Chapter 3. Faith and Status (3)

No, no, no.

This is a bit much.

No matter how I think about it, that was the reaction of a granddaughter waving to her grandfather.

I called him Cardinal, but who in the world would call a Cardinal so casually?

Besides, thinking about it again, I’m meeting the Cardinal for the first time today. Strictly speaking, we exchanged a few words via letter, but since we both unilaterally finished saying what we had to say, it can’t be called a conversation.

I know his face from the TV in the restaurant, but…

“Grandpa!”

But before I could make any excuses, there was someone calling the Cardinal by an even grander title than I did.

It was the young nun I had been talking to just a moment ago.

“Oh my, Sisters, you’re out here?”

As soon as the Cardinal heard that voice, his expression immediately changed to a friendly smile.

As the young nuns flocked around, the Cardinal stood a slight distance from them, bending slightly to look down at the children.

“Seeing you out here, it seems like today’s Bible study is all finished.”

“Yes!”

The children, gathered in small groups like chicks, answered in unison as if in a choir, their expressions as clear as a cloudless sky.

“It’s a cause for celebration that your studies finished early. However, many people from outside the church are expected today. The Abbess was looking for you over there anyway. How about heading back soon?”

“Outside people!”

“We want to see them too!”

“Is that Saint Candidate over there an outside person too?”

At those words, the Cardinal smiled wryly.

“Do I look like that?”

“She’s wearing her veil strangely, and her hair color is strange too.”

“Her nun’s habit also seems a bit different…”

“Hmm.”

The Cardinal looked at me with a somewhat perplexed expression.

I… I had nothing to say.

In high school, aren’t there always kids who shorten their school uniforms as much as possible? No matter what the teachers say, they dye their hair in noticeable colors and fall asleep with their heads on their desks during class.

No, I did listen to the classes diligently, but…

…It’s true that I haven’t studied the scriptures, which are considered important here.

“…Alright, alright. You should head back now. The Abbess baked chocolate cookies, and she said there might not be any left if you’re too late.”

“Chocolate cookies!”

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

The Cardinal gave up on explaining anything and lured the children away with the cookies.

The little nuns, in a flurry, ran off towards the other side of the church. Everyone who passed by watched them with pleased expressions.

“…….”

And so did Sophie, Ria, and the escort knight next to her, and myself.

The Cardinal, who had been watching the receding backs of the children, turned back towards me.

His expression had returned to a blank one. It was as if you had to describe a high-ranking person’s business-like expression, it would be like this.

“Ah…”

When our eyes met, I seriously pondered for a moment about what to say.

I’m not very accustomed to situations like this. Not in this life, and not in my past life either, I had never met a truly high-ranking person.

Even if I had, it would probably have been a situation where I recognized them on the street, rather than meeting them in an official capacity.

As thoughts of ‘procedures’ and ‘protocol’ flashed through my mind-

“Sister Sophie.”

The Cardinal spoke first.

As he said that and politely bowed his head slightly, Sophie also bowed her head slightly. He didn’t call out to the knight next to her separately, but they also exchanged polite greetings.

“…And Sister Anna.”

The Cardinal did the same towards me. I also bowed my head, just as Sophie had done. Of course, mine was much more awkward.

Ria looked like she knew the Cardinal, but the Cardinal only gave her a light nod, similar to how he had treated the knight earlier.

Is he acting based on my status?

Even though all my rights were taken away, my position itself hasn’t been demoted.

“Shall I guide you to the conference room right away? It’s a bit early for our appointment, but…”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Sophie replied and glanced at me.

“Uh, I’m, I’m fine too…”

I replied, wishing I could grab my head.

It would have been a little less awkward if I hadn’t just greeted the Cardinal to escape an embarrassing situation.

I want to go back three minutes and hit myself hard on the back of the head.

The other clergy members who followed behind the Cardinal also quietly followed us.

“Hey, hey, you don’t need to be so nervous.”

Ria poked my side and said.

“The Cardinal is surprisingly someone who doesn’t care much about formalities.”

No, saying that doesn’t really put my mind at ease.

I’ve already insulted the Cardinal, you know? No, I didn’t ask if his parents were gone, but still.

