowful expression and slender figure were beautiful enough to be mistaken for a work of art.

One Holy Knight knelt before her.

“We have been awaiting you, Great Saintess Reinforce-sama.”

The woman called Reinforce nodded quietly.

“We have prepared a carriage. This way, please.”

Great Saintess Reinforce nodded and boarded the carriage behind the Holy Knight.

During that time, no one spoke — not even her.

Reinforce, together with the Holy Knights, headed toward Giiv, the royal capital of the Elf Nation Anemosgive.

“…The situation?”

Great Saintess Reinforce — a member of the Tendo Church and one of the four highly capable saintesses known as the Four Saints.

One of the Four Saints, 【Reinforce of the Vanguard】.

She had come here to Anemosgive under orders from her superior, the Saintess Queen.

“We were ordered to remain on standby, so we do not know the most recent conditions, but according to travelers, the entire kingdom is polluted by miasma covering all lands.”

“…Is that so?”

Reinforce tilted her head slightly.

As if she had seen something strange.

“Is something the matter?”

“…None.”

“None?”

“…Miasma.”

The Holy Knight tilted his head.

But as they approached Giiv, he understood what the Great Saintess meant.

“Impossible… there is no miasma anywhere…!”

Reinforce and her party arrived at the royal capital Giiv.

What they saw there was the beautiful city of Giiv.

“According to travelers, the soil and air were polluted and uninhabitable… why…?”

“…Hehe.”

“Eh!?”

The Holy Knight was shocked.

Reinforce was smiling.

He had never once seen this woman smile.

She always bore a rigid, cold expression like an ice statue.

And yet now—

She was smiling happier than he had ever seen.

“…Found you.”

“Reinforce-sama. Found… what?”

“…Mama.”

“M-mama?”

Great Saintess Reinforce smiled.

As if she had discovered something precious.

“…Order.”

“Yes! What is it!”

“…Search.”

“Huh? F-for who?”

“…The person who healed this country.”

With that said, Reinforce returned to the carriage.

“Hey, Esgard. What did the Great Saintess say?”

Esgard, the Holy Knight who had been serving as Reinforce’s guard, was asked by his colleague.

Now, as he walked through the streets of Giiv, he was searching for the person she sought.

“She told us to find the one who healed this country.”

“Huh? What is Reinforce-sama talking about?”

“I don’t know… that person is full of mysteries.”

Great Saintess Reinforce — she and the other Four Saints possessed many mysteries.

“You mean the one rumored not to be human?”

“Yeah. Apparently an artificial lifeform created by the hand of our god.”

“So that means non-human? The very beings we consider enemies.”

The Tendo scripture stated they must protect God and God’s creation, humanity, and that all other non-humans were evil.

Esgard shook his head.

“No, the Great Saintess is special. She was created directly by God. She is equal to — no, above — us humans. Reinforce-sama is a noble being.”

Deep faith toward God and the Great Saintess Reinforce could be seen in his eyes.

His colleague teased him.

“Or maybe you just like Reinforce-sama?”

“D-don’t be absurd! There is no way someone like me could match with the Great Saintess!”

“You’re flustered. So you do like her?”

“W-well… I respect her as a person. All the Four Saints. Especially Reinforce-sama.”

His colleague said, “Hmm.”

“What was that term for the Great Saintesses again? Homun…”

“Homunculus. In ancient language, it means ‘life created by the Goddess of Light Seifalt.’”

…The Goddess of Light Seifalt.

Yes, the name of the god they believed in coincidentally matched Seyi.

And the Four Saints were homunculi created by the god Seifalt.

Furthermore, Reinforce sensed Seyi’s mana and called her mother.

What did that mean?

…In other words, well, that was how it was.