Chapter 42
Raven had been acting strange for a while now.
I almost bluntly asked him what his business was, but I just closed my mouth instead.
‘Why bother asking? If he doesn’t say anything, just let it pass, whatever.’
Every time I forget, I remind myself: Getting involved with the original story’s sub-male leads is not an option!
I nonchalantly shifted my gaze away from Raven. I walked past him toward the carriage beyond.
But at that moment.
*Tapak.*
Raven grabbed my arm. The slight pull toward him made my body naturally turn to face him.
“…….”
“…….”
The distance between us suddenly narrowed to barely a hand’s span. Inside his robe, Raven’s face was visible.
He looked uncharacteristically shocked, and also somehow aggrieved.
“Why?”
Not understanding the meaning of his expression, I asked. He furrowed his brow deeply and spoke.
“You… Are we just acquaintances?”
I still didn’t understand his true meaning. I tilted my head and asked in return.
“Then what are we if not acquaintances?”
Should I say we’re ex-fiancés? That’s not only impolite to each other, but it’s also a past that doesn’t need to be revealed to outsiders. And we’re hardly friends. You never once considered me a ‘friend,’ did you?
Then, suddenly, I realized what he was trying to say.
“Ah, I won’t even call us ‘acquaintances’ from now on.”
His words when he broke off the engagement came back to me.
“Being with you makes me endlessly unhappy. Please, I want to erase you from my life, so don’t ever pretend to know me again.”
Now, looking back, his past words didn’t feel particularly shocking.
‘I was laid up sick for a long time because of those words back then…’
Come to think of it, my illness worsened around that time too. The breakup was five months ago.
‘Anyway, since he said he’s not good for my life.’
It’s better to cut ties quickly. I twisted my wrist out of Raven’s grip.
*Srrk.*
As expected, Raven didn’t try to grab me again. He still wore that same shocked expression, as if he’d been hit hard on the back of the head.
“Have you said everything you needed to say?”
What do I gain from trying to understand that expression? I turned my body back toward the carriage.
Raven just stared blankly at me like that. He probably found it unpleasant that I’d referred to us as ‘acquaintances.’
‘Right, right. I understand your feelings perfectly. Shall we live as strangers now? Worse than strangers?’
Let’s not even run into each other anymore, let’s become the kind of people who might see each other once a year if at all!
‘But he’s the one who always spoke to me first, wasn’t he?’
Frankly, it seems like it would be solved if *he* were more careful, not me.
‘He should tone down that sharp gaze too.’
The look he was shooting at me was so piercing I could feel a stinging pain in my back.
For some reason, a corner of my heart felt unsettled, but I shook my head immediately.
‘Well, as long as we don’t pretend to know each other.’
Thinking more about Raven would only bring back the bad memories from before.
Consciously shaking off the memories, I got into the carriage that had arrived.
***
Because of the scuffle with Raven, a fair amount of time had passed.
Enough that the statue we had entrusted to professional movers had already arrived at the church before us.
“Wooaah!”
“This is Lord Arthe’s true form…!”
Unaware of our arrival, the devotees were huddled together, engrossed in admiring Arthe.
While watching them fondly, another piece of good news arrived.
“Oh, Saintess? The merchant group says they’ve brought the candy…?”
“Huh? Already?”
At Hazel’s words, I tilted my head.
The candy I planned to use for missionary work.
It was hard to get a large quantity at once, so I had asked Lucien this morning.
“You want to know a merchant group that can procure candy in bulk? It’s not difficult, but why do you need that?”
“For some missionary activities. Ah, I’m not asking you to pay for it? I’ll use my personal funds, just connect me with the merchant group.”
Lucian frowned deeply at my answer.
I thought he considered the ‘church’s’ missionary work too flashy, but that wasn’t it.
“Ciela, where are you getting the money? And why are you using your own money?”
“…Huh?”
“That church, they’re not just extorting money from you, are they? Ciela, are you really doing okay?”
‘To be precise, I’m the one extorting money from that church’s god.’
Even if I told him the truth, he wouldn’t believe it, so I had to make an excuse that I misspoke, and it was actually church funds, not personal.
Lucian wore an uncomfortable expression for a while after my words, then said he understood and gave me the name of a merchant group.
Disregarding his suspicious look, I contacted the merchant group just a few hours ago.
‘Did Lucian say something to the merchant group separately?’
Sure enough, when receiving the candy, I heard that Lucian had already paid for it.
‘Well, that’s good for me!’
