Seijo ni Narunode Nidoume no Jinsei wa Katte ni Sasetemoraimasu ~Outaihi wa, Zensei de Watashi wo Fu

     ‘Why?’

     Liz was taken aback, “Why?” Why did Olivia say that when she found her door?

     “Don’t joke about repeating the selection!”

     “To start again…You’re lying!”

     By the feet of the buzzing priests, a little black thing suddenly came towards Liz. She was frightened at the thought of the black light of the fake saint, however she immediately realized that she thought wrong.

     Black leopard. The black leopard had jumped from the floor. Not to Liz, but instead to the Holy dragon flying around her. It punched the white belly of the Holy dragon, it hit its body with full force. It wasn’t a cat punch, but a leopard punch.

     “Gyu!?” the Holy Dragon grimaced as it spat out a fragment of the mirror. It’s as big as Liz’s palm, the part of the mirror that was her door. She took it to her room before and tried to assemble it again, but it didn’t work.

     ‘It was still there’

     In an instant, she felt a premonition of something. It’s as if her heart was touched with bare hands. She’s missing something, that was the feeling. Liz tried to think hard about it. 

     A fragment of the mirror that reflects the true figure of that person. So when the Holy dragon found the mirror in the first temple, of course it would’ve reflected its figure. The Holy dragon is concerned about its round body shape.  On the surface, was  what it dreamed of, the true figure of the Holy Dragon—

     ‘…!!’ She felt goose bumps all over. No way, but there’s a possibility. Rather, why didn’t she think so far about it? She believed and always thought that her door was gone.

     She bit her lip and scolded her stupid self. Liz gave a sharp look at the Holy Dragon flying over her shoulder. It seemed to have understood and the Holy Dragon hastily tried to escape as if saying that it’s doomed. She quickly caught it with both of her hands.

     “Kyu!?” The Holy dragon was startled, who tried to move its legs and slither away. She held it over the mirror fragment that lay on the floor. It was small and the face of the Holy dragon is partially visible, but it’s enough.

     ‘…After all’

     This is the very thing that breathes.

     It was not the small face of the Holy Dragon that appeared in the mirror. The Holy dragon was the Holy dragon, but not the small figure it is now. It was a dauntless and fierce figure of the dragon when it came out of the fruit.

     That’s right. That mirror reflects its true appearance. That’s why at that time in the first temple, it was not Liz’s door that the Holy dragon reacted to dreamily.

“Shiro!!”

     “Kyu!?”

     She angrily pulled on the Holy Dragon’s cheeks as it was trying to escape again. 

     “Guo-!?”

     At that time, it really wasn’t Liz’s door that the Holy dragon gazed into the mirror that time, but it was its own self when it had just come out of the sacred fruit. What it saw was its original figure when it looked sharp and dauntless before it became small and round.

     Liz’s shoulder dropped in disappointment, rather than angry she was more worried. She had a sense in herself that she had believed, she’s angry at herself for being foolish than calm. 

     The Holy dragon too became timid as it had been repentant, its ears drooped, “kyu….”

     The saint turned her warm eyes to the Black leopard as if to reprimand it. The Black leopard seemed to have shrugged its shoulders as if saying “The Holy Dragon is an eyesore, so I only broke into a fight. It was Liz herself who noticed it.”

     “Is it not the door of Liz? Then the door is another…”

Lloyd muttered in a dazed way.

     “Where is the real door?”

     There is still hope. Liz thought of running off to go and find it right now. When they were told about the details of the final selection, the chief priest said to “calm down—”

“Liz,” Olivia called out to her. When she turned around, she saw that Olivia looked calm.

          “Be calm and listen to your heart. Be honest with yourself. Then you’ll find your door. Like how I found mine.”

     Liz nodded. That’s right, that’s what the chief priest said. She took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.

     ‘Be honest and listen to your heart……’

     Liz’s body was enveloped with light. It was majestic yet mysterious, the light was endless. Then, the Holy dragon’s body let out a shining light. Even if her eyes were closed, she knew.

     “Kyu—” The Holy dragon chirped loud and spread its wings as it flew.

     Liz followed the Holy dragon wrapped in white light as it intently flew without ever looking back. She frantically chased after it. Leaving the Festival hall, they passed through the second temple corridors where they lived; Claire, Natalie, Anna, and Rebecca, and headed east. She went through the ninth tower where the mirror appeared, though the door of the tower’s gate is closed.

     The Holy dragon was still the same and without hesitation was about to go through, hitting its head. Watch out! Suddenly, the door opened and the dragon responded. 

     In front of the stunned Liz, the Holy dragon entered the first temple. The statues they passed in the long corridor were equally lined and Liz started to panic again. There’s no one in the temple, the area was quiet.  They even passed the room where Hades transformed back from being the fake saint and was defeated, but the Holy dragon just continued as it just looked in front without any hesitation.

