She Was Supposed to Be a Decoration Saint, but She Seems to Have Awakened to Her True Power

Chapter 19: Two Years Later (Part 1)

At the entrance of the village, Sylphia and her friends are welcomed by the waiting people. 

Lute is the first to get out of the carriage and offers his hand. The villagers cheer as Saint steps out of the carriage.

The carriage is decorated with colorful flowers. They are offered by the people Sylphia has helped, in gratitude for her strength wherever she goes. For this reason, Sylphia is known as the “Saint of Flowers.”

“Thank you, everyone, for welcoming us.”

“Welcome, Saint-sama.”

‘To the far reaches of the middle of nowhere. We are honored, Saint-sama.”

Sylphia and her friends had come to a territory at the southern tip of the country. After two years of traveling all over the country, the Saint’s reputation is growing. Every few months, when Sylphia returned to the temple, there was a festive atmosphere in the capital. 

The spirits also became more powerful than before because of the increased number of people praying to them. 

However, Valtis and Titia’s attitude had not changed since the time they met Sylphia. 

[I wonder what there will be to eat today~♪ I wonder what kind of sweets and snacks there will be~♪]

Valtis sings excitedly while Titia remains silent, anxiously waiting for her food.

When the food prepared by the villagers begins, Valtis and Titia taste it to their hearts’ content. It was more enjoyable for them to have Sylphia traveling around the country rather than staying in the temple. 

In the past two years, the purification of the miasma that had accumulated in the country was almost complete. 

With the fall of the previously prosperous Honeydale and Marianne, the lords have realized the magnitude of the situation and have sworn reverence to Sylphia. Prayers to the spirits increased and the purification progressed. Lute believes that this may be Marianne’s only achievement.

If Marianne had not behaved so selfishly, Sylphia would not have entered the temple and the situation would not have come to this point. 

Two years have passed, and Marianne is still fighting the miasma that lingers inside her. Sylphia encouraged Marianne by saying, “She is recovering little by little,” but no one knew what would happen next.

Antonio, who had declared Sylphia a false Saint in the plaza with Marianne, has been living in the palace since then, unable to leave. He was not forbidden to leave the palace, but like Marianne, he was seen by many people. Before that, he had participated in ceremonies as the Crown Prince, so many people knew his face even better than Marianne. 

While helping Sylphia with Valtis and Titia, Lute looks up at the mountains surrounding the village. The blue leaves of early summer are reflected in the blue of the sky, creating a contrast between heaven and earth.

If anything had been different, he might never have seen this view, and he might never have been next to Sylphia.

(Maybe this is also a blessing of the spirits…) 

Sylphia is smiling happily at the village food. Lute stood up and gently snuggled up to her.

***

The day after their greeting, Sylphia and the others are led by the villagers to the mountains near the village.

The mountains are steep, but nature is abundant. The scent of green from the lush vegetation enveloped Sylphia and the others. 

“Are you all right, Sylphia?”

“Yes, Lute-sama.” 

Sylphia took his hand and thanked him, her cheeks flushed. 

Two years have passed, but Lute’s feelings have not changed. Lute tells Sylphia of this at every opportunity. Whenever he escorts her in this way, she gets a little nervous because she is conscious of Lute.

Incidentally, Lute sees this coming and helps her, but Sylphia doesn’t notice.

(Lute-sama is genuinely concerned about me…)

She thought to herself.

“Beautiful scenery, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I didn’t know there was a miasma here…” 

According to the villagers, this mountain is a grateful place that brings bounty, but there is one place that is inaccessible to people. Plants cannot take root, and animals do not come close. People who visit the place are said to get sick without fail. 

When Sylphia heard the story, she thought that this might be caused by a miasma.

Valtis, who had been overjoyed to find a fawn, came back to Titia and tilted his head after running around and having a lot of fun.

[This place looks familiar…]

[… Don’t you remember, Valtis?]

[What?]

“We’re almost there.” 

The guiding villager pointed.

A crumbling building lies ahead. Despite its location in the mountains, the stone building must have been magnificent a long time ago. 

It is dull and dirty now, but both Lute and Sylphia recognize the shape of the white stone building.

“This is…”

” A temple…?” 

But as they approach, Sylphia gasps.

A black mist was leaking from the crumbling walls. 

“How can there be a temple and a miasma here? Anyway, let’s get rid of the miasma.”

Sylphia turned to Valtis and Titia. 

The spirits nodded. Lacing their fingers together, Sylphia prayed. Lute prayed next to her. The villagers who had followed their example and guided them to the village fell to their knees. Meanwhile, the rest of the villagers have to pray for the spirits.

“Please bless them! Please remove the miasma and bring us back to the fertile mountain…”

While Sylphia prays, Valtis and Titia approach the miasma and create a wind. Propelled by the wind, which swirls like a small tornado, the miasma is carried into the sky.

Sylphia looks at the scattered miasma and breathes a sigh of relief. 

“Now this place is safe.”

Sylphia’s words bring smiles to the villagers’ faces. 

“But why is there a temple here?”

“I have heard that in the past, temples were built on the edges of the land, east, west, north, south, and west, to protect the land. Perhaps they were abandoned in the famines and troubles of a hundred years ago.”

Climbing over the crumbling stone walls, Sylphia peered inside. It was similar in construction to the temple in the capital. The walls were painted with red and blue patterns. 

[Ah…] 

Valtis’s murmur caused everyone to turn around. 

“What’s the matter?”

[Eh? Nothing! I just thought I saw a bird over there].

Valtis smiles with a [hehehe] smile. Titia sighs next to him.

“If we restore this temple and the others that are supposed to be there, the neighbors can come here…”

“Yes. The temples in the royal city are already overloaded.”

Thanks to Sylphia, the number of people who believe in spirits has increased significantly. They come to the temple to pray and make offerings, and the population of Royal Capital continues to grow thanks to the believers who visit the temples every day.

Lute was just thinking that it would be bad if they didn’t disperse the population.

“We need the help of the neighboring villages and towns for that…”

While Lute and Sylphia talked, Valtis flew around the temple. 

Valtis remembered. The Saint of the House of Harvest once came here. The saint travels the land to pray with the people. Like Sylphia was doing now.

When the crowd of worshippers had stopped, a woman entered through the darkness of the night. She was sent by the House of Honeydale. She mixed poison in her drink and gave it to the Saint, then pretended to be unaware of her presence, nursed her and asked her words of prayer.

When Valtis found out, the wrath of Valtis filled the land and the trees withered, and the crops were fruitless.

((… I remember…)) 

The famine was caused by the harming of the Saints, but through the fornication of the House of Honeydale it was blamed on the lack of prayers of the Harvest family.

Weakened by the poison, the Saint was unable to pray. 

Attracted by the miasma, Valtis and Titia could not stay on earth.

Valtis erased the sad memories from his mind so that the next time he visited Earth, he would not be reminded of his anger.

The beautiful and delicious things that Sylphia conveyed helped Valtis to love the earthly things after he returned to the earth. So, no more. Keep the sad memories in his heart. 

((All that’s left is for Sylphia to be happy.)).

Walking alongside Lute, Valtis moved his perked ears as he looked at Sylphia, who sometimes gazed at Lute and sometimes dyed her cheeks.