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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Divine Artifact and the Fake Relic
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“...So Ordel says she'll start acting like a proper Saintess from now on.”
At the Count's voice, the first he had spoken since all had been said, Gail hurriedly nodded his head.
“Yes, yes! From what I've seen, not only the High Priest but also the Captain of the Holy Knights has softened his attitude toward her.”
High Priest Airic, who, despite reluctantly accepting her, had subtly shown his disapproval of her un-Saintess-like words and actions.
Captain of the Holy Knights Seth, who, believing her to be the real Saintess, treated her politely but showed no intention of getting close to her personally.
Their attitudes had completely changed in just a few months.
As if Ordel had truly earned their trust.
This was precisely why Gail had come to believe Ordel's claim that she would become a spy.
“That thing has done all sorts of things to get my attention, so it's hard to fully trust her this time either.”
However, the Count, who had not witnessed the situation himself, did not believe Gail's words in the slightest.
Gail was disappointed, but he didn't try to persuade him any more forcefully.
It was only natural that the Count wouldn't believe her right away, given that Ordel had once staged a fake suicide attempt.
“But the problem right now isn't that brat. Is it true that Duke Ciel visited the Grand Temple?”
Gail's expression hardened at the Count's next question.
Right, Ordel wasn't the only problem now.
He, too, had been so surprised to see Duke Ciel at the Grand Temple.
“Yes. He was with Yuri Polten.”
“And you don't know why he visited?”
“I only heard it was urgent business. I hid outside the Grand Temple and waited for the Duke to come out, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary.”
Neither the Duke nor Count Polten said a word until they got into the carriage, so I couldn't eavesdrop.
“Shall I ask Ordel what the Duke's business was? If she truly intends to be a spy as she claimed, she will send a reply.”
“...Yes. I doubt the High Priest will allow the fake Saintess access to much information, but there's nothing to lose. Send her a letter.”
“Understood. I'll send it at once.”
“Ah, and one more thing. What was the Duke's expression when he left the Grand Temple?”
Gail tilted his head at the Count's question.
He didn't know why he was being asked such a thing, but he answered obediently.
“He was smiling. It was that same irritating smile as always. No, maybe it looked a little brighter than usual...?”
There might have been a slight difference in its warmth, but in any case, it was the same unsettling and irritating smile he always wore.
The Count waved his hand as if to say he understood.
Gail immediately bowed his head and left the Count's office.
Relieved that the Count hadn't punished him severely.
“So, Lute Ciel visited the Sun God's Grand Temple.”
After Gail left, Count Kiris, now alone, tapped his fingers on the desk.
To think that Lute Ciel, such a big catch, would get entangled in the place where I planted a fake Saintess for the family's benefit.
It would be nice if Ordel could gain that man's trust and bring back some information... but that would be expecting too much.
For now, I'll have to be satisfied with the fact that Lute Ciel has made contact with the Sun God's Grand Temple.
Count Kiris put down his pen and rose from his seat. There was still much work to be done, but these scraps of paper were not what was important right now.
Reporting Lute Ciel's movements came first.
To his master, who was intensely interested in the man's every move.
* * *
Airic, upon belatedly realizing that what had been given to Lute was not just a holy relic but a *divine artifact*, fainted.
A startled Seth hurriedly carried him to his bedroom, and I trotted along behind them.
“I knew you'd be surprised, but I never thought you'd actually faint. How are you going to lead the Grand Temple if you're so faint of heart?”
I placed a cold, damp cloth on Airic's forehead.
Seeing Airic groaning in bed was truly pitiful.
“It is a divine artifact, after all. The shock must have been immense.”
Seth said, siding with Airic with an awkward laugh.
“Still, I think he's too frail. When the meat arrives today, I'll make sure the High Priest gets a large portion.”
“A fine idea.”
“This is all because of a protein deficiency. A person needs to live on protein.”
I glanced around Airic's bedroom.
It was my first time seeing someone else's bedroom in the Grand Temple. And, well, it was quite a shock.
Despite him holding the second-highest position in the Grand Temple after the Saintess, his bedroom was very small and shabby.
The only furniture was a single bed and a wardrobe.
His office was decent enough, but no amount of cleaning could hide how worn-out the bedroom was.
“Honestly.”
Living in a place like this, you'd get sick even if you were healthy.
So today is definitely a meat party. I'm going to feed everyone until they're so full they can't eat another bite.
