The Saintess's Price
How should I handle this? The board had grown considerably. The succubus problem was something I could solve on my own if I took a little time—whether by cracking that wench’s skull open or whatever else suited me. These people didn’t seem the type to give up easily, either. Nor was it something I could simply lean on my father for.
I sat with my legs crossed, staring coolly at these uninvited guests. Every face was painted with expectation and desperation, tangled with complex, subtle emotions I couldn’t quite name. Hmm. If I didn’t yield here, they would only bring more pressure. The proper etiquette for these situations was to rebuff a few times before graciously accepting.
“A Saintess, you say? Do you all desire me to become one that badly?”
“Yes!”
Hmm. Should I accept now? No, not yet. If I latched onto the church’s offer too eagerly, they would treat me like a marionette. That was unacceptable.
“Then I’ll set some conditions.”
“Understood. I expected as much.”
Of course. Having come this far, they must have anticipated that much. But I doubted they could predict the actual content.
I pulled out a sheet of paper, wrote down my terms at a leisurely pace, and slid it across to them. The priest’s face aged a full decade the moment he read it. Naturally. From the church’s perspective, my conditions would be utterly absurd.
1. Olivia Lapa Ashtar shall be registered as a Saintess of the Imperial Church, but no religious devotion shall be forced upon her.
2. Attendance at the church shall be decided solely by the will of Olivia Lapa Ashtar.
3. The nun’s habit shall be crafted according to the specifications and demands of Olivia Lapa Ashtar.
4. Saintess Olivia Lapa Ashtar shall not obey any orders from any person within the church.
“W-wait just a moment. You expect us to accept all of this?”
I leaned back comfortably in my chair, smiling sweetly. “Why shouldn’t you?”
“How can we possibly accept such outrageous demands? Isn’t this an act of insulting the Goddess?”
Hmm. Did they think the church and the Goddess were the same thing? People should speak properly even if their mouths are crooked. I knew perfectly well the Goddess had nothing to do with this.
“It would be an insult to the Imperial Church, not the Goddess. Or am I wrong?”
The priest swallowed hard, his expression uneasy at my words. He had no business dragging the Goddess into this.
“Don’t be like that. Fifth condition: the church shall pay Saintess Olivia Lapa Ashtar a monthly salary of one million linos.”
“Olivia!”
Oh? He actually raised his voice? It seemed they still had some spine left.
“Sixth. Expenses for luxuries shall be paid separately from the salary. And every time you whine and complain about accepting my terms, I’ll add another condition.”
“Can you truly treat the church this way? The church has always—”
Lived comfortably, yes. “Always what? Do you even know which family you’re provoking right now? Seventh condition: exempt the church taxes imposed on commoners.”
“……”
By this point, even the uninvited guests’ faces had hardened. Their expressions clearly asked how I could possibly drive the church into such a corner. But when I glared at them, every head dropped like scolded dogs.
“If you’re so upset, why don’t you become the Saintess instead?”
In the end, the uninvited guests left with nothing to show for their visit. Honestly. They should have negotiated properly from the start. What did they take me for, offering the position of Saintess so lightly?
The Imperial Church stood in the eastern district of the imperial capital. Its massive architecture connected the imperial palace and the Athena Academy, and the towering statue of the Goddess in front was so magnificent that it fascinated even foreign travelers touring the empire.
Zaiden, the pontiff of the Imperial Goddess Church and master of this opulent institution, summoned Raffel—the priest who had gone to recruit the empire’s new Saintess—into a secret chamber deep within the church the moment he returned alone.
“Why have you returned by yourself?”
“Your Holiness. These are the conditions Olivia Lapa Ashtar has set for becoming the church’s Saintess.”
1. Register Olivia Lapa Ashtar as Saintess without forcing religious devotion.
2. Church attendance at Olivia Lapa Ashtar’s sole discretion.
3. Nun’s habit to be made per Olivia Lapa Ashtar’s requirements.
4. Saintess Olivia Lapa Ashtar shall obey no orders from any church member.
5. Pay monthly salary of 1,000,000 linos to Saintess Olivia Lapa Ashtar.
6. Luxury expenses paid separately. Additional conditions will be added for every complaint.
7. Exempt church taxes imposed on commoners.
Zaiden read the note and burst into laughter at first. As expected of someone who knew nothing of the world. Such arrogance could almost be called noble-like. But as he continued reading the additional clauses at the bottom, his hands began to tremble violently.
