Of course, that didn’t mean God was a quiet being.

[‘The Dragon Trampler is jumping around.’]

[He says he’s talking too much.]

[He says his baby is the prettiest in the world.]

[He says his baby is really, really pretty and he’s sad no one appreciates it.]

‘How am I supposed to relay these kinds of messages?’

Noel was looking at me with an expression that said “What nonsense is this?”, God was throwing a tantrum, and I alone was completely overwhelmed.

Anyway, after hearing that the Pope was tormenting people with such unreasonable demands, I couldn’t just stand by. I bowed my head slightly.

“I should be going now. It was a pleasure meeting you today. May the deity I serve bless you, Marquis.”

At my farewell, Noel pursed his lips.

“You’re evading the question. I don’t particularly want blessings from a god who supports the persecution of beast-folk.”

I only stated facts, yet he interpreted them that way—how unfortunate. While I forced a bitter smile, God started bouncing around again.

[‘The Dragon Trampler grumbles that he’s incredibly rude.’]

[He says he takes after his master.]

‘Master?’

Since Noel was Marquis Ferol, by “master” did he mean the Emperor? The deity’s familiar way of referring to the Emperor felt somewhat strange. I shrugged my shoulders.

‘I can’t help it. It’s true that I cowardly remained silent.’

Honestly, before the Olzen incident, I didn’t step forward because I didn’t understand the Pope’s true intentions. Afterward, I couldn’t move because of the heated public opinion and my doubts about whether the Pope could really act without any thought.

So I had no defense against being called a coward.

In response to my answer, God reacted like a small child.

[‘The Dragon Trampler maintains silence.’]

Just being quiet would be silence, but deliberately announcing silence? How mischievous.

While I paused for a moment, Kyle suddenly let out a loud meow from my arms.

“Meooow~!”

“Oh!”

But surprisingly, Noel, who was facing me, seemed more startled than I was, despite me being Kyle’s caretaker.

When I tilted my head in confusion, Noel bowed his head with an attitude completely different from his earlier accusations.

“Just a moment, Holy Maiden. I apologize. After serving an ill-tempered superior for so long, my mouth has developed a mind of its own.”

“…?”

Wait, why did his attitude change so dramatically just because the cat meowed once?

Bewildered, I could only blink with a blank expression. Noel stammered while breaking into a cold sweat.

“S-so please don’t be upset, and please don’t think about never coming this way again.”

Only then did I understand why he suddenly became so humble.

‘Ah. He wants to see Kyle again.’

Goodness. If nothing else, his love for cats was undeniable.

‘Right. People who love animals are rarely bad people. I probably feel hurt because I don’t know him well enough yet.’

Having sorted out my feelings about Noel, I slipped my hand under Kyle’s side and held him out to Noel.

“Since we must part ways now, say your final goodbye to Kyle.”

“Oh, may I? You truly are merciful, Holy Maiden.”

Am I? I just think I’m average.

[‘The Dragon Trampler says absolutely not.’]

God would say the same thing even if I cursed everyone I met. I should never take his words at face value.

Anyway, I held Kyle out, and Noel tried to respectfully take Kyle’s front paw, greeting him with the same reverence one would show the Emperor himself.

At that very moment,

“Hiss!”

With a fierce sound, Kyle’s front paw scratched across the back of Noel’s hand. Never expecting Kyle to attack Noel, I made a stupid sound.

“Huh?”

“Y-Your Majesty?”

Noel clutched his hand with a devastated expression as blood began to bead on his skin. Then he burst out:

“Why are you angry with me?!”

“Meow.”

Kyle turned his head away with an indifferent expression. Kyle’s inner voice, visible only to me, surfaced.

[‘Kyle’ grumbles that Noel should know why.]

Kyle was genuinely angry with Noel. Not because he was a stranger, but for a specific reason.

“Kyle, are you taking my side?”

At my question, Kyle’s golden eyes stared at me intently. I planted a small kiss on his forehead.

“Thank you.”

Kyle probably doesn’t realize how much comfort I draw from this small creature.

* * *

And so ended my eventful outing, during which I met Marquis Noel Ferol and received a marriage proposal from Richard.

‘A cat daycare. What a wonderful place to discover.’

My provincial pilgrimage was coming soon. I had been worried about leaving Kyle alone for a month, and I couldn’t take him with me on my travels, so it was fortunate to find a place to leave him.

‘So it’s all right.’

I clenched my fist.

Kyle is a clever cat; he’ll stay obediently where he belongs. Whether I go on pilgrimage or enter into fasting prayer.

Even if I’m locked again in that cold basement.

“Your Holiness.”

Reassured, I gathered my courage and sought out Pope Incensino.

The Pope, who had just finished the grand mass and was drinking tea, greeted me with a gentle smile.

“Cioranne. It’s been a long time since you sought me out of your own accord.”

I cut to the chase without preamble.

“Please withdraw the heretic label from ordinary citizens.”

The Pope’s eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly. After briefly biting his lip, visibly suppressing anger, he spoke in a calm voice, almost coaxing me.

“Hiding and helping beast-folk goes against our doctrine. Naturally, it’s right to classify such people as heretics.”

“Is persecuting beast-folk truly part of our doctrine?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“That’s Your Holiness’s will, not something written in the scriptures.”

There are only two things I believe in this world: the voice of God that comes to me, and the scriptures that record the voices of the past.

Nowhere in the scriptures does it say that beast-folk are inferior beings to humans.

[…]

As expected, God remained silent during my confrontation with the Pope. After staring at me for a moment, the Pope called to me in a low voice.

“Cioranne.”

It was just like him to maintain a gentle smile even in this situation. Setting down his teacup, he spoke in a soft voice.

“I’m very curious about who has been filling your head with strange ideas lately. You’ve never opposed my words before, have you?”

“This is entirely my own will.”

At my stubborn reply, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Do you think the Holy Maiden would lie?”

His long fingers traced the curved outline of the teacup. He continued, almost muttering to himself.

“True. You wouldn’t lie. But I hope you understand my position, which forces me to doubt. You never spoke up when beast-folk were kept as slaves, so I find it strange that you’re reacting so strongly now.”

“Whether beast-folk are slaves or free people, that’s not a matter for me to intervene in. That belongs to the realm of politics and will unfold according to divine providence.”

He misunderstood my point of contention. I wasn’t objecting to their enslavement itself. Whether they remained slaves or were liberated, I had no intention of commenting on that aspect.

‘God doesn’t want me to reform the world.’

What God gave me was immense holy power—the ability to heal others. So what God wants from me must be to heal others so they don’t suffer.

Nothing beyond that was permitted to me.

But the Pope was now encroaching on the mission I had been given.

“However, when innocent lives are taken because of it, that’s a different matter. That’s what I’m pointing out.”

The Pope blinked at my words. Then, with a bright smile, he clapped his hands lightly.

“Ah, I see. I failed to consider the Holy Maiden’s kind heart.”

The Pope spoke with a benevolent smile.

“Then, Cioranne, how about you take full responsibility for healing activities?”

“Pardon?”

This was not something one would expect to hear from someone who had punished me for treating heretics just recently.