Chapter 18
[It was… it was such a moving speech! “The priests should stand in the lowest place, and Dorothy in the highest!”]
[Dorothy! You were incredible!
[Please forgive us for being so noisy right now, Dorothy. We’re all just so happy… You really are an amazing gift to usā]
[Me! I think my strength is already coming back. Am I imagining it?!]
The moment I stepped inside the temple, the voices came pouring in.
The flood of chatter from the gods was more than enough to overwhelm me, yet, surprisingly, I didn’t mind.
I was excited too. Considering I’d come up with that plan on the spot, it had worked out remarkably well.
Still, that wasn’t what mattered most right now.
[Oh, Dorothy! Where did such a beautiful girl come from?]
[“Beautiful girl?” Dorothy isn’t an object.]
[You’re so stiff! I just meant she’s our girl!]
Even while the gods bickered among themselves, I continued walking briskly.
After the stunt I’d just pulled, the High Priestess had to be absolutely furious.
[But, Dorothy… where are we going?]
[To see the High Priestess.]
[Everyone, quiet.]
At my answer, Agatha spoke in a solemn tone.
Instantly, my mind fell silent.
[What do you need me to do?]
[The same thing you’ve always done.]
I took the lift and arrived outside the room connected to the balcony I’d stood on earlier.
Beyond the door…
Silence.
No matter how greedy the High Priestess and the temple were, they never openly displayed rage or behaved like tyrants.
So she couldn’t very well explode in public.
[‘That worthless little bitch dares humiliate me? I’ll destroy her completely.’]
Fortunately, thanks to Agatha, I knew exactly what was going through her mind.
I knocked on the door at just the right moment.
“High Priestess. It’s the Saint.”
I announced myself as casually as if I were delivering food.
The room fell deathly silent.
Then the door was suddenly thrown open.
The High Priestess herself stood there.
Outwardly, she looked composed.
But madness almost burned in her eyes.
She smiled at me as though she wanted to devour me alive.
A smile overflowing with rage.
“Come in, Saint.”
Honestly…
She was terrifying.
“You and I have something we need to discuss, don’t we?”
Her face twisted into something almost grotesque as she stepped far too close.
My fingertips turned cold.
[I-Is she really human? Isn’t she practically an evil spirit?]
Even knowing she was human, I couldn’t help asking.
[She’s human… but… her soul is incredibly black. Normally souls are transparent or white. Even corrupted ones usually only turn gray… but hers… hmm.]
Even Agatha sounded disturbed.
“Yes.”
Steeling my trembling voice, I nodded.
The High Priestess looked me straight in the eye, then seized my wrist.
Leaning close, she whispered into my earāquietly enough that no one else could hear.
The priests standing inside merely assumed the Saint and the High Priestess were having an important private discussion.
None of them dared listen.
“So.”
“You thought I was easy prey.”
“You believed I couldn’t touch you.”
“Saint.”
“There are many ways I can deal with someone.”
“I could give you a life that would make death seem preferable.”
The threat sent chills down my spine.
“Who sent you?”
“Theodore?”
“Was your plan from the beginning to make a fool of me?”
“Even those so-called powers you showed me… they must all have been fabricated.”
“You…”
“How dare you.”
“What exactly have you done to me?”
Her grip on my wrist grew tighter and tighter.
She was stronger than most grown men.
[That crazyā Dorothy, I’llā]
[Wait! Don’t provoke her now!]
I even refused the protective barrier the gods wanted to give me and hurriedly delivered the excuse I’d prepared.
“I did it…”
“…for your sake.”
Lowering my voice just as she had, I whispered back.
“What nonsenseā”
“Earlier, while greeting the people… I suddenly received a vision of the future.”
“A future where you were in grave danger.”
“I was trying to prevent it.”
“…What?”
“Think about it.”
“If I’d truly wanted to ruin you, why would I come running to explain myself immediately afterward?”
“I came because I wanted to tell you the truth.”
Her grip slowly loosened.
The fury that had made her resemble a demon subsided ever so slightly.
“You’d better explain that future in detail.”
“Come with me.”
Releasing my wrist, she strode out of the room.
A crowd of attendants and priests followed behind her.
Blending into them, I followed as well.
We entered a greenhouse attached directly to the High Priestess’s chambers.
People were starving to death, yet she had a private greenhouse beside her room.
It was extravagance on another level.
We sat across from one another at a tea table.
After taking a sip of tea, I began.
“High Priestess.”
“Did you know that every god possesses their own unique abilities?”
“A famous belief.”
“The Hearth Goddess, Lady Vesta, is said to bless peaceful families.”
“And Iaso, the God of Medicine, is said to heal the sick.”
She answered calmly.
“There’s actually much more than that.”
“Lady Agatha possesses the gift of foresight.”
“And Lady Vesta can even grant a household an everlasting flame.”
“…So that wasn’t merely a figure of speech?”
