Chapter 4
The Retired Saintess Raises House Prices Episode 4
Episode 4
I don't believe in ghosts.
"Ghosts don't exist in this world."
I waved them off dismissively and walked past toward another village.
Hoping treatment would improve even slightly the farther I got from the Temple.
But things in life rarely go as planned. If it did, it wouldn't be life—it'd be a pipe dream.
This damn cult world where I'm ignored everywhere I go.
So I walked on, picking and eating fruit every day, or digging up sweet potatoes and potatoes to munch on raw.
At night, I'd sleep in suspiciously deserted roads, quiet forests free of stone-throwing mobs, or empty houses.
The problem was, every time I emerged after sleeping, people would come out to gawk.
And without fail, someone would approach me with questions.
The questions were almost always the same.
"Did you sleep there last night?"
"Nothing happened?"
"Feeling okay anywhere?"
"Do you remember who you are?"
I answered them all faithfully.
"Yes, yes. Slept deeply there last night without a single dream; my shoulders ache a bit from the hard floor, and I'm a former Saintess who bolted from the Temple. So, goodbye, everyone. I'm off to a wider world with religious freedom and no discrimination. Be happy."
How could their reactions be so identically predictable?
Gaping at me in shock, pointing fingers.
It was exasperating.
I was at the point where I almost wanted to go back to work.
Tell my team leader, "That author must hate making money," then take a vacation.
As I kept walking, hoofbeats sounded from behind.
"Halt."
A man in a crisp white uniform with a white cape fluttering stopped his horse in front of me and stared down impassively.
With the sun at his back, his face was hard to make out, but his light blond hair shimmered in the wind, catching the eye.
When clouds veiled the sun, his face finally came into view.
Oh, a rare handsome guy….
No sooner had I thought that than terrifying words emerged from the handsome man's mouth.
"Former Saintess Shuana, you are under arrest for suspicion of witchcraft and devil worship."
"…W-what did you say?"
Before his words even finished, men in white uniforms appeared from nowhere, grabbed me, and started dragging me away.
"Let go! What did I do! I didn't do anything! Just ate, walked, and slept—why am I a witch! Why, why!"
They ignored my protests completely, shoved me into a windowless wagon, and slammed the door shut.
"Do you have a warrant?! No Miranda rights here? Hey! No flight risk, so why detain me! Wait, before that—why am I a witch?!"
No matter how much I screamed and pounded the door, it stayed firmly locked.
The wagon carrying me set off, and after yelling myself hoarse, I just flopped down.
Screw it. Whatever.
I got cursed at just for walking, but at least no one in this wagon was insulting me.
People's weird stares seemed connected to the witch suspicion, but without fully grasping this worldview, I had no other options.
A few hours later, the pretty-boy trash who pulled me out brought me to a familiar place.
The Temple I'd ripped off my necklace and fled from on foot.
"Great Saintess, as you commanded, we've captured the devil's servant."
"May God light your path. You've worked hard, Captain Severino."
So his name's Severino.
A guy not in the original story.
The Great Saintess, who greeted the Knight Order Captain, approached me.
True to her status, her attire was more ornate than other Saintesses'. She gazed at me with a faint smile that seemed benevolent.
"A witch indeed. No trace of God's grace on this wench."
Physiognomy isn't science.
Not benevolent at all.
Not just the Great Saintess—surrounding priests chimed in too.
"Not a shred of holy aura."
"No faith to speak of."
"With no divine power, she freely roams places teeming with devilish energy."
Places teeming with devilish energy?
Over the past few days, I'd chosen remote spots to sleep, receiving suspicious stares every morning.
Now I got why the stone-throwers gawked in wonder come morning.
I'd been picking haunted spots exclusively. Me.
The Great Saintess looked down at me pityingly and placed her right hand over my head.
"Such a可怜 child. Succumbing to the devil's temptation, walking into hell to become a witch."
"Great Saintess, shall we prepare the pyre?"
At the Holy Knight's grim suggestion, the Great Saintess nodded.
Pyre? Burned at the stake just like that?
"Wait, Great Saintess! I swear nothing happened—witch? Ridiculous! This is unfair!"
I protested loudly, but she gave no reply.
Holy Knights bound me tightly to a thick log with ropes and piled nearby twigs for kindling.
For a not-short time, I screamed I wasn't a witch, thrashing wildly, but no one listened.
Other priests and Saintesses gathered, like it was a spectacle.
A witch burning ceremony.
Rare bonfire party, but I never imagined I'd be the star.
The Great Saintess cried out loudly before the crowd, as if hosting this horrific party.
"We've captured the witch Shuana, who sought devil-haunted sites, following their footsteps! Now, we'll douse her in holy water and burn her in God's flames! Foul witch! Return to whence you came!"
"Hey! I'm really not! I'm not a witch! No!"
People in white robes approached slowly.
Severino stepped onto the kindling with hostile eyes and stood before me.
With a still-cold expression, he uncorked a silver flask and poured it straight over my head.
I shook my head furiously, screaming nonstop.
"Blech! This is oil, oil?! I'm not! I'm really not a witch! Please, please! Listen to me!"
At that moment, Severino's eyes wavered.
"…It doesn't affect you?"
"Huh? Already lit the fire? What?"
"A witch shouldn't be fine after holy water…."
"I'm not a witch! How many times do I have to say it!"
I screamed at him till his uvula showed.
But men with torches drew closer behind him.
Severino raised a hand to halt them, and the Great Saintess asked calmly,
"What are you doing, Captain Severino?"
"Great Saintess. This witch shows no reaction to the holy water."
The Great Saintess silently watched us before saying flatly,
"No reaction to holy water doesn't mean she's not a witch. She's merely borrowed a human body—the thing inside is surely a devil."
"But Great Saintess…."
"Holy Knight Mikhail Severino. Do not be deceived."
The Great Saintess rebuked him sternly and gazed intently.
Severino didn't reply, silently staring at me with blue eyes.
Moments later, he drew a dagger from his bosom, snipped a lock of my hair, and approached the Great Saintess.
A handful of silver hair tinged pale purple rested in Severino's hand.
"Then, might we first burn this in the Great Saintess's blessed flame? To avoid harming any innocents."
The Great Saintess slowly closed and opened her wrinkled eyes, then smiled faintly.
