Episode 79

His added words hit me like a blow to the back of the head.

‘So there was a way to escape like that…?’

In my previous life, I had never even considered such a method.

While I was trapped in the Chamber of Repentance, helplessly losing my healing powers, all that remained in me were bitterness and malice. I never thought to scheme my way out of that grim reality.

It wasn’t until after I died and was reborn that I even understood why my powers had vanished. But Ismail, on the other hand, had figured out the purpose of the Chamber of Repentance early on and had smartly escaped.

‘He really isn’t ordinary.’

Even in my past life, he had appeared at a critical moment, defeating Dunkeski and claiming the position of Pope in one swift move.

But as much as he had cleverly preserved his abilities, it was those very abilities that eventually contributed to my downfall. That memory made it hard for me to feel entirely pleased with him.

“Yeah, I get it. I’ll keep it a secret!” I replied indifferently.

I was sure he was holding onto me for one reason only.

‘He just wants me to keep my mouth shut.’

Yet, even though I had agreed to keep quiet, Ismail still didn’t let go of my dress.

“It’s not that…”

He muttered, hesitating with a blurred expression before suddenly saying.

“I want to repay you.”

“Repay…?”

“Yeah. You helped me, too.”

When he nodded at my question, I furrowed my brows at the unfamiliar word. I hadn’t healed him expecting any sort of repayment.

I didn’t even heal him out of the goodness of my heart.

“No need! You can just forget about it!”

I said, frowning as I tugged my dress out of his grasp.

There were only about ten minutes left before the volunteer event ended.

‘I need to hurry and submit the Talents!’

The selection for the Saintess would be based on the Talents collected at each booth, so there wasn’t much time left.

As I rushed to leave the garbage yard and head toward the stage, Ismail’s quiet voice drifted behind me.

“You didn’t come here just for the event, did you? You’ll regret it if you don’t hear what I have to say.”

I froze at his words and turned to look at him.

“You’ve always wanted to beat Diana, haven’t you?”

The moment he mentioned Diana, I stopped in my tracks.

Ismail’s eyes gleamed with an unsettling light as he stared at me.

“I can make you the Saintess.”

His voice, which had sounded ordinary moments ago, now seemed to echo eerily in my ears.

“So, listen to me, Belze.”

Then suddenly—

Flash!

A blinding light flickered in my vision, momentarily turning everything white.

* * *

“Grandpa! Huff, huff…”

“Belze! You’re here!”

I ran breathlessly toward the booth, where Grandpa Gordon was already waiting, holding a pouch filled with Talents, his face brightening as he saw me.

“Go ahead! I’ll follow!”

At my words, he immediately took off running.

I scrambled to follow, struggling to keep up.

“Attention, there are approximately two minutes remaining until the end of the event. Any booths that have not yet submitted their Talents should do so promptly. Failure to submit will result in exclusion from the Saintess selection…”

Meanwhile, the loudspeaker near the stage blared announcements continuously.

‘Two minutes!’

My heart was pounding, but I gritted my teeth and kept running.

The quickest way to the stage was through the open square, but the tables where the nobles were seated blocked the path, so I had to take the long way around.

My short legs churned as fast as they could, but frustration boiled up inside me.

‘Damn these nobles! Damn this stupid child body!’

Then another announcement blared.

“Attention, there is one minute remaining until the end of the event. Any booths that have not submitted their Talents…”

“Huff, huff… No!”

My heart sank as the announcement reminded me there was only one minute left.

Despite my desperate efforts, I was still a good distance away from the stage.

By now, Grandpa Gordon had already reached the stage area.

The problem was me.

The person who participated in the event had to be the one to submit the Talents.

“Please…!”

In my anxiety, I tripped over something.

“Ahhh!”

Just as I was about to hit the ground, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Thud!

“Careful.”

Suddenly, two large hands caught me by the belly.

Before I could fully grasp what was happening, I was lifted off the ground.

Startled, I turned my head and found myself staring into a pair of gleaming golden eyes.

A surprised exclamation slipped from my lips.

“D-Duke Kallios…!”

“If you keep running like that, you won’t even make it onto the ranking board.”

The Duke, his golden eyes twinkling with amusement, spoke playfully as he squinted one eye at me.

Then, without missing a beat, Duke Kallios tucked me securely under his arm and began striding forward with powerful steps.

Whoosh!

His red cloak, billowing behind him from his rapid movement, whipped through the air.

“Oh my!”

“Heavens, is that… Duke Kallios?”

“And that child…!”

The crowd, recognizing the Duke’s face, hurriedly stepped aside, making way for him.

What had taken me several minutes to cross with my short legs was covered in mere seconds.

Before I knew it, we had arrived right in front of the stage.

“Belze! D-Duke!” Grandpa Gordon gasped, looking back and forth between me and the Duke with a shocked expression.

Huff!

The Duke then lifted me effortlessly, just as he had carried me, and gently set me down on the ground.

“Uh…”

I felt like I’d just stepped off a high-speed train.

Still dazed, I looked up at the Duke, who placed a firm hand on my head.

“Hurry and submit your Talents, Belze.”

His figure was obscured by the backlight, making him appear towering and distant.

Strangely, in that moment, I had a sudden realization.

