The Cowardly Baby Saint Sees Ghosts - Chapter 63

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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# Episode 63
A kind of peaceful routine had taken hold.
But lately, Liam seemed different.
He spoke less, his expression hardened into something stiff. He looked worn down, somehow.
“Liam, what’s wrong with you these days?”
“……It’s nothing.”
“That’s not the face of someone with nothing on their mind.”
Liam offered only an awkward smile in reply.
That smile—I wear that expression often myself. Seeing it on someone else makes it look oddly suspicious.
“Becky, don’t you think Liam’s been acting strange lately?”
“Now that you mention it, I’ve seen him often in the Courtyard at night. Standing there alone.”
“……The Courtyard?”
That was odd. It wasn’t even his patrol route.
Robin nodded beside me.
“I saw him too. He looked so serious that I didn’t feel right approaching him, so I just walked past.”
“What could be going on with him?”
Becky murmured the words with concern etched across her face.
I was troubled by it too. Liam wasn’t the type to let something show like this.
“Do you think he’s hurt somewhere?”
“My master is actually more composed when he’s injured.”
Robin spoke with certainty.
“Then what could it be?”
“I’m not sure. It seems like he’s wrestling with something on his own.”
I was about to press further, but held back.
Instead, I decided to watch quietly.
* * *
Every night now, Liam stood in the Courtyard before an ancient stone statue.
Days ago, he’d felt something cool here for the first time. Since then, his feet kept drawing him back to this spot.
‘What was that, anyway?’
No matter how hard he thought about it, no answer came. It had been too vivid to dismiss as imagination, yet too faint to claim as certainty.
He closed his eyes and focused again, but felt nothing.
‘……Was it only that one time?’
As he turned to leave, frustration suddenly welled up within him.
I’m a Holy Knight. There’s nothing I can do besides wield a sword.
Diane, the Holy Maiden, was accomplishing so much at five years old. Even the Crown Prince lately had the bearing of someone working hard at something. He couldn’t say exactly what, but something was clearly shifting in him.
What was he doing?
He was merely standing guard. When danger came, his sword proved useless.
The Holy Maiden advanced forward even when afraid, while he could do nothing but hold his sword from behind.
That helplessness had lingered for days now. Every night during patrol, his feet led him back to this statue. Always hoping.
But since then, he felt nothing.
That frustrated him even more.
Why couldn’t he feel it again, when he’d felt it once before?
The next day, Liam gathered his resolve and sought out the Chief Priest.
“Chief Priest, I have a question for you.”
“Speak, Liam. You look grave.”
“Is there a way to develop Mana Sensing?”
The Chief Priest studied him for a moment.
“……Why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“I felt something recently. I’m not certain, but—”
Liam briefly explained what had happened in the Courtyard days before. That moment when the hair on his neck had stood on end.
The Chief Priest’s expression grew serious.
“That sense, truthfully, exists in nearly everyone. Most are simply too dull to notice it.”
“……Then, can it be developed through training?”
“It’s possible. But it’s not easy. Among Holy Knights, only a handful have actually cultivated such sensitivity.”
“Still, I’d like to try.”
“May I ask your reason?”
“……There was a moment when I was helpless. A moment when my sword could do nothing.”
“For a swordsman to face a moment where the blade doesn’t suffice—that must have been an uncommon trial.”
“Yes. So I want to find another way.”
The Chief Priest withdrew an Old Book from the shelf and handed it to him.
“This is a basic training method that the old Holy Knights used to practice. I’m not sure if it will help, but it’s worth trying.”
“Thank you.”
“It won’t be easy. It could take months, or you might never manage it at all.”
“Even so, I’ll give it a try.”
From that night on, Liam threw himself into the training at once.
He sat quietly in a corner of the old Chapel in the Courtyard and closed his eyes.
Following the instructions in the book, he steadied his breathing and concentrated on the energy around him.
He felt nothing. Time simply continued to slip away.
‘……Is this actually supposed to work?’
