“What are you saying? That is far too dangerous!”

One of the high priests immediately objected to Fresia’s proposal.

Of course, the people Fresia had named were the Holy City’s strongest fighting force: the current Saintess, the next Saintess, The Starlight Archer—one of the legendary heroes—and the Paladin. No one currently in the Holy City was stronger than they were.

“I’m proposing this precisely because it is dangerous.”

Fresia had no intention of backing down. She had already resolved that, should a time like this come, she would go herself.

“You must at least take some other paladins with you! To face a lich with so few people...”

“Let me be frank. More people would only mean more casualties, and they would get in our way. Have you forgotten why we sent only a small, elite group to slay the black dragon?”

“Well...”

“Because the more people we brought, the greater our losses would be.”

“But Saintess Fresia, you are already...”

“Are you saying I’m too much of an old granny to fight now?”

“N-no! That was certainly not what I meant!”

Breaking into cold sweats, the high priests could not meet her eyes.

Nellin cut in with a broad grin.

“Hey, don’t worry. Since it’d been so long, Fresia and I had a little practice together to get back in sync. She hasn’t lost her touch.”

“But when did you even...”

“Oh, enough! Are you saying you don’t believe me?”

“If you personally vouch for her, Lady Nellin, then we can trust that. Hmm...”

The high priests had no choice but to deliberate. Given enough time, they would have summoned heroes from the capital and across the Dersia continent to assemble an adequate force. But they had only three days left.

Far too little time.

In the end, they could only draw on the forces currently in the Holy City.

The meeting continued, but no better solution emerged than Fresia’s initial proposal. Though frustrated that they had no choice but to accept the situation, the high priests agreed to her plan.

“Saintess Fresia, please return safely!”

“Hehe. I have no intention of dying just yet, so don’t worry.”

After the meeting, Godric and his companions immediately sought out Nellin.

“Big Sis Nellin!”

“Hmm? What?”

“Could we come with you that day?”

“You lot?”

“Yes!”

Godric and his companions looked at her with determination in their eyes. Seeing their expressions, Nellin picked at her ear with her little finger.

“If that’s what you wanted, why didn’t you say so back there? Why now?”

“Ahem! Things got awfully tense after Saintess Fresia spoke. Bringing it up in that situation would have been a bit...”

“Sheesh. Everyone calls him Boss, but he’s the one most worried about what other people think. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

“Heh. Sometimes you do need to charge ahead recklessly like Big Sis Nellin.”

“You need to learn to read the room, Hawein!”

WHACK!

“Ow!”

“Ugh. Follow me.”

“Pardon?”

“No matter how de-ter-mined you are, I’m not about to let you die for nothing. Let’s see whether you’re good enough to come along. I hear the Paladin’s been training you. Let’s see how much you’ve improved.”

“Yes, Big Sis Nellin!”

“Heh. At last, the time has come to reveal my hidden skill!”

“We’ve gotten stronger too!”

“I-I’ll do my best!”

+++

At the training ground normally used by Paulen for his workouts...

“Ugh...”

“M-my head...”

“Hah, hah, hah!”

“Aaagh...”

Godric and his companions lay sprawled on the ground.

Nellin had tested their abilities to determine whether they could accompany her on the day of the battle with the lich. Naturally, a week of training under Paulen was nowhere near enough to beat her.

That did not mean they had achieved nothing, however.

“Hmm.”

Nellin rubbed her chin with her thumb as she looked at the companions sprawled on the ground.

While she had been wrestling with her feelings, talking with Fresia and working out plans, their skills had improved noticeably. Though brief, Paulen’s structured training had allowed them to draw out the strength they needed to put the combat instincts honed in their sparring with Nellin to use.

After some careful thought, Nellin reached her verdict on Godric’s Party.

‘They could manage to run away.’

“All right. You can come.”

“Hah! Hah! R-really?”

“Yeah. Not to fight, of course. You’ll watch from a safe distance, and if things look dangerous, your job is to grab the next Saintess and run.”

“What? What kind of role is that?”

“Shut it! You think being a little better than before means you can take on a lich? Normally I wouldn’t even bring you. I’m making a special exception.”

“Th-then should we go ask the high priests for permission?”

“Huh? Why do you need their permission? If I say I’m bringing you, I’m bringing you.”

“Hehe. That’s our Big Sis Nellin. Charging ahead without caring a bit what the high priests think.”

“I don’t belong to the Great Church. Why should I care what they think? So... you three should know that too.”

Nellin addressed Paulen, Amelia, and Gracie, who had quietly watched the sparring from outside the training ground.

“Yes, Lady Nellin.”

“To have grown so much in a single short week! I, Paulen—sob! I’m shedding tears of joy!”

“... Lady Nellin, I want to come that day too. As a member of the Mage Tower, and as someone who was there when it happened, I want to go!”

“You too? Hmm...”

Now that Gracie had also asked to join the party, Nellin folded her arms and considered it.

