The Heroic Tale Of The Prince And The Saintess

For some reason, Elaine’s face turned bright red, but after whispering something to Helene, she began tending to the wounded around her. Arthur, unable to read her intentions, asked her about her purpose.

“Saintess Elaine… why are you here…?”

“It should be obvious. I always repay my debts. If it’s the Five Great Calamities, my power should be useful.”

“Wha…”

With that one line, Arthur guessed Elaine’s purpose. This woman still held a grudge that he had defeated the Cockatrice, one of the Five Great Calamities, in Jerusalem and claimed the glory. That must be why she had gone out of her way to follow him here—to show off, “My healing power surpasses Arthur’s!”

‘This woman!! In my previous life she never came, and I had been wondering why she showed up at the Founding Festival, but so that was the reason!! Even the taunting dance, she’s still holding that against me!!’

So he fumed. This was Britannia, and being thought inferior to the Saintess in healing ability would be disastrous. If he actually lost, Morgan would definitely sneer at him with bitter sarcasm, and cold sweat ran down his back.

In reality, this was only Arthur’s paranoia. Elaine had come to help him, but since he chose to see her as a rival, he could not believe that.

“Our opponent is one of the Five Great Calamities. Are you sane?”

“Yes, of course I understand.”

Arthur himself had little real idea. He had never truly struggled even against two of them at once, but the ominous atmosphere was enough to make him drop the name of the Five Great Calamities. Still, Elaine did not flinch.

It was ironically the very same thing Elaine once questioned Arthur about. Yet the Elaine now before him showed no hesitation. It reflected her growth—and her trust in Arthur. But…

So they’re not even that big a deal, the Five Great Calamities!!

He hadn’t gotten through to her at all.

At that point, Arthur had only one option. He could not afford to complain about how disgusting bugs were. Rushing forward with the determination to strike first, he charged toward the knight being attacked by the locust monster to help him.

Then, the unexpected happened.

Elaine had begged Helene to lend her a carriage. Even though this was the Founding Festival, said to influence the succession struggle for the throne, she saw Arthur running off to heal the people without hesitation. That sight made her once again respect him deeply.

After all, going to a frontline swarming with monsters was not the work of a noble—much less of royalty.

‘As expected of you, Lord Arthur…’

Her heart had been pounding nonstop ever since the dance, overwhelmed by his kindness and broad heart. When she glanced at the carriage’s mirror, her face was crimson, and she could see Helene grinning mischievously beside her.

“…What is it?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just glad to see you cheerful again, even though you looked down when you heard Lord Arthur already had a fiancée.”

“Ugh… that’s…”

When she came to Britannia and saw him dancing with a noblewoman named Morgan, her chest had ached. Yet no matter what, whenever she looked at him, her heart would still race.

“It’s fine to stay that way… Lord Arthur is royalty. It’s natural for him to have one or two fiancées. Still, you know, there’s even a case where the Saintess became Queen of Britannia.”

“Wha—stop teasing me. I only came to help the people!!”

Her voice trembled, betraying a flutter in her heart. Yet the moment she got down from the carriage and saw Arthur’s face as he looked in anguish at a knight under attack from a locust-type monster, she straightened herself.

He was a prince who cared deeply for the people. Seeing a knight injured must have pained his heart. When she declared her intent to support him, he said:

“Our opponent is one of the Five Great Calamities. Are you sane?”

Even in such a dire situation, he worried for her. Elaine trembled slightly but still nodded. Among the Five Great Calamities, the “Army of Death” was the most infamous.

Wherever they passed, death awaited.

Their terror lay in their overwhelming defenses and their all-devouring hunger. They devoured all the wheat, spawned underlings, swelled their swarm, and marched forward. Witnesses in the past had called them the “Army of Death.” They caused the most immediate food crises for the people, and in the end, their voracious appetite even consumed humans and elves. Truly a calamity worthy of its name.

That was why he said it. That she could flee, if she wished… though he had no intention of fleeing himself.

“Yes, of course I understand.”

Hiding her trembling, Elaine nodded. She would prove herself. Just as the hero Arthur had once saved the village in Jerusalem, she would not back down either.

Hearing her words, Arthur looked at the knight being attacked, then immediately sprinted toward the “Army of Death.”

The surrounding knights cried out in shock, but…

“You worry for others, and yet you throw yourself into the jaws of death. Lord Arthur… it looks like it’s time I show you the results of my training!!”

Only Elaine wore a smile. Ashamed of her own fear when faced with poison during the previous calamity, she had devoted herself to honing her healing abilities. She was nothing like a certain prince.

As a result, her healing magic’s range had increased dramatically.

“Wha…”

As Arthur exclaimed in surprise, the knight’s wounds closed, and the sacred light pushed away the otherwise weak locusts one by one.

“Wha…”

“Would it be all right if I stood by your side, Lord Arthur?”

Elaine smiled as Arthur let out another cry of astonishment. The sight of the prince and the saintess standing together against the monsters resembled a heroic tale come to life.

At least, from the outside it seemed that way… though…