Hero's Heroine, Saintess (3)
"Hey, come out."
After meeting the saintess and returning to my rundown mansion, I didn't head upstairs to check the reports. Instead, I stopped in the wide-open space on the first floor.
-Kyuwoong?
The fireball popped out of my body at my words. It kyuwonged as if it had no idea why I'd called it, but I could tell that was just an act. For now, this little guy was moving a bit awkwardly too. It might look like a normal flame to anyone else, but I knew better.
"Are you divine power?"
-Kyu, kyuwong? Kyuwoong.
The fireball shook its body side to side.
"Tch."
-Kyu, kyuwoo.
"Don't lie to me."
I had my reasons for suspecting this thing was divine power. The first and most important one: Cecily's divine power gave off a similar vibe to this fireball. Not in terms of attribute or quality, but the root felt the same somehow.
Second: This fireball never stays still inside me. It moves around, nudges me like it's throwing a tantrum for attention. Except when I'm sleeping, it's never been quiet.
But when I met Cecily? It went dead silent. Holding its breath like it didn't want to be noticed.
Even if this fireball had its own reasons, even if it wanted to hide its true nature, I had to pry it out of it. It might turn out to be a tool that could help me. Every little bit mattered right now.
"From the way you're acting, I get that you don't want to get caught by the saintess."
-Kyuwut….
"I'm in a spot where I have to use whatever tricks I've got. Why not just spill it now before I figure it out for sure later?"
I threw out a veiled threat. But if it still wouldn't admit it…
There's nothing I can do about it. Hell, it's just a flame.
Truth was, I couldn't do squat to this little fireball. All we had right now was shallow chit-chat.
-Kyuwoo….
The fireball seemed hesitant.
"Sigh, whatever. It's not like I can force you anyway."
-Kyu…!
It almost looked happy somehow. Infuriating little shit.
"From now on, don't talk to me or act like you know me. Even if you do, I'll ignore you completely. You goddamn parasite."
I said that and turned to head upstairs. But then—
-Kyuwoooo!!!
The hesitant, passive fireball suddenly shrieked and latched onto my foot.
"Argh, what the hell. Fine, do whatever."
It felt like a bug crawling on me, and I almost shook it off, but I remembered what I'd said earlier and just ignored it. Even as it kyuwonged loudly all the way up to the second floor, I pretended it wasn't there. Like the mansion was empty except for me. I just trudged along.
It didn't weigh anything anyway, and ignoring the noise was easy enough.
It wouldn't go as far as setting the mansion on fire out of spite, would it?
I worried for a second if it might, but that seemed unlikely, so I quietly sat at my desk.
-Kyuwoooo…!
I ignored the parasite still calling me and reached for the reports. That's when the fireball waddled up onto the desk and plopped right on top of them.
Is it gonna burn the reports?
I hurried to snatch them away, but contrary to my expectations, the fireball just bobbed up and down a little.
"Huh?"
-Kyuwoo, woo….
Up and down. It felt like nodding.
After a moment's thought, I asked the fireball, "So you're admitting it? You are divine power?"
-Kyu….
It kept bobbing slightly. Looked like I was right after all. If it was gonna confess this easily, why not do it before I called it infuriating?
I set aside why it changed its tune so suddenly for now. Time to figure out how to use this divine power it'd admitted to being.
"Divine power, huh. So, is this the divine power of Pel, the continent's god? Same as the Hero or the saintess…."
-Kyuwoooo!!
It denied it vehemently.
"What? Not Pel's divine power? Well… it does feel totally different. Wait, there are multiple gods?"
If it wasn't Pel's, then it had to be from some other god. And that was a huge deal. Across the continent, including the Empire, everyone knew and firmly believed Pel was the one and only god. There were no traces or records of any others.
Shout "Pel isn't the only god! There are others!" and the Papal Court wouldn't even bother dragging you off in the night. They'd just snort and treat you like a lunatic.
No one—or group—denied Pel's status as the sole god.
"And the one witnessing this blasphemy and false history… is me?"
-Kyuwoo….
Hmm. From dredging up memories of my past life to gaining this nameless god's divine power. If I had to guess, the original Yuran La Toypus from the story didn't have secrets like this.
For some reason, Yuran La Toypus had diverged massively from the original plotline. And the prime suspect for causing this shift was probably…
"The source of your power. That nameless god, right?"
-Kyuwoo….
"What're they up to now?"
-Kyuwoo?
"Tell 'em to give me some cheat-level powers right now."
-Kyuwut.
Guess this level of communication was beyond it. Not that I'd expected otherwise. Sure, if I could chat with the nameless god behind this fireball and snag god-tier abilities, I'd kowtow a hundred times. But I wasn't counting on it being that easy.
