“Um, well, Ingrid, please rest well. The prosthetic will be delivered soon…”
Aiko left the infirmary dejectedly, feeling that her best friend’s mental state was worrisome.
It really was too big of a blow! It made her mind a bit abnormal.
The old Ingrid wasn’t like this.
She was valiant and imposing, gentle and beautiful, yet full of a sense of justice—she was a newcomer to the knight order beloved by everyone in the church!
Her parents were also clergy within the church, so one could say her future was bright.
However, everything that happened yesterday had taken all of that away from Ingrid.
Aiko could understand why she would suddenly undergo such a drastic change in temperament.
“I hope time can dilute everything, and that the great God of Chronos can soothe her shattered soul.”
Aiko drew the outline of a clock in front of her, praying to the deity she believed in.
She still had other things to do today!
She remembered the archbishop saying this morning that there was something to discuss with her—it was the first time she’d seen Lady Sephilia look so serious!
Maybe there was some big news?
Aiko blinked, switched her mood, straightened her nun’s habit, and walked toward the Grand Sanctuary with light steps.
In the morning, the golden sunlight was especially bright, spilling colorful hues through the stained glass.
The floor of the Grand Sanctuary was made of reflective material, and the two combined enveloped the entire Grand Sanctuary in a dreamlike palette.
Under such magnificent lighting effects, Aiko saw Bishop Sephilia—this woman in her twenties, the youngest bishop in the church, with long orange-red hair and skin as fair and translucent as milk, looking just like the goddess’s incarnation in the mortal world.
She had her eyes slightly closed, her lashes appearing so long under the multicolored light;
Sephilia, praying beneath the gently smiling statue of the goddess, was so beautiful that it made Aiko’s cheeks flush a bit.
Truly worthy of being the church’s former saintess!
Aiko liked Sephilia very much and believed that if the next pope were Lady Sephilia, the church would surely become better and better.
Seeming to sense Aiko’s footsteps, Sephilia awoke from her prayer.
When she opened her eyes, it was as if endless radiance overflowed from them, making Aiko involuntarily swallow.
She wondered, Did I come at a bad time?
Did I interrupt the bishop’s communication with the divine?
“…Aiko, you’re here. The timing is perfect. Close the door—there’s no one else here.”
Sephilia’s slightly ethereal voice echoed in the silent Grand Sanctuary.
Aiko didn’t hesitate, closing the door to the Grand Sanctuary and stepping forward to perform a believer’s salute to Sephilia.
She looked at Sephilia, sensing that the atmosphere clearly indicated something major.
As an ordinary nun, her heart was now very excited—to be able to contribute a meager effort for the great Lord Chronos was the greatest honor for a believer.
“Bishop, may I ask what I can do?”
Sephilia didn’t answer the question immediately, instead sighing softly as she spoke: “How is Ingrid?”
Aiko thought for a moment and answered truthfully: “Her injuries should be fine now, but as Miss Aruma said, the pain in her heart may need time to heal…”
“Sigh.”
Sephilia let out another long sigh, then turned around to look at her beloved disciple and said: “Aiko, the church has a very important matter to entrust to you now. I don’t know if you’re willing to accept it…”
“Of course I’m willing! The church is my home, and Bishop, you’re like my own sister!”
Aiko hardly hesitated.
To this, Sephilia showed a warm smile: “It’s not too late to answer after hearing it out. Aiko, the selection for the church’s new saintess is about to begin, and I plan to nominate you as the next saintess…”
“Huh?”
Aiko’s eyes widened, filled instantly with surprise and confusion.
As the current bishop with the most real power in the Chronos Church, receiving Sephilia’s recommendation was equivalent to securely claiming the seat of ‘saintess.’
But what virtue or ability did she, Aiko, have?
In her view, the position of saintess had to be for someone as outstanding as Bishop Sephilia.
Originally, Sephilia had planned to wait until after this ‘Goddess Festival,’ when Ingrid won the championship, and use her contract with Sutis to crown her as the new saintess!
But everything had been disrupted.
Now Ingrid’s spirit seemed to have suffered a huge blow, and she was long unable to become the saintess.
Moreover—
She had actually spoken ill of Abel, who had saved her life?
This was something Sephilia only heard about when she returned to the church yesterday—it had made her half-dead with anger.
No wonder Abel hadn’t agreed to join the church!
It turned out to be because of Ingrid?!
Although Ingrid was a very talented young person, if she antagonized the ‘Goddess Knight,’ then Sephilia would have no choice but to shelve her.
If she went to cause trouble for Abel again, wouldn’t that lose face for the church?
Such a thing absolutely couldn’t happen!
At that moment, she spotted Aiko—this girl had a pure mind, yet was beautiful in appearance, and most importantly, her looks were right between a young girl and a loli, which would probably suit that ‘loli-con’s’ tastes very well!
Since the royal family was trying to seduce him with beauty, how could the church fall behind?
It was just that she herself seemed a bit too old to arouse that guy’s interest.
Aiko calmed her somewhat rapid heartbeat.
Although she had a pure mind, she also knew that this was absolutely not without a price.
“Then, Bishop, what is the price?”
“…Aiko, I know you and Ingrid have deep feelings, but now is when the church needs you the most…”
Sephilia grabbed her shoulders and began the brainwashing: “The church cannot be without the ‘Goddess Knight.’ This is the power the great God of Chronos has given us to save the world, and the divine has prophesied that the saintess will be the savior’s lover, so…”
Aiko hardly hesitated and immediately agreed: “Bishop, you’re right. Aiko is willing to become the saintess!”
She couldn’t refuse Sephilia’s request, because Aiko had once been an orphan—if not for Sephilia and the church taking her in, she would have starved to death on the streets long ago. How could she refuse her benefactor’s request?
Even if she knew her sexual orientation leaned more toward girls.
But personal grudges and emotions, compared to the greater good of the church and humanity, were still too insignificant.
Moreover, the position of saintess was something she could never reach in her lifetime otherwise!
What was there to hesitate about?
As for Ingrid?
Well, sorry, we were just playing around. What the bishop is offering is just too much!
“Then, prepare yourself. Let’s go meet His Excellency the ‘Savior.’ Otherwise, if we’re late, he might leave the royal capital…”
“I obey Bishop’s command.”
The Chronos Church’s brand-new saintess, Aiko, said this with a bright smile.