Having lived as a small fry with no money or connections for over twenty years, I had never really thought about the authority that my position could grant me.
Well, sure, I had caught glimpses of it. I mean, what ordinary person gets to meet the Pope whenever they feel like it or summon Cardinals, huh?
I’ve been called to be the leader of a race that isn’t even human, felt the sharp end of knives from those openly trying to take my life, gathered my knights to raid government offices, and seeing my salary skyrocket to 6 million won with bonuses as big as my paycheck has made me realize that I’m somewhat treated differently from others.
But even so, I’m still—yes, after everything I’ve been through, I’m STILL!—only six months into my new world, and living in a broken-down convent.
It feels quite awkward to wield so much power in one hand, so unless I REALLY believe I need it, I’ve been shoving it into a corner and pretending it doesn’t exist, which seems to have ingrained a really bad habit in me.
But, honestly, I can’t say I have nothing to complain about! Everyone around me treats me like an ordinary person, whether or not I’m a Saintess! Among the people I see daily, the only one who’s changed even a little bit since I became a Saintess is the priest from the cathedral; even his kindness increased only by a notch!
Even then, he’s just a bit nicer than usual, so it’s not like it has a big impact on my daily life.
…I mean, sure, the locals have been unusually nice to me.
…And when I go to places like cafes, I often leave with extra treats.
…Nowadays, the nuns I bump into at the cathedral really go out of their way to pamper me.
Ah, whatever, I don’t know. No matter how much everyone lifts me up, isn’t it wrong to expect a regular office worker to suddenly change their behavior just because they’ve become a person of high standing like the President or the Pope?
—Despite my attempts at rationalizing myself, I ultimately couldn’t find a reason to refuse the representative who interrupted his vacation to come here. I was following Brassner toward the representative’s office. Maybe because he saw my dazed expression, Brassner’s been sweating buckets since earlier. I hope he doesn’t collapse from dehydration.
We took the elevator up to an even higher floor than where the meeting room was. When the elevator doors opened, what greeted us was a guide… or was it the representative’s secretary? In any case, there sat a sharply dressed young man looking immaculate.
Despite his polished appearance, there were beads of sweat pooling on his forehead, which was revealed under his sharply parted hair. His large fox ears were perked up, stiff with anxiety.
…I can’t help but feel guilty watching him. Reminds me of how miserable I was when the main office chairman decided to take an unexpected visit on a day I had awful luck.
On second thought, it’s not too different from what I’m doing now, is it?
“Um, is the representative inside?”
Two sweat-drenched men in suits looked serious as they conversed, and I instinctively felt a wave of seriousness wash over me—well, more like I actually felt that seriousness inherent in the situation. Of all the days I had to come visiting, it just so happened to be during the representative’s summer vacation, and he had canceled that vacation to rush over to the workplace.
Even if he can’t take it out on me, it feels like all that frustration is seeping downwards. Is that just my imagination?
I just hope this representative isn’t the type to pass along his bad experiences to his subordinates.
…Oh wait, isn’t that MY story?
I’m the one who gets all worked up during volunteer work and then storms into government offices! It’s like I just summoned the local representative from vacation!
I didn’t call for him! It’s not like I asked for him to come here, but he came on his own!
But if I say, “I didn’t call you,” it feels like I’ll just look disrespectful!
Holding my temples as my head throbbed, I tried to hold on.
By the way, Aurora and Linea seemed to have that “I saw this coming” look while Jane was over there saying something like “Wow, he’s good-looking.”
That’s it. I’m the only one here who has the will to get us out of this situation.
…In fact, I’m also the only one who has the right to get us out of this mess, but at least my stomach isn’t queasy, likely thanks to the perks of being a Demon’s Apostles.
“Yes, he’s inside. Shall I inform him?”
Brassner turned around and stared at me. Is it finally time for me to start sweating bullets?
I felt like I might croak if I tried to speak, so I just nodded my head slightly.
“Yeah, please let him know.”
“Understood.”
The nervous-looking secretary turned and headed toward the door. In the meantime, I quickly swallowed and took a deep breath.
Alright, it’s nothing, really nothing.
After all, I’ve had conversations with powerful people like the Pope.
