“So what’s this sister like? She’s your friend, right?” I asked Rosalia.
“Yes. She’s a priestess I used to party with when I was an adventurer,” Rosalia replied. “We adventured together for some specific reasons, but when the reverend father at this church retired due to old age, she gave up adventuring and took over. She watches the orphans as well. Her mouth is surprisingly nasty, but she’s a good person at heart and very serious about her duties. That being said, she tends to avoid any sort of hard work, so she might not hear you out…”
Um, I’m getting mixed messages about what kind of person she is.
After we arrived at the church, I put my hand on the door. I was technically the man in charge of the Hamilton territory, but members of the church were different. The backstory for the game stated that God lent the right to govern to kings and the nobility, so members of the clergy had the right to turn down requests from them.
“You brats! If you don’t listen to me, you’re gonna get punished!”
“Eek! You’re so scary!”
We heard loud voices coming from inside of the church, but the kids seemed to be having fun and not suffering in the slightest. Peering inside, we found a blonde-haired sister chasing around a number of children.
“I am glad to see you doing well, Angela,” said Rosalia. “I’ve brought Lord Weiss.”
“That you, Rosalia? Long time no see.” The sister named Angela smiled warmly at Rosalia. “Wait, then, you must be—”
By contrast, Angela looked at me with a ghastly expression on her face. What, had I done something wrong? Did Weiss do something to her at some point?
I was a bit shaken by her sharp glare until I realized that she was actually looking at White.
“That’s…a Divine Beast!” Angela said. “Rosalia told me you found a Divine Spring, but I didn’t expect you to have forged a pact with a Divine Beast.”
“Yeah. I just happened on the little guy when he was injured and healed him. After some other things went down, we ended up making a pact.”
“Kew, kew!”
“It’s so cute!” the kids chattered excitedly.
White must have noticed all the attention, as he suddenly started chirping and wagging his little tail. For some reason, Angela’s serious expression didn’t change.
Are you telling me his cuteness isn’t working on her?
She maintained that expression as she spoke to the children. “Kids, go play outside. I have some important things to discuss with these folks here.”
“Okaaay! I wonder who the guy is.”
“It’s a lovers’ tryst! Angela’s finally found herself a man!”
“Just get outta here!” snapped Angela, “and stop repeating that sort of stuff!”
I watched the children scramble away and realized that Rosalia was right; Angela was a tremendously kind individual. The kids seemed very fond of her, and despite being orphans, none of them looked particularly lonely.
She definitely had a bit of a rough edge to her, though.
She led us to a small room inside of the church that was used for private discussions. It was a simple room, with only a plain wooden table, some chairs, and a bookshelf inside.
I sat facing Angela across the table while Rosalia began to pour some tea. She must have come here relatively frequently, as she seemed to know where everything was located. Soon after, Angela asked her to go look after the children, leaving only the two of us in the room.
Was there a specific reason she wanted to be alone with me?
“So, what brings a big shot like you here?” she asked. “I doubt you’ve come to pray.”
“You’re already aware that I found a Divine Spring, right?”
“Yeah, Rosalia was happy as can be when she came to tell me about it. Kept going on about how amazing you are. Lemme guess, you want me to manage it?”
To make things easier on me, Rosalia had already caught her up, and it seemed like Angela had figured out why I was here.
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “The Divine Spring is a precious resource. If there’s no one in charge of it, the capital is going to end up sending someone from the Zeus Church to manage it. There’s no guarantee that whoever that is will act in this territory’s best interest.”
“You’re not wrong. They’ll probably prioritize the church’s agenda.”
Generally speaking, the Zeus Church and the nobility were equals, status-wise. That was why, as lord, it was difficult for me to make big requests of them; there was always the chance they’d just refuse. If they sent someone from the capital here, it was likely they’d prioritize their own self-interests over helping our territory. Describing it in terms used in my old world, it was like when someone from HQ came to a branch office and did whatever they wanted without considering the impact, acting only for the main branch.
That’s why I wanted Angela to take charge. She actually lived here and cared about the people.
“You didn’t consider that, as a member of the church, I might also prioritize their interests?” she asked.
“I doubt you’d do that. Rosalia trusts you, and I can tell the children here are happy. That tells me that you’re not sending more of the donation money to the church than you need to. Seeing that, I feel I can put my faith in you.”
Angela widened her eyes at me for a moment, the surprise holding on her face as she spoke.
“Huh. I was worried since I hadn’t heard much good about you, but I can see that you’re the observant type. You’re not just here because Rosalia made the recommendation, are you? You’re looking at the bigger picture and considering all the aspects with that head of yours.”
“Hey now.” I’d prepared myself to hear Weiss get bad-mouthed, but it still disappointed me. “I was trying my best before. It just didn’t amount to much.”
I was shocked when she actually apologized.
“You’re right. My mistake,” she said sincerely. “I didn’t mean to insult you. I just want those kids to find happiness. If you say you’re gonna develop this territory, I’ll gladly lend you a helping hand. There’s just one request I’ve got. Something only you can do, since you’ve been recognized by a Divine Beast.”
“Huh? This little guy?” I asked, petting White where he was perched on my shoulder, prompting him to lick my neck.
If she needed White’s power, then was this related to the gods in some way? What kind of impossible task was she about to drop on me?
“There’s this girl that’s like a little sister to me,” Angela started to explain. “I want you to save her. You’ve made a pact with a Divine Beast, so I know you can do it. Please… Please save Astesia!”
“Astesia?” I replied, shocked by the unexpected but familiar name she’d uttered.