saint ch17

Welcome Ceremony (2)

It was exhausting.

Why on earth did I have to be stuck among fanatics, spouting logic that would make even those fanatics balk?

I had arrived at the academy with high hopes of finally being able to relax and do nothing…

But upon hearing the news of the arrival of priests from other races and Princess Azelia’s dispatch to control them, I had to tearfully open the Bible.

The princess, who had pulled me out of the main Order, was coming to check on how things were going. What if I was caught out on my half-baked theories and challenged by a priest from another race?

Nothing could be more embarrassing.

A healthy partnership is established on equal footing.

If the princess showed her abilities first, I had to at least save face.

With that in mind, I opened the Bible, read it all, and threw it down.

There was absolutely nothing in the Bible that could inform me about the doctrines of the priests of other races.

How could this be, when we shared the same religious worldview?

Shouldn’t the records of God’s actions naturally include some interaction and stories with the gods of other races?

It was hard to find any stories about the gods of other races, to the point where I suspected they had been deliberately deleted.

Eventually, I tried to find other reference materials, but surprisingly, even the Cardinals and Archbishops seemed to lack such resources.

…Was this even possible?

I could understand their complacency in assuming that other races were competitors in the battle for the pie of faith, but even so, shouldn’t they have at least a minimum of information about the gods of races on equal footing with Orion?

Did they really just erase the stories about the gods of other races on purpose to make things easier for themselves?

Even if they had to officially erase it from the public, how could they neglect it themselves?

My brain ached for the first time in a while.

The priests of other races began to arrive one after another without proper preparation, and I ended up facing them with only the most basic doctrines commonly known to the public.

I am a doll…

I am a smile doll that shares laughter with everyone…

With that kind of mindset, I tried to keep my presence to a minimum, but as always, that damn half-baked Sacred Imprint caught me by the ankle.

I really needed to get this Sacred Imprint replaced.

Suddenly, a Dwarf priest went on a rampage and started throwing out area-of-effect damage, and even tried to pull an unblockable move on me.

In the meantime, I had a hard time stopping the princess from drawing her sword.

The main Order was already sulking because we had called in other Orders. What if they got into a big fight and the Order used it as an excuse to pick a fight?

I had to get through this quietly somehow.

In the end, I started spouting nonsense live again.

I was not at all pleased with the fact that I was becoming more agile in this area.

The keyword was God’s love.

One of the greatest values of the doctrine put forward by Kaliul, the god of the Dwarves, is the fiery, immense love of Kaliul.

The Dwarves believe that to repay that love, they strive to eradicate the evil that has taken root on this earth in order to fulfill Kaliul’s will while alive, and that they find warm rest by His hearth after death. That is one of their religious views.

Honestly, I don’t even know what I said after the middle.

As I spoke, it seemed like it might be offensive to the Order, so I even showed off an inertia drift in the middle, so there was no substance to what I said.

I don’t know what part of the theory that God has loved our shortcomings so far, so He will continue to love us, can be called logical.

That Gorg guy who was listening to this nonsense and understanding it didn’t seem normal either, but when I looked around, most of the clergy in this conference room were understanding.

Can’t we do something about this hellish either-or choice between clergy being either fanatics or corrupt?

I was really startled when he took out his warhammer and slammed it on the floor.

If I hadn’t sensed Gorg’s rage and prepared for it to explode at this point, I would have been surprised too.

When I took my life hostage and cast the last piece of nonsense at the bewildered Gorg, the situation finally calmed down.

Lately, I’ve been thinking that my life is the easiest hostage to use.

That doesn’t seem like a good phenomenon at all…

As I was clapping without a soul while contemplating such things, the meeting thankfully came to an end.

I didn’t know whether to be grateful that this hellish moment was over or to be sad that it would happen frequently in the future.

“I look forward to having many stories to share with Ronan, the trainee Saint, in the future.”

“I enjoyed hearing your interesting opinions. I look forward to tomorrow’s welcome ceremony.”

As they were preparing to return, the Elf princess and the Beastkin representative left me with those words.

Why?

The Elves and Beastkin were showing interest in me as I had wished, but I wasn’t happy at all.

I saw them off with a smile that had become automatic, and then let out a sigh that I couldn’t hide.

“You’ve worked hard, Saint Ronan.”

The princess approached me and offered words of encouragement.

“I’m a trainee, you know.”

“It’s just a bothersome formality.”

It was strange to hear someone who should be paying the most attention to that formality say such a thing.

Even more so because I knew it was sincere.

“Wasn’t it bad?”

I changed the subject because I couldn’t find anything to say.

I worked so hard partly because of you. I’ll really cry if you say you’re disappointed.

“Saint Ronan…”

Why are you trailing off?

Why is the emotion you have for me pity again?

Where is the image of me in the princess’s head heading?

“Cherish yourself a little more. Don’t say things like telling people to kill you so easily.”

I don’t want to say such things either.

The bad thing is this world that forces such extreme empty promises.

“That’s…”

Of course, it’s a lie.

“Indeed, the meager faith of the priests of other races pales in comparison to the true faith of Saint Ronan, the trainee.”

