“These are tea leaves picked in the Vasili region. They have a good aroma and a subtle sweetness, so they are very popular. They are good, so please try them.”

 

‘Thank you, Bishop.’

 

“I will drink this sloppy tea since you gave it to me Bishop.”

 

I live every day thinking about shutting Lucy’s mouth, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way as much as I did today.

 

Johan is such a bothersome person to make an enemy of, so I don’t want to provoke him, but when the Mesugaki skill forcibly pressed the provocation command, it felt like a hole was being made in my stomach in real time.

 

It’s fortunate that I didn’t show my nervousness because of the Mesugaki skill.

 

If the skill hadn’t adjusted, my hands would have been shaking by now.

 

I took a sip of the tea as the bishop had recommended.

 

It definitely seemed like good tea, but the atmosphere in the room was too heavy for me to properly taste or smell it.

 

“Young Lady, first, can I check if you really lifted the curse of Agra?”

 

‘Yes, do as you wish.’

 

“That’s what I came here to do. Hurry up.”

 

“Then excuse me.”

 

Johan closed his eyes and muttered something in a language I couldn’t understand.

 

Several magic circles appeared around me.

 

They all glowed with a soft white colour, and inside the magic circles were geometric patterns that an ignorant person like me couldn’t even figure out what they meant.

 

According to what I learned while taking Harne’s class, each pattern on the magic circle had a meaning.

 

How many meanings could this complex magic circle contain?

 

As I was admiring it, the magic circle that had been moving around me suddenly disappeared.

 

“You really did remove the curse of Agra.”

 

I heard a gasp from behind Yohan.

 

It must have belonged to the priest assisting him.

 

“If it’s not rude, may I ask how you did it?”

 

‘Of course.’

 

“Do you want to hear it? Haha. Okay. Since you seem so desperate, I’ll tell you.”

 

I had been thinking about how to say it while walking here.

 

The only thing I’m worried about is how my words will be translated.

 

Today, the Mesugaki translation was being unusually aggressive language.

 

“I received a revelation.”

 

“Are you saying that you heard the word of God?”

 

Instead of answering, I took out the mace that I had put in my pocket and returned it to its original size.

 

When the mace suddenly popped out of my empty hand, Johan raised his eyebrows slightly, and the priest accompanying Johan hurriedly ran to Johan’s side and used protective magic.

 

Did he think I would break Johan’s head?

 

I know that Lucy’s karma is not light, but this is a bit rude.

 

It’s treating a noble lady like a terrorist.

 

My frown was almost the same as Johan’s loud voice.

 

“Father Felkin, what kind of rude behaviour is this? Please withdraw the magic quickly.”

 

Those firm words held more power than mere words.

 

The priest seemed to realize his mistake and quickly withdrew the magic and bowed his head.

 

“I’m sorry, Bishop and Young Lady Lucy Allen.”

 

If I were to use this as an excuse to nit-pick, I could turn the conversation around, but if I did, Lucy would probably say something harsher than I imagined.

 

Hmm.

 

Let’s be lenient this time.

 

It’s not a relationship that will last a day or two anyway, so let’s just consider it a debt.

 

‘This weapon is Ruel’s Mace.’

 

“Even you, the idiot bishop, know what this is, right?”

 

“… This is the mace of Ruel, the one who has been designated as a saint?”

 

‘It’s true.’

 

“Does it seem like a lie?”

 

“If it’s not rude, can I take a look?”

 

When I obediently handed him the mace, Johan carefully accepted it as if he were handling a valuable item.

 

Then he began to examine it here and there as if he were appraising a piece of jewellery.

 

Even at a glance, it didn’t seem like it would be over in a short time.

 

The moment I picked up my teacup while waiting for Johan to finish his appraisal, the old man spoke.

 

<Young girl, I’ve been designated as a saint?>

 

‘You didn’t know?’

 

<You never told me!>

 

Of course, I thought you knew.

 

All the heroes who fought to save the world two hundred years ago were designated saints after death.

 

Even a child would know this, so I didn’t think Grandpa wouldn’t know.

 

<I’m a saint, it’s surprising and bit much to take in.>

 

‘You saved the world, so isn’t that a given?”

 

<Huh. I didn’t think you’d say something like that.>

 

‘Huh? Why?’

 

<Because you’ve never respect me.>

 

What are you talking about!

 

I’ve treated Grandpa well!

 

I can say a lot of bad things, but I still think of him as a hero!

 

Since I know the story of the game, I know how painful and arduous the path Grandpa walked.

 

“It looks genuine, how did you find it? Ruel’s Mace disappeared a long time ago.”

 

I was bickering with Grandpa, who told me to respect him more, when I heard Johan’s voice and came back to reality.

 

‘I told you…’

 

“Didn’t I tell you? I received a revelation. No matter how old you are, it would be difficult if you forget what I just said.”

