The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 294

What kind of person was Saint Clarice?

Under Holy Father Eldane’s protection, she had steadily built up her influence until she became so symbolic to the Telos Religious Group that no one could imagine replacing her.

Inside the main hall of the Holy Capital, said to be the greatest structure mankind had ever built, everyone paid close attention to Clarice’s mood. From the College of Cardinals to the Holy Father Building’s knights, from the Apostles of Telos to the heads of every monastery, a single glance from her was enough to make them break out in a cold sweat.

There were many reasons she had gained such authority, but the greatest was that she was utterly devoted to her duty. Blessed with the Holy Blessing, the saint had dedicated herself to the Telos Religious Group and lived buried under exhausting work, yet she had almost never done anything that could be called stepping out of line.

So when Saint Clarice suddenly vanished from the Holy Capital, it could only be considered a major incident.

Worse still, in the dead of night she had left the Holy City Karpea, accompanied by the commander of the Holy Father Building’s knights and two Apostles of Telos.

It happened so quickly that no one could stop her. Moving with a military escort was a diplomatic matter that, if mishandled, could escalate into a conflict with the Kroel Empire.

Had the next emperor, Penia Elias Kroel, not chosen to overlook the circumstances, it could truly have become a disaster.

The reason she had gone so far as to commit such a reckless act was simple… she had heard about the incident at the Rothstaylor ducal territory, set in the grasslands at the heart of the Kroel Empire.

By the time she arrived at the mansion, she had already steeled herself with grim resolve.

Fwoosh! Crack! Snap!

The red butterfly-shaped ornament in Saint Clarice’s hair swayed once.

The collar of her pure-white saint’s vestments fluttered in the aftermath of the magic power. Over it she wore a robe heavily embroidered with gold thread, but it couldn’t withstand the protective magic circle guarding the Rothstaylor Mansion, and was tearing apart here and there.

Yet Saint Clarice herself was completely unaffected by the enormous wave of magic power. Unless one was a devout believer of the Telos Religious Group, it was impossible to interfere with the Holy Blessing inscribed upon her body.

Fwip! Fwip!

The Rothstaylor Mansion’s protective magic circle was on such a massive scale that it took dozens of high-ranking magicians just to maintain it.

As she crossed the central garden and climbed the entrance steps, pressure bore down on her entire body. Even so, Clarice’s expression remained serene.

No, if anything, it wasn’t quite serene.

The gentle smile she always wore while presiding over services in the Holy Capital was still on her lips… but a cross-shaped vein had clearly popped out on one side of her head.

That was right, she was furious. There was a reason she had rushed all the way here so late at night, even bringing the Holy Capital’s guards with her.

‘Head Maid Bell Maya! I heard you were the most capable strategist protecting the Rothstaylor Mansion…!’

To break through the Rothstaylor Mansion, layered with the highest grade of defensive magic circles, one would have to be prepared to bring the entire mansion down. Naturally, doing such a thing against House Rothstaylor was no easy matter.

And so what was needed was an irregular.

The saint, bearing the Holy Blessing, could shield her own body from every kind of magic.

Even without resorting to any forceful means, she could simply stroll right into this mansion ringed with the highest grade of defensive magic circles.

She was like a walking eraser in human form.

Because she would never take damage from hostile magic power, the saints of the Holy Capital could appear before crowds without the slightest worry.

“Head Maid Bell Maya! I am Clarice, saint of the Holy Capital’s Belzhanar Monastery! Come out and surrender at once!”

She had come to rescue Ed Rothstaylor, who had been stabbed in the back by his most trusted strategist and thrown into crisis.

The situation itself made her feel as though she had been placed on some grand stage, so her tone naturally became even more dramatic than necessary.

She knew Bell Maya well.

Whenever she happened to run into Ed at social gatherings, he would praise the woman until his mouth ran dry.

From the first time she had seen Bell at Silvenia Academy, Clarice had recognized how exceptionally competent she was. Bell was a strategist who knew how to separate public matters from private feelings, how to be considerate of others, and how to act for the sake of her master. At least, that had been true until now.

