<Chapter 9>
“Hmm… Oh dear! Your grandmother is lingering by your side. Tsk, tsk…”
“What?! Saintess, is my grandmother suffering?!”
I dramatically swung the bell.
Ecstatically, as if a strange spirit had entered my body.
Then, fear crept into the eyes of the customers, overwhelmed by the shrine and my acting.
I shook the bell once more to heighten the atmosphere and opened my mouth. Clink, clink. The clear sound resonated through the shrine.
“…Our James. How have you been?”
It was true that I could see ghosts and hear the gods, but unlike my previous life, I wasn’t randomly possessed. It seemed to be thanks to the protection of the eight guardian deities.
Well, they said it was possible to possess me, but I didn’t want them to.
Nevertheless, I deliberately imitated the ghosts’ speech patterns and copied Agatha or the other gods. As if I were possessed.
“G-Grandmother…! What did I do wrong? Why haven’t you peacefully departed yet?!”
“I couldn’t leave because I was worried about you. Don’t you worry. More importantly, that girl you’re planning to marry, she’s a terrible person!”
At first, I was embarrassed while acting, but I gradually got used to it.
Now, far from being embarrassed, I even studied further, thinking my details were lacking. I even tried to recall how my mother used to perform fortune-telling. It was my own way of benchmarking.
It had been two months since I started meeting customers flocking from all over the empire.
I had become quite famous, but…
[It seems we need something more drastic to approach the Emperor.]
It seemed that it was still difficult for my reputation to reach the capital.
If I went straight to the capital and started fortune-telling, I felt like the Emperor would notice me before I even became famous.
Meeting the Emperor was the priority.
While pondering Theodore’s way of handling things, I sent letters to the ‘Empire’s Morning’ and ‘Imperial Daily’ newspapers.
If I made my existence widely known, Theodore would have no choice but to react.
Pretending to be an informant, I wrote a very intriguing letter asking them to reveal the identity of the fraudulent Saintess in Themont, and I included the blessings of the eight gods.
Did the luck I received from the gods shine through?
Not long after, two reporters came to me as customers.
After that, I showed off the abilities of the eight guardian deities to the fullest, and things progressed smoothly.
‘I didn’t expect it to be on the front page, though.’
It seemed they were really short on news. According to Agatha, the social season in the capital had ended, and there were no noteworthy scandals, so the newspapers were desperate for stories. It was perfect timing.
And today.
“Dorothy, Lady Dorothy!”
“I told you never to open the door while I’m giving a reading-”
“The capital, someone from the capital. No, someone from the Imperial Palace is here!”
“What?”
“They’ve come to escort the Saintess!”
“…I see.”
I rose from my seat.
“Customers, I apologize, but today’s readings must end here.”
I quickly told the two people who had come from afar how to resolve their bad luck and sent them off.
“Phew…”
The Emperor… is calling for me.
The power of the media is truly great.
Especially when it’s a newspaper that spreads throughout the entire empire.
“How many people came from the Imperial Palace?”
“Three. They approached very discreetly and asked to summon the Saintess. Like they were on a secret mission.”
“I see. Hmm. Anyway, thank you for your help, Maria.”
This devotee often visited the shrine and helped with chores. Even when I told her it was okay, she kept coming, and honestly, I was grateful because it was difficult to manage everything alone.
I patted Maria’s head.
Her face, which had been gloomy when I first met her, was now overflowing with vitality.
Although I started this for my own purpose, seeing such a face made me feel a sense of accomplishment.
“Ah, I won’t be able to see you once I go to the capital.”
Maria looked disappointed. I smiled at her.
“Maria. Listen carefully, because this is the last time I’ll tell you. You have to avoid all the men who approach you. They’ll ruin your life. Understand?”
“Yes, yes! Saintess.”
“Then I’ll be going now.”
I started to walk away.
“Saintess, that’s the back door.”
“Yes, it is.”
“The people from the Imperial Palace are at the front door.”
“Yes, that’s why I have to go through the back door.”
Maria tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand.
“Aren’t you going to… meet the people from the Imperial Palace?”
“Maria.”
“Yes?”
“About 10 minutes after I leave, go to them and tell them one thing.”
“What should I say?”
“Tell them you waited because you shouldn’t disturb the Saintess while she’s praying, but something felt strange, so you went inside, and she was gone. That she disappeared suddenly.”
“Saintess, what are you-”
“Goodbye.”
I opened the back door and stepped outside.
To escape the Emperor’s summons.
I headed towards… the temple in this city.
[You can’t… read the Emperor?]
Over the past two months, I learned several things through my conversations with Agatha.
[No. The ‘Emperor’s’ seat is protected by the combined blessings of the Manfelline imperial family, passed down from the first Emperor. No one prays for their descendants as much as the imperial family. When humans’ earnest wishes accumulate, they become a power that even we guardian deities cannot touch. All Emperors have become healthy and fortunate beings thanks to that power.]
