The Saint Opens Her Eyes to Something
After the commotion in the bath had finally settled, I fixed Integrida and the nuns with the most disappointed look I could manage and asked,
“Do you people truly see me as a saint?!”
The nuns and Integrida, soaked like drowned rats, answered while gasping for breath.
“Of course… huff… that goes without saying… gasp… whew….”
“We… we will not… yield to… such trials….”
Ah, there they go again, making me want to sigh.
“More importantly, Lady Lucie. I am deeply concerned you might catch a cold standing there like that, so please put on some clothes first….”
“I know that already!”
Indeed, I was currently half-naked with nothing but a single towel wrapped loosely around me.
Not that I would ever catch some pathetic illness like a cold—one that only plagued weak bodies.
Even so, I could hardly walk around wearing only a towel.
The problem was this.
“My clothes are gone! When the hell did they hide them?!”
Those perverts had apparently spirited my clothes away somewhere in the meantime.
“The clothes you arrived in were far too dirty… bearing the traces of many years, so we sent them to the laundry. Please do not worry.”
“Have no concerns, Lady Lucie. We have prepared garments befitting a saint candidate separately.”
“…You people did?”
“Oh dear, what shall we do, Instructor Integrida! We cannot find even a trace of trust toward us in Lady Lucie’s eyes!”
Isn’t that obvious, you lot?
“Sigh….”
There was no point getting worked up. At this rate, only one choice remained for me from the beginning.
“Then hurry up and throw the clothes over here before you leave.”
“One moment, Lady Lucie. These garments require considerable assistance to don alone, so our help is—”
“Leave the clothes and get out!!”
…It really was difficult to put on alone.
What kind of underwear required this much effort?
Even heavy infantry heading into war wouldn’t struggle this badly.
“So I’m only calling you because it’s genuinely hard to wear by myself. Understand? That’s the only reason, so if you try anything strange I’ll throw you out immediately. Got it?”
“Why, of course.”
What a pathetic figure I cut—issuing threats that didn’t even sound like threats, which the listeners promptly ignored.
In the end, I surrendered my body to them and sat obediently in front of the mirror.
Fortunately, the heavy breathing from the bath seemed to have had some effect; the nuns’ touches had grown considerably gentler.
“Hoooo… hooooo….”
…Though it seemed that wasn’t true for all of them.
Thanks to the swarm of helping hands, my reflection in the mirror transformed rapidly.
They dried my wet hair with towels, and the lacy undergarments slipped into place like pieces of a puzzle.
The most encouraging part came when they dressed me in the stiff, armor-like outer garment with ties running down the back.
Who in their right mind puts the tightening cords on the back of something that isn’t even real armor?
“Mmm….”
And at last, before the mirror stood a noticeably different ‘Lucie.’
Her golden hair, still slightly damp, swayed softly, sending hidden droplets trickling down between the strands.
Her pure white face, now free of grime, still carried the lingering heat of the bath in a faint, delicate blush.
The black lace dress clung to her figure, and over it she wore a white robe and transparent cape that declared her status as clergy. Even I had to admit it suited her perfectly—it wasn’t merely fitting; these were simply ‘Lucie’s’ clothes.
“How do you feel, Lady Lucie?”
Integrida appeared beside the reflection with a proud expression.
“It feels… unfamiliar. I knew the original was beautiful, but I didn’t expect this level….”
As I muttered to myself while staring into the mirror, the nuns’ shoulders twitched with suppressed laughter.
“It may feel strange now, but you will grow accustomed to it in time.”
“That’s right! And if you ever need our assistance, please call us anytime, Lady Lucie!”
“Uh… um… y-yes….”
My mind wanted to refuse, yet my body—eyes still glued to the mirror—answered in an awkward mumble.
“There are no braziers here, so it would be wise to return to your room quickly and dry your hair. Otherwise you really will catch a cold.”
Integrida had already reverted to the stern demeanor I had seen when we first met.
“…Yeah. Understood.”
“When you leave, please wear the shoes we prepared.”
“Sh-shoes? I really don’t think I can manage anything with high heels….”
“…Lady Lucie. This is the headquarters of the church. Even if we wanted high-heeled shoes, we could not obtain them. They are perfectly ordinary shoes.”
“Ah, aha… I see. Th-thank you.”
From the moment I offered my thanks and slowly walked over to grasp the changing-room doorknob, the nuns and Integrida simply smiled in silence.
“I’m… going now?”
“Yes, Lady Lucie. We shall see you next time. Hehe….”
I stepped out through the door.
