The Foolish Saintess

"...A-alright. I'm satisfied with the terms."

"Good. Negotiation complete."

After a long, drawn-out discussion with the wicked and nasty Frey, I was finally able to secure a ceasefire agreement with him. A ceasefire, that's what I called it.

For the record, since a ceasefire was the second thing I wanted most after true peace in all previous loops, I insisted strongly on that name for the agreement.

"...But what was that about earlier?"

"Pardon?"

As we finished negotiating and were about to leave the dim warehouse, Frey suddenly tossed a question my way.

"You narrowed your eyes at me on the way over and started glancing around. What was that all about?"

Oh, he was asking about that incident from before. I wondered if I should share information with Frey, who was part of the Demon King's forces, but since we were currently in a ceasefire, I decided to tell him.

"For a split second, I felt an incredibly sinister aura."

"A sinister aura?"

"Yes, and it felt really well-hidden, too."

Clearly, when Frey made that female staff member cry earlier, a terrifying aura I'd felt somewhere before had washed over me. That's why I thought he was using dark magic and dragged him here in a hurry to send divine power into him.

But for some reason, there was no reaction from Frey at all. It was highly suspicious, but he wasn't the source of that sinister aura.

So then, who emitted that sinister aura? Had one of the Demon King's subordinates infiltrated the orphanage? Or was it just my divine power acting up lately, making me imagine things?

I wasn't sure. But if I didn't know, I'd just have to find out. So from now on, while staying at this orphanage, I'd track down that sinister aura.

"Sinister aura... sinister aura, huh..."

I shot a displeased glance at Frey, who was muttering something beside me, and stepped out of the warehouse first.

"...Miss Perloché?"

"Ah, yes! Hello!"

As soon as I exited, someone standing in front greeted me. She looked different from the woman who'd welcomed us earlier—who could she be?

"Nice to meet you. I'm Anna, the current person in charge and a staff member here."

"I see! Hello!"

It was Anna, the head of the orphanage! She seemed like such a kind person.

"It's an honor to meet the renowned saintess."

"N-no, please! Don't kneel! You mustn't do that!"

Anna started to kneel in greeting, so I hurriedly stopped her.

"S-sorry...?"

She gave me a puzzled look and apologized. Oh no, that wasn't what I meant at all.

"I'm just the proxy of the gods...! So there's no need to kneel to someone like me!"

I explained in a rush, and Anna smiled warmly.

"As expected, the saintess is as kind as the rumors say."

"Th-thank you..."

"...You'd get along well with Ruby."

Then Anna pointed to the staff member who'd been sniffling earlier and took my hand, leading me over.

"That girl over there is Ruby. She's been volunteering here for free for a full three months."

"Really?"

Volunteering for free for three whole months? What an amazing person. My interest piqued, I followed Anna to where a girl was staring right at me.

"Ruby, have you greeted her? This is the saintess of the Church of the Sun God."

"A-ah... Hello!"

Anna introduced me, and Ruby bowed stiffly, her face full of fear. She looked just like a frightened puppy, and my heart softened without me realizing it.

"It seems the little saintess of the orphanage is nervous meeting the empire's saintess."

"P-please don't call me by that nickname!"

Anna teased with a mischievous grin, and Ruby's face flushed red as she hung her head.

"Wow! You're really so hypocritical!"

"Y-yes!?"

I smiled and gave Ruby my compliments, but she looked visibly flustered, tilting my head in confusion. Was she overwhelmed by the praise?

"Um... Saintess? What you just said..."

"Ah, my apologies!"

Sure enough, Ruby seemed like the type who got embarrassed by compliments, just like me.

"I'll hold back on calling you hypocritical from now on! Sorry!"

A bit embarrassed myself, I apologized to Ruby and headed toward Frey in the distance. Now I had to keep an eye on him!

......

"H-heuk... H-huff..."

"........."

My heart wasn't at ease right now.

Because Frey in front of me was cleaning while breathing heavily and roughly. Of course, as an irredeemable piece of trash, he deserved that suffering... but for some reason, a corner of my heart felt unsettled.

Maybe I should send just a tiny bit of divine power...

"Mr. Frey, shall I help you?"

"...What?"

As I agonized alone, Ruby suddenly squeezed in beside Frey and grabbed a broom.

"You look so exhausted..."

"Get lost."

"P-please don't say that... Let me help a little..."

"I said get lost!"

Frey yelled and snatched the broom away, causing Ruby to lose her balance and fall spectacularly. Oh no, her knee was scraped and bleeding now.

"A-are you okay?"

"...Y-yes! No problem!"

I rushed over to heal her knee with divine power, but Ruby quickly stood and bowed.

