I Reject the villain’s ending.

Chapter 34

I motioned for the paladins to finish training and looked up at the window again.

“He jumped and no one knows, Rah. Either you’re really good, or you’re still up there, hiding in plain sight.”

One of the two, I’m sure.

‘Saint?’

I turned at the sound of a familiar voice from behind me, an unpleasant sense of foreboding creeping up the nape of my neck.

‘High Priestess Diego?’

‘What are you doing here, have you come to watch the paladins train?’

I spun around at the sound of my name being called, and High Priest Diego was coming this way.

I lowered my gaze to the hem of his long robes in a casual greeting.

“Clean.

“I didn’t come to watch the drill. There’s been a rat in the archives, and I’m here to catch it.”

‘You mean there’s been a thief in there?’

‘Yes.’

Despite the thief’s admission, Diego’s voice was still heavy and calm.

‘Were your books stolen?’

‘No. One of my things was stolen. Why is Diego here, anyway? He doesn’t usually come out of his office.’

‘I was feeling a little disturbed, so I came for a walk.’

‘……?’

‘It was I who appointed Eldrakis in my wisdom.’

‘Oh.’

Come to think of it, I’ve heard that before. I’d heard that High Priest Diego had a soft spot for talent and that Eldrakis was quite pretty.

No wonder he was so suspicious and accusatory when he met me after receiving the news of Eldrakis’s death and the letter saying her body had never been found.

If anyone should be saddened by the death of a beautiful talent who was almost a grandchild, it’s Diego.

No wonder I hated him.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘That’s okay, but what else have you lost? It looks like you’re looking for something pretty important.’

My face stiffened, unable to hide my embarrassment at the question.

‘Should I tell him the truth,’ I thought, ‘or should I hide it in case there’s still some confusion?

After much deliberation, I decided to tell him.

I figured I’d be found out eventually, and I might as well turn myself in and find the culprit together.

As soon as my thoughts were clear, I opened my mouth.

‘I went to investigate the magic circle on Eldrakis’s robe, but someone stole it while I was choosing a book.’

‘That’s a big deal. Does anyone have any ideas?’

“Everyone who knows the value of the robe. The culprit could be anyone who was at the meeting today. Probably one of the priests.”

I told him about the dust marks on the bookcase, the footprints, and the cunning of moving without sound.

High Priest Diego, who had been listening in silence, unmoved, spoke up.

‘I think it would be best to search the quarters, in case it is one of the paladins who wears free clothes.’

‘I agree, that would be best.’

‘I’ll start the search right now, and I’ll give you a report as soon as I’m done.’

“Okay. Please.”

‘Yes. I’ll take my leave then.’

Diego gave me a quick bow and turned and walked back to the building.

I followed after him, intending to take Mei to the archives to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, but my gaze drifted to his shoes.

‘…….’

He fell silent, his eyes deepening as he stared at the soles of his white shoes as he walked.

‘Archdeacon Diego.’

‘You called for me, Saint?’

Archdeacon Diego looked back as he turned to enter the building, and I parted my lips to stare into his grave eyes.

“But I think he’s been somewhere. It looks like a dusty warehouse, and your shoes are caked in grey dust.”

‘Yes. my shoes are dirty from all the traveling I’ve done.’

‘I see.’

This subtle atmosphere stopped the flow of air. There was a chilly silence.

Into that stifling silence, I took the first step and said.

‘So, Diego.’

‘Yes.’

‘Would you like to take off your clothes?’

I stepped in front of the Archdeacon and grabbed him by the hem of his robe. He looked down at me and said, ‘I’m not your type.

‘I’m not your type, sir, and I’m over seventy years old.’

‘You know that’s not what I meant,’ I said, ‘and I don’t see why you, the clever High Priestess, would turn the tables.’

‘…….’

‘Take it off before I do.’

I said with a sharp glint in my eye, and High Priest Diego muttered softly, his eyes filled with pure question and a hint of contempt.

‘I’ve always felt, but I don’t know how you became a saint.’

‘It’s a mystery to me, too. I’m more suited to being a demon than a saint, and I’m pretty sure I’d be good at it, much less apt.’

“That’s true. You may have changed a bit lately, but your nature won’t change easily.”

“If you have a problem with that, take it up with your smug god. He’s the one who made me a saint.”

‘I ask him sometimes, too, but he never answers.’

With that, Diego obediently took off his high priestly robes. This revealed a muscular body that was well-defined for his age.

It was to make him leap over bookshelves and jump out of windows.

‘So it’s High Priest Diego who stole the robes,’ I thought, ‘but what about the robes?

I searched, but there was no sign of Eldrakis’s robe.

I panicked and searched through Diego’s clothes, but nothing came up.

‘What the hell, where’s the robe? Where did you hide it?’

