Chapter 27

“So, Sir Ilian, you saw it as well?”

“No, wait—when? Then why were you just standing around watching?! We all almost died!”

Ilian watched the protagonist’s bewildered face and Kalat’s frantic outburst in silence, wearing a cryptic smile.

-Hey, don’t just smile, say something.

When I nudged him by darting my eyes around, Ilian finally began his explanation.

“Well. Since we were also under attack, we headed to support the village immediately after a minimum amount of maintenance. It was then that she appeared and handled the magic beasts.”

Aside from his significant attitude, those words were the truth. That, too, was part of our contract. Ilian had actually been at the scene with his subordinates. Between seeing it from a distance and the sheer chaos of the situation, it seemed Arianne and the protagonist hadn’t noticed.

‘I didn’t expect that.’

That’s right. I had actually prepared someone else to provide the “authority” Kalat was worried about. Ilian Ruthi, the favored son of the Pope and the Commander of the Order’s finest knights. He was the perfect candidate to take responsibility for one’s influence within the Church. Even if it hadn’t been for Kalat, I had planned to be nominated as the Saintess through Ilian. The reason Ilian was going out of his way to explain that he witnessed my miracle was to build a justification for a safe and speedy appointment. It was his way of implicitly signaling to the Church and the Imperial Family that he intended to back me.

“It seemed the situation was already settled, so I returned without saying anything separate. Things on our end were also quite difficult, after all…”

“I suppose that could happen if the situation was urgent,” the protagonist agreed, seemingly satisfied.

Ilian expressed his gratitude for the understanding.

“Then…!”

Kalat’s face filled with anticipation.

“Does Sir Ilian support Belita as well?”

“Indeed I do.”

“Really? Truly?”

Perhaps finding the repetitive questioning annoying, Ilian clasped his hands together in an exaggerated prayer-like gesture.

“As a follower of Ralphican, having witnessed a miracle, how could I possibly refuse the will of God…!”

Sacred silver hair. Sapphire-blue eyes. With looks like his, no one would doubt him even if he claimed to be the incarnation of God himself. Despite his clumsy acting, he actually looked full of faith.

‘I’m jealous.’

Belita had black hair and purple eyes. She was far from looking “sacred.”

‘With this face, people wouldn’t even have room to complain if I were framed as a witch.’

I hadn’t cared because it was a hassle, but I started to wonder if I should try a style change…

“Ahem. This is truly wonderful, Belita!”

With a Holy Knight even bringing up the will of God, the matter was as good as proven. Kalat was practically bouncing with joy.

“If Sir Ilian is joining us, then I can consider my worries from earlier gone!”

“Wait a moment. This isn’t a matter to be decided so haphazardly. Belita…”

“Well, don’t just stop us; let’s ask her properly.”

Interrupting the protagonist, Ilian turned his gaze toward me. Belita’s gloomy face was reflected in eyes that still held a trace of unease—and eyes full of arrogance.

“Belita. We wish to nominate you as the Saintess. Will you accept?”

Ding!

Crazy. But choices like these weren’t enough to drive me to despair.

“No.”

-Huh?

-Wait, man!

Before the startled men could react, I smiled and added, “…is what I’d like to say, but I will accept. Thinking about it… if I really am the Saintess, I feel like I could be of help to many people.”

“Of course you would! Belita, you’ve made a wise choice! Phew, for a second there, I thought my heart was going to drop…!”

Kalat was visibly delighted, and Ilian wiped the momentary look of absurdity off his face.

-Phew.

-You scared me ㅠㅠ

-Her smile is pretty.

-You can even see that?

-The corners of her mouth are lifted.

“Whew, I guess it turns out this way in the end. Then we’ll be parting ways here.”

The protagonist had been worried I might be dragged along by the pressure of the two men, but once I had made my decision, he encouraged me to do as I wished.

-Ah, so Belita and the MC are splitting up.

-ㅠㅠ Did we hit a hidden route? Are they separating already?

-You idiots, something will happen that brings them back together.

The comments were spoiling things. Something would happen. I was worried sick because the difficulty was expected to be even higher than a magic beast raid…

‘But I don’t think it’s impossible.’

My heart leaned toward giving it a try.

“Ah, come to think of it, I heard you were escorting a pilgrimage. In that case, you won’t be able to return to the Holy City immediately.”

“No, we are returning.”

-Abandoning the pilgrims? lol

-Well, the Saintess is more important ㅋㅋㅋ

Those “pilgrims” were just an excuse prepared in case they got caught transporting the Holy Relic anyway, so it wouldn’t matter.

‘And at this moment, they’ve lost that original objective.’

Since I had promised to fix the Holy Relic, of course. Ilian replied nonchalantly, as if reciting a pre-prepared script.

“Although there were no casualties in the magic beast raid, many priests are showing symptoms of severe psychological trauma… So, we have decided to cut the pilgrimage short.”

As expected, they were using various excuses to abandon the pilgrimage route.

“I see. In fact, we were considering attaching a few of our men to your party… but if it’s the Berha Knights, they should be more than capable of escorting the Saintess. There’s no need for us to worry.”

“An Imperial Knight seems quite interested in the Church’s Saintess,” Ilian remarked.

The protagonist’s brow furrowed at the subtly barbed comment suggesting he was meddling in things that weren’t his business.

