TLS 10

Chapter 10

 

The door to the reception room opened at the same time as a door inside Noah’s consciousness.

 

In other words, Noah’s soul had half escaped her body.

 

That was why she barely paid any attention to the two people coming out of the Pope’s reception room.

 

They were an elegant noblewoman wearing a veil and a young boy.

 

Gabriel glanced at the woman and gave a slight bow. Startled by Gabriel’s action, Noah hurriedly bowed as well.

 

The woman glanced at Gabriel and Noah, then bowed in return.

 

The boy behind her looked noticeably delighted to see Gabriel, but he quickly checked the noblewoman’s reaction.

 

There was an unspoken rule among those who met in front of the Pope’s reception room: they did not talk about one another.

 

The woman passed by as though she had no interest in them.

 

The boy offered a more polite greeting before hurrying after the noblewoman.

 

“She’s beautiful.”

 

“She is Marchioness Sylvia Knoller, His Holiness the Pope’s sister, and the young man is her son, Master Allen Knoller.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“She doesn’t visit often, but with preparations for the dragon subjugation underway, I suppose she was worried.”

 

“Ah, I suppose so.”

 

“Shall we go in?”

 

For some reason, Gabriel seemed reluctant to talk about the Marchioness Knoller for too long.

 

“Yes.”

 

Noah followed Gabriel into the reception room. The tension that had briefly faded suddenly rose again.

 

“May I be touched by the hand of grace.”

 

Gabriel bowed respectfully, and Noah hurriedly bowed as well.

 

“May I be touched by the hand of grace.”

 

She was so nervous that she didn’t even have time to look around.

 

“May the blessings of Heaven be with you.”

 

The Pope’s voice filled the room.

 

Noah timidly straightened herself, following Gabriel’s lead.

 

She was curious about the inside of the Pope’s reception room, but she fixed her gaze on her toes, worried that looking around might offend him.

 

“Come closer.”

 

Gabriel lightly tapped Noah on the shoulder.

 

Noah jumped and looked at him before forcing the corners of her mouth upward.

 

“Go closer to His Holiness.”

 

“Yes.”

 

There was no weight attached to her legs, yet every step felt incredibly heavy.

 

“So, you’re the Saintess who will be going on this subjugation?”

 

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

 

At a glance, the Pope appeared to be quite old.

 

“What is your name?”

 

“Noah Kaplan.”

 

“Ah…”

 

Bennier’s eyes subtly shifted toward Gabriel. Gabriel stood there wearing his public smile.

 

Noah Kaplan.

 

She was the priestess Dina Ehrenberg had wanted removed from the Urbas subjugation.

 

There was one other fact Bennier had not told Gabriel.

 

Dina actually cared for Noah very much…

 

‘Isn’t she the priestess Dina said would make a good match for Gabriel?’

 

One reason Bennier had brought up Noah despite knowing he would have to endure Gabriel’s picky complaints was because of what Dina had said.

 

“After this subjugation is over, we need to get Gabriel married. Is he really going to grow old and die alone? What good is being a handsome and capable cardinal if he misses his chance and ends up an old bachelor like Your Holiness?”

 

“Ho ho. Priests cannot marry in the first place.”

 

“Then of course we’ll have to make him quit. Gabriel won’t think about something like that on his own, so I’ll take care of it.”

 

Dina had boldly told Bennier—

 

she had a plan to get Gabriel married!

 

“Noah is kind and gentle, so she’s perfect for someone as strict and stubborn as Gabriel! Gabriel is soft toward the weak, you know. He’ll treat her very kindly.”

 

Because the Pope’s position made it difficult for him to meet other young people around Gabriel’s age, his opportunities to do so were limited.

 

Dina, on the other hand, met many young people through her work as a professor at the Holy Power Training Institute.

 

Bennier knew how much Dina cared for Gabriel, so he trusted her judgment just as much as she did.

 

And so he carefully observed the Noah standing before him.

 

“I hear you possess an extraordinary talent for manifesting abilities through prayers. To think our church has such a precious talent. I can only thank Elohim.”

 

“Th-thank you!”

 

Noah Kaplan was an adorable young lady. Her pink hair and innocent-looking eyes were charming.

 

Judging by how she trembled and could barely meet his gaze, she really did seem to be extremely shy.

 

And on top of that, she possessed powerful holy energy.

 

‘If someone with a weak disposition and an introverted personality possesses too great a power, there will always be plenty of flies who cling to them, and they may even be broken by those around them…’

 

Even if she went along on the Urbas subjugation, Gabriel would properly look after Noah.

 

Gabriel was a principled and upright man who liked supporting people like Noah—awkward but talented.

 

He strongly believed that sincere, capable, and good-hearted people should rise to high positions.

 

He was not happy merely because his godfather was the Pope. Rather, he was satisfied that Bennier was an honest man who devoted himself to preserving the purity of the church.

 

‘There are certainly plenty of things about Noah Kaplan that would catch Gabriel’s interest.’

 

The Pope smiled kindly, like a benevolent grandfather.

 

“Saintess.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I ask that you do your best to protect the peace and safety of the Empire—and of the world.”

 

A person of such high standing was actually asking this of her.

 

“Uh, um… Y-yes! Y-Your Holiness! I-I’ll work, work very hard!”

 

Noah could only answer in a trembling voice.

 

After showing her face to the Pope and stepping outside, Noah let out a sigh of relief.

 

People of such high status really were intimidating.

 

Meanwhile, Gabriel listened to something from a junior priest and then spoke to Noah.

 

“I have some matters to attend to, so unfortunately I won’t be able to escort you to your room. Sir Stockwell, I’ll leave her in your care.”