The instant I left, a roar of incomprehensible triumph and the sound of applause erupted from inside.
‘It’s a huuuuge success!!’
They say clothes make the man. Or in this case, the saint.
During the short walk back to my room, I felt every person I passed staring at me.
Until yesterday, most of them would have gasped and fled the moment our eyes met.
Now they blushed and averted their gazes for an entirely different reason.
It was a feeling I had never experienced before, in more ways than one.
Somehow it made me anticipate the eyes of others….
And what was wrong with this heart of mine? Why had it been pounding so violently since earlier…?
“Ha… ‘Lucie’… I beg you, do not confuse me with your emotions….”
I was muttering to myself as I passed through the central corridor of the church headquarters, about to enter the Gospel Chancellery building, when—
“Saint?”
“…Milosi?”
Milosi was dressed comfortably, carrying a large pile of firewood in both arms as if he had just finished chopping it.
The sight made irritation flare inside me.
“Are the church bastards treating you like a common laborer? I clearly told them this man is my escort soldier…!”
“That’s a misunderstanding, Saint.”
Milosi denied it with his usual kind smile.
“They gave me food and a place to sleep. It felt awkward to simply receive without offering anything while claiming to be your escort… so I’m showing my sincerity in my own way.”
“So that’s what it was… Hmm. If I were in your position, I probably would have done the same.”
“Haha, right? You suddenly got angry and it startled me.”
Yeah. Why had I suddenly gotten angry?
Huh. My body really must be acting strangely.
“By the way, Saint… that… looks very good on you.”
“Huh?”
Milosi adjusted the firewood, hiding his face behind the pile.
“The… your new outfit… it suits you well….”
“…Ah.”
I clenched my teeth without thinking.
I needed to say something.
Before the silence grew any more awkward, I had to respond—thank him, anything—
But my lips only tingled, and the words refused to come out.
My body was causing trouble again. How many times today? Please listen to your damn head, you stupid body!
Gulp—
Even the sound of swallowing sounded far too loud.
After what felt like an eternity of preparation, I finally managed a single phrase.
“Th-thank… you….”
Ah.
And then I saw it.
Milosi’s ears, not fully hidden by the firewood, had turned a deeper red than pomegranate.
“I-I still need to dry my hair… so I’ll return to my room now! Keep up the good work, Milosi!”
“Ah, y-yes!”
I hurried past him with quick steps toward the Gospel Chancellery building.
I had already been dissatisfied with how my shortened legs slowed my pace.
But never had I resented them more than today.
“What the hell is this, really?”
As I climbed the stairs to my room on the upper floor, strength gradually filled each step.
“Why am I like this today of all days?”
Each footfall echoed loudly.
“Once the canonization ceremony or whatever it’s called is over, I’m leaving this place without delay. Yeah. This entire church headquarters must be filled with some strange energy!”
Crack—
“Eh.”
When I lifted my foot, I saw a crack running through one of the polished stones that formed the tread of the staircase.
“……The stone must have been weak. Yeah. Why is the stone so weak?”
To check for witnesses, I poked my head out into the empty space between the stairs and glanced both up and down.
“…….”
“……Huh.”
My eyes met those of someone on the landing one floor above, who was doing the exact same thing.
A black robe with a hood concealed most of their face, but the eyes were unmistakable.
Strange irises mixed with yellow and green, and vertically slit black pupils.
I knew better than anyone that those were not human eyes.
‘How did a demon get in here…?!’
“Tsk…!”
The creature seemed to realize its identity had been discovered; it instantly whirled its robe and vanished from sight.
“Wait!”
Even as I chased it up the stairs, my mind swirled with questions.
This was not the borderlands near demon territory, nor some remote city where defeated demons might drift after losing territorial battles.
This was Gracion, the imperial capital—the very heart of the Orphen Empire, representing all of humanity.
Yet how could a demon be strolling openly inside the capital?
Inside the central headquarters of the Triangular God Church, no less.
“…Impossible.”
This was not a question of faith.
Because from the beginning….
It was physically impossible for demons to enter Gracion.
The first Saint Beatrice had erected the Barrier of Rejection to envelop the entire capital.
Created solely to stop demons, that barrier turned any of their kind who tried to enter into ash.
“Yet how…”
There were only two possibilities.
Either a flaw had appeared in the Barrier of Rejection,
or the demons had found a way to pierce it.
“…Either way, this is a serious problem.”
But whatever the case, my course of action was clear.
Catch the demon in front of me, make it talk.
“That’s exactly my specialty.”