Chapter 272: Saint Guwon
Chapter 272: Saint Guwon
More than one person had entered the room.
A group of priests stared at the High Priestess with shocked expressions.
“Th-That was… I heard the Goddess’s voice along with a bright light! Did I hear that correctly?!”
Ah, so that’s why even her faint voice sounded so clear. It seemed the Goddess’s voice hadn’t just filled this room but had spread over a much wider area.
Surely they didn’t hear the exact content, right? If they did, that would be pretty damn embarrassing.
Imagine if a rumor got out that the guy who was supposed to have made a contract with the Goddess was thrown into this world without knowing any of the terms due to his own carelessness. Even for someone as shameless as me, that’s mortifying.
No, but come on, who actually reads all the text that pops up during an installation?!
The Goddess should have put it somewhere more readable… Any further and I feel like I’ll be struck down for blasphemy, so I’ll stop there.
“It is as you have heard. The Goddess borrowed Leia’s body and appeared before us.”
The High Priestess also seemed quite bewildered, but she was, after all, the High Priestess who managed the temple of this massive dungeon city.
She organized her thoughts and told the priests the truth.
“I knew it! Ah, if that’s the case…!”
The priests let out shrill cries, overjoyed at the fact that the Goddess had descended.
Well, according to the High Priestess, it had been a very long time since the Goddess last made an appearance. One of the church’s greatest wishes had been fulfilled, so of course they’d be happy.
“Yes. Leia has emerged as a new candidate for Saintess. No, it would be more accurate to say her becoming the Saintess is already a certainty. After all…”
But the High Priestess wasn’t finished.
She looked at me with a rather complicated expression, as if debating whether or not she should say what was on her mind.
But after glancing once toward Leia, she spoke the next words with a look of resolve.
“Saint Guwon… is the priest chosen by the Goddess’s messenger.”
The moment she said that, every eye in the room turned to me.
Heh, that’s right. I am pretty amazing… wait a minute. Why is everyone looking at me and clasping their hands together?! This is an insane amount of pressure!
“The Goddess’s messenger…”
I heard someone in the group of priests murmur in a voice filled with awe.
“Um, High Priestess…?”
“You may call me Sophia, Sir Guwon.”
“No, no. I couldn’t possibly…”
“There is a High Priestess by your side as well, Sir Guwon. It would be confusing if you called me High Priestess, wouldn’t it?”
The High Priestess’s gaze was directed at Leia.
Ah, she had a point.
“Th-Then, Ms. Sophia. Why are you using such formal language with me? Sir Guwon? There’s no need for that.”
“No. I cannot act disrespectfully toward the Goddess’s messenger. Saint Guwon, you truly were sent to this world on a mission from the Goddess. It seems there was some kind of incomprehensible accident in the process, but that does not change the fact that you are Her messenger.”
Right. I guess words like ‘install’ and ‘game manual’ would be hard for them to understand.
No, that’s not what’s important right now!
“Therefore, from this day forward, our church will give you its full and unconditional support.”
Huh?! No, I don’t need it! The support Diana already gives me is more than enough!
So please, stop looking at me with those expectant eyes! It’s too much pressure!
“What?! No! There’s no need for… B-Besides! This isn’t something you can decide on your own, High Prie—Ms. Sophia!”
“Do not worry. His Holiness the Pope in the Papal States will reach the same conclusion. But I see. If you are concerned, I shall contact them immediately.”
“No, you don’t have to…!”
“Then please wait just a moment.”
With that, High Priestess Sophia left the room.
What is this? The scale of things just got ridiculously huge.
My goal is just to live well, eat well, and roll around with my girls.
If the temple gets involved like this, I’m going to be crushed by the pressure to focus all my efforts on dungeon exploration!
But I couldn’t voice such true feelings out loud.
I was inside the temple, surrounded by priests whose eyes were sparkling as they stared at me.
If I said something so blasphemous, there’s no telling what they’d do to me.
Besides, even if that wasn’t the case, saying something like that would disappoint my Leia. And I could never bear to see that.
As soon as High Priestess Sophia left, the priests who had been staring with sparkling eyes rushed forward in unison.
Not toward me, but toward Leia.
From the way they kept glancing my way, they seemed interested, but I guess they felt too intimidated to approach me directly.
“Leia! Did you become the Saintess?!”
“No. I didn’t. I just became a High Priestess.”
“Is that so? But then how did the Goddess descend…?”
“That… When Sir Guwon did something to me, I just… somehow became able to do it.”
“Ooooh!”
Leia. Please, not you too. You’re just adding to the pressure.
“S-So, does this mean you and Sir Guwon are… um… getting married?”
“What?! W-Well, someday…”
My dear Leia blushing was incredibly lovely and all, but I had a bad feeling about where this was going.
“‘Someday’? Why not right away? If you both feel the same way, you should just do it now, right? The Goddess will surely bless you. The future Saintess marrying the Goddess’s messenger. How romantic…”
Hey. You, nameless priest over there. You just want to see the romantic scene you’ve imagined in your head, don’t you?
“I have returned.”
Just then, High Priestess Sophia came back into the room.
That was fast. Do they have something like a magical telephone in the temple?
“How did it go?”
“I see. First, if it is certain that Sir Guwon is the Goddess’s apostle, then providing full support is the unanimous opinion of everyone in the Papal States. However, it seems it is not a matter they can easily believe…”
Sophia trailed off with a slightly apologetic look.
Phew. Thank goodness.
No, you have nothing to be sorry for. Really. I was actually worried they might just believe it outright and offer their support.
“One of the Cardinals will be coming in person to confirm.”
