The Magical Holy Woman Seraphina - Chapter 3

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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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Magic Saint Seraphina
Chapter 3
Two years ago, on Academy graduation day.
The day all my classmates graduated except me, leaving me stranded alone.
‘Why! I had the highest grades, perfect attendance—why am I the only one who can’t graduate?!’
Is it my fault they rejected my additional student loan because I had no one to vouch for me? Is it my fault I’m an orphan with no family?!
‘Why does anyone have to pay money just to graduate?!’
Curse this wretched world!
‘Let it all fall apart!’
It was while I was clinging to the massive Divine Statue at the Academy’s front gate, sniveling away.
Crack!
‘…huh?’
Suddenly light burst from the statue.
Crumble-crumble.
‘Ahhh!’
The hem of the statue’s robe—the part I was holding—crumbled to pieces. By my strength alone.
Yes.
That was how I came to possess this mysterious Abnormal Strength.
‘The problem is that touching the statue is illegal.’
The fine is a whopping one hundred million gold—two and a half times the school development fund.
So I’ve been hiding my strength ever since.
If I’d had moderate power, I could’ve used it to earn money, but my current strength is visibly strange to anyone who looks.
What if someone got suspicious?
“But why is it, then?”
Could it be that I destroyed his clothes back then, and he’s making me a Magic Saint as punishment?
“Or maybe because you broke the law by touching the statue, he figures you’d be good at thievery too?”
At my question, the dog gave me a sidelong look of utter exasperation.
“Historically, Magic Saints were both mages and saints. They could wield Magic Power and Holy Power simultaneously.”
They purified evil with Holy Power, healed people, and at the same time used magic to pick locks, shake off pursuers—
Magic plus Saint.
“But as Seraphina knows, mages have been extinct for hundreds of years now.”
“True enough.”
“But Seraphina has Abnormal Strength to replace Magic Power! A gift from the Divine!”
Strength instead of magic! Maltese panted enthusiastically.
“Maybe from that moment, the Divine marked Seraphina as a candidate for Magic Saint!”
“Hmm….”
“Plus you’re the right age! And your stamina is excellent!”
“Right.”
[Conditions for a Magic Saint]

– Pure heart (X)
– Sense of justice (X)
– Strength (O)
– Stamina (O)
* Cannot be too young (child labor exploitation)
* Cannot be too old (elder abuse)
Well, sure.
If you’re going to be bouncing around and living a double life where day and night are inverted, it makes sense that a Magic Saint should be someone with good physical ability.
In front of me, as I considered it, Maltese barked courageously. “Woof!”
“Use that special power for the sake of the world!”
“True, the world has gone wrong lately.”
But.
“I still don’t want to.”
“What! Don’t want to?”
“No. I don’t want to.”
I adjusted the slipping strap of Maltese’s bag and spoke firmly.
“Upholding justice—fine, it’s good. But is it good enough to do it at the cost of wearing my body down to nothing? No.”
Work all day dealing with difficult customers at the Clothing Shop to earn money, and all night running around alone pursuing so-called justice that no one even knows about. When exactly do I get to rest?
“Look here.”
I pointed to my room.
“As you can see, I’m poor. I have no family.”
If I get injured or cause some accident and lose a huge sum of money, my life is over.
“That’s why I’m planning to join the Imperial Palace, secure a pension, and guarantee my future.”
But to do that, I’d need to study separately—so if I fail the job interview while playing hero, are you going to take responsibility, Maltese?
Keep working temporary shifts at the Clothing Shop until I’m forty, and what happens when they won’t hire me anymore? Do I go beg under a bridge? Who’s going to care about a life like that?
“Dedicating yourself to the world only makes sense if you’re certain the world won’t ignore your sacrifice.”
Ruining my own life while saving the world—that’s what I’m refusing.
I can barely take care of myself. What world? I’m not even managing to save myself right now.
My answer: refusal.

