There had never been a failure using the purification strategy with a saintess in Soul Academy.
The saintess character, in this regard, was undeniably overpowered.
It's to the point that veteran players would purposely exclude the saintess from their party, claiming it made the game too easy and boring.
So here I was, utterly perplexed that Faybi, of all people, had failed.
Faybi wasn’t the type to stumble at this stage.
Which meant—this was an anomaly.
An anomaly that didn’t exist in the game.
The kind of anomaly that had persistently tormented me until now.
But maybe I’ve grown used to the absurdities that have plagued me so far.
This kind of anomaly now just seemed... adorable in comparison.
Don’t you think?
This time, it was just that I couldn’t cheese my way through.
It’s not like I was facing death or anything.
It’s not like I was about to fail the quest and face total disaster.
No NPC relationships were messed up, and my reputation wasn’t in tatters.
And most importantly, this was an anomaly I could handle.
There was no reason to panic.
Blocking the incoming magical projectiles with my shield, I focused my gaze on the dragon’s chanting form and threw a question to the old man.
“Gramps! What do you think went wrong?”
The first thing I needed to know was whether cheesing was still an option.
If Faybi had merely made a mistake, all I needed to do was stall until she finished her prayer.
<It seems her faith was lacking.> “Huh?”
Faith is the most crucial element in wielding holy magic.
It’s the belief that by reciting your prayer, a miracle will happen.
That’s why it had always been easy for me to use holy magic.
I was an outsider in this world.
Knowing that using holy magic would always produce results, there was no room for doubt in my mind.
“Are you saying Faybi doubted the miracle?”
<Judging by the way it failed, it seems that way.>
Faybi doubted the miracle. She doubted Armadi.
She didn’t believe she could purify the dragon’s vengeful spirit.
The shock of this revelation wasn’t something I could easily shake off.
Gramps had mentioned it before.
That Faybi might be wavering.
At the time, I brushed it off, believing that Faybi would naturally overcome it.
Because that’s what she always did in the game.
She was the type of person who would face any crisis with a smile in the end.
But that was my naive assumption.
Faybi was wavering.
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She doubted herself.
She lost faith in miracles.
For the saintess to end up like this...
What on earth was going on inside her mind?
Ha. It’s a bit overwhelming when something happens that never occurred in the game.
Let’s think about this.
Bringing down that lizard flying around in the sky isn’t too difficult.
If I can’t cheese it, I’ll just handle it the standard way.
The tools I bought through Alsatin for hunting that lizard are still sitting in my inventory.
It should be more than possible to take it down if I throw them and land a few critical hits when it’s weak.
But that wouldn’t work. Faybi’s already doubting herself.
Imagine hunting down that golem-dragon without her.
She’d think she was a useless burden, just sitting there and taking credit for nothing.
The Faybi I know isn’t someone whose self-esteem would plummet like that. But the Faybi I know wouldn’t have failed in the first place!
So I need to rethink this.
The Faybi here isn’t the NPC I knew.
This is the real Faybi.
I have no idea what she’s thinking.
The best approach is to help her overcome it herself.
I need to help Faybi stand back up and perform a miracle again.
If her self-esteem collapses now, who knows what might happen later!
The real trials haven’t even started yet, and we can’t afford for this to happen!
It might be harder and more exhausting than the standard method, but I’ve got to do it.
Well, whatever. For an old-timer like me, this is nothing.
The situation’s still better than when Nacrad almost obliterated me. No reason to give up.
Let’s think of it as new content.
Man, reality online sure updates fast.
But hey, admins.
Could you update the game to be a bit more user-friendly?
Otherwise, your players are going to explode from all the stress!
Enough with the nonsense.
Alright.
How should I handle this?
The decision was made quickly.
There’s only one way I operate.
The Mesugaki way.
“Cowardly saintess!♡”
I’m no good at comforting people.
I’m not great at boosting someone’s confidence either.
And I have no clue how to motivate someone.
But there’s one thing I’m really good at.
Making people mad.
“Did you fail?!♡ Heh♡ You really live up to being the saintess of that pathetic god!♡ Just like your god!♡ I guess the doctrine of your wimpy god is to be a nuisance to others!♡”
“That’s not true!”
Faybi shouted, her face flushed red.
I’d never seen her look so livid.
She might have tolerated insults towards herself, but she couldn’t handle slander against Armadi.
“You’re saying it’s not true?♡ But that’s what it looks like to me!♡ Pathetic♡ Coward♡ Useless deadweight♡”
“Take it back! I might be, but Armadi is flawless!”
As I dodged and blocked the dragon’s attacks, its wings flared again, giving us a momentary reprieve.
I had to wrap this up while the dragon was resting.
I couldn’t keep up this bickering with Faybi indefinitely while dodging spells.
