55 — Chapter 55

[Omniscient Viewer Perspective] had been quiet for a while. Ever since Arianne visited the protagonist’s house, there hadn’t been a single broadcast.

‘I guess there won’t be any events until the medal ceremony.’

The ceremony was a little over two weeks away. My official appointment ceremony was scheduled for fifteen days after that. Kalat had been delighted when he calculated the distance between the Holy State and the Imperial Capital, noting that I could barely make it to both. Well, as for my appointment ceremony…

“His Holiness has readily accepted!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! He said it’s possible even right now…”

…I’ll think about that later. For now, I need to focus on this. I had set up an appointment with the Pope.

‘It’s about time I told him.’

I was referring to the continent-wide monster attacks that were about to occur.

In the game, Ivanke’s foresight is portrayed as imperfect.

‘If she could perfectly predict every disaster, how would the story even progress?’

When Ivanke failed to predict an invasion that caused massive casualties, people began to doubt her faith, claiming that God had abandoned the Saintess. However, after she personally stepped out to subjugate the magic beasts and people witnessed the miracle of her Divine Power, those voices vanished instantly.

‘I’m in a similar position, but I have to play this a bit differently.’

“Saintess? Shall I tell him you’re coming now?”

My contemplation had run long. I gave her the go-ahead.

The Pope’s private drawing room was excessively flashy, making anyone who entered feel burdened by the opulence.

“Yes, I heard our Saintess has something she wishes to discuss.”

The Pope greeted me from amidst a sea of golden ornaments. He was a middle-aged man with silver hair who looked exactly like Ilian.

‘If Ilian ages well, he’ll look exactly like the Pope.’

The Pope approached and gestured for me to sit while the attendants brought out refreshments. As I took a sip of the steaming coffee, the Pope struck up a friendly conversation.

“I’m so grateful the Saintess asked to meet me first. I actually thought our Saintess was avoiding me~.”

His voice was overflowing with leisure. It was a soft tone that seemed to scream, ‘I am safe.’ Perhaps because I had taken his side at the general assembly, the Pope was acting quite favorable toward me. But then again, it also felt like he was subtly sniping at me for not visiting sooner.

‘Am I just being too cynical?’

I pulled myself together and dropped the bombshell: that simultaneous magic beast invasions would soon occur across the world. It was a difficult thing to believe. I expected the Pope to be skeptical, much like Ilian had been in the past. But that was fine. Simply putting it on the record would be enough to prove my prophetic abilities later. Just ensuring the Pope wouldn’t take my words lightly in the future was a sufficient tactical gain.

“Ah. To think such a tragic event would occur. We cannot let that happen. I must inform each nation immediately.”

Right, I knew he would say th—

…?

He believes this?

Surprisingly, the Pope took my word for it. However, what he added next was entirely unexpected.

“I am truly sorry to the Saintess, but… perhaps it is because I am getting old lately, I find myself lacking the strength. Dealing with hostile children is difficult for me as well. They wouldn’t believe my words anyway.”

Wait, that…

‘Is he saying he doesn’t want to announce the prophecy to any country where his faction isn’t in power?’

This sly old fox was trying to create leverage for his own interests even here. If he did that, only the pro-Pope nations would be prepared and avoid damage. In this grim period where magic beasts were beginning to run rampant, a monopoly on information regarding them was massive.

‘When this is over, the Pope’s power will grow even stronger.’

But I would become the Pope’s shield and draw the resentment of the citizens from the nations that suffered. They would ask if the Saintess was truly discriminating against the people of the world. They would ask if I was using lives as weights on a scale. I could see it clearly already. I felt a sudden urge to splash the hot coffee in my hand right into the Pope’s face.

‘Sigh. Let’s hold it in…’

I didn’t want to cause unnecessary friction with the Pope. Most importantly, if my plan with the protagonist succeeded, the damage could be minimized. Even if there was backlash, it would be neutralized quickly. There would be people who would defend me.

“Hmm, well then, I shall instruct the various nations to prepare countermeasures secretly.”

‘I suppose the only thing I like about this is that he won’t go around blabbing about my revelation.’

If it became common knowledge that every country was preparing, the protagonist might think, ‘Oh, I guess I don’t need to do it then.’ Since there would be no merit in a monopoly if other nations found out, everyone would keep quiet.

‘Then there’s no disruption to the plan.’

There wasn’t, technically, but it would still be better in many ways to deliver the information fairly to all nations if possible.

‘Should I try to persuade the Pope?’

I quickly ran a simulation inside my head.

“Your Holiness. If we demand obedience through Ralphican’s revelation, it might provoke a backlash and prove counterproductive.”

“Hmm~ counterproductive?”

“If we approach everyone without discrimination or demand for payment, wouldn’t obedience follow naturally without the need for coercive methods…?”

“Oh, Saintess, you are truly naive! It reminds me of when I was young. I used to think that way once, too. But the human race is a lot that will always betray you unless you keep them under your heel…”

Okay, let’s stop here.

The previous exchange told me everything I needed to know about the Pope’s character.
The Pope was a materialistic human to the bone, calculating only his own interests. He would keep acting sly and would never give me the answer I wanted.

“I understand. I trust Your Holiness will handle it well.”

“Ah~ do not worry about that.”

I was just about to end the meeting and leave.

“Saintess, just a moment.”

What now?

As I turned around, I heard the Pope’s gentle voice.

“I’m saying this because you’re like a daughter to me—you’re carrying too much tension in your shoulders. You can think of me as a father and lean on me a bit.”

