Parallel Memory

Christian seems like a guy that cares about his sister. Though I could not say the same for Adeline.

She is skilled at managing her expression, so you could not really tell what she is thinking. She might be glad on the inside that Christian came to visit but who knows.

( So, her full name is Adeline La-Minnings. Adeline La-Minnings… )

The name seemed familiar all of a sudden. I remember that there was a character who was taking care of the Saintess during the war.

And her family name was definitely La-Minnings.

When fighting with the demons, I remember that there was a character with La-Minnnings protecting the Saintess. Even a Demon at Duke rank was killed by her.

That is what happens in the novel. I could not tell it was the same person because, in the novel, Adeline is introduced as a Holy Guard rather than a Maid.

And she was not weak at all. Considered the most proficient rapier user, her name shone like the sun on the battlefield.

However, I doubt whether she is the same person. I could not imagine the current Adeline to be that bloody rapier.

Since those sent to kill the Saintess were not only demons, she had to kill everyone who had any malicious intent towards the Saintess.

More than her skills, she was more lauded for massacring her enemies. Whether it be demons, monsters, or humans, she would kill them all the same.

I carefully looked at the person who was currently pouring in the tea.

( So this person is the person that will become the best rapier user in the future. )

It is unfathomable that the La-Minnings family abandoned her to raise their status. If they had taken good care of her, she could have helped to raise their status all by herself.

They really let this opportunity slip away. Having a Rank-S could have more impact on the status than having a Saintess as their daughter-in-law.

After all, even the Church would not help them if the danger is too great. The help provided to them would be limited even if Christian managed to marry the Saintess.

But Adeline was different. She was their own family and as long as she was breathing she would help solve the crisis of the family.

Anyway, back to Saintess's conversation. She seemed to be happy that both Christian and she had no interest in marrying each other. But listening to Saintess Amelia, one thing was for sure.

"Seems like Saintess Amelia is really undesirable. Even if you change your words, it does not change the fact that he is not interested in you."

It was not really true but I had to joke about it since yesterday she accused me of flirting with her.

"YOU… Hmph! I have lots of admirers, you know."

Saintess Amelia took his joke seriously.

"I know, I know, I was just joking."

Seeing that Saintess was taking his words seriously, he admitted that he was just joking.

Zero was surprised that she would take his word seriously.

( Does she not have confidence in her appearance? )

I mean who would believe she does not have any admirers with that kind of look? It would be weird if she did not have admirers.

"Hmph! It is good that you know. You should thank God that you have the opportunity to even talk with me."

"Yes, yes, I am really grateful to God that I could talk to Saintess Amelia."

"Humph! I am glad that you realized that."

( So easy. )

"So I want to ask you something. How do you know Professor Mia?"

I asked the Saintess. It had not been written in the novel, so I was really curious.

As one of the fans of the novel, I was excited to discover new things about major characters such as Saintess Amelia and Professor Mia.

The Saintess didn't seem to dislike the idea of telling the story about her childhood when she and Professor Mia were neighbors.

Remembering her childhood, she smiled. That period was the happiest time of her life.

Zero listened carefully and only then did he become aware that Professor Mia and Saintess were childhood friends.

( No wonder Saintess agreed to heal me. )

Listening to Saintess, Zero realized that she had a great deal of respect and care for Professor Mia.

He thought that it might be the reason why she healed him despite hating the fact that Zero could use Dark Energy.

Saintess Amelia looked quite happy to share her story with Professor Mia, as she kept on talking about how cute Professor Mia was back then until it was time for dinner.

Zero had not anticipated the Saintess would talk so much for such a simple question. He regretted asking that question a little.

He had already drunk 6 cups of tea while listening to the Saintess story. Though because of that, Zero obtained lots of information about Professor Mia and Saintess Amelia's past.

Zero lay on the bed after eating dinner as he contemplated what to do from now on.

There were still 2 months left before the Tournament of Academies started and no major event happened before that in the novel.

The preparation for the Tournament also got accelerated due to him spending time in the Gate.

He expected to break through to Rank-D+ before the Tournament, but it had already been fulfilled and there were still 2 months left.

He also thought about making preparations to enter Rank-C. It was possible for him as long as he worked hard and got the required resources.

Zero thought that he might easily win unless something unexpected happens during the tournament.

"Anyway, just because I got ranked does not mean I will get complacent with training."

One's rank was only one aspect of strength. It does not necessarily mean that a high rank could mean high power.

Without training, I might lose my edge and perform poorly in the tournament. That's why constant practice was required so that your skill does not deteriorate.

But I didn't know what to do. I don't think there is a training facility in the Holy Church. Actually, I don't have much information about the Holy Church.

It was only after going through various procedures and achievements that the MC got an opportunity to meet Saint Amelia.

I decided to ask Adeline or Saintess Amelia about it. If there is a place I can train, I could use that.

*****

The next day

"A place to train?"

"Yes! I should not waste my time anymore. I had to win the tournament of academies and it looks like Professor Mia will be busy for quite some time."

"Hehe. I never thought you would be the one to bring this up. Follow me, I will take you to a place where you can train."

A grin spread across the Saintess's face. Zero thought there was something wrong when Saintess showed unusually high excitement.

I followed her and she took me into a big building similar to a stadium.

Upon entering the place, the gravity increased and force on the body increased. The building seemed to be similar to the gravity room where I trained in Ace Academy.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that the gravity inside this place is 10x greater. Teehee."

Saintess Amelia tried to make it sound like she forgot but I got the feeling that she intentionally didn't say it to me.

To me, this much gravity is not worth mentioning. Even before ranking up, I could train in a place with 15 times more gravity.

Though I was a little concerned about whether my body could handle it. However, it looked like my concerns were unnecessary as my body was more than fine.

Looks like at least Saintess's skills are as rumored.

Also, I observed that the maid had no difficulty walking through the area where the gravity is 10x.

Which meant that at least their rank was C or higher. I have the status of Rank-C-, though I don't want to brag, normal people in Rank-D+ would not have as high a stat as me.

So I assumed that maid strength was at least similar to before I was trapped in the Gate.

However, I do not understand why they are staying as a maid for the Saintess. With their rank, they could do well as an Explorer and they don't have to work under someone.

Though there could be a lot of reasons for it.

There is a possibility that as an Explorer they would face danger, and they would rather work as maids than fight for their lives on line.

Second, they can't fight or their rank is high but they don't have any combat abilities.

Third, it could be that the Church is giving them more money than they could earn from doing the Explorers' job.

There could also be other reasons like Adeline who is working as a maid because of her family. But those three were general and more likely.

"What is this place?"

As we walked inside the building, I asked the Saintess. It seems rather lavish to have a building with 10x gravity. Why would the Church even have such a building?

"It's Holy Training Ground"