Ria kept glancing at me even as we walked to the conference room, as if my nervous expression was amusing.

I tightly closed my mouth, suppressing my shame as much as possible, and entered the conference room.

*

Although it’s a church, the interior atmosphere isn’t entirely solemn. While there were church symbols here and there, there were also ordinary conference rooms.

The place we entered was closer to a presentation room than a conference room, but well, if there are many people, it’s understandable to have that kind of seating arrangement. A round table can also be a bit burdensome if it’s too large…

No, wait, there are many people?

Because of the way the Cardinal acted earlier, I just assumed it was like a company meeting. After all, this meeting isn’t about discussing my position as a Saint, but about considering whether to restore the rights of a Saint Candidate.

Even with the Cardinal’s power, something like that should be manageable, but since the Cardinal was the one who took away my rights in the first place, shouldn’t he just say yes or no with a single word?

“Well, then.”

But my thoughts-

“Sister Sophie, and as requested by two other Saint Candidates, regarding the verification of Sister Anna’s qualifications as a Saint-“

“Yes!?”

Hup.

I let out a scream without realizing it and quickly covered my mouth with both hands.

Everyone in the conference room was looking at me.

“Sister Anna, do you have something you’d like to say?”

A middle-aged nun, who was presenting as if giving a presentation, said so. Although she was wearing a nun’s habit, her glasses and her somewhat strict demeanor made her look like someone in a high position at a company. Very business-like.

Ah, come to think of it, there was a famous nun who followed a certain Pope in the past. I only heard about her vaguely on the internet, so I don’t really know what she looked like.

“Ah, um, well…”

I carefully opened my mouth.

Honestly, I didn’t want to say anything, but at a place like this, there was something I had to point out.

“So, this meeting… I never imagined it would be a place to discuss, perhaps, my qualifications as a Saint?”

“Did your parish priest not tell you?”

The nun asked politely, though business-like. While I might be older than her if you combined my ages from my past life- I’ve only just become an adult in this world.

Even with globalization, this is South Korea. Honestly, even while living this life, I’ve been influenced more by Confucianism than by Christianity.

It was also a bit… embarrassing when someone older than me spoke so politely.

“I thought it was just a meeting to discuss the rights of a Saint Candidate…”

I stopped speaking after saying that much.

Yes, it seems like the priest might not have told me.

The reason is simple.

The moment I realized I had been nominated as a Saint Candidate, I had already sent a letter to the Cardinal, saying something as heretical as ‘God doesn’t exist’.

If someone had said, ‘You’ll become a Saint if you go there,’ I might have just climbed over the wall and run away that day.

As I suppressed the urge to grab my head, the nun opened her mouth.

“It seems you already know why you didn’t say anything.”

“…….”

“Then, may I continue with the discussion?”

For a moment, I considered running away, but seeing Ria next to me with an expression that looked like she was about to burst into laughter, I gave up.

Even if I ran, I’d be caught.

There’s a big difference between becoming a Saint Candidate and becoming a Saint. Yes, if the representative of God runs away, the church will chase after me.

However-

“I don’t think the position of Saint is something that can be achieved so easily…”

I timidly spoke again.

That’s right.

The church isn’t just in Korea. There’s a higher organization that encompasses the entire world. There’s also the Pope.

It means that simply being recommended by a Cardinal wouldn’t immediately make someone a Saint.

And it shouldn’t be something that can be decided with just one presentation in an ordinary conference room like this.

“Ah, of course.”

The nun nodded at my words.

“It’s not decided right here. There are several stages of procedures. In fact, this meeting was hastily arranged because there were people who insisted on making a decision as quickly as possible.”

“…….”

I quickly looked at Sophie.

Sophie smiled as if to say it was her. There were other nuns sitting in groups next to her, and they all looked understanding.

And nearby-

Lee Si-yoon?

And next to him were Hunters. They were all in suits, though.

It seemed they had all arrived and were waiting before we entered the conference room.

After confirming only that much, I tightly closed my eyes.

“Then, may we continue the meeting?”

Even without my nod, the next part of the conversation flowed naturally.