"F-Frey-nim. Sorry for interrupting."

"...Whatever. Get lost."

With that, Ruby ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left without even receiving my treatment.

"What do you think you're doing?! You're here for community service as punishment, and you resort to violence...!"

I was furious and about to chew him out, but...

"Haa... Haa..."

"...Frey?"

For some reason, instead of snapping back like usual, Frey was just staring at me while breathing raggedly.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter...?"

"...Nothing."

Saying that, Frey suddenly hurried off somewhere!

Clunk.

Frey entered the warehouse and locked the door, not coming out for a while. Watching quietly, I made a grave decision and tiptoed over.

"Ruby."

"Y-yes!?"

I approached Ruby, who was putting on a play for the orphanage kids, and whispered to her.

"Could I borrow the warehouse key?"

"Wh-why?"

She tilted her head, so I put on my coolest expression and replied.

"It's part of catching the Demon King."

".....!"

Ruby's eyes went wide as she stared at me. She looked just like a surprised puppy—so cute!

"...H-here."

After staring for a long time, she carefully pulled a keyring from her pocket and handed it to me.

"Thank you, Ruby..."

As thanks, I whispered in her ear again.

"...You're really so hypocritical."

Blushing, Ruby hung her head! It looked like we'd become good friends.

"...Ahem."

With the key from Ruby, I unlocked the firmly shut warehouse door!

This time, I'd catch Frey in the act of using dark magic...!

"...Cough! Cough!"

"F-Frey?"

But the scene inside was nothing like I'd imagined. Instead of Frey menacing the orphanage with dark magic and an evil grin, he was slumped against the wall, vomiting blood.

"...Get out."

Frey spotted me and spoke coldly.

"Cough!!"

But right after, he vomited blood again and started trembling.

".......Ugh."

At first, I planned to ignore him and leave. He was disgustingly evil, lecherous enough to pounce on me at any chance, and the villain who would destroy the empire.

But... seeing him collapsed like that reminded me of our first meeting. Back then, I was the one slumped down, and he was standing.

"Cough! Cough!!"

"...Haa."

As I thought that, he coughed again and squeezed his eyes shut. Unable to bear it, I approached the slumped Frey.

Of course, no divine power—just diagnosis. Not treatment, but gathering intel on the enemy. Absolutely not pity or worry. Just intel...

".....!"

As I placed my hand on him with that thought, I froze in shock.

"Y-you... what happened?"

"...What're you talking about?"

"This... how..."

The damage to his body was beyond imagination. His mana circuits were imperfectly fused, overloading his body every time mana flowed. His organs were all twisted, and the life force inside him was rock bottom.

The only time I'd felt a body like this was treating critically ill patients at the church hospital.

So... right now, Frey was...

"How many years do you have left, exactly?"

"Cough!! Cough... What the hell?"

He seemed unaware of his condition. Well, with all his arrogance and vanity, if he knew he had only a few years left, he'd throw a fit. If left alone, he wouldn't last a few years and would die.

The Frey who would shatter the empire in the future and secretly side with the Demon King to burn everything would vanish.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect. He was doomed to die without us lifting a finger—what great news.

It was clearly great, but... for some reason, today kept bringing back memories of our first meeting.

"...What're you doing?"

"Just a tiny amount of divine power."

In the end, I decided to infuse him with the smallest amount. Not because of past memories or anything. Just so he could get back to cleaning without causing trouble.

"...Huh?"

But something was wrong. I definitely infused life force, but it was still bottomed out. What was going on? I'd given enough for him to last the day comfortably.

Shaaa...

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Wait."

In the end, I started infusing more divine power. But his life force remained empty.

Enough for three days... a week... a month... No matter how much I poured in, his condition didn't improve.

"Haa... Haa..."

Finally pulling away, breathing hard, I forced a smile and muttered inwardly.

'Even better. If divine power can't fix it... nothing can.'

Since divine power didn't work, it seemed even the Sun God had abandoned him. Otherwise, it would have healed.

Yes, perfect. That vicious Frey getting a death sentence—what fantastic news. It was always what I wanted. Just months ago, I truly wished him dead.

Frey was a villain who didn't deserve a shred of pity. His death was something to celebrate.

Please, why was this happening? I'd felt murderous intent toward him moments ago, so why did his confirmed death...

'...Why does my heart feel like it's tearing apart?'

His silver eyes met my white ones. The image of that pure Frey from back then, his silver eyes shining ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as he offered me a potion, made my head throb painfully.

"Ugh...!"

"Wh-what?"

My white hair, which earned me the title Pure White Saintess, fluttered and mingled with Frey's silver hair. I'd gotten too close to him.

