CHAPTER 04
The person on the other side of the communication artifact swallowed hard.
But the sound was drowned out by the sudden cheers.
“Waaah! It’s the Saint!”
“Saint!”
Nine fixed his gaze on the front of the temple. The moment he spotted someone, his eyes widened.
Then a bright smile spread across his lips.
“Found her.”
“Huh? The one who tricked you?”
“Yeah. And the Saint too.”
Grinning, Nine waved toward the Saint.
When Saint Elia noticed him, her light green eyes trembled.
***
The moment I saw Nine sitting on the distant rooftop, only one thought came to mind.
‘I’m doomed.’
Nine did not have the best personality. What scared me most was how unpredictable he was.
What if he came to kill me because I told him the Saint was Robellina?
‘But I didn’t know either! In the original story, Robellina was the Saint!’
I wanted to jump up and scream from frustration.
But right now, I was in the middle of the Enthronement Ceremony, offering rites to God. I absolutely could not embarrass myself.
Suppressing a sigh, I recited the prayer as I had been taught.
Even though a huge crowd had gathered, everything became completely silent while I spoke.
“…Please grant the Empire warm peace and radiant glory.”
As I finished the final line, the priests waiting nearby scattered flower petals into the air.
At the same time, the crowd erupted into cheers.
“Long live the Saint!”
“Please protect the Empire, Saint!”
I stood there stiffly, forcing an awkward smile. I still could not believe that I was standing here instead of Robellina.
Just then, a priest brought something forward.
It was the sacred relic of this generation.
The tarot deck.
‘Here it comes.’
I swallowed.
On the surface, the Enthronement Ceremony looked like a ritual where the Saint greeted God. But in reality, it was more like a talent show.
And the Saint was the one performing.
During the first ceremony, the Saint had to demonstrate the power of the sacred relic. The performance depended on what the relic was.
And this time, the relic was a tarot deck.
Out of all the past ceremonies, mine might end up being the most unimpressive.
‘Well, I don’t have a choice.’
Taking a quiet breath, I picked up the tarot deck.
Then I looked over the gathered crowd and pointed at one person.
“Would you be willing to assist in my ritual?”
“M-Me?”
The man looked startled, pointing at himself.
When I nodded, the priests guided him up to the platform. The poor citizen looked overwhelmed to be standing in front of me.
As I shuffled the tarot cards, I asked,
“Do you have any worries?”
“I do, but…”
“Please tell me.”
He hesitated under the many watching eyes, then spoke carefully.
“My mother has been very ill lately. I wanted to come see the ceremony with her today, but…”
His expression darkened as he thought of his sick mother. The surrounding crowd grew solemn.
I listened quietly, then stopped shuffling the cards.
With a flick of divine power, I spread them into the air.
The cards floated midair, held in place by my divine energy.
The man stared at them in shock.
“Please pick three.”
“M-Me? Touch the sacred relic?”
“Don’t worry. That’s what it’s for.”
The priests who were about to stop him hesitated at my words.
The man cautiously drew three cards.
I turned them over one by one.
Six of Swords. Seven of Pentacles. King of Pentacles.
They represented the past, present, and near future.
The past card showed a family traveling by boat.
The present card showed a man looking at what he had built with dissatisfaction.
After studying them briefly, I spoke.
“It seems you experienced a major change as the head of your household.”
“A change?”
“For example… did you change jobs?”
“That’s right! I recently moved with my family to the capital to earn money.”
He stared at me in disbelief. Murmurs spread through the crowd.
Ignoring them, I continued while looking at the present card.
“You’ve managed to settle in the capital, but your mother’s condition has been weighing heavily on you.”
“H-How do you know that?”
“Still, there’s no need to worry.”
“…What?”
I showed him the King of Pentacles card and smiled.
“It seems someone will soon appear to help you.”
He stared at me blankly.
With my task finished, I turned to leave the platform.
‘That was probably the most underwhelming performance in history.’
I sighed inwardly.
Just then, someone in the crowd shouted.
“Liam! Liam!”
“Mother?”
The man I had read for cried out in surprise.
His mother pushed through the crowd to the front. She looked between her son and me, her eyes filled with tears.
“A kind person came to offer us help.”
“What? Who?”
“A doctor you once helped in the past. He came to greet you and, after seeing that I was ill, said he wanted to help.”
“Ah, him! My goodness. Thank you, God.”
The man clasped his hands and looked up at the sky briefly in prayer. Then he turned to me, his face trembling.
“Saint, your words were true. Someone really came to help us!”
“What? No, that was just—”
“The Saint foresaw the future!”
The murmurs turned into cheers in an instant.
Amid the roaring voices, I stared down at the tarot deck in my hands.
‘Wait… could this really…?’
“Long live the Saint!”
“Saint, please read my future too!”
As the excitement grew out of control, the priests stepped in. They grabbed me from the platform and quickly led me back into the temple.
‘Oh right, Nine?’
Coming back to my senses, I hurriedly looked toward the rooftop where he had been sitting.
But it was empty.
***
My new room was huge.
And white.
It was said to be the room used by past Saints. The walls, the floor, even the furniture were pure white, with only small touches of gold here and there.
I sat in the middle of a bed large enough for three people.
The tarot cards were spread out on the blanket before me.
As I stared seriously at the overturned cards, I remembered what had happened at the ceremony.
“Saint, your words were true. Someone really came to help us!”
My interpretation had been correct.
In my previous life, I might have just felt proud and thought, What a coincidence.
Things like that happened sometimes.
But this was a fantasy world.
And the tarot deck was a sacred relic.
There were too many strange details to dismiss it as coincidence.
What if this tarot deck truly was a sacred relic with special powers?
‘I need to test it.’
I voiced the question I had already prepared.
“What will be served for lunch today?”
I drew a card.
The Empress.
It meant abundance and richness.
I relaxed at once.
“Abundance? The temple’s meals are always simple.”
So it really was just coincidence.
That was what I thought.
Knock knock.
“Saint, we have brought your meal.”
“Come in.”
The door opened, and priests entered carrying plates of food.
They set them down on the table one by one, until it looked like a royal banquet.
“….”
“The High Priest said you worked hard today and instructed us to prepare a generous meal. We will take our leave.”
After bowing, they left.
I stared at the table, far too much food for one person.
Then I asked my second question.
“What is the right profession for me?”
I drew a card.
The High Priestess.
No matter how I looked at it, the card clearly reflected my current position as Saint.
I swallowed hard.
“…One last question.”
I hesitated before speaking carefully.
“Is the one who gave me this tarot deck truly God?”
I drew one card.
Then I dropped it in shock.
It was a blank card.
