chapter 15
The next day.
[You have an unread quest. Please check your quest list.]
That morning, I had breakfast and lunch with my mother — for the first time in a while.
Ever since I declared my conversion, it was the first time she’d truly smiled. Even my father — whose default expression is “stern military statue” — looked unusually gentle today.
The Rockhart mansion, once tense as a frozen lake, felt warm and peaceful again.
‘Whew. Let’s reflect on this, seriously… I really need to stop causing problems like that again.’
[You have an unread quest. Please check your quest list!]
Well, I’m now a free woman, liberated from the filthy, hypocritical doctrines of the Iris faith. There shouldn’t be any more trouble coming my way.
Of course, my reputation in high society isn’t exactly… pristine, but still.
‘Unless I plan to live and die for my social standing like Julia does, it’s not a huge deal… Hmm, marriage might be a pain, though. Can’t I just live single as a saintess?’
Julia — my friend, and reigning queen of the social scene — looks confident, but she’s actually quite soft-hearted.
Come to think of it, staying single might be better anyway. No duties as a noble’s wife, no political headaches… actually, that sounds kind of nice.
[You have an unread quest. Please check your quest list!!]
“Well then, my lady, please call if you need anything.”
“Mm-hmm. Go rest, Chelsea!”
After tidying up my room, Chelsea left. I’d told her she had no special duties today and gave her a full day off.
“Okay, now then…”
[You have an unread quest. Please check your quest list!! Right now!!]
“Argh, fine! I’ll check! Stop yelling already!”
I shouted at the system window that had been popping up nonstop since I woke up.
I had planned to check it earlier, but Father called me over about the kitchen incident, and then I got caught up making mushroom soup for Mother.
But still — the first message didn’t have that many exclamation marks. Are they… multiplying?
No, seriously, there are more of them now.
“This thing’s seriously self-aware, isn’t it? Come on, be honest — you can talk, can’t you?”
[…You have an unread quest. Please check your quest list…]
“So you just ignore me when it’s inconvenient, huh? Fine. Just show me the list.”
The system obediently displayed a list, as if it had just been waiting for me to say that. I swallowed the urge to lecture it — it’d just ignore me again anyway. First, I needed to understand how this whole thing worked.
[Current Quest List]
· Quests
— “Recruit Believers II” (linked)
— “Purify Monsters I”
— “Spread Blessings I”
— “Donation Drive I”
— “Build a Temple”
· Guides
— “Register Recipe”
— “Discover Ingredients”
“Huh. That’s… a lot.”
There were more than I expected. I wasn’t sure where to start.
[If you’re unsure, we recommend starting with the Guide section.]
“…Really. Can it read minds now?”
Still, I followed its advice and opened one of the guide quests. I only meant to check one, but both popped up at once.
Guide: “Discover Ingredients”
When you obtain or discover an item usable for cooking, you can register it to your ingredient list. Newly registered ingredients may have special stat bonuses, so make an effort to find unknown ingredients.
Currently, you have 2 ingredients available for registration.
→ [Register]
Guide: “Register Recipe”
Once you cook a dish, its recipe can be registered. Recipes cannot be registered if required ingredients or steps are missing. The higher the quality of your ingredients, the higher your dish’s level will be. Cook and register recipes to strengthen them!
Once registered, recipes can be automatically reproduced if ingredients are available.
Higher-level recipes grant higher stat bonuses.
Currently, you have 2 recipes available for registration.
→ [Register]
“Oh?”
The descriptions reminded me of those training or simulation games I used to play in my past life.
I hit the “Register Ingredients” button — Amure and honey were added.
[Discovered Ingredients]
— Amure (Purification +3)
— Honey
A new list appeared titled Discovered Ingredients. It must be a menu for viewing registered items.
Not sure what the “Purification +3” means, but it probably boosts purification power when used, right?
“Purification, huh. Very saintly of me. But… they don’t expect me to feed monsters these dishes, do they?”
You know how it goes in these stories:
The monsters you purify turn out to be divine beasts corrupted by evil! The saintess’s pure soul moves them, and they form a holy contract, becoming her loyal guardian…!
