Of course, The Vatican never restricted my diet.
It’s been three days since I secretly ate the food from my satchel bag and it’s finally time to take the test of divinity.
<They are coming, Ellet.>
A middle-aged female priest who looked like a teacher opened the door and entered.
Having noticed her presence earlier, I was kneeling on the floor pretending to be praying for meditation.
The aunt priestess adjusted her glasses in surprise.
“Was your name, Miss Ellet? To maintain proper manners even in a place where there are no eyes to see, it’s a rare sincerity to see these days.”
“I’m flattered.”
“At this point, I think you have a clean mind and body, so let’s go to the test. Stand up.”
“Yes.”
I didn’t forget the add the detail of purposely slightly stumbling as if my legs were numb.
Being in a state of semi-confinement, I could not hear any outside news. While walking after the priestess, I brought up a sneaky question.
“Well, Sister. I have a question for you.”
“What is it, Miss Ellet?”
“How is the trial of Sir Thesilid Argent going?”
“Hmm, come to think of it, Miss Ellet was the girl brought by the owner of the Holy Sword. It’s worth wondering.”
After thinking for a while, the priestess opened her mouth.
“The trial is in four days, but it won’t be a big deal. The Knights of the Pillar of Light confessed all their sins within one day of being interrogated for heresy.”
It was mentioned over and over again, but the heresy interrogation is really frightening.
“Then the false accusations against Sir Thesilid will be cleared, right?”
“Yes. Right now he’s in custody, but he’ll be released after the trial, so he’ll be fine.”
Based on the presumption of guilt, it seemed that Thesilid was still being treated like a criminal.
The place I arrived was a small chapel. The podium was stocked with injured birds in cages, silver crosses, and bowls of muddy water.
They were preparations for testing healing, consecration, and purification, respectively.
[‘The World-building God’ is dumbfounded by the low level of the test.]
[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ ardently encourages you to start with Descent of Divinity.]
[‘The World-building God’ gets angry and tells ‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ not to talk without thinking.]
[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ grumbles about how ‘The World-building God’ can’t do anything about the penalty fever.]
Of course, such a rudimentary test cannot reveal the power I possess. I felt like I had to prepare myself in a different way.
<Let’s use divine punishment on the initiate.>
The former Saint had a radical corner.
Around that time, Helcion O’Drek, who was decided to observe appeared.
“A little late.”
He was still unlucky and arrogant.
By the way, it was strange. A person who makes others wait but can’t stand waiting for others doesn’t say a word about starting the entrance exam.
The Aunt Sister explained the situation.
“It was decided that one more initiate would come. He seems to be a little late because he is busy with construction work.”
“I see.”
I hoped that he would be someone with a keen eye to recognize the 8th rank of divine power.
Just in time, I could feel signs of someone approaching. It was the heavy and moderate steps of a paladin.
“Miss Ellet is lucky. It is a great honor to take the exams in his presence.”
The Aunt Sister was proud, while Helcion had a slightly sullen expression on his face.
At this point, my curiosity was piqued. I watched the entrance to the chapel.
Soon, a handsome man with blond hair, who looked to be in his mid-twenties, appeared.
“Forgive me for being late. I am Clovis Argent, Commander of the Knights Templar.”
“……”
Unexpectedly, the best witness appeared.
<Look at that, the leader of the search mission for the Saint himself. >
Come to think of it, maybe it was.
The Knights of the Temple considered the person who closed the burst dungeon a Saint and have been investigating Greenwall village.
There were many survivors who could tell him how I looked.
Moreover, since I am also the person who came to The Vatican with Thesilid, who he thought was dead, the puzzle fits perfectly.
“Nice to meet you, Sir Clovis. I’m called Ellet Rodellaine.”
While bowing politely, the eyes that looked all over me pierced my skin.
There is quite a difference in our levels, but did he notice? Perhaps, Clovis is a person with excellent divinity perception?
“What are you doing? Get on with it.”
I stood in front of the test tools at Helcion’s request.
I healed birds in cages by using healing, consecrated a silver cross to prove that it was not corroded by acid, and purified muddy water transforming it into drinking water.
“Whoa.”
“Hmm.”
The problems were so easy that it was not possible to show all the power appropriate for the skill level, but it was enough for the initiates.
“As expected! I saw it right. Miss Ellet, no, Sister Ellet! You must be a born healer. I’ve never seen such a fast healing speed.”
“You did a lot better than I thought with the birds.”
It was then.
“Is that all?”
The Aunt Sister and Helcion were taken aback at the cold voice coming from the side.
Clovis’ face, as he looked at me, was cold and hard. To the extent that anyone could see that he was angry.
But he was just acting mean to hide his tension and nervousness.
Clovis questioned me again.
“I asked if this was all.”
“No.”
I slowly raised one hand.
