Even after stopping the torrential rain that had been falling for a week, the Saintess's mission was not over.
The people of the empire, who had the opportunity to meet the Saintess once in their lifetime, flocked to her to solve the difficulties they each had been harboring.
Although there were also things like the hardships of life and the atonement for petty crimes that had to be committed because of them, the main reason they came to me was because of their illness.
“Saintess, my child has been suffering from a fever for the past three days. Could you please cure my child?”
“My mother is losing her energy more and more. Is there any way to help her?”
“Saintess, please look after my father! He fell and hurt his leg while he was cutting wood on the mountain the day before yesterday, but we couldn’t even dream of getting him treatment, so we just left him alone.”
And among them, some people made truly absurd wishes.
“I... Saintess. My son was born with one eye. Could you possibly use your powers to give him one eye?”
“My arm was cut off in an accident when I was young. Is there any way to make it grow back?”
“Is there any way to replant a lost tooth?”
“I suddenly started losing my hair and became bald at the age of twenty. Is there any way you could bring life back to my hair roots?”
Even.
“Saintess, I am ashamed to say this, but I... can’t get it to come out.”
“Is that it?”
“That... That is... Ugh, that thing that should come out when you eat food! That thing that comes out from behind!”
“Huh? What is that... Oh, you’re not talking about constipation...?”
“Yes, that’s right! Every morning I wake up in excruciating pain in my anus. Going to the bathroom is so painful. Can you help me?”
This is crazy!
You even asked me to take out the poop.
Whenever I heard ridiculous requests, I would boil over, but when I heard a request to solve their bowel problems, I completely exploded.
'Whether it's adjusting your diet or taking medicine, it's up to you!'
When I was about to scream, my anger reaching its peak, I felt a sharp gaze from somewhere.
When I turned my head, the Crown Prince was looking at me with cold eyes.
'No, does that person have the talent to speak with his eyes?'
I just looked at him without saying a word, but somehow I felt like I could hear him.
'Avoid any actions that are unbecoming of the image of a Saintess.'
He was definitely saying that.
'No, you want me to be kind to a person who even asks me to solve his constipation?'
I was so upset that I almost jumped up and down, but what could I do? I was already a body with a leash on.
I dared not rebel against the gaze of my master and smiled at the constipated man while crying and eating mustard.
“Oh, you must be really suffering. I will ask the apothecary of the temple to prepare some good medicine for you, so come pick it up in a few days. They are a skilled person, so you will see the effects right away.”
“Oh my, I am so grateful! I will never forget this favor, Saintess.”
The constipated man kept expressing his gratitude to me with a moved face, but he didn't look very happy.
'Don't be so grateful for something I just gave you as a laxative! It really feels like I took out your poop with my own hands!'
I screamed inside as if I was having a seizure, but on the outside, I just smiled faintly.
“Thank you. May your chapter be blessed.”
Being a Saintess was a really shitty job.
After I finished cleaning up the rainstorm, I immediately moved to another nearby place.
This time it was a drought area.
I burst out laughing at the villagers' explanation that not only had the crops dried up and died because it hadn't rained for a year, but they didn't even have drinking water.
In the village right next door, the rain is pouring so hard that houses are collapsing, but here, there is no water to drink.
'Even if it is a natural disaster, how can it be this different?'
Still, since it was a relatively simple disaster, I easily solved the problem with the help of Delton.
Only after listening to the hardships of the villagers, as I had done at the heavy rain scene, could I finally get some sweet time to rest.
It was a precious break after a full half-day of leaving the temple.
“Please wait here for a moment while I bring you some snacks.”
I nodded silently to the Crown Prince's words and sat down on the empty ground without even looking at him.
'Hungry...'
I was running around all day and was so nervous that I skipped breakfast, so I was quite hungry.
I hugged my stomach, which had become one with my back, and waited only for the food to arrive.
I have been a picky eater my entire life, but now I feel like I could eat a whole chicken.
However...?
“Your Highness, what is this?”
I stared at the basket in the Crown Prince's hand with a bewildered face.
