Chapter 7
Chapter 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Saintess Rainy (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What… what did you say?”
“Cut it off and become a saintess. You’ve got the talent.”
“No, if someone has talent in divine power, isn’t it normal to recommend becoming a holy knight?”
The saintess leaned in close to my ear, whispering as if sharing some secret knowledge.
“I don’t know the exact reason, but they say that if a male priest cuts it off, they can focus better during prayer and their divine power grows stronger. It even clears away stray thoughts.”
“Th-then, you don’t mean…?”
The saintess grinned wickedly.
“For men who’ve climbed high enough in the Church ranks, most of them have already…”
Gasp.
A chill ran down my spine, goosebumps prickling across my skin.
I had just stumbled upon a secret from a world I was never meant to know.
No wonder I’d never seen any high-ranking male priests get married.
They’d all cut them off…
“E-even if they do cut it off, don’t people usually aim for Pope? Why are you telling me to become a saintess?”
The saintess shook her head.
“Unlike saintesses, who are chosen purely based on divine power, male priests have to start out affiliated with the Church from the beginning to rise to high positions. For an outsider like you, it’s better to just go the saintess route as a woman.”
I hadn’t realized the former saintess held such open-minded views.
“No, I’m a guy among guys. Look at these shoulders and this height.”
I flexed my well-trained, sturdy shoulders.
“Hmm…”
The saintess examined my shoulders intently, poked at them a bit, then nodded.
“Yeah, it’d be hard to pass as a woman in drag.”
“Right?”
“Tch… What a shame. I really wanted to make you a saintess.”
This silver-haired priestess smacked her lips regretfully, as if she’d truly been serious about turning me into one.
‘She’s scary.’
I decided I needed to monitor her even more closely to ensure she never got her hands on any sharp weapons. With that thought, I stood up from the rock.
“Well then, you should be able to walk now, right?”
“Oh, yeah.”
I offered the saintess my hand, and she used it as support to stand.
Her legs were still trembling.
Worried she might trip, I shortened my stride and walked slowly.
Fortunately, though her pace was sluggish, she stubbornly kept up.
“Huh? Pretty big sis!”
As we chatted idly on our way back to the lord’s castle, a redheaded girl came toddling toward us.
The saintess, who’d been wearing a rotten expression from her sore legs, instantly switched to an angelic smile more radiant than anyone else’s upon seeing her.
“Yeah, hi Dani!”
“Hee hee hee…”
The redheaded girl snuggled right into the saintess’s arms.
It seemed they knew each other.
For the saintess, who’d only been in the territory for about two weeks, to already have acquaintances.
Considering her bitchy personality, it was an astonishing achievement.
“Hey, Dani. All better now?”
“Yeah! Big sis blew on it, and all my ouchies went away!”
The saintess smiled benevolently and gently stroked the head of the girl named Dani.
“Hee hee, good girl. Be careful playing from now on, okay? If it hurts, come straight to the church?”
“Yeah!”
‘What…?’
I was hit with a massive shock right then.
In my mind, the saintess was someone who’d bawl her eyes out hunting for booze at every opportunity.
Someone who never stopped cursing.
Someone who’d glare with a rotten expression at the drop of a hat.
So who was this woman over there, smiling more gently and kindly than anyone in the world, speaking so sweetly?
I wondered if I was dreaming and pinched my cheek.
“Ow…”
The scene before me was unmistakably real.
How could she speak so sweetly when she’d never done it before?
While I was lost in shock for a moment, Dani pointed at me with her finger.
“But… who’s that big brother?”
Had I been holed up in the castle too much?
One of our territory’s kids knew the saintess’s face but not mine.
It was said that not recognizing the faces of high officials was a sign of peaceful times.
Still, I needed to get out and about more.
“Hmm… who’s that?”
The saintess playfully asked while stroking Dani’s cheek.
“Hmm…”
Dani furrowed her brow in thought.
Then she clapped as if she’d figured it out.
“Big sis’s husband!”
“…Wh-why do you think that?”
Cracks began forming in the saintess’s benevolent smile.
“‘Cause you were together all sweet-like!”
“Dani, there’s this thing called friends in the world.”
“But Mom says there’s no such thing as friends between boys and girls!”
Her mother must have done a great job raising her.
For a little kid to already think like that.
The saintess froze for a moment, her smile cracking, before finally managing to speak.
“Dani, big sis and big brother are friends. Got it?”
“But you looked super sweet together?”
“Nah, sweet? It’s a misunderstanding.”
