Everyone in the conference room looked at Aria.
Among them, there were certainly gazes filled with pity and sympathy. But those feelings didn’t reach her.
Because the looks of contempt and reproach aimed solely at blaming Aria were too overwhelming.
Aria found it hard to bear those scornful stares, as if they were cursing her.
‘I-I already said it was my fault…’
No matter how she reacted, those eyes bore into her.
It had been that way ever since she became the Saintess.
It probably started with jealousy and envy.
In the Deus Church, priests had to undergo rigorous efforts to become high-ranking priests.
Only after countless tests of their faith could they earn titles such as High Priest.
But what about the Saintess?
One day, under certain circumstances, she would be chosen as a candidate for Saintess, receive a revelation, and then ascend to the position.
Once she was elevated to Saintess, her rank would immediately be just below the Holy King.
In some cases, she would even receive the same or higher treatment than him.
At first, Aria thought she understood.
She believed that these people were just jealous and envious of her.
She thought that if she worked hard and showed dedication, eventually they would recognize her.
So, she worked hard.
She prayed diligently, she paid close attention to her surroundings, and she did her best to be a good Saintess.
But those looks never changed.
Like a shackle, they followed her everywhere.
They constantly criticized her.
If she tried a little harder, it would be okay.
If she did a little better, it would be okay.
‘… But it was useless.’
They cursed her, just as they were today.
They called her an incompetent Saintess.
They blamed everything on her.
At some point, Aria found herself nodding along with their accusations.
It felt like everything really was her fault, just as they said.
“I… I’m sorry.”
That was all she could say.
“Sorry won’t fix anything.”
“If this continues, some priests may starve. You need to come up with a plan, somehow.”
“Th-that’s… I don’t really know how to do that…”
“Hah.”
“Is she even fit to be called a Saintess?”
“No wonder the believers are leaving. If only we hadn’t expanded so recklessly in the first place, none of this would be happening.”
Aria clenched her fingertips.
She hated this feeling.
She didn’t even have the strength to say, “You didn’t complain when the number of believers was increasing, so why are you blaming me now?”
What if Lee Han was here?
The conversations she had with him echoed in her mind.
‘Without the Demon King, your popularity might rise for a bit. But will that last? No.’
‘Think about it, Aria. If the Demon King disappears, why would people still believe in God?’
‘The hearts of the masses burn like fire, but they also extinguish just as quickly. The people in their moment of euphoria will praise us, but it’ll only last for a moment.’
He was smart. So much so that she could repeat his words from years ago, and they’d perfectly apply to the current situation.
Even these foolish archbishops surrounding her in this conference room, unable to grasp the root of the problem, were something he could easily understand back then.
She could just repeat what he’d said.
“Th… that’s…”
But she couldn’t get the words out.
She could only blush and lower her head.
— To think the Saintess is like that, Tsk Tsk.
— No wonder the believers are leaving.
Even as the archbishops grumbled, “daring” to speak such things in front of the Saintess, she could only flinch and fail to respond.
She was completely devoured.
And so they blamed Aria.
They said the Church was in decline because she was an unworthy Saintess.
Aria lacked the courage to express her frustration.
Even if their words weren’t fundamentally correct, there was a hint of truth to them.
“Saintess Aria, the recent decline in sacred artifact sales is largely due to the Harold Trading Company’s influence. Ever since our relationship with them soured, they’ve been selling products that compete with our relics.”
“Th… That’s…”
“You have connections with the Harold Trading Company, don’t you? You should discuss this matter with them.”
The relationship between the three heroes had deteriorated rapidly after Lee Han’s final words. As the Harold Trading Company began its attacks, the Church’s crisis deepened, and they even started falling behind on payments for the expanded number of priests.
Clearly, the blame should fall on those who couldn’t even manage their personnel properly.
“… That’s…”
But Aria couldn’t bring herself to blame anyone.
At times like this, if only Lee Han were here.
He would have stepped in decisively and protected her.
But Aria knew.
She wasn’t worthy of seeking out Lee Han.
Even if he had resurrected as prophesied, she couldn’t trust him. After all, she still had no certainty that he hadn’t placed her under hypnosis or some form of mind control.
But.
But, if by some chance, he was truly innocent…
The look of exhaustion he had shown before his death.
The deep sense of betrayal.
As if he had abandoned everything.
