## Chapter 212 – 212. Saint
Clatter.
The sound of cutlery meeting plates is accompanied by a bright smile.
“Mmm…! This is delicious!”
Noel slices into her steak with an expression more blissful than ever.
“Eat up.”
Three hours have passed since we left the gate.
A lot has happened in that time.
The sudden appearance of demon worshippers threw the Hunter Association into chaos.
It was revealed that an Association employee had secretly let the demon worshippers into the gate.
Upon learning this, the Association hastily formed a pursuit team, but the employee had already fled overseas.
Apparently, the Church is actively cooperating since demon worshippers are involved, but I don’t know if they’ll be able to catch someone who’s determined to run.
Anyway, this whole mess was entirely the Association’s fault, so not long after we came out of the gate, a big shot from the Association came to us and bowed his head in apology.
-I’m so sorry!
I never thought I’d get an apology from someone like a congressman.
Of course, he wasn’t just there to apologize.
He asked us to keep this matter quiet.
It wasn’t for nothing that the big shot was sweating bullets.
If this got out, the Association’s prestige would take a hit, so it was understandable that they were desperate.
-Understood.
There was no reason to refuse, so I agreed.
It wasn’t like he was asking for a favor empty-handed.
He promised monetary compensation and one of the artifacts stored in the Association.
Of course, limited to mid-low grade or lower.
It’s a bit of a shame that there’s no choice, but if they have any sense, they wouldn’t give us something useless.
It’s not like the Association doesn’t know who I am.
The fact that they’re giving us an artifact as hush money is proof that they’re mindful of my background.
For the record, the party members were taken to a hospital run by the Church.
From what I heard, no one’s life is in danger.
The Church took the body of the demon worshipper I brought out.
Of course, they didn’t take it for free.
The Bishop I often ran into when buying holy water promised me a separate reward.
I’d love to get an honorary priesthood if possible.
‘But they wouldn’t give me one just for catching a demon worshipper.’
Even I think that’s greedy.
Maybe a few bottles of high-grade holy water and some cash?
Anyway, we decided to receive a detailed investigation tomorrow, and Noel and I left the scene.
“Master, can I order this?”
“Order whatever you want.”
“Yay!”
If I had canceled our date to be investigated on the spot, Noel would have been really mad.
I wasn’t confident I could handle the aftermath.
“Hehe, then carpaccio, Greek salad, and ribeye… Ah! The vongole pasta was delicious too, right? Excuse me.”
“Yes.”
“Please give me one of each dessert, including everything I just said.”
“Understood.”
She seems to eat a lot, but it’s always been like this, so I decided not to worry about it.
Besides, considering where we’re going later, it’s better for Noel to have a good meal.
***
What is faith?
A clergyman answered that question.
-Faith is proof.
Proof of oneself.
Proof of belief.
Never doubt in the face of any hardship.
Doubt is evil, and unwavering faith is good.
That is the only way to prove faith.
“Bullshit.”
A frivolous laugh echoed through the spacious conference room.
The man crumpled the newspaper he was reading, with his feet propped up on the desk.
“No matter how I think about it, he must be senile. The believers are too much, still using someone who should have been put in a nursing home long ago.”
The moment the man’s voice flowed on the wind.
Swish-
Something shone in the darkness.
“…Could you get rid of this?”
The man indifferently looked at the blade touching his neck.
“Repent for your impious words towards His Holiness.”
“Bullshit.”
Intense killing intent spread out from the two of them.
It was enough to kill someone with a weak mind and body in no time.
“Put the sword away before I fillet your tongue.”
Despite the man’s killing intent and threats towards her, the woman didn’t lower her sword.
Rather, her eyes, which had sunk coldly enough to swing the sword at any moment, flickered in the darkness.
As the two continued their fierce confrontation.
Clap-
A short clapping sound was followed by bright light entering the conference room.
Someone was standing in the empty center of the large round table.
“Both of you, stop.”
A pure white priest’s robe and a golden rosary around his neck shone.
Hair that seemed to be made of melted pure gold was beautiful enough to inspire admiration, and divinity seemed to overflow from the golden eyes engraved with a cross.
“God is watching.”
It was Elin Theresa, the 13th Saint of the Vatican.
At his appearance, the two withdrew their killing intent as if nothing had happened.
Including the two, a total of five men and women rose from their seats and bowed to him.
When Elin gestured slightly, they sat back down.
“Thank you for responding to the summons despite the late hour.”
The divinity contained in the melodious voice, like rolling jade beads, spread around and brought peace to the minds and bodies of those who heard it.
But the peace was shattered by the following words.
“Two hours ago, information came in that a demon had descended in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.”
Bang!
No sooner had he finished speaking than a man slammed the table and stood up.
“Is that true?”
The others also wore expressions of disbelief.
It had been 23 years since a demon had officially descended on Earth.
It was no wonder they couldn’t easily dismiss their doubts.
The Saint quietly nodded.
“Fortunately, it wasn’t the main body that descended. It seems he descended by possessing the body of a demon worshipper who had a contract with him.”
Only then did some of them breathe a sigh of relief.
They had avoided the worst-case scenario.
“The identity of the descended demon is Purpur, a Count of the 34th rank, and it seems he was dealt with by a party from a place called the Burst Guild.”
“Hmm… To defeat a demon with just a party, they must be an outstanding guild.”
The Saint shook his head.
“It seems to have been a party made up entirely of B-ranks. The demon worshipper bribed an Association employee and was waiting in ambush beyond the gate.”
“B-rank…?”
The murmurs grew louder.
Even if it descended in the form of possession, a demon is still a demon.
They are bound to be difficult opponents for hunters who cannot receive the assistance of divine power.
Moreover, the opponent is Purpur, the 34th-ranked Count, a powerful demon who commands storms and lightning.
“A detailed investigation is scheduled to begin tomorrow. His Holiness wants some of you to visit Korea directly and participate in the investigation, but if anyone would like to volunteer, please raise your hand…”
Before he could finish speaking, everyone attending the meeting raised their hands.
Demons are the enemy of mankind.
For them, who protect humanity and symbolize the Vatican, there was nothing more important than this.
***
Buzzing-
A familiar ringtone pierced my ears.
When I opened my eyes with difficulty, the sunlight coming through the curtains told me that it was dawn.
When I turned my head, I saw Noel sleeping soundly.
She would have woken up long ago at the sound of the phone, but she must have completely passed out because I tormented her until late at night.
“Hello.”
It was an unknown number, but I answered it anyway because there were many places that might call.
-I’m sorry to call you so early in the morning. This is Yoo Sang-woo, who gave you his business card yesterday.
It was the priest who gave me his business card at the gate yesterday.
-The investigation is scheduled for 2 p.m., is that okay? We can postpone it until tomorrow if you wish.
“No, I’ll go then.”
-Understood. Oh, do you happen to know Noel’s contact information? The Association says they don’t have a registered number for her.
“I’ll contact her separately.”
We can go together later.
I hung up and lay back down on the bed.
I was thinking of spending some time training since there was still some time left before checkout, when.
“Ugh…”
Noel, who was tossing and turning in her sleep, caught my eye.
She had kicked off the blanket, revealing her pure white naked body, and training was no longer on my mind.
I probably wouldn’t be able to leave until after checkout, so I called the front desk and extended it for another day.
“Ugh… Master…? What are you doing… Eek?!”
Noel struggled as if the memories of the previous night had been revived, but I wasn’t going to let her off easy.
I spent the whole morning rolling around in bed with Noel, and it wasn’t until 1 p.m. that I left the room.
Noel pathetically shook her legs the whole way to the church. Like a newborn giraffe.
“…That was too much.”
“You enjoyed it too.”
“…It was still too much.”
“I said I’m sorry.”
“Hmph.”
When I arrived at the church, I was led inside the chapel by a priest.
It was clear that the church was taking this matter seriously, as there were no civilians in sight.
Instead, it was crowded with priests.
‘The church is strangely clean… Is there an event scheduled for today?’
Of course, it was always clean, but today the marble floor was so polished that it gleamed.
As if they had been cleaning all night.
“We meet again.”
As I looked around and headed inside, I met the Archbishop in the chapel.
I had met him once before thanks to Choi Hye-na.
Of course, my first impression wasn’t great because of what Choi Hye-na did back then.
“Please take care of me.”
Still, I had to leave a good impression when I had the chance, since you can’t just create connections with people of the Archbishop’s level if you want to.
“I heard you’re attending the Magic Tower. I’m grateful that you’re participating in the investigation even though you must be very busy as a freshman.”
“Haha, what could be more important than something related to demons?”
Honestly, it was a pain in the ass.
If it weren’t for the reputation and the reward, I wouldn’t have attended this investigation.
“That’s right. Demons are the enemy of mankind, there’s nothing more important than that.”
The Archbishop smiled contentedly, as if he liked what I said.
If things go well, I won’t have to worry about holy water in the future. It was already a bit difficult to get high-quality holy water.
“Now, this way.”
I followed the Archbishop into a room inside the chapel.
Noel was waiting outside because it was her turn next.
There were guests in the reception room.
“These are the people who have been dispatched from the Vatican for today’s investigation.”
One was a middle-aged man, but I couldn’t tell the gender of the other because they were wearing a veil.
Judging by the thin lines, it seemed like a woman.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Felix.”
“I’m Kang Hyun-woo.”
I lightly greeted the middle-aged man and sat down. Judging by the calluses on his palm, he seemed to be a knight.
On the other hand, the one wearing the veil only nodded lightly to me and remained silent.
‘Her hands are really white.’
The more I looked, the less I knew her gender.
Her build seemed like a man’s, but in some ways, she seemed like a woman.
I’d know if I heard her voice.
‘…Should I try it?’
I had a skill to determine gender.
[Would you like to use Unicorn’s Gaze on the target?]
[Y/N]
The mechanism of this skill is simple.
You can’t use it if the target is a man, and you can use it if the target is a woman.
After hesitating for a moment, I finally decided to use ‘Unicorn’s Gaze.’
[Elin Theresa
State: Virgin]
It was a woman.
It wasn’t particularly surprising that she was a virgin. The fact that she was dispatched from the Vatican meant that she was a devout believer, and that she was serious about premarital purity.
But as soon as my curiosity was satisfied, I saw something strange.
‘Elin Theresa…?’
I’ve definitely heard that name somewhere before.
Where was it?
It wasn’t difficult to recall.
Even if I concentrated a little, my brain, assisted by the mana circle, would tell me the answer.
Elin Theresa.
It was definitely the name of the Saint.
‘Why is the Saint here?’
No, before that.
‘Wasn’t the Saint a man?’
