Chapter 227 - 226: I Never Thought Someone Would Actually Ask Me This Kind of Question

Chapter 227: Chapter 226: I Never Thought Someone Would Actually Ask Me This Kind of Question

"Sigh... Little bro, don’t feel so bad. She’s definitely pretty and cute, but she’s also definitely not your average girl... By the way, aren’t there plenty of other nice girls in your life? Why’d you have to pick this one? It’s fine, it’s fine. Later, your big bro will introduce you to someone even cuter."

The Grand Judge put an arm around Lloyd’s shoulder, comforting him a bit clumsily.

"It’s not... I just..."

Lloyd, still looking utterly dejected, trailed off, then suddenly changed the subject.

"Who is she, exactly?"

The Grand Judge, however, raised a finger and wagged it in front of his helmet’s visor, explaining:

"To be honest, I’m not too sure myself. I even find it incredible. Why don’t you ask her?"

As he spoke, he pointed at Lloyd’s pocket.

The Saint Statue lay inside.

Lloyd could only manage a helpless, bitter smile.

"Or... you could ask that guy?"

The Grand Judge lowered his voice again and discreetly pointed at the antique shop’s clerk.

With that, he clapped Lloyd on the shoulder and said encouragingly:

"Alright, alright, I gotta go clean up your mess. You get some rest. In a couple of days, I’ll take you out to a super awesome place to have some fun. It’s full of pretty, passionate girls!"

Then he leaped directly off the clock tower, dozens of stories high. His figure flickered twice in mid-air before vanishing completely.

As for that Saint’s Hunter with the unusual status, she had disappeared long ago.

Lloyd turned back just in time to see the antique shop clerk about to close up and flee. He rushed over, forced his way inside, and stared intently at the man.

The clerk threatened viciously:

"What are you looking at me for? You want me to throw sand in your eyes?"

Lloyd pulled the little kitten out, placed it on the counter, and repeated his earlier question:

"Who is she, exactly?"

The clerk snatched the kitten as it tried to escape, cradling it in his arms and stroking it. He then asked with an amused tone:

"You lured her all the way over here, got me and those idiots upstairs involved, and you don’t even know who she is?"

Lloyd was speechless. After a few seconds of struggling for words, he finally answered:

"I just saw how pitiful she was, and I happened to have a way to help her..."

"Not just pitiful, but cute too, right? All delicate and helpless, making you want to protect her?"

The clerk said in a snide, sarcastic tone, continuing his mockery:

"You’re not a bad-looking guy yourself. Why’d you fall for a girl with a flat chest? Is this city short on beautiful women? You just had to have *this* one?"

Seeing that the clerk was just evading the question, Lloyd resorted to a threat:

"Give me back the cat!"

The clerk sneered and hid the kitten behind his back.

"Heh~ In that case, don’t blame me for being cruel. I was planning on letting you keep a sliver of hope, but since you insist on prying, I guess I’ll have to crush it completely!"

"That girl is the Saint of the City of Joy. Or rather, she *can* become the Saint of the City of Joy."

This answer made Lloyd’s eyes widen slightly. He then frowned and retorted:

"Could you please have some respect for my eyesight and my intelligence?"

"See? I told you, but you don’t believe me. So what answer do you want to hear? Should I just make one up for you?"

"You... But... How could she be a Saint? I’ve checked every inch of her body. She’s clearly just an ordinary girl who’s just completed her Enlightenment."

"Heh heh, what do you think a Saint is? Someone who becomes a Saint by running around killing Demons every day? Or someone who holes up in a library for a few years and suddenly becomes one? You aren’t still buying and reading those novels, are you?"

The clerk said with a look of disdain, then pointed a finger outside the door.

Only then did Lloyd notice that at some point, the view outside the door had changed from the clock tower to the old book market near his home.

He was slightly stunned, then quickly asked:

"Alright, I admit I don’t really know what a Saint is. I just want to know why Elolo suddenly became the Sanctuary Saint. From what I understand, while the Sanctuary Saint is young and a bit special, she’s not *this* special, right?"

But the clerk retorted, somewhat amused:

"When did I ever say she was the Sanctuary Saint?"

"Huh?"

"So you might as well look on the bright side. Though your little girlfriend suddenly became a Saint and can’t be all lovey-dovey with you anymore, your sacrifice has made an outstanding contribution to humanity. Future history books will probably even record the day you got your heart broken, eh?"

Lloyd was losing his patience. He retorted irritably:

"Seriously... are all of you in the Ancient Mage system as full of crap as you are?"

As soon as he had entered, he had used [Enhanced Investigation] on the guy.

Although the man’s four Attributes still read ’??’, indicating they surpassed the detection limit of Lloyd’s 100 points of inspiration, he had been able to see the man’s system and Threat Level.