Even though Duke Kallios had rushed to get me here so I could submit my Talents and secure my spot as a candidate for the Saintess, he didn’t really care whether I became the Saintess or not.

In fact, even if I didn’t become the candidate or the Saintess at all, it wouldn’t matter much to him.

The slight smirk on his lips and the sparkle of amusement in his eyes made that perfectly clear.

“…Thank you, Duke,” I mumbled, filled with an odd mixture of gratitude and determination.

Paradoxically, seeing that carefree expression ignited a fierce resolve within me.

“I’ll do it! I’ll definitely become the Saintess candidate!”

“Good.”

With renewed confidence, I turned away from the Duke, joining Grandpa Gordon as we proudly climbed up onto the stage with the heavy pouch of Talents.

I saw the Pope and the high priests seated in the front row, overseeing the event for the tallying and the Saintess selection.

“Here we go!”

In front of them, I confidently submitted the Talents we had earned today.

There were only 30 seconds left until the event concluded.

* * *

“Phew…”

After submitting the Talents, I stepped down from the stage, utterly exhausted.

While the officials were compiling the Talents, we trudged back to our booth.

“Ah, I almost died… I thought we were going to be disqualified for sure! Honestly, you might as well have been the headmistress with how constipated you are!” Grandpa grumbled in a weary voice, as if he had aged ten years in the past few minutes.

“Huh?! I’m not constipated!”

“Then why on earth did you take so long? Did you build a bathroom and use it?”

His question made me freeze for a moment.

I ‘had’ said I was going to the bathroom, and yet I’d been gone for nearly an hour, so I could understand why he was baffled.

“I was busy with other things, okay!”

I felt wronged, but I couldn’t explain the whole story, so I mumbled awkwardly.

“Well, I… got lost…”

“I knew it! I told you, if you get lost, head toward the center!”

“There were too many people, I got confused!”

“Tch! When we get back, we’ll have to figure out how to grow you taller!”

Now that was the best news I’d heard in a while.

I had been grumbling about being shorter than Diana, so it was a welcome suggestion!

“Wow, Grandpa, you’re the best!”

“Ugh, you don’t even realize I’m scolding you, do you?”

“Ehehe.”

Grandpa rolled his eyes at my silly grin, but he suddenly grabbed one of the remaining recovery potions.

Pop!

He opened the lid and handed it to me.

“Here, drink up.”

“Yes!”

I was parched and drained of energy, so I gratefully accepted the potion and downed it in one gulp.

“Ahh…!”

“Ahh…!”

Grandpa followed suit, drinking his own potion with a satisfied expression.

“There’s nothing like the ones I made!”

Rather than comment on the absurdity of the potion working instantly, I asked what had been on my mind.

“Grandpa! So, how much did you sell while I was… in the bathroom?”

“How much do you think?”

Grandpa gave me a sly smile in response.

“Umm…”

I hesitated, thinking it over.

Honestly, I didn’t expect him to have sold that many.

“Ten? Eleven?”

“Prepare to be amazed… We sold…”

Suddenly, Grandpa’s face took on a serious look as he pointed dramatically at me with his index finger.

“Eh…? One…?”

“Tch! Look again!” Grandpa clicked his tongue, wiggling his index finger in the air.

When he’d shaken it about three times, I frowned and pouted.

“I’m not stupid! You sold one!”

“This child! I pointed one! One! One! Three times! That means one hundred and eleven!”

“What?!”

My mouth fell open in shock.

“R-Really?!”

“Of course!”

Grandpa beamed with pride.

‘One hundred and eleven potions sold in just one hour…?’

It was hard to believe.

‘Weren’t we running out of customers by the time I left?’

Before I had stepped away, both Duke Kallios’s and the Grand Madam’s guests had begun to thin out.

Though pleased, I was puzzled as to why so many potions had sold.

But just as I was mulling it over, Grandpa narrowed his eyes at me and asked suspiciously.

“You haven’t been loaning money or something, have you?”

“Money? I don’t have any money!”

“Well, you certainly look like you don’t…”

Grandpa muttered, glancing me up and down.

‘Tch!’

I was annoyed, but I decided to let it slide since I was about to become rich soon enough.

“But why did you ask about money?”

“Well, because some kid came by and bought one hundred potions in one go.”

“One hundred?!”

Was there another crazy person like the Duke around?

‘And a kid at that? Who would buy a hundred recovery potions?’

It definitely wasn’t Edwin.

The 100 Talent limit was imposed per family, not per individual.

“Did you see their face?”

“They had a hood pulled up, so I couldn’t see. But they were about this tall, like one of our young masters…” Grandpa gestured to his chest to show the height of the buyer, suggesting they were around Edwin’s age.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Grandpa exclaimed, “Ah! I almost forgot. That kid asked me to give this to you!”

He rummaged under the booth and pulled out a folded piece of paper, handing it to me.

“I didn’t look at it.”

He confessed before I even asked. The paper was indeed neatly folded, with no signs of having been opened.

The paper was of high quality.

If someone was rich enough to buy 100 Talents’ worth of potions, they had to be from a wealthy family.

‘But who could it be? One of Edwin’s friends?’

With no clear guess in mind, I stared at the note. Grandpa urged me to open it.

I finally unfolded the paper.

There, written in large letters, were just five words: