The Excommunicated Saint Wants to Lose

“This is not good…”
I muttered in a trembling voice.
A battle that cannot be won even if I use all my skills.
What I had only imagined actually happened.

I felt dizzy.
The final moment was approaching.
“I can’t die like this…”
“That’s understandable. Everyone thinks that way in their final moments! Hehehe!”
The opponent used a rather cute tone for someone supposed to be strong.
The immersion was broken.
“Can’t you speak more majestically?”
“This is my best!”
The water spirit employee pleaded innocence.
Well, it was an unreasonable request for a spirit that was inherently pure and innocent.
“Anyway, it’s my turn!”
Two dice rolled vigorously on the floor.
Total 11.
A number that sealed the already tilting match.
“Yes! I’ll take the Kudaks Dungeon too. This means another victory for me!”
“How do you keep getting only 5s and 6s? Is there water in the dice?”
“Feel free to suspect. I’ll laugh at you with the winner’s privilege!”
This makes it 5 losses out of 5 games.
It was my complete defeat.

“How does it feel to be the loser!”

My chest tingles.
It’s just a board game, but it’s stimulating in its own way.
This feeling of being utterly defeated by a spirit, not even human.
There was a unique charm different from fighting physically.
“You’re too good.”
“Hehe! It was your mistake to challenge a water spirit to a game of chance in the first place!”
Seeing her triumphant appearance made my heart tingle again.
“But can I ask you something?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Why do you smile every time you lose?”
To ask such a question in the form of a child.
It made me feel like I had done something wrong.
“There’s something more valuable than victory.”
“Ah, could it be the friendship we’ve built so far!”
“That’s right.”
“I knew it!”
I wonder if white lies were created to be used at times like this.
Judging by how happy she looked at such a trivial remark, it was a good response.
“Let’s play again later.”
“Of course. Then I’ll be going now. I’m quite busy, you know!”
The employee spun around in the air and disappeared, splashing water droplets.
What could be so busy when there are hardly any guests?
I roughly cleaned up the magic game board and lay down on the bed.
I stayed like that, blank-minded.
Quiet meditation.
To maintain a healthy mind, sometimes you need time immersed in silence.
Escaping from stimulation, my mind becomes peaceful.
My heart, which had heated up from the rare defeat, gradually regains stability.

It was effective.
Helped by the Sun Catcher’s psychological stabilization function, my mind soon became refreshed.
My body felt languid as if placed under sunlight.
To the point where I unknowingly fell asleep.
A sweet, short nap.
My eyes opened naturally, and as I slowly got up, I flinched for a moment.
“…Giff?”
“You’re awake.”
Why is he in my inn room?
For a moment, all sorts of thoughts crossed my mind.
Mostly speculations involving a certain vigorous desire of orcs.
“Didn’t you call for me?”
“Ah, right.”
I wonder if he noticed what I was thinking.
Giff pulled up a chair and sat down with an exasperated expression.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t see you as a woman.”
Even so, it was a statement that bothered me, though I didn’t really care.
“A long time ago, some great orc said the same thing, but the very next day…”
“Didn’t we promise never to bring that up again!”
In some cases, even past memories could become strategic weapons.
It was a cruel explosive weapon that reddened the opponent’s face by loading their dark history like this.
“I wonder how shocked the people of Serda would be if they knew what kind of orc our ‘Storm Winter Wolf’ was.”
“…I was wrong. Can’t you just tell me what you need?”
I won.
Victory was enjoyable at times like this too.
“It’s nothing special, I just have a favor to ask.”
“Don’t tell me you want help because you want to lose to the hero?”
“No. I’ve already fought with her.”
“You’re quick.”
Giff didn’t even seem surprised anymore, as if he had gotten used to it.
“But it is related to the hero. Teach her aura.”
The conclusion I reached through our previous encounter.
The hero’s aura urgently needed improvement.
She had taken the completely wrong direction, full of superficial flair.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too late yet.
Giff should be able to correct it properly.
He’s even better than me when it comes to aura generation and control.
“It shouldn’t be difficult for you to approach her, right?”
“That’s true, but…”
His deep voice was filled with doubt.
“You can use third-stage aura too, can’t you? Why are you entrusting this to me instead of doing it yourself?”
“I have things to do. I need to move around busily.”
I need to meet the potential companions before the hero and give them mental education.
It was something that required quite busy movement to be possible.
“And does it make sense for the hero to receive teachings from a notorious public enemy?”
As the goddess’s representative, the hero always had to be noble.
There was a need to minimize future entanglements with me as much as possible.
Liam wasn’t noble or pure, but he was an exception.
Every group has one or two standout individuals, don’t they?
“Alright. I’ll do as you say.”

