Chapter : 02
“True enough. To be honest, who knows if she’s really a saintess or a savior at all?”
“How would I know? The temple announced it, so I just assumed it was true.”
The temple had not yet publicly announced that I had disappeared.
They were probably afraid that if news of my absence spread, the Imperial Family, the nobility, or even foreign powers might try to take the “Resurrected One” for themselves.
The proof was that despite constantly telling me how many people had requested audiences with me, they had rejected every single one under the excuse of respecting my wishes.
Besides, I had only escaped from the temple three days ago.
They likely believed they would find me soon enough.
Their way of thinking was obvious.
Still, they couldn’t hide my disappearance forever.
Eventually wanted posters would appear throughout the city, and an official search party would be organized.
I intended to leave this city—and preferably this country—before that happened.
The countless treasures the priests had showered upon me in hopes of winning my favor had left me with more than enough money to flee.
And all the unofficial knowledge I had been taught in preparation for entering the Imperial Family remained firmly in my head.
“Miss, you were looking for a freight wagon, correct?”
The person I had been waiting for finally approached me discreetly.
A broker from the underworld.
Every city had wagons that would transport passengers without asking for names or identities, provided they paid enough.
If necessary, they could also forge identification papers and help travelers avoid the eyes of city guards.
In preparation for surviving the scheming and political maneuvering of the Imperial Palace, my parents had taught me how to make use of such people from an early age.
A true ruler, they always said, should know everything happening beneath them so thoroughly that they could command without ever needing to act personally.
Thankfully, my lifelong education had not been entirely useless.
“My apologies. It seems difficult.”
“What do you mean?”
“Security has become extremely tight. The Holy Knights are guarding the city gates day and night. Everyone’s lying low right now.”
I nodded to show that I understood.
The broker, who had blended into the crowd to reach me, vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
Perhaps because I had never expected much, I felt no disappointment.
Anyone would have locked down the city under these circumstances.
This city housed the Grand Temple, and thousands of pilgrims and tourists passed through every day.
A quiet search would take time.
Naturally, the authorities would first restrict access to all exits under some convenient pretext.
I had expected as much.
Still, I had hoped there might be an easier way out.
For now, I should return to my lodging.
Pulling the dark gray hood of my pilgrim’s cloak low over my face, I turned away.
Finding accommodations was easy in a city crowded with tourists.
Even so, I changed lodgings every day just to be safe.
The inn I had moved into today sat on the outskirts of the district packed with hostels and guesthouses.
Its rates were inexpensive, making it surprisingly popular among pilgrims.
I only knew that because I had read the travel guides available throughout the temple.
Though honestly, I had hoped to leave the city before needing forged identification.
Creating fake papers would take time.
Now that I was trapped here, perhaps I should arrange them anyway.
Could I stay hidden long enough?
Lost in thought, I slowed my pace.
Then I noticed the commotion around me.
Looking ahead, I saw Holy Knights patrolling throughout the streets.
For a moment, I nearly stopped walking.
Instead, I calmly kept moving forward.
The clothes I wore were identical to those of countless pilgrims.
And my face?
They wouldn’t recognize me.
At the moment, I was using a magical artifact that altered my appearance.
The necklace-shaped artifact had limits on both usage count and duration, so I couldn’t rely on it forever.
Still, it was one of the temple’s treasures.
Good thing I had stolen it.
“Excuse me, believer.”
Just as I was about to pass them, a low voice called from behind.
Turning around calmly, I found myself face-to-face with a Holy Knight standing slightly apart from the others.
His jet-black hair stood out sharply against his white armor.
A black-haired Holy Knight?
“Me?”
“Yes, believer. My apologies, but may I ask you something?”
“Of course, Sir Knight.”
“Are you staying in that pink building over there?”
“Why do you ask?”
“We received a report that a criminal is hiding there. If you return now, you may become involved in something unpleasant. Would you mind waiting over here for a while?”
The place he indicated was crowded with nervous-looking pilgrims.
I glanced at them before turning back to him.
“Will it be resolved today?”
“Certainly.”
“Then I’ll take care of some errands and come back later.”
“We may require the cooperation of the guests during the operation. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I must insist.”
It sounded like a request.
In reality, it was an order.
For a moment, I hesitated.
Then I smiled and nodded.
“It sounds like the wait may be long. Would it be alright if I took care of a personal matter first? I think I can ask that shop over there for assistance.”
