“…….”
As I silently stared at him, Father Turner subtly averted his gaze. It was clear to anyone that he had just been napping comfortably with a Bible propped up like a blindfold, but apparently, he thought he could hide that.
……Well, I wasn’t exactly here to scold him.
I was just really curious why a ‘Miracle Investigator’ wasn’t investigating the ‘miracles’ happening one after another. But that wasn’t the main point right now. In fact, it’s not like one can accurately measure these powers just by investigating them.
What was important was, so—
I was envious.
Incredibly envious.
Getting paid to do absolutely nothing while just lounging around? I want to live that sweet life too!
Of course, aside from my perspective, the looks my three fellow saintesses were giving him were far from kind. The only one who looked at him with a gaze somewhat similar to mine was Rina. However, her expression was more like anger at the fact that someone was getting paid to lounge while I was suffering like this.
Linea looked utterly incredulous. Unlike the Inquisition, which was rapidly expanding, the Miracle Investigator seemed to have no intention of growing at all.
Of course, I understood that 200 million percent.
I mean, with more subordinates, you need to manage them too. While the operations of the Saint Knights were wholly entrusted to Uncle Paul and Grace, there was no way to escape from having more tasks piling up on ‘my to-do list.’
If I could just be alone, that would be the best.
“…….”
By the way, the one most furious at witnessing this spectacle was none other than Aurora. Come to think of it, even when Aurora was an aide to the Miracle Investigator, she worked with a decent level of enthusiasm.
But now that she was a saintess and found the Miracle Investigator napping instead, it was only natural that she’d be furious.
Aurora glared at Matthew Turner with piercing eyes.
“Investigator.”
Aurora spoke, her voice unusually low. Turner quietly straightened his posture.
“Yes, Saintess, how can I assist you?”
His voice was extremely polite, but Aurora didn’t seem to be letting go of her anger at that sight. With one eyebrow twitching, Aurora eventually swiped her hand across her face and let out a deep sigh.
“Just relax and do your thing.”
“Oh, really? Then should I continue as before?”
And with that, he brazenly tried to prop his feet back up on the desk, only for Aurora to rush over and smack his hand away.
“There are other people here! What are you doing, Miracle Investigator?! You can’t act like this in front of saintesses, no matter what!”
“You call the goddess by her name!”
“…….”
At that, Aurora’s mouth fell open, frozen in shock. Then she turned to me with a stiff expression, as if asking for my defense. I stepped forward and said,
“Sometimes people do call the names of the gods, right? Like Demon Lord or Goddess. However, when addressing them respectfully, they might say ‘Lady Ariel’ or ‘Lord Baal.’ Or simply calling her Goddess Ariel also happens. So I don’t think it’s an issue if I’m called by name occasionally.”
“Well, that seems a bit different…”
Linea chimed in, but I looked at Father Turner with a resolute expression.
“……If the goddess says so, I have nothing further to say…”
Even while saying that, Father Turner’s expression seemed oddly unconvinced.
Be that as it may, having received my defense, Aurora regained her confidence, placed her hands on her hips, and puffed out her chest.
“You heard that? So at least show some basic respect. Also, clean up the office a bit.”
As Aurora said, the office was far from being neat and tidy. Well, it wasn’t exactly filthy, but it could definitely be described as cluttered.
Stacks of papers piled up here and there on the desk, and thick books starting to tower up from the floor.
From those signs alone, it seemed like this guy was doing some work.
“Oh, these? They’re kindling. They’re things I don’t need anymore.”
Seeing my gaze lingering on the amassed documents and books, Father Turner said with a chuckle.
“Theology has been completely turned upside down from the roots. It might as well be better to write it from scratch. I’ve heard it said that the scholars are pulling their hair out and the students are rolling on the ground crying, but well, as for me, I don’t really have much to do until they send out new research results.”
Hearing that, I slapped my forehead.
I felt bad for the theology students and professors, but from their standpoint, every time I said something, it must feel like their work was getting smashed to pieces and a new history was being written. Even if I didn’t want to think of myself as a goddess, in their eyes, I was one.
Even what they had previously learned would need to be relearned, and with the ongoing updates, it must be absolutely maddening for them.
Perhaps students who were just starting this year were the lucky ones.
The difference in difficulty level was like hellfire and normal hell, but still…
“……But you are the Miracle Investigator, right? Shouldn’t you be investigating when a miracle occurs?”
“Oh, about that…”
Father Turner sighed lightly and spoke.
