Taming the Evil Saintess

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The etiquette training continued all morning.

“Alright, here we bow politely like this.”

“What a farce.”

“What did you say?”

“Just that it’s cool.”

Ophelia sighed inwardly as she watched Emily Barried’s antics. Why was that damn woman so enthusiastic? Shouldn’t she just pretend to be doing it adequately without actually giving it her all, especially when she wasn’t getting paid? Ophelia had tried to convince her with this reasoning earlier, but Emily simply shook her head in refusal.

At least it was a relief that she didn’t have to use honorifics anymore. That was a small victory she had half-begged for.

Feeling drowsy, she thought about just throwing it all out the window and taking a nap. But that wasn’t an option. She slyly glanced towards the building behind her.

It was obvious that Elliot was keeping a watchful eye on her from within.

“….”

Elliot was a terrifying fellow, accustomed to surveillance, control, and vigilance.

Once, during a camping trip in Auriga, Ophelia had wanted to doodle on Elliot’s sleeping face. But the moment her hand got close, he seized her wrist with such force that it nearly broke. Even in his sleep, he maintained his defenses. So surely now, Elliot was undoubtedly keeping tabs on her. With that thought, Ophelia plastered a forced smile on her face and mimicked Emily’s etiquette.

“Great! The Saint Lady is finally showing some enthusiasm!”

“Ahaha… Emily, um… it’s lunchtime now… shouldn’t we take a break?”

“Mm! That sounds right. I’ll guide you to a good restaurant. Just mentioning your name will be enough!”

“Ah, I mean, I’d actually prefer to go alone…”

“Let’s save time and learn dining etiquette as we enjoy our lunch!”

“Geez.”

Is this what they call a benevolent evil?

Ophelia was coming to realize through Emily that everything said in the Holy War was just a sophistry.

Even while dining, Emily continued to preach her knowledge.

Ophelia had learned etiquette during her education as a Saintess, but after living frivolously for so long, she had forgotten nearly everything. That’s why Emily’s corrections fell like a rain of whips.

“You can’t use a napkin like that!”

“….”

“Saint Lady, you need to use your knife and fork more elegantly. You aren’t some back-alley mercenary, you know.”

“….”

Listening to such nagging made her mouth feel incredibly dry. Ophelia picked up her glass of water, and Emily’s eyes widened.

“Oh? Saint Lady, what’s that ring you’re wearing?”

Emily seemed quite interested.

Simultaneously, a smile spread across Ophelia’s face.

She wanted to shift the conversation to this topic.

“Oh, this? It’s nothing special. Just a gift I received.”

“Isn’t that the Star of Dawn Ring? It’s in Ridensstein’s treasury! Donated by the Previous Archmage!”

“What can I say? I’m a Saintess now, so it’s only natural.”

Emily squealed in excitement, while Ophelia shrugged nonchalantly.

Getting praised always felt good.

Besides, this Star of Dawn Ring was one of the top-tier artifacts in the continent.

“Did the Sword Saint give this to you?”

“No, Elliot did.”

“Wow…”

As Emily inspected the ring with awe, she tilted her head in curiosity.

“But why are you wearing it on your left pinky?”

“That’s, um…”

Ophelia hesitated for a moment. If she mentioned it, Emily would definitely react dramatically, proclaiming it to be about eternal love or something.

“Hmm…”

It was bothersome.

But, Ophelia was feeling a bit self-important at the moment.

Maybe that’s why, with a slightly sassy tone and a flick of her hair, she said:

“He just put it on me without my permission. Ugh…”

“Gasp!”

As expected, Emily reacted in a way that backed up her expectations.

“That’s… that’s it! It’s a marriage proposal!”

“Hmm…”

Honestly, after that Elliot’s attitude towards Ophelia hadn’t changed much.

But if one looked at the facts laid out, Emily wasn’t entirely wrong either.

Ophelia chuckled lightly and waved her hand dismissively.

“Uh, uh-huh. Well, I guess it’s only natural at this point…?”

“Saint Lady! That’s amazing! You can toy with a Hero like Elliot! You’re a total femme fatale! A devastating woman!”

“…What, you little brat?”

Who’s the one being called disastrous?

“It means you’re incredible!”

She could say that because she is a ditzy fool.

Ophelia rolled her eyes, trying to suppress a grin.

“…”

Simultaneously, she suddenly felt the stares of those nearby.

Emily had made such a scene that all the guests surrounding them were now looking their way.

“Ugh, ahem.”

Ophelia coughs awkwardly, trying to regain her composure.

