Chapter 216
Within the rising black flames.
"Kyaaaaaaaaah!"
Along with Astria's piercing scream, Kraush had ascended high into the sky.
Then, pulling Astria up, he suddenly held her in a princess carry and extended both legs downward.
Thud!
As Kraush landed, smoke gently scattered around.
Kraush, who had shielded himself with aura, felt no damage at all, but he felt a tugging sensation on his head.
Kraush turned his head to the side.
There, the Saintess, with her cheeks puffed out and her face full of tears, was pulling on his hair.
It seemed that our Saintess had a fear of heights.
"...Are you okay?"
When Kraush belatedly asked, she turned her head away with a sulking expression.
Then her body stiffened.
It was because her eyes had caught sight of numerous citizens of Freeman.
Some were tourists visiting for the festival.
Among them, there was no one who didn't recognize the Saintess.
"Saintess?"
When someone called out to Astria, a flustered look appeared on her face.
She hurriedly adjusted the hem of her robe.
Then, before she knew it, her sunlight-like hair was exposed, as if her robe had come undone.
She also realized that the mask covering her face had disappeared.
Her eyes darted around nervously.
Although she had always appeared confidently as the Saintess in front of people, this was the first time she had appeared like this.
"Astria."
At that moment, Kraush called her name.
As he naturally let Astria down, the crowd's attention naturally shifted to her.
Astria straightened her back.
She had stood as the Saintess in front of people many times before.
She removed her robe.
Then, beneath the robe, her figure, with curves so beautiful it seemed crafted by God, and her Saintess attire were revealed.
In an instant, the aura emanating from her changed.
Behind her benevolent face, there was even a sense of reverence.
Light gathered and formed a halo.
As everyone watching became mesmerized.
Finally, her lips parted.
"Citizens of Freeman, and all who believe in God, I, Saintess Astria Stigma Freeman, use this opportunity to make an announcement."
The voice that flowed from her lips was noble beyond measure.
It seemed that no one other than her could be described as the Saintess.
"The existence of the Saintess of Freeman was not created by God but was instead fabricated by Freeman's Holy Royal Family to elevate Freeman's prestige."
And from the Saintess herself came words denying the Saintess.
Those who had been too captivated by Astria to fully understand her words began to comprehend them one by one.
Murmurs began to spread among the crowd.
Some were so bewildered by what they had heard that they wore confused expressions.
Yet even those people were all listening intently to Astria's voice.
It was because Astria had completely seized control of the atmosphere in this place.
"It was a harmful tradition. Over the past few centuries, numerous Saintesses were produced and used for the selfish gains of Freeman."
And after ending the harmful tradition of Saintesses, many of them were discarded.
Astria clasped her hands together as if paying tribute to the Saintesses of the past.
"I could not condone that fact. Although I, too, am a Saintess, I did not wish for the harmful tradition of Saintesses born from Freeman's greed to continue."
Her voice carried the power to convey emotion.
And that power was reaching all the citizens present here.
Her sunlight-like pupils shone brightly.
"I intend to end this harmful tradition now."
Beside her, Kraush lifted the Holy Grail.
At the same time, pitch-black flames began to ignite in his grasp.
Next to the burning black flames, Astria declared to everyone.
"I, Astria Stigma Freeman."
For the first time, a youthful smile befitting her age appeared on her face, which had always been filled with benevolence.
Crack!
And the Holy Grail melted in the black flames and cracked all over.
"From today, I resign as the Saintess."
Crash!
Finally, the Holy Grail shattered into pieces and burned away.
That smile made everyone realize she was sincere.
"The Saintess is resigning?"
"Really?"
"Uh, is that even allowed?"
"What will happen to Freeman now?"
"Doesn't this mean the Royal Family committed blasphemy?"
"Ex-Exclusive news! Exclusive news!"
Naturally, her statement caused chaos in an instant.
Even those in places where Astria's voice didn't reach heard the news and were equally shocked.
On the day of the Festival of the Gods.
The Saintess had declared her resignation, so the reaction was only natural.
And this was undoubtedly a scene that would be remembered in history forever.
It was then.
"Follow Astria's will!"
"The Freeman Holy Royal Family must pay for their blasphemy!"
A loud voice echoed among the citizens.
It was none other than the voice of an agitator.
Kraush's gaze turned toward the temple.
It was because he had realized who was behind this.
'They've changed their move.'
Holy King Tersada Beakis.
As soon as he heard about the situation, he changed his approach.
The abolition of the harmful tradition of Saintesses could no longer be done by their own hands.
