The Saintess Is Too Good at Lying - Chapter 82

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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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The Saint Is Such a Good Liar! Episode 082
A boy of about ten years old stared at me with wide, round eyes.
From his black hair and crimson eyes to his facial features, it was unmistakably Cassandro—yet seeing him with my own eyes, I still couldn’t believe it.
That burly man had once been this shockingly adorable.
“So you were small once too.”
I muttered absently, and Cassandro replied with an incredulous expression.
“Of course I was.”
“My goodness, even your voice is so—”
“Well, I’m a child now.”
His military-precise manner of speaking remained unchanged. But hearing it from his childish voice made it sound utterly incongruous. He seemed uncomfortable about it too.
“This feels strange.”
“You’ll adjust quickly enough.”
“…In this body, I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect you properly, Justitia.”
He lowered his head with a look of dismay.
I should have comforted him, but he was so adorable that I found myself gazing at him in a daze.
Cassandro noticed my expression and furrowed his brow.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you’re so cute. I never imagined your childhood self would be this precious.”
“The same goes for you, Justitia.”
At Cassandro’s matter-of-fact reply, my eyes widened.
“Am I cute too?”
“Anyone would think so.”
“Well, I suppose so. I was surprised myself. I didn’t know I could be this cute.”
Cassandro spoke with a slightly puzzled expression.
“It seems you never thought of yourself as cute when you were young.”
“When I was young… I’m not sure. My memory’s a bit fuzzy. What about you? I suppose you always knew you were cute?”
“I’ve never thought that once.”
Cassandro answered with a serious expression. How modest of him.
“More importantly, I’m not sure how to explain this to the Orphanage Director.”
“There’s no need to explain. Just stay here and sneak out with me tomorrow when I leave. Let’s eat first.”
As I offered him the plate of food I’d brought, Cassandro’s expression became oddly uncomfortable.
“Did you carry this yourself?”
“Yes, I did.”
“That must have been heavy. Especially now that you’re smaller.”
“Come now, I’m not so young that I can’t carry something like this.”
Still, Cassandro’s expression remained troubled. Perhaps it was because he felt awkward about having a former saint serve him.
“Would you feel more comfortable if we shared the meal?”
Cassandro nodded, and I took a bite of the bread I’d brought for him. It was quite plain—not to my taste.
“This is the sort of bread you’d enjoy.”
“Doesn’t it suit your palate?”
“You shouldn’t complain about the food, former Saint. There are so many people starving without even this much.”
I finished the bread and stood up from my seat. Cassandro gazed up at me with an unwavering stare, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
Ah, he’s really adorable.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because you’re genuinely cute right now.”
Cassandro’s brow furrowed. I chuckled and asked him.
“What? Does it sound like a lie?”
“…Though it may be presumptuous, I suspect it might be. I’ve never heard such words before.”
“When I was younger, everyone around me must have had their eyes closed. And I don’t lie to you.”
I answered confidently, then suddenly doubted myself and added.
“…Or at least, I won’t?”
“It would be acceptable either way.”
“I won’t.”
I narrowed my eyes and glared at him, and Cassandro burst into laughter. I puffed out my cheeks and asked.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because you’re really adorab….”
Cassandro’s words cut off abruptly.
It seemed he thought it was quite rude to say such things to me. As expected, he lowered his head and apologized.
“My apologies.”
“It’s fine. You’re just a child saying such things, so I’ll let it slide.”
I wished Cassandro well with a bewildered expression, then stepped outside.
I should get some sleep myself. Tomorrow I’d be embarking on a long journey.
But even after returning to my bed and lying down, sleep wouldn’t come easily. It wasn’t because the other children were snoring.
‘What was that dream earlier?’
The scene I witnessed while losing consciousness in the wardrobe. It must be what happened in this world after Justitia’s death.
In the end, the true Saint was Justitia, and God punished Scalia for abandoning her.
‘But how could that be? The original Saint was Lumiel.’
I couldn’t understand it. The fact that Lumiel disappeared right after Justitia’s death. Where on earth had she gone?
‘Ah, I don’t know. My head hurts.’
In truth, it wasn’t such an important matter to me. I didn’t have that much interest in this world anyway.
So when this world fell into ruin after Justitia’s death, I only felt a sense of relief.
They called her a fake Saint and killed an innocent person, then reaped what they sowed.
‘Of course, the real Justitia was too kind not to grieve over what happened after her death.’
I wish you’d forget about that and remember only this: you were the real one from the very beginning.

