Chapter 212: The Saint
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 212: The Saint
Clatter.
The sound of silverware was accompanied by a bright smile spreading across her lips.
“Mmm…! This is delicious!”
Noel sliced her steak, looking happier than ever.
“Eat as much as you want.”
Three hours had already passed since we’d left the gate.
A lot had happened in that time.
The sudden appearance of a demon worshipper had thrown the Hunter Association into an uproar.
It was revealed that an Association employee had secretly let the demon worshipper into the gate.
Upon discovering this, the Association hastily formed a pursuit team, but the employee had already fled the country.
Since a demon worshipper was involved, the Church was apparently cooperating actively, but I had my doubts they could catch someone who had planned their escape so thoroughly.
In any case, the incident was entirely the Association’s fault. Not long after we emerged from the gate, one of their big shots came and bowed his head to us in apology.
“We are truly sorry!”
I never thought I’d be getting an apology from some guy who looked like a congressman.
Of course, he hadn’t come just to apologize.
He asked us to keep quiet about the incident.
There was a reason a man of his stature had shown up, sweating bullets.
If word of this got out, the Association’s prestige would take a massive hit. They were in hot water.
“Understood.”
I saw no reason to refuse, so I agreed.
It wasn’t like he’d shamelessly asked for the favor empty-handed.
He promised future monetary compensation, along with one of the artifacts the Association had in storage.
The grade, of course, was limited to mid-to-low tier or below.
It was a bit disappointing that we had no choice in the matter, but if they had any sense, they wouldn’t just toss us something useless.
There was no way the Association didn’t know who I was.
The very fact that they were offering an artifact as hush money was proof that they were mindful of my background.
For the record, the other party members were taken to a hospital run by the Church.
From what I heard, none of them had life-threatening injuries.
The Church collected the demon worshipper’s corpse that I had brought out.
Naturally, they didn’t take it for free.
The bishop I often ran into when buying holy water promised me a separate reward.
I wished I could get an honorary priesthood out of it, but…
‘They’re not going to give me that for catching a single demon worshipper.’
Even I knew that was being greedy.
It would probably be a few bottles of high-grade holy water and some cash.
In any case, we agreed that the detailed investigation would happen tomorrow, and Noel and I left the scene.
“Master, can I order this?”
“Order whatever you want.”
“Wow!”
If I had canceled our date to get investigated on the spot, Noel would have been furious.
I didn’t have the confidence to handle the aftermath of that.
“Hehe, then I’ll have the carpaccio, the Greek salad, and the ribeye… Oh! The vongole pasta was good too, right? Excuse me.”
“Yes.”
“Everything I just mentioned, plus one of every dessert, please.”
“Right away.”
It seemed like a lot, but this was a regular occurrence, so I decided not to think much of it.
Besides, considering where we were going later, it would be good for Noel to eat her fill.
*
What is faith?
To that question, a cleric once answered.
—Faith is proof.
Proof of oneself.
Proof of one’s belief.
Never doubt, no matter the hardship.
Doubt is evil, and unwavering belief is good.
That is the only way to prove one’s faith.
“Bullshit.”
A crude sneer echoed through the spacious conference room.
The man, his feet propped up on the desk, crumpled the newspaper he was reading.
“No matter how I think about it, he’s clearly gone senile. God is so cruel, still making use of an old man who should’ve been put in a nursing home long ago.”
The moment the man’s voice drifted on the air…
Shing—
Something glinted in the darkness.
“…Would you mind moving this?”
The man glanced indifferently at the blade pressed against his neck.
“Repent for your blasphemous words against His Holiness.”
“Bullshit.”
An intense killing intent radiated from the two of them.
It was strong enough to kill a person of weak mind and body in moments.
“Move the sword before I mince your tongue.”
Despite the man’s killing intent and threat, the woman did not withdraw her blade.
Instead, her cold, sunken eyes, ready to swing the sword at any moment, flickered in the darkness.
Just as their sharp confrontation continued…
Clap—
With a single clap, the conference room was flooded with bright light.
Someone was standing in the empty center of the large, round table.
“That’s enough, both of you.”
A pure white priest’s robe and a golden rosary around their neck shone.
Their hair, as if spun from molten gold, was breathtakingly beautiful, and their golden eyes, engraved with crosses, seemed to overflow with divinity.
“God is watching.”
It was Ellyn Theresia, the 13th Saint of the Vatican.
At their appearance, the two retracted their killing intent as if it had never been there.
The five men and women present, including the two, rose from their seats and paid their respects.
At a small gesture from Ellyn, they sat back down.
“Thank you for answering my summons at such a late hour.”
The divine power contained in their voice, as clear as crystal, spread through the room, bringing peace to the hearts and minds of all who heard it.
But the words that followed shattered that peace to pieces.
“Two hours ago, we received information that a demon descended in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.”
Thud!
Before they could even finish, a man shot up, slamming his hands on the desk.
“Is that true?”
The others also wore expressions of disbelief.
The last time a demon officially descended on Earth was 23 years ago.
It was no surprise they couldn’t easily shake their skepticism.
The Saint gave a quiet nod.
“Fortunately, it was not its true body that descended. It seems it manifested by possessing the body of a demon worshipper it had a contract with.”
Only then did a few of them let out sighs of relief.
It meant they had avoided the worst-case scenario.
“The demon that descended was Purpur, a count who rules over 26 legions. A party from a place called the Burst Guild is said to have dealt with it.”
“Hoh… To think a mere party could defeat a demon. They must be a remarkable guild.”
