Four days passed like that.

Apart from Kyle throwing tantrums and making a mess of my room because I was spending so much time at the infirmary, there wasn’t much change in my life.

Since my room hardly had any possessions to begin with, the mess he made had zero impact.

‘Even when Kyle acts up, he’s adorable.’

If anything, the more he misbehaved, the more I wanted to nibble on him, which was troublesome.

Sometimes the deity would ask:

[‘The Dragon Trampler asks if you’re being too indulgent with him.’]

And I would answer:

‘I think I understand why you were so indulgent with me.’

Then the deity would become extremely flustered and clamp his mouth shut.

‘But what can I do when that’s truly how I feel?’

Our Kyle has cute toes, cute claws on those toes, cute pink paw pads…

Listing off the same repertoire of baby praise that many pet owners use, I headed to the infirmary just like I had for the past four days. The young priest who had arrived before me and was cleaning the infirmary smiled brightly.

“Good morning, Holy Maiden.”

“Good morning.”

No matter how much holy power can cure all kinds of diseases, it doesn’t eliminate the germs that cling to various places in the infirmary. To prevent possible secondary infections, I always thoroughly cleaned the infirmary before opening.

The sunshine was bright and the weather was good. Even though it was time to open the doors, there were no people rushing toward us, and no line had formed. The young priest rolled up his sleeves again and said:

“Looks like there aren’t many patients today.”

“That’s good news.”

It meant that most people who needed treatment had already received it. I stretched my arms wide. My overworked body made cracking sounds here and there.

As I twisted my body this way and that, laughter came from behind me.

“My goodness, I thought you were a skeleton, not the Holy Maiden.”

I silently laughed at the corny joke. Turning around, I saw Lord Roman, the commander of the Holy Knights responsible for the entire temple’s paladins, slightly moving his bearded chin as he laughed.

“Greetings, Holy Maiden.”

“Hello, Lord Roman. What brings you here? Are you injured?”

What reason would the knight commander have to visit the infirmary? At my question, Lord Roman vigorously beat his chest and said:

“How could I possibly be injured? Ha-ha! I came to discuss the provincial pilgrimage schedule for next month.”

“Next month sounds close, but it’ll be here before we know it.”

I nodded.

The provincial pilgrimage.

It’s the biggest event among the Holy Maiden’s annual duties, where I travel to distant cities in the provinces that can’t make it to the capital, distributing bread and bestowing holy power.

Lord Roman frowned his thick eyebrows and clicked his tongue.

“Indeed. I hear the drought is severe this time, making the public quite restless. So I’m planning to increase the number of knights.”

“Oh dear. Do we have enough relief supplies?”

“Well, it’s not us but the central office that determines the amount of relief supplies.”

This year, rainfall had been unusually scarce. The capital, situated alongside a large river, wasn’t suffering from drought, but other regions must be struggling. All the more reason to bring plenty of bread and water.

‘I wonder if His Holiness the Pope has allocated enough?’

People cling more desperately to God when they’re cornered. It’s the same reason people don’t pay much attention to me during provincial pilgrimages in years of abundance.

But now, a drought. When people are waiting for the temple’s visit more than ever, with high expectations.

‘Will he really entrust me with the role of extending God’s hand to them?’

If he sent insufficient supplies and healing personnel first, then followed later with what was lacking, he would receive tremendous cheers.

Having thought that far, I shook my head vigorously.

‘Doubt is not good. We’re brothers and sisters walking together according to God’s will.’

But once doubt began to spread, it kept nagging at a corner of my mind.

The best solution would be for me to privately purchase and bring plenty of food.

‘But I have no personal funds, so there’s no way for me to handle this.’

Not only the Holy Maiden but all clergy are forbidden from having private property apart from the very small stipend provided monthly by the temple for maintaining dignity.

Of course, that rule had also blurred over time, with many clergy not following it. Nevertheless, I followed the principle and had no personal assets.

‘Even the money I’ve saved from not spending would be far too insufficient to buy lots of bread.’

