"You really do get dragon-sick… slow down a little."
Riding on Stardust's back, Miles finally understood how fragile Aisha's petite girl body really was when riding atop a dragon.
Aisha said she got dragon-sick all the time; Miles never took it seriously, even looking down on her for it. Albeit once it was his turn… he was already close to vomiting.
"We don't have time to waste. Every second we delay means more losses on the defensive line."
Compared to Miles's current weakness, Kaima—who stood confidently on the back of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon—was quite accustomed to this mode of travel.
To be fair, summoning a Dragon-Type monster to ride through the sky sounded, and looked, unbelievably cool.
Even though, actually experiencing it—sitting on a bumpy dragon's back, jolting and swaying through the air—was nowhere near as comfortable as riding an airship designed for passengers.
Unfortunately, Miles's suggestion to take the airship to the obelisk had been mercilessly rejected by Kaima.
"We still don't know who the enemy is. The obelisk is our only clue. A conspicuous mode of travel would make it far too easy for whoever is hiding in the shadows to spot us."
Kaima wanted to approach the obelisk as secretly as possible—without alerting the enemy.
However, Miles still felt that riding dragons had nothing to do with being low-profile. It was in no way subtle.
"Forget it. She's the sponsor. If I can endure it, I'll endure it."
So Miles forced himself to hold back the urge to vomit and kept Stardust Dragon's back clean.
Stardust: "If you throw up on me, I won't let you off!"
"I know, I know. And it's not like I'm alone up here… I don't want to embarrass myself either."
"Hang in there, we're almost there, senpai."
Lishia patted Miles's back with concern, easing his dragon-sickness just a little.
Since their destination was the obelisk, Lishia—being the Tower Warden—naturally volunteered to come along.
In truth, Lishia was also worrying about the Tower Warden Village near the obelisk, where she had lived since childhood.
The extent of the damage in each western village was still unknown. Even though she had confidently declared earlier that "there's no way it would be my village," that obvious flag now tormented her with growing anxiety.
Especially once the obelisk was confirmed to be the only lead, Lishia's anxiety finally reached its peak.
"Village ahead," Irena, flying nimbly on her broom with Ren, reported from the front.
"Senpai, that's our village!" Lishia stuck her head forward to get a better look.
When she saw the adobe houses built from yellow mud and the rising trails of cooking smoke, Lishia finally let out a small breath of relief.
"Phew… looks fine. That's great."
The guards on the village watchtower noticed the two airborne dragons and immediately rang the alarm bell.
By the time Miles's group landed, a dozen strong villagers had already formed a makeshift militia, brandishing pitchforks and hoes with full alertness.
"It's me! It's me! Everyone, don't panic!"
This was the perfect moment for the country-girl Lishia to shine.
"That voice… Lishia?"
From the crowd, an elderly voice filled with surprise emerged.
"Village Chief Grandpa, I'm back!"
Because of Lishia's presence, the villagers immediately relaxed.
Strategically, Lishia also saved them the trouble of having to explain themselves—few would ever trust outsiders so easily.
Since Miles and the others were Lishia's friends and academy senpai, they were naturally treated as honored guests.
Lishia had been found as an orphan by the Order Church and chosen as the Saint Vessel. Before she officially came of age, she was entrusted to the Tower Wardens' village to be raised.
She had adoptive parents in the village, but her primary guardian was the white-bearded Village Chief.
"Village Chief Grandpa, have you heard about the uprisings in the western villages?"
"Indeed. That's why the village is on high alert."
So-called high alert meant: a few sentries at the watchtower, and when danger was detected, they'd ring the emergency bell and gather villagers holding hoes.
To be honest, Miles didn't think such a "high alert" would do anything if real danger came.
Regardless, it was undeniable; this was the maximum resistance a remote rural village could muster.
Not wanting to waste time, Miles asked directly, "Village Chief, has anything strange happened recently? For example… has the obelisk shown any abnormalities?"
The moment the obelisk was mentioned, the Village Chief turned serious and cast a glance at Lishia.
Lishia nodded. "It's okay, Village Chief Grandpa. She's the Royal Knight of Livorden. No matter how dangerous it gets, she'll protect us."
"A Royal Knight!"
Hearing that title, the Village Chief's eyes at once shifted—from wary to shocked, then to admiration.
"Never thought this old man would live long enough to see someone so noble… a Royal Knight! And such a young one too. Truly promising!"
"So the obelisk really has shown abnormalities?"
Kaima instantly picked up on the hesitation from moments earlier.
"It's abnormal, yes… but I don't know the details. A month ago, the Order Church forbade anyone from approaching the obelisk. Even we Tower Wardens aren't allowed inside the perimeter anymore."
Even the village that had guarded the obelisk for generations was barred from approaching it.
So for outsiders like Miles, getting close would be even harder.
Aisha: "Mr. Miles, the Order Church… that's the one Saint Ecclesia belongs to, right?"
"Hm?"
Ecclesia was the Saint of the Order Church.
As the organization opposing the Old Dominators, Miles had always assumed the Order Church was at least somewhat normal.
Until he obtained those Order Church-related cards from the Old Dominator Pope.
And now, with the Church suddenly sealing off the obelisk—refusing even Tower Wardens access—it absolutely reeked of suspicious behavior.
If only the Saint were here.
With Lishia handling things in the village and Saint Ecclesia handling the Order Church side, the investigation would go much more smoothly.
"Wait… if only the Saint were here," Miles suddenly realized. "Isn't the Saint standing right in front of us?!"
