The Sponsored Heroines Are Coming for Me

— Nyaah!

A black cat roamed the forest.

It leaped swiftly between tree branches, moving forward with impressive agility.

Whenever a branch threatened to sag under its weight, it deftly pushed off, using the rebound force to its advantage. Its movements were far too refined to dismiss as those of a mere creature.

Observing its speed and grace, even seasoned experts might gain insight from its movement.

The nimbleness of its feet and body—

The black cat darted through the forest at high speed.

— Sniff, Sniff!

Yet, it wasn’t simply running aimlessly.

Whenever that happened, its pace slowed slightly as it briefly glanced at the ground, as if searching for something.

— Nyahh!

As it leaped toward the next tree, it suddenly twisted in midair. Curling its body, it used the tree trunk as a foothold and dropped gracefully to the ground.

— Thud!

Despite the abrupt change in trajectory, its landing was perfect. Without the slightest falter in its steps, the black cat approached the base of the tree.

— Sniff, Sniff!

It brought its face close to the tree’s base, sniffing intently.

What was it searching for?

Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be at this tree.

Lifting its head, the cat agilely climbed the tree once more.

And then, the pattern repeated.

Occasionally, it would descend to the ground, leap to another tree, land, and then take off again, moving like the wind.

After a few hours of this relentless search—

— …!

Its round eyes widened.

It stumbled briefly but swiftly regained its balance, gliding downward.

The moist earth greeted its paws.

The black cat, now on solid ground, used its face to brush aside the fallen leaves covering the forest floor. Unbothered by the dirt staining its face, it dug desperately, as if a starving creature uncovering its first meal in days.

And then—

— !!!

It finally clamped its jaws around something white.

It was incredibly small, barely large enough to rest on a fingertip.

Upon closer inspection, it resembled a snowflake.

— Woong!

The air around the cat rippled.

A thick flow of magic energy surged, and in an instant, a girl sat where the cat had been.

Sharp, feline-like eyes.

Long, flowing blue hair.

Sharon Pierce.

With great care, she held the tiny white remnant in her hand.

“…You’re alive, Ian.”

Her eyes turned crimson.

A rare occurrence.

But after over two weeks of relentless pursuit, she had finally found clear evidence—an unmistakable trace of Ian Blackangers.

That tiny, snowflake-shaped crystal was none other than Ian’s highly purified magic.

Having always remained close to him, Sharon knew it without a doubt.

This was Ian’s trace.

Sharon clutched it tightly to her chest.

This was proof that Ian was alive.

And a crucial key to tracking his whereabouts.

“I need to get to the others.”

Sharon Pierce had been operating alone.

From the very beginning, she hadn’t had the heart to face the others.

Instead, she had silently watched over them, gathering information, analyzing, and taking action.

So she pushed herself harder.

She hadn’t slept. She hadn’t eaten.

Unlike the other heroines, she had been unable to overcome the affliction from the Rut Incident. To endure it, she had trained to master beast transformation—using it fully to aid her search.

She had become a black cat, scouring the land without rest.

And at last, she had found something infinitely precious.

If Ian had left behind a crystallized form of his magic like this, then he, too, was rapidly growing stronger.

Sharon carefully tucked the evidence into her inner pocket.

Then, she marked the location where she had found it.

Once she relayed this information to the Dessert Research Society, they would continue the search.

Sharon would leave the evidence nearby, unnoticed. However, with some sharp-witted individuals among them, they would soon piece together the situation and continue the pursuit.

“…We must find him.”

Muttering to herself, Sharon took a step forward.

A gentle breeze swirled around her momentarily.

And soon, high above in the forest canopy, a black cat was sprinting like the wind.

◆

If you keep colliding with the ground, it eventually becomes solid.

At some point, it becomes so hardened that it can no longer be broken through.

Holy Constantine.

The second-largest chamber in the Vatican.

Aria Lumines Bell sat there, hugging her knees.

Her eyes were sunken deep.

As always, they were fixed downward—toward the bottom of the abyss.

When she heard that Ian had been captured by the Bloodstone Cult, an existence whose strength was impossible to measure.

And when the Vatican halted its search for him.

Aria withdrew, as she always did.

She turned off the lights, buried herself under the covers, and curled into a ball, sinking deeper and deeper.

