Chapter 07
“I will only be active for exactly one year. Of course, I should be free to quit whenever I want, even before that.”
“Understood.”
“If I safely complete the year, you will write a letter of recommendation for me when I apply for a civil servant position in the Imperial Palace afterward. In the name of the Grand Temple.”
“Understood, woof.”
“All costs incurred during my work, such as medical expenses and activity expenses, are the responsibility of you, Tofu, as the employer.”
You saw it just now, right? I almost got shot.
I glared.
“If the Magical Saint activity is prolonged, chronic illness will follow like an occupational hazard.”
I am not the type of person who will be satisfied, lying alone in a tiny room with no money to call a doctor, aching all over when I’m old, saying,
‘Still, I saved the world when I was young, so I have no regrets.’
So hand over the money.
Pay fair compensation for my effort and dedication!
-Question: Doesn’t it hurt your pride to be employed and paid by a dog?
-Answer: Why would it? There are so many bosses in the world who are worse than a dog.
“Put it in writing.”
“Understood, woof.”
Tofu nodded and brought a paper with the temple’s seal on it from the desk.
The desk was too high for Dubu, so I took out the pen for him.
I thought carefully about every word, wrote it down, signed it, and we each took a copy.
Dubu had no signature, so he stamped it with his paw print.
“Well, I’ll be going now. I have to go to work in a few hours.”
The tailor shop is a mess, so I won’t be able to do any work even if I go, but anyway, I have to go to work pretending not to know anything to avoid suspicion.
I stood up from my seat, looking at the still dark outside the window.
I have to go home right now to get even 30 minutes of sleep. Tofu called me from behind as I hastily left.
“Seraphina!”
“What.”
I turned around to see a tiny dog standing alone in this huge room with his tongue out. Tofu, who met my eyes, wagged his tail.
Cute…
I couldn’t help it, so I went back and scratched his nose.
“Seraphina, why did you leave a message on the back of the letter earlier? A message about having a righteous day!”
It would be better for your activities if no one knew about your existence!
“Ah, that.”
I also touched his furry front paws. Soft paw pads
‘This one only has three toes.’
“There are too many wicked people in the world. Too many for me to punish them all by myself.”
If I’m going to do the Magical Saint job, I want to do it properly, but at this rate, it won’t be enough even if I don’t sleep and go around punishing only the wicked 24 hours a day. I bet I still wouldn’t be able to finish them all.
“Besides, I’m going to retire after exactly one year. So…”
“So?”
“I’m going to be as loud and showy as possible in my activities.”
I will let them know that if they commit a wrongdoing, they could receive a visit from the Magical Saint at any time.
That I am watching everything.
That even if the law and the privileged in this country forgive them, the Magical Saint does not.
“Then, they will flinch once when they commit a wrongdoing. Just in case the Magical Saint is watching right now.”
“Wow.”
“Ack, the time already… I’m really leaving now!”
Don’t forget to pay retroactively for today’s work!
“Hand over the money!”
I firmly warned him and left.
After the new Magical Saint Seraphina left.
Johann Mendelssohn Handel Beethoven Bach Schubert Mozart Debussy Park Yeon Strauss III, who was left alone, said.
“Come out now, woof!”
Then, the space behind the painting, which looked exactly like a wall, opened, and a tall man appeared.
The man, who took off his hood and raised his head, had cool-looking pale sky-blue eyes.
The man took jerky out of his pocket and threw it to Johann Mendelssohn Handel Beethoven Bach Schubert Mozart Debussy Park Yeon Strauss III.
Thump, Johann so-and-so III, who magnificently caught the jerky in the air, grabbed it with both paws and began to chew on it diligently.
He crunched and asked.
“So, what did you think after watching, woof?”
“About what.”
“The new Magical Saint!”
Without answering, the man walked to the window.
After waiting for a moment, Seraphina, who was just leaving the building, came into view.
Voluminous black hair loosely tied in one, large, round pink eyes. Scrawny wrists, hard to believe they belong to someone with superhuman strength.
As he watched, she stopped and frowned, perhaps because the hair tie, unable to handle the volume of her hair, had snapped.
Watching the black hair spill over her white, elongated neck, the man said.
“Did you know? All the past Magical Saints had happy families.”
Kind and loving parents, an older brother or younger brother who cared for the Magical Saint despite being grumpy… even friends they could rely on.
