Chapter 22
✠ Bypassing the queue, I quickly entered the Holy Imperial Palace using Cardinal Cattleya's authority.
I had thought the line of children holding their parents' hands outside was long, but inside too, there was no shortage of children to be seen.
This was all due to the educational fervor of the Holy Nation's parents wanting to make their children divine power awakeners.
Since this festival also served as the public selection for the 'Stigmata Lambs.'
It was truly a deceptive event. The Stigmata Lambs didn't awaken their divine power through normal methods in the first place.
Are you saying a child with the same level of potential as those who were awakened by having stigmata implanted in them was naturally born?
If that were the case, the Holy Imperial Palace would have noticed long ago and brought them in, even if it meant kidnapping them.
The public selection was nothing more than a showy festival event.
Promoting the Stigmata Lambs, and conveniently collecting the parents' offerings as well.
['The Word that Constructs the World' sets the mood, saying the stronger the light, the deeper the shadow.]
Even within this divinity-filled Holy Imperial Palace, the sordid circumstances of adults were hidden.
Walking along the corridor following Cardinal Cattleya, I saw children moving in orderly lines.
Their destination was obviously either the chapel or the dining hall.
The children had to complete a three-day camp of a monotonous and boring religious training consisting of prayer, meals, and worship before they could get a chance to take the potential test.
At that moment, a young priest approached from the opposite direction.
"Your Eminence Cardinal Cattleya! You have returned!"
"Ah, Brother Pavel."
"But who is that child next to you... Could it be a child Your Eminence intends to personally recommend for the Stigmata Lambs?"
"No. I just brought them along because they wanted to see the Holy Imperial Palace. Of course, they may take the test if they wish."
At Cardinal Cattleya's meaningful glance, I shook my head desperately.
"No, no! I'm just looking around and then going home."
I didn't want to live a life trapped in the Holy Imperial Palace, forced into a puritanical lifestyle, and treated as a public good to save the world.
I like the secular world.
Cardinal Cattleya also seemed to have been half-joking, as she laughed it off lightly.
The young priest got to the point.
"I apologize for bringing this up right after your return, but it seems you need to go to the State Council immediately. This quarter's budget execution meeting has been moved up."
"Oh my. Child, I'm sorry but it seems I'll have to be away for a while."
"It's okay. Go ahead."
"Brother Pavel, I have a favor to ask. Please show this child around the Holy Imperial Palace in my place."
"Yes! Don't worry and go, Your Eminence!"
Pavel's response was truly reliable. However, when Cardinal Cattleya's back disappeared from sight.
"You see those kids walking in line down the hallway? You follow them too. I'm busy, so I'll be going."
"......."
I was left standing alone in the corridor.
Hmm, well. It's understandable not to want to watch a kid.
After pondering what to do for a moment, I decided to quietly join the children and experience the religious training camp.
Since it was lunchtime in the Holy Nation, the place I arrived at was the dining hall.
Thus, sitting down at a wooden table and looking down at the food I was served, my impression was...
['The Word that Constructs the World' gets angry, asking if a growing child can eat this.]
I completely agree.
A meal consisting of raisin bread, chickpea soup, and blanched vegetables went beyond frugality and bordered on poverty.
"What is this. There's no ham or sausage."
"Ugh, it's tasteless. So bland."
"The portion is small... I'm hungry..."
The children grumbled.
"Ahem! You must not talk during meals, young candidate believers!"
The supervising childcare priest stopped the complaints from spreading under the pretext of Holy Nation dining etiquette. How cheap.
At that moment, the murmuring in the dining hall suddenly died down.
The appearance of a group of children created a hushed atmosphere more effectively than the childcare priest's scolding.
The newly appeared children looked distinctly different at a glance.
Unlike the ordinary children wearing free and comfortable clothing, they wore white robe-style priest garments.
They were all around my age, but a considerable amount of divine power emanated from each and every one of them.
The children's identity was clear.
'Stigmata Lambs.'
The elite children carefully raised by the Holy Nation.
'They must be in there.'
To find Sweet Potato Pass, I recalled the original work's description.
Shining silver hair symbolizing God's blessing, and clear eyes like the light of the celestial sea captured in a glass bottle.
And...
Completely, incredibly, super handsome! The best-looking man in the world view recognizable at a glance!
'Nope, not there.'
First of all, there was no silver hair.
I looked again just in case, but the child sitting next to me eating whispered low.
