CH 42

After opening the door, I entered the temple and saw a man at the end of the corridor.

It was Reihausd in white uniform that looked like snow.

His apricot hair, reflected in the sunset light, swayed in the light wind.

“Did you give the Empress a blessing?”

At his words, I shook my head.

“There was something that’s a little complicated.”

Despite my answer, he smiled faintly as if he had guessed my answer.

“I heard that the girl from Thiago turned out to be a fake.”

“…”

“And you proved that you were a real saintess.”

His eyes shone strangely.

A gentle breeze shook the hem of my dress.

After a while, I looked at him with a calm expression and said.

“It’s true that the girl is fake. However…”

There was definitely something to be done.

“I’m not real. It was just a trick.”

At my words that only he could hear, he looked at me for a long time and then opened his mouth.

“Bring it, Sir Dwayne.”

Sir Dwayne suddenly appeared from somewhere in the dark. In his hand was the Holy Sphere the size of an ostrich egg, and he handed it to Reihausd.

“Drive away people around us. And Sir, too, please leave your place.”

Dwayne glanced at the sword handle on Reihausd’s waist, answered.

“I will take the order.”

Moments later, Reihausd lightly tapped one of the chalice cups displayed in the corridor with his hand.

It rolled down to the floor with a sharp sound. Yet he didn’t care and placed the Holy Sphere in its place.

The Holy Sphere, which was transparent in Dwayne’s hand, turned blue when Reihausd touched it, and then changed to transparent again when his hand fell.

“We, had something we were going to do last time. Do you remember, Saintess?”

His gaze was towards me.

I cautiously stepped out. And one step at a time, I got closer to it.

Reihausd was looking at me.

I quietly raised my hand. And before touching the Holy Sphere, I looked back at him and asked.

“Do you think I’m a saintess?”

His eyebrows moved slightly. He didn’t say anything, but I could tell he was suspicious.

I stretched out my hand further and placed it on the Holy Sphere.

The smooth, cold feeling of the surface was felt through the palm of my hand. And as the inside of the transparent Holy Sphere started to oscillate, it changed into various colors like paint spreading.

After a while, when it cleared up again, Reihausd stared at the Holy Sphere for a long time in disbelief.

For a long time, a heavy silence fell in the corridor.

I looked at him with tense eyes.

“Holy power…”

Reihausd’s lips twitched.

Then, in a slow motion, he turned his gaze to me. He had a hard face whose thoughts I had no idea.

“…you have none.”

Eyes that seem to be full of despair and doubt.

With a calm expression on my face, I removed my hand from the Holy Sphere. Even though my body was still stiff with tension.

The window in front of me was still glimmering.

[You purchased the Holy Relic ‘Pendant of Sealing’.]

Although I failed to sell the White Rotunia, I was able to purchase the holy relic ‘Pendant of Sealing’ at the shop, having received a gift including gold coins from the Emperor.

At a whopping 4,000 franc, this pendant had only one effect.

When worn, it seals abilities such as holy power, divine power, and mana within the body.

And with a certain probability, it cancels out external attacks of holy power, divine power, or mana.

Inside, there were ‘Sealing Holy Stone’ and ‘Sealing Magic Stone’, which can be used separately.

The price of this holy relic, which was supposed to be used when sealing the final Demon King, was really evil, but I had no choice. It was unfair to spend a lot of blood and sweat to prevent a major twist of the original story, though.

I wore the pendant as soon as I bought it.

“Is it confirmed now?”

Reihausd stared at me without answering my words.

I bowed my head slightly to greet him and turned around.

Then his voice was heard.

“In the Imperial Palace… Did you meet Prince Kyle?”

I stopped and answered without looking back at him.

“Yes.”

“Someday…”

His voice was low.

“Are you thinking of going to him?”

I paused for a moment and then looked back at him.

His dark golden eyes harbored a dazzling light.

“Sir Reihausd.”

In the original story, he was never such a character.

“I think it’s a little… too much for me. But thank you for your kindness every time.”

I decided to express it openly to him.

A long silence passed between us, and Reihausd opened his mouth.

“I thought it couldn’t be.”

A cold darkness suddenly appeared in his eyes.

“Because Ariel is just a fake saintess.”

He took a step towards me and put his hand on my shoulder.

“It doesn’t matter if you leave the temple.”

A heavy feeling weighed down on me.

“But since when was it?”

His dangerous voice rang in my ears.

“It felt unpleasant.”

The moment I heard that voice, I froze.

“I’m talking about myself.”

I thought that maybe he was bringing up a story that shouldn’t be brought up.

He licked his red lips.

“It was a body that only responded to prayers to the Gods.”

…Does your body only respond when you think of the Gods?

It was the moment when I realized that there are 50,000 different sexual orientations in the world, but this guy is a real madman.

[The God of Benevolence, Oman, is satisfied with his habit.]

[The God of Art, Mond, rejoices in his prayers.]

Don’t tell me he’s praying…

I paused at the strange thought that came to my mind. But my thoughts stopped at his next words.

“It’s crazy, but I thought you might be one of the two.”

Not even a human White Rotunia, he must have felt me ​​differently with his five senses.

“It’s either the Gods.”

His hand rested on my shoulder and lightly brushed my hair.

“Or the Saintess.”

I could see my twinkling eyes in his gold eyes.

Surprisingly, his reasoning was 100% consistent.

“But that can’t be true. You, who used to be a fake saintess, suddenly became real…”

He lifted his hand and shook his head with a bitter smile. And he looked at me as he continued

“I would just assume that this peculiar, profane disposition has been cured.”

It was a phrase that left out the phrase, “I react to an ordinary human woman.” And, heartbreakingly, he was still a beautiful pervert.

“That’s why, you…”

“…”

“It seems to be something special.”

For a moment I hesitated to confess to him that I had sacred power.

But I knew it was an unanswered question.

Even if I don’t have holy power, I will overcome my peculiar inclinations and become an exceptionally attractive woman, and if I have it, the reason why he’s attracted to me will be justified.

“Sir Reihausd. So this is…”

I rotated my brain to find the right word.

“The balloon effect caused by the craving for a real saintess is something like this. As you suppressed my cravings, you burst into the wrong place.”

At my words, Reihausd moved his eyebrows.

“When the real saintess appears, you will fall in love so much that you will completely forget about me. I’m not special at all.”

My favorite scene in The Return of the Saintess Camilla was when Reihausd kissed Camilla’s foot, who was sleeping exhausted.

With a presence like a goddess, he couldn’t even get close to his beloved, but his pure and sorrowful heart, approaching her feet and kissing her.

I liked that part quite a bit.

Even though he has the face of an obsessive, exhausted man now, I never doubted that he could change.

“Ariel.”

He smiled softly.

“Every time you say that, it hurts here.”

His hand pointed to my heart.

He was handsome enough for me to exclaim, “Wow.” Isn’t it against the law to make such an expression?

I looked at him with a blank expression for a moment, then finally made up my mind and opened my mouth.

“Because I’m going to leave someday. Don’t give me too much.”

It was a bit cold, but it was sincere.

It’s a pity that Reihausd’s relationship has ended like this, but I wished him happiness, and I was thinking of leaving this temple someday.

“Ariel.”

I heard his voice, but I turned back and walked down the corridor.

His dark gaze lingered on the back of my head.

[The God of Art, Mond, condemns your coldness.]

[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, praises you for being sharp.]

The opposite reactions of the Gods were floating around in the chat window, but I continued walking, shifting my gaze to another place.