Chapter 29

“No, no, no.”

This is just wrong.

No matter how I think about it, I reacted like a granddaughter waving at her grandfather.

I called him a Cardinal, but who on earth would call a Cardinal with such a lack of seriousness?

Plus, thinking back, today is actually the first time I’m meeting the Cardinal. Sure, we exchanged a few words via letter, but that was just us rambling on without any real conversation.

I know his face from the TV in the dining hall, but still…

“Grandpa!”

But before I could even come up with an excuse, someone called the Cardinal using an even more impressive title than mine.

It was the young sister I had just been talking to a moment ago.

“Oh, have you sisters come out this far?”

As soon as the Cardinal heard her voice, his expression immediately shifted to a warm smile.

As the young sisters rushed over, the Cardinal stood a bit apart, bending slightly to look down at the children.

“Since you’ve come out, it seems today’s Bible study is over.”

“Yes!”

The expressions of the children gathering like little chicks and chorusing their reply were as clear as a cloudless sky.

“Finishing early is something to celebrate. However, there are many outsiders expected to arrive today. The headmistress was just looking for you over there. How about you start heading back?”

“Outsiders!”

“We want to see them!”

“Is that Saint Candidate over there also an outsider?”

At that, the Cardinal chuckled bitterly.

“Does it seem that way?”

“The veil is weirdly worn, and the hair color is strange.”

“The nun’s outfit seems a bit different, too…”

“Hmm.”

The Cardinal glanced my way with a somewhat awkward expression.

I… well, I had nothing to say.

There are always kids in high school who wear their uniforms however they want, right? No matter what the teachers say, they dye their hair in noticeable colors and sleep through class.

Not that I didn’t study diligently, of course.

…It’s true I didn’t focus at all on the Bible study here, though.

“…Alright. Why don’t you head back now? The headmistress baked chocolate cookies and mentioned that if you’re too late, there might not be any left.”

“Chocolate cookies!”

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

The Cardinal gave up trying to explain and used the children as bait to lead them away.

The little nuns swarmed excitedly and ran back toward the church. The people passing by all looked on with warm smiles at the kids.

“…”

And so, Ria, Sophie beside me, and I watched the same scene.

As the Cardinal turned back toward me after watching the children leave, his expression returned to a neutral one. It was like a typical serious face of someone high up.

“Ah…”

When our eyes met, I seriously pondered for a moment about what to say.

I’m not really used to this kind of situation. In this life, and even in my past life, I had never met a person of such high standing.

If I had ever met one, it probably would have been in a formal setting, not just bumping into them on the street.

While thoughts of ‘protocol’ and ‘formalities’ danced through my mind—

“Sister Sophie.”

The Cardinal spoke first.

Bowing slightly in a polite manner, the Cardinal made Sophie bow back. He didn’t call out to the knight next to her, but they both exchanged polite greetings.

“…And Sister Anna.”

The Cardinal did the same toward me. I bowed back just like Sophie did earlier. Although I felt much more awkward about it.

Somehow, Ria looked like she knew the Cardinal, but he just lightly nodded her way, like he did with the knight earlier.

Is this him acting according to my status?

I might have lost my rights, but my position itself hasn’t been demoted.

“Well then, shall I guide you straight to the conference room? It’s a bit early compared to the scheduled time.”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Sophie replied like that and glanced my way.

“I-I’m fine too…”

I answered with a feeling that I wanted to grab my head.

If I hadn’t bowed to the Cardinal in this awkward situation, things might have been a bit less embarrassing.

I wish I could go back three minutes and smack myself on the back of the head.

Other clergy members who had followed the Cardinal also quietly trailed behind us.

“Hey, hey, you don’t have to be so tense.”

Ria poked me in the side, whispering.

“The Cardinal is surprisingly not one for formalities.”

Still, hearing that doesn’t exactly calm my nerves.

Do you know that I just pulled a dad joke on the Cardinal? Not that I asked if his parents were around or anything, but still.

Ria seemed to find my nervous face funny, glancing over at me repeatedly on our way to the conference room.

