[Saintess, Anastasia Lacroix - 09]
[Saintess, Anastasia Lacroix - 09]
The world values reason above all, but the world doesn't run on reason alone.
Some believe that maintaining only reason makes one wise.
Others appeal only to emotion and wallow in their grievances.
If both are essential to maintaining people and society, there was no reason not to choose an option that utilizes both.
Without reason, one looks dim-witted, like a child just whining and throwing a tantrum.
Conversely, without emotion, one fails to be understood by the masses.
Even those who say "That choice is rational" from afar will appeal to their grievances when they see that emotionless choice up close, or become the victim of it.
That is why people seek rationality.
They want an option that understands emotion yet does not let go of reason.
I, too, was wishing for that right now.
Unfortunately, as a human, Anastasia Lacroix fundamentally lacked an understanding of people and lacked the ability to empathize with emotions.
No matter what I did, I couldn't fix that, and since it was impossible to change my nature, I was trying to understand.
I knew why Ed kept giving me books containing stories, including journals, like homework.
Even if it's fiction, he wants me to come into contact with human stories and make an effort to understand them.
In the case of novels, there were detailed explanations of why a person felt certain emotions.
I could tell he was trying to make me try to understand emotions, even if I couldn't empathize with them, and I think my understanding has improved quite a bit compared to before.
Well, if I didn't have that understanding, I wouldn't have been able to act in the first place.
"You damn brat!"
A noble or a merchant.
A man who looked like a somewhat successful merchant was about to hit a small child. It was truly immoral, the very definition of evil, but I just watched the situation.
"It seems the child committed theft. Judging by their appearance, they don't seem to be from a well-off family. No, I even doubt they have a family."
"......."
"Saintess-nim, what shall we do? Should I stop them?"
This guy, he's pretending to ask for my opinion while testing me again.
Sometimes, Ed would look at me with eyes that seemed to be observing me. Those eyes, which seemed to be trying to figure out how far I had progressed in various ways, felt like they were piercing right through me.
At first, it was quite unpleasant, but now it didn't feel too bad.
But aside from that, I remained silent and watched the girl.
"A mad dog."
"A mad dog?"
"Look, they're getting beaten up, but their eyes haven't lost their spark at all. They'll probably counterattack and run away the moment they get a chance."
"......."
Did I pass?
Ed said nothing.
"I'm getting my wallet back! You're coming with me to the guard post right now......."
Ppeoeok!!
They didn't miss the split-second opportunity.
Since the man who looked like a merchant wasn't completely untrained, the girl aimed for his lack of vigilance and headbutted him in the face in an instant.
The man, having taken a solid hit to the nose and chin, staggered backward and fell, and the girl seemed to run away far, not missing that gap.
"That girl is interesting."
"Even if you call her a girl, she looks older than you, Saintess-nim?"
"Ed, track her."
"I knew you'd say that, so I've already attached a shadow to her."
"Oh, that magic is truly convenient?"
"Shall we track her immediately?"
"No, I'm greedy. If I'm going to do it, I should catch both rabbits."
"You'll lose both if you do that."
"That's an excuse for incompetent people."
"Haa."
I heard Ed's sigh but lightly ignored it, and I approached the troubled merchant and smiled.
If Ed had already attached a shadow to that child, it meant we could track them at any time, so there was no reason to rush.
I slowly approached the person who was in pain from being hit in the face and reached out my hand.
"Heal."
Mana rippled, and the wounds on the man's face quickly disappeared, and the nosebleed that had been flowing began to stop.
"H, healing magic?"
Perhaps because I lived in the Great Cathedral, I could encounter people who used healing magic while passing by.
I didn't see them actually using it often, but I could still see people who said they could use it.
But that was only because it was the Great Cathedral, and basically, healing magic is said to be very difficult to learn.
They say that even if you can do it, like Ed, despite it not being your main attribute, you're called amazing.
Since even Ed said self-healing was impossible, I could tell that the difficulty level was incredibly high.
I smiled at the man while wearing my mask.
"Are you alright?"
