Chapter 14: Saintess Silvia Sunshine (5)
“You damn idiots... The sun's already high in the sky, and you're still passed out like this?”
“Ugh... My head hurts...”
“Cluster-nim... Sorry...”
Last night, after parting ways with Silvia, I returned to my room to find it reeking of booze. Empty bottles were scattered across the floor as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and there were two women sprawled out—not on the bed, but on the damn floor.
Fine, Lai was one thing, but Alicia? This woman never got drunk no matter how much she drank every day. What the hell happened?
“I didn't use any detox magic to keep up with Lai... I'm sorry. Just give me a moment to recover...”
“...Nah. You worked hard yesterday too—get some proper rest. I'll head out alone. Take good care of Lai.”
And that's how I ended up coming to the temple by myself today.
“How may I help you?”
“I'm here to see the Saintess.”
“Here to request an audience with the Saintess, I see. You're aware the audience fee has gone up recently, right?”
Déjà vu? It felt like we'd had this exact same conversation just a few days ago.
“From 1 gold to 5, right?”
“Correct. Please fill out this application form according to the guidelines. As for the gold, there's a box in the audience chamber—just deposit it there.”
I let out a quiet sigh of relief that it hadn't gone up even more. I'd split 5 gold each with Lai and Alicia, leaving me with about 15, but who knew how long I'd be stuck here? Better to cut expenses wherever possible.
“How long's the wait?”
“Who knows.”
Long wait if it's long, quick if it's quick—what the hell kind of answer was that?
“The Saintess is being extra picky today, they say. She's personally reviewing the applications. Thanks to that, not a single person has gotten in all morning—everyone's been turned away.”
“She wasn't feeling well, right? Related to that?”
Of course, I didn't really think so. The Saintess just didn't feel like working today, probably. It had been a little over two years since Lai appointed her, right? A few months before I got here. Yeah, that tracked. Two years of hoarding cash and power—she was probably ready to slack off.
I'd never even seen her face, but if I had to name the biggest asshole in my life—aside from those creeps hitting on Lai and Alicia last night—it had to be this Saintess. I was dead certain.
“Doubt it. No matter what, she's never turned away anyone requesting an audience. Today's the first.”
I stuck out my tongue at the guard's added explanation that even through high fevers, she'd never stopped holding audiences. How much did she love money to neglect her own health like that?
I got it, though. One gold per audience back then—two months' living expenses for a family of four. And now it was five. Hell, I'd grind my body to dust for that too.
But a money-hungry Saintess turning everyone away today? No way my expectations were high. Maybe I should just head back and try tomorrow.
I wandered the temple grounds, peering at the various buildings, lost in such idle thoughts.
“Yulio. The Saintess says to bring in someone named Cluster to the audience chamber.”
“Pat-down's done. Follow me. Hansel—focus on your duties till I get back.”
“Got it!”
Instead of Hansel, who'd already seen the Saintess, it was Yulio—the guard I'd been chatting with—who led me in. What was weird was how neither seemed puzzled that the Saintess, who'd rejected nobles and big-shot merchants left and right, was granting an audience to some random nobody whose origins they didn't even know.
I'd have asked what my connection to the Saintess was first thing. Unless they thought it'd be insulting her or something.
“This is as far as I go. A nun will take you from here. Good luck.”
At the entrance to one of the temple's smaller buildings, Yulio turned back, and soon a nun emerged, opening the door.
“Follow me.”
I trailed the black-robed nun inside the building until we reached a small door. Was this where you talked to the Saintess through a tiny hole in the wall? Wait, no—that was confession.
*knock knock*
“Saintess, he's here.”
No sound from inside, but the nun opened the door anyway.
“The Saintess is waiting through that door.”
“Ah... Okay...”
*knock knock*
“Yes. Come in.”
The first thing that hit me when I heard her voice was how young it sounded. I'd figured a Saintess would be around twenty, but this was the voice of a girl who hadn't even hit puberty yet. Kinda familiar, too...
Her age didn't matter, so I slowly pushed open the door—and my eyes landed on
“Silvia? What are you doing here?”
There was the little kid I'd recently befriended—Silvia. Sorry if I'm the only one who thinks of her that way.