So instead, they decided to use this situation to overthrow the Holy Royal Family and lead a Religious Revolution.
Except, the host of this event was no longer Kraush, as they had hoped, but the former Saintess.
At that moment, something began to scatter from the sky.
It was newspapers containing the blasphemy committed by the Holy Royal Family.
As the newspapers quickly spread, the anger of the people began to boil over.
It was because everyone came to know the horrific deeds the Holy Royal Family had committed to elevate or maintain the nation's prestige.
And it was enough to stir the latent dissatisfaction the citizens had toward the Holy Royal Family.
As with any nation's rulers.
Even the Holy Royal Family couldn't completely satisfy the latent dissatisfaction of its citizens.
And this incident was a major event that was enough to ignite that dissatisfaction.
"The Holy Royal Family must pay for their sins!"
"Blaspheming against God? Are you insane? Come out of the Royal Palace and face your punishment!"
Sure enough, the enraged citizens began shouting to change Freeman.
Freeman had bound the citizens together through religion.
Now that they knew that such a religion had committed wrongful acts, their anger united as one.
'This is why religion is scary.'
It was because betraying one's faith was an absolutely unforgivable act.
Boom!
At that moment, an explosion echoed from where the Holy Royal Family resided.
Kraush immediately knew who was responsible for the explosion.
'That Holy Snake has begun to act in earnest.'
Tersada and the Opposition Faction had started moving in earnest to overthrow the Holy Royal Family.
It was the Religious Revolution that had ultimately failed to be achieved in the previous regression.
But this time, it felt different.
Perhaps it was because the Saintess herself had stepped forward, renouncing her position and exposing the corrupt practices.
The citizens were angrier than ever before.
It was understandable since everyone knew how faithfully Austria had fulfilled her role as the Saintess.
"Austria."
When Kraush called out to Austria, she remained silent, gazing at the furious citizens.
"......Was this the right thing to do?"
She was worried about whether the citizens' anger should truly be directed toward the Holy Royal Family.
After all, this incident could undoubtedly lead to countless people shedding blood.
"I don't know."
"It's what we did. If we pretend not to know and move on......."
"No, most things in this world are inherently unknown."
Kraush rebuked Austria, who was filled with worry.
"Just as no action always brings the right results, no action always brings bad results either."
Kraush knew that fact better than anyone.
The world he had seen through regression neither always brought bad results nor always brought good ones.
"That's why we do our best."
So that even a slightly better outcome could be achieved.
Kraush was doing his utmost to ensure he wouldn't regret anything in the end.
He was giving his all without stopping for even a single day.
"You just need to do your best too."
Austria met Kraush's gaze.
Having read the sincerity in his eyes, Austria let out a faint chuckle for some reason.
Then she slowly looked up at the sky.
The clouds drifting across the sky were so large they briefly obscured the sun.
A shadow fell across Austria's face.
"You, I'm no longer the Saintess."
"Yes, I suppose that's true."
"In that case, is there a place for me in the future? People want the Saintess. They wouldn't want Austria."
She had always stood before the people as the Saintess.
And she thought she would continue to do so in the future.
But now that she had stepped down as the Saintess, she couldn't easily say what remained for her.
"I want you."
At that moment.
Kraush spoke in an unusually calm tone.
Austria, who had been looking up at the sky, slowly turned her gaze toward Kraush.
His pupils shone a deeper blue than ever before.
"What I want is not the Saintess. Austria, it's always been you."
Kraush had always seen Austria, not the Saintess.
From the very first day.
Kraush had treated her as Austria, not as the Saintess.
Seeing those eyes, she finally understood.
Why she kept growing fonder of this man.
'From the beginning until today, he has only ever seen me as Austria.'
That was something no one else in this world had ever done for her.
Perhaps someone might do it in the future.
But there was no one else who could see her as Austria when she was the Saintess.
How could she not like someone like that?
Even if she were born dozens of times.
Even if she lived dozens of lives.
From the moment she saw him just once.
She would undoubtedly feel the same way all over again.
A breeze blew past.
A wind as warm as the sun.
Was that why?
The words slipped out of her mouth without her realizing it.
Before she knew it, the clouds in the sky had disappeared.
Through the gap in the clouds.
The sunlight beamed down on Austria.
Her crimson hair, symbolizing the sun, shone vividly under the light.
As if even God intended to adorn her smile.
She wore a radiant and beautiful smile.
"So take responsibility for this for the rest of your life."
A desire she had never once expressed as the Saintess.
It was the moment she revealed that one and only desire.