* * *
The next morning, I woke before the other children and made my way to Cassandro’s room.
I knocked softly and entered, only to find Cassandro shirtless in the midst of his training regimen.
My mouth fell open in surprise. Wait—even while transformed into a child, he was training at dawn? But more importantly…
“…Why do you always seem to be undressed whenever I see you?”
At my bewildered question, Cassandro’s face flushed crimson, and he hurriedly threw himself onto the bed.
He wrapped the blanket around himself, covering his entire body. This was ridiculous—he was far too adorable.
“…I would be grateful if you could step outside for a moment.”
“What? I didn’t quite hear that.”
“If you could just step outside for a moment…”
“Hmm? I’m afraid I didn’t catch that.”
As I continued to tease him while suppressing my laughter, Cassandro squirmed beneath the blanket.
Suddenly, his head popped out from under the covers.
“I would be grateful if you could step outside for a moment, Justitia.”
The sight of him speaking so solemnly with his hair in complete disarray was utterly hilarious. I burst into laughter and left the room.
When I returned a short while later, there stood a boy whose appearance was now impeccably neat and composed.
“I’m fortunate the clothes shrunk along with me. It could have been quite awkward otherwise.”
“The holy sword remains unchanged.”
Cassandro spoke while gazing at the sword he’d leaned against the wall—a blade as tall as he was now.
“It appears the holy sword was unaffected by the transformation.”
“We’ll acquire a proper weapon when we head into the city district later. You’ll need one, after all.”
“Justitia.”
As I turned to leave, Cassandro called out to me in a serious tone.
I turned back to see the child regarding me with a grave expression.
“It is not too late. Perhaps I should go alone…”
“It is too late. It would take quite some time to reach the city district from here. What if the kidnappers decide to leave early?”
I cut off his absurd suggestion and walked over to Cassandro, seizing his hand firmly. As he flinched and looked up at me, I smiled and spoke.
“So let’s hurry. We don’t have enough time if we’re going to acquire weapons as well.”
I smoothed out the furrow between his brows as I added my next words.
“And stop making such a serious expression. It doesn’t suit you at all when you look like a child.”
I took Cassandro’s hand and led him outside. As we walked along the quiet path toward the city district, I explained today’s plan to him.
“We’ll linger in the city district to catch the kidnappers’ attention. They’ll likely try to take both of us, but just in case, it would be wise to establish a shared field of vision through holy power.”
“However, with that method, only you would be able to see through my eyes, would you not? I would be unable to do the same.”
“There’s no helping that. You don’t possess holy power, after all.”
Cassandro’s expression darkened. Was he truly so anxious about being unable to perceive my situation?
“Did you forget? Holy power can be used for attack as well as healing.”
“I am aware.”
“Then why are you still so worried?”
He really was consistent, wasn’t he? Not that I disliked it, but still.
“Precisely because I am aware. You have never once used holy power for offensive purposes.”
“Well, I haven’t been in danger during all this time. I’ve always had a reliable knight commander by my side.”
“As you say, using power for the first time is no different from wielding it for the first time, so the probability of you not using it properly is quite high.”
…I couldn’t refute him since he wasn’t wrong.
“Then let’s think of a way to stay as close as possible. Oh, and don’t call me Justitia today. I’m conducting a sort of undercover investigation.”
“What should I call you then?”
“Titi. And what should I call you? A nickname would roll off the tongue easily, so… yes, Kes sounds good.”
I clapped my hands and spoke to Cassandro.
“Now, let’s practice from here on. We’ll call each other like children do. Hey, Kes.”
“….”
“Why aren’t you answering, Kes?”
Cassandro’s expression became terribly troubled. Seeing that, mischief bubbled up inside me.
“Hey, hey. Kes, Kes, Kes.”
“…Stop calling me that.”
Cassandro’s voice came out as if he were grinding his teeth.
The end was barely audible, but since he made the effort, I decided to praise him.
“Wow, Kes. You’re doing great?”
“…I’m going mad.”
Cassandro let out a long sigh and roughly ran his hand through his hair. Wow, I’m seeing so many rare sights today.

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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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