Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: 8. The Lord Is Watching Everything (3)
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“You've come a long way. You must be tired.”
“No, not at all. It was nice to get out of the residence for the first time in ages. Well...”
A warm afternoon. With gentle sunlight streaming through the window, Bishop Lisa and Cardinal Airani entered the reception room and sat facing each other.
Normally, she would have prepared something special for a cardinal's visit, but with everything piling up yesterday, there hadn't been time for any elaborate arrangements.
Fortunately, Cardinal Airani wasn't the type to fuss over such formalities, so she didn't scold her for it. Still, Lisa felt inwardly apologetic for not handling things perfectly.
And it wasn't as if the cardinal had come from just down the road—this trip would have taken several days at least, making her lapse all the more serious.
“I should have prepared something... I'm sorry.”
She swallowed a long sigh and bowed her head slightly. The refreshments were nothing special, and the tea was bland. There was no excuse.
Here, it was better to apologize upfront rather than make pointless excuses. Even if the cardinal wouldn't say anything, she might still feel inconvenienced.
“It's fine. You must have been short on time. And wasn't I the one who showed up without warning? No need to worry about it.”
The cardinal smiled kindly, as if understanding everything. Her warm expression was enough to melt away Lisa's tension.
Of course, it had been awfully sudden. The messenger had only arrived the day before yesterday, leaving no time for proper preparations. Sure, if Priest Isaiah had done his job right, it might have been possible, but she didn't want to blame him after the horrific ordeal he'd just been through.
“By the way, Bishop Lisa? If I remember correctly, there was another young priest here... Has he gone somewhere?”
Young priest... Lisa could guess who the cardinal meant. The only priest around was Isaiah.
Normally, the polite thing would be for him to come out and at least show his face, but in his current state, who knew what might happen? He could barely even stand, so it was better to keep him tucked away in his room if possible.
“He's not feeling well... He had a high fever, so I told him to rest in his room.”
“That bad? Then maybe I should go see him...”
“N-No, that's fine. I've already treated him, so please don't worry.”
“I-Is that so?”
Lisa leaned forward, waving her hands frantically in refusal. No matter what, these two could not meet. Isaiah might look fine on the surface, but she'd poured an insane amount of divine power into him during treatment. A master like Cardinal Airani would notice instantly.
“A-Ah, I understand.”
“...”
The cardinal pulled back, stumbling over her words as if overwhelmed. Realizing her own behavior had been rude, Lisa cleared her throat a few times and straightened her posture.
“I'm sorry. I got a bit worked up. It seems like he's caught a nasty flu. I didn't want to risk passing it to you, Your Eminence, so I spoke out of turn.”
“Ah, I see. Understood.”
The cardinal nodded at the mention of the flu. Lisa needed to wrap this up fast, so she dropped all pretense of courtesy and shifted straight to the main topic.
“More importantly, may I ask what brings you all the way here?”
“Ah, yes, but... Haah... Well... How should I put this...”
At Lisa's question, the cardinal gazed out the window for a moment and let out a sigh. After hesitating to speak, she continued with a complicated expression.
“A few days ago... there was an oracle.”
“An o-oracle?”
“Yes.”
Lisa's calm expression twisted slightly at the word "oracle." It meant receiving the Lord's words through a proxy... And whenever such news came, it was always packed with bad tidings.
Of course, since it foretold unfortunate future events, it wasn't entirely negative—it helped prepare. Still, no news was good news, and silence was happiest.
“It said a new hero has appeared...”
“Ah... Pardon?”
H-hero? Lisa doubted her ears. She'd wondered what absurdity would drag a high-ranking divine all the way out here, and sure enough, it was something utterly ridiculous.
She tried to stay composed, but her eyes widened at the out-of-nowhere bombshell.
“S-Suddenly?”
“Yes. Slurp...”
The cardinal sipped her tea casually, as if she'd expected the reaction, and continued in a calm tone.
“The Lord said the hero is somewhere not far from here. Of course, finding them right away won't be easy, but He'll descend to this land Himself around this time next year, so we're to narrow down potential candidates by then.”
“...”
The scale was enormous. Lisa had figured it was something like an inspection at worst, but this was way beyond expectations.
Still... it made sense for the parish's top official to come all the way to this rural backwater for something this big. She could only stare at her teacup, trying to calm her troubled mind.
Suddenly, a question popped into her head, and Lisa licked her lips before cautiously speaking up.
“Your Eminence, may I ask one question?”
“Ah, yes, go ahead...”
“You said the hero is somewhere around here... Does that mean another calamity has spread?”
“Hm... Calamity...”
The cardinal crossed her arms, deep in thought at Lisa's question.
It was only natural to wonder. A hero's appearance meant something on that level threatening humanity had emerged.
But the current world was far too peaceful for that. Aside from occasional monster raids on villages, there were no real issues.
Usually, major incidents preceded a hero's emergence, so one popping up out of nowhere like this didn't fit the pattern.
“I don't know about that either. As you know, we just follow the oracles. You understand what I mean, right, Bishop Lisa?”
“...Yes.”
There was nothing to do if even she didn't know. As the cardinal said, they were mere proxies carrying out the Lord's will. They just did their jobs quietly.
“What the Lord wants is simple. Select suitable candidates by next year and keep the village peaceful like now, if possible.”
“...”
“It'll be tough with few hands, of course. So starting tomorrow, I'll send some people from the parish. You can handle supervising them, right, Bishop Lisa?”
“Of course. I'll do my utmost to produce results that satisfy the Lord.”
‘Haah...’
Lisa bowed her head in response. She felt utterly drained. More manpower was good, but they were also overseers from the parish.
In other words, the church was taking direct control of this outpost they'd ignored until now. Her head was already starting to ache.
‘This is driving me crazy...’
She'd wondered why the cardinal hadn't just sent subordinates for something so trivial, but it was to instill a sense of urgency. A warning to stop slacking until the hero appeared and get back to work properly.
“That's the right attitude. Oh, and the Lord said He's been watching this place steadily for a year now... So no overstepping. For the time being, carry out your duties with the mindset that He's right beside you.”
“Yes, understood...”
‘...Huh? What did she just say?’
Wh-who's been watching this place for a year?
In an instant, Lisa's head jerked up with a rusty creak, like a stiff hinge.
“S-Sorry, but... what did you just say?”
“Hm? I said to carry out your duties with the mindset that the Lord is always by your side?”
“N-No, not that... When did the Lord say He's been watching...?”
“Ah... From a year ago. Why? Is something wrong?”
Exactly one year ago. And in that brief moment, memories from the past flashed rapidly through Lisa's mind...
‘I'm screwed...’
The memory of ravishing Priest Isaiah in the sacred chapel.
The memory of making him lick her pussy under the office desk.
The memory of drugging and violating him, and more...
Countless recollections surfaced, cold sweat beading on her hands and feet.
‘Wait... No way. He's been watching everything this whole time...? Surely not.’