I was certain I must have misheard. The words the priest used to describe another clergyperson were far too vulgar.

Sure, on Earth, pastors and ministers have often engaged in unspeakable acts, but that’s Earth.

For a priest who seemed to have spent years devoted to their calling, to speak of a colleague in such a crass manner—it just didn’t add up.

"…Is it really appropriate for you to say such things?"
"Excuse me…?"
"Well, just now you mentioned… a, uh, well-endowed clergywoman…?"

Hearing my words, the priest widened his eyes in shock, waving his hands as if trying to dismiss an outrageous accusation.

"Brother? When did I say such a thing? All I mentioned was the lovely and angelic Saintess with her radiant, divine smile in the neighboring city!"
"…There it is again."
"Excuse me? Brother, it seems you might be having trouble with your hearing. I strongly recommend seeing a doctor as soon as possible."

Watching the priest’s flustered and indignant response, I couldn’t help but recall something. The countless people I’d seen acting unknowingly under hypnosis—manipulated by demons, fairy queens, or spirits.

The priest before me gave off a similar impression. As if he were being controlled somehow.

“It’s not severe, just… odd how he addresses the Saintess.”

Still, the manipulation seemed trivial. What could one achieve with such a minor alteration, like changing the way someone spoke about the Saintess? At most, it might harm the priest’s reputation.

And it wasn’t even clear if others were affected in the same way. There wasn’t enough to conclude that the Saintess herself had sinister motives.

"Have you ever met the Saintess in person?" I asked.
"No… Unfortunately, I haven’t. But brother, if medical bills are a concern, we can provide financial aid through our church’s welfare program—"
"I’m fine, thank you. Perfectly healthy."

Having learned what I needed, I left the chapel and tracked down the Saintess’s location. There was a nearby religious city, famous for its faith. It wasn’t even large enough to have a proper name, simply referred to as the "Religious City."

Fortunately, it wasn’t far from E City, so I got in my car and headed there.

“What am I even doing?”

I had sought religion for emotional solace, yet even among the faithful, I uncovered more peculiarities. At this rate, I was beginning to feel like Conan, dragging chaos and mysteries wherever I went.

…No, surely not.

Shaking off the thought, I continued my journey toward the Saintess.

【A Must-See in the Religious City! The Saintess’s Chapel is This Way!】
[Notice: From Here, Expect a 5-Day Wait]

"What the hell is this?"

Driving toward the religious city, I came to an abrupt stop at the sight of an impossibly long line. Parking in a nearby lot, I cautiously approached the end of the queue and struck up a conversation.

A middle-aged woman, her face alight with something bordering on fanaticism, smiled brightly at me.

"Young man, you’re here to see the Saintess, aren’t you?"
"Uh… yes, I suppose. But what’s this line for?"
"What else? It’s to see the Saintess!"
"…This line?"
"Of course!"

I glanced at the queue. It stretched endlessly, so long I couldn’t see where it ended. It was hard to believe it led to the Saintess’s chapel.

What kind of Saintess could command such a crowd in broad daylight on a weekday? And a five-day wait? It seemed people were prepared to camp out for nearly a week just to glimpse her.

I couldn’t imagine any Saintess being worth such an ordeal.

"Is she really worth all this effort?"
"—What?"

The moment those words left my mouth, everyone within earshot turned to stare at me.

The middle-aged woman before me, the man in front of her, the older gentleman a few spots ahead—everyone turned as one.

Even knowing they meant no harm, their collective gaze was enough to make my heart race. For a moment, I nearly panicked.

"Young man, have you never seen the Saintess?"
"No, today’s the first I’ve heard of her."
"You’ve made the right choice! Let me tell you about the Saintess: ever since I started believing in her, my business has thrived, my child got into college, I replaced my husband, my back pain disappeared, and my skin has cleared up—"

The more she spoke, the less it sounded like religion and more like a cult. Yet she continued, extolling the Saintess’s miraculous powers.

In summary, the Saintess supposedly had extraordinary abilities and could grant any prayer.

