Chapter 8. Saintess and Knight (6)
Chapter 8. Saintess and Knight (6)
The story that followed was, well, a little predictable.
He praised my contributions in the Gnome Region and talked about the benefits the Church had been able to gain from them.
The most important advantage was that they had secured quite a few means of storing Holy Power. When I purified that lake, I had apparently poured so much Holy Power into it that the lake itself had become somewhat sanctified.
Even if it wasn't quite to the level of the gem in my ring, they could now obtain any number of objects capable of storing the Holy Power of ordinary clergy.
"......."
I listened to all of that without a word.
There was absolutely no way the Cardinal had rushed all the way here and waited for me just to tell me that. He was clearly going to say something far more important—and something I really didn't want to hear.
"Sister Anna."
The Cardinal called my name in a rather kindly voice.
"......Yes, Your Eminence."
"By any chance, do you still have no particular interest in the position of Saintess?"
"......."
Seeing me press my lips tightly together, the Cardinal nodded readily.
But that didn't mean he fully understood me and had given up on persuading me.
"However, quite a few people from the Church witnessed this incident. Of course, not a single person from the Holy See was present, but the fact that other races witnessed that spectacle is quite significant."
"Ah, um......."
"Oh, there's no need to worry. It doesn't mean you'll be appointed Saintess right away. A government official was part of this journey, so the Devil's Advocate couldn't come along. At the very least, that person was unable to see your power."
Holy Power does not appear on camera. It is a power that can only be seen with the human eye, and for that reason it is considered sacred.
I wasn't sure whether the fact that the Devil's Advocate hadn't seen it was fortunate or not. Still, I was relieved that it wasn't yet "confirmed."
"However, procedure will be followed. A report will be filed. Perhaps the Vatican may even dispatch someone directly."
"......."
Well, that might be unavoidable.
"Your Eminence."
While I stood there unable to offer any rebuttal, Ria called out to the Cardinal in a polite voice.
"Sister Maria."
"May I say something?"
The Cardinal opened his eyes wide, as if slightly intrigued, and looked at Ria before nodding.
"As I understand it, the Church's criteria for what constitutes a 'Saintess' are still vague."
"That is correct. Unlike the Pope, who is elected, the position of Saintess is simply a seat bestowed by God."
"In that case, I believe it would be best to establish those criteria precisely first."
"Is that so? It is certainly a point worth considering."
But an argument like Ria's had surely come up within the Church before. There were even people who opposed defining an existence like the Saintess at all.
The Pope is a position chosen by people, but the Saintess is a position bestowed by God.
If the Saintess had no interest in power whatsoever, it would be a different story, but if she had even the slightest intention of participating in politics, she could become the cause of the Church being torn apart.
In the worst-case scenario, the Saintess could even found an entirely new denomination and leave. In that case, the side left behind would face enormous problems on many fronts. Because they would have been abandoned by the very person they themselves had declared to be "the one chosen by God."
The current Church is sustained solely by its legitimacy. Without that, this institution—which doesn't even have what could be called a history—would collapse in an instant.
"However, the current Saintess Candidate, Anna, maintains the opinion that no being called God exists in this world."
The Cardinal's gaze turned toward me for a moment.
"The person who accepts Holy Power most naturally says such a thing, and those words are somewhat removed from the ideology the Church has taught up to now."
The Cardinal listened to Ria's words in silence.
"What if the education up to now has been trapped within some framework, and that framework has been interfering with the acceptance of Holy Power?"
"Are you saying that by accepting Sister Anna's views into the Church, the power of all other clergy could become like Sister Anna's?"
I blinked.
Would it work like that?
But apart from my own doubts, the Cardinal seemed to sink into fairly serious thought.
"......."
Poke.
While I was staring blankly at the Cardinal, Ria, who was beside me, jabbed my arm with her elbow. Poke, poke.
When I looked toward Ria, she spoke to me quietly.
"Do that prayer thing."
"......Excuse me?"
"That light that comes down onto your face every time you use Holy Power. Show it to him."
Hey, I keep telling you, that's not my power.
And in a situation like this—
But before I could say anything, light fell onto my face. ......Honestly, it's so needlessly cooperative. Even when I'm being this openly irreverent, it still dutifully hands over its power.
The Cardinal looked at me as if an exclamation mark had appeared above his head.
