The Saint

Dea straightened her back as she sat in front of the desk. Her eyes wandered the four corners of the room that resembled and gave a vibe of a principal's office. For a moment, she thought she was only summoned by the principal to "talk about life" once again.

"Your name is Dea, am I right?" Sir fancy clothes with scepter asked.

Oh no, she should call him high priest Co... Cor.. cor???

[ What was his name again?] Dea forgot. She'll just call him Sir High Priest. He seems to be the boss here.

"Yes, Sir high priest." She replied as she took her curious gaze.

"I never thought we'd be able to summon someone else aside from the priestess. I apologize for this." Sir high priest looked sincere in Dea's eyes, so she answered.

"It's okay, sir, but, can you send me back? I still have things to do."

There was silence in the room.

Sir high priest looked a bit embarrassed.

"Sister, they said the portal could not be opened again until the lunar eclipse." A gentle voice spoke.

Dea looked at the schoolgirl sitting beside her, with walnut eyes from too much crying earlier. It seems she has calmed down.

"Eclipse? When will that be?" She asked.

"Three years." Said the high priest. He sighed and looked at her.

"Our magicians have suffered a backlash from activating the portal ahead of time. I'm afraid they'll have to recuperate for a decade to return to their original levels."

"Shit, that doesn't sound good." Dea thought.

When the high priest furrowed his brows at her, she panicked.

[fuck, did I say that out loud???]

Fortunately, he did not comment and just resumed,

"In three years, the once-in-a-century lunar eclipse will happen. When that time comes, all the magicians will have their powers increased until the eclipse passes. By that time, we can activate the portal and try to send you back." He tapped the tabletop as if pondering and solemnly said,

"But, I can't ascertain what will happen at that time. The demons may launch an attack, or our kingdom is at war. However, I promise that as long as the Hall of Saintess exists, I will do everything I can to send you back to your world."

[...What the fcuk did I just hear? Demons? War? Eclipse buffed mages?] Dea felt like she was in deep shit psychosis right now. Maybe she's just dreaming all this time.

"Can I also go back by then? I want to see my family." Schoolgirl interjected.

"I will see what we can do by that time, but priestess, we need you here. I hope you can help us fight the demons by that time." The high priest answered with a hint of helplessness. He felt sorry for his inability to promise the priestess, but what could he do?

"I...I see." Frustrated, the schoolgirl sheds tears in silence and seems to accept her destiny.

Dea watched her succumb to her fate with deadpan eyes.

[Damn, they've successfully morally kidnapped this little girl, huh.] Good thing her thoughts remained in her thought bubbles this time.

She cast her gaze back to the boss and spoke her mind,

"Sir high priest, since I will be staying here for three years, will you be responsible for my living conditions here? Just treat it as compensation for this accident. I don't ask much. I just need a place to stay, and I'd appreciate it if there were not a lot of people around, and umm.. work?"

Dea asked tentatively since the high priest appeared like a good person. What will she do if she's directly killed here to be done with problems? This place seems like a fantasy world, and she's uncertain if human rights exist here.

"Of course, there's no problem at all." The high priest is relieved that the girl before him is amiable. He thought that the discussion would be difficult. After all, he almost lost his hair in stress when he consoled the priestess when she had a breakdown.

"Thank you, sir."

"No thanks. It is as it should be." He looked at her scrutinizingly.

Dea seemed to hear his thoughts and scratched her head in embarrassment.

[Hey, what can I do? If you don't give a shit about a lot of things, you can easily accept peculiar things.]

She gently touched her glasses that hid her waveless eyes and thought,

[As long as I have you with me, mom.]

"Sister, I only have you now." Out of nowhere, the schoolgirl grabbed her arm and chokingly said.

[Surely you jest, I don't even know you.]

Dea looked at her, frustrated if she should pull her arm off her. This girl is emotionally unstable. What if she cries again? Will her walnut eyes grow bigger?

Despite feeling uncomfortable with such uncalled closeness, Dea decided to be considerate and gave her a piece of candy. Take it as her apology for the schoolgirl's one-sided camaraderie.

She gently pulled her arm off and reached into her pocket.

The girl did not know her thoughts and just accepted the candy. She believed that the big sister is simply comforting her.

Even if she looked aloof and dressed weirdly, she is a very kind person.

"Thank you, sister." The schoolgirl said with a smile as she ate the menthol-flavored candy.

"Oh, that's right!" She yelped as she remembered something.

She pulled something from her pocket and gave it to her.

Dea pondered why she was given a handkerchief.

She glanced at the schoolgirl curiously. The other didn't know what she meant. She couldn't see Dea's questioning eyes hidden behind her bangs.

"Why are you giving me this?" Dea could only ask.

"Isn't it yours? I saw it fell from your direction." She gingerly answered.

"Not mine. Take it." Dea returned the handkerchief back to her. Take it as a remembrance from the other side. After all, she'll be staying here for a longer time.

"Oh." The schoolgirl is silent again.

Dea felt bad.

[Why did her stuff get teleported with her, but my pancakes did not? Ughhhh.]

Forgive her unreconciled self for missing her snack. She has been craving that pancake for the whole day and bought a lot for dinner.

The high priest has been silently observing them from the side.

Their priestess has labile emotions. It seems she needs more time to adjust to Andean. He needs to consider many things before they can let her start training.

Fortunately, the other guest from afar is stable and calm. The compensation she asked for can be easily met.

Honestly, he appreciates how simply they reached a consensus.

He sighed as his eyes darted between the two.

It would be fortunate if their priestess could also be calm and collected as she is in the future.

It's not that he doubted whether they actually identified the right priestess but,

Just looking at the gloomy atmosphere and strong scent of death surrounding the girl and the rich vitality that emanates the priestess, he could tell that they were right.

The priestess, after all, is the embodiment of life.

She is the saint sent by God, His gift in return for their faith and hope.