I'll Smash Everything with Passive Skills-Chapter 71: 0. Faith (1)

"Speak of what you desire."

It was a meeting between an old man dressed entirely in black and a girl clad in pure white priestly robes.

In that bizarre combination, it was the girl who first spoke.

Yunafint Lunaciel, the candidate for the Saintess of the great holy nation, was sipping tea with her eyes closed.

"I am being persistently disturbed. Please take ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ care of it."

"...Disturbed?"

The old man pulled a small carving knife from his robe. It had become so smooth from his habitual grip that it felt uncomfortable whenever he sensed a negative emotion.

"Regrettably, I have no idea what its identity is. Whether it is an individual, a faction, or an unknown organization."

"..."

Perhaps feeling uncomfortable with the old man's words, the girl silently stared at him.

No, to be precise, she still had her eyes closed, so it might be more accurate to say she was not really staring.

One thing was certain. The girl was currently in a bad mood.

That was the old man's thought.

"There is someone who seems to be a strong suspect."

"Who is it?"

"Veris von Vitelbach. A first-year student who has suddenly risen to prominence within the academy and is a monster who split the sky with mana contained in his sword."

"A monster..."

As the incomprehensible words kept coming, the girl tilted her head in confusion.

A monster, a monster.

No. Before that, how could a person split the sky with a sword in the first place?

As if reading the girl's thoughts, the old man let out a good-natured chuckle.

"Ha ha! Even I think that sounds ridiculous."

But just like that, the old man's eyes quickly turned cold.

As if to say, when did I laugh, he continued speaking to the girl with a chilling gaze.

"Our judgment is that the power he possesses is astonishing. The incident of the dormitory takeover that occurred previously... The one who knows what happened within that barrier is precisely that Veris."

"..."

The old man gulped down the hot tea as if his throat was dry.

With eyes gleaming with malice, he stroked the handle of the carving knife and spoke.

"It is truly a curious matter. That person detected the scent and sent a rookie, only to return with his tail between his legs, having submitted."

"I understand."

Perhaps she had roughly grasped the old man's words.

The girl slowly rose from her seat.

Knowing well what her words and actions meant, the old man could only look on in surprise.

"Are you planning to move right away?"

"Delaying will not bring any good."

"That may be true, but..."

The old man stared blankly at the girl, seemingly at a loss for words.

To be honest, he felt not a single ounce of greatness in her.

As a candidate for a Saintess, the power and mana she possessed felt utterly insignificant.

However, the old man did not act rashly. He had heard rumors several times about the power that this priestess of the holy nation, who was like a granddaughter to him, possessed.

"Prepare those who will quell the disturbance. I will begin after meeting with the acquaintance of the holy nation."

With those words, the girl slowly exited the luxurious room.

The old man could only stare blankly at the back of the young girl.

*

"I'm bored."

At Cecilia's whining, Veris chuckled.

Even Cecilia, who had been smiling brightly and leisurely just a day ago, now looked exhausted, her face filled with fatigue.

It was not hard to understand.

The mana possessed by the people of this world is limited.

Unless one was someone like Veris, who had undergone insane levels of training and had passive skill enhancements, it was a natural outcome.

"You've been expelling mana all day. It's only natural to be tired."

"But... Veris, you relied on me for the first time, and now I'm feeling down."

Cecilia, with a pout, looked pitiful.

"Let's head back."

Knowing that it was no longer a situation where Cecilia could expel the holy mana, Veris said so.

Even if Cecilia still had an unyielding spirit, reality was not that forgiving.

If she overused her mana, she would only suffer from severe mana exhaustion, so returning home was the best choice for now.

Thud, thud.

"Hmm?"

As Veris was thinking this and trying to lift the limp Cecilia, a figure entered his line of sight.

A girl dressed in white robes similar to Cecilia's priestly attire.

However, the strange fact was that she was walking with her eyes closed.

And her steps were precisely directed toward Veris and Cecilia, who were resting on a bench.

Wondering if she was blind, he was nonetheless fascinated by her precise steps.

"It's been a while."

"...! Who are you?"

Cecilia, surprised by the girl who approached and greeted them, stood up.

She already knew from her fellow priest that Yunafint Lunashiel was at this academy.

But her arrival was quicker than expected. She had only heard the rumor just yesterday...

