Chapter: 21
The Holy Country of Gender is a religious nation that serves the one true god, Ernest, who considers truthfulness a virtue.
This Ernestian faith gained supporters when the first pope, armed with divine power received from God, expelled the demon race. In the end, he became the sole bishop of the continent.
At the center of this holy nation, the Trans Cathedral, a landmark that resembles a beautiful, pure-white palace, captivated many hearts. However…
It strictly prohibits outsiders most of the time, and only opens up grandly for worship on Sundays.
‘You might as well knock me out…’
Naturally, such a majestic site does not easily yield to the passage of time.
How is it that after 100 years, not even a single procedure has been simplified, let alone omitted? With my shoulders serving as pillows for my companions, I clung to my sanity alone.
It felt like we sang enough hymns to cover a week’s worth of services. I wondered if we really had to go through all this just to treat Maria to chocolate bread.
“Yum.”
Still, seeing them enjoy it so delightfully makes me feel a bit proud inside.
I never could eat them, and Astraea isn’t a fan of sweets either. Maria, having devoured three, transformed into a squirrel.
Yeah, if you like it, that’s fine by me.
“If you keep eating like that, you might gain weight in no time?”
“Maria, you won’t gain weight. Even if you eat, it all goes to your chest.”
“Huh. Were you envious of this body’s superiority?”
What kind of conversation are these two having in the cathedral?
“Maria, I’ll keep it safe so it doesn’t spoil; let’s finish it later. You already had breakfast.”
“I’m just too excited to meet my boyfriend!”
“Please, at least don’t act like that in front of the saint…”
“Hey, why does it sound like you’re including me in that?”
Well, I generalize, but it’s quite obvious that this woman is showing off her chest to a child right here in the cathedral.
She probably has no clue that she’s the main worry. Although Maria does show good manners, like using polite language with royalty.
I sighed, letting my answer fade away as I walked ahead, hoping, desperately hoping that she wouldn’t try to convert the saint to the Demon Divine Cult.
*
“So this is… a letter of recommendation from the Imperial Library?”
“Yes. Is there something wrong with it?”
I was worried about my companions offending the saint.
Before they even set foot in the building, it was like Ernest himself was aware of the unusual children approaching his cherished daughter because they were stopped right at the entrance.
“That, uh, the recommendation letter does belong to the palace, but… the signature and seal are all badly scribbled and smudged, so they’re unrecognizable.”
“Ugh…”
And when we blame the gods, it is almost always humans who are to blame.
I got my letter of recommendation back and stepped outside.
“Brother. What are we going to do now? We can’t meet the saint?”
“It’s fine. There is a way.”
Just as the Trans Cathedral has preserved the fundamentals of the worship process, I skillfully navigated the nearly intact streets of Gender that have remained unchanged for over a century.
“There must be something around here…”
What I found was a public communication port placed at the intersection.
Because possession of artifacts, like communication devices, is restricted in each region, these communication ports can be found scattered all over the streets in the Holy Nation. They’re just like public phones.
“Who are you going to call?”
“Sephirot.”
Having figured out her weakness, I had gotten her contact info well in advance, just in case something like this came up.
However, I didn’t intend to use her whenever I wanted. The fact that the nature of the matter forced me to contact her like this was quite something.
“Ah, yes. Miss Secretary. Long time no see.”
Fingers trembling with fear, I hurriedly typed in the code I had received from Sephirot. It connected almost immediately, deducting the wait time for receiving the call.
She would be free now, I figured. Imagining the frantic tone with which she must have picked up, I couldn’t help but get a chuckle out of it.
“Are you asking if I took it? More importantly, why I contacted you today…”
I was about to pull it out and show it to her but decided against it.
It’s more fun to leave her uncertain rather than outright revealing the situation. Just a little shake-up is enough to send her spinning.
The inventory is safe from theft, thanks to system protections.
“You did write a letter of recommendation for me, right?”
“But the signature and seal were such a mess I couldn’t submit it. The were looking at me with such suspicious eyes.”
Sephirot’s letter of recommendation was a set payment and proof of my promise to keep her secret.
Yet not only was it unusable, but it also forced me to be wary of the Holy Nation because of her blunder.
“If it’s like this, then…”
Keeping this promise—well, it’s a bit hard when trust has already been broken.
Since the trust got shattered from one side, it seemed only fair that it would break on her end too.
Just by leaving it unspoken, the brilliant mind of the Archmage quickly grasped the logic behind it.
