The Pope's True Intentions
Well, what can you do? I'd just have to sacrifice myself. This was all because the existing clergy were so utterly incompetent. They had divine power—a force granted simply by sincerely believing in God—that could create miracles, yet they couldn't even properly control public opinion. What a bunch of useless, brainless idiots.
“Please don't worry. I've arrived now. If there's anything difficult, I'll help you with it.”
“Thank you, Saintess. It was a situation we simply couldn't handle on our own.”
And so, after making the local clergy openly admit their own incompetence, I began recovering gold everywhere I went. In short, I decided to focus less on playing the role of a true saintess and more on functioning as a mobile one-woman central bank.
Of course, what I was actually doing hadn't changed at all. It was simply a difference in mindset.
“Amazing. At this rate, we'll easily exceed ten kilograms in gold coins alone.”
The paladin escorting me—who had grown even sharper since the incident at the fortress—couldn't hide his admiration despite his heightened wariness.
“But isn't this a bit too greedy?”
The one throwing cold water on the idea was the hero. Despite his authoritarian personality and emphasis on mental fortitude, his sense of justice was undeniably genuine. Well, that was probably why he could become the hero in the first place.
Honestly, it wasn't even fair to call it throwing cold water. It did look a little strange for the Church's saintess to be growing her personal assets based on a currency she herself had designed.
“The core of the gold coin lies in absolute currency control and value management. Especially for someone like me—a saintess—it's no exaggeration to say I possess near-divine authority in this area. We must collect when we can collect, flaunt the value when we can flaunt it, and distribute at the right moment to secure our resources.”
“So in the end, you're focusing entirely on making money.”
“That's right. I'm focusing entirely on making money. Up until now, we didn't do this, which is why we handed the initiative over to secular powers and got dragged around helplessly.”
Ziegfried—no matter what else he might think—had to fully agree with this particular philosophy. Only after securing financial health as an organization could the Church move on to the next stage.
“But once this gold coin truly takes root, we'll be able to absorb wealth through it and gain enough capacity for each church branch to launch whatever projects they want. Whether it's orphanages, field hospitals, or training new clergy.”
Do you understand, Hero? I finished with that, and Ziegfried could no longer offer any further objections. After all, it was simply the truth.
Of course, I hadn't revealed my entire scheme. By subtly drawing in wealth from other nations into the Brien Kingdom and solidifying my support base within the Church, while also overlaying a sacred image onto the gold coin itself to grant it authority beyond that of mere currency.
I hadn't forgotten my original words. My goal was to seize currency hegemony. To combine religion and miracles into an absolute reserve currency that no one would dare challenge.
However, to achieve that, I first needed official recognition. Thanks to the clergy beyond the border who had already recognized its value, I had confirmed that the gold coin was being actively used. But the final piece would only fall into place once the Pope officially acknowledged it.
In that sense, the way I was being received the moment I arrived in Romano was an extremely good sign.
“Ooooh, if it isn't our saintess. Our Lucia, who has appeared to set the Church right.”
“I'm overwhelmed with joy at such a warm welcome, Your Holiness.”
Even before entering Romano, right at the city gate that served as its gateway, the Pope had come out personally with a group of high-ranking clergy to greet me in an exceptionally friendly manner.
This wasn't because he was genuinely impressed by me. It was clearly a political move, carefully calculated for external image. With my fame skyrocketing lately, he intended to ride that wave for his own benefit. A rather shallow calculation.
But that shallowness was only visible to me and the other high-ranking clergy. To the eyes of the common people, this would simply look like a heartwarming moment between the recently famous saintess and the Pope at the pinnacle of the Church.
Therefore, even though the Pope's intention was to secure political gain, the benefits I stood to receive were so clear that I gladly smiled and accepted it.
“Now, now. Let's not stand here like this. How long has it been since you stepped into the spotlight, and yet you've already accomplished such magnificent things, Saintess.”
