C162
"What does this mean...?"
Priestess Artan, or rather Herciso, whose expression changed in an instant, rose from her seat.
"I was simply worried about the saint. How could she be left alone with a stranger?"
Herciso, like a skilled con artist, quickly reverted to his humble priest appearance.
"Of course, it's my fault for overhearing your conversation, but how could I be subservient to a woman who dared to pretend to be a saint?"
At first glance, it wasn't a strange story.
"That's correct, Viscountess Lucibiu."
Arsia also stepped in to defend her entourage.
"Priestess Artan has been wholeheartedly assisting me for three years. This incident probably occurred because her loyalty was excessive. So let me apologize on her behalf."
Arsia, who had lived in anxiety as a false saint for a long time, had a high level of vigilance.
Even when I met her a few days ago, she always suspected that I was up to something.
To gain this level of trust from Arsia, it could indeed only be expected from a swindler who deceived several nobles and stole their wealth.
"But, saint. I can provide evidence that this person is a spy for Liena."
"Evidence? Please show me. I'm curious too."
Herciso, who had become more energetic than before, didn't even blink at my words.
Even though he was in frequent contact with Liena, I was sure he never left any evidence.
Herciso's confidence was reasonable at first glance.
Liena and Herciso had been very careful not to leave any traces.
Not even Tara, who was waiting for an opportunity, could bring me Herciso's letter received from Liena.
Even if there was a letter, Herciso likely used his handwriting differently than usual.
However, even Herciso had what could be called a loophole, and I found out after reading "Return and Walk Alone on a Flower Path."
"Very well. Let me show you."
I pretended to rummage through the bag I had brought with me, caught Herciso off guard, and then attacked her.
Then, she quickly rolled up the sleeves of her priest uniform, which had wide sleeves.
"This is the evidence."
Arsia couldn't hide her surprise at seeing Herciso's shoulders soon bared.
"This is... a tattoo?"
I told Arsia as I held down the struggling Herciso.
"What matters is the shape of the tattoo."
"Oh, it's a rabbit pattern. Moreover, it looks like a baby rabbit... A rabbit?"
Arsia's eyes sharpened.
She also knew well the nickname of Princess Cassius, which was famous in the world.
"Artan, you."
"Oh no! It's a misunderstanding, saint!"
Herciso vigorously shook his head in front of Arsia, who looked at him with fear.
"When I was young, I used to raise rabbits. So, this is a tattoo I got to remember those little ones!"
"Then, what about the 'L.C' letters engraved under the rabbit? Doesn't that mean Liena Cassius?"
"I really am not! That's an abbreviation of the name of the rabbit I raised..."
It was a pretty good excuse for something made up on the spot, but unfortunately, Arsia wasn't so foolish as to believe it.
"Guards! Guards!"
When she went to call the guard stationed outside the residence, Herciso stopped her.
"Just a moment! Haa... alright. Your assumption is correct. I am Herciso."
Her annoyed eyes turned towards me.
"How the hell do you know? I only told Liena about my tattoo."
"Because it appears in the novel."
Herciso's only weakness was his excessive affection for Liena.
Moreover, this wasn't just a story about Herciso.
Liena's followers had the characteristic that no matter how good or intelligent they were, they went crazy whenever they got involved with Liena.
In particular, they couldn't help but show that they loved Liena more than anyone else.
"Even Elliot, who was said to be an uncommon genius, was like that."
The secret code on the door saying that Liena is the cutest in the world.
If we think about it sensibly, it was unnecessarily long and the height of inefficiency.
But he used it to show how much he loved Liena.
The same thing happened with Herciso. He loved Liena so much that he wanted to show that his love wouldn't change even if they were separated.
That's why he got tattoos on his body that would cause him trouble if caught infiltrating enemy territory.
"Well, I guess he was sure he wouldn't get caught."
To maintain dignity, priests don't wear short sleeves even in the middle of summer.
There wasn't even a culture of group bathing.
Because of this, even though Arsia had a spy close to her, she didn't realize it until today.
"Artan, I trusted you, but how...?"
Even in front of Arsia, who trembled with a sense of betrayal, Herciso remained calm.
"I'm very sorry."
The swindler turned his attention to me.
"Why don't you make a deal with me?"
It seemed he decided that between the two of us, Arsia and I, I was the one taking the initiative.
"If you pretend not to see me and let me go, I'll give you whatever you want based on the information I know."
"Will you betray Liena?"