“What an utterly audacious girl.”
Was she picking a fight with the church? Or was this youthful arrogance making her believe that simply being offered the position of Saintess entitled her to stand above the church itself? The more pressing issue, however, was the sheer incompetence of the priest standing before him.
Looking at this, if the fool had handled it properly, Olivia would have accepted the position of Saintess.
Heat rose up Zaiden’s neck. He exhaled deeply, forcing his anger down. Yes. He had to endure. It wasn’t as if his subordinates had only become idiots overnight.
“What should we do?”
No, this wouldn’t do. Just looking at that stupid face made him realize anew how low the church’s standards had fallen.
“Come here.”
“Yes?”
Slap!
He struck Raffel’s cheek with all his strength. He had meant to calm his anger, yet the crisp impact felt incredibly refreshing. Yes. This was entirely Raffel’s fault.
“You brainless idiot! The first four conditions could have been negotiated reasonably, but because you ran your mouth, the burden has only grown heavier!”
“I-I merely—”
“Silence. Among the church’s high clergy are nobles who act as they please. What’s one Saintess compared to that!”
Olivia was a noble. Moreover, she was the eldest daughter of the Ashtar family, the empire’s most prestigious house. The first four conditions had been negotiable. In fact, they could have been accepted as written. If they humored Olivia’s whims a little, the Ashtar family would become a powerful sponsor. Was it so difficult to accept the demands of a mere girl?
“I-I’m sorry.”
Only then did Raffel lower his head. If even this fool was this incompetent, the others were likely worse. From the fifth condition onward, accepting them would require throwing away every shred of the church’s pride. A salary of one million linos. Separate payment for luxury expenses. Exemption of taxes on commoners. Up to the sixth, it was essentially treating the church as Olivia’s personal wallet. The seventh even sought to interfere in the church’s internal affairs.
Zaiden’s plan to gently coax Olivia and use her as the church’s mouthpiece had gone awry. Still, she was too valuable to let slip away.
“Professor Marie from the Athena Theology Department initially doubted it as well, but she confirmed that an enormous trace of holy power remained in that classroom. The students also testified it belonged to her.”
“Y-yes.”
Marie, whom they had planted as a theology professor, was a fairly high-ranking cleric even within the church. For such a person to acknowledge it, and after sending multiple agents to verify, there was no doubt Olivia possessed the qualities of an exceptional Saintess. They could not lose her.
“Then what do you think will happen if the Holy Kingdom sets its eyes on her?”
“That would…”
“While she remains inside the empire, I can make her our Saintess. But if the Pope of the Holy Kingdom comes personally, the story changes entirely!”
The priest’s face filled with panic at Zaiden’s words.
“Surely she wouldn’t go to the Holy Kingdom?”
“The current Saintess traveling with the Hero has caused the Holy Kingdom no small amount of headache. If, at such a time, a woman with even greater holy power than Saintess Cyria appeared in the empire, what do you think the Holy Kingdom would do?”
“Ah.”
The Holy Kingdom. Though the Kingdom was said to be the birthplace of the church, during the chaotic Warring States Period long ago, continuous invasions forced the Pope to leave the Kingdom and establish the Holy Kingdom in the eastern continent. It was ruled solely by the church, with the Goddess faith as its state religion and the Pope as its leader. Every citizen was a follower of the Goddess, and it maintained strict neutrality with no alliances or enemies, earning recognition as a neutral state. Its military consisted of the Paladin Order and an army of priests and nuns drawn from the faithful. Though it lagged in military and national power, the Pope’s existence as the successor of the Goddess faith granted it sufficient legitimacy.