‘…W-what am I supposed to do?’

There was no solution in sight to rescue Ian.

Despair consumed her.

A despair so vast it crushed her utterly useless self.

A helplessness that came from realizing she could do nothing without Ian.

…Or so she thought.

She should have continued sinking, endlessly, into the dark depths of her mind.

And yet—

“But… I’m a Saintess.”

A thought suddenly emerged.

“And… I received a Revelation. Maybe there’s something I can do?”

A prophecy she had barely been conscious of when receiving it.

But now that she thought about it, it was a compelling reason.

Words spoken directly through her, the Saintess, from God Himself.

That Ian must be saved—

The Vatican could not ignore such a divine proclamation.

After all, it was not from just anyone. It was the will of God, delivered through the Saintess.

As she entertained this idea, Aria found herself surprised.

Why was her mind working like this all of a sudden?

Then, she realized—

“…This is a real crisis.”

Ian had been taken.

Not by just anyone, but by the Bloodstone Cult.

A genuine life-or-death situation.

Hoo—

Aria took a deep breath.

For the first time since she had sunk into herself, she was doing something deliberate.

And then, she stood up.

She staggered.

Nearly collapsed.

But she caught herself against the wall and, somehow, managed to stay on her feet.

She didn’t know why, but this time, she could move.

Because there was nowhere lower to fall.

“…Ian.”

She had to save him.

Not just to atone for her sins.

Not just to confess her feelings.

She had to meet him again.

She had to keep him alive.

Because only Ian could save her.

— Srrk

Aria took a trembling step forward.

The first step she had taken alone, without anyone’s help, since she had fallen into the depths.

◆

The Vatican’s conference room.

A formal meeting had been convened under the Saintess’s authority, though it was little more than a formality.

The attendees were all bewildered.

— Bang!

A harsh slam rattled the table.

Even among clergymen, raised voices and occasional outbursts were not uncommon in meetings.

But this was different.

‘…Why is the Saintess acting like this all of a sudden?’

‘Did she eat something strange?’

Though her time as Saintess had been short, it had been long enough for rumors about her to spread.

A passive and timid Saintess.

No one in the Vatican had high expectations of Aria Lumines Bell.

Many had even thought her divine revelations would never amount to anything.

And yet—

“This is a Revelation! A direct command from Deus, delivered through me, His Saintess!”

Aria’s voice rang out, firm and resolute.

Of course, her voice trembled.

She had never raised it before.

Perhaps that was why.

“W-we must save him! As those who serve God, we must uphold Deus’s divine will!”

And precisely because of that tremor—

Her words carried an undeniable sincerity.

Those around her were taken aback by the drastic change in her demeanor.

◆

Near Lichten Academy.

Raymond Trading Company – Central Continental Branch Office

The Central Continental Branch of the Raymond Trading Company was its largest division, wielding influence over more than half of the continent, spanning from the imperial capital to Lichten Academy.

Typically, the Head of the Trading Company also served as the Head of the Central Continental Branch.

In other words, Emilia Raymond had now been officially declared the heir to the Raymond Trading Company.

Her formal title was Vice-President of the Trading Company.

Having risen to that position, Emilia now sat with a sharp gaze, issuing firm orders.

“For the search operation regarding Ian Blackangers, spare no expense in providing support. Also, ensure we comply with Laurent Trading Company’s requests as much as possible.”

“…Do you mean we should only pretend to comply?”

“No. Fully cooperate.”

The executives in the room were visibly perplexed.

Everyone knew that Emilia had always worked to keep Laurent Trading Company in check.

Her sudden shift in stance raised unspoken questions among them.

But Emilia remained unfazed.

“At this moment, Ian Blackangers’ value surpasses anything else. We must do everything possible to secure him.”

Her tone left no room for discussion.

That meant the decision was final.

The majority of the executives silently accepted her command and left the office.

Once the room was empty, her secretary spoke.

“Why the sudden change of direction? If we were following the original plan, Ian should have been—”

The sentence was left unfinished.

Emilia’s brows furrowed.

A brief silence followed.

“That matter never happened.”

A simple statement.

And with that, it was settled.

The Raymond Trading Company was now actively moving to secure Ian Blackangers’ safety.

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