ALL NOVEL Chapter 196
It wasn’t that far because it was the center of the 1st District, where all the important institutions of the government were gathered. The central government and the Central Church were within walking distance, and the Hero Association was right in between them. Naturally, walking wasn’t that hard.
Bam!
Of course, it was inevitable that a massive number of knights followed us along the way.
Whoosh!
…And, there were even more spectators than expected. It was no surprise, though, as the unprecedented event of simultaneously canonizing three Saintesses was still attracting plenty of people to the streets. How weird would it be if knights—no, practically enough to form a whole knight brigade—were marching in a massive circle without drawing any attention at all?
Honk!
Moreover, wasn’t this place literally where we could call it the ‘city center’ in the busiest metropolis of the 1st District?
There were many tall buildings, and not every single person was stuck to the streets or the ground floor shops. Cafés, restaurants, and malls up high looked down at us from above. I subtly glanced upwards and accidentally made eye contact with someone looking down at us from a café.
Gulp!
Even if the association’s building itself didn’t gain much popularity among the locals, it wasn’t completely surrounded by empty spaces either. After all, this was the center of a big city.
If we kept walking, surely the crowd following us would grow even larger. They might even swarm around the association building.
Uh-oh!
That would be a nuisance.
Boo-hoo!
…Thus, the first attempt simply ended with us returning to the Central Church obediently.
Bing!
For the second attempt, we decided to rent a big car to head to the association.
Since none of us had a driver’s license, we naturally needed a driver too. Fortunately, the church had a large empty vehicle and two unoccupied folks with driver’s licenses just sitting around.
It didn’t seem like it was meant for any high-ranking folks, but it was certainly big enough for four girls to fit comfortably in the back seat. No, even after that, there was still a lot of space left. It seemed it was initially a car used when large groups were needed at the cathedral.
“Can we borrow this vehicle for a bit?”
As I pointed to the empty car, the person who appeared to be in charge of the church’s parking lot turned pale and shouted.
“Yes, of course!”
Yikes!
“…Is there someone who specifically owns this car?”
“Not at all! This is a church vehicle for official duties! I’m pretty sure it’s not needed today!”
No need to panic that much.
Cringe!
…Well, I suppose if I were in his shoes, I’d likely react the same way. When you think about it, it’s like having four Presidents around. One of them might have a slightly different status, but still.
Plus, there was the leader of the Saint Knights accompanying us.
Anyway, thankfully, it was a car that the unoccupied person could easily drive.
Honk!
Of course, that idle person’s expression was quite displeased.
“Ah, if you don’t want to, don’t hesitate to let us know. We can figure something out.”
As I flashed a bright smile at Father Turner at the driver’s seat, he awkwardly chuckled, “Ah, no. If it’s something the Goddess commands, it’s an honor.”
Sarcasm!
His expression didn’t quite reflect any honor, though.
Of course, asking him to manage his expression was a bit much, so I simply nodded happily.
Okay!
“…”
The gazes of the other three girls were now fixed on me.
What?
Why?
What?
Aren’t we all just stalling, anyway? Isn’t this professorily heavy lifting something the university professors and grad students should handle? And, they said there are barely any miracles to review, right? So, couldn’t we just get a lift for a distance that hardly takes five minutes by car?
“Uh, Saintess, I could’ve driven, you know.”
Paul uncle, who was sitting in one of the remaining seats, said that, but I just smiled at him.
“However, the leader of the knight brigade has work to do.”
Hearing my words, Father Turner, who was holding the steering wheel at the driver’s seat, cleared his throat, but I didn’t bother.
“…”
Paul uncle shifted uncomfortably, but he seemed to know it would be useless to say more here.
In the end, we arrived at the association building in silence.
Ding!
At first glance, because it looked so much like a fire station, I didn’t expect there to be an underground parking lot, but Father Turner casually drove around to find the entrance to it. Fortunately, there weren’t too many cars in the parking lot.
“By the way, can we just show up unannounced like this?”
The only one who said something so sensible was ironically the only non-human among us.
Rina had a very hesitant look at the exit of the Hero Association’s parking lot.
Uh-oh!
…It was indeed a valid concern. From what I gathered when we last met, the association leader seemed extremely busy.
Seo-A had apparently come here with an appointment. We had just learned today that she was here and barged in uninvited.
“But, is there anyone here to stop us if we decide to go in?”
Ding-dong!
“…”
When I openly asked that, the surroundings fell silent once more.
“…Are you suddenly being a bit too reckless?”
Finally, Rina asked me that.
“Reckless, you say?”
I tilted my head in confusion, and Rina let out a light sigh.
“Didn’t you used to think about those things? Appointments and schedules? You used to be careful about going to school and…”
As the focus of her gaze landed on me sharply, Rina’s voice gradually dwindled.
