Saintess
Saintess
I had always thought that the notion of one's mind going blank upon hearing something too shocking was pure nonsense, but unexpectedly, it might actually be true.
Because just then, that had been me.
Until I came to my senses, all I could do was learn the Demon God Church's prayer method in a simplified form from the Saintess.
I had imagined that a secret of my birth I was unaware of might be hidden from the soul level, but I hadn't expected it to be in this form.
Immediately, the Saintess of the Demon God Church had delivered that single line and then started preaching about how one could show such disrespect toward a god, but, truly sorry as I was, that wasn't what was important right then.
Why would the Demon God Epaga have told her to deliver that message from the start?
Was it truly just to correct my mistake? Well, maybe she really did hold that petty a grudge. If she'd gone so far as to reincarnate me and I responded with an attitude that sat somewhere ambiguously between worship and profanity, I could understand her being a little annoyed. But more important than emotion was efficiency.
That statement had been a certificate. A certificate to let me know that whatever words came out of that Saintess's mouth from now on were truth and Her arrangement. A certificate that, while skipping all the contents She had told no one—not even the Saintess who served Her—was the most certain way to prove to me that She had been watching over and helping me.
So I could never take it lightly.
"Saintess. More importantly, did Epaga say anything else?"
"...Haa. I truly don't understand what is going on. You aren't even a believer, yet your attitude flipped completely at a single sentence—and Lady Epaga foresaw even that."
"I'd just like you to know that there are very deep circumstances there that are hard to explain. If Epaga didn't even speak to the Saintess about it, then that too must be according to Her arrangement, so it's a bit awkward for me to speak carelessly."
For a moment the Saintess's eyes widened, reacting as if she had seen a low-intelligence monster suddenly speaking fluently in human language.
"It seems you're having a very rude thought..."
"Ah, no. That's a bit unfair. Think about the attitude you showed until just now. Why did you speak like that when you could speak like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like... you know, swearing. Using casual speech, acting like some street thug."
"I only distinguish between those to respect and those not to, when I speak. Though I also differentiate between those who can be reasoned with."
Until just now I had been merely dealing with a high-ranking religious type, but now I was dealing with the Saintess who served the god that had given me a second shot at life. If my attitude hadn't changed, wouldn't that have made me the real fucking bastard?
Of course, what she had been trying to talk about didn't seem to be that, but there was no reason to accept her commentary on the direction of my life, so I just played dumb and brushed it off.
"Huu... Fine. First, let me convey Epaga's words."
"Do I need to kneel and listen with a devout heart or something?"
"...You're asking in earnest. No. No matter how great and noble Their will, I am merely a conduit, so how could one perform acts of worship directed at me? In such moments, it is enough to simply listen, and later set aside time to contemplate the meaning of the words the god has delivered."
The Saintess, who herself wanted to deliver the words with a proper composure, gave a short cough and adjusted her posture, then slowly continued.
"I shall not obstruct your will. Yet, it is too soon. Enough variables have already appeared. The chaos that will surge after the Divine Protection concludes is beyond even My ability to gauge, so now is the time to focus on the teachings around you."
To think that a story so vague you'd dismiss it as a fortune-teller's nonsense if heard on the street could feel this resonant simply because a god had delivered it. Truly, you had to live long to see things. I was experiencing all kinds of shit.
I, like a student taking a lecture, asked about what I didn't know with a humble attitude.
"Have you been told what it means that the Divine Protection will conclude?"
"I believe They spoke using the Demonfolk's custom as a metaphor. We believe that we receive the Demon God's strong protection until we reach adulthood. And on the day we come of age, we finally leave the god's embrace and are reborn as beings qualified to advance into the world by our own strength."
Was this similar to the end of childhood or whatever that Asilie had talked about? Hearing it as a reincarnator, it was a story I couldn't take lightly. Perhaps that period they simply believed in as superstition might actually be a time when one is protected by a god.