     ‘Where are you going?’

     She felt like she had gone too far. When she started to feel anxious, the Holy dragon suddenly stopped in front of a door at the very end. It quietly rested its wings and bowed its head towards the door.

     “This is…?”

     It’s a room at the deepest part of the first temple, the door was shining white. 

     “Kyu.” the Holy dragon turned towards her with a clear expression. Unlike that time before, its red eyes were full of conviction.

     “…No.”

     ‘This time, it’s my “door”?’

     She was shocked. Her door  is literally a door itself? When the final selection began, the chief priest did say that the door may be something else than a literal door. She felt like cursing.

     “Kyu.” The Holy Dragon slightly  lowered its head before the door. 

     Liz approached the door of the room, her heart beating rapidly. When she gently touched the cool stone door, the light intensified and the dazzling majestic light enveloped her. A keyhole appeared at the center of the door. Liz deeply breathed and remembered that Anna said that a keyhole appeared when she saw her door.

     ‘Then, this is really my “door”—’

     Liz held her breath and with a trembling hand, she held the key which was around her neck. She suddenly remembered when she first met Lloyd. When she first met him in front of Emilia’s home, he asked her about the key. Why did he ask her then? It was apparent that she’s just a commoner who didn’t possess any magic power.

     The door shined even brighter, then she inserted the key with a trembling hand. There was a response and she slowly turned the key. She heard a small metallic sound and the door opened, welcoming Liz. 

     “This room—?”

     The moment she stepped inside, she lost the words she was about to say. The floor and the walls were white. There’s a long window that reached from the ceiling to the floor. Several faint light passed through it, revealing the fine patterns on the floor.

     “It’s beautiful…”

     The room was so beautiful and fantastic and she couldn’t help but sigh. At the back of the room is a white table and there placed on it was a white silk fabric and a shining crown. The beautiful crown was embedded with several white gems. At a glance, she knew that it’s the only crown in the world worn by the Astorian saint.

     ‘Then this room—’

     There was a quiver of conflicting emotions pouring in such as awe and joy. This is the cathedral where saints from generation to generation pray.

          Suddenly, the crown flashed a white light and she held it in her hands. The crown’s brightness strengthened in response to her touch as it had recognized the person who picked it up. At that moment, she was convinced that she was chosen by the crown. She can’t tell why, but it is just as Anna and Olivia had said that you’d know. She found the door and in her mind she knew what it meant—

     From behind came a number of exclamations, it sounded nothing of surprise or discomfort. It sounded like they were satisfied with the result. She heard soft rustling of fabric and she turned around.

     “…!!”

     The chief priest and the other priests were looking up at Liz with one knee on the floor. Many black irises looked at her with a light of respect, obedience, and conviction. Liz gasped at the sight in front of her, it didn’t feel very real. The current saint standing beside them smiled.

     “This is the end of the final selection. The door certainly showed it.”

     In front of the priests, the chief priest opened his mouth and said with a serious expression, “We, all priests, will serve you in this life with patience and pride.” He tenderly gazed at Liz and bowed slowly and respectfully at her.

     “Liz Stefan, the next saint.” The priests bowed their heads. 

     Her eyes met Lloyd’s at the very end, he had a satisfied smile that she had never seen before. Then he bowed down like the rest of the priests. Liz was stunned, her mind was blank and her thoughts stopped yet her body trembled. She doesn’t know why.

     ‘I’m the next holy saint……?’

     Even though she knew, she couldn’t properly shake it off. Silence reigned around. In front of her, the priests still continued to bow down at her. Words seem to be stuck at the back of her throat.

     Suddenly, the Holy dragon flying around the ceiling cried out, “Kyu—!!”

     In response, the current saint smiled and began to applaud. The king and his ministers who stood at the opposite followed. Behind the priests, Rebecca clapped with a tearful face. Mimizun must’ve been surprised. Next to her was Olivia.

     “Congratulations.” She said with a smile. The penguin seemed bright red as it tried hard to strike both wings to give a small puzzling applause. 

     “Kyu!” The Holy dragon leaped joyfully down to Liz’s shoulder.

     ‘—I’m the next saint…’ 

     It’s real. She’s the next saint. It’s decided. As soon as her head cleared up, she began to feel refreshed and gradually she became happy. From head to toe, she felt a sense of fulfillment. She wanted to laugh and cry. 

     She looked at Keefa. Next to the saint, Keefa looked back at her, smiling and clapping. The moment their eyes met, Keefa joyfully smiled as if congratulating her. In front of her was everyone, the chief priest, Lloyd, the other priests, who were still down on one knee, the king, his ministers, Rebecca, Olivia, and the saint had a contented smile.

     Liz, with trembling eyes, looked at them. Sunshine poured out from the window to Liz’s white hair. Under the white shining light, Liz slowly smiled with gratitude to everyone. A sincere smile coming from the bottom of her heart. 

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