All it contained were two loaves of coarse bread, a mixture of barley and whole wheat, and a water bottle.
Even the water in the water bottle wasn't wine, fruit juice, or even tea; it was just water, literally plain water.
I stared at the Crown Prince in shock, but he answered indifferently.
“Can’t you see it? It’s bread and water.”
“No, who doesn’t know that? That’s not it, but the only snacks Your Highness wants to bring are two multigrain breads and a bottle of water, is that all?”
“Bread to satisfy your hunger, water to quench your thirst. What’s the problem?”
“You really don’t know what the problem is?”
I was so shocked that I burst out laughing.
“The problem is that this is all the food we can give to a person who wakes up at the crack of dawn and runs around here and there without even a moment of rest, Your Highness.”
I looked at the Crown Prince as if to say, "Now you understand," but he just shrugged.
“Anyway, what the Princess did was just a show. I’m treating those who have really worked hard well, so you don’t have to worry.”
Then he nodded his chin towards somewhere.
As I turned my gaze to follow him, I saw Delton sitting in front of the fountain, absentmindedly eating something.
'What are you eating like that?'
No matter how I looked at it, it didn't look like the multigrain bread I had received, so I took a closer look and saw that what Delton was eating was none other than a large amount of fruit and cookies.
Even the cookies were a luxury item made with white flour and were mixed with precious imported tropical fruits that were not found in the empire.
I was just staring at Delton, who was gaping open and munching on a mountain of fruit and cookies when I soon turned my gaze to the Crown Prince.
“Isn’t that too much, Your Highness?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You only gave me two multigrain breads, but you gave Delton fancy cookies. Don’t you know that discrimination through food is the worst?”
“Is there a problem with treating someone in proportion to the amount of help they gave me?”
He answered stiffly and sat down next to me.
“And there are not two, but one. The other one is mine.”
Then he took one of the two multigrain breads in the basket.
“Eat it with gratitude, without complaining. This is the food that countless people in the empire eat every day. After all, the Saintess will soon return to the temple and eat the precious food again.”
I stared blankly at the Crown Prince who was biting into the bread without hesitation.
It's so frustrating that I have to fill my hunger with two pieces of multigrain bread after starving all day, and I can't believe that it wasn't even all my fault!
In an instant, half of my food was taken away, so I made a dejected expression and quickly grabbed the remaining bread.
If I left it alone any longer, it seemed like the Crown Prince would take away what was left.
"If you don't want to eat it, don't eat it."
I took a small piece of bread and put it in my mouth. It had a dry texture and no flavor at all as if it hadn't had even a single piece of butter in it.
Still, the Crown Prince ate the bread without a word of complaint.
It was truly amazing to see him, who had been born to be the master of this vast empire and lived his entire life eating only expensive foods, eating cheap bread so nonchalantly.
'Still, he seems like a really good person to be the next Emperor...'
Yes, he certainly was a good ruler, although he was not a very generous master to me, a slave.
Seeing him with only thoughts of the imperial people in his head made me feel uneasy.
‘...I used to want to be that kind of person too.’
Because my bowl was not big enough, I couldn't embrace the imperial people who were spitting on my dying back and giggling until the end, and I ended up giving up halfway.
But, as they say, good and evil are contagious, my heart raced when I saw the Crown Prince filled with love for the people and justice.
I couldn't bring myself to live for the Empire and their people like I used to, but I wanted to help them at least to the extent that I could.
As the Crown Prince said yesterday, I am a noble. I belong to the ruling class that must give safety to the people of the empire in return for our comfort.
I took another piece of multigrain bread and put it in my mouth.
Unlike a little while ago when it just tasted bland, this piece of bread had a strange flavor.
Perhaps it is not a taste but a feeling. My feelings towards the people of the empire who have become a little, just a little, more affluent.
I continued my meaningful creative work, feeling that the size of my bowl had grown a little.
But it didn't take long for my bowl to dwindle again.
“I won’t do it! I won’t do it, you Saintess! I’d rather just hang myself on the gallows!”