In front of a pair of eyes that even forgot to blink, one pair tinged with a tenacious light, and another that contained doubt, I put up a great performance.
“Mercury’s Barrier.”
The ultimate barrier.
Pahhhhh!
“……!”
“……!”
“……!”
A brilliantly, sparkling silver citadel, surrounded the area.
Three flabbergasted pairs of eyes looked astounded.
In order to give more proof, I also let my sacred power, which I normally kept quiet, run wild.
“Cough.”
Among the three, Helcion’s level seemed to be the weakest.
“You, what are you……?!”
“Lord Helcion! Watch your mouth!”
Helcion’s shoulders shrank at the stern scolding of the Sister.
I stared at Clovis in silence.
Flop. One of his knees touched the floor.
“Greetings to the Saint.”
The priestess also lowered her posture. Only Helcion was dazed.
“You called her……Saint?”
“First.”
I laughed and spoke out.
“Others, get up.”
“……”
“You, kneel.”
“Kugh!”
By concentrating the divine power, I pressed down on Helcion’s body.
After leaving it like that for a long time, Helcion, whose lack of power was understood, remained low even after I restrained my sacred power.
Clovis, still in a courtesy, said.
“As of now, the Knights Templar will be escorting Your Grace. First of all, I will convene a council of cardinals to announce the news.”
Helcion raised his head even as he gasped in a cold sweat.
“Who says that the Ministry of Prosecution is in charge of escorting the Saint at will? This is an issue that needs to be decided after discussing with the Ministry of Doctrine.”
“But I don’t think her Grace would want to be escorted by the Knights of Grace.”
Helcion flinched at Clovis’s sting. I generously sided with Helcion.
“Well, maybe it’ll be okay to get a month of volunteer work.”
“……!”
– You must again serve the order for one more month before you can be ordained. During this service period, you will be taking care of chores along with the Knights of Grace, to whom I belong.
When I returned what I said, Helcion’s face turned white.
“That, that……”
“Just kidding. Smile.”
He couldn’t laugh. So, unfortunately, I couldn’t crave for a follow-up hit, saying, “Are you laughing now?”
“Yes.”
A stern voice interrupted. It was Clovis who hadn’t risen yet.
“For the past eight years, the mission of the Knights Templar has been to search for your whereabouts. After 8 years of hard work, we found your Grace, so we should serve her at our Order.”
<Eight years was emphasized twice.>
It’s pitiful that he suffered through those years. But.
[‘The Creative Business Manager’ says that if you become weak, you become a pushover.]
[‘The World-building God’ ridicules him saying, why are you emphasizing 8 years with pride while you couldn’t find her because of your incompetence?]
[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ is laughing at the trick to make you feel guilty.]
“Sir Clovis.”
“Y-Yes.”
I smiled.
“There is a twist in your words.”
“What?”
“The Lord did not find me after eight years of hard work. I showed before you.”
“……”
So, you may thank me.
When I smiled with that kind of face, Clovis’ rather temperamental-looking mouth quivered.
I nailed it.
“I’ll put deciding on my escort on hold.”
The joys and sorrows of Clovis and Helcion were mixed. One face was deprived of what was his, and the other face was given a chance.
But those expressions didn’t last long.
“And I do not intend to face the Council of Cardinals for the time being. So, I would like the three of you to keep quiet about meeting me today.”
“What? I beg your pardon?”
“Are you saying you want to keep it a secret from the Council of Cardinals?”
“Yes.”
The three were perplexed and this time, Clovis hurriedly stepped forward.
“This is the middle of The Vatican. Among the cardinals, there must be someone who felt the divine power that was released earlier.”
“Pretending not to know about that would be the first thing Lord Clovis should do for me.”
“Your Grace.”
“I won’t ask for a long time. Only until the Harvest Festival.”
I thought he would back down, but Clovis was deeply loyal to his superiors.
“Even so, you should at least meet with the Pope.”
Where do you dare play tricks?
“The one who is pro-prosecutor.” (Ellet)
“……How can you divide the representatives of God into factions?”
“Then, shall I classify the Argent family into the pro-papal faction?”
“……”
“I hope you won’t talk about more secular stories than this.”
Everyone knows that he was planning of convening the members of the Cardinal Council which hails the Ministry of Prosecution.
Looking at Clovis’ trembling eyes, I kindly said.
“I don’t want to get involved in the factional fights of the Vatican, and I don’t want to be taken advantage of. So stop using me as a tool to suit your taste.”
But I got angry while talking. The smile faded from my face and my voice naturally became somber.
“I have already done enough to match your beat. Didn’t I eat tasteless bread and sour wine after being stuck in a probationary solitary for three days because of rules that didn’t exist? Is that still not enough?”
“……!”
The three widened their eyes, wondering how I knew of such information.
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