And yet, Bell had dared to stab her master in the back while harboring such sinister intentions.

Despite all the favors she had received from House Rothstaylor, Bell had dared to raise the banner of rebellion. She had dared to kidnap Ed Rothstaylor through cowardly and cruel means, trying to indulge her selfish desires. She had dared to unleash all sorts of audacious fantasies on a sleeping Ed, things a saint could scarcely even imagine. She had even gone raving mad, spouting embarrassing nonsense about eloping for love.

Harboring just the tiniest speck of self-interest herself, she puffed up her cheeks and shouted toward Bell Maya.

“This wickedness can never be forgiven! Do you think holing up behind a defensive magic circle like this will make things go the way you want?!”

Saint Clarice walked step by step into the main hall of the Rothstaylor Mansion. Naturally, the main hall was also spewing elemental magic from all sorts of defensive magic circles, but Saint Clarice merely snorted and waved her hand once.

Her fair, slender hand looked endlessly frail, yet with a single gesture, it neutralized all the magic power around her.

The Rothstaylor Mansion’s main hall was filled with marble decorations and all manner of artwork.

The main staircase leading up to the second floor came into view, along with the far end of its railing. It was utterly unnatural that a space of such magnificent size held not a single sign of life.

And then, beyond that railing, the perpetrator of this absurd insurrection appeared: Bell Maya.

“Thank you for coming all this way, Saint Clarice. I apologize for failing to prepare a grand welcoming ceremony. Given the circumstances.”

“You talk as though this has nothing to do with you?! Head Maid Bell Maya! How dare you brandish Senior Ed as a hostage to satisfy your filthy desires?!”

“Filthy desires…?”

“Don’t play dumb! I’ve already read all the reports!”

Saint Clarice was angry from head to toe.

Had the people of the Holy Capital seen Clarice like this, they would have been thrown into great confusion. The Saint Clarice who appeared at monasteries and baptismal ceremonies was a figure so holy she might as well have been painted on a cathedral wall.

For her to display such an emotional side was rare indeed. But those who had seen her during her academy days, when she went by the name Kylie Eckner, knew the truth. Clarice simply acted well to suit the situation; at her core, she wasn’t so different from any other girl her age.

“What exactly were you trying to do, putting Senior Ed to sleep with a sedative?!”

“……”

“You’ll have to report in full detail just what sinister deeds you committed, keeping Senior Ed bound while he was helpless, asleep and in such a weakened state of mind and body!”

“……”

Atop the second-floor railing.

Bell Maya looked down at the saint with such lofty grace that she seemed like the true master of the mansion.

Her composure only made Clarice more impatient.

Even if she had snapped and launched an insurrection, Bell Maya was still Bell Maya. This seasoned head maid, who never lost her composure and always set about resolving any situation, had far greater insight than Clarice, who had only sat in a high position for a few years.

Holding a high position did not make someone capable of everything. It was not easy for the still-young Clarice to overcome the insight and experience Bell had gained through countless trials.

To put it bluntly, Bell Maya had fully anticipated even this very situation, the saint storming the mansion alone.

There weren’t many ways to break through this mansion’s stringent defenses. It was possible if one was willing to accept heavy losses, but no one would want to make such a dangerous choice.

In the end, it was Clarice herself, resistant to all magic power, who was the most troublesome opponent of all.

In fact, her special nature was being put to use as the very means of resolving this situation.

And there was no way the seasoned Bell Maya had failed to prepare for it.

“Saint Clarice. Will you hear me out?”

“Don’t think you can sweet-talk me with that silver tongue! Bell Maya. Do you know how much Senior Ed trusted you?! And you defiled that trust of his with your filthy desires! You put him in a weakened state of mind and body, harboring selfish desires, trying to satisfy your filthy lust!”

“It’s not as though my actions are without a greater cause.”

“Greater cause, my foot! You’re acting on personal feelings! How dare you, when even I haven’t… no, that’s not it. Anyway, you need to understand the unbearable weight of this sin you can never atone for!”