…Well, I did run away right after, but still!
I was invited by the President as well.
…I did bluntly refuse directly on the spot, but still.
Hmm.
Alright, I feel a bit more composed now. With that newfound composure, I could make an objective judgment.
It seems today’s going to be a disaster.
*
The rabbit ears perked upright, twitching slightly.
Those white rabbit ears popped up from an otherwise out-of-place black-haired middle-aged man’s head.
Looking at the deep lines on his forehead and the straight furrow between his eyebrows, it’s evident this man has a serious job that demands a lot of thought.
No wonder, this guy is the representative of this beastman region.
“Good day, Saintess, I am Ian, the representative of this region. Thank you for coming.”
The rabbit ears on his head flopped down in a smooth motion as he bowed his head.
…It feels a bit awkward to say, but honestly, it doesn’t suit him at all. I wanted to shout, “Please tell me those are fake ears!”
Ah, is this gender discrimination? Am I stuck in this frame that middle-aged men shouldn’t have rabbit ears?
No, if I had to push it, it might be about racial discrimination. …I’m starting to lose track of where I stand on this.
…Let’s just ignore the ears. I should focus on the task at hand. If I concentrate enough, I might stop caring about them eventually.
“I am Clara Anderson, the Saintess. I look forward to working with you.”
I figured it was rude not to respond when the other party introduced themselves, so I returned the greeting. Things would be different if he tried to buy me off or something… but given that he had someone like Brassner working under him, he didn’t seem like someone too unreasonable.
Besides those bunny ears, he gave off a dignified and warm impression.
“I am Aurora Ranieri, the Saintess’ aide.”
“I am Linea Vikander, a member of the Inquisition Knights and personal guard of the Saintess.”
Starting with my introduction, Aurora and Linea followed suit,
“Huh? Oh, I’m Jane.”
Jane, who had been standing in the back with a disinterested expression, finally realized everyone was looking at her and introduced herself as if she had forgotten.
…Now that I think about it, is it okay for Jane to be here at this formal gathering? The regional government staff doesn’t seem to mind, but that’s probably because I didn’t tell them what Jane’s role was.
But before I could say anything, the regional representative Ian simply glanced at Jane, gestured toward the guest seat, and said,
“Please, this way.”
Should I say something else now? I hesitated for a moment before thinking, “Oh, whatever,” and just decided to follow along. Honestly, even if I did hear something critical, I’d probably end up refusing most of it anyway. And with so many people around me, there’s no way they’d bring up anything too confidential or serious.
Of course, I had no intention of asking questions either. I could always come back later and say, “You didn’t ask, did you?” So whatever. He didn’t seem to feel any urgency about this either.
“Wow…”
Aurora exclaimed quietly as we walked into the office.
The office was spacious. It was quite a tall building from the outside, and it felt like we were on the top floor. The walls were entirely made of glass, presenting a panoramic view of the cityscape.
To the right of the entrance was a wall filled with shelves packed with books, along with an elegant desk and a matching luxurious-looking office chair. The nameplate read ‘Regional Representative’ in English followed by ‘Ian’.
He doesn’t seem to have given us his last name. Now that I think about it, Jane also didn’t mention her last name when she introduced herself.
Slightly away from the desk was a guest sofa and a coffee table. There was one prime seat situated toward the desk and a long sofa facing the window. It seemed positioned at an angle to give the best view to the guests.
…If it were mid-summer instead of late summer now, I might have baked under the direct sunlight.
However, instead of sitting in the prime seat, the representative walked over to the slightly uncomfortable-looking wooden chair opposite it and indicated for us to take a seat on the sofa.
After we sat down, he patiently waited before finally taking the chair himself.
“Um…”
I was caught off guard, but
“I’ve been briefed on the general situation so far.”
Without much ado, the representative dove straight into the main topic, giving me no time to ask anything.
“I understand you have some concerns regarding your volunteer activities in our area.”
His tone might have sounded somewhat reproachful, but the way he leaned forward with hands clasped gave an impression of great seriousness.
Since he was launching right into it, it appeared our conversations weren’t being reported live. Well, for that to happen, they’d have to be listening in on us, wouldn’t they?
Hearing that, Brassner immediately rushed over to whisper something in the representative’s ear.
