No matter how powerful the authority I possess may be, there are people whose resolve is so solid that they don’t flinch in the face of that power.
For example, Andrea or Turner, the priest who brought us here today.
Of course, these two haven’t openly opposed my words or refused any requests; they just haven’t changed their tone or attitude. After all, they are under the influence of that religious power.
Now, if I were to give a nonsensical order for a massacre, they might refuse… but that’s never going to happen, right?
Ah, now that I think about it, there’s someone right next to me who couldn’t care less about the power resting on my shoulders.
It’s Rina.
Anyway, she might give in to that power, but at least she makes an effort to resist. It seems like she doesn’t really listen to whatever I say.
That said, it’s not like I dislike Rina’s very being.
No, rather, it’s more comfortable to have someone who doesn’t try too hard to elevate me.
Actually, thinking about it again, all the people around me whom I could call ‘friends’ seem like they wouldn’t buckle under my power at all. Obviously Aurora and Linea wouldn’t, but even Selena and Jian would definitely challenge me right away if they thought I was being unreasonable.
Well, anyway, these people are just a few that I’ve been meeting since I arrived in this world, so I’ll let that slide.
If I were to pick a few individuals who would definitely not bend to my power, it’d include Seo-A and the principal right in front of me.
Seo-A is a heroine, after all. A story where a heroine bows to power just wouldn’t do—how would it wrap up later?
And as for the principal… well, looking at him, he seems like he’d topple anything he disagrees with, no matter what power it is.
“Didn’t you go back right after the ceremony? I think it’ll soon be a risky time for school tomorrow.”
See? He says stuff like that. I recognized him at first glance.
“Umm… that’s…”
But that’s not entirely incorrect, which is a problem.
In the whole church, I’d be the highest up, but as a student of the school, I was merely Student 1. From the principal’s perspective, of course.
“Please don’t say such things. They’re saintesses, right? They might be able to help us.”
The association head spoke with a somewhat exhausted expression. There were tons of papers piled up on the desk just like last time. Those papers certainly need immediate attention, unlike the ones piled on Turner’s desk.
“I think what we’re discussing right now is precisely because of that issue. Instead, I believe we should exclude those children from the conversation to maintain any semblance of justification.”
The principal said with his arms crossed. I wanted to applaud that attitude of referring to the saintesses as ‘children’ right in front of them. Not to mention, it’s not just us four, but even Uncle Paul in the back.
“Instead, it might be better to listen to them more. You can’t know what they’re thinking without a proper discussion.”
“Hmm.”
The principal briefly made that sound, then turned slightly to look at Seo-A.
“I want to hear your thoughts, as the homeroom teacher of those children.”
That was a tone and dialogue more fitting for a school’s teacher’s office than the hero association.
At that statement, Seo-A, who had been quietly observing us, slowly opened her mouth.
“I don’t know what those kids thought while coming here,” she said while offering a slight smile in our direction, “but since they’ve come all this way, isn’t it a bit troublesome to just send them back?”
She sided with us.
“Well, if our homeroom teacher, Seo-A, thinks so, then I won’t oppose any longer.”
“Then, saintesses, please come in. The seating may be a bit cramped, though.”
The association head stood up and spoke after silently listening to the conversation between Seo-A and the principal.
…Why does it feel like I ended up in a teacher’s office when I came to the Hero Association?
*
Anyway, the seats were not lacking. Since it was the sofa meant for guests of the Hero Association, it seemed designed to accommodate even really big people. The four saintesses sitting next to each other were not incredibly uncomfortable. Of course, there was hardly any space left, but still.
With four teacups placed in succession on the table, it made the table look quite cramped.
Seeing four people dressed in white saint’s robes sit side by side was amusing, and the association head snickered at our figures.
“I hope the staff outside didn’t make any mistakes. It wouldn’t have been strange if they froze entirely.”
“Uh…”
I couldn’t quite lie, nor could I straightforwardly tell the truth, so I just made some vague sounds. Thankfully, the association head didn’t seem intent on reprimanding his staff.
Well, calling out someone just for freezing in front of a high-ranking individual does seem a bit pitiful.
“…”
“…”
Once we sat down, the room fell into silence.
“Um… didn’t you say you would tell us what you were discussing?”
Eventually, unable to stand it any longer, I raised one hand slightly and asked. Only then did Seo-A begin to speak.
“We were discussing conscription of minors.”
“…”
For a moment, I thought I heard wrong.
“Conscription… what did you say?”
Upon my frowning reply, Seo-A shrugged her shoulders.
“I mean drafting them into military service.”
