Chapter 93
*
The morning after I rescued the people under the overpass.
This morning, my destination was somewhere other than the clinic.
“Otto. Today, we’re going to the cathedral.”
The largest cathedral in the empire, located on the west side of Kivitas Square.
It was a place Otto knew all too well.
After all, every time he fainted, he always ended up relying on this cathedral.
Otto seemed to have had the same thought I did, because the moment he heard the word cathedral, he immediately thought of paying a visit.
“Who are we visiting?”
“No. Today, I have business in the north wing, not the west wing.”
Still, I wasn’t visiting there to make a sick call today.
“I have something to discuss with the archbishop about what happened yesterday.”
The overpass collapse that had happened yesterday and targeted me.
It wasn’t as big an incident as the botched subjugation operation last spring, but it was still a major one.
I needed to talk with the archbishop about relief measures for the victims, their medical expenses, and also about tracking the dark mages’ movements afterward.
“Young master. We’ve arrived.”
“You know not to call me that outside, right?”
“Of course.”
The place Otto stopped the carriage was the cathedral’s north wing.
It was a building also known as the archdiocesan office.
At the end of the stone-paved courtyard, where statues symbolizing the Twelve Gods stood in rows on both sides,
a vast white structure looked down on us.
“No matter how many times I see it, the scale is still overwhelming.”
Gregor muttered as he followed behind me.
Just as he said, the archdiocesan office was ridiculously huge.
To some people, it was big enough to make them grumble that this was such a luxury on already cramped land.
But there was a reason the archdiocesan office was this large.
“Saint. Those people over there are...”
“They’re moving the manufactured sacred implements.”
In the direction Otto pointed, I could see holy knights loading wooden crates onto a carriage.
Sacred implements.
A general term for special items imbued with divine power.
It referred to things like the special silver bullets I use, the vestments Gregor tears to shreds every day, and even holy water, which could also be considered sacred implements in the broadest sense.
There were also top-grade holy water used as alchemical ingredients,
armor that can block a death curse a few times,
and maces that instantly purify impure undead, and so on.
The sacred implements produced at the archdiocesan office were all treated like strategic materials and distributed throughout the empire.
Considering it was essentially a sacred-implements factory supplying the entire empire, this size might actually have been on the small side.
“... The sunlight is harsh. Would you like a parasol, Saint?”
“I’m fine; I have a mask, Otto.”
A minor aside, but the archdiocesan office is a place where sunlight pours down without any smog.
After all, in holy magic, there was no better catalyst or symbol than sunlight.
That was why the imperial court specially dispatched mages to manage the sunlight here.
“Now then, let’s go, Otto. The archbishop is waiting...”
Under the warm sunlight,
I was about to climb the cathedral steps when I stopped speaking.
Because someone was standing at the top of the stairs, casting a long shadow down over us.
“...Gregor?”
Gregor, arms folded, looked down at us.
When Otto spotted that muscular man, he slipped behind me little by little.
Clearly, Otto was supposed to be my escort.
But seeing him like that made the Otto in my heart shift a little from escort to lucky charm.
Leaving Otto alone, I climbed the stairs.
“Gregor. Good morning.”
“Good morning! Saint! Otto!”
Gregor saluted with a friendly smile.
However, his voice was closer to that of an ordinary holy knight than to his usual exaggerated theatrical tone.
Otto’s eyes went wide.
“No way... Did someone swap out one of the cathedral’s senior holy knights...”
“There’s no way that happened, Otto.”
It could easily have been taken as an insult.
But Gregor didn’t mind and simply smiled lightly.
“It’s understandable that Otto would be surprised. But now that I’ve found my pride, there’s no need to put on airs anymore. So please don’t worry.”
“...?”
Otto, who didn’t know what Gregor and I had talked about yesterday, seemed unfamiliar with this change in Gregor.
Gregor winked at Otto.
“If you miss them, I can show you my muscles, though?”
“That won’t be necessary...”
“I’m joking.”
Gregor led the way with a hearty laugh.
“The archbishop has been waiting. I’ll guide you.”
Even while walking, Gregor was observing the basic etiquette of the holy knights.
On the way to the archbishop’s room,
passing priests and holy knights greeted Gregor and me.
“Is the injury you got during training the other day okay?”