“Specific abilities like those…”
“I’ve never heard such a thing before.”
The High Priestess looked genuinely surprised.
Truthfully, I didn’t know all of the gods’ abilities either.
I was improvising.
“Yes.”
“They possess many specific powersānot just vague blessings like ‘protecting a peaceful home.'”
“But they intentionally chose not to reveal them.”
“They feared humanity would become overly dependent on each individual power.”
“There are also divine laws restricting how freely they may use their divine power.”
That part, at least, Agatha had actually told me.
“I can’t use those abilities myself.”
“I don’t even know all of them.”
“They won’t tell me.”
“And because of those divine laws, you shouldn’t expect me to simply ask for miracles whenever I please.”
In other words…
Don’t demand powers from me.
I don’t know them all, and even the gods have rules.
The High Priestess frowned thoughtfully before slowly nodding.
After all…
She’d just witnessed me fly down from the heavens.
She couldn’t simply dismiss everything I’d said.
Although earlier she’d wondered whether I’d used some sort of hidden mechanism…
Honestly, I hadn’t possessed either the time or the ability to prepare one.
The Grand Temple was filled with the High Priestess’s eyes and ears.
She knew perfectly well I hadn’t staged anything.
“Today, Lady Agatha granted me a prophecy.”
“As I mentioned, she rarely reveals the future because she worries humans would rely on it too heavily…”
“…But it seems she treasures you very much, High Priestess.”
I remembered the jealousy in the High Priestess’s thoughts when she’d wondered why the gods loved “such a worthless girl.”
No matter how greedy or faithless she’d become…
She was still the High Priestess.
Someone in her position couldn’t help longing for a genuine connection with the godsāand resenting my existence.
“…Me?”
[Her heart just skipped a beat.]
Agatha remarked flatly.
I’d clearly struck the perfect emotional target.
Leaning closer like someone sharing a dangerous secret, I whispered.
“She said that in the near future…”
“…the Emperor will turn against you.”
“Your influence will shrink until you’re driven from the position of High Priestess.”
“Before that happens…”
“…you must win the hearts of the Empire’s people.”
“She said you must remain the High Priestess.”
“The gods…”
“…have taken my side?”
she asked, astonished.
[‘So the gods have finally recognized my true worth.’]
“…The gods understand how hard you’ve worked.”
“They know you’ve devoted yourself to expanding the temple.”
Suppressing my disgust, I smiled warmly.
I’d never needed better acting for any fortune reading in my life.
[‘That’s right. I’ve always put the temple first. I’ve built it into what it is today. Of course the gods would approve. The High Priestess backed by the gods… I like the sound of that.’]
“So…”
“To strengthen the temple…”
“They instructed me to begin helping the people.”
“In the long run, charitable relief will greatly improve the temple’s reputation.”
“That’s true.”
“Relief work does serve that purpose.”
The High Priestess nodded.
“This effort will require giving away rather more than usual…”
“But in the end…”
“…it will bring you far greater benefits.”
I whispered like a tempting devil.
She let out a quiet chuckle.
[Dorothy… you’re amazing… How do you tell lies so smoothly…?]
Agatha sounded sincerely impressed.
Coming from such a pure-hearted goddess…
It somehow didn’t feel like praise.
“I’m pleased that the gods understand my heart.”
The High Priestess returned to her dignified faƧade.
Remembering the murderous rage she’d shown moments earlier made me shiver.
Now she was smiling pleasantly.
“Very well.”
“Then we’ll wait for the proper time.”
“And Dorothy.”
“Yes, High Priestess.”
“A week from now there will be a small tea party.”
“You’ll be attending.”
“We’re going to meet the Marchioness of Alland.”
“Keep that in mind.”
“…Yes.”
So this was what Agatha had sensed.
The High Priestess definitely had an ulterior motive.
I quietly nodded.
The Marquis of Alland was the younger brother of the Empress Dowager.
That made him part of the imperial family by marriage.
Few nobles stood closer to the Emperor.
However, unlike Theodore, the Marquis had inherited the late Emperor’s deep devotion to the gods, and the two men clashed frequently.
At present, aside from the Empress Dowager herself, his family was the only one that could openly scold the Emperor without being accused of insolence.
His wife, the Marchioness, was especially close to her sister-in-law, the Empress Dowager, giving her enormous influence within high society.
Bringing me to such a gathering…
She intends to display the Saint and strengthen the temple’s influence among the nobility.
Seriously.
Whether awake or asleep, all this woman ever thought about was expanding her power and wealth.
[Should we prepare?]
[For now… I think we’ll need help from the God of Beauty and the God of Music.]
So…
I was finally about to step into the very world of high society I’d been dreading.
Of course, it was something I would eventually have to face if I wanted to accomplish my goals.
Will I really be able to handle it?
As scenes of aristocratic society from novels filled my mind, I couldn’t help but shiver.