“Oh, I see you’ve already heard about it. In that case, we can get straight to the point.”
Ian spoke with a more upbeat tone than before, though his deep-set wrinkles still cast shadows on his face.
“About the main point…”
I hesitated a bit, so Ian cleared his throat gently and continued,
“We, as a local government, would like to discuss providing human and material support for the area where you are currently conducting your volunteer work.”
“Human and material support…?”
Starting with a proposition that would be hard to refuse caught me off guard.
When helping others, the most crucial thing is to have a justification. Turning down humanitarian aid to areas in need of manpower and resources would be akin to saying, ‘I don’t care what happens to the people in that area.’
Sure, there are people out there who throw meaning and public opinion to the dogs, but that usually happens when they can’t differentiate between their personal situations and the lives or benefits of many others. And typically, those individuals tend to be dictators or warlords.
Even if I were to reject it here—no, could I even refuse? The Church might handle volunteer work in the area, but the real owner of that area is the local government. Would I even have the right to deny them the assistance they’re offering?
The answer was no, that was the conclusion I drew. Despite having the ability to associate with the Church’s highest authority, the church and government are separate entities.
Sure, if I were to argue that healthcare should be the Church’s responsibility, I might have a point, but… I’d be facing resentment from not just the local people but also the volunteers sent by the Church who deal with troubles there year after year.
“Well… that’s very generous.”
So, all I could do was express my gratitude.
“However, I’ve heard there are budget constraints. If we put people and resources into this district, won’t that reduce welfare benefits in other districts?”
And I also made an effort to resist him in my own way.
The Church reportedly had the worst slums among all regions. Reflecting on what Brassner, the health welfare officer, said, it seemed like they should have been grateful to receive assistance from the Church.
So wouldn’t it be better to patch up the other lacking areas before assisting somewhere that’s already receiving help?
“We’ve resolved that issue. The central government allocated a budget.”
But my weak resistance crumbled with that one statement.
“…What?”
“When we learned the Saintess had personally visited this location, the central government hastily allocated an emergency budget. Thanks to that, we can now do many things we previously thought were impossible. As your local representative, I’m very grateful for this.”
“No, no, no, wait a minute.”
I waved my hands to stop him from bowing his head, pressing down on my temples with my index finger. My head was starting to really throb now. Of course, the throbbing I felt earlier wasn’t fake either, but it’s like the intensity has spiked now.
The blessings of a demon are probably useless in a place like this.
“So, what you’re saying… is that the central government is already aware of my visit?”
After finally sorting out my thoughts, I asked, and the representative nodded as if it were obvious.
“Yes, that’s correct. There are protocol matters to consider… even if local governments operate independently, they still aren’t completely free from the central government’s control. Also, I have been informed that the Church controls the local parishes differently than the relationship between regional and central governments.”
That… isn’t necessarily an untrue statement.
While the central government is the chief over the 1st District, local governments each have their own characteristics and operate independently. On the other hand, the parishes are directly managed by the Central Church. So although they aren’t really comparable in scale, it would be safe to say the Church operates in a centralized manner.
“Thus, we assumed the actual protocol could deviate significantly from what we expect. The Saintess is on approximately the same level as the Pope, and while it’s a bit of a stretch to compare her to the government’s hierarchy, from the perspective of leadership, she holds equal standing to the President.”
“…Did the government really say that?”
“It’s quite embarrassing to admit, but the Church is still considered an alien presence here in the beastman region. It will take quite a while for it to be fully accepted. I myself still haven’t grasped it entirely. Thus, I thought it best to adhere to the stance of the central government that’s been collaborating and discussing matters with the Church for a long time.”
In a typical situation—like if a Pope were to visit the beastman region—it would be a completely reasonable judgment call. Though, that leads me to wonder whether they’d really equate the Pope to a President in said situation.
Right. Just recently, the President sent me a letter subtly rejecting the notion that he and the Church occupy equal stature, but now he was entertaining the idea that they were “equals.”
…Why?
As much as I wished to tear my hair out, I held myself back since this was an “official” matter. It’s not like I intended to represent the Church, but here I was.
I had rubbed my forehead, pressed on my eyelids, and lightly massaged between my brows, but, well, here we are.