… The emptiness in his final smile.
If that smile had been genuine…
“I… I’m sorry.”
She would have to atone for her sins.
For the rest of her life.
— Drip, Drip.
Tears started falling from her eyes.
A priest standing nearby hurriedly caught them in a vial.
◆
“What? 30 million Krone for one bottle?”
Lloyd heard the village chief shouting from behind him.
He turned his head, trying to distance himself from the chief.
He didn’t want to be associated with him.
As he looked away, he met Yulia’s eyes, who had done the same.
“…”
“…”
The two exchanged awkward glances and their footsteps quickened.
They were in the “Holy Land”, home to the Holy Kingdom of Constantine’s Palace.
Naturally, the city’s market was crowded with people, especially tourists.
And the one standing out the most as a tourist was the village chief.
‘Let’s just pretend we don’t know him.’
‘Good idea.’
As Lloyd and Yulia pretended to not know the chief, a large hand grabbed both of their shoulders, pulling them back.
“Hey, look at this! This is holy water! Wow… 30 million Krone for a single bottle! Do you think just drinking this would cure all diseases?”
Yulia looked flustered.
Lloyd sighed and took the bottle from the chief’s hands, handing it back to the merchant.
The merchant, who had been running towards them in a panic, breathed a sigh of relief and walked away, muttering curses under his breath.
“Chief, holy water doesn’t have such miraculous effects.”
“But it’s called holy water! Surely it’s filled with divine power!”
“Well, yes, but…”
“And 30 million Krone! It must be worth that much, or are you saying it’s a fake?”
“It’s not fake.”
When Lloyd had taken the bottle, he had released his energy to confirm it.
It contained a high concentration of pure divine energy that couldn’t easily be replicated. It was genuine.
“But the price doesn’t guarantee its value. Maybe its rarity does.”
Divine power.
Despite the grand name, it wasn’t a particularly overwhelming force.
Unlike mana, which interacts intricately with various elements, divine power had a uniform effect on all mana types, and its true strength lay in purging “evil”.
Of course, due to its healing and supportive qualities, the general populace often perceived it as a “godlike power”.
“It might cure minor ailments.”
“Well, even that is amazing!”
“But a healing priest could do the same for a tenth of the price.”
“Oh…”
If the holy water came directly from the Saintess, its purity might be strong enough to even cure incurable diseases.
However, in its diluted form, like this, there was no chance.
“Maybe if the Saintess herself blessed it directly… assuming it’s not contaminated.”
With those final words, Lloyd quickened his pace.
He didn’t like this place.
Divine power was ultimately a force that manifested based on the purity of one’s faith in God.
The fact that genuine holy water was being sold in the marketplace implied that the Holy Palace was using faith as a means of commerce.
“What are they doing with all this money?”
As if reading his mind, Yulia muttered.
Now that he thought about it, this wasn’t the first time this had happened.
“Did you pick up some kind of mind-reading spell?”
“What are you talking about?”
Seeing the bewildered expression on Yulia’s face, Lloyd felt relieved.
“Never mind. Anyway.”
“…?”
“If the people playing God need money, it can only mean one thing.”
“… Playing God? You’ll get in trouble if someone hears that.”
Yulia quickly looked around, but Lloyd reassured her.
“It’s fine. I used my aura to check, and there are no priests around.”
“Using your abilities for something like that… What a waste!”
“Anyway, the reason they’re so obsessed with money is simple. They’re getting greedy.”
“… Greedy?”
“Yes. They’ve got a Saintess for the first time in ages, public sentiment is good, and the number of believers has expanded. Plus, the Empire, their long-time rival, is in turmoil with its succession dispute.”
“… No way.”
Yulia said in disbelief.
Lloyd shrugged.
“Of course, they may not be planning a full-scale war, but there’s plenty of room for them to get involved in the Empire’s succession battle. For a large nation like the Empire, it’s more efficient to pull the strings from behind rather than directly rule it.”
“But the Holy Palace has never intervened in the Empire before. They’ve had plenty of chances, but they never did.”
“That’s what puzzles me. Why did the current leadership of the Holy Palace suddenly decide to interfere with the Empire now?”
It’s often the unexpected actions that are more frightening than the usual bad behavior.
That was one of the reasons Lloyd had chosen to come to the Holy Kingdom of Constantine.
“Something smells fishy here.”