‘My real father is still alive and well with his eyes wide open, so what’s all this talk about being a father?’

“If there are people annoying you, you can come to me to complain. If you’d like, I’m even open to the idea of adoption.”

‘If that annoying person is you, what should I do?’

Ding!

…Fortunately, the inner thoughts I just had didn’t appear as choices. The options were more moderate than I imagined. I picked one and replied.

“Yes… I’ll try to think of you as a father.”

“Ahaha! That’s good to hear. Then, with a father’s heart, I shall give you this.”

The Pope looked at me with a pleased gaze and pulled a piece of paper from his robe.

“If you sign here, an account will be opened in the Saintess’s name. Even though our Saintess hasn’t had her formal appointment yet, you are part of the Church! Starting this month, your ‘dignity maintenance fund’ will be deposited here.”

…!!

The paper the Pope handed me was none other than a power of attorney. It meant I was entrusting the opening of my bank account to someone else, but more importantly, dignity maintenance funds were going into this account?

‘That means I’m getting a salary now.’

“Fufu, you look happy. This father is happy too~.”

Thank you, Fathe—wait, no.

“Aren’t you curious about how much it is~?”

I was curious. I was just about reaching the end of the money I’d earned at the gambling den. Considering the costs of sponsoring Mo Je-won, I needed at least a hundred gold a month. Of course, more would be better.

“The Saintess’s dignity maintenance fund is the same as mine.”

Now that was news that couldn’t help but raise my expectations.

“Ten thousand gold.”

Te-ten thousand gold…?

“Hmm, it’s less than you thought, isn’t it? There was a time when the clergy ignored humility and moderation to live in such luxury that the citizens’ resentment was loud. When I told them to cut it out, they told me I should set the example myself. Since my maintenance fund was set the highest, after all.”

“Th-then, how much was it before…?”

“In the past, it was around 500,000 gold.”

Crazy. Considering one gold is roughly equivalent to 10,000 won ($7.50), that’s 5 billion won ($3.75 million)! He spent that much per month just on “maintaining dignity”?

‘How do you even spend all that?’

As expected, the financial sense of high society transcended imagination.

‘With that kind of money, I could buy me and my father an apartment in Gangnam…’

“Saintess? You need to sign.”

…Now is not the time to be thinking about that.

I scribbled a signature on the paper and practically fled the room.

“Sir Ilian.”

Ilian was leaning against the wall outside the Pope’s drawing room as if waiting for someone.

“Ah, Saintess.”

“Do you have business with the Pope?”

“No, I was waiting for you, Saintess.”

“For me?”

“To escort you.”

His beaming smile made it look like he was hiding some ulterior motive.

“Then, lead the way.”

“As you command.”

Ilian took the lead, and I followed behind him.

“You’ve quite gotten the hang of it now. Your speech, your actions.”

It’s all thanks to desperate training.

“Where is Emily?”

“I sent her off to rest for a bit. I wanted to have a quiet chat with the Saintess after such a long time.”

It certainly seemed that way. There was no real reason for Ilian to come all this way just to escort me.

After a moment of silence, Ilian spoke.

“Did you have a good talk with His Holiness?”

“So-so. Actually, I’m not really sure.”

“…His Holiness is a difficult person to deal with. Shall we talk about something else?”

Surprisingly, Ilian didn’t pry further and changed the subject.

“Have you been well?”

“I’ve been normal. Has your disciplinary period ended, Sir Ilian?”

“It was lifted as of yesterday.”

Ilian had received a two-week self-reflection punishment. They said he wasn’t allowed to leave his room, but…

‘How is that any different from what I’ve been doing?’

He would have been waited on hand and foot, and even if he was stuck in a room, it would be much larger than my studio apartment back home.

‘It’s basically a vacation. A rewarded one at that.’

He might have spent his time much more qualitatively than me, who has been under hard etiquette training every day.

“The punishment was short compared to the crime, wasn’t it? It couldn’t be helped. Because of the medal ceremony.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Two days from now.”

“At what time?”

“Around dawn, I expect. But why do you ask?”

“Ah, well… to see you off.”

“Pardon? Haha, you don’t need to go through such trouble. I’ll be back soon.”

Ilian chuckled as he continued.

“Are you perhaps feeling disappointed?”

“…….”

“Technically, it’s all thanks to you, Saintess, yet you’re the only one who won’t be receiving an award.”

It wasn’t that, but I figured it was better to let him misunderstand.

“Please bear with it for the sake of the Church’s prestige. Soon, there will be a banquet far more grand and of a completely different class—one just for you, Saintess.”

He was talking about the appointment ceremony.

That was all well and good, but the timing was terrible. It would be right when the magic beast outbreak occurs.

‘Thinking about it now, it’s the perfect setup for people to start talking.’

A massive loss of life due to a magic beast outbreak occurring during the appointment ceremony of a Saintess who is supposed to be more radiant and holy than anyone else.

“It’s an ill omen! The Order of Ralphican is doomed! That person isn’t a Saintess, she’s a witch!”

Wouldn’t that be exactly what they’d say?

“So, there’s no need to feel sad about not being able to go together.”

“I’m not particularly sad.”

“Ayy, liar.”

“…….”

“…….”

“Why did you do that during the general assembly?”

Why did you try to take the fall yourself like someone dying to be relieved of your station?

Why didn’t you say that I was the one holding the Holy Relic?

…That was the weight behind my question. In truth, it was the question I wanted to ask Ilian most since we met.

“Ah, that? Well, I did it because I wanted to be removed from my post.”

What?