268 The Chief Saint’s Greatest Magic (Part Three)

As I watched the Queen Dowager, my heart pounding, wondering what she intended to do, she clearly spoke a magic incantation.

"O merciful light of the heavens, turn my magic into healing power— 'Heal'"

As soon as the Queen Dowager finished the chant, healing magic poured from her hand and enveloped Captain Zachary.

The Queen Dowager’s magic slowly healed Captain Zachary’s burns.

As the captain’s body shimmered, the bleeding halted and the seared skin knit back to normal.

…seven seconds, eight, nine, ten.

Then the Queen Dowager lowered her raised hand and ended the spell.

At the same moment, the Flower Horndeer’s eyes returned to blue, and the flames that had appeared around the monster vanished.

The Flower Horndeer does not attack while it is producing flames.

Knowing that, the Queen Dowager could cast her magic without fear.

A superb performance, grounded in her grasp of the monster’s traits.

Also, the Flower Horndeer is perfect for this demonstration, so the person who chose this monster did an excellent job.

I was impressed, but there’s no question that all of this was only possible thanks to the Queen Dowager’s skill with magic.

I noticed during the first round of screening for the selection meeting that the saints’ spells require a long time—thirty, even fifty seconds—to complete.

However, if it takes that long, then with something like the Flower Horndeer, its eyes would turn blue midway and it would start attacking.

As a result, the saints would be too terrified to finish casting.

The fact that the Queen Dowager takes only ten seconds in total to cast is extraordinarily short compared to the other saints, which is precisely why it holds up in real combat.

Looking at Captain Zachary’s arm, the burn marks remained, but they had faded considerably, and he seemed recovered enough to fight.

Amazing.

With burns that severe he would normally have had to withdraw from the field, but the Queen Dowager’s magic prevented that.

Ordinarily, just standing so close to a monster would be terrifying.

And yet the Queen Dowager mastered her fear, stood close to the knights and the monster, and healed Captain Zachary.

As I was thinking how wonderful the Queen Dowager was, people who seemed to have only just grasped the situation began to buzz.

"Y-you’ve got to be kidding?"

"No way!?"

"Th-the Chief Saint can join a battle and heal a knight!?"

No wonder people were stunned.

At something no one had anticipated, i—

...

Captain Zachary raised his sword and, moving as if he had never suffered severe burns moments ago, charged the Flower Horndeer.

His movements were as usual; with each downward slash of his blade, a heavy thud echoed.

Watching his blade grow heavier and more forceful with each swing, I remembered that Captain Zachary had, albeit imperfectly, learned bodily enhancement.

Captain Zachary must have coordinated with the Queen Dowager in advance about today’s demonstration.

So perhaps they had agreed he would wait for the Queen Dowager to cast and then go all out.

That’s how suddenly and dramatically Captain Zachary’s sword grew stronger.

Of course, the onlookers couldn’t know any of that, and they cried out in excitement.

"Amazing! Captain Zachary has made a full recovery!!"

"It’s because Her Majesty the Queen Dowager cast a spell—his arm’s healed! What incredible restorative power!!"

"Go, Captain Zachary!!"

In answer to their cheers, Captain Zachary brought his sword down at the monster again and again.

The surrounding knights, too, rallied as one to support their captain, pressing the attack.

Thanks to the knights’ efforts, Captain Zachary finally drove his sword deep into the Flower Horndeer’s belly.

The moment he pulled his blade from the monster, the Flower Horndeer collapsed to the ground with a rumble.

A cheer went up from the crowd watching.

"H-he... he did it!"

"Captain Zachary, fully restored thanks to Her Majesty the Queen Dowager, landed the finishing blow!!"

"If she can heal knights in the middle of battle, that’s unbeatable!!"

People, excited, voiced whatever came to mind.

Then one of them abruptly raised both hands.

"Long live the Queen Dowager!"

Without missing a beat, another shouted the same.

"Long live the Chief Saint!!"

As the excited crowd’s cheers rumbled like an earthquake, I gazed at the Queen Dowager in admiration.

"Perfect."

The Queen Dowager had succeeded in showcasing the value of a saint to the highest possible degree.

Captain Zachary wasn’t the only one who was injured, and many of the knights were left without being healed, yet not a single person cared about that.

And since Captain Zachary’s burns were not completely healed, the fact that he could fight as usual was thanks to his own willpower, the ability he had cultivated so far, and his physical-enhancement skill—but people didn’t even notice.

So the Queen Dowager alone is being fawned over... but is that really right?

Just as that question welled up in me, a gentle breeze blew and lifted the Queen Dowager’s hair.

At that moment, people pointed at the Queen Dowager in excitement.

—Now that I think of it, Fabian had said.

"Normally, Her Majesty Hyacinthe hides one of her eyes, but for some reason, at the crucial moments of important ceremonies a wind always blows and both eyes can be seen. Golden eyes and red hair are the colors of the legendary Great Saint. So when everyone gets to see all of that, they feel like they’ve witnessed something incredibly rare and get wildly excited. It’s quite the production, isn’t it?"

Thinking, Yes, the wind did blow at just the right moment, I kept my eyes on the Queen Dowager as the breeze lifted her hair and the right eye she usually keeps hidden was laid bare.

At the same time, sunlight streamed in, and the Queen Dowager’s golden eye glittered.

In that instant, the people there, carried away by their frenzy, shouted all at once.

"Goodness! At the perfect moment, both of the Chief Saint’s eyes have been revealed!!"

"What beautiful golden eyes! They’re sparkling like jewels! Red hair and golden eyes—that’s the color of the legendary Great Saint!!"

"How sublime! The Chief Saint, with those most noble golden eyes, who contributes to monster subjugation with her peerless power!!"

"Long live the Queen Dowager!"

"Long live the Chief Saint!!!"

Even around me, the saints were shouting something in rapture, but none of it reached my ears.

The moment I saw the Queen Dowager’s right eye, I was so shocked that nothing else would register.

Wide-eyed and stunned, I did nothing but stare at the Queen Dowager.

...No way. There’s no way this could be happening.

Because what’s shining in the Queen Dowager’s right eye is...

The holy-stone necklace I had been holding slipped from my hand and dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

"Fia, you dropped something important."

Captain Cyril, who was beside me, noticed and picked up the holy stone for me, but even that was outside my awareness.

Without even blinking, I stared at the Queen Dowager and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"That is... Commander Savis’s eye."

I heard Captain Cyril gasp, but I couldn’t even respond.

Where my dazed gaze was fixed, in the Queen Dowager’s right eye, the Spirit King’s golden eye—passed down through the Náv Royal Family for generations—was sparkling.