The Saintess (1)
"I—I beg your pardon!"
The holy knight's reaction upon reading the letter of introduction was nothing short of extreme.
"I—I'll inform them at once!"
"Um, quietly. Please tell them quietly."
He was so flustered that cold sweat had broken out across his brow.
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
I pressed a hand to my forehead and let out a long sigh. Just what on earth had been written in that letter to provoke a reaction like that?
"What kind of introduction letter is that, exactly? For a holy knight to react that way, it can't be anything ordinary."
"Haha… It's a letter the Archbishop wrote for me."
At the word Archbishop, the young master flinched slightly.
"The Archbishop?"
"Yes. My master happens to have a connection with him."
"I see."
To my surprise, the young master didn't press any further. Well… once we stepped inside the temple, the truth would come out anyway. For now, I might as well enjoy the peace while it lasted.
"Haa…"
I exhaled a long breath. I really, truly did not want to go in.
"I've sent word inside, so someone will be here shortly. Please, just wait a moment!"
"You don't have to be quite so tense."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The holy knight stood rigidly at attention, back ramrod straight, looking thoroughly wound up. Holding a posture like that had to be exhausting…
As time passed, a commotion began to stir from the direction of the temple.
"W-We're preparing as quickly as we can, so please, just a little longer—just a little longer!"
Was my presence really this significant? The reaction was genuinely bewildering. A short while later, light flared from the darkened interior of the temple, and people came rushing out in a flurry.
"W-Welcome. Please, come in."
An elderly man bowed his head. He had clearly come out in such a hurry that he hadn't even dressed properly—his collar dragged along the floor, and the cape draped over his shoulders was slipping off.
The priests and nuns who had followed him out were in much the same state. A slipping veil was the least of it; some of them hadn't even managed to put their clothes on correctly, with undergarments faintly visible through the gaps.
"Haha… It seems I've arrived a bit too late in the evening."
"N-Not at all. Please, come inside first."
They tried to receive me with the utmost deference. Judging by this reaction, the letter of introduction must have described me quite thoroughly.
"First of all… would it be possible to borrow some rooms?"
"Rooms?"
"Yes. Rooms where my companions can rest."
I glanced back at my sister and the young master standing behind me.
"We shall prepare rooms at once."
"They don't need to be anything fancy. Just somewhere to sleep is fine."
Looking at the priests' expressions, though… I had a feeling they weren't about to hand us any leftover spare rooms.
"Just what kind of introduction letter is this, for the clergy to be in such a state?"
I smiled faintly at the young master's question.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Though I'd rather not tell you… The elderly man who appeared to be in charge guided us into the temple.
From behind us, a scathing reprimand rang out.
"You—you absolute fool! You should have brought them inside first! What were you thinking, making them wait outside?!"
I didn't even need to look. A senior priest was dressing down the holy knight. Because of me, that young holy knight was catching hell.
"Um… please don't scold the knight who was guarding the gate too harshly."
I caught hold of the elderly man's sleeve as I spoke. He frowned slightly, then nodded.
"Understood."
He gave a chin-jerk to one of the priests, and the noise behind us fell quiet.
I feel bad for showing up so late…
The old man led us to what appeared to be a reception hall. Being the headquarters of the church, even the reception room carried an air of considerable grandeur.
"First, allow me to thank you for gracing us with your presence."
"I take it you're more or less aware of the circumstances?"
"Yes. It was written that the matter must be kept hidden, and that you have no wish to reveal your identity."
The Archbishop seemed to have put a fair amount of care into the letter, at least.
The young master seated beside me looked thoroughly lost. My sister, on the other hand, already knew the full story—and she was watching me with quiet concern.
She knew perfectly well how much I had been avoiding this place.
"First, I should make it clear that I had no intention of coming here. Things simply went off plan, and I ended up arriving. So I'd appreciate it if you didn't make a fuss over me."
A flicker of disappointment crossed his face.
"Yes. I understand."
"And… the fact that I've come—"
"Will be kept secret."
It was nice that we were on the same page so easily…
"However, it may already be too late."
After the uproar we'd caused at night, he said, word was bound to spread.
"As long as they can't specifically identify me, that's fine."
"Understood."
I gave him a brief explanation of why I was here. I had taken on an escort job to earn some money, and by coincidence the destination had been this place. After completing the escort, I'd tried to find an inn—only to discover, unluckily, that every room was full. Coming to the temple had been a last resort.
"I see. That would be because of the exchange conference in a few days."
Apparently the church held a regular academic exchange conference, and it was scheduled for just a few days from now. Scholars of renown from across the continent would gather to showcase their knowledge, share their research, or present their findings publicly.
"Ah, that explains it."
Now I understood why the Adventurers' Guild had been so crowded…
How else would all those scholars have gotten here? Plenty of them were mages, sure, but traveling alone was dangerous. Of course they would have hired escorts.
The merchants selling paper made sense too. An academic exchange conference? Did anyone really think it would end with just conversation?
Researchers working on similar topics would form partnerships. And if someone was publishing a book, they could have it printed right here.
"Heh. You've arrived at a most opportune time. It's a shame, really."
If it weren't for the other denominations, he said, he would have announced my identity right then and there.
"I'd like to refuse that absolutely."
"I shall respect your wishes."
Beside me, the young master still couldn't quite follow our conversation. He must have been curious, yet he was holding back admirably without asking a single question.
I supposed I ought to tell him.
"Aren't you curious, Young Master?"
"Of course I am… But I can hardly force the question, can I?"
So he did have some sense of tact after all. Though if he'd truly had tact, he wouldn't have pulled that stunt at the baron's estate, and he certainly wouldn't have forced his way into our journey.
Why he only ever managed to exercise discretion in moments like this was beyond me…
"You haven't told your companions, then?"
