Chapter 213: A Foundation for the Saint-3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 213: A Foundation for the Saint-3
The day of the Harvest Festival.
While Maria was preparing to attend the festival, she received a summons from Lumen.
Though she was reluctant, she could not ignore a call from her superior.
"What is it?"
When Maria spoke, her voice thick with dissatisfaction, Lumen let out a short smirk.
Even that smirk felt like mockery, making Maria’s stomach churn.
She had watched from a distance as Lumen constantly hovered around the Saint.
Just the other day, she had spotted them in a secluded spot, where Lumen was tightly holding the Saint’s hand and offering him comfort.
Maria had wanted to burst into that blasphemous scene and swing her greatsword right then and there, but she managed to endure it by gritting her teeth, fearing she might earn the Saint’s hatred again.
"Go down to Solchio Village and deliver these items to the family at this address."
Lumen treated Maria with her usual composure, as if demonstrating the authority that came with her rank.
"Where is this?"
The address looked strangely familiar.
Instead of answering Maria’s question, Lumen pulled a pouch of money from her desk drawer.
"Go to the market, buy some food and daily necessities, and deliver them," Lumen said in a coaxing tone.
"Why must I be the one to do this?" Maria asked, dumbfounded.
"I am not the one ordering this. It is the Saint’s command," Lumen replied with a shrug.
At the mention of the Saint’s orders, a faint light returned to Maria’s lifeless eyes.
"The... the Saint?"
"Yes, Sister Maria. He specifically requested that you be the one to handle this task."
"……"
Maria stared blankly at the money pouch for a moment before snatching it away.
The pouch was as heavy as it looked.
Perhaps feeling embarrassed for her blatant rudeness earlier, Maria tried to leave the room immediately without even a word of parting.
"Sister Maria."
Lumen called out, stopping Maria in her tracks.
"…Yes."
"Have a safe trip."
Lumen spoke as if she were sending a child off on an errand.
*
After riding down to Solchio Village, Maria bought various food items and necessities at the market.
Then, she slowly guided her horse toward the house written on the note.
Since the address wasn't entirely familiar, she stopped a passerby to ask for directions.
The passerby politely informed the Order’s Inquisitor that it was "the second floor of the fourth house past the bridge."
It was only after Maria knocked on the door that she realized she had come to Antonio’s home.
Antonio’s mother was briefly startled to see an Inquisitor, but she soon broke into a bright smile at the sight of the food in Maria’s hands.
Maria was invited inside, and she entered the dilapidated house feeling somewhat dazed.
She handed over the remaining money, which Antonio’s mother accepted with deep gratitude.
From the outside, the house looked like it was about to collapse, but the interior was decent enough, as if it had been recently repaired.
"Oh? It’s the big-breasted nun!"
Antonio, who had peeked his head out at the visitor, greeted her warmly.
Without his priest robes, Antonio displayed the pure innocence and cheerfulness of a boy his age.
"Did you come instead of the Saint today?" Antonio chattered, circling around Maria.
"Instead of the Saint?"
"Yes! The Saint came to our house every night to play with me."
"I didn't know... I've been away from the Saint lately."
She hadn't even known what he was doing because she had been kept apart from him. Maria wore a bitter smile.
"Gasp! Have you been apart for a long time?"
"Well… not that long, I suppose."
To her heart, it had felt like an eternity.
"You must miss him, then. The Saint said he missed you too, Sister."
"What?"
Maria’s eyes snapped wide open.
"Whenever the Saint comes over, he tells me all sorts of stories. And sometimes, he talks about you."
At her intense reaction, Antonio tilted his head and added more.
"W-what did he say?"
"That you’re a bit clueless sometimes, but you’re kind and diligent. And also…"
As Antonio continued his explanation, the corners of Maria’s mouth began to curl upward.
"Did the Saint say anything else? Like, things I’m lacking in…?"
After listing Maria’s virtues for a while, Antonio pursed his lips and thought deeply.
"He said he wished you were more curious."
"Curious?"
"Yes, curious. He said he wants you to question everything."
