Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Please Tell Me She Could Control Them

This expedition into the Demon Realm had taken about a week.

In terms of time, that wasn't particularly long, but for some reason this expedition had felt especially endless.

Probably because of those fucking nightmares that came every night.

Fortunately, when I returned to my room at the Order and fell asleep, I slept deeply without dreaming at all.

Apparently the mental and physical fatigue from going a full week without proper sleep had reached its limit, because by the time I came to my senses, morning had long since passed.

“...Ah, I missed dawn prayers and training.”

I muttered blankly while staring at the dazzling sunlight pouring through the gap in the window.

Waking at dawn, praying to the Goddess, then heading to the training grounds to loosen up with some light spear practice. It was a routine I'd never once skipped since beginning my life as a Saintess.

But it was already too late today, and perhaps because I still hadn't fully recovered from the exhaustion, my entire body felt impossibly heavy.

Since things had already turned out this way, I decided to spend the entire day lazing around and resting.

I hugged the soft, fluffy blanket again and burrowed back into bed.

“Hmm... Was the Demon Realm's environment the problem after all?”

After spending a while enjoying the sun-warmed scent of the sheets and their soft texture, I stared blankly at the ceiling and muttered.

The Demon Realm was not human territory, but the domain of demonic beasts and demons. It was a place ordinary humans couldn't enter.

The demonic beasts themselves were obviously beyond what ordinary people could handle, but the greatest problem of all was the corruption caused by the demonic energy saturating the Demon Realm.

The only power capable of counteracting and purifying that corruption was divine power.

That was why anyone entering the Demon Realm absolutely had to bring at least one of the following: a priest, consecrated armor or weapons or an artifact, or a plentiful supply of holy water.

Ignoring that iron rule and charging into the Demon Realm completely unprotected was practically suicide by demonic corruption.

What I'm trying to say is that even though I'd spent the last few years going in and out of the Demon Realm like it was my backyard, it was still that hostile a place.

So having those fucked-up dreams while I was there wasn't really that strange.

Right?

“Yaaawn...”

After spending ages rolling around lazily in bed, I stretched and finally got up. My stiff joints cracked loudly.

I took a shower and stepped out of my room.

First, I went for a leisurely walk near the knights' training grounds.

Captain Vargas's thunderous shouts rang out from far away. Watching the Holy Knights tumble around in the dirt made me think, ‘I used to roll around like that too,’ and for some reason, a satisfied smile crept onto my face.

Might as well watch a little longer. With that thought, I sat down on the grass and idly watched the Holy Knights getting thrown around.

“Saintess! You worked so hard on the expedition into the Demon Realm. Would you like some of this?”

As I sat there, several priestesses approached with bright smiles and offered me chilled fruit juice and sweet cookies.

I spent some time sitting on the grass with them, chatting idly about nothing in particular, before setting off again.

After finishing my light stroll, I stopped by the Order's library, picked out several books, tucked them under my arm, and headed back toward my room.

These small, peaceful days within the Order were my greatest source of happiness.

Every time I enjoyed a day like this, I renewed my determination to protect the Order no matter what happened.

In the original story, our Order was the first to collapse, and pathetically at that.

The Saintess became Cassian's plaything, the Pope was bedridden, and the Holy Knights were a disorganized rabble. But I had absolutely no intention of letting that happen.

Grandpa Pope, who in the original became seriously ill, was confined by Cassian while bedridden, and eventually died alone.

According to the original description, Grandpa Pope grew weaker by the day, lost weight, and eventually even went blind.

I remembered the priests glorifying it as a noble death, claiming His Holiness's faith was so deep that his physical body could no longer contain his soul and was burning itself away, but to my modern eyes, it looked like a textbook case of diabetic complications.

Think about it. Grandpa had once been a warrior and had plenty of muscle, but as he aged and his duties as Pope naturally reduced his activity, he still ate like he was on active duty—everything was high-calorie, greasy, and sweet.

Worse, whenever the Pope lacked energy, the priests would say, “You must eat something better,” and serve him even sweeter and richer food. They were practically killing Grandpa Pope themselves.