“We differentiate between miracles and holy powers easily, but for those who have no connection to theology, it’s a different story. For someone seeing ‘white light’ from their hands for the first time, it wouldn’t be strange for them to confuse that with a miracle.”
“…….”
“Faith can usually transcend to the realm of common sense if evidence exists. And right now, the stories about the goddess are practically common sense. It wouldn’t be strange for a sudden influx of followers to occur. Thanks to that—”
Father Turner gestured toward the documents on his desk.
“There’s a mountain of reports from numerous people who can’t tell whether it’s a miracle or holy power. Of course, most can be dismissed as simply holy power, but we can’t just ignore them blindly.”
“……Umm… Sorry?”
When I spoke with a hint of uncertainty, Father Turner laughed heartily before saying,
“For me to be thanked for something like this is quite an honor. In fact, having you appear directly is something we are incredibly grateful for. Even if it’s considered work, it isn’t anything monumental. Most of those who send reports are not frauds but rather devout believers. They usually lack solid testimony or evidence like during the time of the goddess, being genuinely curious and reporting. If I process it with papers, the regional churches can also receive the documentation to convey to the believers.”
Huh, I thought he was just lounging around, but it seemed I had misunderstood a bit. However, judging by the volume of paperwork, it wouldn’t be something that could be processed overnight. Were we just lucky enough to stumble upon him while he was taking a brief break from working hard?
But there was someone who absolutely refused to believe that.
Needless to say, it was Aurora.
Still narrowing her eyes while glaring at Father Turner, she picked up a stack of papers from the pile on his desk and began flipping through them.
“……This is paperwork from three months ago. And it’s already been completely processed.”
“…….”
At Aurora’s words, Father Turner firmly shut his mouth.
“……You just left it there because you were too lazy to clean up, right? There’s no way someone with such strong faith in the gods would suddenly think their powers are miracles and report them. Typically, they would visit the cathedral first. How could there be so many people who leapfrog the devoted believers stage and directly consider their newly awakened holy powers and think of the Central Church before the regional one?”
“…….”
Silence.
Realizing he was being taken down a peg, Father Turner quietly knelt down on the floor. He then clasped his hands together and said, “I repent.”
…….
I pressed my fingers to my temples.
*
“So, what was it you wanted to ask?”
After a while of kneeling in silence, Father Turner got up and dusted himself off to ask. It seemed Aurora realized we didn’t come here just to bash him, but had something we needed to ask.
Aurora turned back to me.
“When we arrived here, Teacher Seo-A was on the plane with you. I was wondering why she came all the way here.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Father Turner nodded right away. …Could he be aware of that? No, considering another person was also on the plane, he couldn’t really know. Given Uncle Paul’s authorization, it seemed like the church had been informed as well.
“……Do you know her personally?”
However, Father Turner’s demeanor suggested a familiarity with Seo-A. He nodded as if he accepted her existence without needing to inquire about her name or appearance.
“No, I don’t know her personally. But she’s quite well-known within the association.”
“Really?”
Since I had set up a backstory where she was a capable hero, it wouldn’t be strange that she was somewhat famous.
“Umm….”
Father Turner rested his chin on his hand, contemplating before answering.
“So you want to know why she’s in the 1st District?”
“Yes.”
As I nodded, he smiled bright.
“Understood. I’ll find out right away.”
With that, he sat back down. He rummaged through the stacks of papers and pulled out a telephone. The problem was the phone cord was all tangled up. After struggling for a moment with the mess, he eventually gave up, leaning forward to hold the receiver to his ear.
……It wasn’t exactly a cool pose.
Then he moved his other hand to push papers aside, creating enough space to dial a number.
And silence fell.
The room was so quiet that I could clearly hear the tu–tu–tu of dialing.
After tapping rhythmically on the desk with his fingers for a while, Father Turner finally spoke.
“Ah, hello, Section Chief. It’s been a while.”
I could hear muffled chatter from the other end of the line.
“Oh, absolutely. We should find time to meet up and have a drink sometime.”
A very mundane conversation flowed.
“……Ah, however, Chief. I’d like to ask one thing……”
After quite some time exchanging pleasantries, it seemed they finally got to the main topic.
“Yes, yes, ah~ I see, really?”
Just when I began finding it intriguing how he could keep talking in such an uncomfortable position, Father Turner scratched his head while saying,
“Ah, yes, no problem. Yes, yes, please stay healthy until then.”
