SSBF 17

Chapter 17

Of course, this isn’t just about revenge.

I’m also doing what I’m supposed to do.

The thought came afterward, as if I were trying to justify acting on such personal feelings.

That’s right.

My job was to bring down the temple together with Theodore and strip away the false faith it had created.

I needed to redirect the people’s faith and attention away from the High Priestess and toward the gods.

Only then would my own powers continue to grow.

Well, at first, there was no choice but to draw people’s attention to the Saint before they could focus on the gods.

[Lady Agatha. I need you to—]

I quietly asked Agatha for a favor.

It was an improvised plan, but I thought it would work.

[What?! With this many people watching?]

[Exactly. The more witnesses there are, the better.]

I swept my gaze across the crowd.

Everywhere I looked, I saw people who had been exploited by the temple, desperately clinging to it.

The sight irritated me.

Instead of calling upon the gods, they cried out to the High Priestess and me while offering up their money.

Watching them from above made my chest tighten.

You’ve all been swindled. Why are you still so desperate to give them everything?

Ever since coming to this world, I’d become involved with far more people than I ever had in my previous life.

And because of that, I’d started empathizing with others more often.

Whenever someone escaped their suffering after receiving one of my fortunes, I genuinely felt happy.

Come to think of it…

That was strange.

In my previous life, countless people had ignored me.

When I was young, I’d even been bullied.

After living that kind of life, I was hardly someone overflowing with love for humanity.

So why did helping others make me feel so good?

And now…

Watching the suffering the temple had created with my own eyes…

I actually felt heartbroken.

My mother’s words surfaced in my mind.

“A shaman must have compassion. Seonnyeo, pity people… and help them.”

Back then I’d dismissed it.

Why should I help anyone when everyone ignores me anyway?

I’d thought it was nonsense.

Apparently…

My mother’s constant nagging had rubbed off on me after all.

Or perhaps…

Seeing people who didn’t turn their backs on me…

People who called my name because they wanted me…

…made me happy.

I shook my head, trying to chase away the increasingly tangled thoughts.

In the end, this was simply a chance to help someone while getting back at the High Priestess.

And if doing so improved my reputation…

That was just another bonus.

[Dorothy, are you ready?]

[Yes, Lady Agatha.]

Agatha asked at just the right moment.

I answered solemnly.

Then—

My body slowly rose into the air.

“W-What…?!”

Gasps erupted throughout the crowd.

Naturally.

“The… the Saint is flying!”

That’s right.

What I’d asked Agatha to do was simple.

Carry me from the high balcony all the way down to that woman.

And lift me as high as she possibly could while doing it.

“She’s descending— Gah!”

“S-So fast!”

“She looks… just like a bird!”

The flight only lasted thirty seconds.

Dropping from such a height at that speed was absolutely terrifying.

Still…

I’d been born into a people who enjoyed thrills.

In my previous life, I’d survived the infamous 180-degree Viking ride at Wolmido Amusement Park.

I inhaled sharply, held my breath, and forced my eyes open.

[I can keep you stable now!]

[Then keep me floating here!]

Once Agatha reached an altitude she could maintain for an extended time, I simply hovered there.

I’d descended so quickly that some people might not have gotten a good look at me.

This was a little showmanship to make sure everyone could.

“T-That’s impossible…”

“A… person…”

I floated as high as the Grand Temple’s towering roof.

There wasn’t a single person in the plaza who couldn’t see me.

The entire square buzzed with excitement.

Amazement.

Confusion.

Reverence.

Every emotion one could associate with shock swept through the crowd.

I decided to give them a moment to calm down.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t hear what I had to say.

“She’s… beautiful…”

“Ah… Saint!”

“She truly is divine!”

The balcony had been so high that they probably couldn’t make out my features clearly.

Now that I’d come closer, however, everyone could see me perfectly.

That made me even more nervous.

Having countless pairs of eyes fixed directly on me from such close range was overwhelming.

Maybe I should’ve asked the God of Beauty for a blessing…

I found myself regretting the missed opportunity.

“Quiet! Quiet! I think she’s about to speak!”

“A person’s floating! That’s impossible—”

“Would you all be quiet? We can’t hear the Saint!”

While I awkwardly stood there, people in the crowd began calming one another down.

Once things grew somewhat quieter, I finally spoke.

“Maryanne.”

I made my voice as gentle as possible.

Like a Saint.

Just like a Saint.

“S-Saint— hic… H-How do you know my name?!”

The woman I’d called was the one I’d noticed earlier from the balcony.

“How… is your baby?”

“Ah… Saint…! I… I haven’t eaten… so I have no milk. M-My baby hasn’t had anything to eat for two days.”

Maryanne collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face.

“How pitiful…”

“The Saint will save you! Stay strong!”

“Saint!”

The newborn in her arms didn’t even have enough strength left to cry.

