Taming the Evil Saintess

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The tense situation almost escalated, but Ophelia’s declaration and the timely appearance of Blackie brought it swiftly to a close.

Commander Urdin retreated with his soldiers, stating that a letter would be sent after discussions within the national church. No cleric opposed Ophelia becoming pope, as none had enough influence to do so. From the moment Ophelia made her declaration, her words effectively became the papal statement.

“…”

At this point, there was no turning back.

Ophelia had declared herself the pope who would rule over the cathedral before the national church’s holy knights. Though it was meant to diffuse the situation, it was already too late to take back what was said.

“I’ve been cornered into becoming the pope,” I said.

“…Are you okay?”

I assessed Ophelia’s condition. Her shoulders seemed too frail to bear the weight of the cathedral. It appeared she understood her own predicament, letting out a deep sigh.

“I’m fine. I was prepared for this. I kinda knew it would come to this.”

It was Ophelia herself who had resolved to become pope. After spending some time in the upper audience room, we consulted, and she willingly decided to become the leader of the cathedral. Naturally, I had desperately tried to dissuade her.

Yet Ophelia smiled, lightly tapping my cheek, saying:

“I know. You were rushing to end this to keep me from having to deal with it. Leaving Blackie behind was all part of that, too.”

“But why…”

“Why? I just told you.”

“…”

“I only need you.”

How could I refuse when she said that? Suddenly recalling her earlier touch, I awkwardly brushed my face.

At any rate, the situation was settled. Cathedral Knight Rowan declared Ophelia as the next pope, gathering the demoralized knights to eradicate the demons hidden throughout the cathedral, while Azar and Cecilia, leading the Black Eagle Mercenary group, seemed to be tending to the casualties. Finally, Albrecht took off to search for the Hell Duke, who might still be lurking around.

This meant we were the only ones here.

[Kiing.]

Ah, right, there was Blackie. Ophelia gently stroked Blackie’s back with a warm smile. The little guy, sprawling out as if the impressive display from earlier was all just an illusion, basked in the sunlight.

To my surprise, dawn was breaking at that moment.

“Hey.”

After a while of petting Blackie, Ophelia looked at me. As sunlight shone upon her, her white hair shimmered like radiant silver.

Seeing that brilliance, akin to milk mixed with a handful of silver powder, made me tilt my head.

“…So, uh.”

Ophelia turned her head sideways, as if to hide her reddening face, and scratched her cheek.

“Please take care of it.”

“…”

I stared at her, trying to gauge her thoughts, but kept my lips tightly sealed. My body trembled slightly as Blackie let out a soft huff, as if laughing at me.

I quietly watched, unable to help but smile a little.

“Aren’t you saying this a bit too late?”

“…I mean! I’m saying it now, aren’t I? If you had confessed sooner, none of this would have happened!”

“Hmm?”

As I drawled my words, Ophelia couldn’t hold back her embarrassment and shouted louder.

“And also! If you had really listened to me during the Fireworks Festival, at the time when I was completely out of it…!”

“At that time?”

“…Timing…”

“What do you wish I had done?”

Seeming to realize how embarrassing it was to say, Ophelia’s head bowed slightly.

[Kuoo.]

Blackie let out a small roar as if scolding me for putting her in such an awkward position. Unable to endure the teasing, I chuckled softly and reached out my hand.

“Anyway, please take care of me too, Ophelia.”

“…You jerk.”

Saying that, Ophelia didn’t take my hand. Instead, she collapsed into my arms like she was falling.

*

“So these are the artifacts left behind by that Billy guy, right?”

A full day passed. During that time, the situation in the cathedral was roughly managed, and we finally had time to rest. The next day, we gathered at a table to check the artifacts left by the Hell Duke.

“…This is an item that went missing from the Ridensstein Treasure Vault. How did it end up in Derabilice’s hands?”

Though Albrecht went out searching for the Hell Duke, he returned empty-handed but had taken an interest in the artifacts he left.

Especially regarding the amulet boasting the best performance for swordsmen—the Sword Saint Amulet or something like that—he tilted his head in confusion.

“Could they have been taken by possessors?”

“That might be the case.”

“Anyway, as it’s something related to your family, it should be yours.”

Handing the amulet to him, Albrecht accepted it this time without refusal. We distributed the remaining items. After giving one each to Erwin and Emily, I pulled out the last remaining ring.