[System: Ancient Mage]

[Threat Level: (╬￣皿￣)]

’That Threat Level is pretty damn scary...’

Having his system exposed by Lloyd, the clerk finally grew a bit more serious. He placed the kitten back on the table and asked in a low voice:

"Seems I’ve underestimated you. How did you know?"

Lloyd pointed to the ceiling, shifting the blame to the Attendant upstairs.

"Heh~"

The clerk sneered, noncommittal, and then continued:

"Since you know the Sanctuary Saint is special, did you also know that She wasn’t originally human, but originated from a great archeological discovery several decades ago?

Your delicate little girlfriend, if I’m not mistaken, was one of the discoveries from that dig...

But she was likely in some kind of deep slumber, and it wasn’t until you lured her out today that she became aware of her duty."

Lloyd listened, dumbfounded. His mind was a mess, and with no time to sort through his thoughts, he quickly pressed on:

"You can actually dig up a Saint in an archeological dig?"

The clerk smiled again and answered:

"This just proves you still don’t understand the true nature of a Saint. An existence that allows humanity to safely receive knowledge while avoiding harm and Spiritual Contamination—if that’s not a Saint, then what is? In ancient times, there was no shortage of ways to accomplish such a thing."

"It’s just that humanity today has been forced to give up too much for the sake of survival. All they can do is have their most powerful members make a sacrifice, to live in the cage known as a ’Saint’ and endure pain and torment beyond your imagination..."

"So, I have always respected Them. So, as a member of the human race, I can’t let you keep a Saint by your side as a girlfriend. And so, the people outside earlier shared the same thought as me."

He dumped a massive amount of information all at once. When he was done, he put on a sleepy expression, waved his hand dismissively, and concluded:

"That’s all I know. If you want to know more about her, go investigate that great archeological dig from decades ago."

"Where can I find it?"

"Besides a hellhole like Mizkatoke, where else would they study this stuff?"

"Understood."

Lloyd nodded, then, before the man could fall asleep, pressed on:

"You said she’s a Saint. If I also become a Saint, would I be able to..."

As he spoke, he suddenly became hesitant, but then he gritted his teeth and added:

"Would I be able to be with her?"

The clerk immediately looked up at Lloyd and nodded slowly.

But what he said was:

"Damn it, in all my years, I never thought someone would actually ask me a question like that... I suggest you get your head checked at a mental hospital first."

With that, he flopped onto the table and threatened fiercely:

"I’m going to sleep. Don’t bother me, or I’ll beat you to death!"

Considering the guy was probably a *tiny* bit stronger than him, Lloyd could only swallow his anger. He left the antique shop and found himself back in the familiar old book market.

Then, as he walked home, he mulled over the huge wave of information in his mind.

’The reason Elolo carries Spiritual Contamination, and even Forbidden Knowledge, is because she truly has the "aptitude of a Saint"—you could call her a kind of... "Pseudo-Saint"?’

’And her age isn’t what it looks like; who knows how old she really is? If she were with me, would that count as... being a lolicon?’

’Ugh... wait, why am I still thinking about this stuff?’

Lloyd lightly slapped himself twice, pulling his wandering thoughts back.

’That clerk said it was my contact with Elolo that awakened her. Elolo herself also said she had a mission she had to fulfill...’

’But my contact with her was just... normal intimacy?’

’Could it be...?’

Lloyd suddenly recalled Elolo’s dazed and absent-minded state, which had lasted for several minutes, when she visited the Veto Sanctuary.

He reached into his pocket, planning to follow Big Brother’s suggestion and seek answers from his own Saint.

But the sensation from the Saint Statue was merely a gentle grasp on his hand. It didn’t speak directly to him as it had during the encounter with the Advisor, as if offering a silent apology.

Lloyd pressed his lips together firmly and held back his question. Instead, his thoughts turned back to that crazy idea of his—the one that the clerk said should get him committed.

’Although that clerk’s words were sharp, he never directly denied my idea.’

’Of course, it’s very likely that he just doesn’t know...’

’In that case, I should give it a try. I’ll see if I can keep her by my side after I really become a Saint.’

At this thought, Lloyd’s heavy heart seemed to lighten a little. He vigorously rubbed his face and continued to think on the bright side.

’So why am I so sad? It’s not like Elolo is gone forever. I can still go see her every night. She’s just not right here with me.’

But then, he remembered Weiya, with whom he hadn’t even made things official yet...

’I’m... I’m not a two-timing scumbag. I just... I feel she’s pitiful. I don’t want her to suffer all that, and I don’t want all my previous efforts to go to waste.’

’Mhm! Right! That’s it!’

Lloyd comforted himself with these thoughts.