The Saint shook their head.
“It seems the party was composed entirely of B-rank members. The demon worshipper had bribed an Association employee and was waiting with a trap on the other side of the gate.”
“B-rank…?”
The murmuring grew louder.
Even if it was only a possession, a demon was still a demon.
For hunters who couldn’t receive the aid of divine power, they were formidable foes.
Moreover, their opponent was Purpur, one of the counts of Hell, a powerful demon who wielded storms and lightning.
“A detailed investigation is scheduled to begin tomorrow. His Holiness wishes for a few of you to visit Korea personally and participate. If there are any volunteers, please raise your hand…”
Before the words were even finished, everyone attending the meeting raised their hands.
Demons were the enemy of humanity.
For them, the guardians of humanity and symbols of the Vatican, there was no greater duty.
*
Vrrr—
A familiar ringtone vibrated in my ear.
I forced my eyes open. The sunlight filtering through the curtains told me it was morning.
I turned my head and saw Noel sleeping soundly.
Normally, the sound of my phone would have woken her up instantly, but it seemed she was completely knocked out after I’d tormented her late into the night.
“Hello.”
It was an unknown number, but I had calls coming from many places, so I answered it.
—My apologies for calling so early in the morning. This is Yoo Sangwoo, the one who gave you a business card yesterday.
It was the priest who had given me his card at the gate.
—The investigation has been scheduled for 2 PM. Would that be alright with you? We can postpone it until tomorrow if you wish.
“No, I’ll be there then.”
—Understood. Ah, do you happen to have Ms. Noel’s contact information? The Association said they don’t have a number registered for her.
“I’ll let her know.”
We could just go together later.
I hung up and lay back down in bed.
There was still some time before checkout, so I thought about spending it training. But just then…
“Nngh…”
Noel, tossing and turning in her sleep, caught my eye.
She had kicked off the blanket, revealing her pure white, naked body. Seeing her, all thoughts of training vanished from my mind.
It seemed we wouldn’t be leaving before checkout, so I called the front desk and extended our stay for another day.
“Uungh… Master…? What are you do—kya?!”
As if the memories of the previous night came flooding back, Noel began to struggle, but I wasn’t about to let her go.
After spending the entire morning tumbling in bed with Noel, I finally left the room at 1 PM.
Noel’s legs trembled pitifully the whole way to the church, like a newborn giraffe.
“…That was too much.”
“You enjoyed it too.”
“…Still, it was too much.”
“I said I’m sorry.”
“Hmph.”
Arriving at the church, I followed a priest’s guidance toward the chapel.
The Church was clearly taking this incident seriously, as there wasn’t a single civilian in sight.
Instead, the place was bustling with priests.
‘The church seems oddly clean… Was there some kind of event scheduled for today?’
It was always clean, of course, but today, the marble floors were polished to a mirror shine.
It was as if they had done a deep clean overnight.
“We meet again.”
As I looked around while heading inside, I ran into the Archbishop in the chapel.
I knew him thanks to Choi Hyena.
Of course, his first impression of me probably wasn’t great because of what she did back then.
“I’ll be in your care.”
Still, connections with an archbishop weren’t something you could make just by wanting to, so I had to leave a good impression while I had the chance.
“I heard you’re attending the Magic Tower. You must be busy as a first-year student. I’m grateful you’ve agreed to this investigation.”
“Haha, what could be more important than a matter involving a demon?”
Honestly, it was a fucking pain in the ass.
If it weren’t for my reputation and the reward, I never would have agreed to something like this.
“You speak the truth. Demons are the enemy of humanity; there is no greater cause.”
My words seemed to please him, as the Archbishop smiled contentedly.
If this went well, I might not have to worry about holy water for a while. It had been getting a little difficult to acquire the high-quality stuff.
“Well then, this way.”
I followed the Archbishop into a room inside the chapel.
Noel was next, so she decided to wait outside.
There were already people in the reception room.
“These are the individuals dispatched from the Vatican for today’s investigation.”
One was a middle-aged man, but the other was wearing a veil, making it impossible to tell their gender.
Their frame was slender, so I thought they might be a woman.
“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Felix.”
“Kang Hyun-woo.”
I exchanged a brief greeting with the middle-aged man and took a seat. Judging by the calluses on his palms, he was a knight.
The veiled person, on the other hand, simply gave me a slight nod and remained silent.
‘Their hands are really pale.’
The more I looked, the less certain I was of their gender.
Their build seemed masculine, but in another light, it could be feminine.
If only I could hear their voice.
‘…Should I try it?’
I had a skill that could determine a person’s gender.
[Use Unicorn’s Gaze on the target?]
[Y/N]
The mechanism of this skill was simple.
It couldn’t be used on a man, but it could be used on a woman.
After a moment of hesitation, I decided to use ‘Unicorn’s Gaze’.
[Ellyn Theresia
Status: Virgin]
It was a woman.
The fact that she was a virgin wasn’t particularly surprising. Being dispatched from the Vatican meant she was a devout believer, and she would be serious about pre-marital chastity.
But just as my curiosity was satisfied, I saw something strange.
‘Ellyn Theresia…?’
It was a name I was sure I’d heard somewhere before.
Where was it?
Recalling the memory wasn’t difficult.
With a little focus, my mana-circle-assisted brain provided the answer.
Ellyn Theresia.
It was, without a doubt, the name of the Saint.
‘What the hell is the Saint doing here?’
No, before that…
‘Wasn’t the Saint a man?’