Chapter 03
The Sun God is currently in such a desperate situation that he has to ask for help from a soul that was on its way to Heaven.
But could a Great Temple with so few believers really have a lot of money?
Of course not. It is so desperately poor that it barely survives on the donations sent by Kyris.
And yet, the reason Ordel’s bedroom is this luxurious is because she diligently wasted all those donations.
“This was also a scene from the novel, but I forgot about it.”
I was so shocked when I first saw the dressing room.
Not only were there all kinds of dresses in every style imaginable, but every single one of them was extremely luxurious.
Forget about finding secret funds.
She had spent all the money on luxury, so there was no way she could have something like a hidden fund.
Then there was only one way left.
“Let’s sell them.”
Let’s sell everything in the room that could be worth money, including decorations, dresses, jewelry, and so on.
I would not need any of it anyway once I left the Great Temple.
And of course, I should return at least some of the money from the sales to the Great Temple… right?
“It’s not my money, so let’s not feel bad about it.”
I quietly wiped away the tears running down my face.
Then I needed someone who could handle all of this for me, since I did not properly know the value of these items.
Who should I ask?
There was no way Ordel, who had been cruel and extravagant, had anyone close to her in the Great Temple.
And I could not ask Eirik, because it would make it difficult to secretly take some of the money for myself.
I had no choice. First, I had to make a list of the things I could turn into cash.
If I did not want to get ripped off in this world, I also needed to know the general market prices of each item.
I had been making the list for several hours without even going outside.
I finally came to my senses when someone knocked on the door.
The paper I was holding was already completely covered in writing.
“Saintess, I brought your dinner.”
“Come in.”
“……”
“……?”
Why isn’t he coming in?
Just when I was wondering if I should go open the door myself, someone finally entered.
It was a handsome man with curly red hair and beautiful aqua-colored eyes.
He was clearly far too handsome to be a mere extra.
There was only one person in the Great Temple of the Sun God who looked like that.
A loyal subordinate who would do anything for High Priest Eirik, and a high-ranking priest who was indispensable to the Great Temple.
It had to be Dietrich Warren.
“Is there anything else you need?”
Oops. I must have stared at him too much. Dietrich disliked Ordel.
Not that there was even a single person here who liked Ordel in the first place.
“No, that’s all.”
I put down the list I had been organizing and sat down at the table.
The meal was almost identical to the one Eirik had brought me for lunch.
But why wasn’t Dietrich leaving? Why was he standing beside me?
He was even staring at me, which made me extremely uncomfortable.
“Is there something you wanted to say…?”
“I’m waiting to clear the dishes after you finish eating, so please don’t mind me.”
It’s hard not to mind you when you’re staring at me so intensely.
I pretended Dietrich wasn’t there and took a big bite of bread.
“By the way, Saintess. May I ask why you suddenly started speaking politely?”
I almost bit my tongue instead of the bread!
Come to think of it, the ill-tempered Ordel had spoken informally to everyone.
Even High Priest Eirik.
Eirik hadn’t asked about it and simply let it pass, but Dietrich was openly asking about it.
…Wait. Isn’t this actually a pretty good opportunity?
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Dietrich hated Ordel more than anyone else in the Great Temple of the Sun God.
It was only natural. Ordel constantly looked down on and ignored the High Priest he was loyal to.
He even hated her so openly that he did not bother hiding it, despite believing that Ordel was the real Saintess.
If it was Dietrich, wouldn’t he be happy if I told him I was leaving the temple?
Maybe he could even help me persuade Eirik.
“I’ve been feeling a change in my heart lately.”
“…A change?”
“Yes. I was immature before and treated you rudely. I’m truly sorry.”
I stood up, politely clasped my hands together, and bowed my head to Dietrich.
“What? Yes? W-What did you just say?”
Oh, he’s flustered. He’s really flustered.
Well, Eirik was shocked too, so there was no way Dietrich wouldn’t be surprised.
“I don’t think I’m suited to being the Saintess after all. So I’m planning to give everything up and leave soon.”
Perhaps because my sudden declaration had confused him, Dietrich’s face stiffened.
“The position of Saintess isn’t something you can simply take up and step down from whenever you want!”
“Then is it okay for me to keep living here like this?”
“That…!”
It seems that no matter how much he wants to say it, he cannot bring himself to tell me to stay.
She really must have been hated by him.
“Of course, I’m not saying I’ll leave immediately. I intend to compensate the temple as much as possible for the damage I’ve caused.”
“Sigh. Compensate?”
“I want to apologize to everyone. To everyone who was hurt because of me.”
Dietrich’s face became even more confused.
But I was sincere. Completely sincere, without a single grain of dishonesty.
“And one more thing.”
I handed Dietrich the list of items I had spent the entire afternoon organizing.
“This is a list of the things I own. I would like you to sell everything on this list and turn it into cash.”
At the sight of the long list, Dietrich looked as if his eyes were about to pop out.
He looked completely dazed, like someone who had been hit in the back of the head several times.
“I think I used too much of the Great Temple’s money for personal purposes, so I want to return it.”
“No, wait, this…”
“Ah! Except for this one.”
I pointed to the dress at the very top of the list.
It was a dress that looked like it would bring in quite a lot of money if sold.
“I bought this with the allowance I saved up from my family, so I’d like you to give the money from selling this one back to me.”
Of course, that was a lie. How would I know what money Ordel had used to buy it?
But if Dietrich gave every bit of the money to Eirik, I would have to leave with nothing.
I felt guilty about it, but I had to bluff my way into getting some of the secret funds.
Please, let Dietrich not know where this dress came from.
“And I would also like you to tell me exactly how much each item was sold for. It would be even better if you could compare the amounts with the Great Temple’s operating expenses. I want to look at it and reflect on how thoughtlessly I wasted money all this time.”
In reality, I just wanted to understand the market prices and cost of living here.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
I firmly placed the list back into Dietrich’s trembling hands and gave him a gentle smile.
If this went well, I could leave the temple with the secret funds without feeling guilty about owing anything!
But at that time, I did not know.
I did not know that all of my plans would be completely turned upside down before even a single day had passed…
Dietrich left Ordel’s room with a blank expression.
But he could not leave right away. He simply stood there for a long time.
What on earth had just happened?
Had he really just had a conversation with Ordel?
“Now I understand why the High Priest suddenly told me to keep an eye on the Saintess…”
He had noticed it too.
That something about the Saintess had changed.
No, it wasn’t merely that she seemed strange.
The moment Ordel gave him the list, Dietrich even wondered if she had become mentally unstable because she was suffering from such severe illness.
He looked down at the list with complicated feelings, then headed toward Eirik’s bedroom to report everything.
“She said she wanted to sell everything on this list…?”
Eirik looked at the list with complicated eyes.
He had just spent a long time in the prayer room, offering prayers of repentance because he could no longer bear the guilt of installing a false Saintess.
The news Dietrich brought only made his feelings even more complicated.
And she wants to return all the money from selling the items to the temple.
In reality, most of the things Ordel owned had been purchased with the Great Temple’s operating funds.
She had insisted that since the money had been donated by the House of Kyris, it was right for her to use it.
There was a huge difference between having a Saintess who could hear the words of God and not having one, so they had accepted the false Saintess despite the losses.
Yet, at that very moment, Eirik had begun to doubt his decision.
And now she wanted to repent and return everything.
What could she possibly be thinking?
“Ah, she said she wouldn’t return this one item. She said she bought it with the allowance she saved from her family, so she wants the money from selling this one back.”
At that moment, Dietrich pointed to the item at the very top of the list.
When Eirik saw it, his eyes widened.