Doubt crept in, slow and subtle.
The second night brought the same result, and the fourth, and the fifth. His legs cramped from sitting, but he grasped nothing.
“……What am I even doing?”
Sometimes he felt ridiculous. A Holy Knight sitting in the Chapel’s corner every night with his eyes shut—if anyone saw him, they’d think him utterly mad.
Still, he didn’t stop.
Every night he returned to that same spot and repeated the same practice. He couldn’t even tell if it was working.
He simply persisted, in silence.
On the fifth night, Robin passed by and saw him there.
“Master, what are you doing?”
“……Meditating.”
“Ah…….”
Robin took a few steps forward before stopping and turning back.
“Do you need help with anything?”
“……No, this is something I have to do alone.”
“Yes, sir. Keep at it.”
He was grateful for that—for not asking more, just letting it be.
On the seventh night, Liam sat in his usual corner of the Chapel, steadied his breath, and closed his eyes.
He thought it would be no different from any other night. It never was.
But then, very faintly, something brushed against his awareness.
He held his breath and focused on that sensation. He didn’t want to lose it. His heart began to pound.
Afraid it might be an illusion, he barely dared to breathe.
‘……This is it.’
When he opened his eyes, something like a pale shadow wavered in one corner of the Chapel—barely visible, as if it might not be there at all.
He couldn’t be certain. He rubbed his eyes several times. Yet in that spot, something faint still lingered.
“……I did it.”
He whispered it low. His hands trembled—not from fear, but from overwhelming emotion.
For the first time, he felt certain that he had perceived something himself. Though it was still faint and incomplete, that was enough. For a beginning.
He sat there for a long time, watching until that sensation faded completely.
Even after the presence had vanished, he couldn’t bring himself to leave.
* * *
The next morning, Liam came to find me.
“Saint, I have something to tell you.”
“……Why? Is something wrong?”
Liam hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I think I’m beginning to sense something, bit by bit.”
My eyes widened.
“……Really?”
“It’s not certain yet, but in the Chapel yesterday—it was the first time.”
My heart raced.
Truth be told, I’d always hoped I might one day meet someone who could see spirits on their own.
Even Demian had needed Holy Power channeled into him just to see a ghost, yet Liam managed it through his own strength?
“Could it be that the ‘Cheese’ you spoke of—is actually a cat?”
I clapped my hand over my mouth in shock.
“Y-yes, that’s right!”
“While I was training yesterday, I think I glimpsed a cat’s spirit, faintly.”
“Liam, that’s incredible! That’s seriously amazing!”
“……It’s only the beginning.”
So it’s possible just through training.
Or is it only possible because it’s Liam?
“How did you manage to do something like that all of a sudden?”
“I just, kept sitting and practicing concentration for a while.”
“How long will it take?”
“About a week, I’d say.”
“A week? Why didn’t you tell me about this!”
“I wasn’t certain enough to worry you with it.”
“Even so, you should tell me these things right away. I’m disappointed.”
I let a hint of hurt show on my face.
Becky and Robin, passing by, caught wind of the news and hurried over.
“Really? Liam can do it?”
“That’s impressive…”
“So from now on, Master will go around with the Saint and defeat ghosts together?”
Robin’s eyes sparkled as she asked.
“Not quite at that level yet.”
“Oh, it’s just a matter of time anyway.”
Robin spoke with quiet confidence.
Liam shook his head awkwardly.
“It’s still at a very faint level. Nothing worth boasting about.”
“But that’s already half the battle!”
“To reach this point in just a week—you must have real talent, Master.”
Becky spoke with genuine admiration.
“It was just good fortune.”
“You always put your whole heart into everything you do.”
Robin chimed in from the side. Becky nodded along beside her.
As Liam spoke, his face wore an expression of brightness I hadn’t seen in some time.
Something settled warmly in my chest. It felt as though this gift—this newfound sense—might one day become a great strength for all of us.
That evening, even the simple meal tasted somehow richer than before.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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