It was the kind of laid-back exchange I couldn’t help but think felt a bit frivolous for a priest.
Once the call ended, Father Turner placed the receiver back on the phone in the sea of paperwork.
“……Did you find out anything?”
“Oh, that’s the thing, even if someone named Seo-A visits the association for some reason, they say they can’t disclose personal information carelessly. They said it would be difficult without a warrant.”
“Is that so?”
I hadn’t expected much. The position of Miracle Investigator didn’t wield the kind of authority that could manipulate the government.
“However,”
Just as I began to feel a bit disappointed, he hurriedly continued.
“There’s a fairly important guest at the association today, so things are rather busy. It turns out a meeting suddenly popped into the schedule of the association president, which pushed everything back— Oh, it sounds like the chief is pretty stressed.”
I mean, I’m not really interested in whatever matters the chief is facing…
……Although I wasn’t curious, the way he spoke about it left me feeling like there was some kind of reason.
The chief’s lament wasn’t the main topic; he seemed to be offering subtle hints of information while also doing so as an excuse since it wasn’t easy to directly disclose any information.
……However, while I understood that they couldn’t share personal information about Seo-A, was it really okay to disclose the association president’s schedule?
“It’s said that if it’s not a top secret, the association will share the president’s schedule when asked. There could be matters that require direct contact and conversations,” Father Turner replied, seemingly reading my thoughts.
“I see.”
“Indeed.”
Flashing a smile at Father Turner, he returned the gesture with a grin.
“Thank you for the information. Or should I express regret for not having learned about it?”
“Not at all. You’re welcome.”
We were wrapping up that discussion when Rina, who hadn’t uttered a word this entire time, suddenly spoke up.
“Wait a minute.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
Father Turner responded, and Rina shuddered slightly.
“Don’t call me that; it gives me the creeps.”
“Then how should I address you?”
“…….”
Rina rolled her eyes, apparently deciding not to answer.
“Since we didn’t even speak, how did you think of calling the association right away? No matter how much your homeroom teacher is a hero, there’s an array of things in the 1st District. There are numerous corporate headquarters in addition to the government and the church, and it has one of the highest populations in the country, right? How did you think of that?”
At Rina’s question, we all turned to look at Father Turner.
……Did he know something?
However, under our gazes, Father Turner merely shrugged.
“I just guessed. It’s true Seo-A is a famous hero. I haven’t heard anything about her having any relatives in the area, so I thought she’d likely visit the association where there are people who knew her.”
“…….”
Yet, the skeptical gazes lingered on Father Turner’s face.
“……Did you know Teacher Seo-A?”
“Uh? No, not at all.”
Father Turner’s expression suggested confusion at Aurora’s words, but—
“However, you just said you hadn’t heard anything about her having relatives. Wouldn’t that count as personal information? It’s rare for someone who knows the person well to have such detailed information.”
“……Well, you see, she mostly worked in the 21st District and the Frontlines nearby, so…?”
“…….”
But even so, the suspicious stares didn’t leave Father Turner’s face.
“Ahem.”
In the end, the four saintesses— or three saintesses and one goddess— couldn’t hold their gazes on him anymore, and he cleared his throat.
“What’s important is that you’ve obtained the information you were looking for, right?”
“……That’s true.”
Finally, I decided to step back a little.
There was no need to forcefully extract information from someone who didn’t want to share. We didn’t know what was happening behind the scenes.
After all, by those standards, it would also be wrong to pry into Seo-A’s story…
……But for some reason, I felt like her setting in the original work had a significant impact on the story that was about to unfold.
My instincts were screaming that I shouldn’t just leave it as is.
Of course, it wouldn’t be wise to trust those instincts entirely. Still, it’d be better to address any uncertainties up front rather than have lingering doubts later.
So, I was thinking I’d conduct my own investigation, just at a level where I wouldn’t press too hard.
“Understood. It would be rude to ask for more information from someone who has already given so much. Just knowing whom she plans to meet was a significant help for us.”
As I said that and politely bowed, Father Turner also stood up and returned the gesture.
“Oh no, thank you for asking.”
“And, in case you feel like there’s a lack of work and aren’t feeling fulfilled, I could possibly give you some other tasks…”
“……Yes?”
“Since you’re a Miracle Investigator, we have reports regarding the miracles we’ve caused—”
“I’m truly sorry.”
At my words, Father Turner bent so low that his head nearly touched the ground.
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