“…”
I sat there, mouth agape for a moment, then finally asked again, “Why?”
“Well, it’s because of the laws in this country from 500 years ago. There might be a shortage of soldiers to reclaim the territories that haven’t been restored, so they consider drafting minors to resolve that.”
“…”
After a while of saying nothing, I finally worked my brain to form a response, “In modern society?”
Hearing this, Seo-A smiled brightly.
“Just as I said, right? Clara would definitely disagree.”
No, although it’s great to receive that level of trust, I felt like I just heard, “She won’t kill us” or something, which was odd. I was merely stating the obvious.
“However… Clara, there are people citing you as a basis for that bill.”
With Seo-A’s following words, I felt my sanity momentarily fly out the window.
“What?”
“So… after you volunteered to go to the battlefield and treated numerous injured soldiers there, you even captured a witch, uprooting the invasions in that area from the root.”
“Uh, so…”
Before I could respond, Seo-A continued.
“Then you captured the witch in that area, exposed all the demons that had infiltrated, created terrifying weaponry never seen in human history, sent witches to the gods, and even interrogated two of them for information. You got the demons to surrender for the first time in history. Later, you even took down a demon indirectly with the power you sent.”
Seo-A counted off on her fingers, but halfway through, she seemed to give up counting and just left her hands hanging.
“…”
And I didn’t have a response to that.
Because, after all, it was the truth.
I did act hastily during that process, and looking back now, I had no idea why I made those decisions out of the blue, some of which were incorrect judgments but happened to resolve positively by luck.
“And all of that was done by you, who is a ‘minor’.”
“No, even so, that’s a bit different!”
Without realizing it, I shouted and shot up from my seat.
“I…!”
“You…?”
Seo-A looked up at me calmly.
“How are you different from the other kids?”
“I… um…”
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Because I’m a goddess…?”
“…”
Silence.
I covered my face with both hands.
That’s right. Even if others call me a goddess or a saintess, declaring it in front of everyone is incredibly embarrassing. Besides, deep within my heart, I never really believed myself to be a goddess, making it all the more awkward.
“In the end, you admitted it.”
“To be fair, I’ve never hidden it.”
“But this is the first time you’ve clearly stated it yourself, right?”
Hearing that whisper from the side only made it so much worse.
“…Yeah, that’s true.”
But fortunately, it was Seo-A, who made me say it, speaking in an endlessly serious tone. Her normally light-hearted tone made her seriousness that much more profound.
When I glanced down, Seo-A was still looking at me with a serious expression.
“Right. It’s clear that you’re different from the other kids. I think so too. That’s why I had no intention of stopping you from doing anything.”
After leaning slightly back in her chair and taking a deep breath, Seo-A continued.
“Those who follow you, Aurora and Linea, are the same. They can use miracles directly linked with a goddess, so they’ll surely have a huge advantage when fighting against the demons later.”
She turned her gaze to Rina.
“Rina is the same.”
“However.”
At that moment, the principal, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, interjected.
“At the same time, you are clearly minors who cannot legally be dealt with. Regardless of personal ability, that doesn’t factor into legal judgment. Even if you’re a genius who studies better than others, it doesn’t mean you can receive adult rights early.”
The principal said with a somewhat stern expression.
“That’s why the government can say this: ‘Look at the achievements made by these minors. If we had more minors, wouldn’t they achieve even more?’ The more striking point is that this is legal because of a law made 500 years ago. There was a dire shortage of people to fight against the witches, demons, and beasts, and most of those who gained power when the laws of the world changed were either young or whatever.”
The law that had been shattered and changed to survive until that point still remains in place today.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean we can belittle the sacrifices they made as inhumane or illegal. They only had that option because there was no other way, no matter how desperate the situation was. But if asked whether we are still in such an era, I cannot help but express my doubts.”
That’s right. The era where people had to fight regardless of age has been a matter of centuries. It’s now a situation where we’re in a more advantageous position. There’s no reason to recruit minors for battle anymore.
…Are they planning to form a pioneer team?
After humanity wins against the demons, there’s empty land beyond that barrier, which used to belong to humanity long ago but is now nobody’s land. If they were to recruit people to go live there, the number of volunteers would be exceedingly low. After all, that means abandoning everything they’ve built up until now to carve out a barren land.
If they use military deployment as justification to station large numbers of troops and develop a village targeting those troops…
Hmm, maybe I’m thinking too far ahead?
“But what’s the reason? There must be some reason behind it.”
As I sat back down and asked gently, Seo-A and the principal both shook their heads.
