Chapter 8: -how to fix a broken clock

Morning, when my eyes naturally opened to the intense sunlight hitting them.

“Ah… I don’t want to go to work.”

I uttered words that had become a habit and slowly got my stiff body up.

A series of rather noisy incidents had occurred, deepening my desire to escape, and I had already lost all motivation.

I wanted to become one with my bed.

No, even more, I wanted to be the bed.

A comfortable life, free from bothersome tasks, was truly the goal of my life.

But what could I do?

I still had to earn money.

“Good morning…”

“Are you awake?”

As I opened the door, Elena was waiting, looking as she always did.

“Surely, you weren’t guarding the door all night again, were you?”

At my question, Elena nodded without any change in expression.

“It is only natural for Sir Theo’s safety.”

“You could just rotate. Aren’t there other Holy Knights?”

“There are none.”

Is the Papal State really so lacking in talent?

No matter how much she recovers her stamina with holy magic, there must be a limit.

‘Well, she’ll figure it out.’

Deciding not to worry too much, I moved my feet towards the bathroom door.

“Today, there is a lot of work. It would be best if you hurried early.”

“……Right.”

Barely suppressing the urge to bury my head back in bed at Elena’s nagging from behind me, I finished washing up.

Even as I dressed and headed towards the Holy Relic Management Office, Elena walked by my side, not a single inch away.

Before long, the magnificent building began to appear.

Today, too, I safely arrived at work.

****

I firmly stamped the document and waved a hand towards one of the priests.

“Refine this a bit more and resubmit it.”

“Yes, Cardinal!”

As soon as I put the documents down on the desk, another priest approached.

“Cardinal, this is a report regarding damaged holy relics, and it requires a swift judgment, so…”

“Hand that over to Bernard. He’s in charge of it.”

“Understood!”

I let out a small laugh at the pile of documents before my eyes.

Now, even piles of documents didn’t scare me.

This was the power of delegation.

A life lesson learned so late that I wondered why I had been doing it all by myself until now.

Of course, the final approval was still my responsibility, and it was true that I had to take accountability for reports submitted under my name.

However, I had realized an important truth.

‘If you make people work, the organization runs.’

I realized it during the inspection, but the priests at the Holy Relic Management Office were far more capable than I had thought.

The tasks I had previously taken on myself were now perfectly divided and handled by others.

I should have done this sooner.

Since it was a position I was thrown into without proper handover in the first place, I simply lacked the courage to take such initiative early on.

‘As expected, it’s better to work with many people than alone.’

Just as I thought that and was about to take a sip of coffee.

Bang!

“Sir Theo!”

Suddenly, the door burst open, and bright golden hair rushed inside.

“……Cough!”

Lumiere, dressed in dazzling white priestly robes, with sparkling eyes.

“Saintess?”

The moment the word ‘Saintess’ escaped my lips, the priests carrying documents behind me simultaneously froze.

Then, with reverent faces, they closed their mouths and bowed their heads.

Lumiere quickly approached, placed both arms on the desk, and spoke.

“I clearly told you that you needed more rest.”

The usual gentle Lumiere was nowhere to be seen; instead, she had a rather stern expression, glaring at me with wide eyes.

It seemed she was trying to scare me.

‘But it’s not scary at all.’

It had little effect.

“I apologize. However, I had to work, so there was nothing I could do.”

In truth, I also wanted to rest more.

If only it weren’t for that damned inspection.

As a result, my plan to cause significant trouble during the inspection and quickly retire had gone awry. Now, I only regretted not resting a bit more back then.

Lumiere, who had been staring intently into my eyes for a long time, suddenly asked me.

“Sir Theo, are you perhaps very tired?”

Something light and warm touched my wrist, which was pressing down on a bundle of documents with one hand.

Lumiere carefully took my sleeve and quietly gazed at me with worried eyes.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Hmm…?”

At the words I unconsciously blurted out, Lumiere’s eyebrows tilted slightly downward.

“Would you like to go get some fresh air for a bit?”

“Huh?”

“It’s a nearby sanctuary. There’s a place where I sometimes go to pray quietly, and I’d like to go with Sir Theo.”

“Suddenly?”

I blinked at the unexpected suggestion.

Leaving my post during work, even though the inspection was over, was a risky action.

However.

Lumiere before me had a look that was somehow serious and carefully concerned for me.

“…Just for an hour. If anyone says anything later, you’ll have to take responsibility, right?”

“Yes! I’ll take responsibility!”

At her brightly smiling face, somehow, all room for refusal vanished.

