Chapter 379 – The Saint of the Empire and the Saint of the Federation -1-

‘This item is the item that will stabilize my anxiety the most.’

A bead rolling over the palm of your hand.

I have been aware of the need to obtain this for a long time.

If I had just aimed at exchanging voices like on the phone from my previous life, I would have been able to save it somehow.

But that’s not what’s needed. So it wasn’t easy to find the performance I wanted.

The most important condition that Roman considers important when selecting a communication artifact is great distance.

Objects that support voice carry a lot of weight in the other direction, so no matter how far the distance is, they move around within the empire.

All he wanted was an artifact that he could reach, ignoring the distance between the Federation and the Empire, as long as he had a flashing signal.

Although this looks simple, it is tricky.

At first glance, this is a performance that everyone seems to be pursuing, but in a situation where both countries are building a front line, a person who manufactures a means of communication that can reach each other is extremely suspicious.

Still, I looked around the auction house or listened through the adventurer’s guild in the hope that it might be there somewhere.

Meanwhile, talk about saints and the federal government came up.

Now, rather than waiting for the artifact I was interested in to appear, I felt that I had to take action and get it myself.

It wasn’t easy.

It is not enough to say that supply is miserable compared to demand.

The biggest problem was that it was difficult to even get a chance to encounter an artifact with the specifications Roman wanted, no matter the price.

But now.

‘It exists in my hand.’

I somehow saved it.

The source of the artifact is simple and clear.

To get this item, I put down a huge amount of gold coins and a few artifacts that have no meaning to me anymore.

He squeezed Bernecker, the head of the intelligence guild, who prided himself on having the widest foot in the shadows of the empire.

Because my interest has always been in the crystal ball they use as a group during missions.

Even the great information guilds tended to use them as if they were setting up a beacon fire by setting up points in between due to distance issues. Most of them were cheap items with a limited number of uses.

It was a fairly good quality item that Bernecker, the owner of the Information Guild, used to communicate with several executives.

Burneker, who once again traced back the route where he purchased the item and sold it, was fortunate.

With just one wandering life, he succeeded in escaping Roman’s pressure.

Bernecker did a good job of finding items that met the exacting conditions I wanted.

It’s not that I don’t trust Eclair’s outstanding military power or the outstanding abilities of my women.

This is a simple problem and I have a lot of concerns. Even I am aware of that.

These women are different from their previous lives and are full of beauty and personality. When these things start to interlock and move together, it is natural for bugs to get entangled, so we cannot help but be on guard.

In addition, the presence of subversive elements such as active warlocks and three knights is also a factor that causes anxiety based on the premise that I am away.

Therefore, I decided to somehow rescue this artifact before heading to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Somehow, it ended up in my hands at the same time as the seventh wanderer’s gift.

“Oh! And since everyone is here, can you take a look at this?”

“Hmm?”

Roman’s words attracted a variety of gazes to the palm of his hand.

She showed her doubts as Rike rolled her beads over her hand, which was occupied between her legs.

“Oppa. What is this?”

“Hold on for a moment.”

Roman reaches into his inventory and takes out a bead of the same shape.

And the mana that is slowly injected.

As the orb in Roman’s hand filled with mana, the bead in Rike’s hand began to glow.

“!”

Ricke knows this type of stuff.

She is not the only one.

People with their own experience and knowledge can roughly infer what purpose this artifact is used for.

The only ones lacking confidence are Chloe and Ceria.

“Oppa. Can I hear your voice?”

Like the artifact that Ricke broke in anger while talking with her marquis in the dormitory before going to Roman’s room in the past.

There were objects that could communicate by voice if certain conditions were met.

“Unfortunately, this does not transmit voice. Instead, you can simply select a color by registering each person’s mana. It is an item that puts as much effort into distance as possible while discarding other functions, so there is no major problem in using it even if it is quite far away.”

Like the item Roman used when he went to hunt swamp whales at the request of the imperial family.

Items that exchange signals with mana at a certain distance are consumables commonly used by knights, mercenaries, adventurers, or specific guilds.

However, as it reaches a long distance, it registers and distinguishes users.

Artifacts that are not one-time consumables are difficult to obtain, no matter how great your wealth, unless there is honor or something special to follow.

The Malloy family is recognized as a pillar and contributor to the empire by commercializing gates.

The reality is that it is difficult to even see these artifacts unless they are heirlooms that have been passed down from generation to generation.

“Roman. Where did you get this precious thing?”

“Oppa, you’re the best!!”

“Uh… Does this mean we can exchange news with my brother even if he’s far away?”

Everyone understood why Roman had prepared this valuable item.

