Chapter 8: An unbeliever or a saint

“Saintess!”

By the time Mohaim sensed the shift in the atmosphere, it was already too late.

The warm and gentle air had turned suddenly heavy, like a damp, suffocating swamp.

“Urgh…!”

She couldn’t breathe.

It felt as though her face had been shoved into a pit of mud—an unbearable, disgusting sensation pressing in from all directions.

“How arrogant. You think you can refuse me—someone even the Empire cannot turn away?”

The golden light that had softly radiated from the Saintess began to dim.

“Faithless unbelievers who don’t even understand His will…”

Her voice sank lower, and the tent around them groaned ominously as though it might collapse at any moment.

“K-Khak…! I—I can’t breathe…!”

The handmaiden standing nearby collapsed to her knees, gasping for air, overwhelmed by the twisted divine energy that had spread through the area.

Before the Saintess could be consumed further by negative emotions and crush the handmaiden in the process, Mohaim quickly changed the subject.

“T-There is one person in particular that Your Holiness should be cautious of.”

“…Me?”

“Yes. A man referred to as the Central Inspector. He oversees the southern border.”

“Central Inspector… What a strange title. Sounds like a heretic.”

“There are rumors that he’s an Awakened.”

The Saintess’s twisted expression immediately turned to one of surprise.

“Huh? An Awakened? Really?”

“It’s just a rumor, but considering he became a top-level inspector at such a young age, I believe there’s some credibility to it.”

“If that were true, there’s no way we wouldn’t know about it.”

She had a point.

Any discovery of an Awakened would inevitably be reported to the Church.

As far as Erjena knew, there had only ever been one Awakened in the Crossroads Kingdom—and she was female.

‘I’ve never heard of a male Awakened existing in the Crossroads Kingdom.’

That meant what Mohaim was implying led to two possibilities.

Sensing her thoughts, Mohaim continued.

“It’s possible the information was deliberately blocked for some reason… or it could simply be baseless rumor.”

“…Alright, understood. Then do we know what kind of ability he supposedly has?”

“There hasn’t been a formal report, so it’s difficult to determine. However, there are accounts that he recently calmed an enraged fire spirit single-handedly.”

“Single-handedly? Alone?”

Erjena tilted her head.

Only spirit tamers could control an enraged elemental.

Without one, the creature would usually rampage until it exhausted itself or was destroyed.

She had never heard of a single person calming a natural disaster.

Especially not a fire spirit.

“Is that even possible… Wait, did he throw water on it or something?”

Mohaim’s face turned grim at her question.

“If he had, he’d have burned to death.”

“Then it’s probably just an exaggerated rumor. People love to embellish stories.”

“I’d like to think so too. But all of the eyewitness accounts match perfectly. It doesn’t sound like a lie.”

Erjena furrowed her brows again—but this time, not out of anger, but curiosity.

‘A regular person calming a spirit? That only makes sense if he really is Awakened.’

Awakening manifested in various forms.

If his ability allowed him to soothe spirits, it likely involved controlling mana or forming a contract with them.

But that led to a glaring contradiction.

“Hmm… Can a heretic even become Awakened?”

“According to doctrine, it’s impossible. Awakening is a blessing from the Lord Himself.”

On rare occasions, the Lord bestowed His overwhelming love upon chosen individuals in the form of miracles, divine artifacts, or other mysterious phenomena.

And among these, the most unique form of His love was Awakening.

A blessing not given to objects or phenomena, but directly to a person.

It was a great honor, reserved only for those who devoted themselves wholeheartedly to Him.

In other words, an unbeliever could never receive such a gift—it was undeniable proof that someone belonged to the Church.

“Then he must be one of our faithful! What a relief. I was worried for nothing.”

As Erjena finally reached a conclusion, her expression softened.

At the same time, the heavy, oppressive energy around them dissipated and returned to its original warmth.

“As long as he’s not a heretic, it’s fine. If he serves the Lord, then there’s no problem. Once he sees me, he’ll understand our purpose right away.”

Mohaim, caught off guard by the sudden shift in mood, cautiously asked, “Um, Saintess? What do you mean by that…?”

“Awakening is a gift granted only to the most devout among the faithful. So it means he’s on our side. If I tell him we’re going to beat the living crap out of the Cult of the Evil God—”

Noticing the stern look flash across Mohaim’s face, she quickly corrected herself.

“—I mean, punish them thoroughly, he’ll probably welcome us with open arms. And like you said, it’s not a lie. We’re officially heading north to offer support.”

“That is true, but…”

“Our dear Captain of the Holy Knights worries way too much. Everything’s going to be fine. Who knows—maybe all of this is part of the Lord’s grand design?”

Looking at her now, back to her innocent and cheerful self, Mohaim opened her mouth to speak but let out a sigh instead.

“If it’s alright with you, Saintess… then I suppose it’s alright.”

“Exactly!”

After all, their supposed adversary was nothing more than an immigration officer.

‘There’s no way he’d dare oppose us, a transnational Church.’

No sane government official would risk their nation’s reputation over a confrontation with the Church.

