38. Oh protagonist, don’t blame me for being despicable (Haruichirou Biscuit)
After the first round of registration and the second round of screening, those girls who initially came with a “saintess dream,” as if participating in a “talent show,” have dwindled to just a few. The dozen or so saintesses ultimately selected from the church branches in various towns within the church’s territory are either connected to certain influential families or truly exceptional to the point that the clergy cannot refuse them.
However, before this, regardless of the advantages one might possess, during the “final selection” process, everyone is equal. After all, the final choice is made by the church headquarters, and… there is only one “judge,” who is unknown to anyone, and no one knows them, so naturally, there’s no question of offering any benefits to give a certain candidate an “impression score.”
All candidates who passed the second round of selection must go to the church headquarters, and at this moment, all the saint candidates who have passed the second round are waiting there. Under the emotionless gaze of the “Goddess”—the statue—they can no longer put on any cheap disguises, but instead, they carelessly emit hostility…
After all, no one wants to lose, even if only “one” can emerge victorious in the end, the position they would gain is that of the “Princess Saint,” revered by all the faithful! Who could possibly endure that!?
The hall was silent, and just as the young girls were about to lose their composure, either to bolster their own courage or to provoke others, the appearance of a nun clad in a black robe immediately straightened everyone’s posture.
After all, even a fool knows what an eligible “Princess Saint” should look like in front of others—elegant and noble. Moreover, the girls present are all intelligent; who could be foolish enough to reach this stage? They quickly realized: the seemingly small and impoverished nun before them was likely the “examiner” for this final selection.
Because her emotionless gaze, while inexplicably inducing panic, had indeed been assessing everyone here from the very beginning, and finally, she stood before the girls, beneath the statue of the goddess.
“Dear saint candidates, thank you for coming as promised. As stated in the church’s announcement regarding the selection of the new saint, you have all reached the final selection stage. The church will soon choose the one new saint to take over the duties and faith of the old saint, who can no longer serve the goddess.”
The mention of the “new saint” immediately cast aside the girls’ doubts about the nun before them.
“I am the ‘judge’ who will ultimately select the new saint; you may call me Sister Urasilu. The final selection will require some preparation time. Before that, the church headquarters will arrange accommodations for you all. Since this is the ‘final selection,’ please be mindful of your candidate status and refrain from going out or leaving the church.”
“Next, I will call the names of the candidates, who will then proceed to their accommodations within the church, accompanied by the clergy outside. I hope you will be cautious in your words and actions, for… the final ‘selection’ has already begun at this moment.”
Her excessively cold voice made all the candidate girls quite tense, but they are all “final candidates” who have passed the first two rounds of selection. If they lacked confidence, how could they have made it this far? So, under Urasilu’s mechanical announcement, the saint candidates left one after another.
“…Next, Jader, please follow the clergy outside to the first room on the east side temporarily.”
“But isn’t that super far…”
“Do you have any objections to our arrangements, Miss Jader?”
“Uh… no, none.”
Faced with this emotionless nun, even someone like Miss Jader, who has family background and connections, dared not retort. She shivered slightly and quickly left in a dejected manner.
Even among the nuns working at the church headquarters, this Urasilu was just too… too devoid of emotion, wasn’t she!?
Just as everyone was thinking this, they noticed that when Urasilu called the next candidate, her expression, which seemed as immovable as an iceberg for ages, showed a hint of hesitation.
“Next, uh…”
Urasilu’s expression while reading the name was rarely hesitant. After a moment of pause, she said, “Ma… Mary Sue Bing… Xue…”
A black-haired girl stepped forward.
“It’s Mary Sue Ice Snow Feather Huan Ying Roddeisan…”
“Y-you can stop, no need to say it all.”
Urasiru glanced at the girl before her, “You’ve been assigned to the second room on the east side. Please follow the clergy outside.”
“Do the church’s nuns not even pronounce others’ names in full?”
“Um… y-your name is quite difficult to say all at once, I apologize. I’ll practice a bit later. Mary Sue Ice… uh, please spare me for now.”
Only then did the girl leave, somewhat displeased.
That long string of names was something Urasiru really didn’t want to remember. Perhaps… she could just give her a little “bonus” at the end?
With that thought, Urasiru quickly finished assigning all the accommodations for the saint candidates, then stepped out of the hall, silently watching as these candidates departed.
Among the recent saint candidates, Nilu was indeed one of them, and the contrast between her disguise and true self was quite stark. Urasiru had to admit: if it weren’t for the Eye of Order’s reminder, it would have taken her a bit longer to notice among these saint candidates.
However, under the gaze of the Goddess of Order, there are no “ifs.”
Nilu had appeared, so the accompanying Kephiel would surely show up at some moment when they thought they could eradicate the church’s secrets.
Poor two. Whether it was Nilu or Kephiel, both were casually changing their attitudes and judgments because of a man, even willing to insult the order of the goddess. The goddess does not expect everyone to have faith in her, but… she will absolutely not spare anyone who insults her faith and order. So…
Miss Kephiel, Miss Nilu, for the sake of the goddess’s future peace, the Blade of Order will “judge” Euclid. I hope that afterward, you can regain your reverence and respect for the Goddess of Order, rather than becoming puppets controlled by external forces. In that case, Miss Kephiel, the goddess will continue to favor you, who seems to be born superior. Miss Nilu, the goddess will surely forgive your actions.
After all…
“The goddess’s order does not allow anyone to break it, whether through opportunism or ‘evil ways.’ Mr. Euclid, this is the consequence of disturbing the order.”
“Please do not blame me for the despicable means I use to maintain order, for judgment is indeed a dirty business. I will not apologize to you and your companions.”