Saint Clarice existed outside every law of magic power.

There was no way to stop her. In terms of sheer raw power, Lucy Mayreel was the most dangerous, but Clarice was by far the most troublesome person to deal with.

That was precisely why Bell Maya had never once intended to stop her. Clarice was not someone to be subdued. She was someone to be won over.

“Strictly speaking, I am not acting on personal feelings. In fact, all of this is a matter I undertook with Young Master Ed’s permission.”

“…W-what? No, do you think I’ll believe that? I’ve already been told that Senior Ed was seen held captive and unconscious!”

“That, too, was a permitted matter.”

“What a ridiculous thing to say! If you thought I’d be fooled by such hollow words, then you’ve underestimated me far too much! This may be a personal matter rather than business of the Holy Capital, but you should be well aware that Bell now stands before the saint of the Holy City Karpea! You do understand what it means to make an enemy of me?!”

Saint Clarice didn’t much like pressing down on others with authority.

Nevertheless, before Bell Maya, it seemed necessary to put that authority fully on display. To break this deadlock and subdue her, she needed to mobilize everything she could.

“Saint Clarice.”

But this woman, who worked at the Rothstaylor Mansion day in and day out and had faced every manner of distinguished guest on the continent, wasn’t cowed by something like that.

If anything, the seasoned woman was contemplating how to sweet-talk even a nation’s saint.

Authority that pierced the heavens, total immunity to every kind of magic power, and a temper already running hot besides, how on earth was one supposed to sweet-talk a saint like that?

Unfortunately for Clarice, Bell Maya had spent half her life walking the thin ice of noble society.

“You’re right, Saint Clarice. Young Master Ed is currently in a weakened state of mind and body, confined to the guest room, unable to properly support himself.”

“Just as I thought…! I knew it!”

“Indeed. Just as you said, unable to put up any resistance… having to move only as his hand is led… in such a frail state. Whoever might be at his side, he would have no choice but to lean on them helplessly.”

“How dare…! How daaare you!”

“And should I subdue you here, Saint Clarice, there’s no other place to lock you up, so I suppose I’d have to confine you in that same guest room.”

“…?”

The saint’s fury cut off abruptly.

“Wh-what is that supposed to mean?”

“Look around you. The mansion is presently bristling with defensive magic circles. Alongside all those high-ranking magicians, these are high-level magic circles that Young Master Ed personally took part in maintaining. The mansion right now is like an enormous bomb. There’s scarcely a room that isn’t dangerous.”

“……”

“So there’s no room to spare. If I were to subdue and confine you, Saint Clarice, it would have to be that very same guest room.”

The image of Ed Rothstaylor, weakened and gasping for breath, flickered before her. There was no helping it. No matter how much a saint upheld the teachings of god, she was still a girl that age.

But Clarice wasn’t so thoughtless as to fall for such a one-dimensional ploy.

“Wh-what a ridiculous thing to say! You mean to subdue me with such a preposterous bait?”

But Bell Maya was a master of rhetoric who had seen it all.

“I’d ask you to take an objective look at the present situation. Did you not walk so boldly into this mansion yourself? As you can see, I have no way to stop you, Saint Clarice. Of course, I could level a rapier at you and consider physical means, but that would be the same as wringing my own neck. No one knows that better than you do.”

To go beyond merely confronting the saint, to point a blade at her body or wound her, would be far too grave a crime to bear.

What Bell Maya was saying was that she had no intention of stopping Saint Clarice.

“And did you not say you couldn’t believe my claim that all of this is a permitted matter? In that case, you need only go and see Young Master Ed for yourself. As I’ve said again and again, I have no way to stop you, Saint Clarice.”

The tongue of a viper!

Clarice wondered whether covering her ears might be the right answer, but the fact was there wasn’t a single thing wrong with what Bell Maya said.

It was impossible to stop or bewitch Clarice by magical means, and if she carelessly resorted to physical force, she would never be able to handle the aftermath, not unless she was willing to pay with her life.