Its current headquarters was in the eastern continent, but because many believers remained in the Kingdom when the Holy Kingdom was founded, the Kingdom was still called the motherland. Naturally, the Holy Kingdom also selected its own Saintesses. If they seriously moved to claim Olivia before the empire, there would be little the empire could do to stop them.
“Do you understand what mistake you’ve made?”
“B-but would that extravagant, corrupted woman even want to go to the Holy Kingdom? Isn’t the Holy Kingdom infinitely stricter than we are?”
“Hmm. You have a point. Now that I think about it, how did someone like her come to possess such holy power?”
“Indeed.”
Unlike Olivia, who viewed all holy power as merely a branch of magic, the Imperial Church—though corrupt—still regarded it as the power of the Goddess. That was why they could not leave Olivia, who radiated such vast holy power, alone. With her, the Imperial Church could obtain the same legitimacy as the Kingdom or the Holy Kingdom. If Olivia proved impossible, they could at least make use of her younger sister. That girl Lily also possessed considerable holy power.
“If Olivia won’t do, we’ll have to use a substitute. What about this Lily? If that girl gives up on the Crown Prince, we could make her a Saintess instead.”
“From what I’ve gathered, she seems to want both her fiancé and the position of Saintess.”
What a greedy creature. “Her greed is excessive. She’d be perfect for a monster to ensnare. It can’t be helped. Tell Olivia we’ll postpone only the seventh condition under the pretext of war funds and accept the rest.”
“Will that be all right?”
“A mere million linos is nothing if we have the Ashtar family’s sponsorship. The nobles already send us considerable donations anyway. Besides, how much luxury could a girl her age possibly indulge in?”
There were no noblewomen who ruined their families through extravagance. Especially not Olivia, who had lived under the Ashtar family. She likely held no great desire for luxury.
“T-that is true. Understood.”
“And if you spout more nonsense and cause any additional conditions to be added, know that I will turn you into a male prostitute and throw you onto the red-light street!”
“Y-yes!”
Having been thoroughly scolded, Raffel received the pontiff’s orders and headed back to Athena Academy.
Near the water gate on the outskirts of the imperial capital, a secret meeting was taking place. The participants were Lily, a girl with pink hair in twin tails, and a succubus with seductive curves, horns, and a tail ending in a heart shape, her hair a vibrant purple.
The moment they met, the succubus sneered at Lily, whose face was already twisted in displeasure.
“How truly pathetic you are, Lily!”
“Ugh. It’s not like I did it on purpose!”
“Then why did you provoke Olivia when she was just sitting quietly?”
She hadn’t even used the power I gave her to seduce the man I told her to. Instead, she had pointlessly bewitched other girls and made them attack her own sister. Just how much inferiority complex did she harbor toward her sister Olivia? This was exactly why human women were so troublesome. Or perhaps expecting anything from Lily had been foolish from the start.
“Because I’m sick of my sister always being the one who shines!”
“After stealing so much from Olivia, you dare say that?”
“Whose side are you on, anyway?”
“You’re an idiot, so what can I do? I told you to seduce a man, but instead you only ever hit the back of a quiet woman’s head.”
The succubus shook her head. Honestly, she wanted to end their contract right now. At this rate, she was just becoming a pretty accessory to Lily’s childish games.
“I’ve lived in the gutter until now. If you’re going to help me, then cooperate properly!”
“You want to keep your virginity to offer to the Crown Prince, you can’t cancel the contract with me, and on top of that you want to drive your sister out.”
The succubus listed Lily’s desires one by one while glaring at her. Just how wicked was this human? Her body wasn’t even developed enough to seduce a single man, yet after suffering in her early years and finally inheriting her father’s blood to live as a wealthy young lady, she still wasn’t satisfied. She was truly a hopeless woman.
She had formed the contract by chance after encountering such a girl, but because of this idiot, she herself might end up exposed in the empire.
“If my sister has it, then I should be allowed to have it too!”
Why was she even saying such things to a monster like me? Did she think I was her friend or something? But now that I actually thought about it…
Wait. Now that I think about it, I’m angry?
I gave her the power to bewitch people, yet I hadn’t received a single thing from Lily in return. Why exactly had I been helping her all this time?