"Saintess Cecilia. Your star has not yet dimmed, has it?"

As the girl priest approached and spoke cryptically, Veris felt a strange impression.

There were quite a few priests from the holy nation at the academy.

But something... about the person standing before him radiated a completely different atmosphere.

"Do you know her?"

With a natural surge of wariness, Veris asked Cecilia, who nodded without hiding her surprise.

"Yes. She was someone who competed with me when I was a candidate for the Saintess."

"Competed?"

"My power, as you well know, Veris, is the miracle of defense and protection. It is a power based on holy mana."

For some reason, Cecilia continued speaking while looking at the suddenly appearing girl with a tense expression.

"Yunafint Lunaciel. The power she possesses is astonishingly the power of 'miracles.' Literally, she can execute her will beyond the laws of reality." "..."

Veris remained silent at Cecilia's absurd introduction.

A person who possesses the power to execute miracles?

Isn't that a level of power that could disrupt the balance? How could such a person have competed with Cecilia, who ultimately became the Saintess?

Veris had no inkling.

"Is this man Cecilia's beloved?"

"Me, beloved?"

The priestess, who had been quietly listening to Cecilia's introduction, asked directly.

At that blunt question, Cecilia created a rather comical scene.

After a moment of hesitation, she turned her head and avoided answering!

Veris could only feel a sense of disbelief.

This priestess seemed to be missing a screw.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Surprisingly, they seemed to have a close relationship, which made the distance between them feel oddly intimate.

"Nice to meet you. As you may have heard from Cecilia, I am Yunafint Lunashiel. I was a candidate for the Saintess in the past, but now I am a priestess working as a hunter."

"A hunter?"

Veris tilted his head.

Was there a position of hunter in the holy nation?

He had thought that the surface military organization was the holy knight order, and that the inquisitors operating in the shadows were their main force.

It seemed the girl priest anticipated Veris's question, as she quickly added a brief explanation.

"I am tasked with the noble duty of dealing with those who obstruct the path of the order. My role is to guide them to hell."

"..."

Now that he thought about it, it seemed there were not just one but several screws loose.

"Right. I am Veris von Vitelbach. You can call me Veris comfortably."

"...Veris?"

Upon hearing Veris's introduction, the priestess's face began to stiffen.

*

"What nonsense!"

Grand Duchess Evangeline, upon receiving her subordinate's report, let out a cold retort, seemingly in disbelief.

The subordinate kneeling before her was merely sweating profusely. He had only delivered the information they had secured, yet her sharp reaction seemed unexpected.

"B-but that is the information we secured. The source of the information is the Shadow Order."

"Ha!"

The grand duchess let out a gasp filled with incredulity.

She had ascended to the position of grand duchess by slaying her own father.

Though her father, who had been manipulated by the Demon Cult, had left almost nothing but the title, there were some meaningful things.

The Shadow Order.

They were the pride and secret of the Wallenstein Duchy, possessing intelligence capabilities comparable to the imperial intelligence agency.

And that meant... the one controlling them was none other than Grand Duchess Evangeline herself.

However.

"Can you believe this? Even I find it hard to believe."

At the grand duchess's cold voice, the subordinate could only bow his head deeply.

"That the holy nation and the Demon Cult have formed some sort of relationship."

Unlike the imperial intelligence agency, which dealt with the nation's enemies, the Shadow Order solely collected information on the Demon Cult at the grand duchess's behest.

Yet the information they brought was so unbelievable that even the grand duchess found it hard to accept.

"Furthermore, it is a confirmed fact that the Demon Cult requested support and sent a priest capable of performing powerful miracles to the academy from the holy nation."

"Haah..."

At the continued report from the subordinate, Evangeline let out a deep sigh.

It was ironic that she had been scolded by Veris for lacking information, only to now possess true information in her hands.

But the ridiculous fact was that this information was so dangerous it sent chills down her spine.

This was a storm.

A storm so immense that it could shake not only the academy but the empire and even the entire continent.

"Your Grace... you are approaching an absurd danger."

At the subordinate's counsel, the grand duchess slowly shook her head.

After staring silently at the paper in her hand for a long time, the grand duchess finally opened her mouth to respond.

"No."

"...?"

"The danger is approaching us." Suddenly!

The grand duchess stood up from her seat.

There was someone she needed to meet.

Right now.