Hmm…
So…
It’s quite burdensome.
Even within a district, there isn’t just one cathedral. The areas divided by the unit of ‘district’ in this world can vary greatly in size. There are places that rival the scale of a country and others that are no bigger than a city. If it’s a city-sized district, fine; but in a place equivalent to a country, a single cathedral can’t possibly accommodate all the believers in that area.
The 21st District can’t be said to be extremely large, but it definitely isn’t small either. While it fits the description of ‘roughly the size of a city,’ that city is big in its own right. The 21st District is among the larger city-like districts and has a considerably high population. It’s natural that there would be multiple cathedrals.
Of course, there’s no competition between the cathedrals. The believers go to the cathedral closest to their residence, not necessarily the one they want to attend. Since they are all of the same denomination, it would only lead to self-harm from the perspective of the Central Church to allow them to compete and bleed each other out.
But just because there’s no competition doesn’t mean there aren’t discrepancies.
Naturally, the places with a lot of believers are classified as important, while those with fewer are relatively less significant. The important ones receive more support, while the less important ones get less.
It’s not just about performance; typically, places that have more users wear out faster and need expansion to accommodate more people. If a place is small, simply maintaining the essentials can often be sufficient. Even if a cathedral is tiny, the necessary support will come as long as it’s needed.
Of course, no matter how realistic the reasons may be, human thoughts don’t always follow just that reality. Even if an expansion was done due to the believers, the newer facilities are still just that—new. Places with those facilities will inevitably be compared to those without.
In fact, even the cathedral where the Saintess resides is the largest and oldest one in the area.
Just because the Saintess resides there doesn’t mean they’ve repaired the old plumbing, but unless you’re an insider, you wouldn’t know. To others, it would just appear to be an important place with an important person.
Considering that, the priest in charge can’t help but be overjoyed by the sudden visit from the Saintess to a cathedral, located in a somewhat obscure part of the city, which has few believers—let’s be direct—it’s small, old, and shabby.
“Please, have some tea.”
However, it’s a different story to see a very kindly old man with wrinkles on his face serving tea to me while standing, even though I am seated. It made me incredibly uncomfortable.
Moreover, he wouldn’t sit down and insisted on standing the whole time. I tried to get up a few times, but each time he recoiled in horror and pushed me back into my seat. It felt less about being intimidated and more like I was getting the chills every time I stood up; it was a bit scary.
I thought Father Nguyen was a bit overboard, but this guy was worse.
Perhaps it’s because very few really high-ranking people visit here due to the cathedral’s location and scale.
Or maybe this is just standard around here? Besides Father Nguyen, all the believers I’ve met have been anything but ordinary.
Andrea, who hasn’t changed her way of speaking at all even after I became a Saintess, Matthew, who acts as if he doesn’t care what anyone thinks, and the sisters Linea and Aurora who lived beneath them. Besides Cardinal Kwon In-Soo and the Pope, those people I’ve spoken with are clearly not regular folks.
Hmm, looking at this, it’s definitely a collection of unusual people.
Anyway, I wonder how the Cardinal is doing? I haven’t seen him since the canonization ceremony. Not that I’m particularly curious.
“So, the reason you visited our cathedral…”
“I probably want to meet a friend who’s staying here.”
Upon hearing my words, the priest nodded with a look that seemed to understand and smiled warmly.
“Are you perhaps referring to the Hicks sisters?”
“Ah, yes. How did you know?”
“Both the Saintess and the Hicks sisters are students at the Academy, aren’t they? Since you mentioned a friend, it’s understandable.”
The priest, smiling and looking kind, had a sense of many years of experience behind him. After all, one of the things priests do is hear confessions from believers. They also offer counseling from time to time. Given his life of listening to countless people’s troubles and stories, it wouldn’t be hard for him to find such common ground.
“Then, please wait here. I will go get them.”
It was amusing to see the priest move around voluntarily. If I were to say and have everything I said recorded separately, it wouldn’t be surprising at all. Of course, it would be embarrassing if I truly did that.
For reference, unlike me, who might be higher or not than the priest in rank, the two sisters, Aurora and Linea, who are clearly in lower positions than the priest, looked twice as uncomfortable as I did.
Was it a mistake to come here?
Following Rina into the cathedral, I thought if she were being protected here, then maybe she was also in the convent—which made me casually think to tease her when I impulsively came inside.
Even if I don’t feel that my position as a Saintess is that high, the status others perceive can be completely different.
I thought the love letters I received were no big deal… but now I’ve definitely realized that what you hear in explanations is completely different from the reality experienced when forced into it.
I should refrain from unnecessarily going to other religious facilities in the future.
While lost in these thoughts, I heard a knock at the reception room door. There was no need to be that cautious.
“Yes, please come in.”
After a moment of hesitation, seeing Rina and Aurora’s gazes turn toward me, I replied accordingly. Hmm, back in my room or at work, people would barge in without knocking even if I didn’t respond, but I guess once you have status, it makes others cautious.
