"D-Do I deserve to be this happy?" she asked, her voice still trembling with sobs.
"Of course you do. Why would you ask something so unreasonable?" Richard replied, gently wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
After a moment of silence, she began to tell Richard the story of a girl once called the "Saint."
Somewhere in Europe, there was a little girl abandoned by her parents at such a young age that she couldn't even remember them.
She was raised by a nun and other orphans in a small church in Italy.
From a young age, she was a devoted believer in God. She never missed a single prayer, always followed His teachings, and lived humbly, grateful for everything she had.
And to everyone's surprise, she awakened one of God's gifts at the age of eight.
From that moment, her life completely changed. She was brought to the main Catholic Church and honored as a "Saint" because of her healing abilities.
She used that power to treat many believers. Rumors spread quickly, and people revered her as a true "Saint."
Yet, she never thought of herself as important—she just wanted to help people.
She never complained about the Church's special treatment, nor did she dislike healing others.
In fact, she felt happy about it, thankful for God's gift. But… she felt lonely.
She had no real friends to confide in. The title of "Saint" had placed her on a pedestal. People were kind, but no one truly wanted to be her friend.
Even Sister Bianca—the one who cared for her—kept her distance and treated her as more of a symbol.
She understood why—because her powers were considered abnormal.
They didn't see her as human anymore, but as a tool for healing.
Then one day, everything collapsed.
A severely wounded devil appeared near the church. Out of kindness, she healed him.
To her, whether devil or human, if someone was hurt, they deserved help. She never discriminated against race or faith.
However, a member of the Church witnessed this and immediately reported it.
The priests panicked:
"Her power can heal devils?"
"That's impossible!"
"Healing is a gift from God! It cannot be used on devils!"
The power to heal fallen angels or devils was considered heresy—witchcraft.
She was branded a heretic.
"This witch can heal devils!"
From a revered Saint, she became a forsaken witch. The Church turned its back on her.
With no place to go, she was taken in by a group called the "Stray Exorcists."
In other words, she was forced to live under the protection of fallen angels.
But what hurt her the most… was that not a single person in the Church stood up for her. No one cared.
"…It's because I didn't pray enough. Because I was clumsy. I'm so stupid, I can't even finish a burger on my own…" Asia wiped her tears, then let out a hollow, broken laugh.
Completely different from the cheerful girl from a few hours earlier.
'I'm going to kill them all.'
Even though Richard already knew her story, hearing it directly from Asia and seeing her tears stirred a deep anger inside him.
The Excalibur within him trembled slightly, as if outraged by the injustice Asia had suffered.
He had to restrain himself from flying to Italy and spamming Excalibur everywhere.
Asia seemed to sense his anger and looked at him with concern.
"There's no need to be angry for my sake, Richard-san," Asia said.
"I don't deserve to be treated kindly. I'm a witch. I committed such a terrible sin that even God abandoned me. I'm a bad person."
"You're wrong… You're not a bad person. You're the purest soul I've ever met. A girl as kind as you should only be allowed to smile happily—never to shed tears of sadness."
(I actually used this line to confess to my girlfriend, lol. What do you guys think?)
Hearing that, Asia's face turned bright red. It was the first time a boy had ever said such words to her.
"Do you really mean that, Richard-san?"
"I do. And I'm sure of it." Richard smiled.
—
The two of them arrived in front of the church. Asia looked around, confused as there was no one in sight.
She started to worry that going out to have fun might have angered Raynare.
Richard, however, was silent.
He was about to tell her that he had killed everyone here—but there were still three stray devils inside that needed dealing with.
'Looks like me wiping out all the exorcists and fallen angels turned this place into the perfect hideout. Other devils probably wouldn't bother checking out an abandoned church,' Richard thought.
And he was right—the church, despite being unpleasant for devils, was an ideal hiding spot if one wanted to avoid Rias or Sona.
Suddenly, the door burst open.
A grotesque creature stepped out—so horrifying that even the author didn't know how to describe it.
He had white hair, wore a mask shaped like a monstrous jaw, revealing only a pair of glowing red eyes.
Behind him writhed terrifying tentacles.
Two other devils followed behind him, not worth describing since they were about to be wiped out.
"Hehehe, two tasty little humans," the first stray devil said gleefully.
"Looks like they're on a date. Hey, the girl's a nun," added the second.
"Jackpot! Grab them, have some fun, then eat!" the leader declared.
"Yeah! Let's have some fun with the nun, then snack on the guy!" Devil 2 snickered.
"No, I prefer the guy. He looks handsome. I'm bored of women lately," Devil 1 chimed in.
"…"
"…"
"…Boss?"
Asia stepped back in fear. She wanted to run, but was also afraid Richard would get hurt.
"It's okay, Asia. I've got this," Richard said calmly.
He was still seething after hearing Asia's story.
Fortunately, a few stray devils had appeared right on time for him to blow off some steam.
He stepped forward, creating a barrier around the area so no outsiders would notice what was about to happen.
He bent down and picked up a branch.
"Richard-san?" Asia's eyes widened in surprise, captivated by the scene.
The branch in Richard's hand slowly transformed into a sword, radiating a divine light that mesmerized her.
She had heard many stories from the Church about Holy Swords—
Weapons that only those of pure heart could wield, swords that lit the way for humanity and banished the darkness.
The devils felt the power coming from the sword and panicked, thinking Richard was from the Church.
But Richard only needed to focus a bit of energy.
"Excalibur."
With a single swing, a wave of light obliterated the devils and the abandoned church, reducing everything to dust.
Richard turned back and looked at Asia—who was still standing there, mesmerized.
"Asia, would you like to be my friend?"