Saint Marygold (3)
Even blind, Marygold could sense the arrival of spring. Perhaps because she couldn't see, she felt the winter's retreat more starkly and vividly than anyone.
From the very first moment Lancel Dante had led her by the hand, Marygold hadn't found him frightening or unfamiliar in the slightest. Not when his firm palm supported her back, nor when he grabbed her shoulder to steer her away from a wrong path.
Somehow, she felt at ease with him.
"You can't trust him too much! All the noblemen in this empire are beasts, beasts!"
"Still..."
"Miss, you're too soft-hearted—that's the problem. It's giving me bloody gray hairs, really."
"Mm."
It was only natural that Pina's nightly nagging, piling up like earwax, had reached this point. Marygold not only lacked any aversion to this noble named Lancel Dante but was completely at ease around him. From Pina's perspective, it must have looked like her mistress had fallen head over heels for some random man.
"Morning prayer? Sure, I'll go with you."
Mm.
"What? If you're bored, just go outside. Even if you can't see, the air's different, right?"
Mmm.
"Where to next?"
Mmmm!
"If you're tired, lean on me. Why've you been so stiff since earlier?"
That night, Marygold buried herself under the covers upon realizing that, throughout the entire spring, the only thing that came to mind was Lancel Dante's voice.
"He's from a knight's family, apparently. Been here less than a year, from what I heard?"
Pina seemed puzzled by now as well.
"Anyway, he seems like an odd one. I just can't figure out why he's so nice to you, miss."
"...Yeah."
In this mansion, there was nothing for Marygold to do. Aside from her habitual twice-daily prayers, the maids handled all the laundry, cleaning, and even helped her eat. It felt like she'd regressed to childhood.
"I don't know the details, but isn't it just... nice? Way more comfortable than living at the temple."
"But I can't do anything for them in return."
"Well, Lancel Dante said it himself—just relax and take it easy."
"...Kindness you only receive feels weird."
It wasn't just about accepting favors or conveniences.
She simply wanted to do something for him.
But a blind girl like her had nothing to offer Lancel Dante. And if this life continued, it would stay that way.
Marygold feared her own uselessness would become unbearable.
"Mary. Wanna try Heal?"
Change arrived as spring waned and summer approached.
6.
Thinking about it, Heal was truly bizarre. The ability to heal people? Compared to that, even magic seemed downright ordinary. In an era where a needle prick could kill you if you were unlucky, living for centuries only made its existence feel even stranger.
The balance was off. It almost made him think nobility jobs in games were a total rip-off.
This game did have Heal, actually. He remembered it as one of the priest skills under white magic.
But in 200 years, Lancel had never seen anything like it.
If it existed, he might've even picked up a religion by now. Healing people? That was the surest proof of divinity.
"Urk!"
"No reaction?"
"Uuuuugh...!"
"Feel like something's gonna come out?"
"Uuuuuuuugh...!"
Lancel watched Mary strain with her palm outstretched toward him for about an hour before concluding.
Of course... there's no such thing as holy power in this world, right?
It was only after Mary, who'd exhausted herself all day trying to squeeze out this "Heal" or whatever, collapsed onto the bed that he reached this verdict.
The game's protagonist had prayed for hours daily for years, and not a shred of holy power? Game over.
Proof of nonexistence confirmed.
"I'm useless. I'll go beg on the streets right now."
"Hm..."
Lancel gazed at the slumped Marygold and recalled memories from a previous loop.
Yeah. This was actually the second time he'd brought Mary from the Old Church to the mansion.
The first loop had blazed past in a flash.
...
The story flashed back to when Lancel first saw that system alert.
The 'Marygold Church' has been established for the first time by believers!
Your legend truly begins now, at this moment.
※ Marygold's karma decreases by 1 point.
'One church for 1 point? So 200 churches?'
As if churches were some trendy coffee chain aiming for 200 outlets.
'Doable.'
With enough money, 200 churches weren't impossible, even if tough. Child's play over multiple loops.
Lancel even felt it was too easy. He immediately ordered two more in nearby areas.
No rule said they had to be grand; Lancel was a master of money tricks—dumping all blame on his future self in ten years.
"All built? You're sure?"
"Checked multiple times, Sir Lancel. Doubting a thieves' guild that lives on credit? That's harsh."
The first church brought bad news—no karma drop alert.
'Building a church isn't enough?'
But the second one triggered it.
The second church has been established!
※ Marygold's karma decreases by 1 point.
"Yes!"
"Eek! You scared me!"
Lancel's shout startled Marygold, who was walking with him.
'One counts, one doesn't. What's the difference?'
He visited personally and spotted it.
"Bestow your blessing."
"Make me rich, Saintess."
"Send women flocking to me!"
Actual praying believers.
A church with zero visitors was just a ruin.
The rebuilt third church, though.
"Why not this time?"
Maddening. He'd invested more, snagged a decent priest, and had a dozen daily visitors. Still no alert.
The difference? Easy.
'Saintess statue.'
The presence of a sculpture modeled after the legendary saintess—not a generic goddess like other temples. Lancel had avoided it to dodge cult accusations, but that was the key.
He had them made and placed immediately.
The third church has been established!
※ Marygold's karma decreases by 1 point.
"That's it!"
He later learned even a 'building' wasn't needed. Just two things:
1. Saintess statue.
2. Believers praying before it.
'Easy.'
Decision: Build dozens per loop. Four or five lives, and karma drops from 200 to 0.
...
So he thought.
Ten years passed.