The people of the empire, who had the opportunity to meet the Saintess once in their lifetime, flocked to her to solve the difficulties they each had been harboring.
Although there were also things like the hardships of life and the atonement for petty crimes that had to be committed because of them, the main reason they came to me was because of their illness.
“Saintess, my child has been suffering from a fever for the past three days. Could you please cure my child?”
“My mother is losing her energy more and more. Is there any way to help her?”
“Saintess, please look after my father! He fell and hurt his leg while he was cutting wood on the mountain the day before yesterday, but we couldn’t even dream of getting him treatment, so we just left him alone.”
And among them, some people made truly absurd wishes.
“I... Saintess. My son was born with one eye. Could you possibly use your powers to give him one eye?”
“My arm was cut off in an accident when I was young. Is there any way to make it grow back?”
“Is there any way to replant a lost tooth?”
“I suddenly started losing my hair and became bald at the age of twenty. Is there any way you could bring life back to my hair roots?”
Even.
“Saintess, I am ashamed to say this, but I... can’t get it to come out.”
“Is that it?”
“That... That is... Ugh, that thing that should come out when you eat food! That thing that comes out from behind!”
“Huh? What is that... Oh, you’re not talking about constipation...?”
“Yes, that’s right! Every morning I wake up in excruciating pain in my anus. Going to the bathroom is so painful. Can you help me?”
This is crazy!
You even asked me to take out the poop.
Whenever I heard ridiculous requests, I would boil over, but when I heard a request to solve their bowel problems, I completely exploded.
'Whether it's adjusting your diet or taking medicine, it's up to you!'
When I was about to scream, my anger reaching its peak, I felt a sharp gaze from somewhere.
When I turned my head, the Crown Prince was looking at me with cold eyes.
'No, does that person have the talent to speak with his eyes?'
I just looked at him without saying a word, but somehow I felt like I could hear him.
'Avoid any actions that are unbecoming of the image of a Saintess.'
He was definitely saying that.
'No, you want me to be kind to a person who even asks me to solve his constipation?'
I was so upset that I almost jumped up and down, but what could I do? I was already a body with a leash on.
I dared not rebel against the gaze of my master and smiled at the constipated man while crying and eating mustard.
“Oh, you must be really suffering. I will ask the apothecary of the temple to prepare some good medicine for you, so come pick it up in a few days. They are a skilled person, so you will see the effects right away.”
“Oh my, I am so grateful! I will never forget this favor, Saintess.”
The constipated man kept expressing his gratitude to me with a moved face, but he didn't look very happy.
'Don't be so grateful for something I just gave you as a laxative! It really feels like I took out your poop with my own hands!'
I screamed inside as if I was having a seizure, but on the outside, I just smiled faintly.
“Thank you. May your chapter be blessed.”
Being a Saintess was a really shitty job.
***
After I finished cleaning up the rainstorm, I immediately moved to another nearby place.
This time it was a drought area.
I burst out laughing at the villagers' explanation that not only had the crops dried up and died because it hadn't rained for a year, but they didn't even have drinking water.
In the village right next door, the rain is pouring so hard that houses are collapsing, but here, there is no water to drink.
'Even if it is a natural disaster, how can it be this different?'
Still, since it was a relatively simple disaster, I easily solved the problem with the help of Delton.
Only after listening to the hardships of the villagers, as I had done at the heavy rain scene, could I finally get some sweet time to rest.
It was a precious break after a full half-day of leaving the temple.
“Please wait here for a moment while I bring you some snacks.”
I nodded silently to the Crown Prince's words and sat down on the empty ground without even looking at him.
'Hungry...'
I was running around all day and was so nervous that I skipped breakfast, so I was quite hungry.
I hugged my stomach, which had become one with my back, and waited only for the food to arrive.
I have been a picky eater my entire life, but now I feel like I could eat a whole chicken.
However...?
“Your Highness, what is this?”
I stared at the basket in the Crown Prince's hand with a bewildered face.
All it contained were two loaves of coarse bread, a mixture of barley and whole wheat, and a water bottle.
Even the water in the water bottle wasn't wine, fruit juice, or even tea; it was just water, literally plain water.
