Chapter 81

-LOL

-It was a bold statement for a protagonist, to be fair.

“Ha! Much more? How dare you say such insulting things to the Saintess…! Should I take this as a challenge against the Order of Ralphican?”

Ilian’s face turned red then purple with rage, and a notification popped up on Mo Je-won’s screen showing that Ilian’s affection had dropped.

-No, this game is rated for all ages.

-Did the devs lose their touch? Why give this option?

-Because accessibility is GOAT.

-The atmosphere of the story doesn’t really suit an adult rating anyway.

I haven’t even thought about giving an inch, yet everyone is making a fuss. Thank goodness the only dating sim I ever played was rated for all ages. I don’t even want to imagine the alternative. My mental state, already frantic because of Edelina, was shattered once more.

“Not at all. I am merely stating that I would do so strictly under the Saintess’s permission.”

Even as my sanity threatened to drift off to Andromeda, the protagonist—true to his status as the leader of five heroines—replied with sly proficiency.

“Wh-Who do you think put the Saintess in this distressing situation in the first place!”

On the other hand, Ilian, who usually acted so smooth, was completely losing his composure and acting like a total novice now that romance was involved. There was no way someone from a conservative religious order could beat the protagonist at this. I intervened immediately.

“Sir Ilian. I appreciate your concern for me, but we don’t have time for this.”

I lightly brushed his shoulder as a signal to move aside, but Ilian flinched violently as if he’d been struck by electricity.

…What? What’s with him?

Is he acting like this just because of some skinship, or is it because I stopped the argument?

…Wait. Ilian’s affection was just about to hit 100. Then, with that increase just now….

A notification window covered my eyes at the exact moment of realization.

Affection, huh.

…How vague.

Characters labeled with “Affection” are common in games.

Since the word “Affection” encompasses a broad range of meanings, it doesn’t necessarily have to be sexual.

I don’t know exactly what kind of affection Ilian feels, but at least I’ve confirmed it’s not a negative emotion like love-hate, possessiveness, or a desire for control.

‘Surprisingly, those kinds of emotions don’t always result in negative affection points.’

In those cases, even with positive affection, you can get caught up in dangerous events.

“Ahem. So, Sir Hereis. Why did you come to see me?”

“…It’s late, but I wanted to offer a proper apology.”

Ah, so he came to apologize.

“I heard the Saintess has been put in a difficult position because of me. I sincerely apologize.”

“It wasn’t your intention, Sir Hereis. It’s fine.”

“That’s true~ The Saintess invited us in the first place. It’s just mutual negligence.”

-???

-As expected, Emperor Mo is the king of shamelessness.

He was interrupting my attempt to build a serious emotional atmosphere, but I continued calmly.

“I was the one who summoned Sir Hereis to the Holy State anyway.”

The protagonist looked visibly relieved.

Then, as if he had something more to say, he struggled to find the words.

“Thank you for saying that. And, um…”

Ding!

Another choice?

Mo Je-won seemed conflicted; for a while, I could hear the sound of him tapping on his desk.

-Tudu-du-du

-Here he goes again.

“Do I really have to confess?”

-It is a bit much.

-The Saintess is just going to get a headache.

-But shouldn’t she know the cause?

“Then I’ll just go with Number 1~.”

“By any chance, do you know when you might be able to meet Edelina…?”

“I’ve already made arrangements to meet her soon. The news of my visit has likely reached the Inquisitors’ ears, so they won’t do anything severe until then. You can rest easy.”

I offered the answer the protagonist wanted as a temporary measure. I spoke as nonchalantly as possible, as if this were nothing to worry about.

I felt Ilian watching me from the side with a strange look, but I pushed through. Even though my words didn’t hold a single grain of sincerity, the protagonist let out a sigh of relief.

Ding!

[ Confess about the Marquis. ]

The choice window popped up again, identical to the one before. The one he had already selected was excluded.

“Ah, what? I had to do both? Why did I even agonize over it?”

-LOL

-We were tricked.

Mo Je-won grumbled as he clicked the remaining option.

“I’m sorry, Saintess. Actually, the Marquis….”

I already knew the whole story, but I listened with a serious expression as if it were my first time hearing it.

“So that’s what happened. Cardinal Samuel is someone who used to pick a fight with me at every turn. That must be why he didn’t grant the Marquis’s request. It’s neither the Marquis’s fault nor yours, Sir Hereis. It was just bad luck.”

As I painstakingly answered each question one by one, it felt as though I had truly become a game NPC.

Biting my lip with a strange sense of irony, a notification popped up announcing that the protagonist’s affection had risen.

‘Which means…’

Is today “Affection Unboxing Day” or something?

I glanced sideways at the notification windows appearing in succession.

…? Dependent?

