My sudden change in status brought changes among the shrine maidens as well.

  The younger ones looked at me with admiration, those of my age with envy, and the seniors with expectation.

  None of them showed even a hint of jealousy—most likely because none of them wanted to fight an abnormal monster like the Ruinbeast Eizerg.

  One positive outcome for the Siln Celestial Order was that some shrine maidens began treating me as a rival and threw themselves into their training.

  Among them, only my closest friend was furious.

  “Hey, what is this supposed to mean?! You told me the other day that we’d always be best friends, and now you’re saying our friendship is over?!”

  “This isn’t something I wanted. The bishop decided it on her own…”

  “I’m going to protest!”

  “It’s pointless. My protest was rejected too.”

  “Why?! Whether you’re a Sacred Bearer or Lipti’s reincarnation, you’re still Am! Why can’t we stay in the same room?!”

  “They said our duties, training schedules, and missions are completely different now, and our daily rhythms won’t match. They also said I’ll have guards assigned to me.”

  “So what?! What does that matter?! If you need a guard, I’m right here!”

  It made me happy that Harl was angry and sad about being separated from me.

  But I couldn’t tell her the real reason—that it was all to prevent the Order’s many lies from being exposed.

  So I couldn’t argue back strongly.

  “I’m going to see Lady Leila!”

  “Harl, wait!”

  Despite her fierce protests, Harl and I were ultimately placed in separate rooms.

  From then on, the ones I worked and trained with were First?Tier Arms?Bearers and Brave Bearers.

  None of them knew that the story of Lipti’s rebirth was a lie.

  Their mission was the subjugation of Eizerg, so with my current abilities, I wasn’t even allowed to accompany them.

  One day, while I was training in frustration, news reached me:

  Captain Leria, leader of the Second Subjugation Squad, had been killed.

  The announcement filled the shrine maidens with fear and anxiety, and the morale of the subjugation squads plummeted.

  “Is this really acceptable?! Please let me join the subjugation mission as soon as possible!”

  Being praised as a Sacred Bearer and a hero while contributing nothing was unbearable, so I once again confronted the bishops directly.

  “Calm yourself.”

  “You were the one who said that making me a Sacred Bearer would save people’s hearts. Even if that was only a pretext, if people can find hope by seeing me, then your goal of restoring the Order’s trust can be achieved. In other words, I should have a reason to be out there as part of the Eizerg subjugation squad.”

  “It is rude to call it a pretext. We are concerned for your safety, Clusilk.”

  “The ones you should be concerned for are not me, but the people living in this country!”

  “And what if something were to happen to you?”

  “I understand. I know how powerless I am right now. That is why I must become stronger as quickly as possible. For that reason, I request instruction from Brine Slyzer.”

  My training with him had been cut short when I became the Miracle Maiden, but his swordsmanship was essential for me to grow stronger.

  “To protect the Order’s secrets, we must avoid unnecessary contact with outsiders. If it is swordsmanship you seek, you can learn from the Brave Bearers. Their skill is not inferior to the Ten Valiant. Besides, Slyzer’s instruction is said to be far too unorthodox.”

  “Bishop Lya, I believe it is fine. Amsaria has told me before that she works well with Slyzer. Whether she goes into battle or not, she is saying she wants to work hard to become stronger. Let us invite Slyzer back as her instructor.”

  “Lady Leila!”

  I hadn’t expected Lady Leila, who had always criticized Slyzer’s methods, to support me. Overjoyed, I threw my arms around her.

  “Now, now. I’m glad you’re happy, but do not forget the dignity and grace befitting a shrine maiden.”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Of course. I will strive to become a Sacred Bearer who carries that dignity and grace within her.”

  “Not within—show it properly.”

  With Lady Leila’s support, I was once again allowed to receive swordsmanship training from Brine Slyzer of the Ten Valiant.

  “It has been a while, Amsaria. Or should I say, Sacred Bearer?”

  “Here, I’m just an inexperienced shrine maiden. Please train me even more strictly than before.”

  Though our positions had changed, we exchanged the same lighthearted greetings as always and immediately began training.

  “An attack is a defense that suppresses the opponent’s attack. Evasion is preparation for the next strike. Receiving a blow is the buildup for a counterattack.”

  Easier said than done.

  Brine Slyzer’s instruction was completely different from any swordsmanship theory I had learned before.

  But he demonstrated every word through action.

  The Slyzer?style swordsmanship was a combat method specialized almost entirely in the sword, with extremely little use of Arcane Arts or Arcane Skills.

  Because he struggled with the forging speed required for advanced Arcane Arts, forcing them into his style would only weaken his primary strength—his swordsmanship.

  So he developed a fighting method that pushed his overwhelming strengths even further.

  For shrine maidens who had trained strictly according to the Order’s teachings, it was understandable that this style was difficult to accept.