Giff made a decision surprisingly quickly.

“You’ve decided already?”
“It’s not bad if it helps the hero’s development. After all, it’s for the good of the whole world, isn’t it?”
“You’re not just captivated by her beauty, are you?”
“……”
He glared at me with a fierce expression, so I quickly averted my gaze.
“I regret again that your personality hasn’t changed.”
“Isn’t it better than being in a state of insanity?”
“That’s hard to deny.”
We spent some time exchanging meaningless conversation like that.
It was a friendly chat I hadn’t had in a long time.
“I’m leaving.”
Regrettably, it was time to go.
I finished preparing to leave by putting on my robe.
“I have a request too.”
Giff opened his mouth quietly, looking into my eyes seriously.
“Please don’t create any more innocent deaths in the future.”
It was a natural duty I would have kept even without being asked.
I nodded my head as if making a vow, filled with certainty.
“I’ll come again.”
“Take care.”
After saying goodbye, I left the inn.
Then I headed straight west of Serda.
It was the beginning of a full-fledged mental education tour.
The first of the hero’s companions to receive teachings would be the sage, a magician belonging to the Purple Magic Tower.
She was also the first companion the hero was trying to meet.
‘I wonder if she knows that person?’
I moved my steps quickly.
Towards the Purple Magic Tower, the destination where a reunion with a friend would take place.

Selen pressed her throbbing head and looked at the paper on the desk.
Geometric patterns intersecting chaotically.
Various letters written in small print.
It was the magic circle diagram for ‘Unbalanced Space’.
Its characteristically complex structure was now familiar.
It wasn’t too difficult to analyze once you recognized that senior magicians created it out of a sense of elitism and pretentiousness.
The problem was how to improve it.
She had no idea where to start.
‘I need to make it unbreakable…’
Her heart kept feeling uneasy.
How surprised she had been when the Excommunicated Saint easily broke through the ‘Unbalanced Space’.
It felt like her heart, which had sunk at that moment, still hadn’t risen.
The shock was even greater because she had considered it a trump card magic.
Indeed, the Public Enemy of Humanity was still an insurmountable wall for now.
‘Though she was a bit strange for a public enemy.’
She had gone into battle prepared to die, but only received advice and admonitions.
Rough but clear directional teachings.
Thanks to that, her once vague path ahead became clearly opened.
Of course, it would be troublesome to mistake her for a good person.
The Excommunicated Saint was a public enemy that needed to be subjugated someday.
She was clearly an evil person who went around committing massacres all over the continent.
Still, shouldn’t she properly say thank you the next time they meet?
It was the maximum level of respect that could be given to an enemy.
“Hero.”
Selen broke out of her thoughts and met eyes with the person who had called out to her.
An old man with white hair and full of wrinkles.
He was the branch head of the Purple Magic Tower in Serda.
“Are you busy right now?”
He used honorifics again, even though she had dissuaded him many times.
For Selen, who had lived with a grandfather of a similar age, it was an unbearably burdensome treatment.
“No, I’m not. What’s the matter?”
“There’s an orc requesting a meeting with you, Hero.”
“An orc… Do you mean the adventurer named Giff?”
The only polite orc known to make requests rather than demands was Giff, famous as an S-rank adventurer.
“I’ll meet him.”
“Yes. Please wait a moment.”
Shortly after, the branch head brought in a large-bodied orc.
Fierce eyes and scars etched all over his body.
Indeed, he had the appearance befitting a strong warrior.
“I’ll excuse myself.”
The door closed, leaving the two alone.
Giff, who had been silent, slowly opened his mouth in a calm tone.
“I heard you lost to the Excommunicated Saint.”
“……”
A fact she had hidden lest the citizens of Serda become anxious.
Selen tensed up, preparing for battle.
“Don’t be so guarded. I came to help you.”
“What do you mean by help?”
“Aura. I’ll raise your level a notch.”
Giff raised his index finger.
“Watch carefully.”
Suddenly, an overwhelming chill.
Blue aura blossoming on his finger froze everything around.
“How is it?”
“…It’s amazing.”
It was marvelous.
An aura that could be called nothing short of art.

