episode_0183

“Ring of Venus…?”

The saintess looked at the ring on my finger with wide eyes and a face similar to Arjen.

My heart fluttered for a moment, but now I see that he was surprised to see a sign of a saint, not me.

As if cold water had been poured on my excited mind, I regained control of my body and mental state.

The woman in front of me is not Arjen. Of course, it was very similar, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t.

“Hello, Saint.”

“Uh… Are you really a saint?”

Her answer was a bit vague. I smiled and answered.

“Yes. Coincidentally, he is still alive.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean it that way…”

“No. I also apologize for being sarcastic for no reason. My name is Eugene.”

“Ah, it’s called Orha.”

When I naturally offered a handshake, the saint reached out her hand to greet me.

And there was someone who stopped it, and it was none other than the Holy Knights guarding the saint.

“Ah. sorry. A saint is not allowed to come in contact with men…”

“……Yes?”

For a moment, I wondered what that meant and asked back. Perhaps because my reaction was sharp, the voice of the paladin who interrupted the handshake trembled even more.

“Well, that’s… we can’t help it either. That’s what I was commanded to do… and that’s what I’ve done so far…”

A secondary explanation followed, but unfortunately I didn’t understand it at all.

Eventually, Wayne, who was listening from the side, came forward.

“Do you remember what I said earlier? Stella says that the standard for selecting a saint is pure faith.”

“That’s right.”

“The religious order believes that a saint’s purity will fade if she touches a man’s body.”

“Ah… that’s right….”

That sounds like an asshole. I had to swallow those words because it was a seat.

Even putting aside the fact that they are treated like impurities, doesn’t the situation turn out to be very funny?

Would I be able to use the same logic if they knew who I most recently had sex with?

‘Hold on… hold on…’

I’m the one who took Stella’s virginity! It was impossible to shout loudly in the middle of the Vatican.

Of course, apart from holding back, managing facial expressions was not easy. The faces of the Paladins who saw my expression hardening in real time also became contemplative.

“Haha. Everyone, relax your expressions. As you said, it would be a big problem if my impurity were to spread to the saint.”

“Huh? That’s not what I meant…!”

The paladin who stopped me from shaking my hand in response to a single word from me was like telling a saint that he was impure.

This time I didn’t really apologize for my tone. It’s true that it’s a sarcastic comment on purpose.

“It was nice to meet you. Holy woman. Well then, Wayne, let us wait for the Pope as scheduled.”

“Yes. Are you at least praying during this time?”

“You upload it alone. I have to wash away the impurities, so I’ll at least do face-wall training.”

Mac once again. I thought I would end up disappearing if I continued, so I decided to stop here.

However, the faces of the Paladins who did not know my true intentions became increasingly white.

It was the saint who cleverly resolved this awkward atmosphere.

“Hehe! Don’t do that, let’s go together! I was just about to pray!”

Orha held my hand with a lively voice without giving anyone a chance to stop him.

“Umm…?”

Unlike the others who were confused by her behavior, I was confused by something else, because as she got closer to me, even the faint scent of her body odor was similar to Arjen’s.

“,,,Okay. The Paladins will also be in trouble, so let’s just leave it at this point.”

I meant to be moderate in my words and actions, and for the saint to be moderate in her handshake.

“Thank you!”

But it seems the meaning wasn’t conveyed properly, and Orha still wouldn’t let go of my hand.

“Hmm… I feel like I’m missing something. lol. Is it because I haven’t been able to hold hands with my father or brother since I became a saint?”

“……Hmm.”

I felt some kind of pity for those words. No matter how important the position of saint was, I felt that contact with family was not so restricted.

“Don’t worry. We will help you hug your father as much as you want, whether it is your brother or not.”

“Hehe. Thank you at least for your words.”

Orha seemed to think my words were an expression of comfort and laughed lightly. The Paladins probably wouldn’t have taken it much differently either.

Only Wayne laughed at those who didn’t trust me.

“Okay, then, in the prayer room… huh?”

We stopped walking. This is because the Pope and his guards were coming towards us from a distance.

“His Holiness the Pope?”

“May the blessings of the stars be with you! Meet the Holy Father!”

“May the blessings of the stars be with you… All the precious people are gathered here.”

The Pope, whom I met after a long time, seemed a little old. In fact, not much time had passed, so the Pope’s work must have been arduous.

“Mass is already over… Have you heard about our visit?”

In response to Wayne’s question, the Pope shook his head.

