Chapter: 47
The priest was left speechless, staring at my face, and then he snapped back to reality, breaking into a smile.
“Lady Young. It would be troubling if you’re just teasing me.”
“No, but it’s true.”
“Are you saying I’m lying?”
“No. That’s not it, but…”
He said no, but it was clear he didn’t believe my words at all.
Is this what the heart of the shepherd boy feels like?
But why do I have to become a shepherd because of a lie I didn’t even tell?
How unfair! Really.
[Young lady! Is it true that you have been chosen as Armadi’s apostle?!]
While I was pondering how to persuade the priest, even Grandpa started to fuss.
“Didn’t I mention it?”
[Ah! You merely said you received salvation from Armadi!]
Now that I think about it, I had totally forgotten to mention that in my daze yesterday.
“Yesterday, when Armadi saved me, He mentioned I would be made an apostle.”
[I can’t believe you forgot such an important detail. Young lady!]
Grandpa seemed frustrated and started to scold me like usual, but then he swallowed his words.
[No, this isn’t the time for that.]
“Why not?”
[For now, hide the fact that you’ve become an apostle. That guy thinks it’s a lie, so let’s ride that wave.]
Wait, does that mean I should hide the fact that I’ve become a divine apostle?
Why?
In the Soul Academy universe, becoming an apostle of God is certainly not a disgrace.
If anything, it would be strange not to boast about it.
A great transcendent being in the heavens valued someone’s potential enough to take them as their apostle—why would I hide that?
The apostles of God who appeared in the game also proclaimed they were apostles, as long as they weren’t serving an evil god.
But why does Grandpa say I should conceal becoming an apostle?
It was hard to understand, but Grandpa’s tone was so serious that I just nodded in agreement.
Until now, he had never led me into harm, after all.
“Think whatever you want.”
“Believe it or not, do what you wish. Useless priest.”
“Right. Understood. But are you really planning to get baptized?”
“Yes.”
“Sure, but why? Is there a problem?”
“You know that getting baptized means…”
The priest started to ramble on about boring stuff he clearly knew.
Saying getting baptized means becoming a new person.
Things that must be upheld for that.
I let those conversations drift in one ear and out the other.
When the priest seemed to forget about the apostle-related conversation, Grandpa sighed in relief.
[Well done, Young lady. But if you have something this important, let me know ahead of time!]
“I’m sorry for forgetting that. But why should I hide that I’ve become an apostle?”
[It’s because Armadi doesn’t keep apostles.]
Grandpa told me that story, citing the scriptures from the Church of the Lord.
The content sounded exaggerated, as it was from the scriptures, but to summarize, it went like this.
Armadi has to maintain the center of the gods and therefore cannot show favoritism to anyone.
Because of that, He might sprinkle a little assistance and mercy but doesn’t appoint anyone as an apostle.
Personally, I felt that Grandpa’s explanation was an attempt to justify how a lazy and incompetent supreme deity was, but I didn’t say anything out loud.
After all, if I did, I would probably hear another scolding from Grandpa.
[Do you understand? An apostle of Armadi should not exist.]
“But I’ve become an apostle.”
[Whether what you say is true or not matters little. What’s important is that the moment you prove you are Armadi’s apostle, the authority of the church will shake.]
What if the scriptures are lying?
What if there was another reason why no apostle of Armadi had appeared?
Until now, there was no need to worry about such things.
As the scriptures said, the apostle of Armadi hadn’t appeared.
But for me—the moment Armadi’s apostle appears, that premise collapses.
[I don’t know how the church I’m in now operates. But if it’s not much different from when I was there, revealing that you’re Armadi’s apostle won’t lead to anything good.]
Generally, churches welcome the appearance of an apostle of God, but it’s different for the Church of the Lord.
Suddenly having an apostle of Armadi, who hadn’t appeared for hundreds of years, shows that everything the Church of the Lord built until now is about to crumble.
The Church of the Lord will never welcome an apostle of Armadi.
[If things don’t go well…]
Grandpa seemed to hold back, as if he didn’t want to tell me the darker parts, yet it wasn’t hard to imagine what would come next.
In the worst-case scenario, the church might try to erase me.
After all, the Church of the Lord is not a clean place.
Realizing this made cold sweat run down my back.
What if Grandpa hadn’t been here? How would I have fared?
If I were out there blabbering about being Armadi’s apostle without knowing…
That ending would surely not be bright.
Stupid and pathetic supreme deity!
Are they trying to kill me like this?!
If their pride was hurt, they should just smite me with heavenly punishment instead of trying to bury me with such shady methods!
I’m glad I’m just a shepherd girl.
If I were a pious person who could never tell a lie in the name of God, what would have happened?
“Do you understand?”
As I ranted against the useless deity, the priest asked me as if checking in.
I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch what you said, so I can’t answer right now.
[Just say you understand. Anyway, I doubt that guy thinks you actually heard anything.]