If it was, I wouldn't have suffered this much already—or have more suffering ahead.
Whatever. I should just be grateful to that god for reincarnating me at all.
"Divine power… divine power…."
So, this nameless god gave me this flame-like divine power. But that didn't make me a Hero like Arthur. Divine power wasn't exclusive to saints and heroes.
The faithful. Those with belief. Those favored by the gods. All of them had the potential to wield it. And among them, the ones chosen and granted authority became Heroes or saints.
"No authority, huh."
I stripped off my clothes and stood in front of the old mirror.
-Kyuwut…!
For some reason, the fireball scurried to the corner making weird noises, but I ignored it and examined my reflection.
Tanned (kinda) healthy-looking skin. Solid muscles, even though I'd only eaten meager scorpion stew. I admired my own body despite it being mine, but that wasn't the point right now. I checked every inch—especially my skin—for any markings.
Neck, arms, chest, abs, back: nothing. Hips, butt, legs, feet, groin: nada.
-Kyut….
"Yeah, no authority markings, as expected."
Authority wasn't common anyway. Just a bit disappointing, so I finished checking and got dressed.
"Hey."
-Kyuwoo…?
As I dressed, I called the fireball, and it scurried over from the corner.
"Can I tell the saintess about you?"
She could probably help me figure out how to wield divine power. The Academy only taught basics—no classes on handling it or what abilities it might grant. You had to become an official believer and head to a church for that.
-Kyuwoong!
The fireball nodded furiously. Looked like that was a no-go.
I agreed. Considering historical records and Pel's status on the continent, announcing another god's existence was a bad idea. Whether the fireball thought the same or had other reasons, didn't matter. Conclusion: Don't tell the saintess about this divine power.
"Okay. Secret it is…. But it'd be nice to learn how to handle divine power."
I pondered how to pry that info from Cecily. Then a brilliant, wise idea hit me. More like an excuse, but a believable one. Maybe even for the good of my territory's people.
"No need to be a brainless Geumtaeyang just 'cause that's my rep. Heh."
-Kyuwoo….
Time to invite Cecily over for dinner.
"You called for me?"
Desert evening. The scorching daytime heat had faded, replaced by cool winds. I'd summoned Cecily to the mansion. We sat facing each other in what could barely be called an office.
The reason? Obviously to learn how to wield divine power. Absolutely not to ogle those massive tits. Though if I got a free show, who was I to complain?
"Yeah. Got a shameless favor to ask."
"No need to feel burdened. I'll help with anything I can—as long as it's not something weird."
Cecily answered confidently.
Weird? What do you take me for… fair enough, I've been a creep.
I recalled my past lines to her in the capital and self-reflected. Her words were justified. Maybe she only said that stuff to me. Felt a bit hurtful.
If I'd actually sexually harassed her, I'd get it. But I'm a pure-hearted young man.
A pure, tender-hearted Geumtaeyang… that's me.
"Tch. Anyway, it's not weird. Got some questions about divine power."
"Divine power?"
"Yeah. Like… could you teach me how to use it?"
I got straight to the point. Beating around the bush would just make me look suspicious. Especially since no one in my territory besides me had divine power.
Before Cecily could get wary, I pressed on. "There are believers in this territory too, right?"
"Yes. Not many, but there are some."
"I learned that anyone faithful enough has the potential to wield it. Right?"
"Yes, that's correct. As long as they're not evil, the gods don't discriminate."
"So I asked 'cause maybe one of my people could awaken it someday."
"Ah…."
How would Cecily take that? Hopefully she'd buy it and teach me without suspicion.
"Lord Yuran really…."
"……."
"…is such a kind person. And so faithful too…."
"Uh, uh-huh. Thanks for seeing it that way."
What the hell was this saintess saying? She seemed to have misunderstood something, but since it worked in my favor, I let it slide.
"It's hard to reach the central continent from here, so you're looking out for any territory folk who might wield divine power… Never doubting the gods' grace even in such harsh lands… You're truly devout."
"Huh? Oh, uh. The gods are always watching us, after all."
"Aah…."
Cecily looked genuinely moved. I'd meant to trick her, but her reaction threw me off. This was why you shouldn't hang around religious fanatics.
"Then, for you and your people, I'll teach you about divine power. Normally you'd need formal initiation, but given the circumstances… I suppose this is when I use the saintess title that's too much for me. Do you have anything to take notes with?"
"…Here… paper and quill."
"Thank you. It won't take long—please wait."
And just like that, I got the rundown on wielding divine power.
If it's easy to handle, great. But…
Eh, whatever. They say big chest, big head. I should just be happy with the easy info.
…Yeah. I would.