4. Overflowing Foolishness

The proposal from the Great Ying Empire to cancel the joint wanted order for Euclid had become a fixed topic of discussion at the summit due to its shocking content. Although the Great Ying Empire quickly received some responses after proposing it, the church, as the party that initially called for the wanted order against Euclid, was clearly opposed, which was the fundamental reason for the summit’s convening.

After all, even if all the countries responded, as long as the church insisted on opposing it, the matter would not be settled. Located in the eastern plains of the Great Ying Empire, the church, though not large in territory, had a super A large number of followers spread across many countries, making it quite arrogant.

After all, the strength of faith is a form of power, and being well-known externally, even the “Saint Miss” who possessed the miraculous power of “prophecy” was the maintainer of the church’s image. The followers had long regarded her as the purest existence, the embodiment of the goddess!

At this moment, within the hall.

As one of the few who could directly see the Saint Miss, a member of the church organization that appeared in the image of the Saint Miss, the archbishop was on his way to meet her. The church’s Saint Miss, Miss Ikusis, would not meet any outsiders unless it was a necessary occasion; all needs and requests were the responsibility of the archbishop.

Although there were those who questioned why the Saint, who was clearly a saint, could not appear, these questions had long been suppressed by the archbishop. After all… how could such a mysterious and powerful saint casually show herself?

Thinking this, the young blonde man, serving as the archbishop, took off his uncomfortable hat, knocked on the door, and entered the room that absolutely could not be disturbed by any outsiders!

“Your Highness the Saint, I heard you rang the bell to summon me?”

“Mm!”

The man looked up and saw a spacious room that could be described as messy and chaotic, with expensive and rare toys piled on both the floor and the bed. In his line of sight, a girl in a delicate robe, completely different from the other nuns of the church, was now frowning, staring blankly at him as he walked in.

The braids she tied herself were a tangled mess, and her clothes were completely disheveled, wrinkled and looking like a pampered young lady from the deep palace who had no self-care skills, about to head out. This made the man feel uneasy.

Wasn’t it usually easy to keep her here with just a little distraction? If this saintess ran off, it would be a real problem; the church relied on her as a figurehead. What if she slipped away!?

He hurriedly blocked the door: “Your Highness the Saintess, I told you before, you can’t just go out. There are many people outside eyeing your power, and if you’re not careful, you could be exploited.”

The silver-haired girl covered her head in distress, then…

“But I heard from the nun who brought my meal that there’s going to be a summit in the Great Yīng Empire? Why didn’t I know about this, Archbishop!?”

“Tsk, what a troublesome thing…”

“Ah~?”

“Ah~ ah! No, it’s nothing, Your Highness the Saintess.”

The man snapped back to reality and quickly lowered his head, scratching his ears and cheeks for a while before finding a way to explain: “I just got the news and was about to take this opportunity to tell you~”

“Hey? Really? I just feel like…”

“!”

Faced with the saintess’s suspicion, the man broke out in a cold sweat. Although she was nothing but a troublesome girl who could do nothing but “prophesy” and tormented him with various demands, her ability granted her a status that forced him to treat her like a mascot, even if he was annoyed.

If she started to suspect something, it would be difficult to use her. The church’s current wealth, influence, and numerous followers were all due to this saintess’s ‘prophecies,’ which were genuine and different from those of other mediocre priests, creating a shock and awe that turned into worship!

As the Archbishop, he planned to think of a way to smooth things over, but the next moment, this troublesome saintess, as annoying as a mischievous child, didn’t disappoint him.

“Ah! Archbishop, are you trying to sneak off and play without me!?”

“Ahem…”

She looked pleased, but her mind was as straightforward as ever, leaving no room for pretense.

The man sighed in relief and hurriedly said, “No… that’s not it! I just think it’s really dangerous outside the church, and for you, Your Highness the Saintess, it could be easy…”

“I don’t care! It’s so annoying! I want to go! I haven’t seen what other countries outside look like yet! I’m the saintess, right? What I say goes!”

“Ah… alright, alright, if you want to go, I’ll prepare for you right away!”

Knowing that further concealment was futile, the man reluctantly decided to take the saintess with him. It would also prevent her from running around while he was away from the church. If she found out about anything, he wouldn’t be able to stay in the church anymore.

Moreover, this woman was truly a handful! No matter how “saintly” she looked, the man couldn’t muster even a bit of interest! The moment he felt a flicker of concern upon seeing her face, it was immediately extinguished by her idiotic words; she was even less pleasant than the timid young nuns.

At that point, he could just find a trusted aide to keep an eye on her. Decisions would definitely be made by him, not her. Not to mention, the content of this summit was truly troubling; the bounty that had been promised was now being canceled! Didn’t that mean that that charlatan, Oujilide, was going to be cleared!?

He absolutely couldn’t let that Oujilide go, because… he might be the only one who knew about the church’s situation! Thankfully, the letter he had sent to the saintess was intercepted before she could open it; otherwise, she would have definitely caught on to his plans to use her! That would have been the end!

How that self-proclaimed Oujilide knew about it was irrelevant; in any case… he had to be wanted, and die in some dark corner!

With that thought, the Archbishop hurriedly dealt with this troublesome child before him, who was also his “money tree” for power and wealth.

“Then, Your Highness the Saintess, please wait here for a moment. We’ll find a carriage and set off soon, alright?”

“Go faster! I’m tired of the stuff here! I want to go to the Great Yīng Empire!”

“…”

The man suppressed his anger, reminding himself, “This woman is useful,” while forcing a smile as he left.

After that, the man closed the door and left, leaving the Holy Maiden Ikusis alone in the room.

The expression of mischievous delight, akin to that of a mischievous child, slowly faded from her face as the girl clasped her hands together.

“In the distant empire of the Great Yng, there are those who can help you escape your predicament and find the meaning of existence… Hmm, could it be the former master?”

“But the prophecy doesn’t mention the master at all…”

——

The illustration of the Holy Maiden Ikusis will be released after this chapter. Please support it if you like it!

PS: The names I choose always have foreshadowing; feel free to take a guess.

Illustration: Holy Maiden Ikusis