“You mentioned why I’m here as well, right?”
“Of course. In fact, our discussions regarding this budget have been in limbo for quite some time. Thanks to your presence, the approval went through immediately. It would be extremely remiss of me not to express my gratitude for your interest in our local welfare.”
“…”
This is a trap laid by the government… or at least, that’s what I wish it was.
More likely, they’ve simply seized an opportunity that landed in their lap.
Since I outright rejected a substantial proposal from the government and irked them by bringing it up, they grabbed at this chance to smooth over some ruffled feathers, using my involvement as a way to resolve everything.
…They have no idea that my thoughts are completely opposite of this.
No, rather, they wouldn’t have the slightest chance of bringing up this truth somewhere other than with me, Aurora, Linea, or my school friends.
There’s no way I could discuss such matters with this representative, who’s now all cheery with the influx of additional welfare coming to his district. How on earth could we go about discussing ‘No, I just chose an easier task since I was afraid of being overworked’ in front of this very man receiving the offer?
“If you can further strengthen the relationship between the beastmen and the Church, it would be splendid. For that, I’m at a loss for how to express my gratitude for you leading the way. A token of appreciation, perhaps…?”
“No, it’s perfectly fine… I didn’t do it to receive anything…”
Really, it’s totally fine.
In fact, please don’t give me that.
*
“Then, we will do our utmost to avoid causing any inconvenience to the Saintess during the upcoming week.”
No, I really don’t consider it an inconvenience.
But I’m at a loss as to how to refute his words. Anything I say will only sound like humblebragging. Each word feels like it deepens the misunderstanding.
Although it’s not a misunderstanding in a negative way… so I guess that’s a relief.
…If this continues, I might really end up taking charge of sorting out this situation until it’s resolved.
Ah, I did come this far hoping to find a clue to the incident, but…!
I was aiming to resolve as much as I could within a week, true, but I didn’t expect it to escalate like this!
Feeling like crying, I merely nodded in response.
“Ian, it’s nice to see you again. It’d be wonderful if we could see each other like this more often. Thank you for bringing the Saintess here.”
—Huh?
“I was just doing a favor, that’s all.”
…Are they familiar with each other?
“Then, I look forward to working with you, Saintess.”
But before I could even ask any questions, the conversation wrapped up abruptly. It felt more like everyone around presumed awareness of the situation already… should I say it felt a bit awkward to ask about it?
“…Yes, I look forward to it as well.”
In the end, after making that greeting, I followed a now much brighter Brassner down to the lobby, where I unexpectedly ended up with a bouquet of flowers handed to me by the local health department staff that appeared out of nowhere!
“Thank you, Saintess!”
I awkwardly smiled and waved at the employees who shouted in unison with one voice.
“Well then, see you soon, Saintess.”
As Brassner bid his farewell, I responded weakly, “Ah, yes… I look forward to it.”
Although I couldn’t shake off the discomfort, I wondered if he could sense my feelings, as he continued smiling broadly without any sign of noticing my discomfort whatsoever.
“…”
Not just me, but even Aurora and Linea—the ‘Church members’ who followed me—held bouquets as if they were just as baffled as I was.
“Look at that, you got pretty flowers.”
Only Jane appeared completely unaffected by the situation.
“No, no, no, wait a minute.”
I hurriedly turned to Jane.
“How do you know the representative? You never told me!”
Having experienced a sudden wave of panic, I asked her that question, only for Jane to tilt her head and respond.
“Huh? Didn’t I mention he’s my uncle?”
“You didn’t say that!”
Feeling my blood rush from my head, I shouted, and I felt the eyes of passersby glancing our way. Yet I didn’t have the capacity to regard that at all.
“No, I mean, you asked me if I knew about the local officials.”
“…I did say that.”
Ah, now that I hear this part, I suddenly start to grasp the situation.
“Which is why I replied, ‘I know as much as I need to.’”
So that was it!
No way I’d consider that a plausible lead on a public official!
After all, was he even appointed or elected?
“Hahaha…”
Ultimately, all I could manage was a hollow laugh.
And, as it turns out…
Did I just merge myself with government operations without any contact with the Church?
What in the world…
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