I was a bit late in noticing Leo approaching me, holding the priest’s hand, as I was busy examining the system window.

“……?”

“Are you this child’s guardian?”

“……Yes, and?”

The delay in my response wasn’t because the other’s voice was as delicate as if singing a hymn.

Nor was it because the face revealed beneath the dull gray hood was as beautiful as the sacred paintings decorating the temple ceiling.

“The child has asked for a blessing for his guardian as well. Would it be alright if I bestow a blessing upon you?”

It was simply because he was Jusepe Aria Sernadel.

One of only four cardinals of the Holy Empire, and the one who would later become the High Priest ruling all the temples in the Kingdom of Genos.

And the protagonist’s final patron.

I swallowed hard and willingly nodded.

“I allow it.”

My heart felt like it was about to leap out of my mouth.

Not from fear, but from the sheer disbelief at such an extraordinary coincidence.

I had expected his arrival in the kingdom to be months away, yet here he was, on a pilgrimage throughout the realm.

The priests’ pilgrimage meant hiding their rank and traveling to holy sites as ordinary priests, blessing people they met along the way as a form of service.

Naturally, high-ranking priests tended to avoid pilgrimages.

Yet here was a cardinal, wielding such power, willingly meeting people at the lowest levels and personally bestowing blessings.

This was indeed befitting of Jusepe, renowned for his fairness and integrity.

Soon, Jusepe’s gloved fingertips touched my forehead.

I quietly bowed my head without showing any sign of wariness, unlike when I met other patrons.

Among the patrons, Jusepe was the most gentle and had never harmed Belinda recklessly.

……They all revealed her crimes in detail through trials and executed her.

Moreover, I wasn’t the Belinda who had committed all sorts of evil deeds, but rather an extra in modest attire who was unluckily trapped in this village.

It meant I had no reason to incur his hatred.

At last, he began to recite the prayer quietly.

Then, a warm sensation was felt from the fingertips touching my forehead, flowing through my entire body.

Unlike mana, this warmth didn’t accumulate in my hands but flowed right through.

I surreptitiously raised my eyes to observe the cardinal before me.

The words flowing from his well-shaped lips sounded so sweet, as if they were whispers of love rather than pious prayers.

His long platinum hair, reminiscent of dawn light, swayed gently in the waves of Divine Power, and his golden eyes shone brilliantly like the rising daybreak.

And at that moment I felt a certain emotion flicker in his golden eyes.

“It’s done. May God bless you.”

His hand left my forehead.

With his single blessing, Leo’s Divine Power increased by 10, but to be honest, I’m not sure about mine.

At that moment, two children who had been hovering around, observing the situation, timidly approached.

“Priest, please bless us too.”

“Of course. Just a moment.”

True to his reputation of being kind to everyone regardless of status, his personality seemed really nice…

“There’s something dirty on my hand.”

Nice, my foot?

I stared bewilderedly at the cardinal who was changing his gloves after blessing me.

It might have been my imagination, but the nuance was strange.

‘Did he just imply that I was dirty?’

Surely not. Yes, there must have been some misunderstanding.

Still, I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.

Because the emotion that had flickered in his eyes for just a moment was all too familiar.

***

That evening, a letter that arrived at the inn where we were staying clarified that what I had felt earlier was indeed my misunderstanding.

“An invitation to a banquet from the temple?”

“I don’t know how they found out, but it seems they know I’m Blanche. It looks like invitations were sent to several prominent figures staying in the village.”

I answered while holding the bluish-glossy envelope up to the firelight.

This worked out well. If they know about me, it’ll be easier to ask about how things are progressing.

Although the sacred relic has been stolen and only I know about the impending landslide, unlike before, my heart wasn’t so anxious.

After all, didn’t the sacred relic return in <Hirome>?

In other words, this was something that was supposed to happen, and it’s an incident with a predetermined ending of recovering the sacred relic.

And after recovering the sacred relic, the landslide occurs.

I was planning to subtly warn Priest Melio about the landslide at this banquet.

That was my plan for attending the banquet, but…

‘I feel like I’m going to throw up.’