Only faint little whimpers escaped its lips.

I slowly approached her.

I’d asked Agatha whether she could amplify my voice so it would echo throughout the plaza.

She’d said she’d try.

This was the most important part.

“Lady Agatha… and Vesta, Goddess of the Hearth who watches over every family… will protect you.”

I deliberately emphasized the gods’ names.

I wanted the people to remember them once more.

Sure enough…

Though not overwhelmingly loud, my voice echoed across the square several times.

“R-Really…? Saint… you’ll save my child…?”

Maryanne’s tears fell onto her baby’s cheeks.

The infant weakly flailed its tiny arms and legs, startled by the sensation.

Only for a moment.

It simply didn’t have the strength.

“The temple will care for you. Priest, escort Maryanne inside. Prepare milk and food for both mother and child.”

I called to one of the priests stationed at the entrance to control the crowd.

The priest looked up toward the Grand Temple in surprise, his eyes wide.

It was such a natural reaction.

As though checking the High Priestess’s expression had become second nature.

“Priest. What are you waiting for?”

“Ah! Y-Yes, Saint!”

When I pressed him, he hurried over and helped Maryanne to her feet.

Outwardly, the temple claimed to protect and save the faithful.

If they refused her here, their image would be ruined.

The only reason nothing like this had happened before was because the High Priestess had made sure no one dared propose charitable relief.

Helping one person was impossible.

Because helping one person meant acknowledging the obligation to help the faithful throughout the entire Empire.

“S-Saint… my husband was injured yesterday, but we can’t afford a doctor…”

“Saint! Please save us! At this rate, we’ll starve!”

Just like now.

It could never stop with a single person.

The moment Maryanne received help, everyone surged forward as though they’d been waiting for this chance.

Naturally.

I looked at them with sympathy and stretched out my hand.

“Do not worry. The temple will do everything it can to help you. Those with urgent illnesses should first be examined by the Grand Temple’s physicians.”

After sending several critically ill people into the temple, I raised my voice again.

“The gods wish to remain by your side. Anyone may come to the temple. Lady Agatha welcomes every one of you.”

It was a formal declaration of relief and aid.

Until now, whenever any priest dared suggest charitable work, the High Priestess had either demoted them or quietly pressured them into silence.

Whenever relief had been offered, it had only been temporary.

Only enough to improve public opinion without costing the temple too much.

Everything had happened according to the High Priestess’s calculations.

But now…

Without consulting her…

Someone from the temple had publicly declared large-scale relief before an enormous crowd.

There was no way the High Priestess wasn’t furious.

After all…

It meant returning a considerable portion of the donations the temple had spent years squeezing from the faithful.

Amid the chaos, I found myself wondering what expression she wore.

Her smile remained gentle.

But I could tell.

Her eyes looked ready to bore straight through me.

They seemed to scream—

How dare you stab me in the back like this?

How unbearable must it be?

Watching the fortune she’d expected to stack away neatly inside her secret treasury vanish with a single sentence from a newly arrived Saint.

Then…

A voice came from behind me.

“…Indeed, Saint.”

I turned.

The High Priestess was smiling.

A painfully forced smile.

“You possess… remarkable compassion.”

My mother had told me to cultivate compassion.

Meanwhile, the High Priestess was practically saying,

“How dare your compassion touch what’s mine?”

Both shamans and High Priestesses served the gods.

Yet their ways of thinking couldn’t have been more different.

“Surely it is only right to return to the faithful the devotion they have offered to the gods.”

I answered softly.

[‘She’s thinking, “That crazy bitch…”‘]

“The servants of the temple should stand in the lowest places, while the faithful deserve the highest. That is what Lady Agatha has taught us.”

I deliberately looked the High Priestess in the eye.

“Isn’t that right… High Priestess?”

The temple existed because of the people’s faith.

And that…

Was the High Priestess’s greatest weakness.

Not her secret treasury.

The people themselves.

“…Indeed.”

I could practically hear her grinding her teeth.

“Anyone in need of help is welcome at the temple!”

I called out once more.

A thunderous roar of applause answered me.

Prayers should have reached the gods.

The only reason faith failed to reach heaven was because the temple stood in the way.

If I wanted to redirect people’s faith away from the institution of the temple and toward the gods themselves…

Then first I needed to keep the temple overwhelmed.

Chaotic.

Unable to hoard its overflowing donations as it pleased.

For example…

By flooding it with endless waves of people seeking relief.

“WAAAAAAAH!”

“The Saint has truly returned!”

I bowed deeply to the crowd in respect.

Only then did I descend to the ground.

Agatha had told me that bowing here also symbolized respect.

“Saint!”

“Lady Agatha is watching over us!”

Leaving the cheers behind me, I returned to the temple.

[Dorothy! They’ve completely stopped talking about the High Priestess!]

Perfect.

Now every spotlight…

…was shining on me—

—and on my gods.