The True Saintess (3)

After briefly comforting Agnes, who had become depressed upon realizing she was the only one who didn’t know (or rather, the last to find out) that I was the Saintess, I began explaining in earnest how I came to recognize my identity as the true Saintess.

“So, Lady Celista and Hero-nim, you both knew from the beginning that Lillith was… no, that Saintess Lillith was the real Saintess?”

“Yes. In my case, I learned through an ‘oracle’ that came after becoming the Hero.”

“I-I also… I found out when I happened to treat Lillith-nim last time…”

Their answers revealed that both had known I was the Saintess even before my official recognition, each from their own perspective.

By the way, in this world, ‘oracle’ was the most common excuse Kyetmajosyegigot used whenever he made future predictions.

The inhabitants of this world only knew Kyetmajosyegigot as a hero from another world-they had no idea this world was actually a game world and that Kyetmajosyegigot knew its storyline.

“But why didn’t you tell me sooner…? No, never mind. Thinking about it, it was probably the right decision not to.”

“Right. As I’ve said before, I don’t care whether Celista is the real Saintess or not. As long as she stays by my side and does as she pleases, it doesn’t matter.”

“H-Hero-nim…”

“That’s why I couldn’t tell you either, Seraphine. If you had pushed Celista away just because she was ‘merely’ a fake Saintess, our journey would have become much harder.”

“I acknowledge that fact too. Even if Celista might not be able to do much as a Saintess, her abilities as a priestess-including her divine power-are outstanding. At least for now, she’s far more capable than Lillith, who has only just become a Saintess.”

Though likely unintentional, Seraphine’s words served as a consolation for Celista, who had always excelled as a priestess, making it easier for me to bring up Celista’s story.

“Yes. And the one who secretly consecrated me to make me a Saintess was none other than Celista-nim. The fact that she risked her own safety to make me a Saintess proves she is far more worthy of the title than I am.”

“Wh-what?! N-no, Lillith-nim! P-please, take those words back…!”

True to her upbringing steeped in church doctrine, Celista was horrified by my blasphemous statement. But that didn’t mean I would stop saying what needed to be said.

“But I truly believe you are more suited to be the Saintess than I am. You’ve been at the forefront of the battle against the demons alongside the Hero, far more than I have.”

“A-ahhh, no… Someone as greedy as me could never be a Saintess…”

“Isn’t that very humanity what makes you more like a Saintess? And…”

“…Anyway, among the people present when Prince Machart’s dark magic was exposed, there was also a demon. That bastard seemed to be fleeing in a hurry, so I was delayed dealing with him.”

“Demon subjugation… You’ve worked hard, Hero-nim.”

Kyetmajosyegigot abruptly cut me off before my explanation could drag on, listing his own achievements instead. Agnes, too, eagerly pointed at herself, emphasizing that she had also participated.

If he meant a demon that had remained in the royal villa, it was probably referring to Ivelin. I would’ve liked to eliminate her too, but we hadn’t planned for it because splitting our resources risked failing to take down Machart.

Ivelin was just a mid-to-high-ranking demon, but Machart was a prince. The difficulty of killing him, the buildup required, and the aftermath were all incomparably more challenging, so we had to focus solely on him this time.

“I see, Hero Kyetmajosyegigot-nim.”

“Plus, the fact that he fled in a hurry suggests he probably realized you were the Saintess, Lillith. If we’d let him go, rumors that you’re the real Saintess would’ve spread among the demons.”

“……What?”

“Not that I’m bragging or anything. Just saying.”

(‘I saved your life, so you better be grateful, Lilgirlchang.’)

“…Yes, I sincerely thank you, Hero Kyetmajosyegigot-nim.”

(‘Yeah. I’m so grateful I could cry, you bastard.’)

After finishing the briefing-including the mental conversation (imaginary)-silence once again settled over the meeting room.

At first, I had been nervous about having to reveal my identity as the Saintess, but now that the meeting was over, it felt like unnecessary worry.

After all, Seraphine had already been convinced I was the Saintess even before I revealed it, and Agnes had also picked up on the atmosphere and accepted it.

Only the six of us here knew I was the ‘true Saintess.’

…And now, they were the ones who would prove that Celista, not I, was the real Saintess.

“Well, at least we know now. It’s a shame that the slim possibility of Celista being the Saintess is completely gone, but now that we know Lillith is the real one, it’s still a gain.”

“…I-I’m sorry for deceiving everyone until now…”

“Don’t worry about it, Celista. I already knew anyway. And for public opinion’s sake, you’ll have to keep pretending to be the Saintess for a while…”

“…No. That won’t be necessary, Princess Seraphine.”