“If something happens here, I’ll have to throw everything away and come back. Can someone please bring me a pen and paper?”

“I’ll go!”

Ceria hops out of her chair and heads to her room, then she returns.

Roman, who was handed a notebook and a pen with a rabbit drawn on it, scribbled on it in bad calligraphy and continued his explanation.

Late at night, we all huddle together and write down pieces of paper.

The first and most important issue is deciding what signal to send in a dangerous situation.

And then.

What does it mean if the light flashes once, what does it mean if it flashes twice, and whether to give meaning to long and short signals?

What would you do if you made a mistake sending a signal?

Let’s lay some foundation.

Everyone burst into laughter, evaporating the worries they had been subconsciously feeling.

*****

Next day.

Roman left the mansion just in time for the academy cadets’ lunch break.

She walked around in front of the church wearing neat clothes.

‘Come.’

A human figure creeps up from afar with cat-like steps.

As Roman pretends not to notice and turns his back, a slender arm wraps around his waist.

“Ta-da! It’s exclusive to you.”

Roman smiled as he stroked the head of Rike, who was hanging on his side.

“If I’m hungry, should I go in after lunch?”

“I’m still okay. What about you?”

Roman and Ricke ate a hearty breakfast at the mansion, too hungry to feel hungry right now.

In the end, I decided to quickly start working at the church.

Roman gently held Ricke’s hand and walked inside.

And as if he had been waiting after hearing the announcement.

A simple-looking priest saw the two, left his guard position, and approached them.

“I will guide you to where the saintess is.”

“Please.”

“Please take care of me.”

After seeing Shuel looking at this place with wide eyes from afar, Roman gently waved her hand and said hello.

I walked down the street following the priest.

The place we arrived at was a chapel, although there were no distinctive rows of chairs to be seen.

For Roman, ignorant of religion, it ended up being a comparable place.

Stained glass that absorbs the sun and shines down colorful light.

A statue of a goddess stands tall in the middle and various ornaments imbued with sacred energy.

Below, her saint and her escort stood at a distance.

“Sister Ricke. Would you please listen to my story?”

The atmosphere was like standing and waiting instead of sitting on a chair.

Ricke, who had been called in a serious voice, stretched out her feet and stood in front of her saint.

Roman waited at a similar distance as the saint’s escort.

“We apologize to Sister Rike, who has suffered great harm due to the church’s ignorant and hasty actions. Our sins will be made known to the Empire, and we promise to do our best to help restore the Bright family and wash away their reputation.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Atra placed a rolled up scroll and an accessory with a small cross in Rike’s hand.

An unbelievably divine light emanated so brilliantly from that cross.

“This scroll is a record of the imperial family’s permission for the family’s restoration.”

“Saint. What is this cross…?”

“This is a rosary made by melting down the cross hanging in the prayer room of the capital branch. If you show this to the religious order, you will receive help from anywhere in the empire.”

The words of atonement that followed from the saint’s mouth must have been approximately 10 minutes.

Because she knew that her words could not be comforted, the saint seemed to have no idea how to end her situation.

Rike, who smiled at that sight, took a step forward and hugged the saintess.

“Saint.”

“H-yeah…?!”

“I’m happier than anyone else now. It’s really okay, so don’t worry.”

“···I am truly grateful for Sister Rike’s generosity.”

Ricke’s permission that there is no longer any need to refer to it as sin.

That was the end.

After that conversation, Roman and Rike were led to the reception room right next to them.

We were served simple snacks and hot tea.

Inside, stories were exchanged about daily life to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

He went one step further and announced the news that Roman had been given permission by the imperial family to go to the Commonwealth.

The curiosity continues from there.

“I’ve been curious about this for a long time. Are members of the religious order allowed to set foot in the federal government even during wartime?”

Adventurers sneak in when there is a request.

The method for doing so is also publicly known, and when a blockage occurs, a new passage is quickly created.

But the saint was never that type of person.

“Hmm… It is possible, provided there is permission. Even if there is an accompanying person, there is no record of being refused so far.”

Is this the belief and belief among religious people who worship the same god?

Roman nodded with admiration, wondering if it was a river in the dry hearts of people on a continent.

“Even though we are at odds with the Federation, the church that worships the Goddess seems to be bound together as one.”

“Well, that is…”

Atra hesitated, hiding her light blue eyes downward.

Majella took her place and opened her mouth.

“The saint of the Federation does not refuse your request.”

“Isn’t that a success based on the reasons I mentioned?”

After hesitating for a moment at Roman’s question, Majella gave her answer in a sighing voice.

“The current saint… Is in the process of wooing the saint passionately.”