<Chapter 18>
[Truly, truly! Such a moving speech. The priests to the lowest places, and Dorothy to the highest!]
[Dorothy! You were so cool!]
[Please forgive the noise, Dorothy. We’re all so happy… You truly are a tremendous gift to us-]
[I… I think my power is returning. Is this an illusion?!]
As soon as I entered the temple, voices poured in.
The flood of the gods’ words was enough to overwhelm me, but surprisingly, I wasn’t bothered.
I was about to get excited about the success of my impromptu plan, but that wasn’t important right now.
[Oh my! Dorothy. Where did such a pretty thing come from?]
[‘Pretty thing’? Dorothy is not an object.]
[You’re so pedantic! I meant it affectionately!]
I walked briskly as the gods bickered amongst themselves.
Since I had provoked her, the High Priest would be fuming.
[But Dorothy… where are you going?]
[To the High Priest.]
[Everyone, quiet.]
At my reply, Agatha spoke solemnly. Silence instantly fell in my mind.
[What can I do to help?]
[What you always do.]
I took the elevator and arrived in front of the room with the balcony where I had stood earlier.
The room beyond the door was quiet.
Even though the High Priest and the temple were greedy, they didn’t openly express their anger or act like tyrants.
So, she wouldn’t openly express her anger right away.
[‘That insignificant girl dared to humiliate me. I’ll crush her completely.’]
Still, thanks to Agatha, I knew what the High Priest was feeling.
I knocked on the door at the opportune moment.
“High Priest, it’s the Saintess.”
I spoke in a tone as if announcing a food delivery. Silence fell inside, and then the door burst open.
It was the High Priest who opened the door.
She looked normal on the outside, but her eyes were filled with a near-madness.
She smiled at me, a smile full of fury, as if she would devour me.
“Yes, Saintess.”
Honestly, it was a little… terrifying.
“We have… something to discuss, don’t we?”
Seeing the High Priest’s grotesque expression as she approached me too closely, my fingertips turned cold.
[I-Is this a person? Isn’t she practically a vengeful spirit?]
I asked without thinking, even though I knew the High Priest was human.
[She’s human. Human, but… the High Priest’s soul is very dark. Usually, it’s transparent or white. Even when corrupted, it’s at most a grayish hue… hmm.]
Agatha’s voice sounded somewhat bewildered.
“Yes, we do.”
I nodded, steadying my trembling voice.
The High Priest, who had been staring at me intently, grabbed my wrist tightly and whispered in my ear, softly enough for no one else to hear.
The priests in the room, thinking the Saintess and the High Priest were having an important private conversation, weren’t eavesdropping.
“You seem to think I’m easy. You think I can’t touch you? Saintess, I have many ways. I can make you wish you were dead.”
It was a chilling threat.
“Who sent you? Theodore? You were planning to screw me over from the beginning. The abilities you showed me must have been fabricated lies. How dare you… do this to me?”
The High Priest’s grip on my wrist tightened. It felt stronger than that of most adult men.
[That crazy- Dorothy, I’ll-]
[Wait! You can’t provoke her now!]
I hurriedly spoke, refusing even the protection offered by the gods.
“It was… for you, High Priest.”
I lowered my voice to a whisper, matching the High Priest’s tone.
“Bullshit-”
“When I was greeting the people earlier, I suddenly saw the future. A future where you’re in danger… I was trying to prevent that.”
“…What?”
“Look, why do you think I came looking for you so urgently after causing that incident? To explain, of course. If I really wanted to screw you over, I wouldn’t be doing this, would I?”
The grip on my wrist loosened slightly. The High Priest’s demonic expression, fueled by rage, softened a little.
“You better explain that future clearly. Follow me.”
The High Priest released my hand and walked out of the room, past me.
A throng of attendants and priests followed her. I blended in among them and followed her.
We went to a greenhouse located right next to the High Priest’s chambers. People were dying of poverty, yet she had a greenhouse right next to her room. Such extravagance.
She and I sat facing each other at a tea table. I took a sip of tea and spoke.
“High Priest, did you know that the gods each have their own unique abilities?”
“It’s a well-known story. There’s a saying that the god of the hearth, Vesta, protects the harmony of families, and the god of medicine, Iaso, heals the sick.”
She replied calmly.
“Actually, there’s more than that. Agatha has precognition, and as you just mentioned, Vesta can bestow an eternal flame upon families.”
“So it wasn’t just a saying? Such specific… things… I’ve never heard of this before.”
The High Priest looked slightly flustered.
Since I didn’t know all the gods’ abilities either, I made things up as I went along.
“Yes. They have various and specific abilities, not just vague things like ‘praying for the well-being of your family.’ But they haven’t revealed them. They’re worried that humans might become overly reliant on each ability. There’s also a rule among the gods that they can’t use their divine power excessively.”
This was the actual reason Agatha had given me.
“These aren’t abilities I can use, and I don’t know all of them. And they don’t tell me either. Besides, there’s a rule among the gods that they can’t use their powers excessively.”
I added, “I don’t even know how to use these abilities, let alone know all of them, and there’s a rule among the gods, so don’t ask me to use them.”
The High Priest frowned in thought, then slowly nodded.
She couldn’t deny it after seeing me fly down from the sky earlier.
Even though she had asked if I had used some kind of device.
Honestly, I didn’t have the time or the ability to install such a device. There was no place in the Grand Temple that the High Priest’s eyes and hands couldn’t reach, so she must know that I wasn’t playing tricks.
“Today, Agatha bestowed a precognition upon me. As I mentioned earlier, she doesn’t usually give precognitions because she’s worried about humans becoming too reliant… It seems she truly cherishes you.”
I recalled the High Priest’s inner thoughts, jealous that the gods favored ‘this insignificant girl.’
No matter how greedy and lacking in faith she was, the High Priest was still the High Priest. Given her position, she would naturally covet a connection with God and be irritated by my existence.
“…Me?”
[The High Priest’s heart skipped a beat.]
Agatha said nonchalantly. It seemed I had accurately targeted her weak spot.
I leaned closer, as if sharing a secret, and whispered just loud enough for the High Priest to hear.
“In the near future, the Emperor will corner you. Your position will become very precarious, and you’ll be driven out of your position as High Priest. She said you need to win the hearts of the empire’s citizens to prepare for that time, that you need to remain as High Priest.”
“So God… is on my side.”
The High Priest asked back with wide eyes.
[‘Has God finally recognized my true worth?’]
“…God is well aware… of your efforts. Because you worked hard to revive the temple.”
I forced a friendly smile, suppressing my disgust.
This required more acting than any fortune-telling session I had ever done.
[‘Yes, I’ve always prioritized the temple’s well-being. I’ve expanded the temple this much, so of course, they would be pleased. The High Priest backed by God. I like it.’]
“So, for the sake of the temple, she instructed me to provide relief to the people, hoping you would continue to do well. Relief efforts improve the temple’s image in the long run.”
“Indeed. Relief efforts do serve that purpose.”
The High Priest nodded.
“This time, we’ll have to provide a bit more relief than before, but it will ultimately bring you great benefits, High Priest.”
I whispered like a cunning devil. The High Priest chuckled.
[Dorothy, you’re amazing… how can you lie so flawlessly…?]
Agatha expressed her pure admiration. Hearing such words from a benevolent god somehow didn’t feel like a compliment.
“I’m glad God understands my heart.”
She regained her composure. Recalling her earlier fury, I felt a chill, more than just a slight chill.
The High Priest sitting before me even smiled.
“Very well. Then let’s wait for the right time. And Dorothy.”
“Yes, High Priest.”
“There’s a small tea party in a week. You must attend. We’re going to meet the Marchioness of Alland, so be prepared.”
“…Yes.”
Agatha had said that the High Priest seemed to have something in mind, and this was it.
I nodded.
The Marquis of Alland was the Empress Dowager’s younger brother, a maternal relative of the imperial family. He was the noble most closely connected to the Emperor.
However, the Marquis, like the late Emperor and Empress, was deeply devout, and this often clashed with Theodore.
Currently, aside from the Empress Dowager, his was the only family that could defy and lecture the Emperor without being accused of insolence.
Especially the Marchioness, who was very close to her sister-in-law, the Empress Dowager, and thus held considerable influence in social circles.
Taking me to such an event…
‘She’s planning to showcase the Saintess and solidify the temple’s influence among the nobles.’
Typical of her.
Always thinking about accumulating and expanding power and wealth.
[Should we prepare?]
[I think we’ll need the help of the god of beauty and the god of music.]
So, I was going to be thrown into the dreaded social circles after all. Of course, it was something I had to do eventually for my goal.
‘Can I do this?’
I shuddered, recalling the descriptions of social gatherings in the novel.