 

Was the shock from Ruel’s mace too much?

 

Despite my occasional provocations, Johan listened to my story quietly.

 

It was good that I showed him the mace in advance.

 

If not, my voice would have gotten louder.

 

That’s how harsh the words translated into Mesugaki were.

 

When I told him about overcoming Ruel’s ordeal and the story of the curse in Evans Village, Johan stiffened his lips for the first time.

 

He seemed serious, but that was different.

 

The fact that he was serious meant that he was willing to talk with sincerity.

 

“You found the hidden ordeal and used the potion you obtained there to cure the curse.”

 

“You can’t do that without a revelation, right?”

 

“It sounds like a tall tale, but I can’t deny it now that the real thing is right in front of me. I’ll believe you.”

 

As he spoke, Johan took out a box from his bosom and placed it in front of me.

 

When I asked if I could open it with my eyes, the bishop nodded.

 

Inside the box was a cross made in the shape of a necklace.

 

The splendid white cross made of silver was exactly as I had seen it in the game.

 

The symbol of the Lord’s Church.

 

Back when Soul Academy was a game, it was an item that increased the favourability of people related to the Lord’s Church and increased the character’s luck stat.

 

Even now that it has become reality, the effects are probably being applied similarly.

 

Since Lucy’s reputation is in pieces, even if favourability increases, there won’t be a dramatic change, but it’s better than nothing.

 

More importantly, the effects of this item will become stronger every time I cure the Curse of Agra.

 

There will come a day when I can overcome her bad reputation.

 

I thought so as I put on the necklace.

 

…

 

Decades had passed since he chose the path of a priest against his family’s opposition, but Johan Viera still had difficulty understanding God’s will.

 

That rascal, Young Lady Allen, was receiving revelations from God.

 

What was God thinking?

 

He knew about the young lady named Lucy Allen.

 

Originally, John, who should have been working in the Holy Land, came to this church because of Young Lady Allen.

 

It was a few years ago.

 

At that time, Young Lady Allen would visit the church every day and make a fuss.

 

She blasphemed God.

 

She cursed at the priest.

 

She used violence, and she threatened the believers.

 

If the person they were dealing with had been a normal noble, the power of the main church could have been used to suppress her, but Lucy Allen was not an opponent like that.

 

She was someone that Benedict, the Iron-Blooded Knight, cared about.

 

If things got messed up and  incurred Benedict’s wrath, the main church would be in a difficult position.

 

That’s why Johan Viera was dispatched.

 

Coming from a family with high titles and holding considerable status within the church, he was the right person to solve the problems of the Allen church.

 

As soon as he was dispatched to the Allen church by order of the Pope, he tried to resolve the problem by negotiating with Benedict Allen.

 

In fact, it was more of a threat than a negotiation, but anyway, the problem was solved, so there was no problem.

 

Several months later, today, Lucy came to the church again.

 

It wasn’t to make a mess of the church like before.

 

She came here to talk about church-related things.

 

To be honest, the stories Lucy told when she came to the church were as ridiculous as saying that dragons don’t know magic.

 

She personally cured the curse of Agra, which only a cardinal-level priest could do and found the Mace of Ruel that had been missing for over a hundred years and also, received a revelation from God.

 

They were all stories that sounded like something out of a bard’s tale.

 

However, all of them were true.

 

Since the evidence for all of those stories was right before Johan’s eyes, he had no choice but to believe them.

 

“A child who insulted God received a revelation from God. What on earth is Armadi planning?”

 

Johan looked up at the ceiling and said but there was no answer.

 

It seemed like God had no intention of telling him anything yet.

 

“There’s going to be chaos for a while.”

 

The appearance of someone who received a divine revelation.

 

The appearance of Ruel’s Mace, which had disappeared long ago and was being searched for by the church.

 

The appearance of someone who had cured Agra and became the enemy of the evil spirit.

 

None of them were light.

 

“I thought she was worthless.”

 

All of these were related to a scoundrel with a reputation for being incurable.

 

I couldn’t believe it.

 

Wouldn’t there be talk in the Holy Land that Bishop Johan had lost his mind?

 

Johan, imagining how the expressions of those who confirmed that all of this was true would change, snickered and moved his quill pen again.

 

“Come to think of it, Young Lady Allen seemed a bit quiet today.”

 

Had she changed a little after receiving divine revelation?

 

As he thought about that, John recalled Young Lady calling him a foolish priest and shook his head.

 

What difference did it make?

 

…

 

When I woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside, the first thing that greeted me was the message window that torments me every day.

 

[Enter the Academy.]

 

I waved my hand to dismiss the message window and slowly got up.

 

My body was strangely tired.

 

Could it be because I had been riding a carriage for the past few days?

 

I reached out to ring the bell out of habit, but after waving my hand in the air, I remembered that I was not in the mansion.

 

Oh.

 

That’s right.

 

I came to take the Academy exam.