I realized this was the perfect chance to tease her as I watched her desperately maintain her crumbling smile, sweat beading on her forehead.
If I let this opportunity slip, I’d regret it forever.
So I flashed a bright, innocent smile and cautiously approached the little girl named Dani.
“R-really?”
Dani was on the verge of being convinced by the saintess’s earnest persuasion.
No way I’d let that happen.
“Hi, Dani?”
“Um… hi, handsome big brother?”
“Do I look like this big sis’s husband to you?”
“Kinda, but now I’m not sure…”
The saintess was still smiling softly, but she kept glancing at me anxiously.
Worried about what I might say, no doubt.
Heh.
I shot the saintess a sly grin, then gently patted Dani’s head.
“You saw right, Dani. Big brother and this big sis are married.”
“R-really? Then why’s big sis denying it?”
“Hey, what are you—”
The saintess started to snap in anger but clamped her mouth shut, realizing Dani was there.
“‘Cause big sis likes big brother a super ton. That’s why she’s embarrassed.”
“Oh… I see…”
I could see the saintess’s fists trembling.
Ah, bliss.
***
Daven Baron Family Lord’s Castle, 1st Floor Dining Hall.
This space was so small it was almost embarrassing to call it a dining hall, filled only with the clinking of dishes as the saintess and I ate.
Having forcibly dragged the hikikomori saintess Rainy out of her room, I felt a slight awkwardness at sharing a meal with someone else after so long.
To break the ice, I tapped the shoulder of Rainy, who was grunting and struggling to cut her steak with a knife.
“What?”
Her response was so hostile it was hard to believe it came from the same person who’d beamed at Dani earlier.
Brushing it off, I asked the question nagging at me.
“But is my divine power really that impressive?”
Even to my eyes, it seemed pretty talented.
The flame that had bloomed in my hand back then looked incredibly pure and powerful.
Still, beyond just vaguely strong, I wanted an objective measure of my divine power’s level.
Rainy, hearing my question, nodded with a fork in her mouth.
“I don’t bullshit. I meant it about the saintess thing because your talent’s the real deal.”
“…”
She stole a piece of my bread and dipped it in her soup before continuing.
“It’s not normal for someone feeling divine power for the first time to produce Purifying Flame. With talent like that, most people end up as saintesses or heroes.”
“Did you breathe fire right from the start too, Saintess?”
“I’ll show you.”
She snatched my slice of bread, held it in her hand.
“Huuup.”
Took a deep breath.
Whoosh.
White flames poured from her mouth.
The bread was perfectly toasted in an instant.
I clapped sincerely, genuinely impressed.
Pleased by my applause, Rainy wiped the drool from her mouth and naturally swallowed the bread.
‘That was mine…’
“I’m on a whole other level from you. From the moment I first felt divine power, I could breathe fire from my mouth.”
“What, are you a dragon or something?”
Rainy chuckled at my words.
“They did call me a dragon back at the Church.”
“Why?”
“‘Cause I’d sneak into those dusty old geezers’ hoarded treasures, steal ‘em, and pile them up in my room. My maid said it looked like a dragon’s lair.”
“You’ve done more than a couple things that’d get you excommunicated.”
“Hey, I’ll cop to the others… but that one’s unfair. I was doing something… righteous.”
I recalled hearing that Rainy, being an orphan herself, was serious about orphan welfare.
The money she’d gathered like that probably went to them.
“I can kinda understand why the Church folks beat you now.”
“Th-those old farts deserved it… Haa… haa…”
Mid-sentence, Rainy slumped over her chair, her body starting to shake.
I quickly cleared away all the sharp utensils and sat beside her in a panic.
“Saintess. Saintess.”
“Haa… haa… haa haa…”
I’d thought her withdrawal symptoms had lessened lately and let my guard down, but the seizure hit right away.
After a week of sobriety, her symptoms had mostly shifted from physical to mental anxiety.
So I chose the most effective method from the ones I’d tried.
First, I gripped her trembling hand tightly.
Then, carefully pulled her into my arms so as not to startle her.
“Hnng…”
Humans instinctively find comfort in another’s warm embrace.
Rainy’s shaking, which had soaked my collar with tears, gradually subsided.
Until it finally stopped.
After serving briefly as her pillow, I spoke cautiously.
“Saintess?”
“…”
“Saintess? I know the seizure’s stopped.”
“…Yeah…”
“Shall I carry you to your room?”
Still hiding her face against me, Rainy slowly nodded.