The Saintess watched me sink into contemplation for a moment, then spoke the rest of the story.
"The time of revelation. A day will come when you will face it through a sturdy path, so wait. That is all that Epaga wished to convey to you."
I suddenly had a lot to worry about and my head was throbbing, but the story wasn't over yet.
"The little remaining story was the words They spoke to me. Eldmia Ega. To cooperate and help you."
"...You're telling me They told the Saintess, a member of the Demonfolk, to help me?"
"Yes."
"Did the Demonfolk somehow fall out of favor with Epaga on a large scale, or commit some sin?"
The Saintess's face began to fill with an odd questioning. She seemed unable to understand what I could possibly do to warrant such a question, so I, partly out of consideration for her faith, told her clearly.
"The minimal scenario is the death of a Demon King's Army commander, and the worst-case scenario is turning the entire Demon King's Army into enemies. Not to mention the possibility that other Demonfolk tied to the Demon King's Army might go mad with vengeance and rush at me. What Epaga said at first, about not obstructing my will, meant They have absolutely no intention of stopping these actions of mine."
Even if They claimed not to get involved in the war, I thought helping with that sort of thing would be another matter, so I had mentioned it beforehand, but the Saintess's reaction was surprisingly simple.
"Epaga will never abandon us. So what Eldmia is worrying about will not happen."
"You're saying that me damaging the Demon King's Army will never happen?"
"No. I'm saying that even if I am involved in their deaths, it won't be something that puts the Demonfolk in danger."
I thought, 'What kind of fanatical faith is this?' but judged that from the Saintess's position, who could occasionally communicate directly, it might be perfectly normal thinking, so I shut my mouth for now.
"Whatever process it takes, I believe without a doubt that it is for the sake of the Demonfolk."
"...Then I have nothing more to say."
If that was what she herself thought, I had no reason to try to persuade her to change her mind, and no time for it either.
"Then for now put down your weapon, and just hold up your shield well just in case."
I had to prepare a convincing excuse so that when the group that would charge in shortly arrived, they could accept this situation and not draw their weapons, and beyond that, I had to rack my brain over what the hell the secret of my birth even meant, and finally, I had to seriously deliberate whether to follow the revelation that Demon God Epaga had given.
Honestly speaking, my deliberation had already practically ended. It was true that my long-cherished wish took top priority, but even so, I couldn't just pretend I hadn't heard the words of the being who had given me a second life. No matter what the world said, until I got stabbed in the back, from today I was with the Demon God Church.
"Huu... The immediate problem is how to explain this to my companions."
Sen's party had been forcibly tied up, so I didn't need to worry too much, but the Gaendal party was a different matter, because I had no idea what kind of hostility they held toward Demonfolk.
The fallen heresy inquisitors of the Demon God Church still hadn't regained consciousness. According to the Saintess, the demon's sorcery had forcibly pushed them into receiving a revelation; they encountered divinity beyond what they could withstand and fainted from the shock. Since no one knew when they'd wake, hiding them out of sight wasn't really an option.
"Ehh, still, it was nice that it ended cleanly."
Thanks to that demon bastard sucking up blood like a sponge that would put a sponge to shame, my whole body was all nice and dry. Normally I would have had to use my head while being extremely bothered by drying blood, but at least I had been spared that worst-case scenario, so I decided to be grateful.
First, I approached the passage to prevent a sudden attack, and soon from far away, I began to see the party appear with rough footsteps.
"Demonfolk?"
"Uwaaa! Yekaterina, wait! Wait, sto... huh?"
Yekaterina had been charging at the front like a tank and spotted the Saintess almost instantly. Afraid she'd swing her war hammer on reflex, I threw myself in front of her—but she only went on high alert and didn't attack first.
Instead, she very naturally moved me behind her and blocked my front.
"Looks like they came for the cultists, so if your business is done, why don't you leave?"
Crazy. As expected, Yekaterina was truly a civilization warrior.