Chapter 88

Revena was running on a fluffy cake.

Rainbow-colored macarons floated around, tempting Revena.

Revena reached out, grabbed a macaron, and popped it into her mouth.

*Munch munch.*

The sweet flavor spread throughout her mouth.

A happy smile spread across Revena’s face.

That’s when it happened.

– “No, you mustn’t!”

Something burst through the bottom of the cake.

It had the body of a baby angel, but the face of Archbishop Andersen, a bizarre existence.

– “Saintess! You must not fall to sweet temptations!”

Andersen flapped his wings and flew toward Revena, who screamed “Eek!” and fell backward.

– “Saintess! You must maintain purity of soul through modest meals! That is the path to a pure heart and stronger faith!”

At Andersen’s words, Revena got up and started running away.

Still munching on the macaron in her mouth.

– “Stop! Saintess! You must not fall to sweet temptations! Saintess!”

Andersen shouted from behind as he chased her.

Revena didn’t stop and kept running.

As she stuffed the flying macarons into her mouth, her cheeks puffed up like balloons.

– “Saintess! Spit it out! You must not eat it!”

Revena grabbed even more macarons.

Just as she was about to put them in her mouth, the ground beneath her suddenly gave way, and she fell.

“Ahhh!”

Flailing her arms, Revena opened her eyes.

Against the night sky, Ariel’s figure came into view, looking down at her.

“W-was it a dream…?”

Revena blinked and sat up. She realized she had been sleeping on Ariel’s lap.

“Ah.”

Revena was startled and touched her head.

Her robe’s hood had completely fallen off. It must have slipped off while she was sleeping.

Flustered, Revena glanced at Ariel.

*Munch munch.*

Ariel was just eating a macaron in her hand, her cheeks puffed up like Revena’s in the dream.

It seemed Ariel hadn’t noticed Revena was the Saintess.

Well, Ariel was an elf adventurer, so it was likely she didn’t know the Saintess’s face.

‘But my face was seen… This is definitely dangerous…’

Then Ariel handed her a macaron and asked,

“Want some?”

Revena immediately stopped thinking and opened her mouth. Ariel placed the macaron into Revena’s mouth.

‘It’s delicious!’

The soft texture and the sweetness spreading through her mouth.

It was that heavenly taste she felt in her dream.

“There’s milk too.”

Ariel pulled out a cup of milk from thin air and handed it to Revena.

Revena took it and gulped it down.

The combination of the sweet macaron and savory milk made her feel like she was melting.

She was happy. It felt like she had entered heaven.

“Thank you, Ariel.”

At Revena’s thanks, Ariel nodded slightly. Then she stood up and said to Revena,

“I have to go now.”

“Ah, really?”

Revena made a disappointed face.

“U-um, Ariel, can we meet again? I don’t want to part like this…”

Revena’s eyes turned red.

Revena didn’t have many close friends. At most, two or three.

And even those were all older clergy members. This was the first time she had made a friend her own age like Ariel.

Ariel quietly looked at Revena.

It was a bit hard to answer Revena’s question. Even Ariel didn’t know if they could meet again.

All Ariel could say was this:

“Today was fun.”

“……”

Revena tightly hugged Ariel. It was a farewell hug.

“I had fun too, Ariel…”

Revena spoke with a trembling voice.

“Let’s meet again someday…”

Ariel silently nodded and slowly turned to leave through the alley.

Revena’s heart ached, but she forced a smile and wiped the tears from her eyes.

If fate allows, they’ll meet again someday.

If she lives diligently, looking forward to that day…

“Ah.”

Revena suddenly lifted her head.

The sky had already turned dark.

This was no time to linger. She had to return to the sanctuary.

By now, the prayers at the chapel would have ended.

Archbishop Andersen would be waiting for her in front of the sanctuary.

Revena quickly got up and started running.

*

“Pant, pant…”

Revena ran through narrow, dark alleys, gasping for breath.

Passing through old, dilapidated buildings, Revena reached a secret passage.

The secret passage was in the basement of an abandoned building, and a kitten sat at the entrance.

The kitten wagged its tail happily as Revena approached.

If it were anyone else, the kitten would have been wary and run away, but it seemed especially friendly to Revena.

As if it recognized the Saintess and welcomed her.

“Hi, little one.”

Revena gently patted the kitten’s head. The kitten purred contentedly.

“Sorry, I’m in a bit of a hurry. See you next time.”

Revena passed the kitten and descended the basement stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs was a small door, and beyond it was the sacred barrier of the cathedral.