“Wait, didn’t you just call me a Goddess?”
Hmm…
With my words, the surroundings fell silent again.
“If you placed me in the position of a Goddess, then isn’t it only natural that a Goddess gets to throw a tantrum or two? You must have known my personality when you put me in this position.”
Linea and Aurora paused in thought for a moment but soon nodded.
“Well, Clara certainly used her status whenever she needed to.”
“It’s not something she could have done if she wasn’t a Saintess when confronting the President. Since the government didn’t want to seem lesser in front of Saints, legally, our standing is the same as the Pope, you know? So technically, even the President can’t just ignore us.”
Exactly! If we tried to do anything, they would be on high alert and keeping an eye on us.
Just like what I was about to do.
“Is that so…”
Finally realizing the extent of her newly given authority, Rina looked completely flabbergasted.
“Well… you’ll get used to it soon enough, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Worrying aside, I’m saying can I just ignore this?”
That’s also true.
“And to add, it has been confirmed that Clara is above a Saintess. …We don’t know how the government views ranks yet, but now she’s certainly becoming an ‘unignorable’ presence rather than just ‘a presence we can ignore.’”
Whoa!
Hearing Rina’s additional clarification made me feel a bit nauseous, but I nodded nonetheless.
“That’s right. So while it may be a bit much to wield this status anywhere and everywhere, using a portion of that authority, when necessary, should be fine.”
“What kind of schemes are you thinking up, like some shady high official would?”
Rina grumbled under her breath, but I didn’t respond.
Whistle!
…Because truthfully, it did sound like something someone high-ranking might consider.
“Anyway, we’re going to go upstairs for now. Would you like to join us?”
“Er…”
Father Turner thought for a moment and replied.
“No, I think it’s better if I don’t go up. After all, I was the one who supplied information to you.”
If he did go up, it might expose that he had passed us the information.
It was probably already caught on the underground parking lot’s CCTV anyway.
Yawn!
“I think I’ll just take a nap in the car.”
“…”
For a moment, I thought about forcibly dragging him up, but I figured that would only lead to more trouble.
“I’ll go up with you.”
Seeing that I was looking at him, Paul uncle responded. I nodded and then glanced back at the other three Saintesses.
“Well then, let’s head up.”
“…”
They all silently followed behind me.
Whisper-whisper!
“…Doesn’t she seem like she’s becoming quite high and mighty?”
“…It’s probably about time to adapt.”
I heard the quiet murmurs from behind but chose to ignore them.
Step-step!
“…”
The receptionist was different from the last time we visited. It wasn’t the young man I had seen before nor the woman who had lost her legs. However, this woman seemed to be around the same age as them and was likely a former hero as she was properly dressed in uniform.
She was probably speechless because of our sudden appearance.
In the Saintesses’ ranks, there actually were no set hierarchies. It’s not that we intentionally avoided it, but rather there had never been multiple Saintesses or Saints at once. Even if there was a desire to have one rank it wasn’t possible.
However, even so, this situation was basically four of the highest-ranking individuals from the Central Church gathering in front of her.
Even if she were somewhat high-status, it was the kind of situation that could cause cardiac arrest!
Thud!
The lobby of the Hero Association was less bustling compared to other government buildings, but it wasn’t completely empty like the last time we visited. Some people appeared to have come to conduct business, as three men and two women were waiting in different corners of the lobby.
Of course, they were all staring at us with their mouths agape.
Whew!
“…”
Without saying anything, I grabbed a number from the machine. The number was 15. Did that mean we were today’s fifteenth visitors?
“Wouldn’t it be fine if we shared a number since we have four of us?”
When I asked, the receptionist fumbled her words like she was trying to respond but only managed an awkward “Uh, ah.” Realizing she wasn’t capable of speaking well, she nodded vigorously.
“Yes, thank you.”
I politely said that and walked silently to a corner of the lobby. Fortunately, there were quite a few empty seats since there weren’t many people.
From the far corner, we sat in the order of me, Aurora, Linea, and Rina, with Paul uncle standing a bit further away.
With four Saintesses in their unique robes, the visual impact must have been tremendous.
I had changed out of my ordinary clothes without any elaborate decorations, but the rest were adorned in magnificent ceremonial Saint robes fit for a grand occasion.
With Paul uncle, who was quite a large man, the visual shock was inescapable.
I could feel everyone in the lobby glancing at us.
Glimpse!
Not just the people around us; even the receptionist was casting glances our way.
Ding-dong!
The sound rang, and the woman whose turn it was slowly stood up, awkwardly lifting herself from her seat. She naturally began to approach the counter—
But couldn’t move forward.
She was glancing over at us nervously. Given that four Saintesses were waiting here, she wondered if it was okay for her to conduct her own business first. Our eyes met for a moment, and I quickly averted my gaze.
