Chapter 28: Start of Friendship

The following day, the Help club members were all inside their clubroom. Angelie was reading printouts from their class. Mimi was tapping the tip of her pen on her notebook without actually writing anything. Kiba was whistling while he had his arms crossed together and his eyes closed. Sanaka was resting her head on her bag that was placed on top of the table. Akuma was slouching on his chair while staring at the ceiling.

"This is your fault, you sleazy vampire."

Akuma directed his gaze at Kiba who was seated beside him on the left side of the table.

"I already told you, I didn't do anything… In particular."

Kiba kept his eyes closed.

"That's the sleazy part I'm talking about! Then, explain to me why they didn't want our help anymore!"

Akuma lifted his head but still slouched on his chair.

"They all probably had a crush on me—"

A pile of paper smacked Kiba's face. Mimi threw the printouts that Angelie held.

"I was reading those, Mimi-san…"

Angelie smiled awkwardly at Mimi.

"I apologize, Angelie-san. I just couldn't take how this person is making light of our situation."

Mimi kept on jotting dots on her notebook without looking at Angelie or Kiba.

"Where's my apology? I was the one you hit! Or don't tell me you're jealous—"

Mimi's notebook flew directly at Kiba's face and he fell down from his chair after the hit.

Sanaka slowly lifted her head from her bag and looked around. Her eyes were half open. She then saw Kiba lying on the floor.

"Hey, Kiba-kun. If you want to sleep, just do it like me. It's pretty comfortable."

Akuma slammed his palm on his forehead.

"I'm a long way from ruling over this school, am I?"

---

The week when the second-years would have their anticipated school trip finally came. The third-years would go on the trip a week later than the second-years. This was so that not all the teachers would be out of school together with the students they handle.

It was the beginning of the week and the Help club met at their clubroom. Sanaka had some other business so she left earlier than everyone. No one came to ask for any help requests that afternoon. Kiba and Akuma left consecutively. Only Angelie and Mimi were left inside the room.

"Hey, it's been a while. Do you want to go home together?"

Angelie looked at Mimi as soon as she finished packing up her things in her bag.

"I would be most pleased to accompany you, Angelie-san. Unfortunately, I am quite in a hurry to go home…"

Mimi looked away from Angelie as she declined her friend's offer.

"Oh, is that so… Do you need to do something? Maybe I can help you?"

Angelie softly smiled at her as she touched Mimi's hand.

"It would seem that you can still read me like an open book. And you always offer your assistance whenever I feel down like this…"

Mimi smiled back at Angelie.

"Of course! That's what friends are for! And I do take pride in the fact I was the first person you called your friend back then."

---

During the earlier days of the war waged by the Demon Lord in Altro Mondo, the humans and elves were not yet allies. In fact, the humans thought that the elves were a selfish race for not helping in fighting back the army of the Demon Lord. The elves lived inside their vast sacred forest where humans and monsters alike get lost and would never be seen again, most of the time. This was one of the reasons why the Demon Lord mostly left the elves on their own at first. But it was the Saint who changed all of this.

The Saint couldn't fight using a sword or any weapon. It was because before being called the 'Saint', she was just an ordinary girl living in a small village. She had no proper training whatsoever. When she was given the holy power of the Saint, she used it by sharing it with others who fought with her. In turn, others were imbued with holy powers making them stronger. This method of fighting did have a toll on her. Her own powers were weakened and she was more vulnerable to attacks, unlike if she just used her power on her own.

One day during a skirmish between the human army led by the Saint and a small force from the Demon Lord's army, the human town that the Saint's army was protecting fell. Most of the residents were able to evacuate but there were some who decided to stay and fight for their home. Unfortunately, even as the Saint shared her holy powers to every ally around her, they were still outnumbered. She tried to protect most of the townspeople by using her own holy powers to banish the monsters that attacked them. But as she did that, she was caught in an explosion caused by some orcs throwing bombs at the humans. She was able to push some of the townspeople away, but she was heavily injured in turn. It was not a fatal blow since she was still protected by her holy powers, albeit a weakened power.

During the chaos and confusion that the explosion caused, the Saint managed to escape to the nearby forest. Her body was battered and bruised. Blood was flowing down from her head to her face and body. She pushed herself to run as far as possible, until she finally collapsed. A shadowy figure emerged from behind the trees and walked close to the motionless body of the Saint.

---

The Saint slowly opened her eyes. Her vision took a while before it became clear. She found herself lying down on a bed. The room was mostly comprised of wood and leaves were scattered about. She looked at her arms and noticed they were covered in bandage. Her clothes were replaced as well.

"Where… am I? I remember running… inside the forest…"

She touched her face as she tried to remember what happened.

"Ah, it seems you are finally awake. How do you feel?"

A female elf entered the room through the hanging cloth that served as the door.

"What happened to me? And where is this, exactly?"

The Saint got up and sat on the bed. She looked at the female elf.

"Having heard a loud explosion on the outskirts of the forest, I checked to see if some humans or monsters wandered inside our forest. I found you lying on the ground, covered with wounds. Much to the opposition of some of our clan members, I took you to our village to heal you."

"I see. I am in your debt, but I must leave and get back to that town. There might still be others—"

"I'm afraid that the town has been razed by the army of the Demon Lord by now."

The female elf averted her gaze from the Saint.

"But… but we can't be sure if there were no survivors. I have to go back…"

The Saint tried to get out of the bed, but the female elf stopped her by standing in front of her and touching the Saint's shoulders. She trembled while sitting down on the bed, and then finally tears started to fall down from her cheeks. The Saint wailed as she continued to cry on the female elf's bosom.

---

After the Saint calmed down, the female elf sat beside her on the bed.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to thank you for saving me. That should have been the first thing I said to you."

The Saint gently smiled at the female elf.

"Do not worry. I am just happy to see that you are alive and well."

She reciprocated a smile back to the Saint.

"But still, I am surprised that they did let you bring me here in your village. You must have had a hard time convincing them."

"When I found you, you were ceaselessly muttering about going back while you were unconscious. For someone who was in a dire state, you were still thinking about other people. I knew then that this world can't lose someone like you."

"Have you heard of the one they are calling the Saint?"

"Yes, word of her has even reached us here."

"That's me."

The Saint pointed at herself while she stuck her tongue out and smiled at the female elf.

"Oh… I see."

"I was expecting you to be more surprised than that."

The Saint giggled softly.

"Well, I did feel some sort of presence from you. I could not describe it at the time."

"It must have been the holy powers that was granted to me by the gods."

The Saint then looked up.

"Then it must have been by their providence that you found yourself ending up here in our village."

The female elf closed her eyes and clasped her hands together.

"Again, I would like to thank you for saving me. But I really should be heading back out there. I can't be resting here while everyone continues to fight. I know I'm needed more than ever…"

The Saint stood up from the bed.

"Please wait. Are you not going to ask us elves to fight together with you?"