A woman, believed to be the Saint, appeared in the center of the magic circle. As representatives from various nations expressed their joy over the successful summoning, Martina and Sophian made their way towards the woman.
While heading toward her with tension, Martina quietly spoke.
“Sophian -sama, do you think the summoning was successful?”
“Considering the words the Saint just spoke were in Reel, I believe the magic circle worked properly. But since this has never happened before… let’s approach her cautiously.”
“I understand.”
As they approached, the woman, believed to be the Saint, gradually changed her expression from confusion to fear.
Seeing her trembling slightly, Martina and Sophian were at a loss.
“Nice to meet you, I am Sophian . I was born as the second child of His Majesty in the Kingdom of Luxaria, and I currently work in diplomacy and as a librarian. This is Martina, an official from my country.”
“I’m Martina. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
After the two introduced themselves politely, the woman, though still showing signs of fear, desperately opened her mouth.
“W-who are you? Where is this place? Are you people from a foreign land?”
“This is the Kingdom of Luxaria. To you, we might be considered beings from another world rather than foreigners. We summoned you, the Saint, to help save our world. –Are you, indeed, the Saint?”
Sophian asked with a soft smile, but the woman did not seem to trust them at all. In fact, she collapsed in the magic circle and began desperately trying to retreat, as if trying to escape.
“I-I don’t know what a Saint is! This must be some kind of mistake… –No, this is a dream, right? Because I was in high school just a moment ago. I shouldn’t be in such a strange place all of a sudden. Did I fall asleep in class? If so, I hope I wake up soon…”
The woman mumbled to herself, pulling her knees close and hiding her face. Martina and Sophian could only look on in confusion.
They exchanged glances and began discussing what to do.
“Sophian -sama, do you think the Saint doesn’t even recognize herself as the Saint?”
“I wonder. To be honest, we were so focused on the summoning working that we didn’t think about much else.”
“Same here.”
(From all the literature I read, it only said that the summoned Saint saved the world from the miasma with powers beyond human understanding. I thought the Saint would lead us, but…)
Facing the woman who was in denial, Martina muttered quietly to herself.
“Has it failed?”
Her words unexpectedly echoed through the hall. The warmth that had been present among the representatives quickly began to dissipate.
“…Is it no good?”
“Are we just waiting for extinction?”
“We shouldn’t have relied on something that had so few records in past literature…”
Pessimistic comments were voiced one after another, but there were still some who hadn’t given up hope.
“Isn’t it a bit premature to think like that? At least we’ve summoned someone we can communicate with.”
“Right, it’s not like some monster was summoned. There’s still hope.”
“But wasn’t the Saint supposed to be a divine being? She looks like an ordinary woman… with strange clothes.”
At the words of one man, those who had still clung to hope fell silent. The hall grew quiet again, and soon after, a new proposal was made from another corner of the room.
“How about trying the summoning again?”
“That’s true. This time, it might work.”
“We shouldn’t try something so casually, right? There’s a chance something strange could be summoned.”
“True. And there’s still a possibility that she is the Saint.”
“But she herself denies it.”
As the topic of re-summoning started to stir up the hall, everyone voiced their opinions freely, while the woman, still crouched in the center of the magic circle, was left behind. Martina knelt down to meet her at eye level. She consciously kept her voice gentle, so as not to intimidate.
“Excuse me, could you tell me your name?”
Whether she was the Saint or not, Martina knew she had to communicate to understand the situation. The woman slowly lifted her face and made eye contact with Martina.
After a moment of hesitation, she whispered softly.
“…Yuzutori Haruka.”
“Yutori Haruka, I see.”
“Ah, Yuzutori is my surname, so my first name is Haruka.”
“I see. Haruka-san, then. Once again, I am Martina.”
“Martina-san.”
Seeing Haruka make a small step toward understanding, Martina decided not to ask any more questions for now. Instead, she extended her hand toward Haruka.
“I understand this must be confusing, but it’s difficult to settle here. Would you like to move to a different room? We’ve prepared a guest room for you, where we can explain things properly.”
Haruka, appearing uncertain and glancing around nervously, looked up at Martina. Martina, subtly shielding Haruka from the representatives, waited patiently for her response.
After a while, Haruka finally nodded with a determined look.
“Okay, I understand. I’d like to move.”
“Thank you. Let me guide you.”
As Haruka stood up, Martina followed suit and turned to Sophian , who had been watching from nearby.
“Sophian -sama, may I leave this situation to you?”
“Of course. I’ll call for a break, and once things settle here, I’ll join you.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
With that, the two of them set off to fulfill their respective duties.