“I will humbly accept Your Holiness's generous praise.”
Since our interests aligned so perfectly, we continued to the Papal Basilica laughing and chatting like old friends, proudly displaying our closeness.
“Truly remarkable. You're still only sixteen? How could you have come up with such ideas at that age?”
“I was lucky. The hero here also saved survivors from a village driven mad by demonic mental attacks when he was only sixteen.”
At my words, Ziegfried's face turned bright red. Seeing him like that, it was clear he really was still sixteen. Just where and what kind of experiences had he gone through to develop such a strangely dual personality that mixed mental fortitude with arrogance?
“I-I was lucky too.”
“Hoho, the hero remains humble as always. Indeed, the abilities of the hero recognized by the Church are unbelievably outstanding for someone of sixteen. However...”
The Pope's gaze lingered on Ziegfried for a moment before returning to me. His face was filled with the benevolent smile that had been worn so frequently over the years that it had become etched into his very being. Was he seventy-eight this year? Or seventy-nine? At any rate, with eighty right around the corner, to me his appearance looked like the mask of a politician firmly holding his position even during the Church's period of division.
“Still, your broad perspective and drive, Saintess, are even more astonishing. As the hero has already experienced, you truly are an exceptionally remarkable person, aren't you?”
“That is exactly as Your Holiness says.”
He called him “Pope-nim.” Well, he was the hero. It seemed that even without attaching the honorific “Your Holiness” when addressing the Pope, it would be overlooked. That too was a title of respect, after all.
“With that said, as a fellow believer and member of the clergy, I believe I need some time for a private conversation with the saintess. Hero, would you mind waiting for a short while?”
“Of course, Your Holiness.”
Every time I made some subtly improper remark or action according to etiquette, was this the kind of feeling the people around me experienced? If I ever went to the academy, I would definitely need to study proper etiquette. No matter how much of a saintess I was, it felt wrong to keep causing worry to those around me.
“Then, considering the importance of the matter, let us begin the conversation we should have had much earlier, Saintess. I have received the letter from Cardinal Rondel, but I would like to hear your own esteemed opinion. Regarding this newly issued gold coin.”
His impression and expression didn't change at all, but if I wasn't mistaken, his eyes had definitely shifted. There were parts where I wondered if I was imagining it, but...
“What is Your Holiness's own view on the matter? From what I've seen, the gold coin is already being used here in Tellaia as well. From that, it seems Your Holiness shares the same opinion regarding its effectiveness and prospects.”
“The direction of our opinions is indeed the same. What I wish to hear from you, Saintess, is exactly how far you intend to take this.”
So, the ultimate objective.
I could have just laid everything out as it was. After all, we were part of the same Church, and above all, he was the only person clearly above me within it. If I could properly persuade him and bring him to my side, there was a very, very high chance he would become an ally—at least from the perspective of economic dominance centered on currency hegemony.
But what if, for some reason, this Pope held slightly different thoughts?
Even if he didn't reject it outright, the current situation was more than enough for him to decide he needed to weaken me in order to seize the initiative for himself.
“At the very least, we must reach a position where we can pressure secular powers in terms of economic initiative. And this gold coin will be the core and foundation for achieving that.”
When you lack enough material to grasp the intent behind a question, it's best to give an answer that's somewhat lacking as well. Or rather, not lacking, but imprecise. The kind of response that made it clear I valued the gold coin highly but had other considerations as well—drawing the line there.
There was no need to mention seizing currency hegemony or anything of that sort here. If the Pope and Cardinal Rondel were truly allies, he would have already heard about it from him. And if their relationship wasn't close enough for that, there was no reason for me to confess it with my own mouth.
“Not suppressing secular powers with the power of faith?”
“When we ultimately reach the absolute ultimate, I believe without a doubt that it will come to that. However, until we reach that point, both the laity and many believers will suffer. So I want to reduce that suffering even a little—even if just by a tiny bit—more quickly and substantially.”
