The Saint’s Manual for Redemption - Chapter 17

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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 17
When I turned around, Amelia was the first to spot me, her arms spread wide in relief. Since this was the Temple-Affiliated Orphanage, everyone who worked here was a priest or deacon belonging to the Main Temple.
“You’re safe! I prayed so earnestly for God’s protection to be with you, and it seems Caritas answered my prayer. How was your stay at the Main Temple?”
“Well, I only managed to stay a few days while taking the Saint Candidate exam, but it was certainly far nicer than the orphanage rooms.”
I answered with a light laugh as I embraced Amelia.
Even though she was a priest of the Main Temple and must have known I’d become a Saint Candidate, the way Amelia treated me exactly as before made me feel as though I’d truly come home.
Though now it was a home I could never return to, a place I was leaving for good.
I asked Amelia, who was welcoming me so warmly, half in jest.
“You didn’t already pack up all my things, did you?”
Originally, orphans were supposed to gather their belongings and leave the orphanage immediately upon coming of age—more precisely, right after receiving Baptism. But I hadn’t been able to return to the orphanage after my baptism; instead, I’d been practically imprisoned in the Temple. So that had been impossible.
All eighteen years of my life still remained intact in the orphanage.
Of course, that was only if the priests working here hadn’t thrown my things away. I was quite curious whether the Main Temple had ordered them to erase all traces of me as a Saint Candidate, or had told them to leave things as they were.
“Of course I kept them. The Headmaster did tell me to dispose of them, but how could I throw away your belongings without your permission?”
The Headmaster apparently knew that the upper echelons of the Religious Order had tried to eliminate me.
Otherwise, why would Amelia, like anyone else would naturally do, be keeping my possessions safely until my return? Surely they wouldn’t rush to dispose of eighteen years’ worth of someone’s accumulated belongings. And the orphanage certainly had proper storage space for such things.
I couldn’t very well decide later to exact revenge on the Headmaster by slashing the budget in response….
While I was sighing inwardly, Amelia guided me to where my things were stored.
“I thought I’d been practicing a rather austere, forced minimalist life, but it turns out I’ve accumulated quite a lot.”
Seasonal clothing, undergarments and shoes, the Independence Support Fund given to orphans upon leaving, the independence savings I’d managed to set aside over the years hoping to have a place that felt like home, the small items I’d gradually collected while working part-time jobs, the gifts the younger children at the orphanage had given me before my baptism—and more.
Eighteen years of my belongings were piled together in one place.
“Will you be able to carry all of it at once?”
“We can load it onto the carriage. Sir Arden will help move it.”
My fingers were already pointing to an empty space, as Arden had gone to gather my things.
While I was busily gathering things alongside Arden, I spoke to Amelia.
“Oh, right—I almost forgot. Will you give me my Independence Support Fund?”
If I were truly a Saint with real power, I would’ve told them to use such a sum to buy snacks for the younger children. But unfortunately, in my current circumstances, every penny was precious.
I couldn’t spend the money the Temple gave me carelessly. If I didn’t account clearly for where it went, it would become the perfect weapon to use against me.
So to quietly build my own forces without the Temple’s knowledge, I had no choice but to take this Independence Support Fund with a heavy heart.
After all, it was compensation for four days of labor a week, wasn’t it?
As memories surfaced of my past self—working unpaid to clean the Temple while juggling part-time jobs—I realized it didn’t feel so guilty to accept this fund after all.
“I do think you should take it, as a precaution in case you were eliminated from the candidacy…. But I’m not sure the Headmaster will hand it over willingly. You know as well as I do that many children became independent this year.”
Amelia spoke with a worried tone.
“It’s fine. I can persuade the Headmaster sufficiently.”
If I brought out my secret weapon from the carriage, I’d certainly be able to persuade the Headmaster. I turned politely to Arden, who was holding a full armful of my belongings.
“Sir, when you put the things in the carriage, could you bring me ‘that’?”
