episode_0043

First, I found the Saintess.

‘Finding the Saintess early on is quite difficult.’

After all, she had been exiled by the Pope.

She’s a wandering character in the holy nation of , so even veteran players struggle to locate her.

‘They exiled her for not meeting the qualifications of a Saintess.’

She was supposed to be the Saintess of the Goddess of Light, Serena,

but her hair wasn’t yellow—it was pink.

Considering that in Prophecy RPG, you can tell an attribute just by hair color, this was a serious issue.

Red hair means fire attribute.

Yellow hair means light attribute.

It’s roughly like that.

This happens because those with strong magical power have mana infused into their very hair.

If red mana flows into them,

their hair turns red as well.

So,

a Saintess blessed by the Goddess of Light, Serena, should have yellow hair.

But this Saintess had pink hair.

That alone was enough to disqualify her as Serena’s Saintess.

‘And there’s one more thing.’

‘Her divine power was far too weak.’

Her divine power was abnormally low compared to other Saintesses.

It was because the Goddess of Light, Serena, had been absent for 20 years, so she couldn’t properly receive divine power.

But since no one else knew that,

they agreed to exile her, believing she was unworthy.

…At least, that was the surface-level reason.

‘In truth, they exiled her because they saw her as a threat.’

While Serena was in the human realm, she was indeed a weak Saintess with pitiful divine power.

She was so lacking that

she had to scrape together her own life force just to barely perform her duties.

But.

After Serena returned to the celestial realm, things changed.

She began receiving the divine power she was originally meant to have,

and she started growing stronger.

She became so powerful that she began surpassing all previous Saintesses.

‘It was inevitable.’

While the Goddess of Light was gone, she had grown by receiving divine power from the Goddess of Love.

It was only about 50% compared to a normal Saintess,

but it was still divine power.

And then.

When the Goddess of Light, Serena, returned, she granted her the full amount a Saintess should have.

50% from the Goddess of Love + 100% from the Goddess of Light

Total: 150%

Having received 1.5 times the divine power of a normal Saintess,

she became 1.5 times stronger.

And there was more.

To compensate for her lack of divine power, the Saintess developed the ability to convert her life force into divine power.

The downside was that she grew shorter every time she used it,

but in exchange, she could unleash power 3 to 5 times stronger than other Saintesses.

At this point, it made sense for the succubus to exile her out of caution.

…That said,

her full strength only manifested in the mid-to-late game.

‘Not yet.’

It was true that the Goddess of Light, Serena, was empowering her,

but it was a gradual process.

Right now, she was still weak.

However.

The succubus, being highly sensitive to divine power, noticed her growing strength and exiled her preemptively.

Having a powerful Saintess nearby would only increase the risk of exposure.

…And that was the gist of the Saintess’s backstory.

Exiled,

but later awakening her power and taking revenge on the Pope and the succubus—a cliché exile narrative.

‘The actual game story follows the same pattern.’

If recruited into the hero’s party,

she joins them in defeating the Pope and the succubus.

If not,

she awakens on her own and does it herself.

That’s roughly how it plays out.

‘The hardest part is finding the Saintess early on.’

By the mid-to-late game, she’s awakened and making a name for herself,

so rumors alone are enough to track her down.

But in the early game, she’s just a wandering extra doing simple medical volunteer work,

making her a pain to locate.

However.

With the Goddess of Light, Serena, helping in her “baby mode,” things were different.

Poof!

“Over there.”

Even the weeds sprouting from the ground could reveal the Saintess’s location.

“So this is how you tracked me.”

“Hehe…”

The Goddess of Light, Serena, borrowed the eyes and ears of her followers to help locate the target.

The Goddess of Fertility, Gaia, drew letters and arrows with weeds to mark the way.

It was practically map-hacking.

So.

The option to run was off the table.

Even if she tried, she’d be caught,

and any remaining freedom would vanish afterward.

…With that in mind, after about a day of tracking,

I found the Saintess.

Swoosh.

A pink-haired, short-haired little girl, healing people with divine power.

“……?”

Something felt off.

‘She looks younger than in the game?’

She seemed even younger than the Saintess I’d seen in Prophecy RPG.

What’s this?

Did my actions cause another variable?

‘It’s possible.’

Because of what I did, the Saintess might have used more of her power,

making her physically younger as a result.

But.

That wasn’t important right now.

With the , she could restore all her lost life force,

and she’d grow taller again.

…Just as I was about to approach her with that thought—

‘Wait…’

‘If I recruit the Saintess myself, won’t that add another heroine?’

It wasn’t that I disliked the Saintess.

But.

Adding another heroine to my current favorites—Lia, and Ellis—was problematic.

