[The Despair Gate has been conquered.]

[Conquest Rank: SSS]

Even though the Despair Gate had been conquered, Jeanne still stood in the same place.

As if reminiscing about Gilles de Rais, the memories she shared with him.

I took out the SnowStone from my arms.

Fwoosh

The blue-flaming ice crystal absorbs the scattered magical energy.

Quietly and discreetly.

Ding!

[The magic power of the SnowStone has increased by 1500.]

==

「Snowflake Stone
Magic Power: 14000/14000

‘The absorption speed has gotten faster.’

The SnowStone instantly absorbed the magic power of the gate.

Its absorption power is astonishing every time I see it.

This is why I have been nurturing the SnowStone diligently.

As an ordinary E-rank hunter, my potential had clear limits.

But unlike me, the SnowStone was a stone that absorbed magic on its own and grew.

Its potential was limitless.

I wanted to nurture the SnowStone and make it a part of my power.

With the ‘Relic Slot,’ that would be possible.

The ‘Relic Slot,’ the core of my awakened ability, was essentially a part of my body.

I opened the Relic Slot and tried to insert the SnowStone.

• To enter the Relic Catalog, you need to increase your rank.

The SnowStone bounced out along with a warning message.

‘Still too much for now.’

Clicking my tongue, I moved the SnowStone to the general catalog.

• The SnowStone has been stored in the general catalog.

[General Catalog]

• Napoleon’s Table
• SnowStone

The SnowStone disappeared from my hand and appeared as an entry in the catalog.

It went in, but I wasn’t satisfied.

‘As expected, this isn’t great.’

The general catalog was still connected to me, but the transfer of magic power was unstable.

Like a radio channel crackling due to a mismatched frequency.

That’s why I didn’t store the SnowStone in the catalog while inside a gate.

For reference, Yi Sun-sin’s helmet was safely stored in a dedicated subspace backpack.

Since it was a national treasure, it felt wrong to store it with just a table.

“Jeanne, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Jeanne, who had been silently reminiscing about Gilles de Rais, had regained her composure.

“Let’s go now.”

“Yes.”

“I will escort you, Saintess.”

At some point, Rubenca had begun calling Jeanne the ‘Saintess.’

“I’m not a Saintess. Please call me Jeanne.”

“Understood, Saintess.”

Though Jeanne denied being a Saintess, Rubenca was unwavering.

Anyone who had seen her erase the banshee in an instant would naturally call her a Saintess.

With Rubenca and the church hunters escorting us, we left the gate.

Outside, a luxury sedan was waiting.

Cardinal Francis had kept his promise.

He had promised to let us leave quietly.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“You too, Rubenca.”

With Rubenca seeing us off, we got into the vehicle.

Soon, the car carrying Jeanne and me departed.

Vroom

Meanwhile, the bishops watching the departing vehicle looked flustered.

“That’s the opposite direction of the Vatican.”

“Why is the car heading to the airport…?”

The vehicle was moving in the exact opposite direction of the Vatican.

Seeing the car heading straight to the airport, the bishops murmured among themselves.

The hunters seemed conflicted about whether to stop the car or not.

“Do not stop it.”

Rubenca held them back.

If the Saintess wished to leave quietly, it was only right to let her.

Watching the departing car, Rubenca recalled the scene she had witnessed inside the gate.

The banshee’s smile as it turned to ashes.

The stigmata that appeared on the girl’s back.

That must be the miracle spoken of in the scriptures.

“What are you all doing?! Tend to the wounded!”

At Rubenca’s shout, the bishops and hunters snapped out of it and began tending to the injured.

By the time the Pope and the cardinals, having rushed through an emergency meeting, arrived at the Despair Gate, all they saw was a conquered gate and people tending to the wounded.

“Where is the Saint?”

“She has left.”

“…She just left?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

The Pope looked stunned at Rubenca’s words.

He had never expected her to disappear so suddenly without a word.

“Cardinal Francis, do you know why the Saint did not visit the cathedral?”

“Well, I… don’t really know…”

Cardinal Francis furrowed his brows as if he truly had no idea.

“It seems she did not wish to visit the Vatican.”

“Cardinal Francis, how could you say such a thing to His Holiness…!”

“Hah…”

The other cardinals murmured in shock.

Regardless, Cardinal Francis lowered his head as he gazed toward the direction of the airport.

‘May His grace be with her.’

Francis quietly made the sign of the cross.

At that moment, we were passing through the airport checkpoint.

“Lady Jeanne, may I have a word with you before you leave?”

“Yes, please speak.”

Archbishop Ambrosio, who had guided us to the airport, called Jeanne aside for a conversation.

“Have you considered joining the church?”

“No.”

Jeanne firmly refused, as if she had never even entertained the thought.