He was a partner who knew some of my true nature, so I thought I should at least tell him that much truth as a matter of courtesy, but the Cardinal, who had intervened at some point, cut me off.

He was praising me in words, but his heart was full of vigilance and greed towards the princess.

He suspected that I and the princess were talking, or that the princess was trying to win me over.

In the meantime, he was consistently determined to become the target of that co-option himself and gain power.

“How can there be strength in faith? They have their own faith.”

I told him off because he was so good at running away from the Dwarf priest’s warhammer and spouting such nonsense from next to me, and only then did the Cardinal’s gaze turn to me.

“How can a trainee Saint who will be the mainstay of the Orion Order say such a thing? It doesn’t make sense for a mere priest without a Sacred Imprint to try to intimidate a Saint with force.”

Then you should have protected me instead of running away!

I wanted to shout that right away, but I held back.

The Cardinal had noticed the negative view of the Order in my words, and at some point, he was narrowing his eyes as if trying to figure out my true intentions.

He’s really good at figuring out things related to his own self-preservation.

“Even so, this is the Imperial Academy. We would never have been watching.”

I was about to choose my words carefully because it would be dangerous if I was caught, but the princess intervened at the right time.

Nice, Princess.

“Of course, it’s not that I don’t trust the Imperial Royal Guard. However, I wonder if it wasn’t a mistake for the Empire to bring in even the priests of other races…”

Fortunately, the Cardinal, who had turned his gaze without further suspicion, began to threaten the Imperial Family this time.

Anyway, he hides behind people like a ghost when a fist is about to fly, but once he confirms that the other person is an intellectual who won’t throw a fist easily, he starts barking.

I understand why there is so much rudeness among intellectuals than among barbarians.

“However, as an academy, we can’t help but be curious about the doctrines of the priests of other races.”

Vice-Dean Claire, who had seen off the departing priests of other races, said as she joined us.

“After all, at our academy, we want to approach religion from an academic point of view.”

“How can this be such impious words?”

“But doesn’t the Orion Order basically approach doctrine in that way? They look for parts that can be explained logically to some extent.”

“It is impious for anyone other than a clergyman to try to approach it that way. What meaning can there be in a doctrine interpreted from the perspective of an unbeliever?”

“That’s why we’re trying to get help from the priests. It seems that the doctrinal excellence of the Orion Order has already been proven today?”

The Vice-Dean awkwardly smiled and ended the conversation by saving the face of the Orion Order.

However, she was inwardly dumbfounded by the Cardinal, who was spouting nonsense because he didn’t want to lose his job.

The Vice-Dean probably doesn’t know yet that religious people have built a wall between themselves and the words theoretical and rational…

“Of course. Just watch. The day will soon come when hymns praising the greatness of the Orion Order will resound in the academy.”

The Cardinal, who said that, ran away to where the Archbishops were, judging that he had no allies here.

He sent me a look as he ran away, but I gritted my teeth and pretended not to see it.

Why would I go there? Am I crazy?

“High-ranking clergy are more individualistic than I imagined…”

The Vice-Dean, who was looking at such a Cardinal, uttered that complaint.

Yes, no matter how you set the standard for high-ranking clergy to be a mess based on the Orion Order, who could have predicted that it would be like this from the first day?

“It’s a building that hasn’t been completed for a month, but we already have to repair it.”

It was a complaint filled with the Vice-Dean’s sorrow as a member of society, as she stared at the conference room floor, which was full of cracks.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could have stopped it.”

I wasn’t willing to put my head on the line, but I could have reinforced that part with holy magic the moment he slammed it on the floor.

I felt sorry for the Vice-Dean, who was so shrunken, so I said a word as a matter of courtesy, and the Vice-Dean looked at me in surprise.

“No, no. What are you talking about? Saint Ronan, the trainee, did his best.”

“My best is always lacking.”

I said I did my best, and I lost confidence again.

Is the flag that my head will be broken by that Dwarf priest definitely gone?

No matter how hard I try, all I’ve accomplished since I fell here is succeeding in a conversation with the princess.

At this point, it’s reasonable to feel skeptical about what my best is… Ah, I’m having an existential crisis again and saying unnecessary things.

Fortunately, it didn’t sound strange in context, so it seemed like she understood.

“Clergymen are more individualistic than we expected, but Saint Ronan, the trainee…”

What, what are you trying to say again?

“You are more ideal than we expected.”

…??

I’m glad you think well of me, but why all of a sudden?

I was appealing to my lack of ability, saying that no matter how hard I try, it’s not enough, so I don’t know why you’re being so kind.

Did it look like humility?

It’s completely true.

Even if it’s a false advertisement, there are still good things about being a Saint.

“I guess we can look forward to the welcome ceremony too?”

When I made an incomprehensible expression, the Vice-Dean smiled and started inflating her expectations on her own.

Ah, I had barely put it off to one side of my brain.

Please don’t have too high expectations of me.

The welcome ceremony, which was already tomorrow, became very uneasy.

I made sure to adjust it carefully this time… Will it be okay?