"Don't make eye contact with them. They have really nasty personalities..."
It was helpful advice. Indeed, a black-haired kid was glaring at me with a very fierce look.
"Thanks. Eat this."
I took out a lemon madeleine from my satchel and handed it to the child. Their face brightening up was a pleasant sight.
"Now, now, if you've finished eating, please move to the chapel. It's time for worship."
Hearing the childcare priest's shout, I made up my mind.
'Let's bail.'
I turned on the map, figured out an escape route, and slipped out through the back door.
Like a scene from a spy movie, I pressed myself against the wall and successfully escaped outside the dining hall building.
Fortunately, there was a relatively neglected flower bed behind the building.
'The optimal place to do a quest.'
Pushing through the boxwood, I examined the weeds. Thanks to the cultivation package I previously purchased from the cash shop, I could identify their names just by touching them through 'Plant Appraisal.'
"This one is celandine, that one is hairy fleabane... Where on earth could it be hiding... Ah! Found it!"
[
Classification: Medicinal herb
Often mistaken for a weed, but its tuber grown sturdy over about 3 years can be used as medicine. Grows in places with abundant divine power.]
There were a few more nearby. Since I needed to propagate them, I dug them all up and put them in my inventory.
I felt like a farmer who had finished his labor. It was when I proudly stretched my back and wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand.
"Did you go on a treasure hunt by yourself?"
"Oh my!"
An unfamiliar voice rang out right beside me. The moment I turned my head in surprise.
"....Gasp."
I lost my words seeing the other person's face.
Brilliant silver hair. Eyes that shifted between blue and teal depending on the angle of light. Above all, a devastatingly handsome face that seemed to open one's eyes.
A handkerchief was offered before my dazed eyes.
"You wiped your face with your dirt-covered hands."
"......."
That was my first meeting with Sweet Potato Pass.
'To think the first-round child protagonist untouched by the taint of regression is right before my eyes...'
['The Word that Constructs the World' advises you to be especially careful with any statements that might cause an impact in front of the original protagonist.]
['The Celestial Information Leak Inspector' is watching with wide eyes to see whether you'll let a spoiler slip or not.]
I suddenly came to my senses.
Meanwhile, the shallow sea-colored eyes looking at me narrowed. I thought it seemed like he was pondering something.
"Hmm?"
"Don't be surprised. I have an obligation to be kind, that's why."
Sweet Potato Pass—no, Tesilid—personally wiped the dirt and dust from my forehead.
It was truly an expressionless face and rough handiwork that oozed with a sense of obligation.
Of course, I knew the reason.
The protagonist buff and sweet potato debuff that Tesilid possessed—the 'Discipline of the Seven Virtues and Seven Deadly Sins.'
Since he had to earn good deed points for his divine power to increase, he had many restrictions and obligations.
Why else would he use honorifics to everyone in the original work? It's because of the 'Humility' clause among the Seven Virtues.
Tesilid, who was not yet humble, muttered a small soliloquy.
"Why do I have to bear even this kind of obligation."
Why, you ask. Because scattering kindness far and wide to everyone regardless of age or gender is what creates the potential for a harem story, that's why.
Still, listening to his complaints made me a bit uncertain.
'Wouldn't he get docked points again if he reveals it's an obligation?'
On the grounds of lacking sincerity, that is. It was essentially a taboo word, and I wasn't sure if it was okay for him to let it slip twice now.
Tesilid, putting away the handkerchief, spoke.
"I came because I sensed the aura of a holy relic, but I didn't expect a kid like you to be its owner."
"You're a kid too. But a holy relic?"
"You didn't know? That necklace of yours, it's the holy relic of Saint Agnes. She's one of the dungeon-closing heroes honored at this Festival of Sacrifice."
"A h-hero?"
...Cardinal Cattleya, what is this about? You only said it was your best friend's memento, you didn't tell me that best friend was a hero-level saint.
That was when Tesilid's tone became slightly interrogative.
"Wasn't that originally Cardinal Cattleya's possession?"
"Please don't misunderstand. The Cardinal gave it to me."
"A holy relic?"
The moment I asked back, Tesilid's face closed the distance.
"You don't seem to have any divine power..."
As expected of the protagonist, the intensity of his piercing gaze was extraordinary. For a moment, I almost flinched...
*Grrrrumble!*
...What was that. I think I just heard a majestic sound.
Privilege for the Possessed