Archbishop Ambrosio closed his eyes for a moment, but he did not give up so easily.

He couldn’t simply let go of the saint he had finally found. The existence of a saint made a huge difference for the church.

“If you plan to continue working as a hunter, the church can be a great support for you.”

Jeanne remained silent, but Archbishop Ambrosio continued his persuasion undeterred.

“If you accept, you will be granted a status equal to that of a cardinal, and you will have free access to the church’s holy relics.”

He spoke as if it were nothing, but it was an explosive offer.

A cardinal was one of the highest-ranking officials in the Vatican, second only to the Pope, and not every saint was granted such a position.

Even the leaders of major guilds could not easily defy a cardinal of the Holy See. In fact, considering the influence of the church, a cardinal’s power far surpassed that of any guild leader.

That offer alone was overwhelming, but the permission to freely use holy relics was an even greater temptation.

The church, which had existed since the beginning of the Common Era, possessed countless relics accumulated over its long history.

The number of relics hidden within the Vatican’s archives was immeasurable, and among them were artifacts estimated to be of legendary or even greater rank.

Perhaps, there was even a relic that could allow Jeanne to fully integrate into reality.

It was an offer that even an archbishop like Ambrosio could not make lightly, but he was certain that if the Pope saw Jeanne’s stigmata, he would grant this request without hesitation.

“Of course, you wouldn’t become a cardinal immediately. You would need to go to the Vatican and undergo a formal evaluation…”

“As I’ve said before, I am not a saint. So I cannot accept your offer.”

Jeanne cut off Archbishop Ambrosio’s words.

He had not expected such a blunt rejection and was taken aback.

“But… but the stigmata…”

“And I like being by his side.”

At this unexpected response, Archbishop Ambrosio was left speechless.

—Jeanne! It’s our turn for the security check! Hurry up!

“I’ll be going now.”

At Choi Jeosun’s call, Jeanne nodded briefly and walked towards the security checkpoint.

—What were you talking about?
—Nothing important.
—Really?
—Yes.

As he listened to their conversation, Archbishop Ambrosio stared blankly at Choi Jeosun.

‘Who is that man…?’

Christianity was the world’s largest religion.

And it wasn’t only the Catholic Church that existed within it.

“A saint has appeared, you say?”

“Yes.”

Crackle, crackle.

Before the fireplace, a middle-aged man sat in a rocking chair, reading a book indifferently.

He was Felix, the Patriarch of Moscow and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Even upon hearing the news of a saint’s appearance, Felix continued turning the pages of his book in silence.

The man who had delivered the news stood behind him, waiting for his response.

Time passed.

“Bring her to me.”

“Understood.”

The man left the room.

Left alone, Felix continued flipping through his book without another word.

After returning home, I did absolutely nothing for three days and just rested.

A total of 28 hours round trip.

Being stuck on a plane for more than a day had left my body exhausted.

The interior renovations of the Curio Shop had been completed long ago, and from today, I could finally stay there again.

‘Who will come?’

With anticipation, I looked at the closed door of the Curio Shop.

It was time to welcome a ‘new transcendent being.’

Napoleon, Yi Sun-sin, Joan of Arc.

So far, historical figures known as heroes had visited my shop.

I wondered who would be the next to arrive.

“Opening now.”

“Yes.”

Hearing Jeanne’s response, I unlocked the relic slot that had been closed.

Unlocking the Relic Catalog Slot.

[Summons: 3/4]

From experience, just because the slot was open didn’t mean a figure would appear immediately.

But then—

Ding!

To my surprise, the moment I unlocked the slot, the door to the Curio Shop swung open.

“Huh? This isn’t the right place.”

A woman peeked inside with a puzzled expression.

‘Who is she?’

I tilted my head.

She had braided red hair and striking golden eyes.

Judging by her attire, she was not from the modern era.

“Looks like I entered the wrong place.”

She smiled brightly at me.

“Sorry, but could I get some bread?”

Her golden eyes curved gently as they shimmered.

Jeanne brought out a loaf of milk bread from inside and handed it to the woman.

“Here you go.”

“Oh, thank you!”

The woman beamed as she eagerly took a bite of the bread.

She radiated such a bright and cheerful energy that it was contagious.

Watching her eat, I asked,

“May I ask for your name?”

“It’s Vanessa! By the way, this bread is really delicious! What’s it made of?”

She continued smiling as she ate, but I fell silent for a moment.

Because the name displayed on my system was different from the one she had given me.

—You have encountered ‘Jack the Ripper’ from a failed timeline.

“Do I have something on my face?”

Tilting her head with a sweet smile, the woman before me was none other than the infamous culprit behind the terror in London.

The unsolved mystery that even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the father of Sherlock Holmes, had failed to uncover.

Jack the Ripper.