So the first thing I did was change Grandpa Pope's diet.

“Grandpa, no more white bread starting today. Eat whole-grain bread. Cut down on sweets too, and eat less meat and drink less alcohol!”

Maybe he'd already realized his health was declining, because when I told him this would help him get healthy again, he followed my instructions without complaint. Now, far from looking sick like he did in the original, he'd maintained a robust physique that rivaled his prime.

Captain Vargas had died in an accident in the Demon Realm in the original. I kept him tied to the temple by using my ‘prophetic dreams’ as an excuse. He looked a little bitter about it, but when I asked, Who'll protect our Order if not you? Are you going to hand the position over to Leonid? he immediately understood and nodded.

And so Captain Vargas was still alive as well, serving as the dependable shield protecting our Order.

The same went for Leonid.

In the original, he was a piece of trash who acted however he pleased, harassed the priestesses, and lived soaked in alcohol. But the current Leonid was different. That was because I'd beaten him until he became a decent human being.

He still got cheeky sometimes, but deep down, he'd become diligent and trustworthy.

My preparations were perfect. There was no way I'd be dragged around by the original story's fate anymore.

“Saintess.”

As I was returning to my room with the books, I heard a familiar voice. I turned my head and saw Grandpa Pope standing there with a kindly smile.

“Ah, Your Holiness.”

“I simply followed my feet wherever they took me and happened upon you, Saintess. How about sharing a cup of tea and some conversation?”

“Sounds good. I actually had something I needed to discuss with you anyway.”

We needed to talk about the strange signs we'd witnessed in the Demon Realm.

Leonid had probably already submitted a report as vice-captain, but that alone wouldn't be enough.

I followed Grandpa Pope to his office. Like his honest and gentle personality, the room was simple yet filled with a warm atmosphere.

Once the heavy door closed and we were alone, I dropped all formality and practically threw myself onto the sofa.

“Grandpa, have you been feeling okay lately?”

“Hoho, thanks to your concern, Saintess, I remain perfectly healthy. If anything, I feel more energetic than I did when I was young.”

There was no one watching us in his office, so unlike outside, I casually asked after Grandpa Pope's health.

Now that I'd confirmed he was healthy, it was time to get straight to the point.

“The Demon Realm has been strange lately.”

“I heard from the vice-captain. You were attacked by hundreds of demonic beasts despite being only at the outer edge of the Demon Realm, correct?”

“Yeah. Almost like someone was commanding them.”

“They moved in perfect formation, as though acting under someone's command...”

Grandpa Pope touched his deeply furrowed brow and fell silent. After a long moment, he spoke again.

“There are two possibilities.”

“What are they?”

“First, demonic beasts from farther within the Demon Realm may have migrated, forcing the creatures on the outskirts outward. It is a phenomenon that does occasionally occur.”

I'd considered that possibility too. But too many things about it didn't add up.

“There were too many of them. And the displaced beasts just happened to attack us? At dawn, when everyone's guard would be at its lowest? There are way too many strange coincidences, don't you think?”

“Then we must consider the second possibility. Although it is one I would rather not contemplate...”

His expression visibly darkened. I instinctively felt I knew what he was about to say.

“The Great Demons of the Seven Deadly Sins, who have remained silent for so long, may have begun moving again.”

The Great Demons of the Seven Deadly Sins dwelled in the deepest reaches of the Demon Realm. If they were beginning to move, it meant the age of peace was coming to an end.

Which was no different from saying that the beginning of the original story was drawing near.

I frowned instinctively.

“I believe the latter possibility is more likely. What do you think, Saintess?”

“...I think that's more likely too.”

“If they truly have begun moving, their first objective will be to destroy the Sectia Holy Empire. Whenever they have moved in the past, they have always attempted to remove Sectia, their greatest obstacle, before anything else.”

I nodded silently.

“The demons' servants or followers may already have infiltrated Sectia's borders.”

“We need to prepare.”

“Indeed. The Council of the Seven Holy Seats will convene soon, so I shall raise the matter there.”

