The carriage raced tirelessly for a full three days before arriving at the Holy Kingdom.
Even though I had visited before, the overwhelming grandeur naturally made me shrink back.
The size was so immense that it could easily fit hundreds of my village inside.
The center of the kingdom, the Holy Palace made of pure white buildings, was awe-inspiring.
Click.
“Let’s get off.”
“Yes, yes.”
I’m feeling a bit tense.
Previously, I had rushed in through the door, but this is my first time coming in formally like this.
“Welcome! Saintess!”
“Eep.”
“““Welcome, Saintess!!!”””
As soon as I got off the carriage, a deafening cheer hit my ears.
Dozens of Holy Knights were gazing at me.
Dressed in white armor and wielding spears that could easily be three times my height, they stood at attention waiting for me.
It’s good that they’re waiting, but will they explode if I say something?
My hearing is already sensitive, and I have to be cautious every time.
As I cupped my ears, glaring at them, they finally took a slight step back.
But perhaps due to their strong sense of duty, they didn’t break their stance.
“We have been waiting. Saintess Lily.”
“Ah, hello.”
A middle-aged man approached through the Holy Knights.
With black hair that shimmered with hints of white and blue eyes, he was dressed in pure white clothing.
He seemed to be of a much higher rank than the third-tier priest Ekir I had met before.
“I apologize for the noise.”
“Oh… no, it’s fine.”
“I am Bonslee, a Cardinal and servant of the great Goddess. It’s a bit embarrassing, but I oversee all the priests within the Holy Palace.”
Oversee.
Wow, he’s quite a big deal.
I’m not really familiar with things like popes and holy palaces, but I know that being a Cardinal is a huge rank.
I naturally bowed my head.
Then, Bonslee waved his hand to stop my gesture.
“There’s no need to bow. You are an apostle of the great Goddess. You do not need to show me any respect.”
“But you’re a Cardinal, so you are very high-ranked…”
“Not compared to you, Saintess. In fact, if you bow to me, it would diminish the authority of the Goddess.”
Ah, so that’s the issue.
In the end, I didn’t bow my head but just nodded slightly.
Bonslee seemed satisfied and then bowed his own head instead.
…It’s strangely becoming a habit while feeling off.
“Other Saintesses are all working outside. The third Saintess, Angela, was here until recently but left a few days ago to subdue a rampaging ogre tribe.”
“She was here until recently, but a few days ago, she went to hunt down a group of Ogres that are causing trouble.”
“Oh… Ogres?”
“Yes. They’re the very same guys that the First Saintess dealt with long ago, but they’ve started making a ruckus again.”
Well, if it’s the Saintesses, there shouldn’t be any problem at all.
Bonslee said that with a hearty laugh.
I shrank back a bit in anxiety.
Ogres are tough to suppress, but Ogres?
And not just one, but a whole group?
…Can I really handle this?
■
I wandered around the Holy Palace’s interior, guided by a maid, four Holy Knights, and a Cardinal.
I came here in such a rush before that I didn’t get to see anything properly, but now that I look, it’s no joke.
Each room is at least twice the size of the Village Chief’s house, and the library has enough books to fill thousands of them.
The worship hall is illuminated by the brilliant blue light of stained glass, similar to what you’d see in a cathedral or church.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
“…It truly is.”
The blue light.
The color symbolizing Angels and part of the Great Goddess.
I stared blankly at the grandeur.
“The Goddess delivered a revelation long ago.”
“…..?”
“The war against evil Demons. It has continued since ancient times and still does today. Although, right now, things are a bit more peaceful.”
The Cardinal walked down the center aisle of the worship hall.
At the end, there’s a raised platform with a long table.
It’s not much different from what you’d see in a church.
The difference is…
“The first Apostle and the very first ‘Saintess’ was born under the Goddess’s mercy and blessing to prepare for war. She first appeared in the world 50 years ago.”
Behind the Cardinal stands a massive statue of the Goddess.
A blue-grey Goddess.
In one hand, she holds a gigantic book, and in the other, a blue staff.
Even as a statue, beauty and majesty radiate from it.
“50 years ago…”
“Yes, 50 years ago was a time when the aftermath of the recently calmed war was wreaking havoc. The First Saintess sacrificed her all to save countless souls. Even now, she continues to purge the remnants of that Demon Beast.”
“Wow…”
Fifty years?
Demon Beasts rampaging because of the war?
Just hearing about it makes me feel overwhelmed.