“What in the world could be the problem? You’re free to do everything you wish, Saint Clarice. If there’s something you want to confirm, confirm it all; if you want to check on Young Master Ed’s safety, do so.”

“…S-something… you’ve prepared some kind of trap, haven’t you? A physical trap, or…”

“I’m someone who knows how to value my own life. Were I to lay a hand on your holy person, I would become not merely a common rebel but an enemy of the Telos Religious Group.”

Bell Maya had snapped and launched an insurrection.

She had come rushing at the news, yet the Bell Maya she actually faced was strangely calm and rational. Feeling a sense of wrongness at the sight, Clarice swallowed dryly.

Something… something felt subtly different from what she’d imagined.

“Saint Clarice. There is no risk to you whatsoever. I keep telling you, this is a situation where you may do everything you wish.”

“S-something’s… something’s suspicious… I’m telling you it’s suspicious…”

“Right now, Young Master Ed is completely weakened in mind and body… lying quietly in the guest room, recovering… His consciousness returned for a moment, but he drank the sedative again and slipped fully into deep sleep.”

“Stop… stop… don’t bewitch me with your strange words…!”

“He is truly caught in a half-dreaming daze. Whatever is done beside him… whatever is whispered… whatever happens… he would never notice a thing… Yes… I am simply stating the facts. The frail, weakened form of the ever-strong, ever-steadfast Young Master Ed is lying in that guest room…”

“I told you… to knock it off…!”

“Besides, doesn’t this give you good justification too, Saint Clarice? Aren’t you the only person who can survey the situation inside the mansion like this? You’re also the only one who can gauge my true intentions. Surveying the interior while pretending to be subdued… where else would you find such fine justification? Who in all the world could possibly blame you, Saint Clarice?”

“This whole time… justification this, opportunity that… toying with Senior Ed’s life and trying to win me over with your strange words…! You’re testing the very limits of my patience!”

Fwoooosh

A ghastly aura began to gather around Clarice’s body.

Whatever thread of patience she’d had snapped; she glared up at Bell with wide eyes. The sight was closer to a tyrant than a saint. Had she ever fallen into a saint of faithlessness, surely she would have looked like this.

“How dare you! The crime of insulting and trying to manipulate a nation’s saint with such a thing…! You’ll pay for it in full… The fact that you thought this situation could be resolved with such absurd words… fills me with the deepest contempt! Did you really think I’d fall for such an empty inducement, no matter what?!”

***

“Saint Clarice has defected. It seems she’s joined Bell Maya.”

“……”

The central garden of the Rothstaylor Mansion.

Seated at the modest encampment set up there, Baroness Yennekar Palerover pressed hard at the space between her brows. It hadn’t even been fifteen minutes since Clarice entered the mansion.

Bell Maya did not look like the type, but she knew how to be cunning when necessary.

No one knew what sort of trickery she had used, but did this mean even a nation’s saint could be turned into a puppet by her schemes?

Clarice, her face twisted with fury. She had stormed into the Rothstaylor Mansion brimming with heroic spirit, only to surrender in a mere fifteen minutes.

Just how had a nation’s saint been subdued? Those who couldn’t see the situation inside could only tremble in fear.

Archmage Lucy Mayreel: subdued.

Saint Clarice: subdued.

As that terrifying maid’s insurrection continued, the situation was slowly starting to feel real… Truly, she was worthy of being called the continent’s finest strategist.

“S-Saint! Saint Clarice…! What on earth…!”

“What’s happening in there?! Damn it… what has that vile criminal Bell Maya done to the saint…”

The members of the Telos Religious Group who had come along to escort the saint were in an uproar.

Saint Clarice had entered brimming with justice, only to fall so anticlimactically. Surely some cowardly method had been used to bewitch the saint’s mind. Depending on the details, it could be a grave crime deserving even the harshest punishment.

In truth, the saint had simply joined in of her own accord. But at that moment, the Holy Father Building’s knights and the Apostles of Telos had no way of knowing that. They could only imagine that Bell Maya had pulled some cowardly trick. …It was pitiful, really.