The Possessor Mistook the Genre for 20 Years

23 – The Secretary Didn’t Like the Saintess.

During the hero party’s adventures, Yuna occasionally talked about her family.

She said she lived in a small house with her mother and younger sibling in Duke Ishtar’s territory.

And she wanted to move to a bigger house after defeating the Demon King.

‘It can’t be…’

Franz couldn’t shake off the ominous feeling.

A villainess who would lead the world to ruin and a cult worshipping the Demon God.

These two keywords somehow fit together too well.

But that was just speculation; it couldn’t be concluded that Yuna was involved with the cult.

No, it was more likely that she wasn’t.

A hero who defeated the Demon King wouldn’t have a reason to cooperate with the cult.

Well, in the end, nothing could be known until it was seen with one’s own eyes.

Franz sipped the tea Arian had poured and spoke.

“So, you want me to infiltrate the social gathering?”

“Yes, please. We’d also like to ask Lady Frigia for help. Honestly, we’d like to handle it ourselves, but it would look strange for clergymen to attend such a gathering, wouldn’t it?”

Well, that’s true.

A social gathering is supposed to be a place for socializing, but in reality, it’s just drinking and partying.

Diligent clergymen usually don’t attend even if they’re invited.

In fact, for that reason, Franz had refused all social gatherings until now.

There was no reason to be seen favorably by others, so it was more beneficial to sleep during that time.

But well, if there is such a reason, there’s no choice but to go.

“Alright, I’ll try it your way. Arian, are you okay with it too?”

“In short, I just need to attend the social gathering with the Tower Master, right?”

That wasn’t wrong, but the words were quite peculiar.

It sounded as if the original purpose didn’t matter at all.

“Well, that’s true.”

“Then I’ll go too.”

Arian answered without hesitation.

Attending a social gathering alone with Franz was truly a rare opportunity.

Especially since he had refused all social gatherings until now.

But at the same time, it was confusing not knowing Justia’s true intentions.

She acted as if she liked Franz, yet she provided such a good opportunity.

Was she actually a good person, not a religious fox? It made one think.

“Thank you both. But about the cost of this matter….”

“Forget the money. You were sent here with that in mind anyway.”

Franz had known for a while.

If they intended to pay the cost properly, the saintess could have sent a request letter instead of coming in person.

Considering the importance of the matter, that was the right way to think.

“Did you find out…. I’m really sorry, but we needed a lot of money for relief activities. Because of that, the finances of the Goddess Church became quite tight. But since I was the one who insisted on it, I couldn’t ask for support.”

“Alright, I understand. It’s for a good cause.”

“Yes…. So, please think of this as my tooth fee and help me.”

“Oh… okay, tooth fee….”

It seemed he had indeed stepped on a landmine.

But since he intended to help anyway, it wouldn’t be bad if he could clear the tooth fee as well.

Franz’s positive circuit was working hard today as well.

“Then I’ll be going now.”

As the saintess stood up, Franz and Arian also stood up.

Franz spoke.

“Arian, you stay here. I’ll take Justia.”

There was no need for both of them to leave their posts.

Besides, there were things they wanted to discuss privately.

Of course, Arian wasn’t happy about it,

“Yes… I understand.”

There was no reason to refuse.

So, even if it made him uneasy, he had no choice but to let her go.

“Saintess, please be careful.”

“Yes, Lady Freesia, please take care of yourself too.”

With a brief farewell, Franz left Arian behind and exited the tower room with the saintess and the holy knights.

It wasn’t long before they reached the first floor of the tower.

As they crossed the wide space, Franz asked Justia in a low voice,

“How have you been lately?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, that talk about the end of the world and all.”

Franz glanced around, worried that the holy knights might overhear.

Fortunately, they were far enough away that the knights couldn’t hear them.

Justia hummed and then answered in a similarly low voice,

“Well… I guess you could say I’ve found a reason to remain as the saintess. I don’t know for sure, but for now, I’m okay.”