And then Ria, in full view of the Cardinal watching us like that, boldly swept her hand in front of my face.
The light falling onto my face instantly turned to smoke and vanished.
The knights who had accompanied me and had already seen that sight several times showed no particular reaction.
But everyone seeing it for the first time swallowed their breath.
Because Ria was performing that "act of touching Holy Power," which until now everyone had thought only I could do.
"I, who have been steadily influenced by being at Sister Anna's side, can also touch Holy Power like this. Could this not also be seen as a kind of possibility?"
"......."
The Cardinal's expression shifted slightly.
There was no way Ria's ideas had never come up in the Church before. The people in the Church spent all day discussing things like that as part of their work, after all.
But seeing that "result" was probably a first for him.
"Next time, could you tell me more about this in greater detail? Both of you, Sisters."
Ria and I nodded and said we would.
"......I've kept you too long when you've only just returned and haven't even recovered from your journey. I hope you can rest both body and mind for a while. The story Sister Maria has shared is a very important one, so it will take some time for it to be accepted."
"Thank you."
Ria answered with a slight bow of her head.
And so we were able to leave that place.
*
On the way out into the corridor and back to our room.
Ria was deep in thought with a rather serious expression.
Unlike Ria, I was in a fairly good mood.
It wasn't a perfect escape, but thanks to Ria, a possibility had been created. And we'd bought quite a bit of time, too.
"Ria."
"......."
"Ria?"
But even when I called her name, Ria just stayed deep in thought with her hand on her chin and a serious expression.
"Anna."
With that same serious expression, Ria looked at me and called my name.
"Yes?"
Did she have some kind of worry? Was there something she could see because she was the daughter of a Hero?
I waited for her to speak with a little tension—
Ria spoke to me with that serious expression.
"You don't have a swimsuit, do you?"
"......."
I stopped walking.
And with tremendous seriousness, I racked my brain while staring straight at Ria.
Normally, when I stared at her like that, Ria would be the first to look away, but not this time.
"Why? Is there some reason we'd be getting in the water? Are you trying to go into that lake?"
I asked, just in case.
I can't swim, you know.
Ah, well, of course if Ria taught me I would learn, but I'm not sure I could learn that quickly. And besides, to go down there, wouldn't I need to know how to wear diving gear, not just swim?
But Ria blew those thoughts of mine away completely.
"It's June now."
"......."
"It's summer."
"Hey."
"You haven't forgotten the promise, right?"
"Uh, I remember, but hold on."
I held up my palm toward Ria and spoke.
"Isn't June too early? It's starting to get hot, but—"
"If you're going to learn to swim, we need to allow plenty of time. Who knows what might happen in the ocean."
"......The ocean is just the ocean, isn't it? Even if I can't swim well, I can just ride a tube, and I can just go in wearing these clothes, right?"
I don't know about swimming pools, but I have no memory of ever wearing a separate swimsuit at the beach. I just splashed in and played.
"As I thought, you've never been to the ocean."
Ria let out a deep sigh, as if to prove a point.
"Anna, listen carefully."
"......."
"Seventy percent of the Earth's surface is ocean."
"......And?"
"Assuming a Gate forms, is it more likely to form on land? Or more likely to form in the ocean?"
"......Ah."
"Exactly. And it's mostly the same for other planets too. Naturally, Earth's marine ecosystem has changed enormously compared to before Gates started appearing in the ocean."
"Are you saying Magical Creatures come out of the ocean?"
"There's no guarantee they won't."
I stood there blankly with my mouth open, then spoke.
"Then wouldn't it be better to just not go to the ocean?"
"It's summer."
But my pure and innocent question was cleanly refuted by that single sentence.
"We're going to the ocean."
"......."
Well, how should I put it.
It's not that I don't understand how she feels.
"So, let's go out for a bit tomorrow. To buy swimsuits."
"Now you're just using the authority of a Saintess Candidate for personal gain."
"Personal gain? As a knight, I am merely teaching survival skills to a person who may one day become a Saintess."
Once again, I was left with nothing to say to that.
It's logical, and yet it's absurd.
.......
Well, fine.
If we go to buy swimsuits, I won't be the only one wearing one, after all.
Ria gets more embarrassed than I do, doesn't she?
With a slightly lecherous heart, I followed Ria back toward our room.