***

Less than 10 minutes after leaving Baden’s room.

‘Sea God, do you have some grudge against me?’

I inwardly lamented to the Sea God.

For good reason, as I’d run into an unpleasant ex-boyfriend two days in a row.

No matter how you looked at it, my luck seemed cursed.

“Who are you here to torment now?”

Erik, whom I encountered in the corridor of the Sea God Temple, frowned as soon as he saw me, approached, and questioned me like he was catching a mouse.

However, having just finished a serious conversation with Baden, I lacked the energy to deal with him properly.

“Just visiting a temple official I know who’s sick.”

When I answered half-heartedly, Erik sneered with an incredulous expression.

“So you’ve attacked a Sea God Temple official now, have you?”

What makes this guy more irritating is that he sincerely believes I would naturally do such things.

“Don’t you have a bit of a persecution complex about me?”

“Seems you’ve already forgotten how rude you were to the Saint of the Sky God Temple.”

…That’s true.

But why is this guy still hanging around the Southern Sea God Temple instead of going to Anael… No, wait. Sigh.

Yesterday, after returning to the mansion, I reached a conclusion after intense deliberation.

Though I worried about Anael, I decided to abandon the notion that she needed Erik to be happy.

Of course, in “Contract Saint,” she suffered because of Friedrich, but that was because she was such a principled and strong person.

‘I’ve even sent a donation to the Sky God Temple this time, so if things get bad enough, she’ll quit and leave according to her beliefs.’

That would completely destroy the original plot, but I couldn’t care less.

I much preferred Anael, my favorite character, living happily over preserving the original story.

Hmm, thinking about Anael, a genuine saint, somehow makes me feel more peaceful.

‘Is there really any need to fight with someone like this?’

I smiled benevolently, embracing the mindset of a pacifist.

“You’re right. I was wrong then. I’m sorry to you too.”

“Ha. That face says ‘I’ve apologized, now get lost.'”

Tch, he’s unnecessarily perceptive in situations like this.

But I still had patience remaining, thanks to Anael.

I maintained my smile and spoke again.

“Erik, as the head of House Schwerin with enemies in the capital, you must have many duties. It’s been quite some time since the ship party, and I’m concerned about when you plan to return.”

My statement was impeccable, both logically and courteously.

I had successfully conveyed the message “go home soon” in a roundabout, polite manner, and yet.

Erik, whose pretty face seemed inversely proportional to his character, mockingly replied.

“When am I returning? Not until you show your ugly true colors again.”

I was speechless with astonishment.

‘What is this madman saying?’

He has nothing better to do?

‘This guy, am I just an excuse, and he actually came because he doesn’t want to work?’

Just as this hypothesis was strongly convincing me.

“Saint~!”

A cheerful voice called from behind me.

‘Oh, d*mn it.’

I touched my forehead, sensing the situation was about to get more complicated.

“I didn’t know you were here! If I’d known, I would have come out to greet you somehow~!”

This young man with golden-brown hair and brown eyes was a temple official who normally purified magical energy by following Alua’s traces. His name was ‘Dolos’.

The reason I knew so much about Dolos was…

“I came running as soon as I heard from afar that the Saint had arrived!”

Because since I and Pian rescued a baby seal, he had been acting like a religious fanatic.

“……”

While I silently observed Dolos, who was dripping water from his hair and clothes (having apparently run from who knows where).

Erik looked around and frowned slightly.

“Where is this Saint you’re referring to?”

He had reason to ask. There was no Anael in sight, only me, Erik, and Dolos.

“Hmm? Ah, yes. I am Temple Official Dolos. May the Sea God’s blessing be upon you, visitor~!”

As Dolos, though somewhat frivolous, properly greeted him, Erik reluctantly returned the greeting.

“I’m Duke Erik Schwerin. But who exactly is this Saint you mentioned…?”

“Ah! So you’re Duke Schwerin~! More importantly, the Saint is… right here, before your eyes!”

At Dolos’s gesture of spreading his palms to present me with a “ta-da,” Erik blinked.

Unfortunately, the person Dolos was indicating didn’t change just because he blinked.

“…Who exactly are you calling a Saint right now?”

“Why, Lady Rabius, of course~!”

