The Cowardly Baby Saint Sees Ghosts - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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# Chapter 18.
The Pope’s Office always made me tense, no matter when I visited.
The atmosphere created by the books stacked densely to the ceiling and the light streaming through the stained glass windows lent a weight to every conversation held there.
I sat in the chair, picking at my fingernails while I waited for the Pope.
Soon the door opened and he stepped inside.
His face was as warm as ever, but something was different today.
Serious, somehow.
“Did you wait long?”
“No, not at all.”
He sat across from me and looked directly at me.
“I called you here because there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Yes.”
Out of habit, I took the lemon candy he offered and nodded.
“I’m planning to hold your first Blessing Ceremony next week.”
‘A Blessing Ceremony.’
I’d heard of it once before, mentioned in passing by Becky.
Once a month, you go out to the Plaza or the City and offer prayers for the people.
“Diane, you’ll need to participate directly in the procession through the Plaza.”
“…… Me?”
“First and foremost, the people need to know of the Saint’s existence.”
The Pope glanced out the window, choosing his words carefully.
“Do you remember the day you first came to the Temple? I heard reports that you passed through the City.”
“Yes.”
I remembered it—the dust-laden streets, the lifeless faces of the people.
Even though it was the outside world I’d seen for the first time, I felt something was wrong about it.
“Three hundred years.”
His voice dropped slightly.
“That’s how long we’ve been without a Saint. When the balance of Mana collapsed, crops stopped growing properly, and even illnesses wouldn’t heal easily. Everyone thought God had abandoned the Empire.”
“……”
“You need to show them your existence. Just by your presence, by your very face appearing among them, it will be enough to bring them comfort.”
The room fell quiet.
I looked down at my fingernails, now sharpened from picking, and asked.
“All I have to do is walk?”
“That’s right.”
“…… That’s all?”
The Pope narrowed his eyes for a moment, then smiled gently.
“That’s all.”
It felt like there should be more to it.
‘Is that really all there is?’
I nodded, half-convinced.
“I understand.”
The Pope rose from his seat and spoke.
“Since you might be startled seeing so many people, I’ll have Liam accompany you. You don’t need to worry.”
Whenever someone told me not to worry, I only worried more.
‘How many people will come?’
And how many ghosts will be visible?
Since I’d be going outside the Temple, it was probably going to be absolutely swarming, wasn’t it?
Words I couldn’t speak piled up in my throat.
* * *
The day of the Blessing Ceremony.
‘Status Window.’
Name: Diane Irene / Age 5
Position: Fourth Saint
Kindness Gauge: 27 / 1000
Fear Index: 0 / 100
Inventory: Sight Protection Glasses (Rechargeable)
Quest in Progress
[Submisson] (Child) 20%
―[Hidden] Try calling the Pope “Father”
Out of habit, I summoned the Status Window and stared at the child being carefully dressed in the mirror.
She’d filled out over the past days of good food and proper rest, her cheeks rosy with health.
“It’s such a shame. If we’d had just a bit more time, I could’ve shown our Saint looking even more radiant.”
“Still, His Holiness judged it necessary to ease the people’s anxiety first.”
……
I’d been wrong about myself.
To everyone else, I still looked like a child who’d gone hungry and underfed.
But because this was my first public appearance, the whole room was tense with effort.
Especially Becky, who was practically my nursemaid, looked frantically busy.
“The Saint has such fair skin, we need to bring out a pure white dress! Though we should avoid anything too ostentatious.”
Right—best not to interfere.
I submitted quietly to the attendants’ careful touch as they primped my face.
When the preparations were nearly finished, a soft, rhythmic knock sounded at the door.
“Saint, it’s time to prepare to depart.”
I spun around at the familiar voice and found Liam watching me with a gentle smile.
“Liam!”
“It’s been too long, Saint.”
I rushed over and wrapped my arms around his legs, and warm laughter rippled down from above my head.
“There’s quite a crowd gathered in the Plaza.”
My body stiffened as sudden nervousness crashed over me.
“Are you very nervous?”
“A little.”
“Don’t worry. You need only stand there, and everyone will be moved.”
That somehow made it worse.
Instead of answering, I just pouted.
“It’s my first time going somewhere with so many people.”
Liam gave my shoulder a few awkward pats, then sat down to meet my eyes.
With a soft rustle, he produced a candy in a new flavor.
“It’s emergency rations, but I’ll share this special one with you.”
The pink wrapper bore a picture of a peach, so the flavor was unmistakable at a glance.
The first time I’d eaten a peach after arriving at the Temple, I thought my tongue would melt.
“Why do you always carry candy with you, Liam?”
“Because I never know when I’ll meet you, so I always keep some.”
Hmph.
When I took the candy he offered, Liam’s eyes softened into a gentle smile.
In that moment, I understood why Camilla had fallen for him.
He brushed my hair back and spoke.
“In truth, it’s simple. You need only follow the procession.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes. If you’re frightened, you can hold my hand.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
His answer was brief but firm, and somehow that reassured me more than anything else could.
The way I relaxed around Liam—perhaps it was an echo from the day he’d saved me from the orphanage.
“Then I will.”
Liam nodded silently and smiled.
* * *
The moment I stepped out of the Temple into the Plaza, I truly wanted to flee.
There were far too many people.
‘Disgusting.’
The Plaza was so packed that people were hanging from the walls just to catch a glimpse of me.
Everyone was watching.
“It’s the Saint!”
“She’s just a child, isn’t she?”
“Blessed be the Divine.”
“We’re saved……!”
I reflexively gripped Liam’s hand.
He smiled faintly and squeezed back.
“At the end of the procession, His Holiness the Pope awaits you.”
Liam’s gaze remained forward, alert to everything around us.
Now that I thought about it, the temple knights who usually gossiped about me were lined up in rigid formation, all tension and vigilance as they escorted us.
“Let’s go.”
With each step I took following him, cries and exclamations erupted from all around.
The overwhelming noise pressed down upon me like a weight, fear crawling up my small frame.
“……!”
It was good I’d eaten the candy beforehand. I closed my eyes tight, rolling the peach-flavored lozenge across my tongue.
That was when it happened.
“Look, Saint.”
At the sound of Liam’s voice—calm as always—I opened my eyes.
“Do you see it?”
It was as though someone had taken brilliant pigment and splashed it across a world that had been gray.
Even the breath I drew in and exhaled felt capable of purifying all things.
“The corrupted energies are fading.”
Whose magic was this?
Or was it simply my own growth, having grown accustomed to Holy Power in mere days?
I could see it more clearly than anyone.
“……Yes.”
I gripped Liam’s hand tighter. The desolate scene I’d witnessed inside the carriage came flooding back.
“I can see it.”
So it was true—a Saint’s very presence could stabilize the irregular Mana of the world.
I was feeling it in my bones now. Something was changing, slowly, because of me, and it felt…….
“Mmm.”
Since possessing this body in this novel, I’d never really thought about who I was.
I’d only ever aimed to endure each day and survive.
‘My mind feels like it’s going white.’
Never had I resented my short legs as much as I did now.
The procession was longer than I’d expected, and at my pace, it would take far too long to reach where the Pope stood.
In the end, Liam scooped me up in one arm.
Startled by the sudden height, I lifted my head, and cheers erupted from the crowd around me.
“Ohhh……!”
“You’re so beautiful!”
“Saint! Just look this way once!”
Awkwardly waving my hand in response only made the noise grow louder.
Embarrassed, I buried my face in Liam’s neck.
“This is praise the Saint rightly deserves.”
Liam’s voice came soft, telling me to get used to it.
‘I’ve never experienced anything like this, not even in my past life.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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