Having finished speaking, Grandpa Pope took a sip of tea to wet his throat.

“Saintess.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know which demon stands in direct opposition to our Order?”

“Yeah. Lilith, the Great Demon of Lust, right?”

Lilith, the Great Demon who bore the Sin of Lust among the Seven Deadly Sins. She was our Order's greatest enemy.

“Correct. Her combat strength ranks near the bottom among the Seven Deadly Sins, but she is a cunning demon who prefers to bring her enemies down from within through meticulous schemes. And the complexity and difficulty of the sorcery she employs goes without saying.”

I frowned at Grandpa Pope's words. Meticulous schemes meant to destroy enemies from within, along with troublesome and unusual sorcery.

In a sense, that made her the perfect counter to my style of simply using brute force to smash apart anything standing in my way, and me the perfect counter to hers.

“Therefore, if that demon has begun making moves, the most likely first targets would be you, Saintess, myself, or the Captain of the Holy Knights.”

“We should be careful.”

Had Lilith been responsible for what happened to the Pope and Captain Vargas in the original? Had she also been behind Beatrice and the Eris Order's downfall?

...I couldn't be sure, but it was worth suspecting.

“Have you experienced anything unusual recently? Even something seemingly insignificant will do.”

“Nothing unus...”

I stopped before saying there was nothing. The nightmares I'd suffered in the Demon Realm came to mind.

“So there has been something.”

Grandpa Pope's sharp gaze settled on my face. After hesitating briefly, I told him only the surface facts while carefully leaving out the specific contents of the dreams.

“...My dreams were pretty rough while I was in the Demon Realm recently. Bad enough that I couldn't sleep at all for an entire week.”

“Hmm... Dreams are one of Lilith's domains. Of course, even a Great Demon could not freely control the dreams of a Saintess...”

...No, please. Tell me she could control them, Grandpa.

“We cannot rule out the possibility that she could distort them to some extent. Of course, even that would likely be possible only while you were within the Demon Realm, the demons' territory. Her reach should not extend all the way here.”

“...Really?”

Grandpa Pope's words reassured me somewhat. In the end, there was a good chance those fucked-up dreams weren't actually my future, but some trick by that crazy bitch Lilith to interfere with my mind.

...Then what about the dreams where I went on dates with men inside the Order or clung to them and acted all cute?

Shut up.

“If you are worried, why not ask the Goddess later? She should be able to give you a clear answer.”

“Got it. Thanks for the advice, Grandpa.”

For now, our discussion about the movements in the Demon Realm and the recent ominous signs came to an end.

“Ah, Saintess. Have you met with High Priest Bartolomew since returning from the expedition?”

“...No?”

My heart dropped at Grandpa Pope's casual question. Why was he suddenly bringing up that old man? I had far too many guilty memories, so I cautiously watched Grandpa Pope's expression.

“He has been searching for you quite desperately. He came to my office so often asking when you would return that I fear he may wear down the threshold.”

“I'm fuck— I mean, this is bad.”

Old Bartolomew was clearly furious about something.

...But what exactly was he angry about? Skipping his lessons? Getting caught asleep in the grass with a thick scripture as my pillow and drool running down my face? Raiding the Order's wine cellar without permission, getting drunk with the Holy Knights, then conducting morning Mass while still half-hungover because I'd gone too far?

...What the hell. There are so many possibilities that I can't even guess which one it is.

“Hoho, it is good to see you so energetic, Saintess, but please try not to trouble that man too much. As his longtime friend, it pains me to see his forehead growing broader with each passing day.”

“Can't something like that just be healed with divine power?”

“...”

Grandpa Pope didn't answer my question. He merely wore a gentle smile that couldn't quite conceal an incredibly deep and awkward sorrow.

“It can't?”

“...”

“My God.”

Even a divine miracle couldn't fix it? A massive wave of guilt suddenly crashed over me.

Because I was certain a considerable portion of that expanding forehead was my fault.

‘I really should stop stressing that old man out so much.’

I said goodbye to Grandpa Pope and left his office, making a firm vow in my heart.

Though I had no idea how long that vow would last.