C201

That night.

In the depths of the Great Temple, in the sanctuary, the secret purification ceremony of the Saint took place.

Additionally, the knights and escorts brought by the Saint closely guarded the sanctuary.

In the sanctuary, the Pope arrived as soon as dawn broke, and Princess Deborah squeezed her temples with a tired look on her face. To everyone, it seemed that things were not going well.

"In the sanctuary, Your Holiness, I am not rushing her, and just in case, could the purification be completed by the 15th of this month?" With a large-scale annual event approaching soon, she tried to hide her nervous expression while asking. The princess pursed her lips for a moment with an expression that had something to say, then closed her mouth.

"In the sanctuary.... Do you have anything to say?"

"Hmm! No."

No? I think she was trying to say something.

"Feel free to say anything! The temple is entirely on the side of the saint. We will spare no support as far as our capabilities allow."

After repeating it, her purple eyelashes trembled as if she were deeply pondering something.

"Then...."

In such a serious atmosphere, the Pope involuntarily swallowed dry saliva.

"Can you help me with healing stones?"

"...!"

The Pope's eyes blinked quickly in agitation at the unexpected request. The healing stone is a mysterious stone imbued with divine power, and not many people know about its existence.

It is a mineral that can only be found in the mines within the Heleia Domain, so it is unknown to the outside world.

The healing stone is monopolized by the temple, and since the amount extracted each year is so insignificant, it is a treasure divided by rank.

"But why does the saint say she needs a healing stone?"

Priests use healing stones to amplify or restore divine power.

However, the immense divine power that the saint showed in the final battle with the devil last time had an effect even in Heleia, which was far from the capital.

It even demonstrated twice the intense divinity of the sun.

To be honest, the saint asking for a healing stone was no different from asking for a mana stone because the dragon lacked mana.

"No way.... Is there a problem with the divine power?"

Suddenly, he thought that Princess Deborah's continued avoidance of the temple's call might have something to do with this. Because this side can ask her to show her divinity.

His head got complicated with various speculations, but the Pope replied.

"How many healing stones do you need, Your Holiness?"

"To shorten the purification time, the more, the better."

The Pope, feeling sorry for the first-level healing stones he possessed, retrieved healing stones from his subordinates and handed them over.

And the next day.

"I need more."

The saint secretly asked for healing stones again.

In the end, on the third day, the Pope had no choice but to take out the advanced healing stones that were in his possession.

"Thank you for sticking to your word that you support me with anything. I guess I'll have to do my best as well."

When the saint said that, he couldn't help but say that it was more difficult to apply than expected, so he just wiped his darkened eyes.

"I'm sure she won't use all the sacred power within the healing stone."

That night, the Pope, who had gone to bed feeling sore for some reason, woke up in the middle of the night, startled.

Boom!

It was due to a loud explosion that suddenly echoed outside the residence.

"Pope! An intruder broke into the Temple!"

In no time, pale priests ran to the Pope's residence.

"Intruder?!"

Bang!

This time, the sound of something collapsing shook the ground. The temple building was about to collapse, so the Pope hurriedly evacuated outside with only his coat on.

"Heavens!"

The Pope was astonished. Not long ago, Priest Maurice, whom he had appointed as the religious leader...

"How the hell did that evil thing break into the temple?! Even though the paladins are closely watching, and they are checking their identities every time they pass through the holy water!"

It was a very peculiar demon. And Priest Maurice, who possessed devil's horns, was being beaten breathless while the saint held him by the neck.

First of all, Isidor didn't like my trip to Heleia. It was because he assumed that if there were remnants of the rebellious witches' powers, there was a high probability that they were in Heleia.

It seems that there is a force stirring people in Heleia.

"Stirring?"

"The saint said that I should consecrate not only the capital city but also Heleia. There is a Grand Temple in Heleia, and it is also the hometown of Saint Nayla.

"Hmm..."

"It seems plausible at first glance."

"Daring to sow public opinion and incite the people..."

"Yes. Maybe trying to find out how this side will react."

"Why?"

"This is just my assumption, but the informant, who knew that the color of the sacred object had turned murky, could have assumed that the princess's condition would not be normal either.

"...!"

"Moreover, based on my experience, witches make good use of the darkness under the lamp."

"The temple is a typical blind spot."

"Yes. It is autonomous territory, so the Empire cannot send troops without a special reason."

"Still, to enter and exit the temple, you'll need to identify yourself with holy water...."

"Nevertheless, it doesn't hurt to be cautious, so never stray far from me."

"Yes."

Still, I wondered if there was a mad demon visiting the temple, but the words of the thought body confirmed Isidor's assumption.

"In the shadows, where there is light, there is also darkness."

"As expected, something suspicious seems to have entered the temple."

He did not refute Isidor's words and even sent subtle repercussions in response.

It's as if a black witch has infiltrated the temple.

So, as soon as I returned to the temple, I quickly hid the rosary, which had been restored to pure white.

Let's continue pretending that there is a problem with the sacred relic.

Let the evil remnants hiding in the temple feel this moment as an opportunity.

In reality, there is a leak in my power, so it will be easier to deceive.

Also, there are two reasons why I kept asking the Pope for healing stones, postponing it with the excuse of a purification ritual.

First, to implicitly reveal that my sacred power is not in good condition.

Maybe the Pope won't try to hide this fact.

The temple had the duality of wanting to get along with the saint but also wanting to dim the saint's halo a bit. Every time a black mage or demon appeared, he responded late and was criticized for claiming that the fake Saint was real.

Even donations have decreased drastically.

As expected, instead of immediately handing over their own high-quality healing stones, the Pope recovered the healing stones from his subordinates on the occasion of the purification ceremony.

And secondly.

To make the hidden remnants nervous.

I thought something hasty would come "here" to surprise me, fearing that it could get its hands on the Pope's high-level healing stones and recover my power.

"It was you. The name... was it Maurice?"

As expected, a suspicious person appeared late at night. Inside the sanctuary, in front of the secret door connected to the goddess statue.

Only the dolls I got from Michelle were left in the sanctuary.

The entrance to the grand statue looked like a sewer cover, so it was also a place where the guards I brought did not stand guard properly.

I actually designated it like this on purpose.

However, short-distance teleportation scrolls with coordinates were distributed to colleagues around the sanctuary. So they could run here as soon as I gave a signal.

This was once my hometown, did you think only you knew the entrance to the secret passage to the sanctuary?

Maurice, who had been looking around with his characteristic distinctive smile, twisted his lips when I approached.

W-wait a moment. Why is it like this all of a sudden? Your Holiness!

Why are you wandering around here in the middle of the night? It's suspicious.

I just couldn't sleep, so I took a little walk....

People like you need to be hit to come to your senses.

As I did with Mia, I grabbed his arm and injected sacred power.

Aaaargh!

It was only then that the corners of his smiling eyes twisted, and horns began to bristle on his forehead as his skin melted.

It seems he could resist the holy water because he is a mid-level demon.

I was amazed inside. Because he was a big shot.

Ughr...! How the hell did you know?

The demon asked, groaning in pain.

It was suspicious from the beginning.

According to Nayla's memories, demons pretending to be human often smiled too much to curry favor.

They don't understand the complex emotions of humans, so they just smile and observe.

But on the day he came to escort me, even though my father looked at him like a venomous snake, he couldn't grasp the atmosphere and just smiled.

Somehow, it didn't seem normal.