Ch.340Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

“…So let me summarize. Lucia hasn’t left her room since meeting with the Pope.”

“Yes.”

“And to find out what happened, we need to meet Lucia, but security is tight, and she’s refusing all visitors.”

“Yes.”

“Since it seems impossible through official channels, we need to meet her unofficially. So you want to sneak into Lucia’s room?”

“Exactly.”

“……”

Camilla, who had been sleeping in the hotel room after breakfast, looked at me as if she’d just heard something absurd. It was the look of a citizen who encounters a zebra escaped from the zoo while heading to a convenience store.

After finishing my conversation with Veronica, I returned directly to the hotel and now faced Camilla with just a door between us.

“Umm, that spy movie with the Top Gun actor. What was it called again?”

“Mission Impossible.”

“Ah, right. In that movie, the protagonist infiltrates the Vatican. Does that make it seem easy?”

“Not at all.”

Camilla, with a bump on her head, spoke with an expression of disbelief.

She muttered in a disgruntled tone and crossed her arms with a suspicious look.

“So you’re asking me to help you sneak into Lucia’s room?”

Even the most skilled person would find it difficult to penetrate tight security and enter a restricted area alone.

But if there are two people, infiltrating a secure area becomes surprisingly easier.

I nodded.

“Do you have a plan?”

“Building blueprints, clothing, documents—I’ve prepared everything. And most importantly, the means of infiltration.”

“Your drive is impressive. But that aside, we’re guests here. Moreover, you’re a diplomat. Surely you haven’t forgotten? If we’re caught, the Foreign Ministry won’t let this slide quietly.”

“It’s not a crime if we don’t get caught.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Camilla muttered, then tilted her head.

“Let’s do it now.”

Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

In regions where religion holds immense influence, clergy occupy a position of a completely different dimension from ordinary believers.

This is true even for minor religions.

The status of clergy comes from authority based on religion and respect born from faith.

Unless one is a religious extremist, no one treats clergy disrespectfully, even those of different faiths.

But here.

There was someone whom even the clergy found difficult to approach.

“Knock knock! Please open the door!”

“Uh…”

The priest of the Holy Lateran Parish broke into a cold sweat despite the chilly season.

Since being appointed as the priest in charge of the holy site, he had rarely been flustered when facing people of high status.

However, the woman before his eyes now was on a completely different level from cardinals of the church or ambassadors from foreign countries.

“Um… May I ask your name?”

“Camilla. Camilla Rowell.”

The woman with flaming red hair like a burning sun smiled brightly. It was a cheerful smile.

But the expression of the priest holding the visitor registry was far from bright.

“So you are indeed the Hero. But what brings you here…?”

“I came to see Lucia!”

Camilla stated her purpose with casual familiarity.

If she were an ordinary believer—or even a non-believer—addressing a saint without any honorifics would be a grave discourtesy.

But Camilla spoke the saint’s name directly, as if familiar with her, dispensing with cumbersome titles.

“Can you take me to Lucia?”

*

At the main gate, strictly guarded by holy knights.

The parish priest who greeted Camilla adjusted his glasses, which had slipped due to sweat. Then he finally managed to answer.

“I’m truly sorry, but Saint Lucia is currently not receiving any visitors.”

“Huh?”

Camilla tilted her head with an innocent expression.

“But I’m Lucia’s colleague? Is it that only believers or clergy are allowed in?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

Concerned about offending Camilla, the priest began explaining in a gentle voice.

“Preparations for the canonization ceremony are in full swing… Since Saint Lucia is the main figure of the ceremony, she has many things to prepare, Hero. She’s simply too busy to spare any time.”

Of course, this explanation was completely ineffective.

Blinking her bright eyes, Camilla replied with an expression that said “I don’t care about any of that.” She resembled a troublesome citizen filing complaints at a neighborhood community center.

In other words, she was being deliberately difficult.

“Then I’ll just see her face quickly and leave.”

“…Pardon?”

“Saint Veronica asked me to deliver this personally. I just need to hand it over.”

Camilla tapped a document bag with her palm.

It was quite a luxurious leather bag, but one commonly seen in the church where luxury goods were abundant.

Luxury items are a discreet virtue for maintaining the dignity of clergy.

It’s also a virtue of wealthy clergy to pretend to be frugal during the day, then change into civilian clothes after sunset to buy luxury gifts for their mistresses.

Of course, this is morally problematic behavior, but no clergy in the church would publicly expose such scandals.

After all, the church’s banks never worry about running out of money.

