The Saintess

“Oh, well. I’ve made quite a spectacle of myself.”
Jean Baudri, the troll clergyman, said as he pulled his cappello romano low. Wearing the clerical frock coat that had become tattered rags from being unable to withstand his rampaging body.
And even that rampage granted by the god’s blessing could not stop the evil spirit dwelling in Marie Molesworth.

「Looks like there’s something we can help with.」

Even so, the two of them were able to leave the evil spirit’s room safely. Alive, without dying.

“As expected, making Mr. Solomon my partner was the best decision.”
“Well, I’m moved to tears.”

Solomon crossed the corridor, grumbling like it was someone else’s problem. Remembering the promise they’d made with Blanc of Black Snow, the evil spirit dwelling in Marie Molesworth.

「Three days.」

“Three days.”

Solomon said flatly.

「So I’d like to hear what that pitiful child even prayed for.」
「Ah, truly a story you can’t hear without shedding tears.」

Accepting Solomon’s negotiation there, the Maiden of June spoke.

「By the way, finding out that story is part of your job too.」

“So within three days, you want us to grant Miss Marie Molesworth’s prayer.”
“Even if we don’t know what she prayed for.”
「If you fulfill that prayer, then sure, I can consider being ‘exorcised’ quietly as you wish.」
「And if you fail?」
「Who knows. Won’t it end as the ‘common tragedy’ of a girl possessed by an evil spirit? Hehe.」
「…….」

After answering, the two, man and troll, crossed the corridor and headed down to the first floor. The moment they came down to the lobby, Director Molesworth came rushing over as if he’d been waiting.

“W-what happened to my daughter!”
“Well…….”

At those words, Jean Baudri, the troll clergyman, removed his cappello romano and bowed his head politely, as if regretful.

“It seems it will take a bit more time to resolve the commission.”
“W-what the hell does that mean!”

Director Molesworth, the pot-bellied bourgeois in a sweat-soaked shirt, shouted in bewilderment.

“Didn’t you promise you would exorcise the high-ranking evil spirit possessing my daughter! And yet you come back alive without any results, saying it’ll take a few more days! This is a situation where every second counts!”
“Was there anyone besides us who saw her and came back safely?”

Watching him, Solomon asked sharply.

“……At least, no one came back in one piece. They all either went mad or killed themselves.”

Director Molesworth answered with a dark expression. Solomon’s interrogation didn’t stop.

“Is there anything you hid from us or didn’t tell us about the evil spirit possessing Marie Molesworth?”
“W-what are you talking about…….”

[Insight Roll in Progress…….]

The sound of dice rolling rang out. But Solomon didn’t care in the slightest what number the unseen dice would land on. He simply read William Molesworth’s expression with his own eyes.

“H-how would I know anything about evil spirits! The only thing I know is that it’s absolutely not a normal evil spirit! I only said what I knew. How would I have known that?”

William Molesworth shouted, his temper exploding.

“Because every bastard who went in saying they’d exorcise it ended up dead or insane!”
“……”
“I thought the hotel would be different no matter what, and yeah, it is different. At least you didn’t come back crazy!”

‘He doesn’t look like he’s lying.’

At least, he didn’t show any sign of lying.

“As I said, we’re not giving up on the commission, Director Molesworth.”

Following Solomon’s interrogation, Jean Baudri, the troll clergyman, added in a relatively gentle voice.

“We simply need more information to exorcise the evil spirit possessing your daughter.”
“Information…….”
“For your daughter’s sake as well, we desperately need your cooperation here, Director Molesworth.”
“……”

A brief silence. In that silence, Solomon didn’t miss it. The anxiety and bewilderment flickering through Director Molesworth’s eyes.

‘He’s hiding something.’

[Insight Success!]

Jean Baudri opened his mouth again.

“As you know, information provided by a client is strictly forbidden from being disclosed externally under the hotel’s rules.”
“S-so what about it?”
“Our conversation will be protected under the hotel’s trust and confidentiality obligations, and it will be used solely for fulfilling the commission.”

More businesslike and flat than ever.

“And to resolve Miss Marie Molesworth’s issue…… please understand that my question may be considered somewhat inappropriate and unpleasant.”

Even so, there was the pressure of a veteran contractor in his demeanor, not something you could brush aside.

“Have you had physical contact with your daughter?”
“W-what?!”
“I mean, sexually.”
“H-how dare you say such nonsense to me……!”
“You must answer honestly.”

Ignoring the veins bulging on his forehead, Jean Baudri continued.

“That information affects not only our lives, but your daughter’s life…… and further, the future of the Molesworth household, including you, Director.”
“It makes me sick just to hear it! I swear to God, do I look like trash that would do such a thing!”
“I see. My apologies.”

Even as Director Molesworth answered, Solomon’s sharp eyes dissected the director’s expression like a lie detector. The tiniest movement of his pupils, the trembling of skin, and so on. It was astonishingly clear. The difference between when a person lies and when they don’t.

And judging by that Insight, the director’s words just now didn’t seem to be lies.

“Then, the next question.”
“W-what are you going to ask now!”
“Regarding the illegal, illicit biological experiments conducted by the City Council Public Health and Quarantine Bureau…….”

Of course, the conversation was only beginning.

“Did your daughter participate in some form, get used, or take on a key role?”
“W-what……?”
“Exactly as I said.”

Jean Baudri answered flatly. As if it was nothing to be surprised about.

“For example, an experiment where you trick people in the lowlands by saying you’ll treat them for free, then deliberately infect them with syphilis.”
“How do you know that……!”
“To be honest, the fact that the City Council Public Health and Quarantine Bureau commits biological experiments on the city’s people as casually as eating is not even something that needs to be called a ‘secret.’ Isn’t that right?”

At those words, Solomon swallowed in disbelief. He was shocked, and yet in another sense, it didn’t even feel surprising. At least not in this city.

“The reason I’m asking something that isn’t even worth calling a secret is just one thing. Whether your ‘daughter’ is involved in it.”
“H-how could I dare do that to my beloved daughter…….”
“That’s a lie.”
“?!”

Solomon snapped sharply. Coldly, before Jean Baudri could say anything.

“People who lie always show it.”
“……!”
“Like the way you just rolled your eyes.”

Pupils shaking because he didn’t know where to look, facial muscles twitching slightly. Each time emotion surfaced on the director’s face, Solomon’s Insight didn’t miss it. To the point it was like he’d taped a big memo to his face and written it out.

“So even if you’re not trash disgusting enough to lay hands on your sixteen-year-old daughter, you’re trash enough to involve her in illegal biological experiments.”

“……This is truly important, Director Molesworth.”

Jean Baudri spoke as if soothing the flustered director.

“The danger of the evil spirit possessing your daughter is beyond our imagination. Frankly speaking, no contractor within the capabilities you can hire, including myself, would be an exception.”
“!”

At those words, William Molesworth’s face turned pale. Of course. A thirteenth-floor VIP evil spirit. Against an existence that far outside the standard, the concept of ‘exorcising’ wouldn’t even exist.

The troll clergyman continued.

“Even so, making the evil spirit ‘withdraw’ is not entirely impossible. But only when you truly cooperate with us, Director.”
“……!”
“Did your daughter participate in the bureau’s experiments? Specifically, what experiments were they? And in what form did she participate?”

By now, wearing the face of the good cop.

“You’d better spill it exactly as it is right now.”

Then the bad cop, Solomon, snapped.

───
[Threat] “You’re still worried about your career? At this rate, forget your career. You should be worried whether your neck will still be attached properly.”
───

“I, I…….”

[Threat Success!]

In his hesitation, Director Molesworth continued in a trembling voice.

“I, truly…… for this city…… it was something someone had to do…….”
“Yeah, even dynamite was probably developed with good intentions at first. So, how about you finish telling me what you did.”