"What kind of nonsense…"

Was she some spirit-like entity? That would explain a lot, but the claims were too broad. It would mean everyone in this line had prayed and received her blessings. That alone didn’t add up.

Assuming so many people made wishes, wouldn’t their desires conflict? Just considering lottery wins—if hundreds of people wished for the jackpot, there would be dozens of winners every week.

And as far as I knew, no sudden surge in lottery winners had occurred. Which left two possibilities:

Either the Saintess was an actual miracle worker capable of fulfilling individual wishes without conflict—

Or these people were brainwashed into believing their prayers had been answered. Leaning toward the latter, I returned to my car.

Ignoring the protests of those trying to stop me, I got in and made a call to someone likely relaxing at home.

[“Hello?”]
"Hey, what are you up to? If you’ve got time, could you come out for a bit…"

Before long, Six appeared before me, fully made up. With her slightly sweaty forehead and irritated gaze, she glared at me as if to ask why I’d dragged her out.

"What do you want? Calling someone on their day off in the middle of the day…"
"I need your help."
"Hmph—hmph. This isn’t about work, is it?"
"It is, actually."
"…You called me out for work during my vacation?"

Six stared at me in disbelief. But I had no choice. I couldn’t possibly wait five days in line just to see the Saintess.

I quickly clung to her arm, watching Six’s expression grow increasingly sour. As I suddenly hooked my arm around hers, she flailed in surprise, shaking her arm vigorously.

“W-what are you doing? Suddenly locking arms like this…!”
“Activate your ability. We need to get inside now.”
“W-wait! There’s no reason for this arm-locking nonsense…!”

Six squirmed uncomfortably, twisting her arm this way and that, before finally finding a position that felt right to her. The position left my arm tightly pressed against the side of her chest, an arrangement far more uncomfortable for me than her.

But considering I had called her out during her vacation to help me with work, I couldn’t exactly complain about a little discomfort. Moments later, we began cutting the line.

Using the best concealment ability humanity had to offer, courtesy of Six, we easily slipped past the endless queue and into the chapel. Before long, we infiltrated the VIP seats, providing a clear view of the stage where the Saintess was set to appear.

“A church? What are we even doing here?”
“There’s someone I need to see.”
“Huuuh? Someone from the religious world, of all places? And you, a scientist?”

Six tilted her head, clearly puzzled, but followed my gaze down below. Soon, the line of worshippers began to stream into the chapel, quickly filling every available seat.

Even as the crowd grew thicker around us, people brushed past and jostled us without realizing we were there.

While this left me bruised from the jostling, it also meant I had a chance to see the Saintess for myself.

[─Greetings, faithful worshippers.]

At the sound of her voice, the crowd erupted into cheers. With her wings and halo, she looked every bit the part of a real angel.

And yes, just as the priest from E City had said—she was, indeed, well-endowed.

“…You came to see her?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Haaah… Becoming a villainous executive wasn’t supposed to mean doing things like this…”

Six sighed heavily, grumbling her complaints. Meanwhile, the Saintess began leading the congregation in prayer, only to suddenly stop, open her eyes, and fix her gaze directly on us.

The moment our eyes met, her lips curled into a sly smile, as if she could see us perfectly.

“That’s impossible—”

I dismissed it as my imagination and tried to ignore her. But then, the Saintess raised her hand and pointed straight at us.

[My apologies, dear worshippers. It seems we have intruders.]

Shwaaack!
As her words echoed through the chapel, a spotlight shone directly on us.

Even then, I wasn’t particularly concerned. Six’s concealment ability was extraordinary, after all.

But shockingly, the Saintess was even more extraordinary.

[No one can escape the gaze of Him…]

Before her words had even finished ringing out, the thousands of worshippers turned as one to look at us.

Their stares were sharp—piercing enough to make a person crumble under the weight of their collective gaze.

“Uh… uh…”
“…I think we’ve been spotted.”

I broke out in a cold sweat as I stared back at the sea of glaring eyes surrounding us.

Those gazes…
The Saintess had paralyzed us with nothing more than her gaze. It was terrifying.