IFGO 07

Chapter 07

To calm my racing heart, I wandered around the library a little longer without any particular purpose before returning to my room.

On the desk, there were countless books piled up—not only books about the imperial banquet, but also ones related to the “Saintess” and the “Oracle.”

And…

The “chat window” was still floating in the corner of my vision, refusing to disappear.

Strangely enough, it became invisible when I wasn’t consciously thinking about it, but the moment I focused on it, the window became crystal clear again.

‘The Oracle is a unique ability belonging only to the Saintess…’

I frowned as I looked at the words written in the book before me.

So this chat window was apparently the “Oracle.”

Even if I accepted that this oracle looked exactly like a game interface, there was one problem.

I wasn’t a Saintess!

If the messages hadn’t kept repeating things about “the Primordial Ones” without any mention of gods entering, I never would have guessed that the game-like window in front of me was actually an oracle.

Besides, what did “Level 1” and “Garden” even mean?

And why were the gods who had been denied entry getting angry or puffing out their cheeks?

“Don’t tell me…”

The thought that suddenly occurred to me was so ridiculous that I shook my head.

“The gods weren’t just lazing around with nothing to do, then rushed over because they found me, someone from another world, interesting, right? This isn’t some kind of club opening day.”

At that moment, the blue glow of the chat window deepened.

[The God of Knowledge, Hesed, is curious about the ‘club.’]

[The God of Love, Odyssey, is sparkling with excitement.]

[The God of Art, Monde, is drawing your portrait.]

I pressed my hand against my forehead at the endless stream of messages.

‘So… the gods are really watching me?’

Judging from the books I had read so far, an oracle was a unique ability of the Saintess. It seemed that one needed to have a very special frequency of divine power in order to receive one.

But my oracle didn’t disappear. It continued blinking and updating with new messages.

It was almost as if a group of subscribers had discovered a new internet broadcast channel.

They seemed incredibly excited.

“Can’t I turn this off?”

I muttered while staring at the chat window with a troubled expression.

Then a sparkling notification window appeared.

[Would you like to temporarily deactivate the <Oracle> function?

(Yes/No)]

Oh.

So I could turn it off.

However, the chat window had already descended into chaos.

[The God of Art, Monde, is threatening you with your portrait.]

[The God of Love, Odyssey, is rampaging.]

[The God of Knowledge, Hesed, is looking at you with sad eyes.]

I lowered my hand before pressing “Yes” and stared at the chat window.

Then the messages became slightly calmer.

[The God of Knowledge, Hesed, expresses his trust in you.]

‘So this is like…’

It was like people who had finally gotten internet access after years and were screaming in excitement.

‘Or people stranded on a deserted island clinging desperately to a single radio.’

I felt as though I could sense their burning gazes from somewhere.

Either way, it was strange.

After thinking for a while, I pressed the “No” button on the oracle deactivation window.

“But the oracle…”

I stared at the blue chat window and muttered to myself.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

I wasn’t a Saintess anyway.

Aside from feeling like I had a bunch of subscribers watching my every move, nothing had really changed.

If they could send me around 100,000 francs through a donation function, I would gladly sing them a song or something.

A moment later, a new message appeared in the chat window.

[The God of Knowledge, Hesed, uses ‘Resonance’ on you.]

At that moment, the equivalent of hundreds of books’ worth of text began pouring into my mind.

Among them were the books I hadn’t even read yet:

『Imperial Banquet Etiquette』

and

『Collection of Imperial Banquet Speeches』

However, the flow of knowledge, which had been entering smoothly without any pain, suddenly stopped.

A message appeared.

[Your Oracle level is too low to accept ‘Resonance.’]

Soon afterward, I felt the knowledge that had entered my mind being pulled back out.

“…”

Hmm.

For some reason, my pride was hurt.

‘It sounds like it’s saying my intelligence level is too low to receive it.’

Still, I was able to understand what the oracle could give me.

A moment later, another message appeared.

[The God of Knowledge, Hesed, blesses you.]

And at that moment, my complicated thoughts suddenly felt clearer.

Looking at the covers of the books piled on my desk, I felt as though the words were naturally sinking into my mind.

If I studied anything in the modern world while in this state, I felt like I could pass any exam with a perfect score.

When I looked outside, night had already fallen deeply.

I opened a book to begin writing the congratulatory speech.

The brightly glowing chat window became transparent and disappeared when I stopped paying attention to it.

I began moving my hand.

Scratch, scratch.

The sound of the pen moving across the paper filled the room.

The sudden activation of the oracle function was still confusing, but…

This was actually a pretty useful ability.

The next morning.

After finishing my bath, I returned to my room and stretched when I heard a knock.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Reihas appeared.

As always, he looked so handsome that I couldn’t help thinking:

‘How can someone look this beautiful first thing in the morning?’

[The God of Art, Monde, cannot take his eyes off Reihas.]

His bright golden eyes curved into a warm smile.

“Did you sleep well last night, Ariel?”

I smiled faintly and nodded.

“Yes. May the blessings of the nine gods be upon you, High Priest.”

He answered with a smile and approached me.

Then his gaze shifted briefly toward my desk, which was covered with books.

“It seems you studied quite a lot after I left yesterday.”

I quietly nodded.

I really had read a lot.

Through several experiences yesterday, I had learned something.

When I received Hesed’s “Blessing,” I gained a special ability for about three hours.

My comprehension and learning abilities increased dramatically, but after some time passed, I returned to my original state.

‘At this level, getting a perfect score on the college entrance exam would be easy.’

Thinking that, I continued speaking.

“The Saintess’s congratulatory speech needs to contain the dignity and honor of the temple as well.”

If the leader of the religious world—the Saintess—recited the kind of speech I had written yesterday, people would secretly mock the temple.

In any case, even while living as a fake Saintess, I decided to at least put in the minimum effort required for the role I had been given.

As for my relationship with the male protagonists, I would maintain it at a level where they simply thought:

‘She’s a good person.’

Nothing more, nothing less.

‘It’s all just a survival strategy.’

And although it had happened suddenly, I decided that I would accept this thing called the “oracle” for now, so that I could gather knowledge about this world and deal with whatever situations came my way.

“…”

Meanwhile, Reihas remained silent after hearing my words and stared at me.

His gaze was strangely complicated, and I realized my mistake.

For Ariel’s original personality, I had changed far too much.

“Until now, I think I acted too immaturely.”

So I decided to explain the change as the result of reflection.

“I don’t know how many years it will take until we find the true Saintess, but I’ll try to become a Saintess who doesn’t cause trouble for others.”

I put on what I hoped was a positive and calm expression as I spoke.

At that moment, Reihas’s golden eyes seemed to darken slightly.

“Hmm. Ariel…”

He whispered my name while looking at me.

“I told you before.”

His voice was gentle.

“This place is your home now.”

For some reason, his words sent a chill down my spine.

I forced myself to smile faintly.

Was he saying that, like Annie—who had been killed after discovering the secret of the “fake Saintess”—he would never let me leave alive either?

The original Ariel probably wouldn’t have thought much of it.

But as someone who could clearly see the flashing death flag in front of me, ignoring it was impossible.

A brief silence fell between us.

Then he extended his hand.

“So don’t say things like that.”

Looking at my slightly shaken eyes, he continued.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips, but it was strangely ambiguous.

“Now, shall we review the new congratulatory speech you wrote?”