“Anyway, let’s go.”

Emily seemed to understand Ophelia’s intentions, so she forced a smile and stood straight.

“Oh, Saint Lady. Our meal is over, shall we do something fun?”

“Something fun?”

“I learned it from my master. It’s very popular among the cultured folks in the Empire lately.”

Emily pulled out something from her items.

Ophelia felt a peculiar interest and peered into the small box.

Inside were finely crushed leaves.

“Hmm?”

—

The plan was set.

As soon as the Hero event prepared by the Emperor ended, we intended to head to the Great Forest and bring Erwin back from the Fairy King, then proceed north to the Empire’s northern Ice Palace to deliver a letter to the Tsar, getting the cooperation of the Ice Warrior.

Afterward, we would deal with Vermina. It should be simple. In-game terms, Vermina’s army wouldn’t be able to withstand our force.

Also, since Black Water Elgore might invade the Empire’s eastern coast at any time, I planned to send Owen there.

The plan was perfect.

In theory, at least.

“Possessor.”

Those guys pose a problem.

The information I know is that the possessors also know the same things. It’s hard for me to guess what kind of schemes they’re plotting.

Just a couple of months ago, a Dark Mage was weaving around Golden Lion Azar, tempting him. So it wouldn’t be strange at all if an even more shocking development occurred.

“Troublesome.”

Of course, the possessors didn’t act of their own volition. Being from the same origin, I couldn’t help but feel a measure of pity for them.

But they bore a brand. The power of the Evil God, the opposite of a Mark. A golden rule they could neither reject nor escape.

Is there a way to save them?

It’s probably tough. I’ve never even tried to extract a brand and never heard of anyone succeeding.

But it might be worth attempting.

Because the continent’s top clergyman, Ophelia, was here.

“Speaking of which…”

Earlier, I saw Ophelia receiving etiquette training; where on earth could she have gone?

Before long, I found Ophelia in the back courtyard of the building.

Dressed in her pristine holy garment, yawning languidly in a dingy alley, she resembled a fine breed of cat.

“Where’s Emily?”

“She went back. It’s already four. That girl went to be educated by the master, too.”

“Hm.”

“You’ve been causing a lot of unnecessary trouble, haven’t you?”

Ophelia glared at me, and I chuckled awkwardly.

In my gaze, I noticed Ophelia holding what looked like a long stick.

“What’s that?”

“Ha, you’re a country bumpkin, so you wouldn’t understand, would you?”

Ophelia grinned triumphantly while showing off the long stick.

“It’s a popular item among the Empire’s nobles these days. They say it works wonders for recovering from fatigue.”

“Huh?”

She had slightly rolled paper and inside was finely crushed leaves.

Ophelia ignited the end with magic and…

Puff puff.

A fragrant smoke wafted into the air.

“How is it? It’s called a mana incense; if you smoke it like this, you can replenish mana, and your mind becomes crystal clear…”

“….”

“Little brat, were you surprised? Isn’t it obvious, country bumpkin? Here, take this.”

Ophelia offered me the smoking item, but I blinked in fresh shock.

Ophelia seemed to misinterpret my astonishment. Her face flushed, and she jerked her arm away, shouting.

“Ah, no! It was a mistake! Don’t get the wrong idea just because I let you take what I’ve touched!”

“Uh, that….”

“I’ll give you a fresh one! Hey, Yurede!”

Just then, the Inquisition Officer Yurede happened to pass by and caught Ophelia’s eye.

Yurede approached Ophelia obediently, and she snatched the Holy War book from his embrace.

“Uh, why are you suddenly wanting the Holy War? Are you looking for a verse? If so, just ask me. I, Yurede, know every letter of the Holy War without a single mistake…”

“Shut up for a minute.”

Whoosh!

Ophelia opened the Holy War book and ripped out its thinnest, softest page from the back cover.

“Ah, no…! The Holy War…!”

“Be quiet. It’s just a blank page anyway.”

“But the Holy War, from its very existence, is sacred! If you defile it, divine retribution might befall you.”

“I’m a Saint. Divine retribution won’t touch me.”

Ophelia dumped the leaves onto the paper, rolled it up, and offered it to me with a smirk.

“Here.”

“…Ophelia.”

“What? You won’t die just from inhaling this! If anything, it’s a good thing. Stop being such a scaredy-cat, little brat.”

“This is a cigarette, isn’t it?”

“What’s a cigarette? This is just incense! It helps with mana and divine power regeneration.”

“So it’s still a cigarette.”