  But what if I could master his swordsmanship and then layer Arcane Arts and Arcane Skills on top of it?

  If that were possible, I could become stronger than Brine Slyzer himself.

  That was my belief.

  “I hate to say it myself, but isn’t it impossible to incorporate advanced Arcane Arts into the Slyzer style?”

  “That isn’t true. It only feels impossible because the difficulty is so high.”

  “Hearing such baseless confidence somehow makes it sound achievable.”

  “The hero I aim to become lies beyond mastering this style. If I despair at every milestone, I’ll never reach it.”

  “In that case, we’ll raise the intensity of your training. Otherwise, you’ll turn into an old lady before you reach your ideal hero.”

  “That would be a problem. I’ll catch up to you within three years.”

  Brine Slyzer looked startled at my outrageous declaration, but quickly returned to a serious expression.

  “Then surpass me in two years.”

  He threw back an even more unreasonable deadline.

  “Is this really acceptable?! Please let me join the subjugation mission as soon as possible!”

  Being praised as a Sacred Bearer and a hero while contributing nothing was unbearable, so I once again confronted the bishops directly.

  “Calm yourself.”

  “You were the one who said that making me a Sacred Bearer would save people’s hearts. Even if that was only a pretext, if people can find hope by seeing me, then your goal of restoring the Order’s trust can be achieved. In other words, I should have a reason to be out there as part of the Eizerg subjugation squad.”

  “It is rude to call it a pretext. We are concerned for your safety, Clusilk.”

  “The ones you should be concerned for are not me, but the people living in this country!”

  “And what if something were to happen to you?”

  “I understand. I know how powerless I am right now. That is why I must become stronger as quickly as possible. For that reason, I request instruction from Brine Slyzer.”

  My training with him had been cut short when I became the Miracle Maiden, but his swordsmanship was essential for me to grow stronger.

  “To protect the Order’s secrets, we must avoid unnecessary contact with outsiders. If it is swordsmanship you seek, you can learn from the Brave Bearers. Their skill is not inferior to the Ten Valiant. Besides, Slyzer’s instruction is said to be far too unorthodox.”

  “Bishop Lya, I believe it is fine. Amsaria has told me before that she works well with Slyzer. Whether she goes into battle or not, she is saying she wants to work hard to become stronger. Let us invite Slyzer back as her instructor.”

  “Lady Leila!”

  I hadn’t expected Lady Leila, who had always criticized Slyzer’s methods, to support me. Overjoyed, I threw my arms around her.

  “Now, now. I’m glad you’re happy, but do not forget the dignity and grace befitting a shrine maiden.”

  “Of course. I will strive to become a Sacred Bearer who carries that dignity and grace within her.”

  “Not within—show it properly.”

  With Lady Leila’s support, I was once again allowed to receive swordsmanship training from Brine Slyzer of the Ten Valiant.

  “It has been a while, Amsaria. Or should I say, Sacred Bearer?”

  “Here, I’m just an inexperienced shrine maiden. Please train me even more strictly than before.”

  Though our positions had changed, we exchanged the same lighthearted greetings as always and immediately began training.

  “An attack is a defense that suppresses the opponent’s attack. Evasion is preparation for the next strike. Receiving a blow is the buildup for a counterattack.”

  Easier said than done.

  Brine Slyzer’s instruction was completely different from any swordsmanship theory I had learned before.

  But he demonstrated every word through action.

  The Slyzer?style swordsmanship was a combat method specialized almost entirely in the sword, with extremely little use of Arcane Arts or Arcane Skills.

  Because he struggled with the forging speed required for advanced Arcane Arts, forcing them into his style would only weaken his primary strength—his swordsmanship.

  So he developed a fighting method that pushed his overwhelming strengths even further.

  For shrine maidens who had trained strictly according to the Order’s teachings, it was understandable that this style was difficult to accept.

  But what if I could master his swordsmanship and then layer Arcane Arts and Arcane Skills on top of it?

  If that were possible, I could become stronger than Brine Slyzer himself.

  That was my belief.

  “I hate to say it myself, but isn’t it impossible to incorporate advanced Arcane Arts into the Slyzer style?”

  “That isn’t true. It only feels impossible because the difficulty is so high.”

  “Hearing such baseless confidence somehow makes it sound achievable.”

  “The hero I aim to become lies beyond mastering this style. If I despair at every milestone, I’ll never reach it.”

  “In that case, we’ll raise the intensity of your training. Otherwise, you’ll turn into an old lady before you reach your ideal hero.”

  “That would be a problem. I’ll catch up to you within three years.”

  Brine Slyzer looked startled at my outrageous declaration, but quickly returned to a serious expression.

  “Then surpass me in two years.”

  He threw back an even more unreasonable deadline.