Episode 8
I ignored the odd looks from people and glanced around the kitchen.
“I’ve never been in a kitchen before, but you sure do have a lot of interesting things here. Are all these cooking utensils?”
I casually tapped the knife brutally embedded in the cutting board and tried to pick up some unfamiliar cooking utensils.
The chef, Kento, looked obviously displeased at my seemingly dismissive touch of the kitchen tools.
But my notoriety prevented him from complaining or saying anything out loud.
“Saintess, knives are dangerous.”
Dietrich, unable to watch any longer, tried to stop me.
He probably thought I was picking a fight over nothing.
“That’s right, Saintess. If you’re curious about the kitchen, please visit at night. I’ll be able to guide you properly then.”
“Ah, I hadn’t thought of that. Alright, I’ll come at night as you suggested then, so be sure to give me a proper tour.”
I smiled sweetly and turned around at Chef Kento’s brave words.
Thinking I was leaving the kitchen, everyone sighed in relief.
However, my real purpose for coming to the kitchen was just beginning.
I turned on the map system, which included all the secret passages.
My target? The area right next to the storage where they place the ingredients.
I knocked on the wall in a steady rhythm, just like in the novel.
Tap, totok, tap, tap, totodok.
“Wha, What? Stop it!”
Kento shouted from behind me.
Turning around, I found him glaring at me with a pale face.
Hey, you’re making it too obvious that you know about the secret passage.
Creak!
“Oh my! What’s that!”
“No way, a place like that in the kitchen…”
As the wall I tapped opened, a hidden secret passage revealed itself.
The kitchen staff was startled.
The meaning soon changed.
“But, there’s something inside, isn’t there?”
Several bags were placed inside the open secret passage.
Dietrich, who had been looking back and forth between Airek and me with a confused expression, immediately entered the passage to check the bags.
Charrik.
As soon as he untied the string, what spilled out was none other than money.
And not just any amount, but a quantity rarely seen in this impoverished temple.
“Oh my goodness! There’s so much money here! I just tapped here because I felt like it, but I never expected money to come out.”
Isn’t it amazing?
At this moment I had been waiting for, I laughed out loud and exclaimed.
“And it looks like money someone hid. Embezzlement, perhaps?”
At my words, Dietrich’s face stiffened completely.
Being the perceptive man that he is, he must have realized immediately.
A secret passage that no one should know about, and the money piled up inside.
And Kento, who for some reason was trying to prevent it from being found out.
It was a clear case of embezzlement to anyone who saw it.
“…Chef.”
Airek, who had been silent until now, called out to Kento.
He glared at Kento with an icy glare that even startled me.
Well, the trusted chef, who was responsible for everyone’s meals, had embezzled the funds of an already impoverished temple, so the sense of betrayal must be immense.
“Would you care to explain this situation?”
Wow, I didn’t know polite speech could sound so intimidating.
“I, I, I don’t know…!”
“I wouldn’t say you don’t know, because the way you reacted when the Saintess opened the secret passage was not the reaction of someone who knew nothing.”
Indeed.
He had shouted, “Stop!” with a pale-face like a thief caught red-handed, and now he wanted to feign ignorance? That is a bit too much.
“I can explain! I can explain everything! I can clear it all up!”
“Yes, you will have to explain it properly.”
Airek approached the terrified Kento.
With his significantly taller stature, he looked down at the cowering Kento.
“If you can’t properly explain why a chef without divine power knows about the secret passage, as the High Priest tasked with maintaining order in the grand temple, I will have to interrogate you.”
“Th-that…!”
“And it won’t be in a very pleasant manner.”
Airek delivered the final blow with elegant intimidation.
“There’s also the option of turning you over to the Captain of the Holy Order.”
The Captain of the Holy Order, who protects the grand temple, would obviously be a more fearsome opponent than the High Priest.
Because in terms of strength, he is the best.
The threat worked, and Kento’s face turned pale with fear.
“I, uh, I mean, so what happened was this, uh…!”
Kento slowly approached the open passage as if he intended to explain everything in detail.
It was at that moment that his dazed eyes met mine.
“You, you! If it weren’t for you!”
Kento raised his hands as if to strangle me and started running madly.
Towards me, that is.
“Saintess!”
Airek and Dithiri shouted loudly, their hands outstretched. I guess they’re trying to protect me…
I may not have the divine power comparable to either of them, but I can still take down an ordinary person.
Because I have the system.
【Activating the skill ‘Body Enhancement’.】
How fortunate I am to have this.
“Oh my, are you that eager to receive your punishment? I guess I have no choice. Since the chef desires it so much, I’ll discipline him right now.”
I smiled and extended my right hand.
With 5% of my divine power concentrated in my middle finger, I flicked it straight.
Where? To Kento’s forehead.
Bam!
A sound like a giant walnut cracking echoed.
“Ugh, keugh…”
Overwhelmed by the immense impact that must have struck his brain, Kento staggered back, unable to even let out a single scream.
Glaring at me with bloodshot eyes until the end, he eventually rolled his eyes back and fell backward with a thud.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Silence fell.
Everyone stared blankly, alternating between the foam-mouthed, unconscious Kento and me.
“Eeeek!”
Soon, the kitchen staff clung to each other, swallowing their breaths as they watched Kento’s forehead swell ominously.
Hmm. If I leave it like this, my image might worsen.
With a solemn expression, I extended both hands toward the unconscious Kento.
As if bestowing a blessing.
“I express my gratitude to the chef for preparing delicious meals. However, from now on, he should rest in peace.”
Perhaps deeply moved by my sincere blessing, one of the kitchen staff, huddled together, slumped to the floor.
“You should be happy, High Priest. It seems the gods have shown mercy to the grand temple, for us to acquire such a large amount of money like this!”
“…That’s.”
“Well, now we can feed the acolytes more generously. Isn’t that wonderful?”
I smiled brightly at Airek.
I just received a series of extremely uneasy looks in return.
* * *
While Dietrich organized the embezzled funds, Airek led the kitchen staff to the temple’s holy knights.
It was to investigate if any of them had helped Kento.
Seeing the servants leave with anxious expressions, I made one request to the holy knights.
“Please be gentle with the investigation. Every one of them could be innocent. Remember, they are all our people until the truth is revealed.”
The servants’ eyes widened, not expecting me to take their side.
The holy knights look surprised, too.
All this is part of my effort to change my image.
“Saintess.”
After everyone left, and only Dietrich and I remained, Airek quietly called out to me.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
I thought he would first interrogate me about how I knew.
But he asked about my well-being first.
“I think I cut my finger a little bit.”
“You don’t have to do this next time.”
I was joking, but…
Airek infused my right hand with divine power.
It was a healing ability that I couldn’t perform due to my lack of divine power.
The golden divine power enveloped my finger.
It felt warm and gentle, like Airek’s nature, which was nice, but…
Because he focused on healing my middle finger, only my middle finger was glowing golden.
Unable to bear the sight of the brilliantly shining middle finger any longer, I withdrew my hand, saying it was fine now.
“Can you explain the situation to me? How did you know all this?”
The location of the secret passage, the code for the door, and even the existence of Kento’s embezzled funds.
Since I’m a fake saintess, Airek hadn’t told me about the secret passage, so it would be even more puzzling.
I confidently shouted the excuse I had thought of.
“It was a coincidence!”
I couldn’t exactly say I knew because I read the novel.
Anyway, Airek can’t interrogate me, so let’s just bluff confidently!
“…Excuse me?”
“I have a very good intuition. Sometimes I get these hunches.”
Actually, I could come up with a more plausible excuse, but…
My plan isn’t finished yet.
So, let’s leave it at this for now.
I turned away from the bewildered Airek and walked over to Dietrich.
“How much is it all?”
“Ah, it’s 9 gold and 87 silver.”
Dietrich also seemed to find my statement absurd, but he still answered my question dutifully.
Since 100 silver equals 1 gold, that makes roughly 10 gold in total.
So, how much would my divine power increase if I offered 10 gold?
At least 1%, right?
【0.01% increase.】
“……?”
Are you serious?
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
If there are any errors, whether it be grammatical, spelling, translation, or website-related issues, feel free to let me know. (´◡`) Anyway, thank you for reading!