After glancing between us and the reception desk for a while, the woman finally made up her mind and approached us.
“Well, if it’s urgent…”
Her voice trailed off, prompting me to hastily wave my hand.
“No, it’s not that urgent.”
“…Really?”
There was suspicion brimming in her voice.
Uh-oh!
Well, it was natural to think something incredibly urgent was happening, considering four Saintesses had appeared at once.
“Yes, we’re… just here for personal matters, really. And since there aren’t that many people waiting, it’d probably be better to go in order.”
“If that’s the case…”
Only then did the woman timidly wander toward the reception desk.
“…”
Did we come here for nothing?
As I saw the reactions of everyone, I felt a wave of regret wash over me intensely. Was it better to have just pretended not to notice? What if I ended up getting photographed by a reporter again?
Yet there was no going back. The receptionist was already gazing at us with an incredulous expression. If we turned around silently, what would they think of that scenario to justify our actions?
To actually prevent the receptionist from having a cardiac arrest, it was undoubtedly wisest to just wait for our turn.
Ding-dong!
“…”
Tick-tock!
Time dragged on uncomfortably longer than I expected.
*
“What can I help you with?”
When our turn finally came, the receptionist seemed a lot more relaxed, having interacted with a few other patrons beforehand.
“We were curious if someone named Seo-A has come here.”
“Ah, well…”
The receptionist appeared ready to respond, but abruptly shut her mouth tight.
After a brief moment of contemplation, she cautiously inquired, “Is this question being asked on behalf of the church?”
“Um… no?”
After pondering for a moment, I answered.
I wasn’t considering whether to lie or not. Rather, I was contemplating whether my actions represented the church.
Even when I was still just a Saintess, the moment I came to understand that I possessed powers comparable to that of the gods, the church began treating me as a Goddess. Of course, I hadn’t made any official declaration, and whenever someone proposed putting me publicly in that position, I had made it very clear that I was uncomfortable with it being on the same level as Ariel.
However, in terms of how they treated me, there wasn’t much difference from treating a deity.
Whenever I tried to do something, they would never stop me, they would answer all my inquiries, and if I stated something, they typically agreed with it.
If I claimed that 1 plus 1 equals 5, they’d find a way to prove that it became true, or at least that was the assumption.
So, I was left with some uncertainty when answering the question.
Even if I inadvertently made a mess, if someone were to inquire with the church, I’d undoubtedly confirm that I was responsible, and they would likely endorse my actions immediately.
At this point, I really couldn’t tell what the difference between formal and informal was anymore, which made it even more awkward for me to respond.
Nevertheless, considering my feelings, I didn’t represent the church when responding so I answered “no.”
Hearing my response, the receptionist displayed a troubled expression.
“Well, if it isn’t an official inquiry, I can’t just casually disclose whether an individual has visited here…”
That made sense. I hadn’t thought they’d openly provide an answer.
“Then, is it possible to meet with the association leader and talk?”
“Oh, um…”
The staff member shifted her eyes slightly as she replied.
“The association leader is currently in a meeting with a guest…”
Could it be Seo-A? Well, I couldn’t be sure since I hadn’t heard the timings. It was possible that Seo-A had just arrived and was currently in a meeting or perhaps she was still waiting.
“If that’s the case—”
Just as I was about to ask the next question,
Ring ring!
The receptionist’s phone rang out loudly.
She glanced at me briefly.
“It’s fine to pick up.”
I encouraged her with a smile, and the staff seemed relieved as she took the receiver.
“Yes, this is the reception… Yes, association leader.”
It seemed it was indeed the association leader on the line. The moment she picked up, the receptionist straightened her posture nervously, responding several times, “Yes, yes, but— Yes, understood.” before cautiously putting the receiver down.
“The association leader said it’s fine for you to come up now.”
Whoa!
…Did they catch it on the CCTV or something?
“But you mentioned you were in a meeting…”
“She said it’s okay to discuss together.”
With a slightly stiffened expression, the staff member replied.
“Really?”
“Yes, I’ll guide you.”
Saying that, the staff took out a long triangular object from below the desk and placed it on the reception counter.
The sign that read, [Currently away from my seat. I will return shortly, so those with business, please take a number and wait.] was written on one side.
“Over here, please.”
The staff gestured for us to follow her.
…Given that I’d been here before, I didn’t think it was necessary to go through the hassle, but it would seem a bit rude to leave the staff hanging, so I decided to follow her without objections.
Following the receptionist for a while, we stood before the door we had previously encountered.
She knocked gently twice on the door.
“Come in.”
We heard a small voice from inside, and the receptionist opened the door.
“Oh.”
As the door opened, I laid eyes on the figures within.
“Well, you made it here after all.”
It was Seo-A and—
“Hmm.”
The Principal.
…Why is he here?!