<Chapter 11>
“If you’re requesting a negotiation like this, you must want something. What are you after?”
The High Priest asked sharply. Having roughly grasped her personality through the gods, I had prepared a convincing answer in advance.
“What I want is the position of Saintess.”
“Simple enough.”
“It’s simple, but even a child on the street would know that there’s much to gain.”
“Hmm…”
“High Priest, I’m a commoner.”
I lowered my gaze and pretended to be pitiful.
“Moreover, I’m a commoner who lived in a vagrant dormitory, poor and lowly. If I were given such an opportunity, wouldn’t I be overjoyed just to avoid starving?”
“That’s not wrong.”
[Despite her words, she’s very much persuaded, Dorothy.]
“I might develop more greed in the future, but not now. I don’t want to miss this opportunity.”
[Well done, Dorothy!]
Encouraged by Agatha’s words, I widened my eyes, making sure to show a burning desire.
“If I can have it, I will. I’m sick of the streets.”
[That’s right! Good!]
Agatha’s excited voice was like a drummer adding rhythmic flourishes to a pansori performance.
[Now, finish it off!]
Following Agatha’s cue, I clenched my fists and trembled dramatically as a finishing touch.
“So… that’s what you want.”
“Yes.”
“Very well, Saintess.”
The High Priest’s voice suddenly became calm. And she even started using honorifics.
[She’s completely convinced.]
“Since the gods speak to you, we must be like family, bound by blessings.”
Her condescending tone had vanished completely.
“…Yes.”
The greedy glint in her eyes also subsided.
It seemed she had organized her thoughts in this short time.
“I heard you just arrived from Themont. Do you have a place to stay?”
The High Priest, now looking at me with a benevolent and concerned expression, seemed like a different person from the one who had just been pressuring me.
She seemed gentle yet dignified, even holy. A face that suited the position of High Priest perfectly.
“No. As you said, I just arrived from Themont, so I don’t have a place to stay.”
“That’s fortunate. I was going to offer even if you had a place to stay, but since you don’t, I’d like you to stay at the Grand Temple.”
“Ah, yes… Thank you for your consideration.”
Since securing a room at the temple was part of my plan, this worked out well. I immediately nodded and accepted.
“We’ll make sure you have everything you need. Saintess, I look forward to working with you.”
I had vaguely thought that someone like the High Priest wouldn’t be able to feign kindness, but seeing her expression now, it seemed I was wrong.
Even I, who had just spoken with her, felt like it was genuine goodwill.
‘Is acting ability essential for this kind of work…?’
The thought of my fortune-telling sessions made me feel a pang of guilt.
“As you said, I believe you will be of great help to me while you stay at the temple.”
The High Priest’s cool voice snapped me out of my thoughts as they started to wander.
“…Of course.”
That sharp gaze. It seemed to say, ‘If you don’t help me as much as I’ve treated you, I won’t let you get away with it.’
None of this was goodwill.
[She’s a master of weighing options, that High Priest.]
Agatha whispered the High Priest’s thoughts to me.
[She doesn’t fully believe that you’re the Saintess. She’s still considering the possibility that her information was leaked…]
[But then why… is she keeping me by her side?]
[She thinks you’re useful, judging by what you do. It would be even better if you were the real Saintess. So, she’s keeping you close and monitoring you to prevent her secrets from leaking further.]
[Haha… My plan worked, but it’s a bit scary.]
[And she’s thinking that since the Emperor sent people to look for you, the truth will come out eventually whether it’s true or not, so it’s better to secure you for now. She wouldn’t want to miss out if the Emperor is truly targeting you.]
Wow, she finished weighing her options so quickly.
A gentle voice with the eyes of a cruel predator… I felt a chill run down my spine.
“I also hope you’ll bury the secret we shared today deep within your heart.”
She also added a warning to keep quiet about the secret vault.
“…Yes.”
[If she didn’t think you were useful, she might have tried to kill you secretly just for knowing her secret.]
Should I be relieved that I proved my usefulness to some extent? Or should I be scared that I’ve joined forces with someone who endlessly calculates in such a short time?
In any case, I felt like I had overcome a small danger.
“If you need anything, I’ll assign you an attendant, so tell them.”
“Yes.”
“Now, then-”
“High Priest, wait a moment.”
I had overcome a small danger, but the big danger was just beginning.
But the High Priest seemed more complacent than I thought.
This was urgent, yet she was going to end it here without discussing what to do next? Knowing what the Emperor is capable of…!
“I’d like to ask when you plan to announce the Saintess’s return.”
“Saintess, it’s too early for you to be involved in the temple’s affairs.”
