FSFSLU 5

Chapter 5

This is driving me crazy.

Does Isabel even realize what she’s done?

“What… what? Did Bishop Patrick do this?”

“But the bishop isn’t back yet. Then was it one of the priests?”

“Even the assistant sister couldn’t draw out this much holy power…”

Outside right now, priests, monks, and nuns are running around in a frenzy, trying to figure out who put a massive barrier over the entire church.

As in most fantasy works, in The Long Tale the amount of holy power a cleric can wield is directly proportional to their faith and willpower.

That’s why priests live ascetic lives, travel across the continent doing volunteer work—if you look at it cynically, it’s basically training to raise their holy power.

Every priest dreams of wielding overwhelming holy power. And here, in the midst of all those priests, Isabel basically went, “Look, my holy power is amazing!”

It’s like dropping a university admission certificate for Korea’s top university on the desk of a prestigious high school senior class.

With your name blacked out, of course.

So naturally, people started searching for the culprit.

“Whoever it was, I’m jealous.”

“But isn’t it irreverent to waste holy power like this?”

“More importantly—who even did it?”

“Could it really have been the bishop? Even the auxiliary bishop would have trouble making such a barrier.”

Hearing the voices through the door, I pressed my forehead.

Isabel, you let your guard down for one moment and caused this kind of mess.

And yet you don’t even realize the seriousness of the situation.

Just look at that proud smile.

“Did you see, Angel?”

“……”

I think I’m getting a headache. And I’m an angel.

To be fair, it is impressive.

Creating such a huge, sturdy holy barrier so casually—and without even looking tired.

Even Patrick Hanemass, bishop of Zeroprime, couldn’t throw one up this easily.

Right, Isabel may act like an airhead, but she’s not incompetent.

Besides, ever since she was given the Stigmata, she could withstand even an attack from a demon general…

Impressive, sure, but could you please stop doing things that stand out…

Still, looks like no one has pinned the barrier on Isabel, thank goodness. The voices were fading away.

I carefully chose my words and spoke.

“Isabel, don’t do things like this again. You scared people.”

At that, Isabel went over to the door, pressed her ear against it, and listened to the voices receding down the hall, humming to herself. Then she turned back, looking a little downcast.

“I think I startled them.”

“If you suddenly do something like this, of course anyone would be startled.”

“I’m sorry, I was careless…”

“Just be more careful next time.”

Hmm… I’m not sure if “blessing in disguise” fits, but at least I gained one thing.

Because of that barrier incident, I finally realized—I need to stop relying on Isabel for everything. I need to rely on myself.

“Ah, right! Angel!”

But her dejected look didn’t last long. Isabel suddenly beamed at me again.

“Keep your voice down. You don’t want the priests outside to hear.”

“I have something to ask you!”

“I said keep your—ah, fine.”

“What’s your name, Angel?”

That question made me forget the barrier entirely.

I hadn’t thought about that. What name should I use?

Should I just go with Kim Sumin?

Wouldn’t that sound weird and foreign in a fantasy world?

But nothing else came to mind. And it would be stranger not to answer at all.

After a frantic moment of thinking, I gave up and said:

“…Sumin.”

“Sming?”

Isabel tilted her head, then smiled brightly.

“Smiel!”

I blanked for a second.

Ah. Right. Smiel.

Most angels’ names end with -el: Michael, Raphael, Uriel…

Smiel. Sounds angelic enough.

“Yes, I’m Smiel.”

“Then I’ll be in your care, Smiel!”

“Mm.”

So now I’ll be known as Smiel.

A little surprising, but once I had a name here, it didn’t feel too strange.

“More importantly, Isabel. Have you thought about what to do now that you’ve regressed?”

“…I’ll think about it!”

“You always say that and then forget. Like the twenty Sonnacs you borrowed from Marcel—you still hadn’t paid him back before the Demon Lord’s castle battle.”

“Oh no!”

Isabel looked up at me with eyes full of awe, as if to say, Of course the Angel knows everything.

Anyway, this only confirms I can’t trust this foolish saint with everything.

I’ll have to do all the planning myself. I already expected as much.

“Alright, Isabel. I’ll give you your first task.”

“Yes! Whatever you say, Smiel!”

“First…”

I spoke in a solemn, dignified tone as Isabel’s eyes sparkled.

“Write a letter of reflection for Susanna.”

