[The Saintess, Anastasia Lacroix - 12]
[The Saintess, Anastasia Lacroix - 12]
-I'm going to raise this child.
-Hah.
The Pope's expression seemed to speak the reality of the situation.
After all, she had suddenly gone out and come back with a child from the slums.
The Pope had initially tried to refuse, but upon seeing Eris's condition, it seemed he felt pity.
Regardless of what was said, he was just too good of a person, so he eventually gave his permission.
However, there would be quite a bit of grumbling within the Cathedral.
For one, my status was clear, and I was a war hero who had proven my skills in the war against the monsters.
No matter how much the main branch of my Valtus Family had done all sorts of bullshit, my personal reputation wasn't that bad.
There were still people who called me 'Bloody Valtus' and others who looked down on me even more because I had participated in the war, but there were more who didn't.
Anyway, not many people found it strange for me to be by the Saintess-nim's side. Even if there was backlash, it wasn't significant enough to worry about; it was at a level that could be ignored.
But Eris was not even human, and far from being a noble, she was from the slums.
If she were at least a commoner, it might be different, but if she was a pauper whose identity couldn't even be proven, the complaints would grow, and there would be people coming to voice their dissatisfaction directly to the Saintess-nim.
"They'll come, ostensibly arguing that we can't have someone of unknown identity by the Saintess-nim's side. And they'll doubt her skills, too."
"That sounds plausible. They say honesty is a virtue, so why are these damn political games full of so many lies?"
"Politics everywhere exists through lies, deception, and acting. They say politics is the seat of choosing the lesser of two evils. They, too, are doing their best to protect their own rice bowls and their honor in their own way."
"It's ugly."
"I won't deny that."
The Saintess-nim said, dropping a sugar cube into her black tea.
"So, how should I counter?"
"You should vouch for the child's skills and act like the Saintess, saying you want to give a chance to the poor. Just say, 'I am the Saintess~.' Just like usual."
"I can get past that part, but what about the skills?"
"There's a 90% chance they'll ask to test her. Unfortunately, if she can't even pass the trials they set, it will be difficult to keep Eris by your side. Personally, I also believe she needs to have a certain level of skill."
"I see."
The Saintess-nim drank her tea.
It was a relief that she listened to me more calmly than I thought.
I had worried she might be acting spoiled, but it seemed she was gradually developing the eyes to view situations objectively.
The Saintess-nim often said she was just imitating me, but honestly, I thought it was more accurate to say she simply had a talent for this as well.
It wasn't just a matter of imitating others.
She must have possessed the talent to understand emotions, even if she couldn't empathize with them from the start.
"Where is Eris now?"
"She is taking a bath with the help of the nuns."
"Ed, what do you think? She looked like an unpolished gemstone to me. I want to hear your honest opinion. Was I wrong?"
"I can't grasp everything from a single fight, but if I had to evaluate her, there's no doubt she has talent. Whether it's great enough to overturn her status in one fell swoop, though, we'll have to see."
That was true.
Eris had talent.
In that starving state, she was able to use her transformation, the increase in power was significantly higher than that of a half-Beastkin, and her simple physical ability was on par with, or perhaps even greater than, a pure-blooded Beastkin.
For the first time in a long while, I felt the sensation of an impact being transmitted to my shadow.
I thought that if she landed a barrage of hits, she could definitely break my shadow.
"Then that means it's worth a try?"
"Yes, well... It seems possible. At least from what I've seen so far. Talent doesn't always just go up; sometimes it falls, too."
It would be nice if that potential were maintained and explosive strength continued to emerge in line with that talent, but things in the world weren't that easy.
It was common for people called prodigies who were superior to others in childhood to end up similar to others, or just slightly superior, when they became adults.
Ah, of course, like the saying that you can tell a plant's potential from its sprout, that doesn't apply to the Saintess-nim's level.
Even if the Saintess-nim didn't grow at all from here, she could still become a world-renowned powerhouse.
I wanted to show the Saintess-nim to those guys who acted truly arrogant because of their talent.
To say, "This is talent."
"Saintess-nim!"
Someone opened the door and entered quickly.
About 0.2 seconds.
From a somewhat delinquent posture, the Saintess-nim straightened her back, corrected her posture, and a manufactured smile was brilliantly equipped on her face.
If it had just been me and the Saintess-nim here, I might have clapped and been impressed.
