Battle Race in the Fantasy World

Battle Race in the Fantasy World – 45

EP.45 God Whispered, “Do Some Exercise”

On the way to the church, Kyle stared blankly out the window.

The Saintess had been reciting prayers with her eyes closed for a while now.

Watching her, Kyle couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘…She memorized all of that? Is she even human?’

She had been reciting prayers for almost 10 minutes, and she was still going.

He wondered if she was repeating the same prayer, but that wasn’t the case.

The prayers coming from the Saintess’s lips were different in words and content from start to finish.

He wondered if an insane level of memorization was a basic requirement for a Saintess.

It would be great if she could exercise just a bit more.

Such thoughts were only natural for him.

“Brother Kyle.”

Just as he was thinking he should have brought some dumbbells to exercise, the Saintess finished her prayer and called out to him.

“The lady from earlier, I believe she is from the Grand Duchy of Littorio. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that was Lady Elga. But why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“You seemed to get along better than I expected. I thought the relationship between Jonathan and the Grand Duchy of Littorio was strained.”

One of the people who provoked Lea Jonathan was the second son of Littorio.

In the process, the second son was injured and had to take a leave of absence from the academy.

Regardless of the circumstances, the relationship between Jonathan and Littorio was quite strained.

Or so the Saintess thought.

“We’re not exactly on good terms, but it’s not strained either. Recently, I even wrote an apology letter to the Grand Duchy of Littorio on behalf of Jonathan.”

“Even though it was concluded that Jonathan was not at fault, you still apologized?”

“I thought it would be better for both families.”

The Saintess looked at Kyle with an expression of admiration.

He wondered why, but her next words explained it.

“Apologizing to someone is harder than it seems. Especially when there’s no reason to apologize, no one wants to be the first to bow. Many people can’t even say a simple sorry. Pride gets in the way, or they just don’t want to bow.”

“It’s not that big of a deal. It’s a trivial matter.”

“Yes, it’s a trivial matter. But the world can change because of that one trivial thing.”

So, Brother Kyle, you are truly a good person.

She whispered this as she held Kyle’s hand and offered a prayer for him.

‘…Hmm. Honestly, while writing the apology letter, I did wonder if it was really necessary.’

Since deciding to attend the academy, he thought it was the best decision he had made.

The old saying that good deeds are rewarded was indeed true.

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“Brother Kyle?”

“…Ah.”

At the Saintess’s touch, Kyle quickly straightened up.

It seemed he had dozed off while staring blankly out the window.

In a place where he couldn’t do anything, he conserved his energy by sleeping.

And then, he would unleash that conserved energy explosively when needed.

This was a teaching of Jonathan, and Kyle had been following it without realizing it.

Not skipping meals, sleeping on time, all of it was for that reason.

Avoiding anything that could cause even the slightest loss in combat power!

That was another principle and code of conduct of Jonathan.

‘Hopefully, she won’t scold me for dozing off.’

If she did, he wondered if he should kneel and offer a sincere apology.

He wanted to show only his best, most impressive side to the Saintess.

Receiving praise from his favorite character was as exhilarating as building muscle.

“Are you very tired? I’m sorry. I suggested we leave too early…”

But the words that came from the Saintess’s mouth were not scolding but an apology.

Kyle had just dozed off out of boredom, to conserve his energy.

Yet, she was feeling sorry, thinking it was her fault.

“Not at all. I just dozed off for a moment. There’s no need for you to apologize.”

“I’m relieved to hear that, but if you ever feel tired, please let me know. Alright?”

“I absolutely will. So please, don’t apologize anymore.”

Only then did the Saintess’s smile return.

Her smile was so beautiful that Kyle thought if God struck him with lightning for making the precious Saintess apologize, he would accept it willingly.

“Um, but why did you call me just now…?”

“Oh! We just arrived.”

“Arrived… at the main church?”

“Yes! If you look out the window, you’ll see a completely different scenery!”

As the Saintess said, the scenery beyond the carriage was entirely different from before.

The sacred land filled with white buildings and the symbols of the church.

This was the city dedicated to God, recognized as the church’s autonomous territory within the Empire.

The entire city was formed around the church, a dwelling place for those who followed God.

The carriage gradually slowed down and eventually came to a complete stop.

There was a bustle outside, and soon the door opened.

With a bright light streaming in, Kyle saw numerous priests and holy knights beyond the door.