“You said we'd meet tomorrow, remember?”
True, I'd said that—but I didn't expect to run into her here.
Did Silvia work at the temple attending the Saintess? Then the one sending a little girl on midnight errands was the Saintess? What the hell kind of person was she?
Screw the Saintess's personality—stumbling on Silvia like this was a happy surprise. Then it hit me—
-If you're grateful, tell the Saintess I'll come for an audience tomorrow, so clear some time.
-Uncle's coming to see the saintess? For real? Okay! I'll tell her for sure!
I remembered the joke I'd tossed at Silvia last night. Had she actually asked the Saintess for me? Was that why the Saintess was being selective today?
It didn't add up—a kid's request wouldn't make her toss aside 5-gold-per-head profits. But picking out some nobody she didn't even know on a picky day? That made even less sense. My head was spinning.
Long story short: it didn't make sense, but the nonsense led to this sensible outcome.
“Did Silvia put in a word with the Saintess for me?”
“Huh~?”
“Must've been a hassle for you. Thanks.”
Silvia blinked innocently, playing dumb, but her lips twitched. We'd only met a few times—she shouldn't be opening up to me like this. This kid was gonna get herself in big trouble someday.
As the adult here, I figured I should scold her properly, so I ruffled her hair like crazy.
“Hehe...”
“Don't do it again. What if it got you in trouble?”
“But Uncle ruffled my hair like this, so it's all better now~”
“All better? What do you mean?”
Silvia dusted off her crumpled veil with pats from her hands as she spoke, and something felt off. People say “it's fine,” not “it's better now.”
Come to think of it, her cheek looked a bit swollen. No way—did my request get Silvia chewed out or hit by the Saintess...?
“R-really? It's fine? It's okay?”
“Nah, nothing. I just jumped to conclusions 'cause of my bias.”
It was kinda funny how I'd built such a shitty image of the Saintess without ever meeting her. Blame it on cults like Lai Teresa's.
“When's the Saintess coming?”
“She's already here~?”
“Already?”
I glanced at the door I'd come through, but it stayed shut. Made sense—the guards had notified her, and the nun guided me, so she couldn't have arrived after me. Then where was she...?
“Nice to meet you! I'm the saintess of Lai Teresa-nim, sai—saintess, ow! Saintess Silvia Sunshine.”
“...Huh?”
“I'm Saintess Silvia Sunshine. Surprised?”
Uh. Yeah. A lot.
The kid rolling on the floor, wandering at night without guards, scarfing down cheap chicken skewers—that was the Saintess?
The one lisping from missing front teeth, tilting her head at hard words—that was the Saintess?
“Uncle really had no idea, huh? I'm even wearing the white robes! Puhehe.”
Suddenly, memories clicked into place.
-White nun robes are the Saintess's symbol, right?
Alicia had said that for sure, and whenever Lai talked about the Saintess, she'd mutter “Silvia” under her breath. I remembered now.
I knew her name and the distinctive outfit, but still didn't recognize her? Better keep that a secret from Silvia—and those two nursing hangovers.
Too embarrassing.
“I'm not from around here. Where I'm from, even non-Saintesses wore white nun robes.”
Lai's priestess robes... She insisted on being called a priestess, but they were white anyway. Not a lie. Just not heartbreaking to fib to a kid.
“That explains it. I thought Uncle was kinda special.”
Saintess sensing my sealed demonic mana? Or that I was from another world?
“Me? Special? Why?”
If it was the former, it could mess up my plans, so I probed casually.
“You caught me when I fell, petted my head without minding I came from the slums. Even used polite speech on a kid like me.”
“That's what you meant by special?”
“Yup. People usually avoid touching kids—scared of catching diseases or getting dirty hands. So Uncle's special.”
“You mean weird?”
“Ah! Right! Not special—weird! Hehet.”
Just a kid's word mix-up. I breathed a mental sigh of relief. No way even a Saintess this young could sense that stuff.
“Anyway, back to the main topic? Uncle, why'd you come see me?”
“Silvia. Listen up—this isn't a joke.”
“Got it. You wouldn't come all the way to the temple just to mess around. Right? Demon King-nim?”