 

“Yes.”

 

The holy knight assigned as Noah’s escort led her toward her room.

 

As Noah wondered when would be a natural time to speak to him, she stole a glance at Heron.

 

“Do you have something you would like to say?”

 

“I-I’m counting on you.”

 

“Ah, yes. I look forward to working with you as well, Saintess.”

 

Heron smiled pleasantly as he greeted her.

 

When they were nearing Noah’s room, a familiar figure came into view.

 

“Oh? Priestess Rina?”

 

“Ah! You’re back.”

 

Rina greeted Heron awkwardly when she saw him.

 

“Rina, what brings you here?”

 

“I asked His Excellency. I wanted to speak with Noah.”

 

“I see. Please, come in.”

 

When Heron moved to enter the room as well, Rina looked at him with an uncomfortable expression.

 

“I, um… I’d like to talk with her alone. There might be… well, some personal things we need to discuss. If necessary, you can search me. I don’t have any weapons.”

 

Rina even spread her arms to demonstrate.

 

Perhaps the sight was a little ridiculous, because Heron burst out laughing.

 

“I won’t intrude on the two of you. I’m not so ignorant that I can’t distinguish between friend and foe.”

 

Heron opened the door for her, and Rina gave him a slight bow of thanks.

 

“If you need anything, call for me.”

 

“Yes.”

 

The two young ladies entered the room somewhat awkwardly.

 

Noah placed the cookies she had brought from Soal onto a plate before handing Rina a cup of coffee.

 

“What brings you here?”

 

“Well… You don’t really want to be the Saintess, do you?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Noah closed her mouth, wondering if it was really all right to say something about a matter that had already been decided.

 

“His Excellency asked me about it. He asked whether, if you really didn’t want it, I could take on the role of Saintess instead.”

 

“Oh.”

 

So what she had said back then really had been sincere.

 

“But… as you know, I can’t even manifest abilities through prayers.”

 

Rina fiddled with her teacup as she spoke.

 

“Noah, actually, if I had manifested an ability, I wouldn’t have refused the position of Saintess. It’s a position where I can go out with a handsome cardinal and a handsome holy knight by my side. How could I pass that up?”

 

“Um… Didn’t you say it was better to admire handsome men from a distance?”

 

Only a day ago, Rina had given an entire speech about handsome men, explaining that keeping an appropriate distance and observing them was the most comfortable and pleasant way to live.

 

“Forget the person I was in the past.”

 

Something about Rina’s words seemed strange, but Noah simply smiled.

 

“I had a feeling when your holy power manifested.”

 

“Yes?”

 

What kind of feeling could she possibly have had?

 

“This is the birth of a true empress! The flower of the church! The Aria Empire now has a Saintess blessed with the ability, intelligence, and beauty to stand against Princess Kiria of Entria!”

 

Noah nearly spilled the coffee she was drinking.

 

What on earth was she talking about?

 

“My ability, intelligence, and beauty?”

 

To be honest, Noah did think of herself as ‘a small-town beauty of a priestess blessed with a small but precious ability.’

 

But a Saintess so exceptional that she could be compared to a princess…

 

‘Isn’t that going a little too far?’

 

“It’s difficult to imagine anyone other than you as the Saintess.”

 

Rina took Noah’s hand, nodded firmly, and gazed at her with passionate eyes.

 

She hadn’t been like this yesterday.

 

She hadn’t even been this enthusiastic when Noah first manifested her prayer ability.

 

Why had Rina suddenly started acting like this?

 

“Only you can represent our church and defeat the dragon!”

 

That wasn’t true. Gabriel and the holy knights were the ones who were supposed to defeat the dragon, after all.

 

But Noah couldn’t bring herself to stop Rina, who was getting more and more worked up, so she simply stared blankly at her.

 

“It’s not because I dislike being the Saintess.”

 

“……”

 

“It’s simply because I think the role suits you so perfectly, Noah.”

 

That was what she said…

 

But somehow, it felt strange.

 

Wasn’t Rina worried that the role of Saintess might actually end up being given to her?

 

“There are just so many wonderful things about you, Noah. First of all, look at that adorable face! That sweet, ice-cream-like pink hair! Those jewel-like eyes! You probably never even had the chance to dress up properly because you were a priestess!”

 

“Ha-ha…”

 

“Once you become a Saintess, your beauty will shine even brighter, won’t it? Becoming an even more beautiful version of yourself! Aren’t you excited?”

 

“W-well, I’m not sure.”

 

“You’ve never wanted to try on a pretty dress?”

 

“I have, but wouldn’t a fancy dress be uncomfortable to wear…?”

 

The moment Noah said that, Rina quickly changed the subject.

 

“And that’s not all. You’ll be right beside His Excellency the Cardinal! You’ll be able to admire a handsome man! Up close! Officially! Without having to worry about keeping your distance! How could you pass up such an opportunity?”

 

“Hmm…”

 

On that particular point, Noah couldn’t help but nod.

 

As someone who had grown up in the countryside, Noah had never seen a man as handsome as Gabriel.

 

The holy knights were all handsome too.

 

There were so many handsome men here that would have been rare sights in her hometown.

 

And among them, Gabriel was unquestionably the most handsome.

 

“Once you’re officially proclaimed the Saintess, all those handsome men will be yours!”

 

“That’s not right, is it? Just because I’m the Saintess doesn’t mean I can own people like they’re objects…”

 

“Once you’re proclaimed the Saintess and take part in the Urbas subjugation, you’ll be able to temporarily wield His Holiness the Pope’s authority. The world will be yours.”

 

“……”

 

Noah stared at Rina with her mouth hanging open.