Watching Isabel’s smile instantly wither was quite the sight.

Still, don’t glare at me. You’re the one who ran down the hallway, not me.

While Isabel groaned over her pen, I sank into thought.

The first thing I need to do is get her out of the church.

According to the secret diary Isabel found, the current year is Divine Calendar 892. Marcel drew the holy sword in 893, and the final battle with the Demon Lord was in 894. So we’ve gone back about two years.

Two years. Not long, but not short either.

In The Long Tale, the Hero’s journey lasted about a year, and in that year, they grew immensely.

Keizo, who’d been no more than a tower ace, became the continent’s top mage, able to rival dragons.
Erika, who’d been just a skilled marksman, grew strong enough to annihilate an entire Demon Army corps with a single arrow.
And Hero Marcel’s strength—enough to face the Demon Lord head-on—goes without saying.

I know exactly how they awakened and what they had to do to grow stronger—the novel laid out their entire growth process.

So my task is clear: send Isabel to the future Hero’s party to accelerate their growth.

And then stop the Three Great Catastrophes that destroyed Opal Land in the story:

The Undead Parade.
The Elf Extermination.
The Dragon’s Betrayal.

The Allied Army collapsed against the Demon Lord’s forces not just because they were everywhere, but because no one stopped the demon generals from growing stronger.

If those catastrophes hadn’t happened, many more allies would’ve survived, and the Hero’s party wouldn’t have borne such a burden.

Sure, The Long Tale was always dark fantasy with constant massacres—and I liked that in a way. But I also hated seeing so many compelling characters die. Having the chance to prevent that is a blessing.

So if I try hard enough, maybe I can find the Demon Generals before they rise, convince them… or, though Isabel will definitely oppose it, kill them before they get too strong.

Hah. A long road ahead.

But it has to be done. I’ll put everything into it—

“O Lord Sunya, grant me wisdom to overcome this trial…”

First, though, I have to properly guide this little lamb, who’s praying for help because she can’t write her reflection letter.

Poor Isabel, struggling so hard.

Struggle more. Take your time and pour effort into it.

That’ll give me time to think.

At last, dripping with sweat, Isabel proudly handed me her finished letter.

“Angel, I finished it!”

“Good work. Now write it again.”

Her face fell like the sky had collapsed. Did you hate it that much?

But I can’t help it.

For my plan to work, we need this reflection letter submitted.

I do feel a little guilty for not telling her earlier.

“Isabel, you said you wanted to tell others about me, right?”

“Yes! I want to brag and let everyone know how kind you are!”

“Thank you. But you’ll still have to rewrite it.”

“Was it really that bad…?”

Now she’s on the verge of tears. Don’t look at me like that, it softens me.

While Isabel wrestled with the letter again, I reached one conclusion.

Isabel really doesn’t need to stay in the church anymore.

The Demon Lord revives in Divine Calendar 894—two years from now.

But Isabel already has holy power on par with when she was appointed Saint.

Granted, she’s only received the Stigmata and not gone through the rest of her growth, so she’s weaker than her peak. But she still has great strength.

Right now, Isabel could face any monster around here without a scratch.

So it’s better to leave as soon as possible and accelerate the Hero’s growth.

But there’s one problem: Isabel is still a priest belonging to the church.

At first I thought of waiting until the priests took turns traveling to other dioceses for service.

But thanks to Isabel’s little “church-wide barrier” stunt, I found a solution.

The Church of the Sun God operates a system called “Sacred Wandering.” Priests who wish to spread the faith, volunteer, study theology, or go on assignments can leave the church to travel freely.

There are many wandering priests across the continent—some join adventurers’ guilds, others work in parties.

Through this system, Isabel can leave the church without being tied down.

“So you mean I should go on a Sacred Wandering?”

“Exactly. But if you just suddenly say you want to, no one will believe you. That’s why we’ll use the reflection letter.”

While Isabel scribbled, I explained my plan.

She frowned, muttered “hmm, hmm,” then her eyes lit up with “wow” now and then.

“I understand! That’s a great idea, Smiel!”

“Do you think you can handle it?”

“Just trust me!”

…When she says that, I get nervous.

But all I can do is hope she succeeds.

I can only give orders—carrying them out is Isabel’s job.

All I can do now is pray she does well.

…Not exactly angelic words, I suppose.