The atmosphere at the banquet held in a small temple at the holy site, was somehow unsettling.

***

“It’s not much, but please enjoy everyone.”

At Jusepe’s words, who sat at the head of the table, shadows fell across the faces of all those seated around the banquet table.

From the start, no one expected a grand feast from a banquet hosted by a priest who should be frugal.

But to think that it was just hard bread, thin soup, and fresh salad.

The lord of the Marchand territory, where Forbes village was located, couldn’t hide his displeased expression.

His attendance today was not only to become acquainted with the high-ranking priest but also to meet Belinda Blanche.

His territory, being close to the north, was a barren land with a short farming season.

So they had been making do with income from logging, but there was one area where an unusually large amount of money circulated.

It was the nobles’ villas formed near the Chavert Forest.

‘We shouldn’t have sold that land like that.’

The Marchand lord’s hand tightened on his fork.

Selling the logged land to the Blanche family for a high price was something that happened in his grandfather’s generation.

Who could have known that a birch forest meant for logging would become such a popular tourist destination?

Because of that, the Marchand family had been in pain for three generations.

And at some point, reclaiming the Chavert Forest became their long-cherished wish.

But that was impossible. It was the Blanche family who had landscaped the Chavert Forest and prepared expensive commercial districts around it for nobles to enjoy.

They had invested a large sum to turn it into a tourist spot, so how could they give it up?

He thought it was a far-fetched idea, but an opportunity arose when the ownership of the Chavert Forest was transferred as the dowry of the Blanche family’s wayward daughter.

‘She surely won’t be able to properly assess the value of the forest.’

Thinking that if he persuaded her well, he might be able to reclaim that land, he had planned to go to the capital to meet Belinda Blanche in person but to think she would walk in on her own like this.

The Marchand lord glanced to his right and immediately lowered his eyes.

‘How can a woman look so fierce?’

His thought that she was just a young girl, famous only in the capital’s social circles, subsided as soon as he saw Belinda Blanche in person.

“Due to an unexpected stay, I couldn’t find suitable formal attire for the banquet. So I hope you’ll overlook my current appearance.”

Belinda, who entered the banquet hall in hunting attire, scanned the audience with a murderous gaze as if her prey were among them.

Although everything she wore was of high quality, to attend a banquet in such attire.

Moreover, her gaze was so fierce that the Marchand lord couldn’t even bring up the mention of Chavert Forest in passing conversation.

At that moment, Priest Melio, who had been quietly maintaining his seat at the dinner table, spoke up.

“The temple has not forgotten the help the lord has given us. If you ever need the temple’s assistance, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“Haha, what help could it be? I only did what was natural. By the way, how did you dare to deduce who the suspect who stole the sacred relic might be?”

At those words, Priest Melio’s gaze turned to Jusepe.

Jusepe, who had been elegantly continuing his meal, put down his fork with a gentle smile.

“We’ve narrowed down the suspects roughly. So it seemed right to explain the situation to those gathered here, which is why we invited you.”

Jusepe’s gaze surveyed the faces of those attending the banquet.

While he clearly wore a warm smile, the Marchand lord was just thinking how oddly unsettling it felt when:

“Well then, since we’ve gathered the suspects here, shall we identify the culprit?”

Screech.

A sharp sound of a fork scraping against a plate was followed by silence.

The outsiders participating in this banquet were Belinda Blanche, the Marchand lord, and the courier belonging to the temple who acted as a communication network for each holy site.

“W-what do you mean by that?”

Jusepe gently answered the pale-faced courier.

“The couriers belonging to the temple move valuable items or information. Along with God’s oath to never divulge what they deliver. But Courier Eden, your Divine Power is so lacking that you can hardly be considered a priest. This is evidence that you have broken God’s oath.”

“T-that’s…! Only the cardinal can confirm the measurement of Divine Power! I don’t know how high-ranking Priest Jusepe on pilgrimage is, but to discuss my Divine Power… This is a terrible slander!”

“Did the Magic Tower instruct you to make such excuses if you failed to steal the sacred relic and ended up being accused as the culprit?”

At those words, Courier Eden’s face literally turned deathly pale.