Chapter 122
Chapter: 122
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 122
>Chapter Title: Saintess's Ordeal (2)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
Saint Grazie, the Serving Saintess.
She was a woman from over 700 years ago, said to have been an angel-like figure who devoted her entire life to serving the needy. She shared her bread with the poor and boiled herbs into medicine for the sick, using whatever scant knowledge she had.
Then one day, a plague swept through her village. Grazie nursed the people with all her might, but in the end, some of them died. In response, one villager accused her of witchcraft and denounced her to the Inquisition.
"What? Why denounce someone who helped you?"
"It was so long ago. They believed the plague was a witch's curse and framed her as the one spreading it from the start."
By order of the inquisitors, Grazie was subjected to three trials of ordeal. She was dropped into the icy riverbed, forced to walk over hot coals, and immersed in boiling oil.
But through the divine mercy that pitied her kind heart, Grazie passed the trials unscathed. She was ultimately acquitted and returned to her hometown. The villager who falsely accused the innocent woman was struck by lightning in the wrath of the Lord God, or so the story goes.
Even after that, Grazie lived her life in service to others. Before her death, she left these words as her last will:
-Should danger ever threaten this blessed Delcross, I will be reborn time and again to serve the kingdom of the Lord God.
Her noble resolve was recognized by later generations, and she was canonized as a saint by the Orthodox Church.
Today, one of the five Holy Knight Orders carries on her legacy, upholding [Sacrifice] as its virtue and engaging in missionary work—that is the Order of Saint Grazie.
The three trials she endured—water, fire, and oil—came to be known as the [Saintess's Trials].
"After that, every so often, people would challenge these three trials to prove their faith and innocence."
Seongjin scowled as he listened to Logan's explanation.
No, there were plenty of other things to challenge besides an Ironman triathlon. What kind of madness was that?
"So, are these trials actually passable?"
Logan shook his head at Seongjin's question.
"No one has completed them properly since her. The first trial alone is impossible to endure."
The water trial required sinking to the riverbed without floating up. The logic was that those who had pawned their souls to demons would have lightened souls and thus inevitably float.
Well, someone skilled at concealing their aura or with strong divine power might manage it somehow, but the problem was the duration. They left you in the water for two or three hours before pulling you out.
"No matter how adept you are at using aura or how strong your divine power, no one can hold their breath at the river bottom for over two hours without air."
In the end, you either surfaced unable to hold your breath or drowned. And those who survived that faced the fire and oil trials, suffering horrific burns that killed them.
So why did people request these trials?
The reason was obvious. Better a clean suicide than prolonged torture to death by the Inquisition.
"The problem is that the will to attempt the Saintess's Trials is still respected. Once that woman declared she'd undergo them, no one can interrogate or torture her until the trials are over."
Seongjin looked up at Seo Iseo, who was walking ahead, surrounded by the capital guard.
Even as she was being escorted, she kept her hands clasped over her chest in a composed posture. For a suicide hopeful, she was remarkably dignified.
What on earth was she scheming?
"Seongjin, do you know why?"
Logan, who had also been watching her, suddenly asked.
"Why the Orthodox Church unanimously canonized that girl as a saint despite her young age?"
"Huh? Because her divine power is incredibly strong, right? Is there another reason?"
As Seongjin tilted his head, Logan continued in a calm tone.
"It was probably around when Sisle turned seven. One day, stigmata appeared on her body—the mark said to have been received by Saint Grazie during the fire trial."
After Grazie's death, similar stigmata had appeared on young women several times.
Since they all possessed immense divine power, the Orthodox Church believed it was the manifestation of the saintess's vow to be reborn repeatedly. They were all canonized as saints and lived their lives in service to the faithful.
And then one day, when the youngest princess awoke to find a vivid emblem of the Lord God engraved on the sole of her foot, the Church recognized Sisle once more as the reincarnation of Saint Grazie.
"If there's even a slim chance that woman truly passes all the Saintess's Trials..."
Logan's face clouded with worry as he trailed off.
Ah, I think I get what this guy's concerned about.
"Without a doubt, she'll be seen as Grazie's reincarnation and become a saintess. And then..."
"The Orthodox Church might demand the same proof from Sisle?"
"Yes."
Logan nodded deeply toward Seongjin.
"I hope it's just my unfounded worry."
* * *
Hello? My name is Seo Iseo.
I'm just an ordinary office worker at a game company who loves romance fantasy novels!
One day, I entered the world of a novel.
A beautiful and strong protagonist, the reincarnation of the noble Saint Grazie, teams up with handsome male leads to save the world from threats in a high-class romance action fantasy adventure!
...Or at least, that's what was supposed to happen.
But the story hasn't been completed yet, so it hasn't been published.
"Huh? If it hasn't been published, isn't it not a book yet? How can you call this a book's world?"
"Hmm, it's going to be completed as a novel anyway, so don't sweat the small details."
The reason the story is unfinished is that the world's foundation is shaking.