I recognized it was not a high-grade artifact. It was a mana management artifact usually given to mage-type supporters. I thought of giving it to Emily, but she had already received something.

More importantly, since Ophelia had shown signs of struggling with her holy arts in the last fight, I intended to give it to her.

“Ophelia, show me your hand.”

“Uh, okay.”

Ophelia shyly extended her left ring finger.

“…No, you have the Star of Dawn Ring on that one.”

“W-Well then, I can just switch it to another finger!”

Ophelia slyly removed the Star of Dawn Ring. Then, after clearing her throat, she held her hand out again.

“…”

I stared quietly at that finger, then scanned the surroundings.

The attention felt scorching. Especially Emily, who seemed to have an abundance of questions she wanted to ask.

“Mind your own business. Don’t snoop around.”

That didn’t even register. Instead, Barton seemed to be trying to say something, which Laila stopped by hitting him on the back of his head.

Regardless, once I slipped the ring onto Ophelia’s finger, she smiled contentedly and began to wave her hand.

“I’ll cherish it.”

“No, it’s not something that valuable. If something better comes along later…”

“Later?”

Ophelia retorted, and I fell silent.

Whack!

That was the sound of Barton trying to blabber again, only to be shut down by Laila.

“Well, this seems to suffice.”

The last item left was Derabilice’s glasses, but they didn’t exactly have any useful abilities. They could fix poor eyesight and capture the subtle flow of mana, but honestly, sensing mana was something everyone here could do.

In the end, they were basically just a fashion item, but I had completely forgotten that there was someone here who would go crazy over glasses.

“This is mine.”

Ophelia used her unique trait of pilfering, and we made no effort to stop her.

Wearing the glasses, Ophelia grinned, and the mischievous smile captivated everyone’s attention, making me merely shrug my shoulders.

“Looks great, just great.”

Unable to hold back, Barton chimed in.

Thus, the item distribution disguised as a meeting came to an end, and it was time to figure out how to operate the cathedral and tackle the tasks laid before the newly appointed pope, Ophelia.

“Well, I’ll just tell Old Man Belwin about that.”

Ophelia’s unmistakable indifference made it so we couldn’t arrive at any significant conclusion.

We ultimately decided to end today’s session and focus on recovering from our fatigue. Emily set off to bring the captured necromancer, Rachel, from the underground catacombs to the Magic Tower City, Shadowhold, while Albrecht seemed to want to interrogate the two possessors he had caught.

“How’s it going, Azar?”

“I’m better than you, Elliot.”

Azar seemed to show signs of fatigue, possibly from the possession.

But as long as he wasn’t completely overtaken, it was something.

I encouraged him by patting him on the shoulder a few times before heading up to the second floor. While there had been blood and marks, the half-sliced throat must have inevitably left some exhaustion.

I planned to take a quick nap, but…

“Mmm, ugh.”

As soon as I laid my eyes upon Ophelia pacing in front of the bedroom door, it felt like ice water splashed on my face, and my mind snapped to attention.

*

The next day, as I stepped downstairs feeling refreshed, Azar greeted me with a haggard expression.

“Still not feeling well? It seems like the aftereffects of possession. How about checking with Emily once she gets back?”

Although I spoke with concern, Azar shook his head, indicating that was not the problem.

“I didn’t get a wink of sleep.”

“Why?”

“Well, I thought the inn room was collapsing.”

“…What?”

I narrowed my eyes, and Azar grinned as if I were the culprit. He let out a deep sigh before revealing the truth I wished I hadn’t had to hear.

“I thought I was hearing dry love, but at night, it was quite the opposite. Saw it again.”

“…No way, did you hear it?”

“Too much shouting.”

As he spoke, Azar scratched his cheek, wincing with one eye closed.

“Um… I really don’t want to say this, but…”

“Then you don’t have to. Please, just don’t.”

Ignoring my plea, Azar continued.

“Curse words during the act. Why do you use so many of those?”

“Who?”

“Lady Cecilia.”

“Where is that wench?”

“She ran away.”

Damn it.

Shame washed over me like a tide, and I stumbled against the window.

“…Just pretend you didn’t hear anything, okay?”

“Next time, ask Lady Emily for soundproof magic…”

“So, I’m asking you to pretend you didn’t hear that either!”

By the way, Ophelia, who followed behind, was tidying her messy hair while eavesdropping on our conversation and…

“Ophelia, there’s no way your body can fit through that hole.”

She seemed to be acting out the idiom of hiding in a mouse hole.