After hearing his story, I felt a shock as if someone had struck my head.

“A monster is sealed there?”

“It’s likely to be a large monster. The remains of saints often contain divinity themselves, so tombs like this sometimes act as seals for monsters.”

“And now that seal is about to break?”

“It’s in such a precarious state that the monster could awaken as soon as tomorrow.”

‘Ah, this is it.’

This was the cause of the landslide.

At last, the reason for the future I knew seemed to be taking shape.

‘But why has the seal suddenly weakened?’

It was strange that the seal, which had been intact until now, had suddenly weakened unless the saint’s remains had been damaged.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, I remembered the stolen sacred object.

It was the only change different from before.

‘Wait a minute, so in the original future, does the sealed monster awaken and cause a landslide?’

If so, there’s something odd about this.

In the future information I know, I’ve never heard of a large monster rampaging around this area.

That means someone must have dealt with that large monster.

In this mountain village, someone who could do that…

‘Of course, Jusepe.’

Jusepe is not just a priest with the power to heal people and support companions in battles against monsters.

He’s a former captain of the Holy Knights and one of the four cardinals who run the Holy Empire, each in charge of law, military power, capital, and doctrine, responsible for protecting the empire with force.

Someone like that might have been able to defeat a large monster somehow, but he couldn’t prevent the village from being damaged in the process.

At last, I seemed to see a way to overcome this crisis.

Although it would mean shouldering a high risk.

After pondering, Belinda quietly visited the temple where Jusepe was that night.

***

No one could know whose mouth the rumor had started from.

But that rumor turned Forbes village upside down like a drop of water splashed into boiling oil.

“Did you hear? The thief who stole the sacred object this time, they say it’s a nobleman from outside!”

“This person is trying to get themselves killed! They’re running their mouth recklessly without knowing how scary noblemen are.”

“No, listen. It’s a story with some basis. Apparently, that nobleman is a notorious scoundrel from the capital. You must have heard of Blanche, right?”

Of course, I had heard of them.

Wasn’t Blanche the wealthiest family in the country?

“It’s said that the young lady of Blanche was famous for getting her hands on anything she couldn’t have by any means necessary. But would a mere nobleman dare to touch a sacred object? So, just like that, swoosh.”

“Swoosh?”

“You know, like that.”

If you examined each part separately, the story didn’t make sense.

But people’s frustrations due to the lockdown were piling up day by day, and they needed someone to blame or hold responsible for this situation.

In that sense, Belinda Blanche was an easy target to chew on.

Her past, spreading through rumors, was so colorful that the whole village had endless topics to gossip about her.

Moreover, when the lord staying in the village casually testified about her, people’s discontent flared up like fire catching on dry firewood.

“She’s a terrifying woman. She dared to shout in front of me that she could buy this entire village if it meant getting her hands on the sacred object, oh my.”

And Belinda’s subsequent actions, like a drop of rain causing a dam to overflow, made people’s dissatisfaction explicitly come out of their mouths.

“Did you hear? That woman’s inn! Apparently, she caused a huge commotion, kicking out all the guests staying there and insisting on using all the rooms by herself.”

“Oh my, oh my. What about Peter? Poor Peter, suddenly losing all his customers.”

“Ah, Peter’s fine. That woman paid handsomely for all the rooms.”

“B-but what about the evicted guests? They must have come from far away to visit the holy site, and now they have nowhere to stay.”

“Speaking of which, don’t you have a spare room at your place?”

Such news of her misdeeds came several times a day, and it reached its peak that evening.

“Father Melio, don’t you think my words make sense?”

Belinda appeared before Father Melio, who had been practically living in the village square, trying to quell people’s anxieties.

Dressed in hunting attire and armed with a pistol, she exuded a terrifying aura like a lioness out for a hunt.

“Pardon? I-I’m not sure what you mean…”

“I’ve been to the temple several times looking for you, and each time you were absent. Instead of coming to find me, you’re lounging around in a place like this, legs stretched out, living the good life.”

“I didn’t know you were looking for me…”

“How can you be so conscienceless as a priest? If I were you, I wouldn’t be able to show my face outside due to the guilt of failing to protect the sacred object. You really have some thick skin.”

Everyone in the square heard those words.

It was natural for indignation to well up.

To them, Belinda was the thief who stole the sacred object.

It was understandable for them to be angry when the thief mockingly asked the owner why he couldn’t protect the sacred object.

But the opponent was a high-ranking noble.

The reality was that they couldn’t voice even a single complaint against her.

Moreover, there was a knight with a terrifying appearance by her side.

There was also a small child, whimpering like a puppy.

Belinda, after coldly snapping at Father Melio, turned around, receiving icy stares from everyone.

She remained proud and unwavering in the face of everyone’s malice.

At that moment, someone rolled a small stone in front of her.

It was a timid yet brave act of defiance.

Belinda glanced down at the pebble that stopped in front of her shoe and muttered as if it were insignificant.

“How petty.”

Those words poured oil on the burning fire.

Someone spoke up.

“You thief! Return our village’s sacred object!”

“Yes, and apologize to Father Melio! Do you know how hard he works for our village!”

Belinda walked on, looking straight ahead, ignoring the people’s resentment.

That’s when it happened.

A voice, louder and more trembling than any other, burst out right next to Belinda.

“D-don’t do that!”

It was a child’s voice, causing everyone to stop their outcry and look at the young boy clutching Belinda’s collar.

Leo, with tears welling up in his eyes, argued earnestly.

“Lady Belinda just… has an unfortunate way of speaking, that’s all!”

Leo’s shouted words echoed several times across the square.

In the quiet square, Leo’s voice continued stammering.

“She, she visited the temple several times to see Father Melio, but couldn’t meet him each time, so she spoke that way out of frustration. And because Father Melio is being too hard on himself, she meant to suggest that he should rest a bit away from the temple, mmph.”

Belinda covered Leo’s mouth as he was earnestly defending his master.

“How impertinent.”

She muttered fiercely as she dragged Leo away, still covering his mouth.

“For the crime of speaking out of turn, I’ll twist your whole body so tight you won’t be able to breathe when we get back.”

“Mmph, mmmmph…!”

“Be quiet.”

“My goodness, how can she be so cruel!”

People cursed Belinda for her treatment of her sole ally, but they didn’t understand.

That when Leo returned to their lodging that evening, Belinda held him so tightly and for so long that his face flushed crimson, until he had to plead for release.