“That’s a relief.”

Franz sighed in relief.

He had been worried that she was pretending to be okay while struggling inside, but thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case.

When they reached the entrance of the tower, Justia turned to face Franz.

“Honestly, it’s all thanks to you. You were the first to speak harshly to me.”

“Hey, it’s fine. Whether it was harsh or not, I was just angry at you. And I’m sorry for being too harsh.”

“It’s okay. It might have been just anger to you, but it was a great lesson for me. This is a token of my gratitude.”

Justia handed him a small glass bottle filled with tea leaves.

She had bought it at a tea shop before coming to the tower.

“Who buys a gift and then runs into the recipient? I was so surprised…”

“Well, I’m not sure about accepting a gift…”

All Franz had done was get angry at Justia, get very angry, and slap her, knocking out a tooth.

So, he felt too ashamed to accept the gift.

“Take it quickly, my arm hurts. Or are you going to ignore my kindness?”

“That’s not it.”

In the end, Franz accepted the glass bottle from Justia.

He didn’t want to, but it would have been rude to refuse outright.

“Then, please take care of this matter. Just don’t overdo it.”

“Sure, I’ll be waiting.”

With that conversation, Justia lightly bowed her head and left.

The holy knights also greeted Franz and followed her.

Franz watched them walk away, then leisurely turned his steps.

When he arrived at the tower master’s office, Arian was there, holding a stack of documents and squinting.

“Master, what is that you’re holding?”

“This? Justia gave it to me last time for helping with the village relief.”

To be precise, it was a bit different, but he couldn’t say he received it after getting angry at the saint.

That would put Justia in a difficult position.

Getting angry and then being happy and giving a gift? No matter how you think about it, it sounds perverted.

At Franz’s words, Arian let out a hollow laugh.

“…I thought so.”

“Really? I had no idea.”

“That’s because you’re more… never mind. On second thought, it’s better that you don’t know.”

Did she just try to say he was clueless?

No, it couldn’t be. She had been nice all day.

Yes, it must be a misunderstanding.

By the way.

‘It’s gone up quite a bit…?’

A translucent display floated in front of Franz’s eyes.

[Saint Justia 20.00%]

Just from a brief conversation today, it had gone up by 10 percent.

It was almost suspicious how cost-effective it was.

Franz’s gaze slowly turned upwards.

The hero Yuna was still at 0 percent.

Maybe after going through this, it will surely go up.

‘Hopefully, it’s not a big deal.’

The main figure in the subjugation of the Demon King, and the leader of the hero party.

Yuna wasn’t given the title of hero for nothing.

To put it bluntly, she’s insanely strong.

If they were to fight, the terrain would be twisted, and the map would have to be redrawn.

So hopefully, she hasn’t turned into a villain yet.

Fortunately, they hadn’t faced her before she became a villain so far.

It would be the same this time too.

By the way.

‘What should I wear to the social gathering…?’

Franz had no interest in dressing up in the first place.

But the social gathering was a place where all sorts of nobles gathered.

Nobles loved to dress up and show off by nature, so to avoid being ignored, he had to dress appropriately.

So, well, he had no choice but to ask for help.

“Arian, can you help me pick out clothes for the social gathering?”

Thud-.

Arian’s eyes widened, and she dropped the stack of documents she was holding.

* * * * *

The Duchy of Ishtar.

In a small house in a quiet village within it, there was a woman.

She was Yuna, the hero chosen by the gods and the main figure in the subjugation of the Demon King.

But Yuna’s condition couldn’t be called good, even as a joke.

She didn’t want to do anything, as if she had become a recluse.

Whenever she put food in her mouth, she would vomit, and she couldn’t sleep, so shadows were cast under her eyes.

Yuna was standing blankly, looking at the traces of her family that still remained in the house.

They were the traces of her mother and younger sibling.

“The Duke of Ishtar….”

It was all because of that wicked man.