"Looks like I've been caught, so does loyalty matter?"
"How do I know if your information is false or not?"
"If you don't want to, don't do it. That's a shame. I was hoping to do some business with you to find out how you found out about my tattoo. You're quite interesting."
After removing the blessing for a moment, I wondered if there was any way to use it.
For example, what if I put her next to Liena as a double agent?
"What do you say? Do you want to make a deal?"
My response was firm.
"No, it's not necessary."
I clapped Herciso with a small, short rope that I took out of my bag.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the rope, which had increased in size, wrapped around her body.
"W-what!"
After a while, Herciso, whose limbs were completely bound, stared at me.
"I did my best to offer you a deal!"
"That's it. It's better to avoid dealing with swindlers as much as possible."
It was dangerous to use someone as a double agent who wasn't guaranteed to be on my side even if I released the blessing.
Herciso's case was different from Tara's, who managed to get revenge thanks to me.
"He's a habitual swindler who was sought after even before becoming a subordinate of Liena."
In many ways, it was too risky to invest in such an important project.
So, I decided to help Herciso pay for his sins.
"If you commit a crime, you must be punished."
"Ugh. Let me go!"
Herciso struggled as if outraged, but even as an experienced criminal, she couldn't escape her bindings.
Because that rope was an artifact that the eccentric inventor Kais once gave me.
After a while, we handed Herciso over to the guard who came running after receiving the call from the saint.
"I suspect identity theft, so please incarcerate her and investigate thoroughly."
After consulting with Arsia, I decided to postpone her report to the security forces until the sanctity verification was completed.
It wouldn't be good for Arsia if it was revealed that her closest collaborator turned out to be a swindler.
Let's take things slowly with Herciso's blessing later on.
"But what's the point of all this? Anyway, the real saint is that woman..."
I took Arsia's desperate hand.
"I have to ask a favor. Please take me to the Verification Gate."
"What? Why?"
"I have something to prove. Maybe, or most likely, I can help you."
Arsia must have read the seriousness in my eyes, so she didn't ask for further reasons.
"... Now that I think about it, what you said in court today came true."
She handed me a priest's robe and indicated that I should put it on and follow her.
Disguised as a priest in Arsia's service, I went to the deepest part of the grand temple.
When I appeared with the saint, the guards guarding the place ignored me.
A room with a solemn aura, the verification door was placed in the center of the room.
It seemed as if only the main door was separated from the ancient and majestic building.
Arsia grabbed the doorknob and applied force, but the door didn't budge.
"My life goal was to become a desirable saint. Even though I lived only for that...!"
"Arsia, even if you can't open the door, I believe you're the most suitable person to become a saint."
I said as I held Arsia's collapsed body and placed her on the ground.
"You're still a saint. I beg you."
Arsia tried to say something, but I grabbed the handle first.
Creeeak. The door moved with a dull sound.
"Ah..."
An exclamation flowed from Arsia's mouth, and indeed, there was a sound I could hear more clearly than her voice at this moment.
"Oh."
The pure white light emitted from beyond the door quickly colored the world.
The next moment, I was standing in a pure white world, not in the deepest part of the main temple.
"A welcome guest has arrived after a long time."
It was the voice of Goddess Miella that I hadn't heard in a long time.
I chose my words carefully. There were many things I wanted to ask the goddess, but since I didn't know how long this strange phenomenon would last, I had to ask the most important thing first.
"I have something to ask. There's only one saint per generation. Is this absolutely true?"
"Well. Maybe yes, maybe no."
"Please answer honestly."
"Whether I answer honestly? It depends on you humans to decide if a saint is a person or not."
"That story..."
"Sometimes, I choose a living being and give them power. However, I never said to humans: 'This is my representative, and you should admire her and consider her words as if they were mine!' I didn't even say that those who receive my power are limited to human women."
Miella laughed heartily.
"It's humans who freely spread those words and believe them."
As expected. It was an answer that added confidence to my assumption.
"Saint! I greet you, saint!"
At that moment, the blank space was disturbed along with Arsia's voice, and my consciousness returned to the main temple.
Arsia was shedding tears with an overwhelmed face.
"You were a saint. I'm sorry for not knowing you. I regret pretending to be a saint."
"Arsia."
After calming her down, I opened my mouth.
"I'm not a saint."
"What?"
"The saint you're thinking of is nothing more than an illusion created by the Miella Church."
Therefore, the goddess said that ultimately it was up to humans to decide if there was a saint or not.
---