Still, buying what I could would be better than nothing. As I rested my chin on my hand, lost in thought, Lord Roman, who had been watching me tilt my head, pointed to the ring sparkling on my ring finger.

“By the way, what’s that ring?”

“Oh, it was a gift.”

“I suppose it doesn’t have any special meaning.”

Perhaps because its shape was so rugged, Lord Roman readily nodded in understanding despite my lack of response.

I tilted my head. Since it was a proposal ring, I couldn’t say it had no meaning, could I? But I hadn’t accepted the proposal.

‘Maybe it’s because Kyle scratched it last time, but there’s a slight scratch mark.’

As I was fiddling with the hairline crack on the flat surface of the ring, Lord Roman said with a serious expression:

“In my opinion, it would be better not to wear it. I’m concerned you might become the subject of unnecessary rumors.”

It must be particularly noticeable since I normally don’t wear accessories. I shrugged my shoulders.

“Perhaps you’re right. But I’m afraid I might lose it if I just leave it in my room.”

“Just a moment.”

Lord Roman extended his hand, clearly asking me to give him the ring. When I obediently removed and handed it to him, he threaded the ring onto a thin leather cord, tied it securely, and made it into a necklace.

“How about wearing it as a necklace like this?”

Since it was tied firmly, it seemed unlikely that the knot would come undone and I’d lose the ring.

“Lord Roman, you’re quite handy.”

“Well, we have to tie knots every time we camp.”

“I’m envious because I’m not good at anything.”

“What are you saying? You’re the one who has received the most blessings from God.”

As we pleasantly complimented each other, the deity seized the opportunity to speak enthusiastically.

[‘The Dragon Trampler says he could recite what you’re good at all night long.’]

[Our baby sings well, prays well, reads scripture well…]

Just as the endless praise visible only to me was about to continue:

“Holy Maiden. Ah, Lord Roman is here too.”

A senior priest unexpectedly poked his head into the infirmary and said:

“His Holiness is calling for you.”

* * *

When I heard someone was looking for me, I expected at most to be told to stop working at the infirmary. But the words that flowed from Pope Incensino’s mouth were something I never imagined.

“You must depart for the provincial pilgrimage today.”

Recalling the hypothesis I had considered earlier, I bit my lip hard and froze. Speaking on my behalf, Lord Roman questioned with an intense tone:

“What? Today? Preparations aren’t complete yet. It’s impossible.”

To Lord Roman’s words, the Pope replied with a gentle smile:

“This was a scheduled event. Are you saying you haven’t made any preparations at all?”

“That’s not the case. But we haven’t loaded the relief supplies onto the carriages yet. I haven’t even informed the additional knights I planned to assign…”

“Sufficient personnel are already mobilized. There’s no need to add more to the entourage.”

The Pope cut off Lord Roman’s words sharply. He gazed at me steadily and continued:

“The same goes for relief supplies. Isn’t it most important for the Holy Maiden to go and bestow blessings? We will send relief supplies accordingly.”

What use are blessings to hungry people? Holy power can make them forget their hunger, but that’s not a fundamental solution.

Lord Roman looked back and forth between the Pope and me, stammering his counterargument:

“B-but if that happens, the starving people might harm the Holy Maiden.”

“Who would dare hurt the Holy Maiden?”

The Pope smiled gently and said:

“Our Holy Maiden doesn’t suffer any injuries anyway.”

“…”

He meant that it was fine even if people beat and hurt me because I would instantly heal with holy power.

No matter how positively I tried to think about it, the clear hostility made me feel like my whole body was growing cold. Lord Roman desperately tried to buy time on behalf of me, who couldn’t say anything.

“Still, you should give her time to wrap up her duties…”

“Cioranne.”

But even that lost its effect in the face of the Pope’s stern words.

“Do you have any duties that need to be wrapped up?”

“…No, I don’t.”

“Then depart immediately.”

With the answer seemingly settled, the Pope turned his head. As we bowed our heads to leave, he added one more thing in a casual tone:

“Ah, and leave Sir Richard behind this time. I have an urgent task for him.”

Why Richard of all people?

That too sounded ominous.