“Well, Belita was Sir Hereis’s maid, after all! That’s likely why he’s so concerned,” Kalat interjected.

Though it wasn’t intentional, Kalat ended up shielding the protagonist.

“Yes. A curious twist of fate, isn’t it?”

“Ah, so that’s it,” Ilian murmured, his lips curling into a crooked smirk. “Oh dear, is that so? You’ve unintentionally had your maid snatched away. Whatever shall you do about the loss?”

“I’m disappointed to lose an outstanding maid like Belita, but to gain such a wonderful Saintess in return—is that not a joyous occasion for all of Pelsus?”

“Come now. I’ll provide you with separate compensation. Just tell me what kind of maid you’d like…”

“That is unnecessary. Having formed a bond with the Saintess like this is already more valuable than any compensation.”

“Haha! You must have treated her quite well. You seem very confident.”

-Did he… treat her well?

-He didn’t treat her poorly, at least.

“He did treat me well. I’m the one who finds the parting regrettable.”

‘Are they going to keep this up forever? They aren’t even actually fighting.’

I cut through the strange tension between the two.

-Oh! I’m touched.

-Lita-ya ㅠㅠ

Truthfully, it felt less like a psychological battle and more like Ilian just messing with him.

“Ah! Right. I must thank Sir Hereis as well. For taking such good care of the Saintess until now!”

“No, it’s…”

“Just accept the thanks. Priest Kalat will keep pestering you until you do.”

“Our Saintess, too! I forgot to mention, but you may speak comfortably to me! Also, please forget any rudeness I may have shown you in the past…”

“No, it’s alri—”

Before I could finish my sentence, the sound of urgent footsteps echoed from outside the tent.

“Vi-Vice-Commander!”

“Enter.”

“Sir, it’s…”

As soon as permission was granted, a knight rushed into the barracks and bowed hastily.

“The, the thing is…”

“You can just say it.”

The knight couldn’t even answer, his eyes just darting around the room.

“If you could just step outside for a moment…”

Instinctively sensing that this was grave news, the protagonist eventually led the knight out of the tent.

“I wonder what happened?”

“Who knows? Though I don’t know the details, it doesn’t seem like a trivial matter.”

Kalat and Ilian glanced outside with curiosity.

Of course, I was eavesdropping using my Omniscient Viewer Perspective.

‘I already know what the news is, so I don’t technically need to listen.’

Just in case, I was about to close my eyes to focus on the sound, when…

“Didn’t the Saintess say she could see the future? Can you guess what that’s about as well?”

Ilian spoke in a voice laced with mischief. Since he knew I wasn’t the Saintess, he clearly didn’t believe the part about seeing the future either… He was asking just to tease me. On the other hand, Kalat’s eyes sparkled as he waited for my answer.

‘…One guy believes too much, the other doesn’t believe at all. There’s really no middle ground with these two.’

“I only see the future when I dream. It’s like a prophetic dream. Often, the content is so vague that I only realize it was prophetic later on.”

“I see…”

“That’s why I said it wasn’t particularly useful, but…”

“But?”

“There is one dream that has been bothering me lately.”

“What kind of dream?”

Even Ilian, who had been listening half-heartedly, focused on my words as if the story piqued his interest.

“It was a dream where I was walking through an endless purple mist and discovered a certain mansion. When I entered, a very beautiful lady welcomed me, but for some reason, I felt that I had to be wary of her.”

‘I accidentally ended up using that “parent reading a fairytale” tone…’

Perhaps the content was interesting enough, as the two began to analyze it earnestly.

“That’s quite a unique way for a prophetic dream to work. To think the emotions the Saintess feels in the dream could also be a hint.”

“It is as cryptic as you say.”

“And yet you managed to figure out the raid on this village!”

“I only recalled it after arriving here. The appearance of the village and the people in my dream were so similar that I had a hunch…”

“And your hunch was right! You are truly amazing. By the way, a beautiful lady… I’d like to see her myself, even if it’s just in a dream!”

“Everyone.”

As the conversation was in full bloom, a somber-looking protagonist returned. Controlling his expression so as not to appear too desperate, he shared the news he had received with us.

As a side note.

In every single route, the end of this expedition is predetermined. It ends before reaching the destination; it is aborted. The reason is…

“I’m informing you because it’s something we cannot keep to ourselves. A Grade 7 magic contamination has reportedly broken out in Garain County. A strict prohibition on entry has been issued for the epicenter, so I ask the Holy Knights to exercise extreme caution as well.”

Because the destination had become the heart of death.

In any route, a telegram like this inevitably flies in mid-expedition.

-High-grade demonic energy detected in Garain County.

-Estimated to be a Grade 7 or higher magic beast as the source.

-Area declared a danger zone; entry strictly prohibited.

-Knight Commander Frederick and all Imperial Knights are to return immediately.

Here, two choices appear.

If you choose the option to go to the County, it is a guaranteed Bad Ending. A very tragic one where both the protagonist and the heroines die. First-time players often make the wrong choice here…

“Of course we have to go save the people. Magi? I’ll just power through it with sheer grit!”

If you think like that, you’re doomed. For the record, I’m quoting Mo Je-won here. However, you shouldn’t dismiss this choice as just a trap leading to a Bad Ending.

‘Because in the Saintess route, this is actually the ticket to the True Ending…!’