The sacred barrier was extremely powerful. Any being without holy power would be thrown far away if they tried to force their way through.

Of course, it was ineffective against the Saintess. Revena passed through the barrier without resistance and reached a small room leading to the sanctuary.

It was the small room with Christina’s writing on the wall.

“Thank you, senior… Thanks to you, I had a good experience.”

Revena bowed toward the wall and then climbed up a ladder.

“Ah.”

She stopped halfway and threw off the shabby robe she was wearing.

If she returned to the sanctuary wearing the shabby robe, Andersen would surely find it suspicious.

“Hmm…”

Come to think of it, the smell was also a problem. The musty smell of the shabby robe had clung to Revena’s body.

Suddenly, Revena thought of a good solution.

“Purification.”

Revena softly chanted the spell.

It was purification magic, Purification.

A dazzling light enveloped Revena’s entire body.

The light gently flowed through every part of her body, purifying all the dust and dirt.

After a while, as the light faded, Revena returned to her clean, pure self.

The musty smell was completely gone, and a faint fragrance emanated from her body. It was the scent of holiness itself.

“Hehe.”

Revena thought she was so clever. To think of using Purification to cleanse her body in this situation.

‘Am I a genius?’

But then another thought occurred to her.

‘Wait, now that I think about it, I should have purified the robe and worn it. Then it wouldn’t have been so uncomfortable.’

Maybe she wasn’t a genius.

But this wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

Revena started climbing the ladder again.

*

“……”

Archbishop Andersen paced anxiously in front of the sanctuary.

Even though the chapel’s prayers had ended, Revena still hadn’t come out.

‘She must be praying longer than usual today.’

Normally, she would have finished her prayers and come out by now.

Just last year, Revena would rush out of the sanctuary the moment the hymns stopped, looking for food.

‘Could something have happened?’

Andersen felt uneasy, but he had no way to check.

The sanctuary was the most sacred place within the cathedral.

Only the Saintess could enter, and when the Saintess was praying, she must never be disturbed.

Even footsteps near the sanctuary were forbidden.

In the end, Andersen could only stand there anxiously, staring at the sanctuary door.

A few minutes later.

*Creak.*

The sanctuary door opened, and Revena came out.

Andersen smiled and greeted her.

“You’ve worked hard, Saintess.”

“Andersen too.”

“You must be very hungry. Shall I prepare some food right away?”

“It’s fine.”

“…Huh? You’re not hungry?”

“I don’t feel like eating.”

Revena started walking.

She had eaten a massive amount of desserts at Delight earlier, and after a short nap, she had Ariel’s macarons and milk.

Right now, nothing would go down her throat. If she ate any more, she might throw up.

“But, Saintess. You’ve been fasting for days, so you must eat something. It might harm your health.”

“It’s fine. I’m the Saintess, so I can heal myself.”

“Are you perhaps angry…”

“Andersen.”

Revena smiled softly at Andersen.

“Today, I experienced a new world. I no longer crave the cathedral’s food. I plan to adopt a modest diet, as you said. It’s late now, so I’ll have a modest meal tomorrow morning.”

“……”

At Revena’s words, Andersen looked thoughtful.

The Revena who would usually complain about being starving after prayers and devour food in a hurry now seemed like a completely different person.

As if she had gained enlightenment in a single day.

“…I see what’s going on.”

Andersen nodded and said.

“You must have reached the spiritual realm, Saintess.”

“Huh…?”

Revena looked slightly flustered.

Had he found out she went out and ate a ton of desserts?

Andersen continued.

“There are stories of Saints who reach the spiritual realm through sincere prayer in the sanctuary. There have been a few cases in the past. Like Saintess Christina… After praying in the sanctuary, her face would glow, and she would feel no appetite. A state beyond physical desires. After experiencing that state, she would stay in the sanctuary every day, only praying… Could you be in a similar state, Saintess?”

“Um, that sounds about right.”

Revena nodded immediately.

“I have completely transcended physical desires. I only seek God’s love and grace now. So, no food for me. I’ll go rest now.”

Revena hurriedly walked away.

It felt a bit guilty to lie as the Saintess.

Was this going to be a problem?

‘…No, but Christina senior lied a ton too. Surely it won’t be a problem? Even if it is, I don’t care. I’ll go out again tomorrow. I’ll just pretend to pray in the sanctuary, and no one will bother me. Hehe, maybe I’ll visit that bakery again.’

Unaware of Revena’s thoughts, Andersen simply watched her back with a pleased expression.

.

.

.

At the same time.

Ariel was preparing to rush to the cathedral entrance.

---