“Yes. Sir Gregor. I think I’ll be able to join morning training again starting next week.”
“That’s good news. I’ll be waiting.”
The priests and holy knights greeting Gregor all seemed fond of him.
Behind Gregor, I said in a voice only Gregor could hear,
“You’re well loved, aren’t you.”
“Thanks to the Saint enlightening me, I was able to open my eyes.”
“I’m glad.”
Before long, we arrived at the door with the nameplate [Raymond Rylik] on it.
“Please go on in.”
“Thank you for guiding us, Gregor.”
Knock, knock.
When we opened the door and went inside, an elderly man wearing purple epaulets stood up to greet us.
“Saint. Thank you for coming. I hope you weren’t injured in yesterday’s incident?”
“Luckily, thanks to Sir Gregor’s efforts, I wasn’t hurt. I’m grateful for that.”
“I’m the one who should be grateful. Gregor has clearly been doing much better since yesterday, so I’m truly grateful to you, Saint. And I’m grateful to the Lord who led us here as well.”
The archbishop made the sign of the cross over his chest.
I copied him and offered a brief prayer.
Seeing that, the archbishop’s eyes widened slightly.
“That’s surprising, Saint. You know a prayer of thanks?”
“Indeed. People around me say I seem like someone who wouldn’t believe in the gods?”
“I didn’t mean it that way... Still, since the topic came up, may I ask? Do you not believe in the gods?”
“Of course I do. My parents were healers too. How could I not believe in the gods?”
That wasn’t a lie.
I do believe in the gods.
More precisely, I believe in the existence of gods, and I also believe that they watch over humans.
In the first place, denying the existence of gods in a world where miracles of divine power exist would be foolish.
Besides, as someone who had taken over this body, I had no choice but to believe in their existence.
So I believe in the gods.
I just don’t ask them for anything.
Well, I do offer a prayer of thanks now and then.
After all, my biological parents were clergy.
I do try to keep up a level of religious etiquette that won’t disgrace their reputation.
“Your parents must have been excellent healers. May I also pray for their happiness?”
“They passed away a long time ago.”
“I’m sorry. That was rude of me.”
“Not at all. Still, to be acknowledged by the archbishop... I’m sure my parents in heaven would be pleased.”
Small talk ends here.
“Now then, let’s get to the main point. The victims we rescued from under the overpass yesterday have each been assigned to appropriate healing facilities. The church will cover their treatment expenses.”
First of all, yesterday’s incident was a disaster situation.
And in a disaster situation like this, victim relief is primarily handled by the church.
Of course, if the church handled every disaster like this, it wouldn’t be a dark fantasy.
There was one reason they acted this way.
“The church will take responsibility for this and see it through. Saint, please don’t trouble yourself over it.”
Because those people were civilians caught up in the conflict between me and the dark mages.
When the dark mages attacked civilians in order to target the Saint, people might eventually start pointing fingers at me.
Saying that I was wandering around the streets for no reason, and that innocent people were getting dragged into danger because of it.
Unfortunately, human beings are not all capable of being noble.
A public opinion like that was more than possible.
That was why the church made sure to rescue the victims thoroughly.
The Saint is the church’s face, and so the church preemptively prevents the Saint from being blamed for incidents like this.
In fact, thanks to the church’s history of acting this way, almost no one caught up in such incidents ever blamed the Saint or Saintess.
“We’ll take care of all the complicated matters related to this.”
“Ah, I’d also like to personally compensate the repair costs from yesterday’s escort duty.”
“Because of Gregor?”
I nodded.
“So please make sure the church doesn’t penalize Sir Gregor for it.”
“Understood. I will make sure there isn’t a single priest foolish enough to bring up what the Saint has chosen to leave unspoken.”
The trouble Gregor’s mistake had caused among the collateral damage was also quietly buried.
That was just as the conversation was wrapping up.
“By the way, Saint.”
“Yes.”
“Gregor’s vestments were badly damaged when he returned yesterday. Could you tell me just how fierce the attack was...?”
“....”
I shut my mouth tightly.
Gregor, standing beside me, neatly brought both hands together before his chest and tapped his fingertips together.
That alone was answer enough.
A vein stood out on the archbishop’s forehead.
“...Gregor?”
Archbishop Raymond’s voice dropped low.
