Chapter 11
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I'll purchase divine power with money.
Chapter 11
"There was a strange noise, so I came to check, and the man who should be in the Prison was rummaging around here! He said he needed to find the remaining money and escape quickly!"
In truth, I had been on stakeout, but since Sess had only just arrived, I shamelessly lied through my teeth.
"Now that you mention it, I did hear that an embezzlement incident broke out earlier today...."
Fortunately, it seemed Sess had been briefed on the day's events, as he swept a cold gaze over Kento.
The wounds scattered across his body and his disheveled appearance made it obvious he'd crawled through some rough place before escaping.
"I also saw that bastard pulling out some kind of pouch from under the counter!"
With solid physical evidence and an eyewitness to boot, there was no way Kento could slip away.
I never imagined that my occupational habits as a detective would prove useful even after being possessed.
"I see. He's been fidgeting since earlier, so I thought he was reaching for a weapon. So that's not it—he was trying to hide something. If you don't want to die, put down what you're holding."
True to his nature as a Sword Master, Sess caught every clumsy movement Kento made and pointed his blade at him.
Unlike me, Kento received the full brunt of his killing intent without AI assistance, and his face drained of all color.
"C-Commander. This is a misunderstanding. You mustn't believe what she says! That woman is...!"
Kento's eyes darted rapidly toward me.
It was clear he was trying to escape this crisis by revealing to Sess, who didn't know my true identity, that I was a fake Saintess.
There was no way I'd let that happen before my eyes.
"Oh! Now that I think about it, he said after the counter came the drawer!"
I cut off Kento's words and yanked open the drawer beside me that held the cutlery.
When I lifted the bottom of the double-layered drawer, another pouch of money appeared, exactly as expected.
"Y-you, how did you...!"
As I held the pouch up triumphantly, Kento gasped in shock.
He'd only searched under the counter and hadn't touched the drawer area, so of course he'd be horrified.
A stupid fake Saintess who should know nothing was laying bare the locations of the embezzled funds one by one, striking him from the front and back without mercy—no wonder he couldn't keep his wits about him.
"Considering the embezzled money found earlier was in a different location, there might be more hidden somewhere else besides here."
There definitely was more. It's just that I couldn't remember where besides here.
So I had to interrogate Kento and make him confess everything.
"Confess all the locations. I can kill you right here and have everyone in the Temple search for them—the choice is yours."
At Sess's unyielding voice, Kento fell into despair.
Now he wouldn't dare breathe a word about my true identity.
With evidence this solid, if he tried, Sess wouldn't suspect me—he'd be furious at what he'd perceive as slander.
"I-I'll tell you everything...."
In the end, he collapsed to his knees and began confessing the remaining locations through streaming tears.
Wow, how did he hide so much money in every nook and cranny of this cramped Kitchen? To waste such talent on embezzlement.
"To think we trusted such a man with preparing important meals."
In total, seven pouches emerged.
He'd hidden them with truly grating thoroughness.
Sess too seemed to have received quite a shock from the endless stream of money pouches, his expression turning incredulous.
Seeing his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles whitened, I could tell Kento's future was going to be very grim indeed.
Afterward, Sess summoned the Holy Knights and ordered them to lock Kento in the deepest Underground Prison.
Along with orders to increase security to prevent another escape and ensure that no one except him and High Priest Airic Dert could approach.
The Holy Knights were shocked that Kento, whom they had locked away, had escaped from prison, and they were astonished once more upon learning he had hidden additional funds. They dragged him away.
Fearing the Holy Knights might see me in the dead of night and cause a commotion, I had hidden myself in a corner with my distinctive hair and face concealed. Only after everyone had departed did I emerge cautiously.
Ses bowed his head to me.
"Thanks to you, we were able to capture him. Without you, we would have lost the money and let the embezzler slip away. I'm truly grateful."
No, there's no need to bow so deeply.
"As a Saintess, catching criminals is only natural."
"...Pardon?"
Huh? What's wrong? Why are you so surprised?
Your expression is even more shocked than when you discovered the head chef you trusted had been embezzling all along.
"Pardon me? Just now, did you say.... You're, you're the Saintess?"
"...?"
Could he really not have known I was the Saintess?
Even if Ses had been away from the Temple of the Sun God frequently due to external duties, there's no way he wouldn't be acquainted with Ordel Kiris, the Saintess.
Though I was wearing plain clothes instead of the Saintess's vestments due to my undercover work, it was strange that someone as observant as him couldn't recognize me just because my outfit had changed.