The High Priest replied in an irritated tone, despite maintaining her benevolent expression.
I didn’t flinch, but most people would have been flustered by her tone, wondering if they had done something wrong. It was a remarkable skill.
“No, that’s not it. The Emperor… he’s quick to acquire information.”
“So?”
Look at her subtly dropping the honorifics.
“The quicker we make the first move, the better.”
“I’m planning to announce it within a week.”
“A week is too long.”
I spoke firmly, looking directly into the High Priest’s eyes.
“Tomorrow. Immediately.”
“What?”
“Today’s newspapers are already out, so it’s too late. We need to announce it so it can be in tomorrow’s morning edition. Even if the official ceremony is held later, it’s better to announce the Saintess’s return quickly.”
Theodore had already sent his subordinates directly to me.
This act alone was as good as declaring that he was displeased because of me.
I had gained fame by being featured on the front page of the newspaper as the ‘Saintess of Gambling,’ but that wasn’t enough to prevent Theodore from threatening me.
He could easily kidnap and secure me before the temple officially recognized and protected me as the Saintess.
It wouldn’t be easy to kidnap me from the Grand Temple, but that man could do it. Moreover, he was the Emperor.
A week was too much time for Theodore.
“If you’re a fake, it’s the end of the temple as well. Are you seriously asking me to take such a big risk? You, of all people?”
The High Priest’s tone turned harsh again, seemingly irritated by the young Saintess who had just appeared, confidently talking back and arguing with her.
I didn’t back down.
“Do I have to reveal the location of your hidden secret vault, or tell stories you’d only write in your diary, for you to believe me?”
My words hung in the air, but the sharp retort I expected didn’t come.
Instead, she rose from her seat and approached me.
[Why… why is she doing that?]
The weight of each step taken by someone with a large build was considerable, and I couldn’t help but feel scared.
I trembled inwardly and asked Agatha.
[Sigh. Dorothy, I’ll just take care of her.]
[What? Take care of-?]
Before I could finish my reply, the High Priest floated up from her seat.
About a handspan high.
[How can the High Priest be so lacking in faith and filled with only greed!]
“Crazy…”
Is this the result of the divine power flowing through my body? Lifting a person?!
“Wh-What…!”
The High Priest seemed flustered as well. Our gazes met in mid-air.
“S-So… how about… announcing it tomorrow…?”
My voice trembled with shock. The High Priest finally nodded at my question.
Her face, trying to maintain composure yet filled with fear, was slightly comical.
“V-Very well… Let’s do that…!”
As they say, when negotiations fail, applying physical force is the best solution, better than a hundred words of persuasion.
The High Priest, her feet back on the ground, saw me off with a pale face.
“I’ll come find you at dinner time. Please rest well, Saintess.”
“Yes, thank you.”
The room the temple provided was incredibly luxurious and huge. It was so big that I could play soccer in it.
And the giant bed, big enough for four people, was incredibly soft.
[Agatha, are you there?]
Now that I had some time to myself, I called for Agatha.
[Yes, Dorothy!]
[Agatha, I’m only asking now, but how did you lift a person?!]
[Haha! Were you surprised?!]
[Surprised? I almost fainted-!]
[Such incredible power! Truly like a Saintess, isn’t it?!]
Agatha said in an excited voice.
[We’re guardian deities, but I felt bad that we couldn’t do much for you… Did I… did I help persuade the High Priest just now?!]
You have the crazy ability to read everyone’s minds, and you say you can’t do much?
As expected of a god, her scale was grand. It seemed she thought the help she provided was insufficient because her original powers were so strong.
[Yes, you were a tremendous help!]
[I’m glad. Truly glad! I think I can lift her even higher if I concentrate more. When my divine power returns, maybe I can even make her fly?]
[Oh, no. That’s a bit much.]
An involuntarily firm voice escaped my lips.
[Haha. I’m so glad I could be of help!]
Agatha seemed so happy that I couldn’t bring myself to add, “I was so surprised. Please never do that again.”
[I feel like everything is getting better after meeting you… Wait. Something’s strange.]
But suddenly, Agatha’s voice turned serious.
[What? What is it?]
[Something… about my connection with you… feels strange…]
[What?]
[I sense… a presence I can’t read.]
A strong intuition hit me. If there was a presence Agatha couldn’t read, if that presence had come here, then its identity must be…
Knock, knock.
At that moment, the door opened along with a knock. The knock was meaningless, as the door swung open abruptly.
“S-Saintess! You need to hide!”
A pale-faced priest rushed into the room.
“Wh-Why?”
I asked, equally startled. It couldn’t be. Please, no.
“His Majesty the Emperor has arrived.”
Why are bad premonitions always right?