In a voice that was almost whimpering from how hard he was forcing it out.

“This city…… is rotting.”
“Hm, coming from someone who reeks of rot right in front of me, that’s about ten times more convincing.”
“I don’t mean it like that. I mean it literally!”
“Who said otherwise? I meant it literally too.”

Ignoring Solomon’s mockery, Director Molesworth raised his voice.

“Miasma rising from the underground labyrinth that holds ancient evil! Pollutants spewed from the guild’s magitech facilities! All kinds of impurity are being scattered through the city’s water and sewage, into the air, through the pipes!”

About Guild City’s unsurprising reality.

“Do you know this? The life expectancy of workers living in the lowlands is only about fifteen! Fifty-seven percent of children die before they even reach five! This city isn’t even at the level where you can call it rotten!”
“Right, so your intentions were good. Now I want to hear what you actually did with those good intentions.”
“……Purification.”

Purification. Washing filth clean.

“To wash away this city’s impurity, you need holiness and purity to match that impurity.”

Holiness and purity to match this city’s impurity. Hearing that, Solomon let out a hollow laugh.

“What, you’ve got some saint locked up somewhere?”
“……A saintess.”

A saintess. At those words, Solomon’s expression hardened. Jean Baudri’s did as well. And with that, insights poured into Solomon’s mind like lightning striking.

“A child born in a greenhouse, unable to understand the world’s evil and pain within unstained purity, knowing nothing but this world’s goodness and beauty.”
“……”
“Therefore, that child’s purity and spotless heart aren’t easily tainted even before this city’s filthiest ugliness and grime.”

At that point, there was no way not to know, even if he didn’t want to.

“You planned to use that child to wash away this city’s evil?”
“Wash away this city’s evil?”
“Yeah.”

Solomon answered. A brief silence. At the end of that silence, laughter could be heard.

“Hah, pu-hahahahat! Euh-hi, euh-hihi, eu-hahahahat!”

Director Molesworth was laughing. It wasn’t the laughter of resignation. It was mocking laughter. As if Solomon in front of him didn’t know a single thing.

“In the end, you bastards don’t know either! Even while you act like you know, you really don’t know a damn thing!”
“What do you mean?”
“Use a saintess to wash away this city’s evil? Ha, haha! Yeah, in a sense, that’s right.”

After laughing, William Molesworth, head of the City Council Public Health and Quarantine Bureau, spoke.

“Because of the sacrifice of all those saintesses, this city is still running even like this.”

At those words, Solomon swallowed silently. Jean Baudri was no exception.

“……So it wasn’t the first sacrifice of a saintess?”
“My daughter is the 14th saintess.”

William Molesworth answered.

“More precisely, she was supposed to become the 14th saintess.”

But she didn’t become a saintess. Because an evil spirit took up residence. No, strictly speaking, it wasn’t even an evil spirit. Marie Molesworth, who should have become a living sacrifice as a saintess…… prayed.

“Even the city’s nauseating state right now is pollution that has at least been strained and filtered through countless saintesses, and through the purity and immaculate nature of the current 13th saintess.”
“……”

It’s not that they wanted to purify the city. They did purify it. That’s why this is what it still looks like.
Then what happens when Marie Molesworth, who was supposed to be the next generation’s saintess, disappears?
What happens when the filter of purity that still exists, the thing keeping this city in this state through ‘purification,’ disappears?

“If it gets out that the next saintess I have to offer has been possessed by an evil spirit…… my career is finished!”

Even then, William Molesworth muttered. In the end, nothing changed.

“Not this city?”
“……There are backup saintess candidates, just in case the worst happens.”

Separate from being held responsible and having his career destroyed.
What the man in front of them worried about wasn’t his daughter. Nor was it this city either. It was his career. That’s why he didn’t publicly ask the City Council for help and tried to resolve it ‘quietly.’
It was so ridiculous that he couldn’t even laugh anymore. Because it wasn’t even surprising.

In a city rotten to the core.