Instead of Gregor, who could say nothing and only shrank back in silence, I spoke to the archbishop.
“It was only up until yesterday. Gregor is already getting better, so...”
“Saint.”
“?”
“At the very least, that boy stripping off his shirt during battle was a habit he already had before he shut himself away in his room.”
“?”
I looked at Gregor as if asking for an explanation.
Gregor was hunched over, muttering,
“W-well... when I fight, I get excited too, so...”
“....”
Ah.
So, apart from the trauma from the past, the habit of taking off his shirt had originally been there?
After hearing the circumstances, I stopped defending him any further.
Gregor looked at me as if the sky had fallen in.
“S-Saint...! Please don’t abandon me!”
“Sometimes, a little discipline is necessary.”
“Th-there’s no way...!”
I left Gregor’s fate in the archbishop’s hands and stood up.
“While the two of you are talking, may I look around the archdiocesan office? I’m personally very interested in sacred implements.”
“I’ll have an attendant priest and a holy knight escort you. Please look around to your heart’s content.”
Leaving the archbishop and Gregor behind, I left the room.
By the time I got on the elevator with the attendant priest serving as guide,
a shouting voice was already echoing from the archbishop’s room down the hall.
— “How old are you already, and you’re still at it!! A senior holy knight should be an example for everyone!! —”
“Haha... Please don’t worry, Saint. This happens quite often even normally.”
Gregor’s aide let out a dry laugh.
After that, the elevator doors closed, and I could no longer hear it.
***
Inside the room after Shun Isawa and Otto left.
Sniff.
Leaving the sniffling muscle-bound lump on the sofa alone, the archbishop pressed a hand to his brow.
“Gregor. Think about your age. Your younger sister is a Saintess, so you should pay more attention to your conduct too.”
“I... I’m always proud of my little sister...”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
The archbishop let out a long sigh.
“One of you is 4th Tier but isn’t even remotely proper, and the other, despite being called a Saintess, hates people... You siblings are both incredibly gifted, so why are you always like this...? I wonder if it’s because I’ve been stuck at the healing center and couldn’t pay enough attention to you.”
“I’m just grateful that you took us in. That child also respects you, Archbishop.”
“Then please, I’m begging you, could both of you at least listen to what I say.”
“I-I’m sorry...”
The archbishop repeatedly wiped his face with his hands.
He had clearly lived his whole life as the Lord’s eldest son.
So why were all the children he took in like this?
They weren’t bad.
They were children who made you wonder whether, as a parent, you yourself had done something wrong.
“Forget it. You’re getting better thanks to the Saint anyway, so if that child hears that news, they might feel a little better too.”
The archbishop’s sigh grew deeper.
“Hoo... And right on time, you’ll be going to the Academy with the Saint in two years. That child is also dead set on enrolling.”
“Yes. That’s right, Father.”
“Then please just make sure that child doesn’t cause any trouble there. Especially, for heaven’s sake, tell that child not to go handing the Black Saint a challenge letter or anything like that.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Huuuu... Please, just don’t cause trouble together.”
The archbishop sank back into his chair.
***
And at that very moment, Julian...
Holding the report card Erica handed him after returning from the Academy entrance exam in one hand, he talked with Erica.
“... Eri?”
“...Yep.”
“So, you poured out all your fighting spirit trying to beat the examiner in the second sparring test, ran out of willpower, and fell asleep during the written exam?”
“...Sorry.”
“Haa...”
Should I be happy about this or not?
=======================
Imperial Academy Admission Screening Results Notice
Recipient: Erica Nikhirit
We deeply thank you for applying to the admission screening of this Academy.
This year’s admissions process for the Academy proceeded with 2,000 selected from 22,431 applicants...
...
Please note that you may apply again for next year’s admissions screening, and we sincerely wish you continued effort and growth.
Please send any inquiries regarding this notice in writing to the Academy Admissions Office.
Imperial Academy Admissions Review Committee
— 2nd Sparring Rank : 1/6478
— 3rd Written Exam Rank : 3544/3546
Overall Result: Failed
=======================
Looking at the report card in Julian’s hand, Erica let out a goofy grin.
“Hehe... Still, since I ranked first in the second test, I get to skip next year’s second test...”
“...”
“Sorry...”
“...”
“But I’ll be entering with Freya anyway...”
“...”
“Sorry...”