“Then prove it♡ Prove you’re not the pathetic saintess of a pathetic god♡”
The word "prove" made Faybi flinch.
Even in her anger, she stopped at that word, which meant she had no confidence.
No wonder she failed her prayer.
“You can’t, can you?♡ You’re not confident, are you?♡ That’s right, you’re just a cowardly saintess♡”
“I...”
“What about your god?♡ Must be a huge coward, too, right?♡ Probably so scared of facing an evil god that they’ve gone silent, huh?♡”
“Shut up! Lucy Alrn! I’ll do it!”
There it is.
If she doesn’t have confidence, I’ll just make her angry enough to find some.
Ah. Maybe this isn’t confidence; maybe it’s just spite or sheer grit?
Whatever.
They’re close enough, right?
As long as it works.
Faybi turned her gaze toward the dragon, its mouth opening wide.
Now, it’s time for the old pro to toy with the boss.
“Hey!♡ Lizard-brain!♡ Can’t you see?♡ You’ve got no brains and no eyes!♡ How can you not land a single hit?!♡ What a complete joke♡ You’re trash♡ The academy professors must be idiots to have you as the boss!♡”
___________
No way. There’s no way someone like that could be Armadi’s apostle!
How could someone who was chosen by the god dare to insult him like that!
I had heard rumors that Lucy Alrn had improved a lot, but nothing’s changed at all!
She’s the same person who caused chaos in the church!
To call Armadi... that!
Faybi bit her lip hard.
Moments ago, she had failed to complete the prayer of purification.
It wasn’t because her divinity was lacking or because the vengeful spirit was too powerful.
It was because Faybi doubted that a miracle could happen, which caused her prayer to crumble halfway through.
Until now, Faybi had never once doubted that Armadi would perform a miracle.
It was so obvious that her god would make miracles happen.
And as the saintess chosen by the god, it was natural that she should succeed in performing them.
But maybe because of that certainty, Faybi was completely unprepared for the doubt that crept into her heart.
Never having faced it before, she couldn’t stop the cracks from spreading.
After failing the prayer, what filled Faybi’s heart was a dark emotion.
Guilt toward the party members who had brought her this far.
Disappointment in herself.
Doubt as to whether she was truly worthy of the title of saintess.
All of these things meshed together, forming a sticky, black mess inside her.
Just as Faybi was about to sink into despair, Lucy called out to her.
And she provoked her.
Insulted the name of her god.
Faybi might have been able to bear the insults directed at herself, but she couldn’t stand hearing her god being mocked.
She became more furious than she had ever been in her entire life.
And before she realized it, she found herself in a position where she had to prove something.
But Faybi didn’t find that strange at all.
With her mind dyed red by anger, she could only look straight ahead.
I have to do this.
I absolutely have to.
I need to succeed in this purification prayer and knock Lucy Alrn down a peg!
I need to make that arrogant woman, who thinks she’s above everyone just because she’s favored by the god, acknowledge Armadi’s greatness!
Fueled by that thought, Faybi clasped her hands together.
But at that moment, a flicker of doubt crossed her mind.
Can I really do it?
I failed just a moment ago.
How can I be sure this time will be different?
The red tint that had colored her thoughts began to be consumed by a creeping blackness.
The learned despair pushed her deeper into the abyss, and the strength in her clasped hands began to falter.
But just then—
“Useless saintess!♡ Are you still not done?!♡ So slow, and incompetent, just like your worthless god!♡”
Creak.
Once again, Faybi’s heart was set ablaze with red anger.
That’s right. This isn’t about whether I can or can’t do it.
I have to do this! I have to stop her from sullying Armadi’s name!
Reaffirming her resolve, Faybi closed her eyes and began reciting the prayer of purification.
She was flawless.
The prayer of purification was something she had repeated countless times before.
There was no way there could be any awkwardness in a prayer she had recited for so long.
‘The reason the dead linger on the earth is...’
Faybi chanted with the single-minded determination to put Lucy in her place, as she watched the spectacle unfold before her.
A tiny girl, barely the size of a child’s shoulder, was toying with a flying dragon, laughing all the while.
“What are you aiming at?♡ Do you see ghosts or something?♡ Ooh!♡ So scary!♡”
How is she able to do that, even against a dragon that could crush her with one swipe?
Does that woman even know what fear is?
Watching Lucy taunt the dragon, Faybi gritted her teeth.
If I fail again while facing this dragon, I can only imagine what she’ll say.
I absolutely cannot fail.
Failure is not an option.
I’m going to prove that Armadi will perform a miracle!
As the hesitation in Faybi’s heart faded, the pace of her prayer quickened.
By the time the dragon had stopped breathing fire, Faybi had successfully completed the prayer.
“Miss Alrn!”
Watch closely.
This is the miracle of the god you’ve been mocking!