Although the two personalities existed independently, Lishia always treated the Saint's manifestations as her "sleepwalking episodes."
But their appearances were exactly the same.
Miles even removed Lishia's thick glasses just to confirm.
"S-Senpai, what are you doing?"
Lishia fidgeted nervously under Miles's intense scrutiny, her eyes darting shyly.
"Exactly the same…"
"Miles—you're not thinking…!"
As expected of Irena, with only a few clues, she immediately deduced Miles's plan.
"It's that 'you're not thinking, are you?' answer, Irena. Let's give it a try—swapping the civet cat for the crown prince~"
Miles's plan was for Lishia to impersonate the Order Church's Saint, Ecclesia, in order to infiltrate the heavily restricted obelisk area.
If it worked, great. If it failed, they'd just run away and regroup later.
And Miles believed the chances of success were quite high.
Most imposters relied on makeup to mimic someone's appearance.
Anyhow, Lishia and Ecclesia, having exactly the same face, were already blessed with perfect conditions.
"This actually sounds fun!" Irena instantly perked up, rolling up the sleeves of her oversized witch's robe. "Leave it to me! I'll handle transforming Lishia into a perfect Saint!"
During their time at Synchron Academy, Irena spent the most time with Ecclesia.
So she knew exactly what differed between the Saint and Lishia.
And of course, the most important detail was the iconic X-mark on Ecclesia's forehead.
"S-Senpai… what are you all planning to do?"
Among everyone present, only Lishia herself—who still hadn't realized that the Saint's persona dwelled within her—had no idea what was going on.
"Don't worry, Lishia. Just relax and leave your body to me~"
Uttering words that sounded extremely indecent, Irena cheerfully pushed Lishia into a small room and shut the door behind them.
Ren muttered, "And she said she wasn't here for fun… Irena-senpai is way too excited."
True to the famous speed of witches, within twenty minutes of dragging Lishia inside, Irena's voice rang out—announcing her work was complete.
Even though Lishia was the one who had been thoroughly toyed with, the others couldn't help feeling a strange tension before they opened the door—worried Irena might have messed something up.
Yet, what appeared before them was a transformation so flawless it could only be described as seamless.
Lishia's braided hair had been undone and magically dyed golden. The X-mark on her forehead had been perfectly recreated by some unknown technique.
And to help her see without her thick glasses, Irena even forged a pair of temporary contact lenses matching Ecclesia's eye color.
Aside from her timid demeanor, the person standing before them was no longer Lishia—it was Saint Ecclesia of the Order Church.
"Well? Isn't my masterpiece amazing?"
"It's incredible."
Even Miles couldn't help giving Irena a thumbs-up at this display of skill.
"S-Senpai… what exactly are you planning to make me do?"
Poor Lishia—downright at their mercy, yet unaware of her impending fate.
Miles explained seriously, "Listen carefully, Lishia. We'll need your cooperation soon."
…
"I… I'm the Saint of the Order Church?"
No one had ever told Lishia the truth about being the Saint Vessel. Her adoptive parents, the village chief, and the villagers had all clearly been warned by the Order Church to keep silent.
"More accurately, the Saint manifests through you. Anyway, right now… yes, you're the Saint!"
"The Saint…"
Staring at the mirror—at the golden-haired, blue-eyed girl with a bold X-mark on her forehead—Lishia only felt more and more uncomfortable.
"Is it really okay to sneak into the Order Church's territory like this without being exposed?"
"Appearance-wise, it's 100% fine. I guarantee it," Irena said confidently.
"The rest is up to you, Lishia," Ren reminded her. "Saint Ecclesia speaks much more confidently and cheerfully. And most importantly! You absolutely cannot use your dialect!"
"Ah-li?"
"That 'ah-li' is banned too," Miles said, thinking carefully. "Honestly, Lishia… just try to talk as little as possible."
"I don't want to talk at all…"
Not talking was definitely not an option.
Regardless, thus began the first attempt at approaching the obelisk: Operation Saint Impersonation. With Lishia leading the way, the group headed toward the obelisk.
"Why do I have to accompany you all for something this stupid?"
Halfway there, Kaima grew increasingly frustrated.
"It's just the Order Church—some regional religious force in the west. If they dare obstruct the Seth family, why not just break through by force?"
Irena patiently explained, "Kaima, have you heard the saying 'a strong dragon can't suppress a local snake'? This is their territory. If we can resolve things peacefully, it's always better than shedding blood. I actually think Miles's method is pretty good."
"Irena, you just think it's fun." Kaima cut straight through her excuse.
Following perfectly-disguised Lishia, the group gradually approached the legendary obelisk.
Despite being called a 'tower,' the obelisk was not truly a tower—more like a tall stone monolith.
Square and column-like, it stood before a massive temple in ancient times, a symbol of Egypt's sun worship.
Of course, that was only what Miles knew from his original world's history—many obelisks still stood even in the modern era.
However, on the Spirit Continent, there seemed to be only one left. This lone obelisk had been preserved by Tower Wardens for countless generations.
"There really are people from the Order Church here."
Though they were still some distance away, Lishia suddenly stopped.
White-masked apostles of the Order Church had set up a perimeter several hundred meters away from the obelisk, blocking all passage.
Just like the village chief had said.
"It's your turn, Lishia," Miles and Irena said simultaneously.
"This plan is still stupid," Kaima grumbled.
Her brows tightly furrowed, her fingers never relaxing from gripping the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card.
...
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