"This one is family, so she already knows. This one is a travel companion, so I haven't told him yet."
I gave a wry smile.
"Young Master, try not to be too shocked."
"I'm already shocked. Is there something that could shock me further?"
He asked with a playful look.
"Yes. Something shocking enough that you'll want to run away."
Only then did his expression turn serious.
"That significant?"
"Yes. And once you hear it, there's no taking it back—so if you'd rather not know, I won't say a word."
"Even so, if it concerns Miss Julian, I'd like to know."
He smiled with an easy, open expression. This man, really? For a noble, he had no filter whatsoever… saying embarrassing things without the slightest hesitation.
"Ahem. Well… this may be hard to believe, but…"
I deliberately dragged it out, and he swallowed hard, tensing up.
"Apparently, I'm the Saintess."
He blinked at me, his face going completely blank.
"Surprising, isn't it? That a commoner like me, with nothing to her name, was chosen by a goddess."
Even thinking about it again… I still had no idea what the Goddess had seen in me to make me her apostle. And thanks to that, the pressure to live up to the role weighed heavily on me.
"Th-the Saintess?"
"That is correct. This lady is the holy one chosen by our Goddess."
When the elderly man confirmed it, the young master's mouth fell open, his eyes wide with shock.
"The S-Saintess?!"
"Yes. So they tell me."
His pupils were actually trembling. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything.
"Well, it doesn't change anything. I have no intention of making a public announcement, and it's something I'd rather keep hidden."
Silence settled over the room. There wasn't much more to say, really.
"The rooms have been prepared."
At that moment, the door to the reception hall opened and a priest stepped in.
"Have they?"
"Sister, go get some rest."
"Okay. What about you, Yuli?"
"I'll rest once I'm done talking."
"Please, do not worry yourself."
The old man was courteous toward my sister as well. He was likely of quite high rank, yet he remained carefully deferential.
A nun came to escort my sister away, and a priest moved to lead the young master off as well.
"I—!"
He looked as though he wanted to say something to me.
"Rest for today. We'll talk tomorrow."
I said it with a smile.
Yes—we did need to have a proper conversation. I had to decide whether we would continue traveling together, or part ways.
"He seems a fine companion."
"Well…"
He only said that because he didn't know the young master had forced his way along. If he found that out, he'd probably try to separate us by any means necessary.
When the old man asked what I planned to do going forward, I answered…
"I thought I'd spend a few days sightseeing around the city."
"I shall assign you an escort."
"That would draw too much attention. No."
Besides, my sister and the young master were more than enough.
"And my companions are strong, you know."
I smiled, thinking of the two of them. When you really considered it, we made quite the party, didn't we? I was a mage and a Saintess; the young master and my sister were both of Knight Class…
"Then I am relieved to hear it."
Honestly, I was so tired that continuing the conversation was a struggle—but he seemed to have no end of things he wanted to ask, and he wouldn't let me go.
"Are you currently engaged in any research?"
"Research…?"
So that's what he's hoping for after all…
Given how people had always approached me, of course he would expect something.
"Yes. I don't mean to pressure you, but…"
He went on about how I would need accomplishments to solidify my position.
I hadn't even received anything, and already it was positions and achievements—what a tiresome line of talk.
"Have you heard of alchemy?"
"Alchemy? Of course."
What he described was the alchemy of this era—the craft of combining alloys and various materials to create something new.
"Alloys produced through alchemy are especially useful."
Well, that was alchemy too, in its own way…
"The alchemy I study is a technique from a thousand years ago."
I relayed what The Master had organized for me.
"It's a craft of combining materials through mana or holy power to create new forms."
I hadn't researched enough yet to have anything worth announcing publicly.
"Oh… a technique from a thousand years ago."
"I suspect it was abandoned and buried under the rise of magic."
"And you intend to revive it?"
"That, and create some new things along the way."
I went on to describe one of the items I was currently conceptualizing.
"A medicine that, when drunk, can heal internal injuries and wounds?"
"That's the goal, at any rate. If something like that existed, people could survive injuries even without holy magic or regular magic, don't you think?"
The old man tapped his fingers against the table, lost in thought.
"If it could be mass-produced, countless lives would be saved."
"It's still just a concept for now."
I hadn't had the time for proper research, so it remained nothing more than an idea.
"Even that alone is remarkable."
When he asked whether I planned to share my alchemy with others, I told him not yet.
"I intend to establish proper recipes first, then make it known."
"Then we shall wait."
"Disappointed?"
"Simply having found you is more than enough."
They had searched for more than six years, so I supposed that was fair.
"And you are more than worthy of the Goddess's choice. Do not reproach yourself too harshly."
Haha… he had seen right through me. Honestly, I still didn't understand why I had been chosen.
"That you rediscovered the alchemy of a thousand years past, and that you seek to use it to help people—is that not all the will of the Goddess?"
"Is that so…"
So turning me into a woman really was the Goddess's scheme after all…!
I wanted to be angry, but I didn't have the energy left for it. I was far too exhausted, and sleep was pulling at me so hard that a huge yawn escaped.
I quickly covered my mouth, but there was no stopping it.
"Oh dear. I've kept you far too long."
"Haha…"
"There is much more I wish to discuss, but we should leave it here for today."
As the old man rose, a nun who had been waiting nearby approached me.
"Please, allow me to escort you."
I gave a wry smile and reached for my bag.
"I shall carry that for you."
"It's fine."
I didn't hand the bag over to the nun. She looked a touch uncomfortable, but I would carry my own things, thank you very much.
Under the nun's guidance, we arrived at the room, and—
"I'm supposed to use a room like this…?!"
It was so lavish it made a baron's estate look like a hovel—an opulent chamber that could only be described as extravagant.
Was I really allowed to stay in a place like this?