Chapter 96

Shaaaaaaaa—!

And so, we took a break side-by-side with the sound of rain as our background music.

Both of us were so physically and mentally drained that it didn’t feel awkward even though we didn’t say a single word.

Watching the rainwater slide off the tree leaves and plop onto the petals below brought a sense of peace to my mind and body.

‘If only every day could be this peaceful…’

That would have been nice.

Unfortunately, from the moment I possessed a character in this godforsaken game, there hasn’t been a single day where my mind was at ease.

‘I have to go back soon.’

Back to the comfort of modern society where I don’t have to fight grizzly bears!

Of course, I’d have to fight with my workload instead.

‘But that’s better than a grizzly…’

To do that, I have to clear the quests.

‘…Let’s work hard.’

To regain my initial resolve, I decided to start with a system check.

I carefully read through everything from the Status window to the Shop and the Settings.

Everything was normal.

Finally, I opened the problematic Affection window.

‘This part is not normal.’

It was expected since it had dropped by a hundred, but the Crown Prince had disappeared from the top rankings of the affection list.

When I expanded the “See more” section, I found him listed much further down.

It was a stark contrast to Oscar, whose identity reveal resulted in a very different outcome.

What was the reason? Was it because of his personal feelings toward the Saintess? Or was it because of the protagonist?

Since I had plenty of time until the rain stopped, I decided to ask.

“You seemed disappointed. About me being the Saintess.”

The glint returned to the Crown Prince’s eyes, which had been staring off into another world while he rested his chin on his hand.

Then, he gave a sheepish laugh.

“Ah. Was it that obvious? I thought I was managing my expression.”

It was so obvious that I would have noticed even without the affection drop notification.
The Crown Prince scratched the back of his head and continued.

“Well. To me, the Saintess was nothing more than a puppet of the Church, someone who only raised suspicions.”

“…….”

I didn’t expect such a direct hit.

But since it was true, I couldn’t think of a comeback.

“Of course, please do not doubt my faith in Ralphican. It is the Church that I find suspicious. And it isn’t just me—rather, it isn’t just our Empire that feels this way.”

It seemed that faith in the main god, Ralphican, was entirely separate from feelings toward the Church.

I suppose if they weren’t fools, anyone would find the Church—which commits atrocities while backed by its power—to be an eyesore.

“The Church has already lost too much trust. To the point where even the nations that built their strength through the Church are voicing their grievances.”

Considering the Church’s misdeeds, it wasn’t particularly surprising.

“But at a time like this, of all things, a Saintess appears to prove the existence of Ralphican.”

“Are you trying to say I’m like a scarecrow put on display just to stabilize their wavering authority?”

…!

The Crown Prince toyed with his hair as if he were in a difficult spot.

“Haha, you truly are blunt. You’re different from those people who always suppress their true feelings and chatter away while pretending to be cheerful. At the peak of power, this is a very rare experience to have. Though I don’t know if that’s thanks to your background or something else.”

He made a backhanded comment about me being a commoner, but his affection went up anyway.

…It’s a common cliché.

The male lead, feeling bored in the Imperial Palace where everyone wears a mask to hide their true selves and schemes are rampant, falls for the pure and bold female lead.

Unfortunately, he’s got the wrong person.

No one is better at hiding their true self than I am.

‘Well, putting that aside, should I start laying the groundwork?’

I had originally planned to mention this subtly to the protagonist, but seeing the situation, I thought it would be good to let the Crown Prince—the protagonist’s supporter—know as well.

After a brief moment of thought, I spoke up.

“I’m worried. I’m afraid these suspicions will gather and perhaps start an era of war.”

The Crown Prince’s eyes widened. Then, he immediately denied it.

“Oh, come on. The Church’s dominance is still firm. No country is foolish enough to actually start a war against the Holy State.”

I looked at the Crown Prince with a cold, unimpressed gaze…

‘There is one, you brat.’

Rebelling against the Church—this is a main episode that inevitably happens in every single route.

And it’s the final chapter of the game.

It begins when the pissed-off Church grandly declares war.

That becomes the prelude to a very long and cruel war.

I spoke sternly to the Crown Prince, who was smiling and trying to reassure me, completely unaware of such a future.

“Did you forget that I can see the future?”

“…….”

The outbreak of the war cannot be stopped, but there is a route to minimize the damage.
And that is the Saintess Route.

I know that the war ends early only in the Saintess Route, whereas in the other routes, it doesn’t even end after the credits roll.

This is exactly why I’m going through the trouble of putting Ivanke back in the position of Saintess. She influences people with her overwhelming holy power and extinguishes their very will to fight.

“A savior with divine power, a true redeemer of this world, will appear. When that time comes, do not be too suspicious. Only then will this continent find peace.”

The Crown Prince wore an expression as if he had no idea what I was talking about.

“Ah, the rain has stopped.”

I’ll leave it at that for now.

The fog lifted, and sunlight began to peek through the clouds, illuminating the raindrops clinging to the cave ceiling. The Crown Prince squinted at the brilliant light that had been hidden by the storm clouds.

“Let’s head back.”

I reached out a hand to the Crown Prince, who seemed unable to stand up readily as if his legs had turned to jelly. After a moment’s hesitation, he finally took my hand and pulled himself up.

“Hyah!”