‘Should I bring her too? She is a descendant of Ventus, after all.’

After her conversations with Fresia, Nellin suspected that the lich might be her old companion Ventus. She even wondered whether Gracie was the reason the lich had left everyone at the Mage Tower untouched, apart from the tower master’s beard.

“I’ll discuss it with Fresia before deciding about you.”

“Yes! I’ll be hoping for good news!”

“Big Sis, why did we have to get beaten into the dirt to prove ourselves, while Gracie just gets a discussion?”

“You think people who fight with their bodies are the same as someone who uses magic? Good grief.”

+++

Three days later.

The group heading to Saint’s Hill had been finalized: Nellin, Fresia, Amelia, Paulen, Gracie, and Godric and his companions.

With more people going than originally planned, the high priests had protested that they might as well bring more paladins too. Nellin’s “persuasion” had silenced those objections.

They prepared a carriage with room for eight passengers, and Nellin agreed to drive.

“Hyah! Get moving!”

The horses set off with a clatter of hooves, and the lich-slaying party departed for Saint’s Hill.

“Saintess! Please defeat the lich!”

“Paladin! Stay strong!”

“May God guide you! May the light illuminate your path!”

“Do your best, everyone!”

The fervent cheers and shouts of the faithful urged them onward from behind.

“Hahaha! It’s been ages since I set off with people cheering me on like this.”

“It has. It reminds me of fifty years ago.”

“It is an honor to accompany you both on this expedition.”

“Spoken like a true paladin. I can’t stand all that stiff formality. Relax, will you?”

“This is what feels comfortable to me.”

About thirty minutes after they set off, Nellin spoke to the others from the driver’s seat.

“Hey, we might get through this without anyone getting hurt. If my guess is right, that is.”

“Wh-what do you mean, Big Sis Nellin?”

“Just listen. I can’t tell you everything yet. But if things go well—if my guess is right—we can all get home in one piece.”

“And if you’re wrong?”

“Then we’ll have to fight like hell. If that happens, Fresia and I will do our best to let you escape—you, Amelia, since you’re going to be the next Saintess, Gracie, and you lot. So don’t worry.”

“Big Sis Nellin, that hurts. How can you say that?”

“I’ll fight to the end too! We still have to find out where Quivery is...”

“Oh, shut it! You understand your position as the next Saintess, don’t you? And you lot, don’t forget I only brought you because you looked capable of running away.”

Amelia and Godric’s companions could offer little objection. Nellin’s tone made it clear she would not tolerate an argument.

“Hmm. Why haven’t you mentioned me, Lady Nellin?”

“What? You’re a Paladin, but you’re so weak that Fresia and I need to protect you?”

“Hahahaha! Certainly not! I can take care of myself.”

“Heh, good. That’s what it takes to hold the front line.”

As Nellin chuckled, took up the reins again, and focused on driving, Fresia clasped both of Amelia’s hands.

“Amelia, if I fail to return, please look after the Great Church and the faithful.”

“Saintess Fresia... I-I won’t let that happen!”

“As a Paladin, I will protect you both.”

“I-I will too! I want to have many more conversations with you, Saintess Fresia!”

Fresia smiled gently at the three of them—Amelia, Paulen, and Gracie, who had mustered the courage to speak.

“Hehe. How reassuring.”

In time, the carriage reached Saint’s Hill. Paulen, their front-line fighter, took the lead, while Nellin and Fresia directed him.

No aura of death could yet be felt on Saint’s Hill. Only a bright, clear sky greeted them.

“Is this the right place? I don’t see the lich, Big Sis Nellin.”

“We need to go a little farther. Yes, over there.”

They reached the place where the black-dragon expedition had sworn their oath fifty years earlier. A single broad tree grew atop the hill. At this tree, they had vowed to defeat the black dragon.

“This is the place.”

“The tree is enormous!”

“According to the story, it was planted by the first saint.”

As the party gazed at the spreading tree, Nellin let out a long breath.

“Whew... About time you came out. I noticed you watching us through your familiar, you know.”

CAW!

FLAP!

WHOOOOM!

As the crow hidden among the branches took flight, a black space appeared in midair, radiating an aura of death—the same black space that had appeared at the Mage Tower.

[“How perceptive, Starlight Archer.”]

Then a robed skeleton emerged from the black space. As the lich appeared, its voice reached into their minds.

The instant they heard it, everyone readied for battle. Paulen tightened his grip on his sword and shield, and Nellin nocked an arrow.

Gracie circulated mana through her magical devices, ready to cast at any moment, while Amelia and Fresia clasped their hands and gathered holy power.

As Nellin had instructed beforehand, Godric and his companions kept their distance, staying out of the fighters’ way.

[“Hahahaha! Excellent. A worthy audience for a demonstration of my skill.”]

“Hey. Let me ask you something.”

Keeping her arrow trained on the lich, Nellin asked,

“What was your name before you became a lich?”