🎓 Academy Arc
★ One day, while Reina and Clael are doing their usual church duties, a Cardinal from the central church shows up he’s responding to Clael’s letter that he found the Saintess. Clael feels it’s time for Reina to go to the central church and enter the academy, and informs the Cardinal.
★ Clael gets accused of not reporting sooner it’s been over five years since he found the Saintess and of exploiting her for personal gain. He swears to the Goddess and the Cardinal that he only wanted to raise and educate Reina so she wouldn’t be abused at the central church. This shocks the Cardinal swearing to the Goddess is sacred, and a priest who lies in such an oath loses their power.
★ Clael tells Reina the outcome: the church wants her at the central church and academy. He thought convincing her would be hard, but she agrees easily. Since Clael is a noble, Reina knows she can’t marry a commoner so she plans to earn the Saintess title and become a noble to marry Clael. She asks Clael to promise: if she finishes her Saintess duties and graduates, he’ll grant her one wish. (Yeah, obvious she wants to marry him.)
★ At the academy, Reina becomes famous for her beauty and brains. Some central-church priests get jealous and plan to punish her if she fails their lessons but she already masters everything, and her etiquette is noble-tier. Credit to Clael, who drilled her in education and divine skills.
★ On day one, Prince Eric Saincle falls hard and tries to keep Reina by his side. She rejects him flat. Also, Eric already has a fiancée from a duke’s house.
★ Vincent Flame, son of the Knight Commander, offers to guard Reina, but she ignores him. When he reaches out to touch her, one of her Guardian Spirits (inside the teddy) decks him.
★ Will Rilace, the resident genius who’s always rank 1, sees Reina as his true rival and assumes she shares his ambition. In the exams, Will keeps rank 1 by laser-focusing on beating Reina, while Reina studies with her friends, teaches them, and boosts all their ranks.
★ Rui Biscuit, a prodigy musician (yeah, a bit of an oddball with shota vibes), tries to hug Reina calling her “onee-chan.” Before he can touch her bonk Guardian Spirit says no.