“No. I am also a recipient of Stella’s grace. Even if I didn’t see it in person, I could feel the warrior’s divine power, even if only slightly. Since it was the warrior’s visit, I hurried my steps because I thought it might be something important.”

“I should have come to see you sooner. I’m sorry. This is warrior Wayne. And as you said, there is an important matter.”

“I see. Instead of standing here and talking, please go to the living room.”

“Can I attend too? If it is an important issue within the denomination, I would like to hear it.”

When Orha quietly raised his hand and asked, Wayne nodded.

“Of course.”

So, me, Wayne, the Pope, and the saint all moved into the living room together.

Since even the paladins in charge of escort duties were excluded, I no longer had to hide myself.

The Pope seemed to have recognized that as well and greeted me properly.

“It’s been a while since I saw you, Eugene. Did you encounter any inconveniences while coming to Plane?”

“Nothing happened, except that it was a longer journey than I thought… Ah, this just happened, but there was a bit of a problem with the way the saint was treated.”

Orha’s eyes widened, as if he didn’t expect me to speak so openly to the Pope.

“Is that so? Please let us know the problem and we will correct it. Even in the history of the church, it is not very common for Stella to choose a saint, so I would appreciate it if you would consider this with great generosity.”

This time Orha’s surprised face turned towards the Pope. They were taken aback when the Pope, the highest authority in the religious order, showed a more humble attitude than expected, even if the opponent was a saint.

“I heard that even simple contact with men is prohibited due to concerns that it may have a negative impact on the saint’s pure faith. Even family.”

“Yes. We are doing the same as recorded in the history of the denomination.”

“Stella is not the type to reduce or take away her divine power over such trivial things. Of course, there are exceptions to serious things like kissing or sharing a secret.”

The saintess seemed to give up thinking about my words and actions, treating Stella as if she were a friend next door.

“I will tell you straight to the point. It is right to apply the same standards to saints as nuns.”

“Okay.”

The Pope’s attitude of accepting my words without a single word led Orha to finally open his mouth.

“Wait a minute. Uh… Is there something I don’t know about Eugene…?”

I chuckled at his very distant and cautious approach.

Coincidentally, the Pope and Wayne were very cautious about talking about this, so I answered it myself.

“Since there are no ears to hear, let me introduce myself again. My name is Eugene.”

“Yes… right?”

“A god from another world, and also a friend of Stella.”

He didn’t even say that they got together a while ago. The shock must have already been enough for her.

“God…is…?”

Orha makes dumb expressions several times. I couldn’t help but feel fondness for him for some reason as he had a face that looked exactly like Arjen’s and had that kind of expression.

“I am revealing this because I think it would be good for you to know since you are a saint.”

I explained everything about how I had been freely wandering the underworld since then as a god.

I wanted to tell you in more detail if possible, but as it happened, I had other urgent matters to attend to, so I had to refrain from saying anything.

“…Anyway, something serious has happened now. A crazy dragon named Akasha is secretly plotting to harm Stella.”

“Yes? How could that…!”

“I don’t know the exact principle, but I figured out what that dragon was doing. We need to stop it somehow, or at least do a good job cleaning it up.”

“…Is this related to the sinister-looking sword that came to Plane not long ago?”

Wayne and I nodded at the same time to the Pope’s question.

“You already received it. yes. That is also what Akasha is planning. He used it to extort the blood of those who possessed Stella’s divine power.”

The Pope and the Saint’s faces darkened at the same time. Although he doesn’t know what the consequences will be, he must have felt the intention to harm the goddess he served.

“If the magic sword is a threat to Stella personally, then the ‘altar’ that I will talk about later is a threat to all gods, including Stella.”

I told them about the terrible devastation that had occurred in the bandits’ den.

Although he could not bear to describe in detail the scene where the child was brutally tortured and dismembered, he did not minimize the seriousness of the incident in the slightest.

“… So I asked for advice from Prinia, the god served by the elves… The answer I received was that it would be better to honor the souls of those who were tragically sacrificed through the efforts of the members of the church. ”

“Can we humans be of help? It was said that it would cause great damage to the faith that God had.”

“Of course. They say that since it has a huge impact on the gods, humans will not be affected at all.”

I felt sorry that I couldn’t give a definite answer because it was just a story I had heard, but the answer I got back was very positive.

“Okay! I also want to step forward and help!”

However, the person who gave the answer was not the Pope but a saint.

“Saint…?”

“I will personally inspect the altar. Can you guide me?”

Orha showed a confident expression for the first time.

That image reminded me of Arjen again.