Absolute refusal.
“Let people with leisure time save the world. Not someone like me, who’ll crash straight to the bottom if I stumble even once.”
School development fund, boarding house rent, Imperial Civil Service Exam prep, and everything else.
“I’m already carrying more than enough burden…….”
Bang, bang!
“Huh.”
What? I turned toward the door.
Bang, bang!
“Did you call someone, Maltese?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Bang, bang!
“Senior, are you in?”
Arden!
My junior!
“Yes! Yes! I’m here!”
“Are you alone?”
…….
Strictly speaking, I’m not alone—I’m here with a talking dog.
As I hesitated to answer, Arden’s voice grew serious.
“Is this a situation where you can’t answer right now?”
“No… it’s just…!”
“I’m opening the door.”
“Wait, wait just a moment! I… I!”
Creak!
I opened the door.
Beyond the threshold stood my junior, Arden, frowning, and I greeted him with an awkward smile.
“Hey.”
Arden’s eyes swept over me from head to toe as he spoke sharply.
“Why are you making so much noise alone? It’s past midnight. I thought someone was breaking in.”
“Sorry…….”
“Why did you open the door so late?”
“Oh, a dog got into my room!”
“A dog?”
At that, Arden’s expression hardened, and he turned his gaze into the room.
His jade-green eyes fell on my cramped boarding house room, the scattered books everywhere, and the dog on the bed.
Maltese, receiving that stare, dropped the pretense and panted innocently.
Then, suddenly.
“Woof.”
…….
…….
I’m going to lose my mind.
Arden’s stern expression as he stared at the dog. The dog’s anxious eyes. And me, watching it all.
“Arf!”
Please, just stay quiet!
Arden, his brow furrowed, slowly opened his mouth.
“Smells….”
“Smells?”
“…like a pigsty.”
…….
“Clean up this room. Seriously. Please.”
“…….”
So a filthy bedroom bothers you more than the sound a puppy just made?
“If the room’s a mess, dogs come inside.”
“Yeah. I’ll clean it.”
“Clean the room and wash the dog too.”
“Sure. I’ll give it a good scrub.”
“Are you planning to keep that dog?”
“No, it belongs to someone else. I was about to send it back.”
“While you’re at it, throw out whatever’s scattered across the floor. At this rate, it won’t be dogs coming in—it’ll be cockroaches.”
“This building already has cockroaches everywhere… right, sorry. I’ll clean it up.”
But why did you come down?
“Were you worried someone had broken into my room?”
I asked without much thought, but Arden’s expression grew serious.
“I wasn’t worried. Breaking and entering is a crime, so I came down to check.”
“Oh.”
“I’m not the kind of person who worries about others. I’m cold-blooded, understand?”
“I see.”
“Even if someone died right in front of me, I’d never worry. Got it?”
“If someone dies, you should worry about them…….”
“Anyway, be more careful. The world’s dangerous these days—don’t just open the door for anyone without checking who it is.”
“I opened it because it was you.”
“You trust me?”
“Yeah.”
“…….”
“…Maybe I should still be careful?”
“Yes.”
“Got it.”
I nodded and promised that from now on, if anyone showed the slightest sign of suspicion, I’d slug them right away.
He seemed to have nothing more to nag about, yet Arden didn’t leave.
Hesitating, Arden pulled a Portable Feather Pen from his pocket.
He kept his body at a distance but stretched his arm out toward the bed, extending the feather pen further and further until its tip scratched the puppy’s head.
Scratch, scratch.
The puppy tilted its head.
Are you petting me? it asked with its eyes, taking a step closer. At that, Arden scrambled backward.
“…….”
“Take it.”
Arden handed me the feather pen after it had touched the dog, then left the room without hesitation.
Thud.
“…….”
“…….”
Maltese, his head fur standing straight up, spoke.
“What was that weird guy?”
“He’s my junior from the Academy…….”
He lives right upstairs from me. I’m in unit 206, he’s in 306.
I don’t know why he still lives here even after becoming an Imperial Knight when the Imperial Palace is so far away.
‘Maybe he doesn’t have money, like me?’
Knight Order Salary and he’s broke? That’s why he keeps buying handkerchiefs. Tsk, tsk.
“Just your Academy junior? That’s all?”
“What else would there be?”
As I answered and turned around, an empty bed greeted me—nothing but space.
The window, which had opened at some point, creaked.
“What, did Maltese leave?”
Without even saying goodbye.
‘I thought he’d try to persuade me more.’
He gives up fast.
* * *
“Ahhhhh!”
I’m exhausted.
Stretching, I left the Boarding House.
Normally I collapse the moment I get home from work, but because of the puppy yesterday, I went to bed late and I’m still drowsy now.
“My throat’s parched, but water waits until I get to work!”
Earning money while drinking water.
“I’ll wash my face at work too!”
Earning money while washing up.
“Ugh, it’s freezing.”
Spring was nearly here, yet the cold still clung to everything. I grumbled and pulled my collar tighter around my neck.
“I want new clothes.”
Once I got my diploma and passed the Imperial Civil Service Exam, I’d buy myself a new outfit.
Repeating this promise, I walked the full thirty minutes to the Clothing Shop, washed my face, and changed into my uniform.
The mirror reflected nothing special—just an ordinary shop employee, unremarkable in every way.
‘That’s right. This is my reality. Not some Magic Saint from nine hundred fifty years ago.’
I laughed bitterly at myself and headed downstairs to begin opening procedures.
“…?”
But something felt wrong.
“What’s going on? Eli, why are you crying?”
Our youngest employee, Eli, was sobbing heavily, while my coworkers hovered uselessly around her.
Then the manager appeared from the back.
And.
“I’m sorry—did you say I’m fired?”
Why?!

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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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