ETL – Chapter 13
Reneben shut his mouth like a clam.
“She will be our reliable ally.”
The princess’ words had power. She could change a lot with a few words.
Reneben pressed his hands against his priest uniform, leaving wrinkles there.
“Well, this is what I have thought so far…”
“…”
“First, I would start with the orphanage and then with the tax issue. For the medical facility, we need someone with knowledge in that area. I have to speak with someone from the Academy.”
“Me!”
I was surprised by the outburst while I was thinking about how to persuade the princess.
“A little more! I will work harder!”
Reneben’s eyes were slightly moist. His desperate eyes were looking at me, drawing my attention to him.
Unknowingly, I looked at him blankly and muttered with thinking, “That’s good enough.”
**********
After working for a while, it became dark outside. I engraved my seal at the end of the letter to the princess. I stood up and slowly walked through a quiet secluded corridor.
The weather has been nice these days, with warm sunshine and light winds. The temperature was just right, neither too warm nor cold.
“Let’s go to the library today.”
I thought it was not a bad idea so I headed towards the room.
“There’s a new book that I can’t wait to finish.”
Romance novels were my main interest.
If fantasy is focused on hardships and adversities…
Romance is the story that takes place between the love of two people.
After a short walk, I entered the library. It was filled with the scent of books. The ceiling was made of glass so I can see the clear night sky empty of clouds, which I love.
The wooden bookshelves were arranged so that users could find books easily. Each section was different depending on the genre.
I went to the farthest bookcase. Using a ladder, I grabbed a book from the highest shelf.
I especially like the library in this temple because…
“Here it is.”
It was designed by a previous saintess with similar tastes as me.
More than half the space was filled with romance novels. I took out the book that I started reading yesterday.
The title of the novel was <The Love of a Demon>. It was a book that the past saintesses read and now I was reading it. It was a romance story with demons.
I plopped myself on the sofa with the book. I flipped to the page where I left off. I lay down with a pillow underneath me and started reading with a drink I prepared in advance.
It took place 1500 years ago from the present Empire. It was not hard to immerse myself into this fantasy world since I was already in one.
The female lead was a demon but she was a human shaped demon. She had a low intelligence but was able to live by imitating humans properly. She was clumsy but could speak. She had a sense of what’s beautiful and could dress herself up.
“It’s fun too.”
It was fun even though I read this much so far. Of course it was only fun because it was a novel.
If it was reality, then the story would be bitter. If this story was true, then with the presence and knowledge of the saints, the demons eventually must be eliminated. Demons harm humans, so it was necessary to get rid of them before they could.
I read the novel like that for a while.
I picked up the bookmark when I was halfway through since I should stop reading and go to sleep. After putting the book back on the bookshelf, I left the library.
Now that it’s dark, I headed towards my room but my eyes caught the sight of a lighted room.
“That way…”
I headed towards Reneben’s office, where the lights were still on.
The main task of the temple was to fight the demons. There was a separate group of priests that read documents and dealt with administrative affairs.
Like me, Reneben’s main task was to destroy demons. Since he was a high priest, he also did administrative work.
Even at this time when the sun was gone, he was sitting in a chair reading over documents. I observed him for a while without him noticing my presence.
Dozens of papers were piled up beside him. The documents were the ones I requested, containing the misdeeds of the nobles. He should have just sent it to me right away.
“Reneben?”
“Miss Emilone…!” Reneben said as he jumped up from his chair.
I made him sit back down as I grabbed one of the papers on top.
“Count Gwassen has a record of imprisoning, kidnapping, and assaulting 21 young girls…. Nevertheless, he was not punished since he was a noble.”
As if it was very interesting, I held the paper and sighed.
“Reneben, I have no intention of going easy this time.”
“I know, but…”
I told Reneben, who was afraid to punish someone, “If you are afraid of punishing people, the position of the High Priest will be all for naught. Do not think too much about punishing people without thinking about the feelings of the victims.”
He slowly rose up and gave me more space. Reneben’s face was distorted. He must have known all the evil deeds committed by the nobles.
“Ummm…”
I tilted my head. I was worried since he was too nice.
“Mr. Reneben, do you know why God gave me this power?”
In the end, I had no choice but to bring it up. The power I had could save someone or destroy them. It was power to act as God’s judgement.
Reneben’s eyes widened at the question, he closed and opened his hands several times.
“I’m not sure.”
I smiled at Reneben. It was the saint’s job to keep the peace. The powers that came along with it were used to keep the peace.
“Maybe the identity of the culprit will be revealed in the next few weeks.”
“The Imperial Palace is also looking for the culprit. Most of the suspects have been investigated.”
Reneben did not take his gaze off of me. With a smiling face, I pointed at him.
“What should I do about Count Gwassen?”
“To receive just punishment…” he trailed off.
It is only natural to be punished accordingly if someone did something wrong.
“God never told us to be good. He would not have given me these powers otherwise.”
It seems like God has no idea. He seems to leave everything to the saints.
“Differentiate when you should and shouldn’t,” I said as I turned towards Reneben again.
“Tomorrow, I will propose to the Emperor that those nobles should be punished. But today…” I said as I stretched my back. “Let’s take a break. I’ll take these documents.”
**********
After 2 weeks and 3 days of the temple’s proclamation to not deal with the demons, the chandelier culprit was caught.
I woke up, recalling that a few days ago a meeting was held to point out and discuss the nobles’ crimes. It was still hard to fully open my eyes since my body was tired in the aftermath.
“Thanks to the princess, it was worth doing it,” I muttered and yawned lazily.
Thanks to Ronella I was able to get the job done happily.
The temple, which was usually quiet during the early morning, was livelier than normal.
I was planning to go out to see what was going out but I saw my reflection in the mirror and decided not yet. I had to fix my hair so I sat in front of the dressing table and brushed my hair. Even though I was curious, I could not go out without looking presentable.
Looking at the clock, it was earlier than I thought. Even though the sun was up, it was still a little early for everyone to wake up.
I went to the washroom to wash my face. I dried my face with a soft towel and checked under my eyes.
The wound caused by the prince healed well, as well as the wound on my arm. I thought the recovery was great as I touched the area that healed without leaving any scars. After finishing up, I left my room.
People inside the temple were busy moving around. When I looked outside, I noticed ordinary people there. I approached the window wondering what was going on.
“Saintess!” a maid called out to me with a big smile. She had brown hair, green eyes, and freckles on her face.
“Luanne, why is it so noisy this early in the morning?”
She answered with excitement, “The criminal who hurt the saintess was caught!”
“Ah, finally…” I muttered.
The culprit was finally caught. Luanne shrugged at my response, which was the opposite of what she expected.
“It was such a bad idea to harm the saintess. The culprit was a noble lady,” Luanne said as if she was happy for me.
I was lost in thought and stared into space without answering.
“Ah, then I have to get going…” the maid said as to not disturb my thoughts.
I saw the maid walking away. Puzzled, I muttered, “I wanted to ask more…”