I stared at the Crown Prince in shock, but he answered indifferently.
“Can’t you see it? It’s bread and water.”
“No, who doesn’t know that? That’s not it, but the only snacks Your Highness wants to bring are two multigrain breads and a bottle of water, is that all?”
“Bread to satisfy your hunger, water to quench your thirst. What’s the problem?”
“You really don’t know what the problem is?”
I was so shocked that I burst out laughing.
“The problem is that this is all the food we can give to a person who wakes up at the crack of dawn and runs around here and there without even a moment of rest, Your Highness.”
I looked at the Crown Prince as if to say, "Now you understand," but he just shrugged.
“Anyway, what the Princess did was just a show. I’m treating those who have really worked hard well, so you don’t have to worry.”
Then he nodded his chin towards somewhere.
As I turned my gaze to follow him, I saw Delton sitting in front of the fountain, absentmindedly eating something.
'What are you eating like that?'
No matter how I looked at it, it didn't look like the multigrain bread I had received, so I took a closer look and saw that what Delton was eating was none other than a large amount of fruit and cookies.
Even the cookies were a luxury item made with white flour and were mixed with precious imported tropical fruits that were not found in the empire.
I was just staring at Delton, who was gaping open and munching on a mountain of fruit and cookies when I soon turned my gaze to the Crown Prince.
“Isn’t that too much, Your Highness?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You only gave me two multigrain breads, but you gave Delton fancy cookies. Don’t you know that discrimination through food is the worst?”
“Is there a problem with treating someone in proportion to the amount of help they gave me?”
He answered stiffly and sat down next to me.
“And there are not two, but one. The other one is mine.”
Then he took one of the two multigrain breads in the basket.
“Eat it with gratitude, without complaining. This is the food that countless people in the empire eat every day. After all, the Saintess will soon return to the temple and eat the precious food again.”
I stared blankly at the Crown Prince who was biting into the bread without hesitation.
It's so frustrating that I have to fill my hunger with two pieces of multigrain bread after starving all day, and I can't believe that it wasn't even all my fault!
In an instant, half of my food was taken away, so I made a dejected expression and quickly grabbed the remaining bread.
If I left it alone any longer, it seemed like the Crown Prince would take away what was left.
"If you don't want to eat it, don't eat it."
I took a small piece of bread and put it in my mouth. It had a dry texture and no flavor at all as if it hadn't had even a single piece of butter in it.
Still, the Crown Prince ate the bread without a word of complaint.
It was truly amazing to see him, who had been born to be the master of this vast empire and lived his entire life eating only expensive foods, eating cheap bread so nonchalantly.
'Still, he seems like a really good person to be the next Emperor...'
Yes, he certainly was a good ruler, although he was not a very generous master to me, a slave.
Seeing him with only thoughts of the imperial people in his head made me feel uneasy.
‘...I used to want to be that kind of person too.’
Because my bowl was not big enough, I couldn't embrace the imperial people who were spitting on my dying back and giggling until the end, and I ended up giving up halfway.
But, as they say, good and evil are contagious, my heart raced when I saw the Crown Prince filled with love for the people and justice.
I couldn't bring myself to live for the Empire and their people like I used to, but I wanted to help them at least to the extent that I could.
As the Crown Prince said yesterday, I am a noble. I belong to the ruling class that must give safety to the people of the empire in return for our comfort.
I took another piece of multigrain bread and put it in my mouth.
Unlike a little while ago when it just tasted bland, this piece of bread had a strange flavor.
Perhaps it is not a taste but a feeling. My feelings towards the people of the empire who have become a little, just a little, more affluent.
I continued my meaningful creative work, feeling that the size of my bowl had grown a little.
But it didn't take long for my bowl to dwindle again.
“I won’t do it! I won’t do it, you Saintess! I’d rather just hang myself on the gallows!”
Support Novellate!
thanks! i expect we'll see more of her seesawing from being a conman to feeling like wanting to serve the kingdom, but the prince will influence her hahaha! but for reals, i don't ship them...
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