I’m certain Erik wouldn’t have been so horrified if Dolos had pointed to himself.

“You must be out of your mind.”

“Such remarks are disrespectful~!”

Sensing that Dolos, who was shaking his head with hands on his hips, wouldn’t be reasoned with, Erik’s fierce gaze turned to me.

“Ha… To think you’d be called a Saint. Did you bribe this temple official or make a huge donation to the Sea God Temple?”

“No, I didn’t.”

I calmly shook my head. I hadn’t given any bribes, and the large donation was to the Sky God Temple, not the Sea God Temple.

Regarding the Sea God Temple, I had only made modest anonymous donations to their orphanages.

Meanwhile, Dolos, having heard the question about whether I bought the title of Saint with money, looked even more upset than I was.

“Even though Duke Schwerin is a guardian of divine beasts, you shouldn’t insult the Saint!”

“Guardian of divine beasts?”

As I tilted my head at this unfamiliar term, Erik snapped coldly.

“None of your business.”

“Right. I wasn’t that curious anyway.”

“As if.”

With a snort, he left in disgust.

And though I truly wasn’t that curious, thanks to Dolos, who started explaining on his own, I learned what it meant for Erik to be a “guardian of divine beasts.”

“Well~! Recently, a divine beast Hamesh’s egg hatched in the southern territory of House Schwerin!”

“Hamesh? …Is that the Hamesh from the ‘Hamesh Treaty’?”

That treaty, which essentially stated “children shall not be harmed under any circumstances,” was one of the southern military basics I’d encountered during my cramming studies on becoming a good lord.

Dolos nodded vigorously at my recollection.

“That’s right! As expected, the Saint is so knowledgeable~!”

“But I understand that the treaty was named after a neutral zone during the war with the demon god a thousand years ago. What does that have to do with divine beasts?”

“Actually, that neutral zone was created because of the divine beast named Hamesh!”

Oh. The book I read didn’t include such detailed origins, so I didn’t know about this background.

Seeing my interest, Dolos explained more about it.

“It’s said that in the area where the cry of Hamesh, the divine beast of peace, reaches, magical beasts lose their power, and all humans except children fall asleep. That’s why it had to become a neutral zone.”

“Ohh…”

Just like Hartuga, the “divine beast of wisdom.” Ancient divine beasts were incredibly powerful.

By the way, that Hamesh hatching in Erik’s territory.

I suddenly worried this might turn into a real-life version of “Sleeping Beauty.”

As if reading my thoughts, Dolos smiled and said.

“Of course, that’s the story from when Lord Hamesh had lived for several hundred years. The divine beast who was just born recently won’t possess such powerful abilities.”

He added that for the next few years, it would at most make people drowsy.

“Dolos knows a lot about divine beasts.”

“I have a personal interest in them~!”

Seeing how he spoke about them being amazing, he seemed to be quite the divine beast enthusiast.

‘Ah. Come to think of it.’

“Dolos. Do you also know about a divine beast called Mono?”

I had forgotten to ask Baden earlier because our conversation had become too serious.

Since Dolos seemed knowledgeable about divine beasts, it seemed good to ask him instead.

“A divine beast… called Mono.”

After murmuring with a strange expression, Dolos suddenly looked at me.

“May I ask why you’re asking about this?”

For an instant, it seemed like the whites of Dolos’s smiling eyes had turned completely red.

“Huh…?”

But when I blinked once and looked again, they were perfectly clean without even a trace of burst blood vessels.

“What’s wrong, Saint?”

Thinking it must have been my imagination, I cleared my throat and continued.

“…It’s nothing. Actually, I recently had a conversation with Mono on Iretio Island.”

When I briefly explained what had happened, Dolos listened carefully, though with surprise, then nodded while smiling.

“Aha~! That one is very strong, so you needn’t worry! They’ll be fine!”

“That’s a relief.”

Though I had only seen the corpse, there were so many magical beasts that I worried Mono might have been injured.

It seemed Mono was strong enough to withstand such dangers.

I finally felt relieved and refreshed.

“Thank you, Dolos.”

“Don’t mention it. But, Saint.”

Dolos, who had answered calmly, looked at me with a smile and said: