The Second Son of The Marquis Runs Away from Home ~ Lacking Talent, He Abandons Everything and Becomes an Adventurer ~ - 54

Chapter 54: Reunion

“Why are you in a place like this?”

“I had promised to meet with friends, they are my friends.”

The Saintess said this and nodded to me and Aria. It seemed like we should leave this situation to her.

“Please return to your duties, everyone. I will return to the cathedral after talking to my friends.”

“But, we cannot leave the Saintess alone…”

“I have my holy staff, and with all of you performing your duties diligently, there should be no worry of me being attacked on the way back, right? I’ve seen your dedication to your duties earlier.”

The Saintess smiled gently, but the knights collectively frowned. Those knights who had witnessed her interaction with the woman and child seemed to share a silent understanding. After a brief, almost imperceptible glance exchanged among them, they replied.

“V-very well… Please take care.”

With that, they bowed and left the area. The Saintess turned her attention back to me and Aria.

“Serena…”

“It’s been a while, Aria. And it’s nice to meet you for the first time.”

She smiled and addressed me.

“I would like to find a more comfortable place to talk first. How about it?”

—

“Shall we start with introductions?”

Back at the inn, Serena removed her hood again and bowed to me with the grace one might expect of a noble.

“I am Serena Libertà, currently serving as a humble Saintess.”

“I’m Berg, and I’m currently with Aria as the ‘Black Tempest Knight.'”

“‘Black Tempest Knight’… Did you receive that title?”

“Yes, it was bestowed upon me by Lady Victoria herself.”

“Quite impressive. You don’t look much older than me… but I guess titles don’t depend on age, do they?”

…As we spoke, I realized that Serena was quite different from what I had initially expected based on the atmosphere and stories I had heard.

She didn’t seem to wield her position as a Saintess or her authority to control others, and there was no sign of her conflicting with Aria. The conversation flowed surprisingly smoothly, to the point where I felt a bit surprised.

“To be honest, I never expected to meet you so soon, Serena…”

“Me neither. When I saw Aria, I was surprised too. But given the circumstances, let me say this again.”

She said that and lowered her head deeply. Aria seemed a bit surprised by her sudden action.

“I’m sorry for what I said back then. I couldn’t go to apologize until now, but I’ve regretted it all this time… But I absolutely had to come to this country.”

“Serena, what happened to you back then? I did wonder if there might have been a reason, but when I saw you with the Saint Staff, you seemed quite agitated.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell you everything… about what happened after I got this staff and the reason why I came to this country.”

Serena raised the staff she held. At the tip of the staff, there was an intricately carved figure of a winged woman, resembling the depiction of an angel, radiating a soft glow.

“This Saint Staff, ‘Truthia,’ can perform various things through water as a medium, as you saw earlier. It can cleanse and heal diseases and poisons, which is well-known even in the Holy Land. But it’s true ability is ‘future sight.'”

“Future sight… So, it can see everything that will happen in the future?”

I asked the question, and Serena shook her head. Then, she continued her explanation.

“Even though it’s called future sight, it doesn’t show everything. It only reveals the immediate events that will happen to me and the worst possible future events in this world.”

“The worst possible future events…?”

Serena nodded and, gripping the staff tightly, answered.

“If things continue as they are, this world will be destroyed by an immensely powerful entity called the ‘White Catastrophe.'”