Besides, Ordel rarely wore formal Saintess robes anyway.
So why couldn't he recognize me?
"Commander!"
At that moment, someone burst into the Kitchen, where an awkward silence had settled.
It was High Priest Airic Dert, who had rushed over after receiving a report from the Holy Knights.
"The head chef escaped from prison and we've discovered additional embezzled funds—what on earth...."
Airic Dert, asking urgently with a flustered expression, soon spotted me and widened his eyes.
"Saintess, why are you here...."
"You, were you truly the Saintess?"
So he really didn't know.
"I didn't expect you not to recognize me, Commander."
"I, I apologize."
Ses bowed his head in panic. Since he still seemed disoriented, I left him be and turned my attention to Airic Dert.
"Actually, I knew Kento would escape and hide here again, so I was waiting to catch him."
"Pardon? You knew that?"
Airic Dert's eyes widened. Ses's reaction was the same.
They seemed even more surprised because I had told them earlier that I'd discovered Kento by chance.
I revealed the truth to both of them.
"Kento isn't merely an embezzler. He's a spy my father, Count Kiris, planted in the Temple of the Sun God."
"...Pardon?"
Both men were astonished. They had never suspected such a thing even once.
"I only learned this when I returned to my family estate recently. I happened to overhear my father and his adjutant discussing Kento."
I couldn't mention what I'd seen in the original work, so I fabricated a plausible explanation.
At least the fact that Count Kiris had planted Kento in the Temple of the Sun God was true.
"I was shocked to learn that the man who always showed me such a stern demeanor was committing such despicable acts behind closed doors."
My hands trembled as though I had suffered some great betrayal.
"To be honest, I've been agonizing over this. Whether I should inform the Temple of the Sun God about this fact, or protect my father's secret."
"...But you exposed Kento's misconduct, Saintess."
I nodded at Airic Dert's words.
"Once I knew everything and returned to the Temple of the Sun God, I began to see what had been invisible before. My father's embezzlement that I was too foolish to notice, the Temple growing ever poorer because of my extravagance, and the children suffering as a result."
I had arranged the narrative somewhat conveniently, but the part about changing my mind when I saw the children's faces as I tried to flee—that much was true.
I was the only one who could solve the Temple's problems right now, so how could I possibly run away?
"I was blind and committed acts I should never have committed. I am truly sorry to both of you."
I bowed my head before the two of them. Even if the things I had done were not truly mine, I needed to apologize.
Only by opening people's hearts could I rebuild the Temple of the Sun God smoothly going forward.
"I wish to apologize to the others as well for what I have done. And I swear that from now on, I will prioritize the Temple of the Sun God above my family."
"What on earth...."
Sess, who had only just arrived at the Temple and knew nothing, fidgeted anxiously.
Unlike him, Airic Dert, whose expression had grown serious, asked me a question.
"Did Count Kiris truly instruct all of this?"
"I can stake the name of God on the truth of it."
In a world where God exists, staking God's name means that much truthfulness. If one were to stake God's name falsely, divine punishment could descend.
"Then why didn't you inform us of this sooner? Why did you try to capture the head chef alone when you knew he was hiding here? Why didn't you tell me?"
Airic Dert asked in a tone full of suspicion.
I shrugged and answered.
"Because without evidence, you wouldn't be able to trust my words completely. So I decided to inform you only after securing definitive proof."
This was also why I hadn't revealed during the day that Kento was Count Kiris's spy.
If I knew too well where Kento had hidden the embezzled funds, it would actually be harder for them to trust me.
I could even be suspected of being his accomplice instead, so I waited alone until Kento escaped from prison and came to find the money by himself.
An unexpected variable named Sess had occurred, but in any case, I had succeeded in my plan by capturing Kento as he searched for the money.
Ah, the exhilaration of catching a criminal exactly according to plan really is something special.
"You thought I wouldn't trust you, Saintess?"
Of course. If I, a fake saintess and daughter of Count Kiris, were to expose the embezzlement committed by the Count before anyone else, they would certainly believe it.
Especially since I had been causing all sorts of trouble in the Temple until just recently.
"Though I unexpectedly received help from the Holy Knight Commander, I still captured Kento well, so please trust me a little now."
I smiled brightly at Airic Dert.
Of course, they wouldn't completely trust me based on just this one deed.
Still, it would be enough if they didn't obstruct my path as I worked hard to earn money for the Temple of the Sun God going forward.
Trust could be built slowly, after all.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org