The day of the charity event was fast approaching.
As the sun set and darkness enveloped the night.
Priest Vigrind was checking the supplies again with Sister Aege while wandering around the warehouse.
“You’re acting quite saintly, Vigrind.”
“Finally able to think properly now.”
It was an unexpected comment from Aege, but Vigrind responded without hesitation.
Finally.
Literally, finally.
It’s already way too late.
Still, even if it’s late, Vigrind thought that perhaps it might be possible to turn things around, so she moved according to her thoughts.
As a result of those thoughts, she met Yona and began to make a series of plans with her.
While others took advantage of her authority, she had done nothing.
Looking back, why was that?
Despite having authority, didn’t she grasp it tightly without ever thinking to act on her own?
Now, finally, she felt the courage to assert that authority herself.
Vigrind found some comfort in that thought.
“You met her?”
At Aege’s remark, which omitted the subject referring to Yona, Vigrind nodded.
Even if someone hears it, it doesn’t matter much.
“So, have you set up plans for what comes next?”
“Sort of. But even if I missed something, I’ll manage somehow.”
No matter how much the Church of the Celestial God raged, it’s still a religion below the Celestial God.
The authority granted by the Celestial God, who descended personally and conferred the title of Saint.
Who could dare to persecute Vigrind, who bore that authority?
“Right. Good thinking. The weapon in hand can be used well. Your weapon is the strongest even within the Church of the Celestial God.”
Aege smiled.
“Of course. We can resolve this. The Church of the Celestial God too.”
And of course, Yona as well.
Everything could be set right.
Even if it seems impossible, they would make it happen.
Vigrind assured herself again and again that it was possible, that she could do it.
“Oh, by the way, Teacher.”
“Yes?”
“I have a favor to ask for tomorrow.”
A favor.
What could the Saint Vigrind possibly ask of Aege, who was merely a priest?
Nothing specific came to mind with a quick thought.
“—Please keep an eye on Elder Ceres, Ceres Olkamain.”
Vigrind pondered and pondered again.
She didn’t think of Ceres as suspicious at all.
There were no signs to suggest she was suspicious, and there was no real evidence.
So, there was no reason to doubt Ceres.
“No problem.”
“But wasn’t it Ceres who helped Yona sneak into Evian?”
“Moreover, Ceres was the one who arranged for Aege to meet Yona.”
“However, right after Aege met Yona, the inquisitor came to arrest Aege as if they were waiting for the moment.”
“Fortunately, thanks to Vigrind’s quick thinking, the charges that were about to catch Aege disappeared, but it still felt a bit off.”
“If only Alistein had thought a bit deeper, they wouldn’t have tried to arrest Aege in front of Vigrind.”
“And if Alistein had acted first before Vigrind met Aege, Aege would have certainly been caught without a fight.”
“The only person who knows that Aege and Yona are meeting is Ceres.”
“And was Alistein really that simple-minded to be shadowing Aege?”
“Plus, didn’t Ceres notice the shadow following her when she arranged the meeting?”
“It doesn’t add up.”
“There’s something fishy going on here.”
“I don’t want to think about it, but if Ceres had informed Alistein beforehand and set up Aege to meet Yona, everything would fit perfectly.”
“It’s an incredibly unwanted thought, but…”
“Vigrind couldn’t shake off that idea.”
*
“Is everything loaded!?”
Ludvik shouted as he dashed between the carriages. The Evian Diocese had been in quite an uproar since early morning. Relief supplies were being loaded into each carriage, while fresh foods were brought to the cathedral at dawn, checked for quantity, and immediately transferred to the relief carriages.
Including clothes, food, hygiene products, and even medicine.
Though it’s a quarterly relief event, the preparations cannot be neglected.
After all, this event even involves the higher-ups of Evian—right up to the bishop; it’d be a disaster if there were complaints about not having enough to give.
“Is everything set?”
Poby asked Aege, who was standing next to him. Aege, the priestess, glanced at Ceres, who was beaming beside her, before turning her gaze back to Poby. Even though it was Vigrind’s request, it was hard to shake the thought that Ceres might be plotting something strange.
“Everything is ready. All the relief supplies have been loaded, and we’ve confirmed the quantities.”
“Is that so…”
Poby let out a long yawn.
Since becoming a bishop, his involvement in leading prayer meetings had drastically reduced; otherwise, waking up every morning would be a struggle. It had been ages since he had woken up this early, and he was quite the sleeper.