This is nice. So, there’s no need to worry about surprises.
The doorknob turned slowly, and the door opened just as slowly. The first to enter was the priest. With a kind expression, he addressed the open door.
“Come in, Sisters Hicks, a guest is here.”
“……”
Rina, who entered the reception room without a reply, froze as she saw all of us gathered around the table.
“Well then, I hope you all have a good time together.”
Maintaining his courteous demeanor until the end, the priest slowly closed the door. I was almost amazed by how silently he could do that. He wasn’t an assassin in his youth, was he?
Rina… well, it was expected, but she was wearing a nun’s outfit.
That’s right. A nun’s outfit.
And a succubus at that.
“Kuh.”
I barely suppressed a laugh that almost burst out and instead snorted like a pig.
“……”
Rina glared at me, about to burst out laughing, but she soon sighed heavily. Seeing her exaggeratedly shake her shoulders, it was quite deliberate.
“Yeah, I knew it would end up like this.”
Contrary to the priest’s earlier courteous demeanor, Rina casually pulled out a chair and sat down haphazardly, albeit not too close to us.
With one arm draped over the backrest and sitting crooked with her legs crossed, the nun’s outfit accentuated her sultry beauty. Recently the outfit had become a bit loose, dimming her decidedly sultry demeanor, but ironically, wearing the nun’s outfit brought it back to life.
“So, is this why you’ve been going around in decent uniforms lately?”
“The uniforms I used to wear back then were fine too. No one had ever said anything to me.”
Well, if she wanted to, she could still wear those uniforms now. Whatever the church said, the fact that she wore a different uniform meant she had received some sort of permission. She just probably didn’t want to wear them.
“When did you start staying here?”
“…Since shortly after I returned.”
So, she had been living here ever since her home had been shut down.
“All my belongings were already moved here. I never even agreed to it. Not that they would have listened if I didn’t.”
Rina’s eyes were directed out the window as she grumbled. After a moment of silence, she abruptly turned her head to glare at me.
“So why are you here? You didn’t come just to enjoy my nun outfit, did you?”
Half of that is true.
It’s true I wanted to tease her, but I hadn’t even considered that Rina would be staying at the convent, so to say ‘from the start’ wouldn’t be accurate either. So it’s only half true.
“I didn’t even know Rina was living here!”
“Not ‘living,’ but ‘staying.’ I have no intention of being here permanently. I need to get out as soon as possible.”
Well, that’s not much different for me. Once I turn twenty, I’ll get out and open a treatment center, living off easy for the rest of my life.
Of course, even if I leave quickly, I still have at least five more years to go. Rina’s comments are likely hinting at leaving even sooner, but I’m not going to point that out.
“Who was thinking about having you stay here?”
“The head of the Inquisition.”
Rina replied as if she was ready to snap. After all, it doesn’t make much sense to say you’d keep a demon in a cathedral. If they were mistakenly exposed to holy power, they would be caught right away, wouldn’t they?
Maybe Rina being here is Andrea’s kind of mercy. The smaller the cathedral in a more remote area, the less likely it is to be exposed to strong holy power. Even if Andrea tried to hide it, she couldn’t just outright buy a separate home for Rina.
Besides, it didn’t mean Rina would agree to live together if Andrea asked.
“We have an extra spot in our room.”
“As I said last time, why would I go?”
Rina scoffed. I just joked the other time about asking her to come, but having one more person would definitely be uncomfortable for me. Even though the two girls I’m currently living with make me feel a bit uneasy when changing, I’d have to get accustomed all over again should one more person join. That’s a hard pass.
In the back of my mind, a part of my dark self that drooled over TS yuri properties protested that there was nothing wrong with that, but I ignored it.
Using the name of the Saintess to take one nun away would be easy, but they’d absolutely dislike that, especially in a place that’s already short-staffed. Even that kindly priest would likely dislike it openly. I noticed there seemed to be very few people working as I entered.
“Could it be that you end up joining us for a long time after the duel just because you dislike wearing a nun’s outfit?”
“……”
Upon my question, Rina closed her mouth with a sulky expression. Just as I thought, that seemed to be true. It felt like she’d been getting closer to us lately, for some reason.
Seeing me smile brightly at her, Rina clicked her tongue and finally spoke up first.
“So, what are you here for?”
“I just wanted to check if you were doing well.”
In truth, I just wanted to know where she was staying, and coming here was half impulsive, but it would sound too much like a stalker if I said that, right?
Upon hearing my words, Rina glanced at Linea. Linea, quietly sipping her now-cold tea, didn’t say anything. Considering her position as Andrea’s confidante, she likely already knew where Rina was staying. Although she had never mentioned it to us, she didn’t deny Rina’s words either.
“So, isn’t it enough just to see me?”