Just as the meeting was about to wrap up, I abruptly cut in, startling Seraphine slightly.

She fixed her gaze on me, tilting her head slightly, and I quietly approached Celista as planned.

“Celista-nim.”

“L-Lillith-nim…? P-please, there’s no need for such honorifics…”

“Tell me, while traveling as a fake Saintess with the Hero, did you ever wish-even once-that you could be the real Saintess?”

“……What?”

Celista’s voice trembled with confusion, unable to grasp the intent behind my words.

Even when I praised her earlier, she had been too flustered to react properly, but now her eyes darted back and forth in panic.

“Wh-what do you mean, Lillith-nim…?”

“Exactly what I said. That I think you’re more suited to be the Saintess than I am.”

“Wh-wha- Th-that’s blasphemy…!”

“I don’t think it is. I believe you are the one who best embodies the will of the Goddess. With your selfless benevolence, unwavering love, and courage to face any crisis.”

“A-ahh, ah, ahh, ah…!”

I used every flowery phrase I could to persuade Celista to accept the Saintess’s power, but the more I spoke, the more panicked she became.

“L-Lillith… no, Saintess Lillith…? You shouldn’t say such things so carelessly…”

“…Lillith, be careful with your words. You might incur divine punishment.”

…Now that I looked around, it wasn’t just Celista who was panicking.

Just by suggesting that Celista, not I, was the one worthy of being the Saintess, Seraphine and Agnes had also grown serious, watching me with concern.

Ethan, too, though silent, was staring at me with wide, startled eyes. …Was this really such a shocking thing?

The only one who seemed relatively unfazed was Kyetmajosyegigot, who, like me, was from another world. So I redirected the conversation toward him.

“What do you think, Hero Kyetmajosyegigot-nim?”

“……Me?”

“Yes. As the Hero who has been by Celista’s side the longest, you must agree that she is the most suited to be the Saintess, right?”

(‘We already discussed this. Help me convince them.’)

“Even if Celista becomes the Saintess instead of Lillith, it wouldn’t cause any problems. In fact, since most people already see Celista as the Saintess, it might even be better.”

(‘I’d prefer Celista to be the Saintess too. It’s the surest way to protect her from public scrutiny.’)

I subtly conveyed my hidden intentions to Kyetmajosyegigot, and his response, though somewhat self-serving, aligned with my goal.

Good. If I could just get the Hero’s approval, Celista’s would follow. Once I handed over my Saintess powers and qualifications to her, I could finally enjoy a leisurely solo life in this world…

“As expected, Hero-nim agrees as well.”

“I don’t just ‘agree’-I ‘hope’ for it.”

“In that case, Hero Kyetmajosyegigot-nim, if it were possible for me to transfer my ‘qualifications as the Saintess’ to Celista-nim, what would you think?”

“L-Lillith, the Saintess?!”

“Lillith? Are you out of your mind?”

“A-ahh, ah, ahh, ahhh?!”

“……”

Everyone except Ethan jumped up in shock, but Kyetmajosyegigot remained seated, calmly listening.

Since he already knew the situation, I expected him to agree and support me, but his response was unexpectedly lukewarm.

“Hmm, I’m not sure what to say.”

“What?”

“To be honest, I’ve spent a long time working with Celista, but I have almost no memories of working with Lillith. We weren’t even in the same party during last year’s hunting festival, and though we worked together during the Machart incident, we fought separately.”

“…I don’t quite understand what you’re saying, Hero Kyetmajosyegigot-nim.”

“Talking about ‘qualifications as the Saintess’ is already nonsensical, but more importantly, I can’t objectively judge who is more suited to be the Saintess.”

“……”

“Of course, I know Celista is an excellent priestess. But as for Lillith, I still don’t know whether she’s an excellent priestess, mage, or swordswoman. Like I said earlier, I’d prefer Celista to be the Saintess since we’ve worked together for so long, but I don’t know enough about the other candidate to make a judgment.”

What the hell?

He’s not wrong, but why bring this up now?

Wasn’t it already decided that I’d transfer my Saintess powers to Celista? Why is he suddenly acting like this?

As my head throbbed with frustration, someone abruptly cut off Kyetmajosyegigot’s excuses.

“So what you’re saying is, perhaps Lillith, you…”

“…So.”

“……”

“Are you now saying you intend to take my Lillith away from me too?”

Ethan’s icy voice cut through the air as a blue aura flickered around him.

His piercing gaze locked onto Kyetmajosyegigot, radiating pure hostility.