“Then let’s get going. I’ll catch a few more winks before I follow. I’ve been so tired from studying the Bible late into the night lately.”
“Well then, let’s get going. I’ll catch up after getting a bit more sleep. I’ve been studying the Bible late into the night, and I’m quite exhausted.”
“Seriously? What the hell?”
Aege managed to put on a gentle smile, despite her expression suggesting she was lost in thought. Fortunately, Poby seemed oblivious, so no harm done.
“You know, Bishop, it’s quite amusing that you’re studying the Bible late into the night. A fitting lie would be nice, don’t you think?”
At Ceres’ comment, Aege nodded with a smile. But still, she couldn’t openly agree too much, as a priestess under a bishop. Besides, she wasn’t as comfortable as Ceres, who could casually gossip about the bishop.
“But what a big deal it was, right? Who knew the Inquisition would come crashing in like that?”
Aege tried to casually bring it up. After hearing the whole story of why Vigrind made such a request, she had sensed something was off, so she thought bringing it up might catch him off-guard. But it seemed that was just her misunderstanding.
“Yeah, it seems my negligence got me followed. Wow, the skills of those inquisitors are something else, aren’t they?”
Ceres was pretending to be light-hearted. If that was an act, it was impressive; if not… well, what could you do? Aege thought to herself as she looked away.
The carriage had now left the Cathedral and was traveling along the outskirts of Evian. With more than ten carriages in tow, it would be a great inconvenience to run through Evian’s main road.
Thanks to that, they were heading down the back streets on the outskirts.
“By the way, does Bishop Poby always arrive late to charity events?”
“Seems like it…”
Aege let out a deep sigh at Ceres’ words. Poby literally only showed his face at the quarterly charity events.
You’d wonder how corruption could run so rampant even with the Divine Presence clearly existing.
Well, it wasn’t just Poby, to be fair. Clergy who had risen to a certain level had become corrupt beyond recognition, so it wasn’t fair to blame only Poby.
‘Must be because the Divine Presence isn’t showing itself…’
Not too far from Marlen, where a hero was appointed, and at Evian, where a saint was appointed. They could have at least given a warning saying, “I can’t bear to witness your corruption, so don’t misuse my name” — just something straightforward — and maybe it wouldn’t have turned out like this.
If only a warning like that had been left, it wouldn’t have come to this.
Even existing, they don’t speak; even existing, they don’t show themselves.
Even existing, they don’t punish; even existing, they don’t answer.
Who would be afraid of such a celestial deity?
Is there really anyone who fears a god that merely exists?
One could argue that such decay is only natural.
“Uh, over there. That’s it, right?”
The thoughts that had engulfed me were shattered by Ceres’s voice.
Ceres, sitting on the driver’s seat, half-rose and pointed, and at the tip of her finger, a huge open space at the alley’s entrance was visible.
As the carriage slowly settled into the open space, priests and cathedral knights descended in a line, simultaneously lifting their cover.
Those from the cathedral began unloading boxes from the carriage filled to the brim with supplies.
And around these cathedral folks, the alley’s residents cautiously approached, taking their places.
As if to say they shouldn’t get any closer, they settled at a certain distance in the open space.
Boxes began piling up, and one by one, they started to categorize the supplies—clothes, daily necessities, food, hygiene items, etc.—based on the letters written on the attached cloth.
And then came the last arriving carriage.
“Everyone, step back—!”
It was also a magical carriage, but for the ceremony, the driver riding atop it stopped right in the middle of the open space.
His commanding voice echoed through the area as if shaking the ground, and beneath the carriage, a luxurious carpet unfurled.
A cathedral knight, wrapped in golden cloth over silver armor—Ludvik, who had decided to take on the role of driver for today—hopped down.
With his piercing gaze scanning the surroundings, the alley residents instinctively felt a surge of intimidation and hesitated to move forward.
Once there was enough distance, Ludvik slowly opened the carriage door.
From inside, a dazzling golden radiance burst forth.
Gradually, Priest Vigrind appeared.
In her saintly attire, she radiated nobility and elegance, grace and refinement.
She stepped out of the carriage, looking entirely different from the previous saintly robes.
“We have arrived, Saint.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Hero.”
The radiant and holy golden light enveloped them.
Within that glow, the red-haired saint smiled gently as she surveyed her surroundings.
“May the blessing of the Celestial Deity be with you all. I pray that on this day, the grace of the Celestial Deity brings you a moment of happiness in your lives.”
Thus began the relief event.
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