…With garlic bread on the side.
‘A unicorn — no, a dragon — that breathes garlic? Ugh, no, let’s not.’
I shook my head, clearing away the ridiculous image, and tapped Register Recipe.
[Recipe Registered]
— Amure Bread Lv.5 (new!)
— Bonus Stat: Purification +6 (+3)
A bread that draws out the deep aroma of Amure using Amure and honey. Because it features the sacred Amure, symbol of the Amure faith, a purification modifier is attached.
— Mushroom Soup Lv.2 (new!)
— Bonus Stat: Purification +1
A soft, savory soup made with finely blended organic mushrooms.
The details were surprisingly complex.
‘Amure Bread at level 5, huh? Hamilton ate one bite and converted on the spot — that means it must’ve been really good. I wonder what the max level is?’
Feeling a bit excited at the thought of level 6+ food, I opened the remaining quests.
Five new quest windows appeared at once.
“…Wow.”
In summary: I was supposed to gather believers, raise faith, defeat monsters to purify them, heal the sick to spread blessings, collect donations, and finally build a temple.
The “Recruit Believers” quest was already marked as cleared when Hamilton converted, and there was a reward notification for it. Now there was a follow-up quest, Recruit Believers II.
“…Hmm. But still…”
I mean…
Sure, now that I have a system, I wanted to check it out. But…
“Do I really have to* do these quests?”
Thanks to the system, I could use garlic infinitely and even got edible honey, but honestly? I could just hire a skilled farmer to harvest those things eventually.
“These all scream ‘Rebuild the Amure Faith!’ Why would I want to do that?”
I had zero desire to go around declaring myself the Saintess of Garlic. I didn’t want to worry my family any more than I already had.
[…]
“…Huh?”
A ding sounded, and suddenly, parts of the quest text began to glow yellow.
[Please read the details carefully.]
The ominous tone sent chills down my spine. I looked closer.
“Wait… what’s this?”
I spotted a line I’d skimmed over earlier.
— Time Limit: 7 days
Warning: Failure to complete this quest within the time limit will result in a penalty.
Penalty — The seed of the species ‘Sugarcane’ will be destroyed.
“…What?”
Wait. Wait, no. No way.
“Hold on, hold on, hold on.”
So there is sugar in this world. Yes. Sugar exists. But no one’s using it in cooking? What kind of cursed culinary wasteland is this?
No — more importantly…
“…Destroyed?”
Destroyed, as in… erased? Gone forever?
“Sugar… will disappear…?”
I haven’t even tasted it in this life yet!
Dizziness hit me like a wave. I staggered, took a few deep breaths, closed my eyes, and when I opened them again—
“……!!!”
The moment my brain fully processed the situation, it was consumed entirely by rage.
“Thank you, Chelsea. Please deliver this to the young lady for me.”
“Of course, Head Butler! If it’s for the young lady, it’s my duty!”
The Rockhart family’s head butler patted Chelsea’s head fondly before hurrying off.
Chelsea, who’d been given the day off, hummed cheerfully as she headed toward Priscilla’s room, counting the letters she’d just received from him.
“…Three, four… There are fewer than before.”
Once upon a time, so many letters and invitations came for Lady Priscilla that counting them was impossible. But now, the number had dwindled. Word of her conversion had spread through every noble household. The other servants whispered that society had lost interest in her.
Chelsea felt bitter about it.
“Even if her faith changed, our lady is still absolutely perfect.”
Muttering to herself, she flipped through the letters — and then paused.
“…Huh?”
One peculiar envelope caught her eye. She read the sender’s name, and her face went pale.
She ran — full speed down the corridor — clutching the letter tightly.
Moments later, she burst into Priscilla’s room without knocking.
“My lad—!”
“YOU STUPID, ROTTEN SYSTEM! You should be rewarding me with sugar, not threatening to delete it! What do you mean ‘destruction’? DESTRUC-TION?! You soulless, heartless, double-crossing—!!”
Chelsea quietly closed the door.
“…”
She took a deep breath.
Okay. She took back what she said earlier.
Her lady was perfect… except for those occasional fits of madness.
…Probably.