“Hey, let’s not bother our busy Miss Librarian.”
It means that a person of her rank shouldn’t really need to be dragged into this and could just quietly watch rumors unfold.
Sephirot started sobbing, and then out of nowhere, she burst into tears and began pleading.
“Begging a random guy to let you off? Poor girl, it looks like your trouble has already begun.”
“I mean, you were only taught by words, right? Even Maria, the puppeteer, couldn’t do that.”
Maybe it’s about time we stopped teasing. There’s no need to keep belittling someone of her status.
At least, if I kept this up, it’d be considered something she desperately wanted.
“We’re in front of the inn near the Trans Cathedral now.”
“Wow…!!”
The moment I revealed the location, a portal opened above us, and Sephirot appeared as if she were falling straight from it.
No, she crashed down with such flair that it made a loud thud. For a moment, I thought she’d thrown away some refuse.
“B-but, let’s hurry…! I’ll definitely… make sure it’s alright…!!”
However, after witnessing everything, Sephirot seemed utterly unfazed.
Without a care, she hopped up and asked to go straight to the cathedral.
“Oh dear. Maria, would you dust off the librarian?”
“Sure!”
“Wait, why are you touching that…?! Gasp!!”
“Your body has quite a bit going on too. Whoa!”
After turning Sephirot from a beggar into a slightly rumpled person, we set off again towards the cathedral.
Since Sephirot usually stays cooped up in the library, thankfully, no one recognized her on our way.
“Please wait for a moment…”
Once we arrived at the cathedral, Sephirot left us with a prompt to wait while she headed to that priest she met earlier.
It was around five minutes later when she stepped back out.
“Uh, you can come in now. It’s okay…”
When we re-entered, the priest who had stopped us was now shivering in the corner.
I caught whispers about the royal family’s prestige. Followed by countless apologies.
It’s not my fault. I only asked for clarification regarding the letter of recommendation.
“Well, you may have to wait a bit… The saint is… treating the patient…”
“That should suffice. Thank you.”
Surely, they’d inform the saint that guests had arrived. Unless we’re talking about confessions, treating patients typically doesn’t take too long.
“Um… about my picture…”
“Yes? What picture?!! Is it by any chance related to the Secretary…?”
“Shush! Please… don’t talk so loudly…!!!”
The one who had previously made such noise was now scurrying away through the portal.
Honestly, it seems better to disappear than provoke her further. That’s really an apt judgment for a great wizard.
“I see you’ve come to meet the saint. Allow me to guide you.”
Meanwhile, a man dressed in the archbishop’s garb approached. It seemed he had been waiting for things to quiet down.
Even though we were here to see the saint, seeing the archbishop himself was quite a surprise. Sephirot must have really stirred things up.
“Please sit here and wait. The saint is taking care of a lamb, so we kindly ask for your understanding.”
Was his upbeat tone a result of benevolence or fear?
The big, fluffy dog Sephirot seemed to want to appear slightly different.
“Aaaah, Aaaah-!!”
“Wh-what’s happening?? Did something go wrong??”
“This is a normal occurrence during the saint’s healing process. Please don’t be concerned.”
With his impassive calmness, he appeared to be the former.
But is that sound really from the saint?
The archbishop saw my pondering and explained further, as if unable to ignore my curiosity.
“This current saint has not received the grace to combat diseases or curses.”
“Excuse me? I’ve heard this saint is undeniably a genius…”
“Yes. While she may be vulnerable to diseases and curses, her ability to restore both body and soul surpasses any of her predecessors.”
…If that’s the case, then…
“Aaaah-!!!”
“Hmm. It’s definitely more chaotic than usual, considering the patient is contaminated with demonic energy all over.”
Wait, is that screaming patient being treated by obliterating the tainted parts—essentially, the entire body—and then magically piecing it back together?
“Yes. What you’re thinking is probably spot-on.”
The archbishop nodded casually, as if this were an everyday occurrence.
“The saint even cured my baldness, you know.”
‘This is absurd.’
Seeing the archbishop’s awkwardly showing off his brown hair made it all clear.
His calm demeanor didn’t derive from any great secret; he had simply become that way by being in the presence of the saint.
‘Is there even anesthetic in this world?’
From what I remember, there isn’t. And glancing at the patient, who was still shrieking in real-time, confirms it’s likely the same even now.
A hot little apology brewed in my mind for that acquaintance 100 years ago who had scolded me about what a saint should be.
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