"This incredible speed....... You are, no. Who are you?"
The man, who understood that the speed of my healing magic was absurd, looked at me with a surprised face.
As I got closer, I saw a badge.
A badge of the Merchant's Guild, and even gold, which I remembered hearing in Ed's class was a quite high rank.
In other words, this person was not of a low rank.
I finished my calculations in my head and carefully took off my hood.
"That child is."
"Oh my, it's the Saintess-nim."
"Th-that person is the Saintess-nim? Didn't they say she was sick?"
"Idiot, didn't they say she started working again recently?"
It seemed like a not-bad impression.
At least the impression wasn't so bad that they would openly talk behind my back.
Because I couldn't do anything about them talking behind my back.
At least if the outward impression wasn't bad, that was enough for now.
"I was just passing by. I apologize for using healing magic without prior notice. You looked like you were in pain."
"Ah, no....... Saintess-nim, thank you."
"Saintess-nim, oh my. It is an honor to meet you."
Everyone's polite attitude, I could tell how great the position of the Saintess was.
I smiled and waved my hand.
Many people were gathering, but it didn't matter.
It was actually what I wanted.
As they say, it's best to suffer when everyone knows about it.
If everyone knows I'm safe and gets information in various ways, and knows that I'm suffering while healing, that alone is helpful.
"S-Saintess-nim. I heard you started working again, are you feeling alright?"
"Thank you for your concern. There is no problem, everyone, please come to the Great Cathedral if you have any problems. My time is always open for you. Usually, donations for the cathedral are needed, but I am the Goddess's representative....... How could I accept them?"
"H-are you working for the lambs without even receiving donations?"
"Because I have to work as much as I haven't been able to fulfill the role of the Saintess properly until now. It is a natural duty."
"Saintess-nim......."
Because advertising effects are important.
As I said, it's best to suffer when everyone knows about it.
With this, they would understand that I was doing cathedral work for free, healing, and even listening to confessions. It might spread a bit excessively, but anyway, it's important to make my impression good for now.
It's okay to be a bit busy right now.
I didn't mind getting free time later.
'Yes, the important thing is.'
I smiled at the people, and while talking, I looked at Ed for a moment.
'The important thing is to start by keeping what is valuable to me by my side.'
"You were held up for quite a while."
"Because I have the name of the Saintess, I think they knew more than I thought. The advertising effect must have been quite good, right? What do you think?"
"Well, it doesn't seem bad. Your response was also fine."
"Shall we try volunteer work next time? There are places like orphanages, right? The Great Cathedral is a bit big and majestic, so there are people who can't approach it, right? Wouldn't it be good to be a Saintess who visits them directly?"
"That's not bad. If we go around under the pretext of an inspection, we'll have a justification. It's just that some people might consider the Saintess to be someone with a head full of flowers. To put it bluntly, you could say you're being looked down upon."
I smiled.
"If their brains are only capable of looking down on me for that, I don't need them as my allies."
"Do you need allies?"
"Ed, you said it, you told me to increase my allies. Honestly, I lack a base of power. To be honest, the Pope cherishes me like a granddaughter, but even so, there is the position of the Pope. In truly important moments, they have no choice but to remain neutral."
That is not a bad thing.
If the person in that position didn't distinguish between good and evil, didn't weigh right and wrong, and only became my ally, that would actually be a problem.
Therefore, I don't particularly feel disappointed in the Pope.
Rather, I was thinking that they had taken good care of me until now.
"So I need capable people."
"Don't tell me, Saintess-nim. That pickpocket from earlier......."
As expected of Ed.
It seemed like they understood my heart faster than anyone else.
As soon as I saw that kid, pat, for some reason, I got a feeling.
That they weren't ordinary.
I smiled at Ed.
"Shall we raise our puppy?"
"It's a mad dog, though?"
"I think it'll be fun to raise."
"Excuse me? It seems like you're listening to my words with one ear and letting them flow out the other?"
"Let's go."
"Hah."
Ed let out a breath as if it were absurd and walked after me.