I barely managed to take down Goblins and Ogres, and didn’t I hear that she deals with Ogres too?
“……”
The more I hear, the more I feel like shrinking back.
“The revelations have continued even after the First Saintess. The Second Saintess, Mareniya, and the Third Saintess, Angela, are proof of that.”
“Yes. The second saintess, Mareniya. The third saintess, Angela, is the proof of that revelation.”
“Revelation…”
“The revelation always descends from this statue of the goddess.”
“Am I next?”
“…That’s right. But as you know, Saintess Lily, the revelation has not come down.”
According to the cardinal, when a new saintess is born, there must be a revelation.
At the moment the light from the statue descends, the servants of the goddess, like the pope and cardinals, notice this miracle and if they prostrate themselves in front of it, they hear the revelation that ‘so-and-so will be appointed as the saintess~’.
But I’m a saintess who appeared without any revelation.
Moreover, saintesses are supposed to possess strong power from the moment they are born, but I can barely handle even one orc.
Hearing all of this, I inexplicably began to feel anxious.
‘Could it be that I’ll be branded a heretic?’
You know how it is, right?
When such religious groups encounter something that doesn’t fit their specifications or standards, the so-called ‘rough stone’ is often excluded.
The current situation isn’t much different.
A saintess who appeared without a revelation.
Weak power, and the only resemblance I have to a saintess is my appearance and the faint ‘holy’ aura emanating from me.
As the holy knights stomped their feet with a clang! I jumped back in surprise.
The cardinal looked at me with a serious expression.
“Saintess.”
“Yes, yes?”
“Have you ever received a revelation?”
“Um…”
“Even a trivial thing is fine. It could just be something you heard in a dream or something great that you saw alone. The goddess could appear in any form.”
“……”
I haven’t.
There’s nothing but a parrot constantly repeating, ‘You can do it.’
No matter how I think about it, the system is not the goddess.
Dreams? I hardly sleep enough for that.
But should I really just blurt out, ‘There’s nothing’?
Isn’t it better to mumble something to get recognized instead?
If I don’t, it feels like I’d be branded a heretic and killed or something!
“Uh…”
I hesitated for a moment.
It would be easy to just say that.
After all, the cardinal mentioned that the goddess can appear in any form, and he might just nod and say, ‘Ah, I see.’
Maybe it would strengthen his faith and increase his trust in me.
“……”
But.
“I don’t have anything.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes.”
My instinct tells me that I shouldn’t lie.
Thinking it over, this Holy Palace has been serving the goddess for quite a long time.
“You’re here.”
“You must have gathered a lot of information and materials by now after meeting three Saintesses, but do you really think I would trust the information I clumsily mentioned?”
“You might even be deemed a heretic for allegedly making a pact with a demon.”
“Above all, I just didn’t want to admit it.”
“Goddess, huh?”
“If that were the case, I wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“I ask again. Have you truly not heard or seen anything?”
“No.”
“Can you take responsibility for that statement?”
“Cardinal Bonslee, my hearing and eyesight are excellent. Moreover, I’m aware of the six Maidens wandering outside the worship hall and the five Holy Knights waiting at the door.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the Holy Knights waiting outside flinched.
Looks like they didn’t expect to be caught.
Interest lit up on the Cardinal’s face.
“Despite my keen senses, I have never heard or seen the presence of the Goddess.”
“……”
“But I believe that the great Goddess will reveal herself someday.”
I turned my head to look at the statue of the Goddess.
If you truly are a Goddess,
A Goddess powerful enough to control this world,
‘You would grant anything.’
“…hahaha!”
The Cardinal laughed.
His voice was so loud it even startled the Maid beside me and the Holy Knight guarding me.
After a good laugh, the Cardinal regained his composure and bowed his head.
“I apologize, Saintess Lily. I was rude because of my curiosity.”
He bent so low it was almost a 90-degree bow.
Ugh, that’s a bit overwhelming.
“Please raise your head.”
“No, I knew from the moment you were baptized by His Holiness the Pope that you were qualified to be a Saintess. But my humble curiosity pressed you.”
…Well, it did push me.
Do you know how scared I was?!
“But now I have confidence. I apologize. I will not demand such proof again.”
“…Yes.”
“I feel like I’ve troubled someone who’s just arrived. From now on, our Maid Miya will guide you through everything.”
“Saintess Lily, you just need to follow me.”
The Maid bowed her head and led me away.
The Cardinal bowed once more as I was leaving.
…Maybe he’s not such a bad person after all.
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