I Broke Off My Engagement and Got a Job at the Academy

73 – A Long-Awaited Reunion

Luna sat in the chair with vacant eyes. Nevertheless, she mechanically opened her mouth.

“Next person, please.”

Hmm. Why were the students so fidgety?

With the news that the next saintess had become a teacher at the Academy, numerous individuals were clamoring to catch a glimpse of her, making a commotion in the reception room.

Feeling a sense of shame at being treated like a sideshow monkey, Luna couldn’t help but be embarrassed. However, the next saintess managed to maintain a compassionate smile while skillfully managing her expression.

Certainly, she couldn’t conceal the fatigue evident in her eyes, but what did it matter? Luna didn’t care about such things while occupied with examining the mostly attention-seeking students.

“Beautiful….”

“Is she the next saintess? Wow, it’s like light is radiating from her face.”

Despite the various attention directed at her, Luna was busy examining the students (most of them attention-seekers) whether she liked it or not.

“Why am I even bothering to examine even the obvious attention-seekers properly?”

She thought to herself while continuing to diligently conduct the examinations.

Well, it was probably because her posture in life so far, her identity as a “priestess,” wouldn’t allow her to casually perform examinations on those who openly expressed pain.

Luna sighed inwardly and, looking at the girl in front of her, showed a hint of irritation.

“Ah, Vanessa!”

The next saintess’s pink eyes lit up with joy. In front of those eyes stood Vanessa, as usual, with a dignified face.

The public couldn’t conceal their astonishment at this fact. After all, it was the story of the next saintess of the Imperial Church and the next ruler of the North knowing each other.

“Sister!”

However, the public was even more shocked to see Vanessa, who had never shown such a bright face before, embracing the next saintess.

“How long has it been? Why have you become so beautiful!?”

Luna said while pressing Vanessa’s cheek firmly. Vanessa smiled and replied.

“It’s been three years. When you finished your mission and returned to the church, I was 13 years old.”

Hearing that, Luna, still holding Vanessa’s cheek, said with a playful tone.

“Really? Oh, time really flies. You’ve already enrolled in the academy. How did you come here, Vanessa?”

What could she say? Vanessa and Luna were comrades who had spent about a year together in the North.

Even then, Luna was already marked as the next saintess/candidate for sainthood, and to prove her qualifications and improve her skills, she went on a mission to the North.

At the age of 12, Vanessa and Luna, who was 16 at the time, belonged to the same unit there and fought monsters together.

The harsh environment of the North and the ferocious monsters that survived in such conditions—they fought side by side while sharing a meal.

When they first met, Vanessa, who was beautiful and also had the label of being a saintess candidate, felt jealousy and was disheartened. However, after facing monsters together and witnessing each other in the worst situations, those feelings disappeared.

No, on the contrary, their relationship only grew stronger because Vanessa was one of the few women around.

As an added note, the romance novels Vanessa possessed were originally handed down to her by Luna when Luna returned to the sanctuary.

Vanessa chuckled and said to Luna, “I heard that my sister came to the academy, so I rushed over. I wanted to talk to her.”

Strange. Luna had heard about her arrival at the academy hours ago. Did she have no friends? Luna, pondering this, shook off her thoughts and replied, “Oh, really? But what about this? Right now, there are too many people trying to consult with me, so it might be difficult to talk.”

Luna gestured towards the crowd that was gawking at them. Then, Vanessa instantly restored a chilly atmosphere and said, “Oh… is that so?”

As Vanessa glanced around with a swift motion, the crowd dispersed instantly. As expected, there seemed to be no one genuinely in pain among them.

Looking at Vanessa, Luna raised an eyebrow and said, “Now we can talk.”

Luna patted Vanessa’s head and asked, “How’s school life, Vanessa? Have you made many friends?”

Vanessa turned her eyes away for a moment and replied, “Um… friends, I don’t really have any. I can’t find the need to mingle with others in the first place, and the guys who try to impress me are burdensome.”