“Do you feel like learning?”
“Is the reason you want to teach me aura for revenge?”
She had already heard the news that Giff had been defeated by the Excommunicated Saint.
“That’s right. Who else but the hero could defeat that madwoman?”
He didn’t seem to have any other hidden purpose.
No matter how she thought about it, there was no reason to refuse this offer.
“Alright. I’ll gratefully learn. Please take care of me from now on.”
Selen bowed deeply.
As the hero fighting on behalf of everyone.
And as a disciple about to receive teachings.
“But weren’t you also no match for the Excommunicated Saint, Giff-nim?”
“…That’s not true. I lost by an extremely small margin. It was really close.”
It was a suspiciously strong denial.

I took in the sight of the lake that at first glance felt like the sea.
A great lake located at the midpoint between Serda and the Purple Magic Tower.
It was once a famous tourist spot known for its beautiful scenery, but now it was truly a demonic realm.
Amphibian-type monsters crying noisily.
Hybrids of crocodiles and hippos swimming in the lake.
Strange birds freely roaming the sky.
The fresh scent of nature had disappeared, replaced by the stench of rotting corpses, becoming a habitat for monsters.
Even the blowing wind was nauseating, making me frown involuntarily.

Wouldn’t even the Demon Lord hastily leave, saying this is a bit too much?
It was a horrific sight that tormented both vision and smell simultaneously.

The root cause of all this was the temple located in the center of the great lake.
It was the reason I came here.
‘Finally…’
Until now, I hadn’t been able to properly utilize my game knowledge of .
There were hardly any events I could use since it was before the start of the main story.
But finally, the opportunity had come.
It was time to do something “befitting of a reincarnator” for the first time.
While lightly stretching my body, I carefully examined the light emanating from the center of the lake.
Holy power of a turbid color.
It was evidence that the temple, which no one used due to inconvenient access, had turned into a dungeon.
Although not a desirable phenomenon, I was glad.
It was the ‘Abandoned Temple’ that also appeared in the game.
A dungeon that imposes trials that affect the minds of those who enter.
In simple terms, it was a place that attacks mental strength.
It would be tricky, but I will conquer it.
Because I need to draw out the true power of our Sun Catcher.
‘I want to hear the voice.’
The Sun Catcher originally had a consciousness befitting a sacred artifact.
But now it was in a dormant state due to the aftermath of excommunication.
To wake it up again, I needed to inject holy power.
Of course, that was impossible for me now.
That’s why I came here.
To forcibly wake it up using the holy power of the abandoned temple.
Actually, there wouldn’t be a big problem even if I left it alone as is, but there were many aspects I regretted.
In other words, it was a situation where only passive skills were applied.
The activation of active skills was the Sun Catcher’s role.

With the Sun Catcher’s help, my strength would be enhanced several times over.
It was a clear advantage that offset the drawback of being overly talkative.

Considering the hero’s talent that would grow to threaten even the Demon Lord, I needed to become stronger too.
Now that there’s a limit to just training, I should borrow the power of the sacred artifact.
“How long are you going to sleep? It’s time to wake up.”
I moved mana to envelop my whole body.
Second-stage aura.
This level was appropriate when fighting moderate opponents.
“Prey is here!”
Then I shouted loudly in place.
The monsters that immediately reacted to my voice started rushing in with terrifying momentum.
Let’s do some cleaning first.
Unlike fighting holy knights or the hero, there was no need to control my strength, so it was perfect for warming up.
An uncountable number of monsters came rushing in all at once, but it was fine.
One minute would be enough.