The horse, galloping over the damp earth as if sensing more rain, picked up speed. As the cool air rushed past, the heavy, unpleasant feeling that had been weighing on Oscar’s heart began to fade. With a clearer mind, Oscar looked back on how he had ended up in this situation…

“Wow, this is insane.”

After the confession ended, Oscar had been buzzing with excitement.

‘To think Belita was the Saintess!’

So, it wasn’t a coincidence that she survived the Oath. That must be why she could live through an ordeal with a 0% survival rate.

“Should I just join the clergy altogether?”

He had heard the Church occasionally looked for researchers. He wasn’t sure what kind of research it was, but with Oscar’s credentials, he would likely pass easily. Imagining a future that may or may not come, Oscar turned the corner of the central hallway. It was then.

…!!

His eyes naturally followed a familiar face passing through the opposite hallway. Thanks to being perfectly hidden by a pillar, the other person passed by without seeing him.

‘…That person.’

Why were they here? They weren’t the type to visit the Church. After all, that person was…

Shaaaaaaaa—!

“I knew it! I knew it would be like this!”

The moment he saw the sword being swung at Belita, Oscar shoved the culprit’s back with all his might.

‘Is Belita okay?’

The thought didn’t last long. It was because the opponent turned around with a piercing, eerie glow in his eyes.

“My, my. What an unexpected guest.”

At the murderous voice, Oscar’s clenched fists trembled. But he couldn’t back down now. To buy time for Belita to escape, Oscar decided to muster all his reflexes to draw the man’s attention.

“Who ordered this? It wasn’t my father, was it?”

“So, you remembered me.”

“Of course I did!”

The man before him, Cyril Jace, was an escort that Jeffrey often brought along. If a man who had absolutely no reason to be here had shown up, it could only mean one thing…

“Why are you targeting the Saintess?”

Cyril curled his lip into a smirk as if he were being asked something obvious.

“Presumably because she’s in the way?”

“In the way?”

“Yes. So, mind your own business and get back to the Academy.”

Unfazed, Oscar grabbed the shoulder of Cyril, who was trying to push past him.

“If you’re going, you’ll have to kill me first.”

“…….”

“Why, can’t you do it? Then go back! St—stop killing people!”

“…Always throwing tantrums without knowing the weight of the situation.”

“Wh—what?”

“Still, I’ll give you credit for your resolve to stop me.”

Shriiing—

“You’re joking, right? If you hurt me, my father will—!”

“Young Master Oscar followed us on a whim, got caught up in a battle, and died from a stray attack swung by a knight of the Order… I suppose I could report it that way.”

“What did you say?”

“First his mother, now his son, all because of the Order. He’s going to be very grieved.”

Oscar realized too late that the man was more insane than he had thought. But, unfortunately, there was nothing he could do in the face of the descending blade.

“We’ve been wandering for a while.”

Since we had reached the cave while disoriented, finding our way back was no easy task.

‘It’s a relief Cyril gave up.’

Otherwise, my movements would have been restricted, making the search much longer. For the record, I had been using the Character Location Tracker periodically to keep tabs on Cyril’s location. Cyril seemed to have searched for us despite the heavy rain, but he gave up before long and headed down the mountain. I’m still tracking him just in case he turns back, but he’s quite far away now. I think it’s safe to assume we’re out of danger for the moment.

‘It would be bad if there were more of them and they were searching separately, though.’

I can only hope that the person Cyril was arguing with wasn’t an accomplice.

“It’s good that we found our way back safely, but…”

It wasn’t a situation where I could use the word “good,” even as a pleasantry. Under the brightening sky, the remains of the ambush were laid bare, leaving nowhere to turn my eyes.

“Ugh, I can’t tell if this is the smell of rain or the smell of blood. Use this to cover your nose.”

While I found it touching that he tried to look after me even though he was struggling himself, I didn’t need it because of my shield. The handkerchief the Crown Prince handed me was damp from the humidity, but not soaked. Since he gave me his only one, he ended up just covering his own mouth with his hand. He gagged occasionally, as his hand wasn’t enough to block the scent completely. He looked so pitiful that I expanded the range of my shield to block the smell for him.

“The smell is… Did you do this, Saintess?”

When I nodded, the Crown Prince let out a relieved breath.

Stepping through bloodstains and past corpses whose eyes were still open, we finally reached the carriage. The carriage was half-wrecked and messy, as if it had been hit by bandits, but it was still more or less intact.

“I’ll go inside. It’s hidden in a place that’s hard to find.”

Before long, the Crown Prince emerged and let out a joyful shout.

“I found it, Saintess!”

The Crown Prince was holding a thin, cylindrical object; if it had been hidden with intent, it certainly would have been hard to find.

“Alright, here goes!”

Whirrrrrrrr—!

Bang! Pop-pop-pop!

A loud roar erupted along with sparks, and red lights shot into the sky, scattering in all directions.

“I have spares, so if there’s no reaction after waiting a bit, I’ll fire another one.”

He said while shaking his hand, perhaps shocked by the recoil of the flare.

“It’s my first time using one in the field, and it’s more spectacular than I thought. I hope someone—whether from the Imperial family or the Order—notices the rescue request.”

It would be very problematic if they didn’t.

“Haha, of course, I’m only saying that. There’s no need to worry. We send messengers every few hours, so since that’s been cut off, the Imperial side will have noticed something is wrong. Still, an attacker might show up instead of a rescue team, so let’s hide somewhere suitable.”

And so, we hid ourselves in the thicket and prayed for the rescue team to arrive.