High Priest Diego let out a long sigh, took the robe from my arm, and put it on, looking at me with a pitying look in his eyes.

‘What would I do with it?’ he asked.

‘Bury it, or keep it, or……!’

‘You mean things that aren’t people?’

‘Isn’t that what they usually do?’

‘Well, I’d probably get the robes after the investigation, so why complicate things by stealing them.’

That’s right again. In retrospect, I don’t think Diego was the kind of man who would steal a robe.

He was too stoic and unassuming to get himself into any trouble.

‘How do you explain the dust on your shoes, though? The only place in the temple where a fly would land and slip is in the archives!’

‘That’s…….’

Diego’s mouth dropped open, and then he heard heavy breathing and running footsteps behind him.

‘Oh, High Priestess, you can’t just leave me here! Hmph, saint!’

‘……?’

It was a human, one of the higher clerics at the meeting, whose face I recognized but whose name I could not quite place.

He turned blue and looked between me and Archdeacon Diego.

‘Were you with the Vicereine Diego?’

‘What? Oh, yes, yes, yes.’

The grey dust on the priest’s shoes showed that he wasn’t lying.

I eyed him suspiciously.

‘What were you two doing together?’

‘Well, we smashed up one of the warehouses that wasn’t being used by the wyvern you rode in on…….’

‘…….’

‘There were some rusty farming tools in there, and we were afraid that people might get hurt, so the High Priest and I rushed to get rid of them.’

I looked meekly away from the priest, who was talking to me, and the High Priest Diego, who looked at me gravely.

If nothing else, the dragon I brought with me smashed up the warehouse…….

I’m glad it was an unused warehouse, but my conscience pricked like crazy when I thought about how two old priests would have cleaned up that dusty warehouse.

Besides, I suspected them of being the culprits and asked them to inspect their clothes and take them off.

“Yong Yong, you’d better keep him on a leash so he doesn’t get into trouble.

I felt my face tingle at the glares of the High Priest Diego and the priest as they glared at me.

I must have hit the nail on the head.

‘I apologize for the misunderstanding.’

‘At your ease, I’ll accept your apology, but I have to go lead the search.’

“Goodbye. Take care, Diego.”

‘Yes, saint.’

He moved out of the way with a crab walk and bowed, not making eye contact.

To Diego, it must have seemed like a strange thing to take a man he cared about, leave him for dead, never find his body, have his possessions stolen, and have him suspected of being the killer.

“I guess today is not the day. Mei, let’s get back to the archives. We’ve done all we can.”

“Yes, sir. Are you all right, Saint? You’re staggering.”

‘Let’s just check out some books and get back to our rooms.’

‘Yes!’

I wiped my forehead and followed Mei back to the rare book depository.

* * *

Behind us, High Priest Diego and the priest were silently staring at the two of us.

“Fufu. If it wasn’t for me, you would have been in danger, Diego.”

‘…….’

‘You’re ignoring me, well, I don’t care, but you’d better be careful in the future.’

The priest glanced back at the distant Sierra and muttered.

‘I thought the Saint was just a dumb inferiority complex, but it seems she’s more intelligent than she looks.’

‘I will take care.’

High Priest Diego and the priest turned and walked away.

* * *

After returning to his room to borrow a book from the library, he flopped down on the couch, exhausted.

“Haha. Robe’s gone, Magic Circle’s gone, and there’s no point in reading a book. I wish I could remember something.”

We all have premonitions. And my gut tells me that the robes are most likely not coming back.

“After all, he stole it in the first place, and there’s no way he’s going to give it back.

I sighed heavily, flicking through some old texts on demons and magic circles, when Mei, who had come with me, raised her hand, her eyes wide.

‘Saint, do you remember me?’

‘Remember what?’

‘The magic circle on your robe.’

‘You remember that intricate thing?’

Is that possible? I jumped up from the couch in bewilderment.

Mei nodded eagerly and explained.

‘I remember what I saw with my own eyes!’

‘Really?’

‘Yes!’

‘Then let’s test it.’

With a sneaky look of suspicion in her eyes, Mei picked up a piece of paper and a pen and handed it to him.

She flipped through the tome and unfolded a page with a complex and difficult-looking magic circle.

“I’ll give you ten seconds. Memorize this and draw it from memory.”

“Mm-hmm. Done.

Yes!’

Mei confidently grabbed a pen and started scribbling wildly on the paper.

I watched, my mouth open in disbelief.

I asked her to draw the magic circle from the book as she remembered it, and she wrote down every sentence on the page.

‘I’m done!’

‘Wait. Check, check, check.’

With a dumbfounded look on my face, I opened the book again and compared it to what Mei had written. The location and configuration of the magic circles were identical, as was the writing style.

It was such a perfect match that I wondered if Mei was the author of this book.

‘This is possible?’

‘Hehe.’

My God, I can’t believe I have this kind of talent as my maid.