It was a type of emotion I’d never seen before. It didn’t exactly sound like a good thing.

“I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re here, Saintess. Thank you so much.”

The protagonist offered a bittersweet smile in front of me, while my mind was so jumbled I could barely manage my facial expression.

“My word, look who it is. Saintess. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? You’ve been so busy avoiding me every time our paths crossed since that day.”

To find a way to meet Edelina, I had come to see the Pope. Even though I’d been ignored by him in the past, I was willing to grasp at any straw.

‘If I want to avoid a Bad Ending, I have to try everything until the very end.’

Seeing me show up having swallowed my pride, the Pope set down the documents he was reading, took off his reading glasses, and offered a pointed welcome.

“Shall I guess why our Saintess has come to visit?”

“…”

“It’s because of the Young Lady of Peyers, isn’t it?”

“Yes, well…”

When I looked displeased, the Pope actually seemed to enjoy it.

‘What a personality…’

“I, too, had many things I wanted to hear regarding that matter.”

The Pope tapped the chair in his office, inviting me to sit.

Crossing his legs and resting both hands on his knees, the Pope spoke first.

“Just why were you keeping the Young Lady of Peyers? Surely you weren’t staging a protest just because I didn’t grant your request?”

“I simply wanted to clear the Young Lady’s name.”

The Pope ran a forefinger along his lip as if something didn’t sit right with him.

“Like I said, she can clear her name at the trial. Why are you so obsessed with this?”

Trying to melt the Pope’s ice-cold heart, I spoke as piteously as possible.

“As Your Holiness is well aware, Cardinal Samuel is deliberately using a report that would normally be ignored just to keep me in check. I do not wish to stand by and watch a talented individual with a bright future be ruined because of me.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

A reaction of pure indifference. My attempt at acting pitiful felt embarrassing.

‘It doesn’t look like gaining sympathy will be easy…’

If it’s come to this, let’s just go for a frontal breakthrough.

“I’ll get straight to the point. Just let me meet her once.”

“Let you meet her? Why?”

“To put Sir Hereis at ease. He is extremely anxious.”

The Pope leaned his elbow on the armrest of the sofa, deep in thought. His long silver hair tangled messily against the leather. It was just as dizzying as my own mind.

“My apologies. The situation is unfortunate, but that is difficult to grant. I’d rather not do anything that would give the other side leverage.”

“…”

“You can understand, right?”

As if!

Ding!

The choice window that appeared was the definition of being crooked.

Well, things are already ruined, and if you can’t avoid it, you might as well enjoy it, right?

I mentally spun a roulette wheel and…

‘Number 3.’

Following the result of the roulette, I picked the choice and let my mouth run as my heart commanded.

“Are you joking?”

“…”

The Pope seemed so taken aback he couldn’t even close his mouth.

“I asked if you were joking. A person’s life is on the line.”

My internal affection points might have been docked, but I felt refreshed.

Honestly, how much have I held back all this time?

I believe I’ve earned the right to say at least this much.

“Mmm. That is true, but.”

The Pope’s reaction was a bit strange.

He actually seemed to be in a strangely good mood…

…?????

No, wait, what is this?

‘Is the Pope’s taste really allowed to be like that?’

Looking back, I had always been quite submissive when dealing with the Pope. Even when he used a Revelation without my permission, I’d just say, “Haha, it’s fine, I leave it entirely to you.”

I always backed down even at times when anyone would have been angry. I thought that was the right thing to do at the time. To think he was the type who liked the exact opposite behavior. I hurried to open the Affection window to find the Pope’s name.

Oh, a much more favorable number than I expected.

Then shall I run even wilder?

“Then at least help me see Miss Edelina.”

“That is difficul—”

“What exactly is possible? Are you the Pope and am I the Saintess of Ralphican for nothing?”

“Shouldn’t a Saintess have the power to command this Order of Ralphican like a true Saintess!”

“…The Saintess isn’t wrong.”

The Pope fell into thought for a moment before speaking.

“Hmm. You’ve likely heard from Ilian. That Edelina Peyers is being held in the Great Cathedral’s dungeons. The surveillance there is incredibly tight, so it would be dangerous to take the Saintess there secretly. Samuel is watching with hawk eyes.”

The Pope shook his head, saying it would be a headache if we were caught and given trouble.

Then, he suddenly curled one corner of his mouth upward.

“I cannot help the Saintess directly. However, I can give you a piece of information.”

The Pope wrote something on a memo pad that was sitting on the table and handed it to me.

The content was an address pointing somewhere within the Great Cathedral.

“As it happens, around one o’clock today, the daughter of the House of Peyers will be coming out of the prison once. Right to that location.”

I heard she couldn’t leave the prison wing until the day of the trial.

Why?