“Using secular methods to teach those not swayed by faith about the importance and greatness of salvation. Not bad at all.”
I couldn't tell whether the Pope was truly satisfied with my answer. He had given a deep nod and his expression wasn't bad, but I had no way to see into his true thoughts.
“The existence of those who cannot be persuaded by faith is truly bothersome and annoying. But that doesn't mean it's proper for clergy to simply abandon them to hellfire, does it? If they will only kneel before economic greatness, then there is no reason the Church cannot become economically great.”
“So you're saying that cultivating faith can come after that, and it won't be too late.”
“Exactly, Your Holiness. It may be a somewhat roundabout path, but since its end touches upon sacred salvation, wouldn't this too be a sacred and beautiful providence and art woven by the will of heaven?”
It wasn't content that greatly deviated from the basic doctrines of the Church as I understood them. Even if it meant not being too picky about means and methods, defeating evil and achieving proselytization fell within acceptable bounds. The means I wanted to employ weren't about making deals with evil—they were simply about utilizing a rather significant portion of secular elements.
Still, if the Pope before me was more of a hardline fundamentalist than anyone else, he might not accept it.
“Good, good. To think that the saintess who appeared after fifty years would be someone so enlightened. This is nothing short of a blessing for the Church. However, why did you accept the Brien king's proposal?”
“By the Brien king's proposal, do you mean the one where he would support the gold coin at the royal level in exchange for me attending the academy?”
“That's right. The proposal that gave secular powers room to intervene in the gold coin, and at the same time, created an opening for the crown prince to set his sights on you, Saintess.”
The former was understandable. In fact, the Pope himself probably knew it. To properly utilize the gold coin, it was necessary to bring in some form of secular power no matter what.
But the latter?
Where had my own wishes gone in all this talk of the crown prince targeting me? Or did he think I was the type of person who would fall for the crown prince?
“It was impossible to completely prevent secular powers from getting involved. If we had tried, there was a fairly high chance the gold coin would have been crushed before it could even spread its wings. As for the crown prince... how could I possibly develop such feelings for someone I've never even met? I have no intention of getting married. Not for quite a long time.”
“They say the crown prince is quite handsome. Dignified, robust, and exceptionally talented in many areas. The general opinion is that no woman could help but feel attracted to him.”
For a moment, I wondered if telling him that I preferred women over men would shatter the Pope's benevolent expression. Of course, I didn't actually do it. Even if homosexuality wasn't considered a sin, it was still quite far from being viewed positively. And there was no need for me—of all people, the saintess—to bring it up. Especially not just to satisfy a random spark of curiosity.
“There is still so much work I need to do. Those are things I could hardly do if I became someone else's wife—especially the crown princess.”
So I chose a rather safe answer. There were still many things that could only be done while I was a saintess, and completing all of them would require a great deal of time. This was also the plain truth.
If I really became the crown princess, I would inevitably get caught up in an enormous amount of annoying political affairs. Moreover, if I later found a way to return home and had to say something like “I can't because I had a child here,” I absolutely, positively never wanted to hear that.
I still didn't even know if there was a way to return, but even so, it was best to avoid any risks. After all, there was always the chance that I might suddenly awaken maternal instincts and decide not to go back even if I could.
“Hmm. At least those words seem sincere. Very well. Prepare yourself. I shall officially recognize you as the saintess acknowledged by the Church. The gold coin as well.”
“Thank you, Your Holiness.”
“No, it is I who should thank you. Thanks to you, we will be able to repair and expand several church buildings in Romano. Some clergy do frown upon it, calling it too secular, but I do not think so, so you may set your mind at ease.”
This was enough. I still couldn't read the Pope's true intentions, and it wasn't clear whether this meant he would simply give official recognition or if he truly intended to cooperate. But even so, it seemed sufficiently possible.
For now, solidifying my position came first—and then I could look toward what came after.