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In my previous life, I had visited this very temple to receive the blessings of the gods before heading off to subdue the Mad Dragon. However, since being reborn as Reshia, despite being recognized by the church as a saint, I had little to no interaction with the temple. It seemed odd to me—they had placed me in the care of the Elpinard family, yet didn’t bother to keep in touch or check on me. Then again, the church had always been rather shameless, so it wasn’t too surprising. They were experts at shifting responsibility onto others while claiming it was a divine blessing to share in the holy duties.

Lost in these thoughts, I didn’t realize we had arrived until the carriage came to a halt in front of the temple. Axel was the first to step out, and as soon as he did, a priest guarding the entrance hurried over, his eyes widening in surprise. Axel was an unmistakable figure, and the priest seemed to recognize him immediately.

“May the blessings of the gods be upon you,” the priest greeted cautiously, clearly wary.

The church’s main source of income was donations, so priests were usually quite friendly towards visitors. However, they weren’t particularly fond of mages, especially those who openly rejected their faith. Axel, as the leader of the mages, represented everything they were wary of.

“What brings the head of the Mage Tower to the temple?” the priest asked carefully.

Axel replied gruffly, “I’m well aware the temple isn’t thrilled to see me. But don’t worry, I’m not here to cause trouble.”

“Trouble? I wouldn’t think of it. The gods welcome all visitors, of course. However…” The priest glanced uneasily at the temple’s closed main doors. “As you can see, the temple isn’t open today, so I’m afraid I can’t let you in. We’ve turned away all other visitors as well.”

It was true—the usually bustling entrance of the temple was eerily quiet, with the doors tightly shut.

“That’s unusual. Isn’t the temple supposed to be open to anyone seeking faith at all times?” Axel remarked.

“Indeed, it is. But today, we have a special circumstance that requires us to keep the doors closed. We will reopen in four days,” the priest explained, bowing politely but clearly indicating that we should leave.

Axel glanced back at the carriage, silently asking me what I wanted to do.

“Can’t we just have a moment?” I called out to the priest, then turned to Axel, confidently holding out my arms to be lifted down. There was no way I could get down from this high carriage on my own in this child’s body.

Though Axel looked displeased, he still obliged, lifting me out of the carriage and setting me on the ground. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I quickly ran over to the priest and bowed politely. Being a well-mannered child was always a good strategy to win people over.

“Hello, I’m Reshia,” I introduced myself.

Standing in front of the unfamiliar priest made my heart start to pound again, just like it had in front of the Duke. But I forced myself to stay focused, making sure my greeting didn’t come out as a garbled mess like before.

Upon hearing my name, the priest’s eyes darted around in surprise before he cautiously asked, “Are you… the Saint…?”

“Yes, that’s right,” I replied.

“W-what? The Saint at our temple… I had no idea!” The priest stammered, clearly flustered.

“I’m sorry for dropping by so suddenly,” I said, bowing again. As a Saint, I was likely considered a superior to the lower-ranking priests, so it was understandable that he was taken aback by an unexpected visit from someone of my status.

“But I received a message from Heaven. They told me to make a donation to the temple. Can I just do that and leave?” I explained, holding out Oink, the piggy bank Axel had made for me. The priest’s eyes widened in surprise.

I put on my most innocent expression, trying to convey that I was just a harmless child with a simple request.

‘See, I’m not a troublemaker. I’m just here to donate. So please, let me in!’

I thought I had made my case convincingly enough, but the priest suddenly jumped back, startled.

“A message from Heaven… Could it be that you’ve received a divine revelation?!”

‘Huh?’

A divine revelation? All I had gotten was a gentle reminder to pay my reincarnation subscription fee, but somehow, this had escalated into a full-blown divine message.

Before I could clarify, the priest, now thoroughly excited, dashed inside the temple, leaving Axel and me alone. We exchanged bewildered glances and whispered to each other.

“I think he’s seriously misunderstanding something.”

“Yeah, but it looks like we’ll be able to get inside. Let’s just let him believe whatever he wants for now. We can always clear things up later,” I suggested.

“Hmph. Who else could be this crafty but a former black mage?” Axel teased.

“Black mage? I have no idea who you’re talking about. I’m a Saint,” I retorted, puffing out my chest proudly. Axel just clicked his tongue in response.

“Of course you are.”

* * *

“High Priest!” The priest who had greeted us burst into the prayer chamber, frantically searching for the High Priest.

The High Priest, who was in the middle of leading a blessing ceremony, frowned deeply at the interruption. Surrounding him were several other priests, all participating in the ritual, and a young boy lying in the center, drenched in sweat, clearly suffering.

The High Priest glanced cautiously at the stoic man observing the ceremony from the side and then beckoned the frantic priest over.

As the out-of-breath priest approached, the High Priest grabbed him by the ear and whispered harshly, “What’s the meaning of this? I told you not to disturb us while the blessing ceremony is in progress!”

“B-but the Master of the Mage Tower is here, and he’s brought the Saint with him…!”

“What? The Saint? And the Master of the Mage Tower?!”

The High Priest’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you sure? Did you really see the Saint and the Master of the Mage Tower together?”

The priest nodded vigorously, almost as if pleading for the High Priest to believe him. It didn’t seem like a lie, but it was still hard to wrap his mind around it. The Saint and the Master of the Mage Tower—a most unusual pairing. The idea of the famously aloof Elpinard mage wandering around with a young girl was almost unimaginable.

“Moreover, the Saint said she received a message from Heaven and insisted on entering the temple immediately.”

“A message from Heaven? Are you saying she received a divine revelation?”

“What else could it be? Given the situation, I thought it best to bring them inside right away, so I came running.”

“Good grief, a revelation, just like that…,” the High Priest muttered, his face betraying his growing unease as he cast a nervous glance toward the stoic man in the prayer chamber. Without further hesitation, he grabbed the priest and dragged him out of the prayer room.

As soon as the door closed behind them, the High Priest gave the younger priest a light smack on the back.

“Ow!”

“Fool! Can’t you read the situation?”

“R-read the situation? What do you mean?”

“Think about it. What reason would there be for the gods to suddenly give a revelation to a young Saint? She’s shown no signs of anything like that before.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

The priest fell silent, realizing the High Priest had a point. Reshia Elpinard had a reputation as a Saint who couldn’t even wield divine power, something that any chosen cleric should be able to do. There were already rumors circulating that Cardinal Bael, who had endorsed her as the Saint, might have misinterpreted a divine oracle and chosen the wrong child. 

Cardinal Bael, who had risen to power at a young age, had plenty of enemies. After slaying the Mad Dragon, he had been hailed as a hero, but with peace restored, that gratitude had faded. The possibility that Bael’s chosen Saint was a mistake was too juicy an opportunity for his adversaries to pass up.