The Holy King In Elaine’s Eyes

Elaine, who had ventured into the forest alone to search for the Cockatrice, was defeating attacking goblins as she went—but she couldn’t hide her rising anxiety.

“One of the Five Great Beasts… I knew it was powerful, but to possess poison this deadly…”

Before her eyes, the Cockatrice was merely bathing in the lake, and yet the waters had become a toxic swamp. The Gokuuma Birds and goblins that had come to drink were slain instantly upon contact. Some had even melted into sludge and become part of the swamp.

And even she, a Saintess, couldn’t approach the swamp—let alone the Cockatrice itself.

“No way… That woman is ridiculously strong!!”

Turning at the voice that came from behind, she saw Arthur and his knight escort rushing toward her.

She opened her mouth, about to ask why he was here—but realized the answer.

It was just like his kind heart. Perhaps he had come to slay the Cockatrice, knowing the villagers wouldn’t be at ease otherwise. Or maybe… he noticed she had gone scouting alone and came to help her…

The thought made Elaine’s cheeks flush with warmth, and despite the danger, she couldn’t help but smile.

‘But… No, Elaine. You can’t rely on Prince Arthur any more than this.’

She scolded herself before she got carried away.

He may be kind-hearted, but he’s still a foreign prince—and this is a matter for Jerusalem. It’s a problem they must solve themselves.

“Prince Arthur… I appreciate the reinforcement, but this is our nation’s issue. The creature up ahead is the Cockatrice, one of the Five Great Beasts, and even you—”

“Enough! Let’s just take it down!!! That bird is MINE!!”

Ignoring her warning, Arthur charged forward at full speed. Bird? Was the Cockatrice attacking?

She turned to check, but it hadn’t made a move. Could Arthur have nullified it somehow? As she wondered, he passed by her and stepped directly into the toxic swamp.

“It’s too dangerous to go any closer, Lord Arthur!! My arrow—!!”

The knight’s arrow immediately decayed in the air, and Arthur’s boots should have begun melting as they touched the lake…

But instead, Arthur just kept running toward the Cockatrice like nothing had happened.

Could he be healing the poison as it infects him?! Just how strong is his healing magic?!

It was an unbelievable feat—even for her, the famed Saintess of Jerusalem. Even if healing were possible, stepping into such a cursed, blackened swamp was beyond human instinct. One would naturally recoil, even if they knew they could survive.

And yet he entered without hesitation. It was either the courage of a true saint who prioritizes saving others—or sheer idiocy.

Elaine was certain it was the former.

“Kweeeeeh!!”

“Uooooooooooh!!”

Perhaps afraid of Arthur or attempting to flee, the Cockatrice let out a cry and moved strangely.

Arthur lunged, grabbed its snake-like tail, and began purifying it.

‘Incredible… So this is Prince Arthur… I won’t be outdone!!’

With the poison around them weakening thanks to Arthur, Elaine gathered her resolve and stepped forward, casting purification spells of her own.

Though her healing ability wasn’t as potent as his, her range surpassed it. She could at least stop the Cockatrice from recovering by reabsorbing its venom.

“If I purify the entire swamp, it should help support him!!”

As she desperately cast her magic for Arthur’s sake, she noticed him watching her. She nodded as if to say, Leave it to me.

Then she gave it her all. It had been so long since she had cast magic with such joy—no calculation, no politics, just aiding someone who sought to help others. It reminded her of the Saintess she once dreamed of becoming. Her heart raced.

“Now’s the time!!”

“Kweeeeehhhhh…”

Seeing the poison weaken, the knight’s arrow struck the Cockatrice between the eyes. It twitched for a moment… and collapsed.

“We defeated the Cockatrice… with just the three of us…”

Elaine murmured in disbelief. Normally it would take dozens of church knights and priests—at great cost—to subdue such a creature. In some cases, they would have had to abandon the village entirely.

And yet… they had won. The reason was clear to Elaine.

“Well done, Tristan!! Fuhahaha! Looks like I win!! ‘Clearly, Prince Arthur is more capable than me…’—Gweh!”

Without realizing it, she had rushed to Arthur and hugged him mid-boast while he was pointing at the Cockatrice’s corpse. He had been her strength. Because of him, they had won.

But she still had something to say.

“What were you thinking, charging in like that!? Even you could’ve died!!”

She ended up scolding him harshly for his disregard for his life.

“Come on… there’s no way I’d die from that kind of poison…”

“That’s not the point!! I know you’re brave, kind, and amazing!! But if something happened to you, there are people who would mourn you!! I’m just so glad you’re safe…”

Arthur was reckless—ready to risk his life for others too easily. He reminded her of the Holy King she had once idolized. She clung to him tightly, terrified he might vanish like a dream.

“Fufu, the Saintess is quite forward. How enviable… It’s fine to celebrate the birth of a new hero, but shouldn’t we deal with the Cockatrice’s remains first?”

“I-it’s not like that!!”

Snapping back to reality, Elaine hastily pulled away from Arthur. But his words had made her realize something.

She had fallen for Arthur—a man so much like the Holy King of legend.

And overwhelmed with embarrassment, she blurted out the opposite of what she felt.

“I-It’s not like I like you or anything!!”

Thus, the Cockatrice incident came to a close.

“Elaine, thank you for your hard work!! You not only saved the villagers but defeated the Cockatrice, too… as expected.”

Back at the Church, Elaine reported the incident and received words of gratitude from Helene. But she only smiled and shook her head.

“No, I merely assisted Prince Arthur. He risked his life to save people of another nation. He was like the Holy King himself…”

Seeing Elaine’s flushed expression, Helene was deeply moved. Her admiration for the Holy King had always been real—some might say excessive.

And yet now, she had compared Arthur to that very figure. Helene, having watched over Elaine as her childhood friend, was convinced: Arthur must be a genuinely good man.

“So then… when will I get to see Prince Arthur again…?”

“Wait… really?”

Elaine’s bashful question made Helene smile gently. It seemed Arthur had captured more than just the villagers’ hearts—he’d won Elaine’s, too.

Seeing her finally look excited about something brought joy to Helene.

“In that case… let’s plan another dinner together soon.”

“Yes… and this time, how about serving Gokuuma Bird seasoned heavily with elf spices? He loves it. Oh, and…”

She paused shyly and said:

“Could you teach me to cook?”

“Leave it to me, Elaine.”

And with that, Arthur’s fate of being served an extraordinarily spicy dish at their next meal was sealed.