Even if bishops’ residences are adorned with marble and artwork, and cardinals’ offices are covered with massive religious paintings, the gold coins never diminish.

Most bishops and cardinals have amassed far greater wealth and live in abundance, while clergy of wealthy parishes, though less affluent, still live enviable lives. Only clergy assigned to poor parishes sigh while examining their ledgers.

And Lateran was the most prosperous parish in the church.

Naturally, luxury goods were as common as roadside pebbles among Lateran’s clergy.

The problem was…

“Um…”

The bag was decorated with Saint Veronica’s seal.

After examining the bag briefly with permission, the priest could feel the pure divinity flowing from the seal. This was undoubtedly a saint’s divinity.

“……”

The priest, who had been staring blankly at the seal, suddenly came to his senses at the sound of someone clearing their throat.

Receiving a signal from the holy knight guarding the main gate, the priest bowed respectfully and answered.

“I understand. You must be busy too, Hero. I’ll take responsibility and deliver this instead…”

“But I promised the Saint I would deliver it personally.”

“That may be so, but…”

As the standoff continued, the expressions of the priest and holy knights grew increasingly desperate.

In the church, a high-ranking clergy’s seal is equivalent to a royal inspector’s badge. And now someone chosen by divine oracle had appeared with a saint’s seal—how could they not be anxious?

A bead of sweat rolled down the priest’s cheek under the bright midday sun.

Though he didn’t show it, he was inwardly panicking.

And the holy knights were no different.

“Hmm…”

If they let Camilla in, they would be disobeying the saint’s instructions.

But if they turned her away, they would appear to be defying another saint’s orders.

“Should we ask the commander?”

“…Since the royal guard is in charge of security, shouldn’t we ask them?”

“Perhaps we should speak directly to the Saint…”

“But she hasn’t left her chambers…”

Watching the priest stamping his feet and the knights at a loss, Camilla suddenly raised a finger and offered a solution worthy of Solomon.

“Then could you go tell Lucia to come out for a moment? I just need to hand this over personally.”

“……”

“……”

It was a completely futile suggestion.

*

The ongoing dispute was finally resolved only when a higher-ranking clergy appeared.

“What’s going on here?”

“Ah, yes. Father, it’s…”

The priest who had been anxiously pacing at the main gate explained everything in detail to his superior who had come on patrol.

After listening to the lengthy explanation, the high-ranking clergy looked at the priest with a contemptuous expression.

“Hey. Are you stupid?”

“No, sir!”

“She has Saint Veronica’s seal, so of course you should let her in. It’s not just anyone who came, but the Hero herself.”

“Is that really okay…? We were clearly ordered not to let anyone in…”

“How many rejections is this now? Saint Veronica keeps sending people almost every day, and we keep turning them away. What about our reputation? The two saints are already sensitive with each other after the bishop selection issue last week.”

“That’s true…”

“Just let her in.”

The high-ranking clergy sighed and gave his instructions.

“Escort the Hero to the reception room and ask her to wait for a moment.”

“And the Saint?”

“I’ll speak to her separately. Don’t worry about it. Go and escort the Hero. She’s our guest—it’s not right to keep her waiting outside.”

The priest hurriedly ran back and began guiding Camilla into the building.

After passing through a sunlit corridor, they arrived at a magnificent reception room where Camilla sat on a plush sofa, tapping her legs.

“Hmm…”

“Have you been waiting long? I apologize. Saint Lucia will be here soon.”

“Please tell her she can take her time. Oh, are there any refreshments here?”

“Yes, I’ll prepare them right away!”

With those words, the priest hastily left the reception room.

Camilla, who had been massaging her legs with a tired face, jumped up from the sofa as soon as the door closed and looked around.

The bathroom. Behind the curtains. Under the sofa. And so on.

After thoroughly searching the reception room and even taking a quick look at the corridor, Camilla quickly locked the door and opened the bag with Veronica’s seal.

And then…

“You can come out now.”

“…Are you sure?”

“I checked even the corridor. Confirmed there’s no one around.”

I grabbed both sides of the bag’s opening and pulled myself up.

Like a mythical hero emerging alive from a monster’s belly after tearing open its mouth, I pulled my upper body out of the bag.

“Damn… Some magical item this is, can’t even match a drum…”

Finally succeeding in escaping the cramped bag as my legs came out too, I straightened out the annoying strings attached to my ankles with a kick.

“Phew…”

I met Camilla’s sparkling eyes.

“Success!”

We exchanged an enthusiastic high-five.