Typically, one might worry about not having friends, but Luna, who was already consumed by her studies and had no need for social relationships, just nodded inwardly at Vanessa’s words.

“It’s fortunate that Vanessa doesn’t bother with useless things like dating,” Luna thought to herself.

Once, she herself had been engrossed in such things, reading romance novels to the point of distraction. However, she believed that it was better to focus on training and prayer than to build useless human relationships.

By the way, it should be noted that the Saint had sent her to the academy to correct such a mindset. She was unaware of this fact.

“But my grades are good. I was the top student when I entered, and in the midterm evaluation…”

As Vanessa explained defensively, Luna laughed brightly and said, “Impressive, huh? Well, if it’s not our adorable Vanessa, who else could be the top student? You’ve been hunting monsters since you were twelve, and it’s only natural for someone who used to play comfortably at home to be the best.”

Blushing, Vanessa replied, “A-adorable? I’m all grown up now, you know!?”

Why did Professor Kainus and even her sister, whom she met after a long time, treat her like a child? Vanessa was feeling a bit disheartened.

“Oh, right. Our Vanessa is a grown, beautiful lady now. My mistake. By the way, do you still cuddle with someone when you sleep? It was cute.”

“Kyaa!”

Vanessa shouted at the embarrassing memories from her childhood.

Due to being thrown into the battlefield from a young age, she secretly experienced a lot of loneliness. After getting close to Luna, she found comfort in cuddling with Luna, and it became a common practice.

Luna, who slept with her face buried in her chest, feeling maternal affection for her adorable 4-year-old sister Vanessa, embraced Vanessa as she stirred up maternal feelings in her.

Thinking back to those times, Luna fondly recalled the past.

Vanessa glared at Luna with a flushed face, feeling embarrassed, and Luna just laughed it off.

With the opportunity to have a relaxed conversation after a long time, Luna shared various memories from the past with Vanessa. It was tear-inducing for Luna to have a close conversation partner, not her grandfather but her familiar sister.

As they continued talking, Luna asked Vanessa, “So, you don’t have anyone close at all? It’s good to have a few people who can help you and be close to you.”

In response, Vanessa, with a pained expression, said to Luna, “Uh, well… there’s Professor Eden Keynes. We met before I enrolled, so we have a somewhat close relationship.”

Upon hearing that, Luna looked at Vanessa and asked, “Oh… really?”

Upon hearing Luna’s question, Luna’s evaluation of Eden Keynes within herself took another step down.

He was already someone she didn’t like. But now, he was getting close even to her dear sister? Look at his face. Wasn’t it a face that could make several girls cry? It was absolutely unacceptable for such a scoundrel to get close to Vanessa.

Not only did it dampen Luna’s spirits, but the thought that Eden Keynes could also make Vanessa cry further lowered her opinion of him.

‘This devilish and impure bastard…’

An impure guy. Ah, it was because of people’s judgment that they couldn’t bring down God’s punishment on such a vile scumbag!

Despite having such thoughts, Luna held back. It was evident from Vanessa’s expression that they were not just close acquaintances. Luna had to endure for now, as saying the wrong thing could lead to unnecessarily hurtful consequences.

“Well then, who is this person? I don’t know him well.”

After a moment of contemplation, Vanessa opened her mouth.

“Uh… well, he’s handsome. Oh, no, that’s not important. Let me say it again. He listens very well. We have many conversations about various things. He even told me a lot about the central social circles before we met at the academy.”

While desperately suppressing the distortion of her face, Luna, with a compassionate smile, asked again, “What kind of conversations?”

“Just, discussions about parties, banquets, and such. He said I’d be popular because I’m pretty, but haha, I still don’t know.”

In response to that, Luna replied, “Yeah, Vanessa, you’re pretty, so you’ll definitely be popular.” But internally, she thought, ‘This is not like you.’

Luna, who had refrained from using negative language and thoughts since returning to the Northern Sect, couldn’t endure any longer after hearing Vanessa’s words.

Feeling pure anger and hatred welling up, Luna quietly listened to Vanessa’s words for a while.