Frey scowled deeply. Staring at the pool of blood before him with hazy eyes, I kept thinking and thinking and thinking.

Frey was the empire's greatest villain. I had to hate him. Despise him. Kill him.

He tried to assault me. He'd burn the empire in the future.

I'm stupid. I've been a fool since childhood. I can't write well. My memory's terrible. All I have is my kindness.

So this situation made sense. Nothing was wrong. Everything was back to normal...

"No."

"What?"

Divine power not increasing his life force was definitely a problem. It defied the laws. Divine power wasn't a miracle—it was a law, a phenomenon. Miracles were separate.

Violating an absolute law was abnormal. Even ignoring the life force issue, his internal wounds not healing was a problem.

So the situation was wrong.

"Perloché?"

And Frey was wrong too. He claimed he'd assault me but kept making excuses to drag out time. No, all his actions were off.

And I was wrong too. What was going on? Why was I here? How long had I been like this?

Frey was in danger. He wouldn't last years like this. So what should I do? Save him? Kill him?

Was what I said to Ruby really a compliment? What did "hypocritical" mean? Was it truly praise? Did I really not know the word's meaning?

If what I believed wasn't a miracle, what was the real 'miracle'? Didn't I know before? Then what were laws and phenomena? What was the Sun God? What did I believe in?

Hypocritical. Everything was hypocrisy. I had to expose it. Tell someone the truth. I didn't know exactly, but I had to scream right now.

"...Has she finally lost it?"

Hypocrisy and pretense, light and darkness. Sun, moon, and stars. And...

......

"D-Dem... Demon..."

"Cough, cough! What the hell are you doing..."

"Dem......"

A minute had passed since Perloché placed her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hand on Frey's body and spaced out. Annoyed, Frey thought she was being stupid again and tried to stand, but...

"...Demon God."

".....?"

Perloché suddenly muttered with difficulty, so he tilted his head and asked back.

"What're you on about?"

"Demon God... is..."

Frey looked at her in bewilderment, leaning in to hear what she was trying to say, but...

Creeeak...

"What are you two doing here?"

Ruby opened the dark warehouse door and entered. Perloché stopped talking and shook her head.

"...Kyaa? Are you okay?"

Meanwhile, the brilliant sunlight streaming through the open door bathed Frey and Perloché, illuminating the pool of blood before Frey. Ruby screamed in horror upon seeing it.

"...I'm fine, so get lost."

"Y-yes... If you need any help, just say so anytime."

Frey coldly shooed her out, then turned to Perloché in front of him.

"Y-you ended up like this because... that thing..."

"...Karma?"

"Yes! Karma! It's an East Continent expression Clana told me for times like this..."

"Shut up and get off me."

As Perloché started babbling blankly like always, Frey sighed, shoved her aside, and muttered.

"...Let's call it here for today?"

"Well... considering your condition... just for today..."

"Then let's go to the Church of the Sun God cathedral."

"Y-yes? B-but lately, only authorized people can enter the cathedral..."

"...I have to pray with you after community service."

"...Ah."

They left the warehouse, greeted a horrified Anna staring at their blood-soaked selves, and staggered out of the orphanage.

"You! How did your body end up so wrecked? Were you tortured by the Demon King's army? If you tell me about it, I could specially ask the church..."

"...Why are there so many church people swarming around the orphanage? Know anything?"

Asking each other different questions, they boarded a carriage and slowly departed the orphanage.

And warm sunlight shone down on them.

......

Upon arriving at the cathedral, Frey explained the merits of surprise attacks for ten minutes to Perloché, who insisted on praying first, then followed her lead.

"...So, this is where you felt the sinister aura?"

There stood a crude iron door.

"Yes! Your people are definitely doing something here... Mmph!"

"...Shh."

Frey covered Perloché's chirpy mouth, keeping his hand there as he opened the iron door and entered.

"Phew, how'd you dodge the surveillance? I always got caught trying..."

"...Dunno why, but the cathedral's weirdly empty. No guards or anything. Something's off."

Frey, who'd arrived hours early on purpose and made Perloché wear plain nun robes instead of her eye-catching saintess outfit, sighed quietly and scanned the room while muttering.

"...So, it's about time for something to happen."

Rumble rumble rumble!!!

And at that moment, the space in the room flipped, and a complex maze began to appear.

"Knew it."

Frey gazed at the sight with a resigned expression, put the blankly gaping saintess in front, and slowly entered the maze.

"What're you up to now?"

And at that point...

"...Shall I follow?"

Irina, dressed in nun robes like Perloché and watching them from afar, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glanced around quietly and headed to the basement.