The thought of the world’s strongest women fighting out of jealousy was scary,

and I wasn’t sure I’d survive the bedroom either.

So.

Someone else should play the savior.

…With that in mind, I asked Lia and Ellis to handle it, but—

“I refuse.”

“Master.”

“This is something you should do yourself.”

“Y-You’re refusing?… Why?…”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“You’re the one who worked to save her, Cain.”

“So?”

“She should at least know who saved her.”

“Does it matter?”

Gratitude wasn’t necessary.

All I wanted was to see the heroines reach their happy endings.

…At my words, Ellis gave me a disbelieving look.

“You really have weird tastes.”

“Weird or not, I need you two to play the saviors.”

“No.”

“You’re that against it?”

“The one who saved me was someone else.”

“I don’t want her to live under a misunderstanding, and I don’t want to watch that either.”

“……”

“If it were me, I’d never accept that.”

“Finish it yourself.”

“If I do it and end up with another heroine, you two will just suffer more.”

“It’s fine.”

“I’ve already prepared myself for that.”

“Prepared yourself?”

“You didn’t just save me.”

“You saved the entire hero’s party, and even others beyond that.”

“……”

“You’re everyone’s savior.”

“I’d never try to monopolize you just because I was the first you saved.”

“……I see.”

“So go save her properly.”

“I already expected the entire hero’s party to become heroines anyway.”

“Lia, what about you?”

“The more, the merrier!”

“Go charm her and bring her back!”

Lia said with a bright smile, but—

Uh…

Is this really okay?…

‘Sigh…’

I thought about it for a moment,

but since both Lia and Ellis refused to act as substitutes,

I had no choice but to do it myself.

‘Is my future self doomed to die in bed?…’

One favorite + five heroines from the party.

Could one man’s stamina handle that?

‘Stamina items are a must.’

The Holy Grail of Sacrifice wasn’t the issue.

To survive after defeating the Demon King, stamina-boosting items were essential.

‘Without them, it’s a death-by-exhaustion ending.’

But.

I couldn’t get those right now.

Deciding to deal with the Saintess first, I slowly walked toward her.

“Where does it hurt?”

“I’m not hurt.”

“I came to see you for a reason.”

“A reason?”

Our Saintess, speaking politely in honorifics.

In this world, those of similar status usually drop formalities,

reserving honorifics only for those of higher standing.

But.

Many clergy consider themselves the lowest rank, devoting themselves to all,

so honorifics are their default.

…With that in mind, I studied the Saintess.

Pink-haired, short-cut Saintess.

Cute pink eyes and an adorable face.

Though she was 25,

she looked young enough to have just started elementary school.

Though stripped of her title,

dressed in pure white clergy robes, she still radiated holiness—every bit the Saintess.

So, how to recruit her?

‘Simple.’

…With that thought, I spoke.

“I’d like to talk somewhere private for a moment.”

“Do you have time?”

“……Kidnapper?”

“I’ll let you talk to the Goddess of Light, Serena.”

“Let’s go.”

As expected of the Saintess.

The moment I dangled Serena as bait, she bit—

“Ah…”

“How can I trust that?”

—Or not.

Our Saintess had learned the concept of skepticism.

But.

This much was easy to handle.

“See that blonde girl over there?”

“Th-The hero?…”

“Yes.”

“The hero chosen by the Goddess of Light, Serena, and—”

Leaning closer, I whispered.

“Serena’s daughter.”

“!!!!!!”

“More than enough proof, right?”

“More than enough.”

The Saintess nodded, slightly moved.

Good.

Step one, cleared.

Me, Lia, Ellis, and the Saintess—the four of us rented a room at an inn and set up a barrier.

A barrier that could only be bypassed by spatial magic,

blocking everything else.

Soundproofed, ensuring no information leaked out—a sturdy barrier was complete.

“As expected of Lia.”

“You learn so fast.”

“Hehe…”

I lightly patted Lia’s head.

Then.

The Saintess nodded quietly.

She might not feel like a hero candidate yet,

but she could tell I was someone the hero trusted and followed.

So.

Time for the main topic.

“Saintess Sophia.”

“I have a request.”

I held out the Sealing Dagger as I spoke.

“Pour as much divine power into this as you can.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll try.”

Without even asking why, Sophia channeled all her divine power into it.

Then.

A voice began to emanate from the dagger.

[Connected? Is it working?!]

A voice like an overjoyed girl rang out,

before quickly clearing its throat.

[Ahem!…]

[This is the Goddess of Light, Serena.]

Good.

Step two, cleared.

(AI-generated illustration of Saintess Sophia.)