I kept my mouth tightly shut to suppress the embarrassment and walked into the conference room.

…

While it’s called a church, the interior isn’t entirely just reverent. Sure, there are church symbols hanging everywhere, but there are also ordinary meeting rooms.

The place we entered was closer to a presentation room than a meeting room, but hey, I can understand that having a large number of people means the chairs are arranged that way. A big round table can feel a bit intimidating if it’s too large…

Ah, but wait, a lot of people, you say?

Thanks to the Cardinal’s earlier display, I had just assumed it was a regular company meeting vibe. Initially, this would be about discussing my status as a Saint, not about whether or not to restore the rights of the Saint Candidate.

I thought that even with the Cardinal’s power, they could probably deal with it somehow, but the one who took away my rights was the Cardinal himself, so wouldn’t just a word from him be enough to settle it?

“Alright, then.”

But my thoughts were—

“Sister Sophie, and the other two Saint Candidates, as you suggested, we are discussing Sister Anna’s qualification as a Saint here—”

“What!?”

Oops.

I let out a scream I didn’t even realize I had before quickly covering my mouth with my hands.

All the people in the conference room were looking at me.

“Sister Anna, do you have something to say?”

A middle-aged nun, who looked like she was giving a presentation in front, asked like this. Dressed in a nun’s outfit but wearing glasses and having a slightly strict vibe, she exuded the aura of someone in a high position at a company. Very professional.

Oh, now that I think about it, wasn’t there a famous nun who used to follow around a certain pope? I don’t remember what she looked like since the internet might have spun a few tales about her.

“Um, that is…”

I cautiously opened my mouth.

To be honest, I’d rather not say anything at all, but since it was this kind of setting, I had to clarify something.

“So, I didn’t think this meeting would be to discuss my qualification as a Saint…?”

“Didn’t the head priest inform you?”

The nun asked politely, albeit in a very businesslike manner. I might have more accumulated years than her, based on my past life’s total age—but I was just becoming an adult in this world.

No matter how globalized the world has become, I’m in Korea. Frankly, I’ve been more influenced by Confucianism than the church while living this life.

So, it felt a bit embarrassing for an older person to speak so politely to me.

“To me, this seems more like a discussion of the rights of a Saint Candidate…”

Just as I was about to finish saying this, I fell silent.

Yeah, it’s possible the head priest didn’t mention it to me.

The reason is simple.

I was the one who, upon realizing I had ascended to the position of a Saint Candidate, sent a letter to the Cardinal saying that there was no divine will in my act of defiance.

If I said something like, “You’ll become a Saint if you go there,” I’d probably have just fled over the wall right then and there.

While trying hard to suppress my urge to grab my head, the nun opened her mouth.

“It seems you already know the reason you didn’t say anything.”

“…”

“Then, may I continue?”

For a moment, I thought about standing up and bolting, but after glancing around and locking eyes with Ria, who looked like she would burst out laughing any second now, I just gave up.

There’s no way I’d escape if I ran.

There’s a big difference between being a Saint Candidate and becoming a Saint. Indeed, if the divine representative runs away, the church would follow after me too.

However—

“I don’t think the position of a Saint is something that can easily be attained…”

I timidly added again.

That’s right.

The church isn’t limited to just Korea. There are higher institutions that span the globe. There’s the Pope, too.

I just don’t think it’s something that can be given just because a Cardinal recommends it in a meeting like this, so it shouldn’t be so haphazard either.

“Ah, of course.”

The nun nodded in response to my words.

“A decision will not be made here right away. There are several steps in the process. In fact, this gathering was created hastily because some insisted that a decision needs to be made as fast as possible.”

“…”

I quickly glanced at Sophie.

Sophie smiled as if it were her idea, while the other nuns sitting nearby also wore expressions of mysterious understanding.

And nearby—

Lee Si-yoon?

And beside him were Hunters, all dressed in suits.

It looked like they had already come to wait before we entered the conference room.

Confirming just that, I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Then, may I proceed with the meeting?”

Even without me nodding, the next topic naturally followed.