“So they could all carry out their Magical Saint activities without a worry. Even if they couldn’t study because they were out at night, or if they encountered a crisis when things didn’t go well… they had someone to rely on.”
Thanks to being raised without any hang-ups, their personalities were all bright, so they played the role of comforting those around them who were hurt, they say.
“A Magical Saint with no one to lean on like her is the first in history.”
With no place to return to, and no one to rely on.
The choices of someone who has to fend for herself would each carry a different weight.
“A new era, a new Magical Saint.”
“Then are you going to help her?”
“Why would I?”
She should take care of her own business. The man shrugged his shoulders annoyingly.
Suddenly, the new Magical Saint looked back, and the man’s eyes met hers.
She stared up intently, even though she shouldn’t be able to see this far up from below. Although the area under her eyes was dark from fatigue, her gaze was alive.
Gazing back, as if to continue her line of sight, the man muttered.
“Still, I’m curious, so should I watch her up close…”
☆☆☆☆
“My hands and feet are all curling up. A ‘Saintess’.”
There’s a certain feeling the word ‘Saintess’ gives you.
I feel like I absolutely can’t wear short sleeves or shorts no matter how hot it is, can’t raise my voice even if I’m furious, must always speak softly with a gentle smile, and must unconditionally be the first to step forward and suffer a loss whenever something happens.
It’s the same even if I’m a Magical Saintess.
What is that combat uniform anyway?
“Ha.”
No. Let’s think positively.
The money I earn from the Magical Saint activity can completely solve my student loans and school development fund, and applying for the Imperial Palace civil servant exam right away in the coming autumn is not a dream.
I can drastically cut down the time.
If I end up completing the full year, I should ask for severance pay…
“Mom!”
“Pepper!”
A little kid brushed past me, running, as I calculated inwardly and nodded my head. A woman coming from the opposite direction quickly bent down and hugged the kid.
“Why are you out at this hour! It’s dangerous!”
“I came out to meet Mom! Because it’s time for Mom to get off work!”
“Oh my!”
Even so, how can you come out alone at this hour? The woman smiled, even as she scolded her.
“Where is Colley?”
“He’s sleeping now!”
The kid, held in her mother’s arms, smiled with puffed-up cheeks.
“Did you wait long? Were you cold?”
“I’m okay!”
“Mom brought baked sweet potatoes for Pepper.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Let’s hurry back and eat. The mother, who carefully buttoned up her daughter’s outer garment, took her small hand and quickened her pace.
Haa, the breath came out of my mouth and scattered as I silently watched the scene.
‘I also had a mother when I was that age.’
‘Sena! Where are you going?’
‘To meet my friends!’
‘I was planning to make your favorite onion soup for dinner tonight!’
‘I’ll be back soon!’
‘Wait, Sena! You have to wear your scarf!’
‘But Mom, why do you and Dad call me Sena? I heard Seraphina’s nickname is Sera.’
‘That is.’
‘That is?’
‘I’ll tell you at dinner.’
‘That’s mean!’
In the end, I never heard the reason.
When I came home after playing with my friends to my heart’s content, our house was engulfed in flames and collapsing.
My mother, who was cooking onion soup in the kitchen, and my father, who rushed into the burning house to save her. Inside that.
The person who started the fire was never caught.
If it weren’t for that, would I have had a family too?
“What’s the point of thinking about it? They said it seemed to have happened because someone carelessly flicked a cigarette butt.”
They said the person probably panicked and ran after starting the fire…
“Ugh!”
I jumped up onto the top of the wall to shake off the thought.
I thought I would wobble, but surprisingly, I balanced easily.
“As expected.”
Fitting for a Magical Saint chosen for her physical abilities.
The scenery that greeted me as soon as I climbed up was breathtaking.
Clear and transparent river water cutting the heart of the capital in half.
The streetlights reflecting on it.
The mansions of high-ranking nobles lined up along the riverside, the Imperial Art Museum, the War Memorial, the Library…
Ancient protection spells are carved into the windows of famous buildings recorded in history books, so the pure glass windows glitter in a bright sky blue.
It looks like an ice castle.
The night streets are this beautiful.
My neighborhood is gloomy even during the day.
Well, the people living on DeMarcy Street also came out freely in their pajamas at this hour.
If I did that in my neighborhood, I’d get robbed.
“I’ll earn a lot of money later and move here.”
The moment I stomped my foot in admiration.
I ran straight into someone who was turning around from beyond the wall.
The opponent, whose eyes met mine, had huge, bulging light green eyes.
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