Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Is This a Saintess? (1)
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Tiona immediately puffed up with arrogance and began berating Cynthia.
"Eheheheng! How dare a fearlessly ignorant commoner stand before a duke's daughter like me!? Know your place!"
"Hiiik, I'm sorry! How dare a lowly commoner like me bump into someone of noble blood! Please, just spare my life!"
Tiona covered her mouth lightly with the back of her hand and flashed a classic villainess smile, chin raised high as she looked down.
"Oho~ Hohohoho! Very well, I, Tiona Krishantimaiu, shall graciously—Gyaagyaagyaah!? Wh-what is this... Jarvis!?"
"... ."
"Hiiik! Spare me! I don't want to die yet! Next month, my favorite author's new book is coming out!"
"Why in the world would I kill you, Young Lady... ."
The same hothead lady outburst as always, but it helped ease my bewilderment a little.
The natural cause of my bewilderment was, of course, Cynthia.
"Hello."
"Uh, h-hello... ?"
The original story's protagonist—even if someone showed up to harass her over her commoner status—
'Insulting me based on bloodline means they couldn't find a single other thing to criticize? I'll take that as a compliment!'
—was the type to fire back with refreshing sass.
But.
"He, hehe... I'm sorry, did I make you uncomfortable because of me? Ah, should I kowtow with my forehead pressed to the ground?"
Who the hell was this groveling mess standing in front of me?
Cynthia's twin sister?
It was a plot twist you wouldn't even see in the trashiest dramas these days, but part of me wished that was the case.
Because if the woman right in front of me really was Cynthia, there was no way she'd ever awaken as a saintess.
In other words.
Even if I succeeded in shaping Tiona into a proper person and the Red Witch somehow joined the protagonist's party, the Black Saintess position would remain vacant this time around. The party wouldn't be complete.
In the end, destruction at the hands of the Outer Gods wouldn't change. Only the minor details of the cause would shift.
"I'm Jarvis, the home tutor for this foolish Young Lady here. Might I have your name?"
"C-Cynthia... that's me... ."
"You don't have a twin sister by any chance, do you, Miss Cynthia?"
"As far as I know, I'm an only child... ."
"... . . . . ."
I squeezed my eyes shut tight.
My future suddenly felt pitch black.
"For now."
I jotted down our home address in my notebook and handed it over along with a bit of money.
"When your work for the day ends, could you come here?"
"Y-Yes... ?"
"Please."
Cynthia hesitated for a long moment before finally taking the note and heading back inside the bakery.
On the way back from the bakery, the Young Lady prodded me.
"Sebas, why have you been acting so strange since earlier?"
"Pardon?"
"Your... expression looks scary. Scarier than when you're normally mean to me... ."
I must have been scowling without realizing it.
"When have I ever been mean to you, Young Lady?"
"You just zapped me with electricity!?"
"That was corporal punishment for an extreme situation. Surely you can cut me some slack."
"Even so, that's too much!"
"To begin with, if you didn't demean people based on their status, I'd never have to do it again."
"... You really promise?"
She really hates it, huh.
"I promise."
"Hmph!"
Tiona puffed out her cheeks like little buns.
'That aside.'
As we walked, one corner of my mind dwelled on Cynthia, and I turned to Tiona.
"Young Lady."
"What is it?"
"What do you think about the idea of friends?"
Only after asking did I realize.
This girl had no chance of having any.
Sure enough, Tiona scoffed the instant she heard the question.
"Friends? That's just an excuse weaklings use when they want to band together!"
"Dear Goddess."
This confirmed it.
Our Young Lady had never made a single friend in her entire life.
"Let's head to the bookstore. I'll buy you any one book you want."
"Why are you suddenly being so nice?"
Once we got home, while Tiona was getting washed up (=having maids wash her), I pulled out my notebook.
The first page read as follows.
- Goal: Reform Tiona.
I revised the neat line and added a new one below it.
- Goal 1: Reform Tiona.
- Goal 2: Awaken Cynthia.