“As expected… wait. What?!”
“They will be coming via the Mage Association, so it may take some time. If you are not busy, would you be willing to wait a little while?”
Well, I’m not busy. In fact, I have nothing but time.
Leaving me to my predicament, the priests began to chatter excitedly again.
“High Priestess!”
“Yes?”
“We were just thinking. How about the temple prepares a wedding for Sir Guwon and Leia? It would be so roman— I mean, with the absence of a Saintess, everyone has been feeling anxious. I think it would give everyone strength.”
The one who shouted that was the same priest with her head in the clouds who was going on about romance earlier.
Hey. There’s no way the strict High Priestess Sophia would fall for something like that…
“Hmm… That is certainly true. It would be worth discussing with the Cardinal when they arrive.”
She fell for it! And incredibly easily, at that!
Seeing as she glanced at Leia as she said it, it seemed the dormant mother’s heart within Sophia had been awakened.
Right. All mothers want their daughters to be happy.
I’d thought it was heartwarming how Sophia doted on Leia and cared for her like her own daughter, but this was not the development I was hoping for!
“Sir Guwon…”
Leia looked at me, her cheeks faintly flushed, with an expression that was anything but displeased. In fact, she looked like she could die of happiness. I couldn’t possibly tell her to her face that I had no thoughts of marriage yet. This was driving me crazy.
No, it’s not that I don’t want to marry my angel. I’d love to.
Of course I would. What man would refuse to marry an angel?
The problem is, I don’t have the confidence to handle the fallout.
I love all three of my girls equally.
I’d always considered marriage a distant prospect and never given it serious thought, but I have vaguely considered it before.
If I were to get married, it would be best to have a ceremony with all three of them at the same time.
It makes sense, right? Imagine if I married just one of them first.
The other two would surely torment me for the rest of my life.
But now, a wedding with Leia, hosted by the temple?
Given who’s hosting and why, a simultaneous wedding with all three would be absolutely impossible.
So, it’s best to avoid this marriage talk altogether. I feel bad for Leia, but it has to be done.
Now, how can I phrase this to nullify the wedding talk without hurting Leia’s feelings?
“Excuse me. High Priestess Sophia.”
As I was racking my brain, another person entered Sophia’s room.
Dressed in clerical robes slightly more ornate than the other priests, she was yet another stunning beauty.
Well, it seems that in this world, all clerics are fundamentally handsome or beautiful.
In any case, the beauty swept her gaze around the room with a haughty air, as if she were a high noble.
It went beyond haughty to the point of seeming a little arrogant, looking for all the world like a typical noble lady looking down on commoners.
“It has been a while since we last met in person. We exchanged greetings earlier, so I will dispense with the pleasantries.”
The beauty’s gaze passed over Sophia, Leia, and the other priests before finally stopping on me, the only man in the room.
What’s with her? Don’t look at me with those condescending eyes. Not even the princess ever looked at me like that. Well, Felicia was a bit of an oddball for a princess, though.
“Is this the man who is said to be the Goddess’s messenger?”
The beauty fixed her gaze on me, staring intently as if trying to uncover something.
“Yes.”
“Hmmmm…”
Even after High Priestess Sophia’s reply, she continued to send an scrutinizing gaze my way.
Hey. Isn’t that a bit rude for a first meeting?
“High Priestess Sophia. Who is this?”
“‘Th-This’?! Did you just call me ‘this’?!”
At my words, she immediately flared up, looking ready to pounce.
“If you don’t like it, at least introduce yourself. And stop rudely staring at someone you’ve just met.”
I think I’ve said it before, but I’m the type of person who tailors my response to the other person’s attitude. Not that I’m always nice to people who are nice to me, of course.
“To not even know my face. Are you saying you don’t know me, Matilda, one of the twelve Cardinals?!”
“Yeah. I don’t. Who are you?”
From the sounds of it, she was the Cardinal who was supposed to be coming here in person.
She got here fast.
But if she’s a Cardinal, she must be someone of very high rank, right?
Shouldn’t a high-ranking religious figure be a bit more noble and benevolent? What’s with this attitude?
If only she were half as good as my angel.
“Y-You! High Priestess Sophia! Is it really true that this man is the Goddess’s messenger?!”
“Yes. Everyone here heard the Goddess’s voice with their own ears.”
“I find that hard to believe!”
“Hahaha. Whether you can believe it or not isn’t what’s important. The fact that it’s true is what matters. Now that you understand, you should hurry up and prostrate yourself before this messenger of the Goddess and kiss his feet…”
“Sir Guwon.”
“Yep. Sorry, Leia. I got a little carried away, didn’t I?”
It was just so satisfying to see the arrogant brat get frustrated.
Ah, damn it! Because of her, I just admitted that I’m the Goddess’s messenger myself!
Damn it… What a useless bitch…
“Ugh…”
But it seemed my words had deeply wounded her pride, so that part, at least, was satisfying.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, High Priestess Sophia, or any of you. But there is a possibility that this man is deceiving everyone with some kind of trick! I need more definitive proof, something that can be demonstrated right now!”
“I even reproduced the descent of the Goddess, a lost art, and you still don’t believe me. Fine. If there are any other lost techniques, tell me. I’ll have Leia learn them.”
“Wh-What did you say?! Th-Then… try healing this wound!”
Matilda rolled up her sleeve and showed me a wound on her arm.
It was a bizarre-looking injury, like a black scar left behind by a lightning strike.
What is that?
“It is the mark of an ancient curse. According to ancient texts, there once existed holy magic capable of healing such powerful curses, but…”
As if sensing my question, High Priestess Sophia explained from behind me.