Maria fell into deep thought over those cryptic words.
It was only after being served tea brewed from cheap leaves that she finally returned to the Order.
The moment she reached the main gate, Maria was surrounded by Holy Knights.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Maria asked, looking around at the massive men in armor, but the Holy Knights lunged at her without a word.
"Arrest her at once!"
Those were the only words she heard as her hands were bound by a rope that flew out of nowhere.
As Maria struggled, she was struck in the head by something blunt and lost consciousness.
*
With a sharp gasp, Maria bolted upright in bed.
She looked around; she was in her own room.
The ropes that had bound her hands were gone, and Lumen was sitting beside her.
"…Where am I?"
"In your room, Sister Maria."
"That’s not what I’m asking."
Maria snapped back sharply.
"Then, are you asking this? The reason you were detained?"
Detained? She checked her body; she wasn't tied to anything.
"……"
When Maria responded with silence, Lumen cleared her throat.
"The Saint… no, Kang In-ho has been arrested."
Kang In-ho. The Saint’s real name.
It was a name she hadn't heard in a very long time.
"What?"
At the absurd statement, Maria forgot her hostility toward Lumen and pressed for answers.
"Once the Harvest Festival service began, the Saint… Kang In-ho hurled insulting remarks at everyone in attendance."
Lumen recited the situation without a change in expression.
"Insulting remarks…?"
"He claimed the Pope had accumulated wealth through corruption, that Bishop Gillian indulged in sodomy and murdered people to cover it up, and that Commander Garto of the Holy Knights took married women by force."
Lumen described the scene, mimicking Kang In-ho’s voice.
"……"
Maria’s face grew increasingly pale.
"He continued these insults, pointing out person after person among the attendees, until he was subdued by the Commander of the Holy Knights."
Lumen delivered the news dryly, as if reading a fairy tale.
"So… what happened to him?"
Maria’s hands began to tremble.
"Contrary to his shouting on the platform, he was taken into custody quietly. He offered no resistance."
"And they conducted a Saint Verification Ritual right then and there, since his behavior was the exact opposite of everything he had shown before. And the result was…"
"The result?"
Maria swallowed hard.
"He could not make the blade glow. His Holiness the Pope declared him a devil who had stolen the Saint’s appearance."
Thump—
It felt as if something massive had dropped onto Maria’s chest.
Regardless, Lumen continued.
"It is suspected that the devil hid the real Saint and took his form during the relief efforts in Madini Village. Therefore, people will be sent to Madini Village to search for the Saint."
"The trial… why… the trial…"
Maria shook her head.
"The trial is already over. He is scheduled for execution soon."
"How! Without even hearing my testimony, when I was part of his personal attendants!"
Maria erupted in a shout.
"Your own purity is being questioned, Sister Maria."
Lumen leaned forward, her expression hardening.
The Lumen who looked exhausted from being buried in administrative paperwork was gone; in her place was the Chief Inquisitor who had interrogated thousands of sinners.
"You spent a long time with that devil. Many believe you have been tainted. That is why you were confined to this room."
Lumen stood up and headed for the door.
"An investigation into you will begin after the execution is over. Wait here."
The door closed, followed by the sound of it being locked from the outside.
"Wait! Chief Inquisitor!!!"
Maria lunged from the bed and clung to the door.
"He is definitely the Saint. It’s the Saint! He was absolutely no devil!"
Maria screamed at Lumen through the door.
"Why is he the Saint?"
The question came from outside.
Maria froze as she recalled something the Saint had once told her.
As she stood there in silence, Lumen’s words drifted through the door once more.
"Why is he the Saint?"
"……"
"He could not make the sword glow."
"His conduct did not befit a Saint."
"His Holiness the Pope said he is not the Saint."
"So why… why do you insist he is the Saint?"
"……"
"See? You have no conviction yourself, so what exactly are you trying to prove?"
With those final words, the sound of Lumen’s footsteps faded away.
Listening to those footsteps echoing through the empty corridor, Maria buried her face in her hands.