I gestured to the priests to take over my duties and quietly left the Holy Relic Management Office with Lumiere.

****

The sanctuary was a small prayer site located on the outskirts of the Papal State, reachable only by passing through a dense cedar forest.

Rather than being a grand place, the sanctuary was more like a quietly hidden garden.

“This place… it’s beautiful.”

Walking along the small stone path, yellow wildflowers tickled my feet, and thin rays of sunlight filtered through the leaves, creating a golden carpet.

In the center, a white bench was placed beside a statue of the main deity.

“Hardly anyone comes here, you see. That’s why it’s so quiet.”

Lumiere smiled, putting a finger to her lips.

I sat quietly on the bench and looked up at the sky.

After closing and opening my eyes a few times, the noise in my head felt a little calmer.

“…It’s so quiet, it feels almost scary to open my mouth.”

“Then perhaps it’s alright if you don’t say anything. Sometimes, moments like these are important.”

Her words strangely resonated in my heart.

I closed my eyes without a word.

From beside me, I heard Lumiere get up and quietly kick at stones with her toes as she walked around.

As I softly opened my eyes at the rustling sound, a small bouquet of wildflowers, picked by the handful, had somehow appeared on my lap.

“Sir Theo, this is a gift.”

“Where did you learn to do things like this?”

“I learned it from the sisters at the convent when I was little. By the way, you can also make things like rings with them! Ta-da!”

I chuckled at the small flower ring in Lumiere’s hand.

Her innocent tone, her touch filled with sincere effort.

Lumiere sometimes had a knack for making others smile foolishly.

As if by magic.

“Shall we get up soon? It’s not good to be away from our duties for too long.”

“Alright. I was glad to be able to come here after a long time too.”

I had definitely enjoyed some leisure after a long time.

However, there was still a lot of work to be done, so it was time to return to the office.

“…Oh? That…”

Lumiere, who was walking towards the sanctuary’s exit, seemed to have spotted something and suddenly strode towards an old stone altar on one side of the forest.

What was she doing that for?

Following her with curiosity, I saw an intricate device inside a small transparent glass case.

An ancient holy relic with complex gears and numerous divine characters engraved on them.

“This… it was still here.”

Lumiere quietly reached out and gently caressed the glass.

“What is this?”

“It’s a holy relic that measures time. Originally, music would automatically play when prayer time approached here at the sanctuary. I used to love hearing that sound when I was little…”

A hint of regret was mixed in Lumiere’s voice.

“It’s been stopped for a long time now. No one has fixed it. I guess it’s too complicated.”

I looked at the holy relic again.

It was truly a holy relic with an incredibly complex appearance.

A complex structure, as if several devices had been forcibly patched together with purification magic circles.

I could see why the priests couldn’t touch it.

“Hmm… the structure is a mess, and the parts are old…”

I narrowed my eyes, crossing my arms.

This was definitely a situation that required calling in an expert.

‘…In cases like this, hitting it once usually makes it work.’

A method I used when repairing broken machines in my previous life flashed through my mind.

Broken TVs or old, worn-out computers.

It was a simple method that could be attempted even without grand technical skill.

“…Let’s just try it once.”

I needlessly glanced around, checking my surroundings.

Then, without a word, I tapped the holy relic two or three times.

When there was no reaction, I applied a little more force, hitting it harder.

Thump. Thump.

Thud!

Perhaps I failed to control my strength, as a slightly louder sound was made.

Did I hit it too hard?

Just as cold sweat was about to break out, unbeknownst to me.

Click.

“……Oh?”

A faint metallic friction sound began to be heard.

And soon, the stopped gears began to move one by one, clicking and clacking, turning cheerfully.

—♬

A small, clear chime spread through the forest.

It was such a clear and peaceful resonance that even the birds quieted down for a moment.

“…It actually worked?”

I muttered, as if dumbfounded.

Lumiere, who had been wide-eyed, then broke into a bright smile.

“That’s amazing! How did you do that?”

“…I just tried hitting it.”

“Huh?”

I shook my head and rubbed my cheek.

Why did that actually work?

“Sir Theo, you don’t by any chance communicate with holy relics, do you?”

“That’s not it, but…”

Lumiere’s eyes were sparkling as she spoke in a voice close to admiration.

Is a holy relic really supposed to be fixed this easily?

I honestly couldn’t understand it.

“It’s moving again!”

However, seeing Lumiere so foolishly delighted… well, I supposed it wasn’t so bad after all.

After that day, the rumor that I, the head of the Holy Relic Management Office, possessed an amazing ability to fix holy relics instantly, spread a little while later.