I pointed toward a small general store frequented by travelers.
After checking the location, the knight narrowed his eyes.
“…Very well.”
I suppressed my growing anxiety and walked calmly away.
The knight’s gaze remained fixed on my back the entire time.
Biting my lip, I frowned.
The disguise artifact was functioning perfectly.
I had only moved into the inn that morning.
There was nothing in my room that could reveal my identity.
…So how did they find me?
The moment I pushed open the general store’s door, the scent of old dust filled the air.
I strode deeper inside.
The owner was an elderly man with poor hearing and failing eyesight.
The shop felt less like a business and more like a relic sustained by its own history.
Passing old displays and faded portraits, I spotted him sitting behind the counter.
“Hello. Sorry, but I’ll be using the back door.”
The old man didn’t seem to understand a word I said, yet he nodded anyway.
Near the back was a small room where a revered high priest had supposedly once visited and shared tea.
Pilgrims treated it as a famous attraction.
The old man clearly assumed I intended to look around.
As thanks, I slipped him a coin.
Beside the room was a back door leading into a narrow alley behind the building.
The moment I rented my room, I had taken note of it as a possible escape route.
It was also the meeting point I had arranged in case something went wrong.
“Good day, shopkeeper.”
At that moment, I heard the Holy Knight’s voice from the front of the store.
Without hesitation, I grabbed the handle and opened the door.
A passageway barely wide enough for a single person appeared before me.
The instant I stepped inside, something leapt out of the darkness.
[You’re late!]
Ah.
Thank goodness.
You’d already figured things out and come here.
“Hurry. You can complain later.”
[This way!]
The creature, no larger than a clenched fist, took the lead.
Wrapping my cloak tightly around myself, I hurried after it.
I could hear a commotion inside the store, but I paid it no attention.
They wouldn’t catch me anyway.
Because I had an extraordinary ally.
Watching the plump squirrel’s fluffy tail bob back and forth as it raced ahead, I couldn’t help but grin.
* * *
After emerging from the alley, I changed my appearance once more.
It felt wasteful to use another charge of the artifact, but caution was worth the cost.
Then I immediately checked into the inn farthest from the previous location.
Only after securing a room did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.
There was a limit to how long I could keep running in circles around the city when I didn’t even know how my trail had been discovered.
I needed another plan.
[Ugh… my fur’s all dirty now…]
The squirrel’s fur was covered in grime from darting through the city’s back alleys on my behalf.
I gently brushed its head with my finger.
“I’ll wash you soon. More importantly, did you find anything?”
[There used to be a hole that stray dogs used to come and go through, but humans found it recently and blocked it off.]
“What a shame. Humans really are the problem everywhere.”
[What about my acorns?]
“Here.”
I held out the bundle of acorns I had purchased near the central bulletin board earlier.
The squirrel’s eyes sparkled immediately.
[Big acorns!]
It dove into the pile and bounced around as though swimming.
Watching it play, I remembered the first time we had met.
The squirrel lived in the Grand Temple’s enormous central garden.
And it was simply a squirrel.
An animal.
A beast.
A four-legged mammal.
This squirrel was the first being to reveal that I could communicate with creatures that were not human.
At the time, I had only recently awakened as a Resurrected One.
The fanatical praise that greeted me when I opened my eyes filled me with fear and disgust.
To me, the insults and contempt I had suffered before my death felt as fresh as yesterday.
Yet everyone treated it as distant history and bowed before me.
It was absurd.
Hypocritical.
So the first thing I tried to do after waking up was die again.
Both attempts were discovered by the priests and stopped.
Afterward, every dangerous object around me mysteriously disappeared.
Later, I chose to isolate myself in my room.
At first, however, it had been little different from imprisonment.
Perhaps in search of a way to persuade me, they eventually stopped provoking me and left me alone for several days.
With only minimal attendants, I finally had time to think.
During that period, I regained my composure.
I acknowledged the grotesque scar around my neck.
I accepted that I was breathing.
I came to understand the oracle.
And I began to grasp the influence that a “Resurrected One” would possess.
The Anelli Roam who stood upon the execution platform had been a villainess everyone wanted dead.
But the Anelli Roam who returned from death was an apostle blessed by the gods.
And the scar around my neck was the clearest and most undeniable proof of that divine blessing.