“What’s wrong with cigarettes?”

“….”

I reluctantly accepted it.

Though I thought it was a cigarette, it was a bit different.

This was simply put… ‘weed’.

In an instant, Ophelia’s appearance overlapped with that of a gun-toting gangster.

The decision was made.

“This will be confiscated.”

I snatched the mana incense from Ophelia’s adorable mouth and also took the small box she had in her possession.

Ophelia exploded in anger.

“Why again!”

“It’s just being confiscated.”

“Why only me! Emily also smokes! They say it’s a must-have item for mages!”

“….”

I knew that these leaves were often used by mages in the game to enhance mana recovery. It had been represented simply as leaf items, but it seemed that the Empire had a habit of using them in the form of cigarettes.

“Regardless, it doesn’t suit you.”

“What do you mean by that!”

“It’s a matter of public morals.”

It would surely suit a sophisticated middle-aged man like Eldarian, dressed in a fine suit and monocle. That would look like a scene from a hardboiled movie.

But Ophelia, rolling and smoking weed, no, mana incense in her holy garment was definitely a no-go.

“Regardless, it’s unacceptable.”

The perverted Saintess might be fine, but the genius Saintess on drugs was not.

—

“Damn! You always go hard on me!”

A dejected Ophelia left me with that remark.

Well, while she might feel unfairly treated, there was nothing I could do about it.

“Isn’t it too harsh on the Saint Lady?”

Yurede, who had been looking at the torn page of the Holy War with sorrowful eyes, spoke up.

“That incense is something that some high priests smoke at the Cathedral. It isn’t particularly harmful, and it has only good effects.”

“…I know.”

I sighed.

“There was no choice, this.”

“Well, if the valorous Hero Elliot thinks so, then it must be the case.”

This was one of Yurede’s few advantages.

He doesn’t bother trying to figure things out even if he has questions.

Soon, he tapped the Holy War book and tied it tightly with its strap.

As he rose, his expression hardened as he looked in the direction Ophelia had gone.

“By the way, I have something to tell the Hero.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve noticed some disturbing movements at the Cathedral.”

“Disturbing movements at the Cathedral?”

The Cathedral.

That meant the Pope or cardinals were up to something.

“What are they plotting now?”

“I don’t really know. As you can see, I have only one body, and that one body is here for a mission in the Imperial Capital. However, according to a high priest I have a rapport with, it seems they’re trying to change the doctrine.”

“Can the doctrine be changed so easily?”

“Usually, no. But given the circumstances, it seems the Cathedral has started to feel desperate. The Continental Conference was conducted without the Cathedral, and the only Mark Holder, the Saintess, has applied for asylum with the Empire’s government. They might be attempting something.”

“….”

“I suspect it’s not a good intention behind that attempt.”

Yurede concluded his words with the sign of the cross.

I frowned.

What on earth was the Pope plotting?

It hadn’t been long since we, including Ophelia and the other named ones, had beaten him up.

I didn’t think he’d have any different thoughts already, but it wouldn’t hurt to tread carefully.

“Keep investigating. If you find out anything new, let me know immediately. I’ll contact Archbishop Belwin as well.”

“Yes.”

“If that bastard Pope pulls any crap again, I’ll surely kill him this time.”

Killing the Pope was an impossible task.

The Hero’s amnesty wouldn’t allow killing a Pope.

But if that guy starts making trouble for us again, especially Ophelia, I was willing to endure even that nuisance.

“Haha. Saying you’ll kill the Pope, I doubt any Hero has ever said such a thing.”

Yurede spoke as if genuinely amused.

“Indeed, it seems Sir Elliot holds the Saint Lady dear.”

“Well, in a way.”

“May I ask, what does the Saint Lady mean to Sir Elliot?”

Yurede asked all of a sudden.

If Ophelia were to ask me what she meant to me, honestly, it would be hard to define.

She didn’t feel like a daughter.

It was also true that I approached it from a somewhat calculating perspective.

But right now…

“More precious than anything else.”

It was a statement filled with various meanings.

Ophelia was a comrade.

A comrade I could never afford to lose.

In the fight against Vermina and future confrontations with the Demon King’s army’s lieutenants, Ophelia had to play a crucial role.

“Ha ha. Is that so?”

Yurede’s gaze was fixed not on me but over my shoulder.

Rustle.

I heard a sound.

Looking back, I could only see dense foliage.

“What is it?”

“I think I just saw a cat.”

When Yurede turned back, a sly smile had appeared on his face.

“A very feisty cat, I’d say.”