Well, this explanation is more like a terms and conditions agreement.
Both the explainer and the listener probably don’t care about it.
“Yes.”
“Useless priest. What do you think of me?”
As I nodded shamelessly, the priest forced a smile.
“It’s just a procedure. I hope you understand.”
After that, the priest took me to a room inside the church.
It looked more like a place for hosting guests rather than a baptism venue.
“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll bring someone who will baptize you, Young Lady.”
Ah, so you’re just going to fetch someone after all.
But aren’t you a priest, so aren’t you able to perform the baptism?
Is it because I’m a noble that a higher-up has to come?
How long did I wait, sitting in that reception room?
The door suddenly swung open, and someone stepped inside.
The first thing I noticed were her golden eyes.
Eyes as soft as the moonlight set into white glass.
Her long white hair cascaded down to her waist like it was melting into her.
Her skin, so pale it almost looked ghostly.
And a nun’s robe pure white without a speck of dirt.
A beautiful girl who made me think, “If white becomes a human shape, it would look like this” smiled at me as though even a demon could be purified.
“Hello. Lady Arlen. I am Saint Phoebe of the Church of the Lord. I’m embarrassingly called a saintess.”
Among the characters from Soul Academy, she was regarded as the best in terms of character.
In terms of looks, she always placed in the top ranks.
Moreover, as a saintess, she was a god-tier heroine who captivated the hearts of performance freaks in the healer role.
Although some people accused her of being too nice and said she lacked depth aside from her looks, even those who spread such nonsense eventually learned to adore her due to her talents.
She was one of my favorite characters!
Why is the saintess here?
Well, the saintess must have taken the entrance exam for Soul Academy as well, so it wouldn’t be odd for her to be here. But why did she come to see me?!
Struck speechless by her appearance, which felt more beautiful than noble.
Seeing her on the monitor before, even though there were descriptions of her being noble or sacred, they didn’t resonate with me at all.
With a strong figure that asserted itself vigorously underneath her frilly nun’s attire, one couldn’t possibly describe her as sacred.
But at this moment, her semblance carried so much weight of truth.
Oh! How could I have thought such impure thoughts while being in the presence of this lady during the game?
Evil spirits of lust, begone!
This is not a place for you!
“Lady Arlen?”
“Hello, Saintess.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Sloppy Saintess.”
When I absentmindedly greeted her, lost in admiration for the sacredness that Phoebe exuded, my impish side exclaimed something totally inappropriate.
No, hey! Messy brat skill, can’t you feel the holiness emanating from her presence?
To blurt out such nonsense, as if all of creation couldn’t feel awestruck by her pristine self.
What an utterly wicked spirit you are!
I frivolously resented that bratty comment while also releasing a sigh of relief on the inside.
If it’s just sloppiness, it’s not that bad.
If I had called her by some nickname like I did with Joy, would Phoebe have kept her smile upon hearing “Lusty Saintess”?
Is it a blessing or a given?
Phoebe simply smiled, even after hearing my impertinence.
“Thank you for treating me so naturally. Young lady.”
She said “thank you” instead of being offended by the sloppy title.
She really is a saint.
“So, um…”
“What brings you here?”
“First, I came to express my gratitude. Thank you for looking after Joy. Thanks to you, Lady Arlen, Joy was able to come back safe and sound.”
As I watched Phoebe bow her head, I recalled the backstory of her and Joy being friends since childhood.
“How’s Joy…?”
“How’s our silly Young Lady? Is she doing okay?”
“Haha! Silly Young Lady, huh? You really call her that?”
Was she amused by her friend’s nickname?
With her head turned, Phoebe chuckled and finally managed to calm down before confirming that Joy was indeed well.
There were some minor injuries, but she had healed them all herself. She’s healthy.
“Partan Duke’s family took her away this morning, so she’s not here right now.”
“Then what about Jacob?”
“Then what about that little noble?”
“If you mean Lord Jacob, he’s also fine. You don’t have to worry about him.”
What a relief.
Both of them came away without any sequelae.
I had been worried about what might happen after being bombarded by the alchemist’s mental attacks.
“Wow, it seems like no one calls you by your name.”
“That’s not true.”
“It’s not? Then, Sloppy Saintess.”
Even with those terms like “fool” and “sloppy” stuck in front, there are some who call me by name, like Posel or Benedict.
I still have no idea what the conditions for that are.
“Is that so? I’d love to hear their names one day.”
“More importantly…”
“More importantly, is the purpose of Sloppy Saintess just to express gratitude?”
“No. There’s one more thing. I hear you’re planning to get baptized today, Lady Arlen.”
Oh, no way.
“I’ve been entrusted with that baptism. If you’d prefer someone else, I can bring a different person.”
“No! That’s fine!”
“It doesn’t matter. Whether it’s Sloppy Saintess or a useless priest doing it.”
“Haha! Then I’m glad!”
Oh my! The day has come when I, the one and only, shall receive baptism from the saintess!
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