“What’s this about eyes, ears, and a mouth?” Kyoko asked.
Oh, she doesn’t know...
She knew the Eyes of the Goddess did intel work, but wasn’t familiar with their lingo. I decided I’d explain later. For now, we’d watch and wait, praying this whole fiasco didn’t spread.
“The Ange—the free priestess...contacted Earl Vorrel’s household over their Tears request?!” the king gasped at the chancellor’s report.
“Yes...but instead of bringing down divine punishment, she saved their gravely ill daughter and even pleaded for leniency for the scammers they’d captured,” the chancellor went on. “They won’t be set free, but it seems the earl will let them off lightly with a few days of detention and a hundred lashes as punishment. They won’t be penalized by the guild, as they delivered genuine Tears as requested. The fact that they scammed their way into getting the Tears of the Goddess is a separate matter, but they didn’t approach the priestess directly, just exaggerated a child’s condition to the public. She went and left the potion on her own, they could argue. They didn’t steal, threaten, or use violence, and this case is a guild matter. The guards won’t act unless the victim submits a complaint. Therefore, this case is closed. Which means...”
“The priestess isn’t angry, and has guided things toward the best possible outcome?” the king said.
“Indeed. She fulfilled her duties as the Angel splendidly and is likely satisfied and in high spirits.”
“Hm. Good, good, good, good! The earl’s daughter is saved, and all’s well that ends well! Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!” the king clapped, elated.
“However, one concern remains...” the chancellor added.
“Hm? What?” the king asked lightly, assuming it was a minor issue.
“All of our men watching and tracking her agree: there’s a high possibility that there is more than one Angel, or she can change her appearance at will. So, this report on the priestess’s actions is technically a report on the actions of a girl leaving her residence, likely another form of the priestess.”
“Whaaat?!”
They’d already figured out the truth.
“The two women leaving with the Einherjar girl weren’t the priestess or her other hunter guard, and differed from the rumored Angel who’d granted the Tears of the Goddess, the legendary elixir, to suffering commoners...yet their actions matched the Angel’s perfectly. Either she changes forms, or multiple people split the same role. It’s as they say: The Angel isn’t one specific person. All who perform Angelic deeds are Angels!”
It was a line from the Analects of Lady Kaoru, which was published by the Order of the Goddess Kaoru, which had been founded by Emile’s group.
“Hmm... But if she changes forms, why act as the Angel as someone else?” the king asked.
It was a fair question. The chancellor tilted his head and said, “Maybe she accidentally used the wrong form...?”
The king snorted. “Impossible!”
“Indeed, that’s unlikely...”
In this world, wigs, eyeshadow, lipstick, and cheek padding were the extent of available disguises. Only ancient dragons used real magic, and there were no scientific means of disguising oneself. Kaoru assumed visual appearance changes wouldn’t be seen as disguises, but for those who believed in—or knew of—goddesses, it wasn’t hard to believe the Angel would be able to change her appearance with ease. This should have been obvious, but Kaoru hadn’t realized it for some reason.
“The bigger issue is the man who was with them,” the chancellor continued. “He left their house and led them to the earl’s mansion. Moreover, he has visited her residence before. Our investigation revealed that he’s the branch manager of a medicine shop from Balmore, opened here...”
“What?! The major medicine shop in the Kingdom of Balmore would be...”
“Yes. Likely the one run by Nagase’s Children, the Order of the Goddess Kaoru’s income source. The branch opened right after the priestess arrived in the capital.”
“Hmm... All of this can’t be a coincidence...”
“Indeed. It’s likely an attempt to lure the new Angel to their base in Balmore. Nagase’s Children and their descendants were once raised by and lived with the prior Angel. If they tell the priestess their elder in Balmore can offer tales of the last Angel...”
“She just may want to visit them... This is bad. Very bad!” the king panicked. “The Angel is dangerous, but can be greatly beneficial for us if we maintain good relations with her. Her position suggests she won’t blindly favor any one country, but even with that, the prior Angel didn’t tolerate unjust attacks on her host nation, healed injured royals, and was generous to those around her... But then, she was also said to be merciless to those she deemed enemies. That’s not a problem; although ruthless at times, she had human compassion. She only punished evildoers who deserved judgment. The real issue is what Goddess Celestine’s reaction will be when her beloved child is attacked... We don’t know how much she will tolerate before acting—life-threatening danger, serious injury, a scratch, or even verbal insults hurting her feelings... If fools unaware of this risk antagonize her, they won’t be the only ones in danger; all life on this entire continent could vanish. It wouldn’t be a problem if it happened on another continent, but we must prevent it here! We can’t let the folly of idiots unrelated to us doom our nation! It’s better to keep her here, happily performing her Angel duties without a care in the world! Even if it costs a fortune and gives us ulcers and shortens our lives, that will be a small price to pay!”
“Noblesse oblige, indeed...” the chancellor nodded.
Like the king, he was a fine figure who understood the meaning of duty.
The incident at Earl Vorrel’s household spread like wildfire, obviously.
Heretics had plotted to deceive the Angel, yet she saw through their scheme and delivered divine punishment. Yet the Angel, the ever-benevolent saint, had saved the earl’s daughter and shown mercy even to the villains. In a world starved for entertainment and full of devout people, there was no way such a story would stay contained.
There was a long, awkward silence.
“Any excuses for this whole fiasco?” Kyoko asked.
“None...” Reiko and I hung our heads.