The time it took to transform from a delinquent person to the kind-to-everyone Saintess-nim in an instant was only about 0.2 seconds.
It was such a fast speed that I even suspected if the person in front of me had a split personality and had suddenly switched.
"Please knock. I may be young, but I am a woman."
"Ah, my apologies. Ahem, excuse me. I have committed a rudeness."
The man cleared his throat.
The man's name was Harold Azed.
He was none other than the captain of this Cathedral branch's knight order.
Of course, being a rear-guard unit, he might not be on par with the front-line units accustomed to battle, but the position of captain wasn't something easily obtained, so he was a capable person in his own right.
However, he was someone who felt somewhat lenient toward nobles.
Even when I arrived, he had gone so far as to tell me not to lose my dignity because a noble is a noble, no matter how close to ruin I had been driven.
For reference, I am not from this Cathedral's knight order.
Because my position had been changed to the Saintess-nim's aide regardless of my will, Harold was technically my superior since I was a knight, but Harold had no authority to give me orders.
"Saintess-nim, even so, to keep a pauper by your side! How will people outside view you!"
"Harold-nim, you cannot judge everything by status. Among the heroes of the past, there weren't only nobles, were there?"
I had told her quite a few stories about heroes who were commoners last time.
More than that, unexpectedly, there were quite a few heroes and powerhouses who were of commoner origin, not just nobles.
Honestly, what meaning does family power have when you go to the battlefield?
No matter how powerful a family is, it doesn't protect you from a monster in front of you biting your throat off.
Perhaps that's why nobles who come to the battlefield basically know reality well and don't have much of the arrogance typical of nobles.
Those guys who have such arrogance are divided into three endings: they come to their senses after almost being killed by a monster, they die to a monster without even getting a chance to come to their senses, or they eventually desert the battlefield out of fear after almost dying.
Personally, I didn't really want to see the second one.
Being arrogant is infuriating and annoying, but it wasn't a capital offense.
"That may be so, but."
It was written all over his face that he was 'lying'.
Harold, who had a strong sense of superiority based on status, couldn't deny those words externally, but he was probably fuming on the inside.
For Harold, who believed in noble-supremacy, the fact that there was a pauper who couldn't even be considered a commoner in this Cathedral, and even next to the Saintess-nim, the symbol of the Goddess Religion, must have been unbearable.
"That child has potential. She will become strong soon."
"However..."
"This is a matter that has been approved by the Pope. It is not a matter for Harold-nim to question, but what are you so dissatisfied about?"
A seemingly innocent question, pretending I didn't know why he was dissatisfied.
It was quite satisfying to ask while knowing everything.
No, honestly, she's so good at it that it's scary.
"I cannot know if that person truly has skill. Especially since she is a pauper of unknown identity."
The Saintess-nim gave me a glance for a moment.
It wasn't particularly surprising, and it was something anyone could fully predict.
Furthermore, considering Harold's personality, it was something he was bound to say, so there was no need to react with surprise. The Saintess-nim set down her teacup and looked at Harold.
"Then there would be no problem if we prove it, right?"
"......Very well."
Harold nodded.
"One month from now, I will have that pauper child spar with a knight from our order. It might be somewhat harsh, but if she is to serve as the Saintess-nim's aide, she should at least be able to do that much."
"Understood. Then, one month from now, we will have a sparring match between Eris and one of our holy knights. If I win, I want you to recognize Eris as my aide, stop voicing complaints, and treat her properly."
It was good to get a firm commitment.
In many ways.
If we just let it slide like this, Eris could stay under the Saintess-nim's authority, but we wouldn't be able to avoid the cold gazes of those around us.
However, if we leave a clear achievement of defeating a holy knight and prove it with skill, the story changes.
"In exchange, if she loses, that pauper child cannot stay in the Cathedral. That is acceptable, right?"
"That is fine."
"Then, excuse me."
Harold bowed his head to finish his greeting and then withdrew from the Saintess-nim's room.
"Ed."
Her posture became delinquent again.
"Please take good care of Eris's training. Make it so she can beat a holy knight within a month."
What does this person think a holy knight is?
No, more than that, she's giving me more work here?
"If I die from overwork like this, who will take responsibility?"
"I'm here, so there's no way you'll die."
Coming from someone who looked like she could even save a person the Grim Reaper was waiting next to, saying, "That one's dead," it felt incredibly realistic.
I felt like the Saintess-nim's eyes were saying, "You cannot die without my permission."