Unfortunately, due to schemes by high-ranking demon lords targeting this Delcross, the novel's world faces an unprecedented crisis.
The protagonist meant to become the saintess failed to reincarnate, and the agent of the gods meant to protect this world has long since fallen to corruption.
And a fake saintess has appeared in the protagonist's place, seducing the male leads and throwing the world into chaos!
She's set to dramatically turn dark soon, becoming the key to summoning high-ranking demon lords into the world.
So the creator of this story came to me. Finish the tale in the protagonist's stead and save the world, they said.
But what am I supposed to do?
I'm just a powerless, ordinary girl with no divine power or abilities whatsoever?
"Wait a second. If you're a game company employee, you're already an adult, right? Why suddenly a little girl? It's inconsistent!"
"A little girl has more appeal, doesn't she? Much cuter."
"...Are you a lolicon?"
So, how am I supposed to navigate this disadvantageous situation?
Can an ordinary girl like me successfully become a fake saintess and defeat another fake saintess?
Everyone, watch my exploits as I save the world! Dehet!
"Dehet? Why's the tone like that? Dehet?"
"Hm? I thought it fit current trends. Was I wrong?"
"No, it's so light it's practically flying off the page! As a romance fantasy fan who loves lyrical prose, I can't forgive such shoddy text!"
"Overlook that much. To become part of a grand narrative, it needs to reach a lot of readers first. More importantly..."
"......?"
"Can't you make yourself a bit prettier there? You're the heroine, after all."
"Ugh! How much more customization do you want?!"
* * *
Seo Iseo. She was a human from the Normative Realm.
According to the Demon King, she emanated a massive order fundamentally different from this world, just like Madam Justina.
'...Hmm, should I have poked her a bit to test?'
Truth be told, Seongjin was skeptical. Even up close, he hadn't sensed anything particularly off about her.
[It's no surprise you didn't notice. Her body was crafted with exquisite precision. It might be a tad heavier, but its weight probably doesn't differ much from a human of this world.]
Compared to Seo Iseo, Madam Justina's body was like an empty tin can.
Unlike the madam, whose aura activation was nearly depleted, Seo Iseo's felt comparable to an ordinary person's.
[If her soul didn't deviate from the typical form of Normative Realm humans, even I wouldn't have spotted it so quickly.]
According to the Demon King, souls from the Normative Realm didn't take the complete human shapes of the Imaginary or True Realms. They were characteristically spherical or crystalline.
What was it like? It kinda reminded him of those soul terminals the Arenza folks made.
'In any case, if she's definitely crossed over from the Normative Realm, it wouldn't be strange for her to know about Dileria's butterflies that traverse dimensions.'
She might even know how to open interdimensional gates. Worth interrogating.
The problem was that after she boldly declared she'd undergo the Saintess's Trials, the Inquisition had swiftly taken custody of her.
[If she's gone there, she's as good as dead, right?]
'Well, the Saintess's Trials are supposed to be public spectacles by principle. She'll be safe until then, so I can just get a cooperation writ and storm the Inquisition.'
That was Seongjin's plan, but the info Dasha brought that evening was unexpected.
"She's already... in the torture chamber?"
Wait. Weren't they not allowed to touch her until she went through the three trials?
Seongjin stared in shock, and Dasha shrugged.
"As Your Highness knows, that place is a den of high priests. She'll probably appear before the public with all wounds perfectly healed."
"......"
Seongjin felt a chill run down his spine.
Wow, a den of divine power-wielding priests sounding this terrifying. Torture her senseless, heal her up, then torture again?
There was good reason they said no one survived an Inquisition trial without going mad.
"And get this—even within the Inquisition, rumors are swirling that she might really be a saintess."
According to Dasha's intel, Seo Iseo was enduring the torture remarkably steadfastly. Even as they flayed her healthy flesh and seared it with branding irons, she maintained a pious demeanor, offering prayers to the Lord God.
It had gotten to the point where even the notoriously ruthless inquisitors were swayed, joining her in prayer.
'...No way she's a real saintess? That can't be.'
Seongjin frowned slightly.
Shouldn't a saintess have powerful divine power? But both the Demon King and Logan had insisted they sensed not a shred from her.
Logan had even said, sounding deeply repulsed:
-Every word from that woman's mouth is a lie; I don't even know where to call her out. Her claim of being guided by Saint Grazie, swearing by the Lord God—none of it is true!
Above all, that sticky feeling from when she was first arrested lingered.
That prickling itch in his chest, the bizarre reactions of the people around him staring at her face as if entranced.
Seongjin lifted his head from his brief reverie.
"...Any word from Father?"
Right—it was the emergence of a suspicious saintess candidate who might threaten Sisle's position.
What did the Holy Emperor make of this?
"Hmm..."
But Dasha's response to the question was oddly stiff.
"He... apparently just smiled faintly without a word."
Smiled?
"But... they said it was terrifying."
"......"
Ah, I think I know what that means.