'No matter how I think about it, the cause has to be me, right?'
How the hell did this even happen?
Butterfly effect.
I wasn't in the original story's narrative, but something I did somewhere along the way triggered a butterfly effect, creating a massive divergence in Cynthia's growth path.
Turning what should have been a badass into a girl who'd lick the sole of a shoe just to survive.
'My fault... huh.'
Either way, no matter the cause, now that she was like this, I had to intervene with Cynthia and 'fix' her too.
Or the world was doomed.
'So how do I handle her side of things?'
Saintess.
Chosen women who could wield holy power.
If magic was defined as the ability to change the world using special powers, then holy power was a form of magic.
But wielding holy power required a special condition.
Being chosen by the Goddess.
It was near-consensus in this world that a creator who also served as an administrator Goddess existed.
Why 'near'? Because she never communicated directly with believers in clear language. She only revealed her existence indirectly through irregular miracles.
Saintess selection was one such miracle.
A select few special women chosen by the Goddess were granted the ability to wield holy power.
Unlike magic, it could only be used for healing.
But in terms of healing, holy power boasted truly godlike might worthy of the name.
Exaggerating a bit, the empire's mortality rate swung dramatically based on how many saintesses were around.
You couldn't predict with 100% certainty which woman the Goddess would choose as a saintess.
But Cynthia was the exception.
In the story, the Goddess directly gave her a revelation. She'd been chosen for her courage.
Wait, didn't the Goddess not speak to believers in words?
Protagonist gets special rules. She's fated to save the world and more special than anyone (etc., etc.).
Anyway.
That was exactly why I was certain Cynthia, as she was now, could never become a saintess.
Conversely, the solution was crystal clear.
Just build up Cynthia's courage, and the Goddess would select her right away.
The problem was.
'How the hell do you build up someone's courage?'
It was a problem I'd never even considered before. Our villainess Young Lady had zero need for courage-building.
'This feels hopeless.'
But... in a way, it was also an opportunity.
My mid-term goal was reforming the Young Lady and turning her into a member of the protagonist's party.
Thanks to Cynthia turning out like this, a way to achieve both at once had opened up.
Make our Young Lady become friends with her.
The strongest remedy for someone steeped in discrimination was friendship—or love—with the very group they discriminated against.
If our status-obsessed Young Lady sprouted a friendship with a commoner, most of her prejudices would vanish on the spot.
Which was why I needed to bring Cynthia into this house.
Build Cynthia's courage.
And support a friendship between Tiona and Cynthia.
Both projects would progress far more smoothly with the parties involved living under this roof.
'The issue is her position... .'
We already had two housekeepers, so suddenly adding a third would feel forced.
But assigning her no duties at all would just raise eyebrows about why I brought in a random freeloader.
'Ah.'
A great idea popped into my head.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
That evening.
"Uuuu... ."
Cynthia had come to the address on the note and was trembling in front of the main gate.
'She didn't call me here to punish me for bumping into the Young Lady, did she... ?'
The reason she'd come despite her fear was that not coming felt even scarier.
To commoners, nobles were existences like that.
Before Cynthia could even knock, the door swung open first.
"Hik... !"
"Please, come in, Miss Cynthia."
The home tutor she'd run into earlier that day guided her to the living room.
'He's not mad... ?'
Good, then. But if not, why go out of his way to invite her all the way home?
A simple tea spread was laid out on the living room table. Jarvis led her there.
"Help yourself to as much as you like."
"P-Pardon? How could I... ."
"Whatever you don't finish, we'll pack up for you."
Seemed like it really was fine.
"Th-then... thank you."
Cynthia picked up one cookie and brought it to her mouth.
A sweet buttery aroma tickled the tip of her nose.
Crunch.
'It's delicious... !'
About five times tastier than she'd imagined. She barely suppressed the urge to stuff her mouth greedily.
"Listen while you eat."
Jarvis abruptly pulled out a hefty coin pouch.
"This month's friend fee."
"... ?"
Cynthia froze solid, cookie still clamped between her teeth.