Although I had a pile of donated Florangs, considering the money I’ll have to spend in the future, it’s good to save wherever possible.
Humming a tune, I brought the candy into the church.
The quantity was so enormous it took five strong men to move it all, and a sweet scent quickly spread inside the church.
“Sniff sniff. Huh? What’s that smell?”
“A delicious smell…”
The devotees who were admiring the Arthe statue were drawn by the scent and cautiously approached the candy sacks.
“Saintess, what is this?”
“It’s candy. Didn’t I tell you not to worry?”
“Th-this is candy?”
“Wow! I’ve never seen candy like this before!”
To think their eyes would shine so much over a piece of candy.
‘Where did those devotees who only mumbled prayers go?’
It’s only been a month, but that day already feels so distant.
After watching the devotees proudly for a while, I snapped back to reality when they asked if they could try it.
It’s sweet and delicious as is, but.
“Wait a moment.”
How delicious would it be if I infused it with divine power?
It’s nearly impossible to keep divine power imbued in ordinary, non-sacred objects for long.
‘But I have the Arthe Store!’
“Hehehe…”
With a triumphant smile, I opened the Arthe Store.
Having avoided me for the past month, the store seemed to have had a major update. The item list seemed endless, no matter how far I scrolled.
That meant…
‘…Huh? When did I buy this much?’
It meant I had bought enough items to squander half of the donated Florangs.
I stared blankly at the purchased items.
<With This Powder, Anything Can Be Solved – Master Chef’s All-Purpose Seasoning>
<Hmph, Did You Think I’d Listen to Church Songs… Fall☆in☆Love☆with☆Ar☆the – Minstrel’s Gramophone>
<Are You E? – Envy’s Cloak>
Thankfully, as I had managed to hold onto my sanity, I didn’t buy any truly bizarre items.
‘The Master Chef’s All-Purpose Seasoning should work on the candy.’
According to the description, sprinkling it on candy makes divine power cling to it better and improves the taste.
‘It even extends the shelf life? Worth the 3,000 Florangs.’
The gramophone that makes songs echo in your ears is also essential, and Envy’s Cloak is…
[Item Description: The Cloak of Envy, the Jealous God.
Always craving attention, this god made this cloak to stand out the most.
Focuses attention on the wearer.]
‘It’s a good thing, right?’
Yeah, attention is important during missionary work…
Forcing down the feeling that I might have bought something wrong, I summoned the Master Chef’s seasoning and sprinkled it on the candy.
*Shalalala—*
The plain white candies transformed into various colors.
Pouring divine power into them on top of that, they glittered faintly and looked much more appetizing than before.
‘Hehe, done!’
With this much divine power, a single piece of candy should be enough to easily overcome something like a cold.
‘Even chronic diseases should noticeably improve, right?’
Of course, expecting a complete cure from candy alone is unrealistic, and it might recur after a few months, but that’s actually good.
‘Knowing the effect is real, they’ll flock to the church like crazy!’
Smirking, I offered the completed divine candy to the devotees.
“Here, try it now.”
“Gasp! It’s delicious, Saintess!”
“Ooh, my body feels lighter too?!”
Hmm, the performance seems solid, as expected.
Before it got more chaotic, I clapped my hands to shift the atmosphere.
“With the candy and gramophone ready, how about the dance and song? Will it take a few more days to finish?”
“Ah, no! We finished it all yesterday, Saintess!”
“Really?”
I thought it would take at least a week. That was unexpected.
My eyes widened as I looked at the devotees. They suddenly started forming lines.
“Saintess, you can stand right here at the front!”
Oh my, the front is burdensome.
‘But since they’ve even made a spot for me, I guess I have to give it my all.’
I nodded to show my agreement. At the same time, the Minstrel’s Gramophone immediately started playing a song.
*Ba-bam, bam!*
A catchy tune flowed out, and the devotees started singing along to it.
The melody was easy to follow, the lyrics contained Arthe’s name, and it wasn’t too blatant or fanatical.
‘The dance is decent enough too, right?’
Clapping to the beat, adding hand gestures for specific lyrics—that level.
Of course…
‘…The High Priest is doing the break dance all by himself.’
There was definitely one person whose presence stole the spotlight.
Even though it was done in a day, the completion level exceeded expectations.
It was good enough to go out for missionary work on the streets as is!
‘Huh? Shall we give it a try now?’
The dance moves are simple enough to learn by following along a little.
‘Let’s do it!’
Even though it seemed like an impulsive plan, the devotees readily agreed to my opinion.
Finally, it was the first step.
