Chapter 7
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I'll purchase divine power with money.
Chapter 7
"The meals are meager, but surely you were already aware of that. Why are you so shocked today of all days?"
On Ordel's first day at the Sun God's Temple, she had been horrified by the state of the Dining Hall and immediately ordered that all her meals be brought to her room.
For the two years since then, she had never once set foot in the Dining Hall, so she would have never seen what the others were eating.
Yet it was impossible that she truly knew nothing.
After all, it was she who had commanded that the priests' portions be reduced so that the quality of her own food could be elevated.
And yet now she was shocked.
"Could she truly not have realized it was this bad?"
Come to think of it, though Ordel had always committed misdeeds, she had never once laid a hand on the children.
Perhaps she was actually soft-hearted toward them.
Could the saintess truly be changing?
Not merely a passing whim, but genuine remorse?
Rather than the thought that it was impossible, I found myself hoping—desperately hoping—that it might be true.
"...."
Airik harbored the same thoughts.
Ordel, who had suddenly ceased her extravagance and cruelty.
How startled he had been when she even rejected the role of saintess—false though it was—that had once satisfied her vanity.
Yet even that had not been as astonishing as what she revealed today.
For she had grieved upon witnessing the children's meager meals and the desolate Garden.
I did not see tears fall, but it was unmistakably sorrow.
All of this was ultimately the consequence of her own extravagance.
"...Will she try to leave again?"
That would be most troublesome.
The Temple could only continue to exist if the saintess remained—even a saintess prone to cruelty was better than none at all.
Besides, the misdeeds of saintesses and saints were surprisingly commonplace.
The problem was simply that Ordel was a fraud, and the Temple of the Sun God lacked the funds to sustain her extravagance.
If a saintess blessed by the god were to disappear, the other temples would surely seize the opportunity to utterly destroy the Sun God's Temple.
Each temple competed fiercely with the others over the number of believers.
To strengthen the power of the god they served, they would absorb weaker temples, so a saintess was absolutely essential.
"What?! What do you mean the saintess wishes to leave the Temple?!"
Dietrich was horrified upon hearing Airik's murmur.
"No. There is absolutely no reason for that to happen, so do not speak of it carelessly."
Airik, who had no intention whatsoever of letting Ordel go, firmly silenced Dietrich.
Had he intended to let her leave, he would never have endured such humiliation at the hands of Count Kiris.
So by whatever means necessary, he would keep Ordel here.
* * *
"Reward obtained."
Upon returning to my Bedroom, I immediately claimed the quest completion reward.
【The 'Sun Rising from Death' bestows his first blessing upon the user who has become his saintess. Your divine power increases.】
Jackpot!
Golden light poured from the void alongside the System Message, enveloping my body like warm sunlight.
I clapped my hand over my mouth at the Sun God's blessing.
Divine power increased? How much would it go up?
Surely at least 10%, right?
Even that much would be far better than now...!
【Current Divine Power: 5%】
"...."
At a mere 3% blessing, I bit my lip hard.
Right, our Sun God was completely broke right now.
If he could give more, he'd never have to parade a fake like me as a true Saint.
【User's Divine Power has reached 5%. Skill 'Physical Enhancement' is now unlocked.】
"Ah."
Did the Sun God hear me curse?
I was already worried about how to use divine power anyway.
It seems abilities unlock one by one as divine power reaches certain thresholds, so I'll need to build it up diligently.
The problem is how?
"Since I must receive divine power from the Sun God, ultimately there's no way but to increase the number of believers...."
There are two main ways to grow the number of believers.
One is for a Saint or Saint to display powerful abilities and seduce people.
The other is to serve people and demonstrate the god's majesty.
"There's nothing I can do."
It was a dead end from the start.
I'd only achieved 5% divine power, so the first was naturally impossible, and the second was ambiguous too.
The Sun God's domain is healing.
The priests are also specialized in healing power, but the problem is that our god falls short in so many ways that we can't manifest powerful healing.
Our healing is even weaker than potions made by alchemists.
As a result, people naturally sought out alchemists instead of the Sun God's Temple, and we grew even poorer.
"System, is there any way to strengthen the Sun God's power besides increasing believers?"
【Search complete. One additional method has been confirmed.】
"There is?! What is it?"
【Make an offering.】
"...?"
An offering?
An offering means voluntarily giving money or valuables to a god....
In other words, right now, you're telling me to hand over money...?
Wow, you possess a penniless body and now you're asking for money?
"Sigh. I can't take back the money meant for the children's meals, so I'll have to dedicate all the money from selling that blue dress...."
Besides, I'm not leaving the temple anyway, so what's the point of keeping secret funds?
I'll give everything and just focus on building divine power.
Only up to 40%, then.
Since I have no intention of becoming a true saint, protecting myself and unlocking the heavenly secrets is more than sufficient.
In a world like this, what else would a true saint do but fight enemies?
So I'll maintain my role as a false saint to the very end.
"Good, perfect. Then the first thing I need to do before earning money is...."
Cleaning up the Temple of the Sun God's interior, of course.
Specifically, rooting out the corruption that exists even in poor places.
That's my specialty from my days as a detective.
* * *
I returned to the Dining Hall at lunchtime.
I worried people might have a fit seeing my face, but there was no helping it.
Since I'd be living with this face from now on, I'd have to grow accustomed to it gradually.
"...."
"...."
"...."
The moment I stepped into the Dining Hall, a chilling silence greeted me, which shook me slightly....
I steadied myself.
"Welcome, Saint."
At least Airik welcomed me.
Following his guidance, I took the seat of honor and surveyed the table.
The priests, apprentices, and attendants all sat with pallid faces bowed low.
The Maids and servants attending to us wore equally gloomy expressions.
It was an uncomfortable silence, but I maintained my composure steadfastly.
I'd show them—a completely transformed version of myself.
"Here you are."
Airik personally placed the food before me.
It was a single bowl of soup, exactly as I'd requested—the same as everyone else's.
A very thin soup without a single piece of meat.
"...Are you truly certain this will suffice?"
"What could be wrong with it? I'm eating the same meal as everyone else."
I began eating immediately.
Despite its appearance, it was surprisingly delicious.
While Ordel with her refined palate might have disagreed, for someone who'd gone hungry often in her past life, this was a deeply satisfying meal.
"It's delicious."
As I continued eating without hesitation, I sensed Airik's relief.
Unlike him, who showed no obvious reaction, Dietrich was staring at me with astonished eyes.
When I even drained the remaining soup straight from the bowl, his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
"Come to think of it, I've been served delicious meals all this time, yet I've never once commended the chef."
Setting down the bowl, I spoke, and Airik's expression turned puzzled.
"Shall I summon the chef for you?"
"No. I'll go myself to check on the kitchen as well."
"Pardon?"
Whether Airik was flustered or not, I rose abruptly from my seat and headed straight for the Kitchen.
Airik and Dietrich hurried after me in haste.
"W-what do we do?"
"Is it alright to just leave things as they are...?"
Worried voices drifted from behind me.
They must have thought I was going to find fault with the Kitchen for no reason, but just wait.
They'll be shocked beyond measure soon enough.
Bang!
As I threw open the Kitchen door, the head chef Kento with his unkempt brown beard and the servants working there turned to stare at me with startled eyes.
"My, w-what brings the Saint and the High Priest to such a humble place...."
"It's nothing serious. I simply found today's meal prepared by the head chef so satisfactory that I thought I'd offer my commendation."
That...? Could it be that he's delivering a highly veiled criticism because the soup was subpar...?
At my words, everyone's true feelings were laid bare across their faces.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org