Emperor Theodore was already a scary person, despite his beautiful appearance…
The news that I couldn’t even use my cheat key was like a bolt from the blue.
[Furthermore, the problem is that as the ancestors’ prayers accumulate, the power grows stronger with each generation. The current Emperor is literally wearing an invincible shield.]
He’s totally overpowered.
[Why are you telling me this now?!]
[I’m sorry. That’s why I’m telling you now.]
I felt like crying.
[I don’t think there’s anything I can do, Agatha. If I meet the Emperor, I’ll be called a fraud and my head will be chopped off.]
[No! Dorothy, you have wisdom that we don’t. You’re overflowing with surprisingly brilliant ideas! I believe in you!]
[That’s right! Dorothy! You can do it!]
The gods, who had been quiet, joined in to cheer me on.
I had planned to use Agatha’s ability to sway the Emperor and prove the existence of gods when I met him, but now, far from swaying and persuading him, I would only be treated as a fraud.
Even if I became famous, if I made even a small mistake, I could be executed for the crime of deceiving and insulting the Emperor. I didn’t want to meet him anymore.
But not meeting him would also bring me closer to death. I would be swept away by natural disasters anyway. I had to meet him.
[I told you before. If you become famous, the public eye will be your shield. Even if the Emperor sees you as a fraud. So, you won’t be beheaded-]
[But Agatha, regardless of whether I survive, there’s still no way to persuade the Emperor.]
The strategy of becoming a celebrity and using public attention as a shield was excellent, but what use was it if I just met the Emperor without a plan?
From that day on, I racked my brains.
How could I get on the Emperor’s good side? How could I draw him in according to the gods’ purpose without endangering my life?
What could I use…
And then, I came to a conclusion.
If I couldn’t make him believe in the existence of gods, I should at least make him think that the Saintess’s existence was ‘useful.’
Theodore’s approach always changed depending on ‘usefulness.’
‘A shield.’
I desperately needed a shield, and there was one more way to obtain it besides fame.
The only group in this world that could check the Emperor’s power.
The temple.
Ironically, the very group I had to bring down had the optimal conditions to be my shield.
And the temple would definitely take the bait if it involved the imperial family.
Since the Imperial Palace had come looking for me, the temple would accept me, and even though Theodore knew about me, he wouldn’t be able to touch me under the temple’s protection.
It was a brilliant plan, even if I do say so myself.
“I wish to see the bishop here.”
I entered the temple and spoke in an elegant voice.
“Your name?”
“Saintess Dorothy.”
“Ah, that… famous fraud?”
The man who appeared to be a guard scoffed at me.
The reason the temple hadn’t contacted me despite my growing fame was simple.
A Saintess born from a gambling den? She was no different from a fraud. They ignored me because it wouldn’t be good for their image.
Since I wasn’t famous enough to enter the capital anyway, they didn’t bother to come and crack down on me.
“A fraud? Arthur, that’s blasphemous. Ah, you’re the blasphemous one, aren’t you? I won’t tell your wife about you losing money gambling at the Aberdeen Tavern the other day. That money was from your bonus, right? How upset your wife would be if she knew.”
“…S-Senior.”
The man’s face turned pale as I spoke, and he nudged the man next to him.
“What?”
A curt reply came back.
How many more times would I have to go through this process? I felt like sighing, but I held back.
I had to go through several guards who turned pale and called for their seniors. Senior, senior… how many times did I hear that?
And as I met higher-ranking people, administrators, priests… I subtly revealed their secrets.
“Let’s… move. The… the bishop is on the top floor.”
It seemed I had passed the final gate.
Seeing his pale face, I couldn’t help but sigh.
Wouldn’t it be so much better if they just took care of things immediately instead of me having to reveal their secrets?
“Yes, let’s go.”
I finally reached the top floor of the temple.
I took the small, pulley-operated elevator and arrived quickly.
“Bishop!”
The man left me standing there and ran off. A while later, I heard a commotion from the inner room.
The bald bishop in charge of this region walked towards me, frowning.
“You shouldn’t have… bothered me with a fraud like her…”
“But… there’s something strange about her.”
“Oh, for crying out loud. I’m already busy and tired.”
The irritated bishop’s face was plump. His complexion didn’t look tired at all.
“Hello, Bishop.”
“I heard you wanted to see me. But our temple doesn’t-”
“Bishop, it’s been 20 years since your demotion. Don’t you want to return to the capital?”
See? My gods are cheat keys.
“How do you know about something that happened 20 years ago…”
“People sent from the Imperial Palace came to me today. I trust the temple more than the Imperial Palace, so I fled here.”
“From the… Imperial Palace?”
“Yes. It’s a story that the Grand Temple in the capital will find quite interesting, right?”
The bishop’s eyes wavered.
Good. You corrupt people. Become my backing and repent.