“‘That’? Surely you don’t mean….”
Arden’s expression shifted from incomprehension to shock in an instant.
“I won’t wield it, so don’t worry.”
At least, not unless things went badly.
While Arden went to fetch the Wilson Junior, I slowly walked through the orphanage one last time, when a familiar voice called from behind me.
“Excuse me? Are you perhaps looking for the Headmaster’s office?”
I turned around and saw a blonde-haired girl I recognized. Her eyes widened as she looked at me.
“My goodness, Ciela! I didn’t recognize you with silver hair! You really did become a Saint Candidate? Is that when your hair changed color?”
It was Vivian, the younger sister I’d been closest to at the orphanage. She was a year younger than me, so she’d be able to leave the orphanage next year.
“Yes, it changed during the baptism ceremony.”
“What a waste of your original hair color, sister. That honey-blonde shade is so rare and pretty.”
“Why, isn’t silver not pretty?”
I swept my silver-white hair back. I far preferred this color, which matched my previous life, to the blonde.
“Anyway, what are people saying outside? I haven’t had a chance to hear the public opinion.”
“They say two Saint Candidates appeared, but one of them must definitely be a fake. They say the fake will be exposed soon, but everyone figures that if it’s you, you’ll easily beat the fake and ascend above the Saint position.”
Vivian added cynically, telling me not to forget her if things went well.
Vivian got around quite a bit, so she was the most well-informed among the orphans.
“So which side is the ‘real Saint’ opinion leaning toward?”
“Once it became known that you came from the Main Temple’s Affiliated Orphanage, the opinion tilted against you. People were saying the connection between you and the Main Temple was too deep.”
Vivian let out a bitter laugh.
“Think about it—would a poor orphan like us really conspire with the Main Temple to fabricate God’s will? Or would a noble lady throw her family’s money at the Main Temple to fake God’s will? Those people who only see us as expendable labor would hardly have cooperated with you without payment.”
Vivian was sharp, that was certain. It would be wonderful if she underwent Baptism and took the Lifetime Vow to become my close aide, but since a thorny path awaited me even if I reached the position of Saint, I couldn’t bring myself to ask her outright.
“Are you going back to the Main Temple, sister?”
“I have to. First, I need to extract what I can from the Headmaster.”
I nodded while watching Arden approach, holding the massive Wilson Junior in one hand. I’d thought his slender frame meant he was weak, but it turned out I was quite wrong.
“Good luck. May Caritas watch over you, sister.”
Vivian traced the Sign of the Cross with practiced ease. I ruffled her hair gently in return and took the Wilson Junior from her hands.
The moment I reached the Headmaster’s office, I cut straight to business.
“I’ll take the Independence Support Fund now.”
The Headmaster stared at me as if he’d seen a ghost, trembling visibly. What on earth had they told him at the Main Temple?
I didn’t even need to brandish a mace—he disbursed the Independence Support Fund on the spot.
Truly, the art of persuasion: skipping all the tedious back-and-forth entirely.
I tucked the money pouch into the folds of my robe and sighed.
“I couldn’t even say goodbye to my cohort from the orphanage. They were like family.”
It really was a shame. If things had gone as planned, we would have gathered at a tavern near the Temple-Affiliated Orphanage after the baptism ceremony for one last farewell.
But I’d been confined to the Main Temple the moment the ceremony ended, so I missed even that final goodbye.
“If you stopped to see your cohort, it would eat up far too much time.”
“It’s unfortunate, but there’s no help for it. All I can do is hope we meet again someday.”
I had my own struggles ahead—I couldn’t afford to dwell on the worries of others taking their first steps toward independence. So without hesitation, I climbed into the carriage laden with my belongings.
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“We’ve arrived already. I feel like I should have had more time to prepare myself.”
The Wilson Junior I’d acquired in Delheim Village, along with my belongings packed tightly from the orphanage—at last, we’d reached the Main Temple.

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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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