The Saintess, smiling at them, spoke.

“Welcome to the main church, Brother Kyle.”

Following the Saintess out of the carriage, Kyle couldn’t help but exclaim.

The church was more magnificent and beautiful than he had anticipated.

“…It’s an incredible place.”

“Isn’t it? Everyone is always so impressed when they first see it.”

As he followed the Saintess, Kyle glanced at the priests who had their heads bowed.

At least the holy knights standing behind them showed signs of effort and discipline.

But the priests didn’t seem to engage in the noble task of maintaining their bodies.

‘That’s strange. Aren’t church priests supposed to endure hardships?’

With those bodies, they wouldn’t be able to handle a pilgrimage, let alone climb stairs properly.

If they were overweight, he could at least understand that.

But the priests’ bodies were just too frail, as if they would be blown away by the wind.

“This way, Brother Kyle! Over here!”

Pushing aside his deep concerns, Kyle followed the Saintess.

Initially, he thought he might be meeting the Pope and felt nervous.

But the Pope wasn’t someone you could meet just anytime, like a neighborhood elder.

Thinking about it, it made sense that the Pope, being above the Saintess, wouldn’t be met right away.

Kyle was now heading to the residence of a cardinal.

For a young noble to meet a cardinal of the church was a significant event.

Many nobles might have envied Kyle if they had heard about this.

“May God be with you. It is truly a pleasure to meet you, Brother Kyle.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Cardinal Paul.”

However, Kyle’s reaction to meeting the cardinal was rather plain.

Even high-ranking nobles would bow repeatedly and try to curry favor.

But here was a young noble reacting so nonchalantly, surprising both the cardinal and the Saintess.

So, how could Kyle show such a plain reaction?

Was he trying to show a composed demeanor of Jonathan to the Saintess, the cardinal, and the church?

That could be a possibility, but the main reason was that he didn’t know much about the church’s hierarchy.

He didn’t realize that Cardinal Paul was a strong candidate for the next Pope.

‘As expected, the direct descendants of Jonathan are different. To be so confident in front of anyone.’

Unaware of this, Cardinal Paul was inwardly impressed.

Saintess Hildegard Dominica de Agatha Seraphim.

He had been quite taken aback when she suddenly announced she was bringing a guest.

And when he learned that the guest was none other than a member of the Jonathan barony, he was utterly shocked.

They were the ones who destroyed the academy under direct control of imperial family, even the church couldn’t easily meddle.

Moreover, they had a history of rejecting the church, claiming to believe only in themselves and their trained bodies rather than God.

From the church’s perspective, Jonathan could be seen as extremely arrogant and violent.

However, seeing them now, he began to think that perhaps those were misunderstandings.

“On the way here, the Saintess shared many wise words and radiant prayers. That alone was more than enough, but to be brought to such an honorable place is truly overwhelming.”

“Hahaha. Hearing you say that makes me feel quite honored.”

Watching Cardinal Paul smile warmly,

Kyle silently praised himself for watching historical dramas and period pieces in his spare time.

Without that, he wouldn’t have been able to come up with such words.

“Your Eminence, the Cardinal.”

Seeing that the atmosphere was favorable, Kyle decided to proceed with his purpose for being here.

“Please, speak, Brother Kyle.”

“I have heard many wise words from the Saintess. They were truly moving and resonated deeply within me. Therefore, I would like to hear the words of other priests here at the main church.”

At Kyle’s words, Cardinal Paul exclaimed, “Oh?”

Until now, no one from Jonathan had shown such interest in the church.

But now, a direct descendant of that family was expressing such interest, which was very pleasing.

“Of course, Brother Kyle. It is a very welcome request.”

In reality, Kyle’s intention was not just to hear wise words but to accurately assess the physical condition of the priests.

Even from a brief glance earlier, it was shocking. It was evident that they had not been exercising at all.

Kyle’s plan was to get a more precise understanding and subtly suggest improvements to the Saintess.

“Oh, and Brother Kyle.”

“Yes, Your Eminence. Please go ahead.”

“If you have time, could you spare a moment for one of our church members?”

“One of the members? Who exactly are you referring to…?”

As Kyle asked the question, there was a polite knock on the door.

Following that, a woman’s voice, calm yet filled with clear strength, was heard.

“Your Eminence, the Cardinal. I am the Commander of the Holy Knights of St. Elfreda.”