“Umm.”
Just then, Airic woke up. The moment his eyes met mine, he let out a deep sigh.
Sighing right after seeing someone's face. You'll sigh your luck away.
“Saintess, why on earth, why the divine artifact...”
“Because it seemed more necessary for the Duke than something like the Holy Relic of Light.”
“But, Saintess. The divine artifact is a gift from the god himself, which makes it extremely important. Especially in our difficult situation, it's even more so...”
I cut Airic off.
He was only seeing half the picture.
“High Priest. If the divine artifact just sits quietly in the underground sanctum, will the Grand Temple's name become known on its own?”
“...”
“If we just treasure it and keep it safe, will gold nuggets fall from the sky?”
Far from it, the Sun God was taking every penny I earned and converting it into power.
Though no one other than the Sun God would ever know this fact.
It was kind of sad, somehow.
I was sure I had 200 million in my hands, but all that was left was divine power.
As a modern person, cash is more important to me.
“Rather than that, it's much better to lend it to someone who needs it and receive the money that's so important to us right now. Besides, we've gained a new follower, which we were short on, haven't we?”
An SS-rank follower worth a whopping 300 million.
He even paid 300 million in cash, so in total, he's a very precious customer worth a grand sum of 600 million!
I absolutely couldn't let him go.
“If word gets out that the Duke has become a follower of the Sun God's Grand Temple, others might come to visit too. He promised to visit once a month, no matter what.”
“Once a month?”
Airic, who had been speechless, widened his eyes in surprise.
Seth, who hadn't heard anything about this, was also surprised.
“Duke Ciel's time is famously said to be worth its weight in gold, and someone like him is going to visit the temple once a month?”
“Yes. He said he'd come to have the divine artifact's condition checked regularly.”
I couldn't exactly say he was coming to recharge the blessing, so I made a plausible excuse.
“For your information, the Duke doesn't know it's a divine artifact. He didn't know what the Holy Relic of Light looked like, so I just told him the aurora was the Holy Relic of Light.”
“That... was a good call. It's best to keep the divine artifact's existence a secret. The Duke might get other ideas, after all.”
Now a little calmer, Airic gripped the cloth on his forehead and sat up.
“Then is the real Holy Relic of Light still in the sanctum?”
“Ah, I was just about to tell you.”
I took out the jewelry box that had contained the Holy Relic of Light from my sleeve.
I always found it amazing in novels and comics how everyone pulls things out of there, but after being transmigrated, I see they really are perfect for storage.
It almost felt like I'd become a martial arts master from a wuxia novel.
“No matter how I look at this, it seems fake.”
I placed the box on the bed and opened the lid. Airic was taken aback when the shattered necklace was revealed.
“I just applied a little pressure, and it broke. There's no way a holy relic would break so easily. I think someone either swapped it out, or it was never a holy relic to begin with.”
I added that this was why I had no choice but to give the divine artifact to the Duke.
“Honestly, I agree with the Saintess. Unlike when I saw the divine artifact or other holy relics, this one felt... very unsettling. It was repulsive, you could say.”
Seth, who had been listening to our conversation in silence, agreed with me for the first time.
“...You two felt that way as well?”
“Huh? Don't tell me you felt it too, High Priest?”
Airic nodded with a strange expression.
“The first time I saw it was right after I inherited the position of High Priest. But it gave me a bad feeling, so I never went to see it again after that. So, honestly, when the Duke wanted it, I thought it was a relief.”
“So... you were thinking of handing over something so unsettling to the Duke. Wow...”
“No, that wasn't my intention...!”
“If the Duke had taken this and something had gone wrong, our Grand Temple, which is barely hanging on as it is, would have been utterly destroyed...”
Could it be that the reason the Duke was so hostile to the Sun God's Grand Temple in the original story wasn't because of the final villain who worked him like a slave, but because of this...?
Even if he was the one who asked for it, they just handed over a problematic holy relic without a single word of warning...?
Plausible.
“Ahem! So what should we do with this? It feels a bit... wrong to put it back in the sanctum.”
“I have a plan. I'll take care of it.”
I glared at Airic, then closed the lid of the jewelry box and hugged it tightly.
I'd wanted to smash this piece of junk jewelry, which had been the source of so much frustration throughout the novel, for so long.
There was no way I was going to let someone else have the chance to destroy it completely.