“We can’t know. It wouldn’t be strange if the rigid humans thought, ‘It’s just the law.’”
That was the principal’s opinion.
“And besides, they don’t need to change laws that are favorable to them. Drafting in emergencies is much cheaper than hiring directly.”
Seo-A added that for clarification.
“…”
I rubbed my forehead.
“So, the biggest justification for maintaining that law is ‘us,’ right?”
Referring to the four saintesses, including myself, and kids like Jian.
“Exactly.”
“But the church’s laws and the government’s laws are different, right? Even if they both follow the same constitution, there wouldn’t be a reason for the government to follow the church’s lead.”
As I spoke, the room fell silent. They stared at me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
I asked, bewildered, and it seemed like Seo-A’s eyes sparked with some light.
“Principal.”
“Hm.”
At Seo-A’s words, the principal didn’t answer but just stroked his chin while staring intently at me.
“How about it? Indeed, it seems that’s the only way now.”
“Well, to be honest, it’s a bit shaky for a while there, but it’s the least painful method.”
“No, what do you mean by that?”
Upon my question, the principal’s eyes shone brightly. Wow, how amazing. Does he have LEDs behind his eyes? Well, considering we live in a world with superpowers, even if the principal shot lasers from his eyes, I wouldn’t think it strange.
“Miss Anderson, may I ask for a favor?”
“Is it really necessary to ask?”
He seemed like he would ask me regardless of my answer.
“Last time, you went to persuade the president in person. Could you do something like that again?”
“…What?”
As my mouth hung open, Seo-A made that serious request.
“I apologize for asking you to do such a thing, but… I cannot put forward a suggestion to the government. If you feel too burdened, you don’t have to do it; it’s originally our job to solve it.”
She glanced at the association head, who was seated nearby, looking very tired with a strained smile, clearly not having fallen asleep yet.
“…”
Well, saying that makes it even harder for me to refuse.
“…Sigh.”
I let out a long, resigned breath.
Well, yeah.
Honestly, I was seriously contemplating how to flip the script ever since I heard that here.
…Even so, conscripting minors has crossed the line. Of course, they’re children who have already been emboldened by my influence, so they’d surely agree immediately if I suggested it, but shortly after, they’d regret it with a very high probability. And by the time they realize that, there would be no way to undo the choice.
Moreover, if they’re planning to draft minors, that means there are plans to draft adults as well.
If such a chaotic situation happens, it would be the goddess’s duty to stop it.
“Ah, well. I’ll do it. There’s no helping it.”
I said those words as if expelling air.
“…I’m really sorry for placing our task on you. I’ll definitely repay this someday.”
Seo-A bowed deeply to me as she stood, and I hurriedly followed suit.
“Ah, no, truthfully, I was already considering this the moment I heard it—”
“That’s good. …I’m so sorry for being such a useless adult.”
Now it was the principal’s turn.
And finally, even the association head chimed in.
“…”
The weight of the adults’ gratitude made the kids looking up at me feel oddly burdensome.
*
“…”
“…”
“…”
After Clara and her party exited the room, the remaining three adults fell silent again.
“Well, it seems everything we hid has turned out to be useless.”
“Honestly, it was all over once I boarded the plane.”
“Is that so…?”
The principal sighed lightly.
“Was the church hoping for those kids to get involved in this affair?”
“…No, that doesn’t seem likely. We might as well question if the church can afford to give Clara anything to do anymore. And I don’t think that’s the case. Allowing me on board the plane was really an act of goodwill. If it weren’t, they wouldn’t have let me sit so close to ‘three saintess candidates’ and ‘the goddess.’”
“Do you owe the church anything?”
At the association head’s question, Seo-A laughed lightly.
“Not at all. At least not to my knowledge. It’s not like the debt from my senior is in that form.”
“Is that so?”
Without showing any displeasure, the association head only wore a smile.
“It’s as though you’re following the goddess’s guidance.”
“Right now, that meaning seems to have changed quite a bit, though.”
Seo-A let out a deep sigh and scratched her head.
“In the past, it meant being so close to the goddess and acting upon a revelation….”
“Now, it seems everything is based on one’s thoughts. If that’s the case, could all those attitudes have been an act?”
The principal said solemnly, but Seo-A just chuckled and responded.
“No, that’s absolutely not the case.”
“Any proof?”
At the principal’s comment, Seo-A merely shrugged her shoulders.
“Just a teacher’s instinct, I guess.”
“A teacher’s instinct… indeed, that sounds plausible.”
Watching the two engage in their banter, the association head chuckled.
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