“Seeing you is enough.”
As I replied with a smile, Rina released a deep sigh.
—
Just because Clara became a Saintess didn’t mean that suddenly the convent’s facilities turned brand new overnight.
Actually, Aurora somewhat hoped so. Since she was a recipient of the goddess’s grace, she thought perhaps the goddess could manipulate reality to make the shower tap gush with water.
Isn’t it the miraculous strength that even heals demons? Surely, updating old facilities should be possible!
Of course, considering the respective positions of magic and miracles, it was a fleeting dream.
The church teaches that the goddess isn’t omnipotent. The reason is that the goddess said so directly. However, saying just that often felt a bit irreverent, so they would add a slight explanation:
“The goddess can do anything we can imagine.”
So, could she not grant even one wish?
Though Clara was the one connected to the goddess, not Aurora, so that was just a futile dream.
Well, as it stood now, it didn’t pose a significant problem for cleaning one’s body.
And the reason the three of us don’t shower simultaneously isn’t so much because of water pressure as it is Clara being considerate enough to allow her to shower alone, so it really didn’t matter too much.
Of course, having better pressure is nice though!
As I kept myself occupied with various thoughts while waiting for my turn, Linea suddenly spoke up.
“The method used to follow behind Rina Hicks doesn’t seem to be magic.”
She was referring to the technique used when Rina went missing last time and the method used to follow her this afternoon. It was certainly not magic. It could be described as ‘magical,’ but…
Ah, come to think of it, I didn’t have my wand today. It was awkward to use magic as an excuse here.
“Is there a method other than magic?”
Linea turned her gaze toward Aurora, who had an expression of intrigue rather than suspicion…
“Even if there’s another method, must I disclose it?”
Though Aurora said so, Linea didn’t look away.
“Is it a directive from the head?”
“No, it’s just personal curiosity. I’m simply curious about the person I share a room with.”
Personal curiosity, huh.
“Do you know Hicks’s true identity?”
“Hmm.”
Linea gave a noncommittal sound, but Aurora took that as a positive affirmation.
“Well… It wouldn’t be a problem to share. At this point, not saying anything anymore would only breed suspicion.”
While saying this, Aurora contemplated one more time. Would Linea treat her the same after knowing her lineage?
‘Even if I don’t say anything, the result would be the same.’
That was the conclusion Aurora reached. Her position was the Saintess’s aide. She had previously held the position of an aide to the Miracle Investigator, and thanks to building a personal bond with Clara over the years, there were no significant issues.
But Linea belongs to the Inquisition. Though her personal rank might be low, she was someone directly sent by Andrea, so she can’t be dismissed as unimportant.
Naturally, if a Saintess who had been canonized and someone who spent almost 24 hours by her side were to appear, it was only natural for scrutiny to arise. They were rational beings, yes; but that didn’t mean they weren’t fanatics.
“It’s a smell.”
“A smell?”
Upon Aurora’s answer, Linea questioned back.
“You mean you tracked her by scent?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“……”
Linea wore a confused expression, furrowing her eyebrows again.
“I didn’t notice any particular smell; perhaps is there beastkin blood flowing?”
‘Ah, I suppose that’s a thought as well.’
Among beastkin, there are many who possess a much keener sense of smell than humans. It might be possible to track specific individuals based on scent.
‘Should I just go with that?’
I briefly contemplated lying but decided against it. Lies ultimately lead to contradictions. Sooner or later, it would come to light. If I lied about having beastkin blood flowing, but later failed to demonstrate that ability when searching for something or someone, it wouldn’t end well.
Even if I can deceive others with just magic, the one person nearby must be aware of the truth.
“No, it’s ‘the smell that comes from being a demon.’ It’s a scent no one but a demon can ever smell.”
“…….”
It appeared Linea understood exactly what Aurora was saying.
“My mother was likely of the same race as Rina. My father was human. So, while demons may not recognize my identity, I can identify a demon. Given what happened this time, I can’t say for certain it’s 100% reliable.”
The demon, or rather the demon of jealousy, unknowingly used their power, yet Aurora couldn’t tell. While Rina noticed and tracked the witch, Aurora’s ability to locate her stemmed from Rina arriving there first.
“Through the scent of the demon?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“……”
Linea momentarily fell deep in thought. Only the sound of water gushing from the showerhead could be heard for a while.
“I’m sorry.”
Unexpectedly, Linea apologized, catching Aurora a bit off guard.
“For what?”
As Aurora blinked in surprise, Linea simply shrugged her shoulders.
“For overhearing something awkward that’s personal.”
“Is that so…….”
I can’t tell if she’s apologizing for prying in.
“I see.”
“That’s how it is.”
With a slight smile towards Aurora, Linea seemed to imply not to concern yourself over it.
Though Aurora hadn’t expected this kind of response, for the first time since losing her mother, she felt a sense of comfort from someone from the Inquisition.
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