Even if he pretended to go mad and tried to deny them entry, the Church could file a formal protest, and the border would have to open eventually.

A few days’ delay was a minor inconvenience at best.

No individual could stand in the way of such a massive force.

Especially not when it was tied to the Church’s divine mission.

Whichever way you looked at it, Erjena was probably right—everything would turn out fine.

“Then please promise me just one thing. No matter what happens, please stick to our official statement—that this is simply a goodwill visit.”

There was no need to cause unnecessary trouble.

Erjena grimaced at the knight commander’s relentless insistence and gave a reluctant nod.

“Alright, alright. You’re such a worrier. I won’t stir up any unnecessary trouble, okay? Satisfied?”

That was the end of it.

Having finally gotten the answer he wanted, Mohaim quickly moved to leave before her mood could flip again.

“Then, I’ll be heading out. It’s almost time to meet with the envoys heading to the border.”

“Perfect. I wanted some alone time anyway. Call me when it’s time to depart.”

“Th-then I’ll take my leave as well…”

The maid, picking up on the atmosphere, quickly followed after him and left the tent.

Erjena waved them off until they were both out of sight, and once complete silence returned, she sank deep into the sofa.

***

“Phew, finally gone. Mohaim worries way too much.”

‘That old knight always assumes the worst. Honestly, what’s there to be so afraid of when the Divine Lord is watching over us?’

No longer wanting to dwell on it, Erjena turned her head and shifted her attention to the man Mohaim had mentioned earlier.

“The Central officer, huh…”

A strange name.

Most likely not a real name, but a title.

She smiled faintly.

“How curious. To think our paths would cross like this.”

A Talent Manifest.

A rare gift.

And yet someone like that was working as an immigration officer.

It was a welcome surprise.

To Erjena, it felt almost like a divine revelation.

‘In a nation we must pass through… and standing in a position that could block our way… could someone so blessed by the Divine just happen to be the highest-ranking immigration officer there?’

It was too perfect to be mere coincidence.

One might even call it providential.

Perhaps the Divine Lord had arranged everything—placing that man in their path as part of a greater plan.

After all, He was known to bestow blessings in the most unexpected places, using the most unexpected people and means.

“But what if… this is all just coincidence or a well-crafted lie?”

But exceptions and elaborate traps always existed.

Erjena wasn’t naïve enough to place blind faith in what seemed like fate.

History had long been filled with blasphemers who falsely claimed the Divine’s grace.

This man—this so-called Central officer—could very well be one of them.

He might even be an infiltrator, cunningly placed by the Cult of the Evil God.

‘Those heretics have always tried to corrupt us through the worst possible methods. This could be part of their plan too.’

With that thought, the saint softly recited a scripture verse she’d memorized countless times:

“Doubt may lead to distrust, but it is also the shortest path to conviction.”

She slowly reached her hand toward the sky, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

“Is he a nonbeliever? A heretic? Or perhaps a corrupt official bribed by the Cult of the Evil God?”

There were endless possibilities.

Until she met this Central officer in person, his true identity would remain a mystery.

And there were just as many ways to deal with such people.

Whichever the case, Erjena didn’t care.

If the rumors were false, then he was simply a heretic. And there’d be no need to feel guilt or offer respect to someone like that.

On the contrary, falsely claiming a Talent Manifest blessing would be enough to warrant crucifixion.

‘And if he truly is a Talent Manifest? That’s fine too.’

That would mean he was a man blessed by the Divine Lord.

And if he was a believer, there would be no way he could resist her.

After all, she was the voice of the Divine.

His chosen speaker.

“I’ll know once I see him with my own eyes.”

In the end, everything would be revealed once she met the Central officer in person.

Erjena clenched her outstretched hand into a fist as if squeezing the throat of a vile serpent.

From far off, the sound of war drums signaled the departure of the diplomatic envoy.

***

“Alright, let’s deal the cards.”

It was the third day of the immigration office group training.

Just as I was about to start our 298th round of cards with the Senses Officers—

“Hold on.”

The Ears Officer’s long ears twitched.

She looked southward and set down her cards.

“Hmm. You should probably start getting ready, Central officer.”

“Huh? Ready for what?”

“Some noisy guests are headed this way. They’ll probably arrive in a couple of days.”

‘Noisy, huh? Who could that be?’

‘No way… a pilgrimage group?’

‘Probably not. Those folks usually just pray quietly.’

I shrugged and turned my attention back to the card game.

“Well, two days is still some time away. Let’s finish this game first. This is the final round, right?”

“Whoever loses this one is last place.”

This was more important right now.

Tonight’s night watch was on the line.

“Alright then. Let’s begin. Since it’s the final match, let’s all focus.”

At my words, the Nose Officer nodded and began expertly shuffling the cards before dealing.

“Okay, stay sharp, everyone. One card to the Central officer, one to the Taste Officer, one to the Touch Officer—”

“Freeze.”

-Snap.

Right before the final card reached the Touch Officer, I grabbed the werewolf’s wrist.

This damn mutt was trying to cheat again.

“Nose Officer, were you trying to bottom-deal again?”

“Gah! How did you—?!”

Congratulations. You’re on night watch tonight.