It was clear that Hames was the blue-haired, taciturn man.
If this blue-haired woman is the female version of Hames, why is she here now?
Originally, Hames wouldn’t appear here.
She came to confirm the rumors about Ceres being a witch.
As I was watching her curiously, she seemed to notice my gaze and looked toward me.
“I see. Is it that man?”
“Hey!”
Ignoring the soldiers who tried to stop her, she approached me.
As she was about to approach without hesitation, someone blocked her way.
“Stop right there. No one here has permitted you to meet him.”
“…Is that Lady Alios?”
When Alios blocked her, Hames couldn’t ignore her and stopped walking.
Alios squinted her eyes.
“Who gave you permission to act like this?”
“I just came to meet someone. Is permission necessary?”
“Of course it is. Ceres is the only son of the Count of Hyperion. It’s only proper to contact and get permission from his mother, the Count, beforehand.”
That’s right.
To put it in terms of the original world, it would be like a man from outside a noble family trying to meet a noble family’s daughter without permission.
Even if the other person is a clergy member, it’s not something that would be welcomed.
Alios, who made a sensible point by saying that permission was needed to meet me,
“Such rules of the aristocratic society are none of my business.”
Hames wasn’t someone who cared about such common sense.
She was indifferent, focused only on her task, and ignored everything else.
That’s why the original Hames also suddenly showed up to confirm if Ceres was a witch.
She ignored Ares’ furious outburst and wielded the authority of the temple.
In a way, she was even more arrogant than the emperor, and I could see Alios’ disbelief.
“I heard the rumors, but seeing it in person, I’d rather stick with the rumors. You’re truly a rude person.”
“I just came to hear the situation, and you’re overreacting.”
“What situation?”
“I heard the rumor that the person over there is a saint.”
Ah, so that’s why she’s here.
In this case, the gender reversal turned the original saint into a saint for me instead of a saintess.
That’s why those who received help from me started calling me a saint, and she came to confirm it.
It makes sense she’d come this quickly, much earlier than in the original story.
“Ceres Hyperion, are you really a saint?”
Hames, still blocked by Alios, turned her gaze toward me and asked.
“Answer properly.”
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I said I don’t know. How would I know?”
I answered sarcastically, though part of it was true.
At this point, Ceres didn’t really understand what his abilities were or who he was.
Hames had only figured out that she was a saint with healing powers after observing her for a long time.
“I awakened some divine power or whatever, but I don’t really know what it is.”
I had told those around me that, so I said the same thing to Hames.
Hames’ eyes twitched.
“Then what is a saint?”
“People call me a saint. I’ve never said I’m a saint myself.”
At this point, I had no intention of hiding it.
But I also didn’t want to give them ammunition to criticize me later by directly claiming to be a saint.
I thought I’d explained everything, but Hames looked unsatisfied, her eyes strange.
“Why are you speaking informally?”
“You’re speaking informally too.”
“I’m much older than you. You’re probably about ten years younger than me.”
That’s right. Hames looks young, but she’s in her early 30s, whereas Ceres is in his early 20s.
But so what?
“It must be nice being older. You’re acting all mature, but at your age, what are you doing trying to catch someone ten years younger than you?”
Hames closed her mouth.
The other priests she brought were the same.
The territory’s people and servants around me also held their breath.
“Ceres, aren’t you being too harsh?”
Even Alios, who had been hostile toward Hames, said this in surprise.
“She’s the Archdeacon Hames.”
I know. That’s exactly why I’m acting this way.
Originally, Hames had developed some fondness for Ceres because he was polite and mild-mannered.
Hames, who came to confirm whether Ceres was a witch, was thrown off when he met her because of her overly kind and gentle nature.
She didn’t think someone like her could possibly be a witch, and felt guilty for bothering her, leading to the affection.
So, the colder and more arrogant I acted, the less likely she would develop any fondness.
“If you’ve confirmed it, go ahead and leave. I’ll continue with my work.”
I didn’t want to treat her politely in my heart, but now that I had a reason, I was doing it.
I spoke coldly and turned away from her.
“Wait, I haven’t confirmed it yet!”
Hames argued, but I didn’t reply and continued treating the patients.
“Can’t you hear me?”
“Ugh, it’s noisy. If you really want to confirm, you can just watch me heal people!”
I shouted at Hames, who kept interrupting me.
“Can’t you see I’m exerting effort right now? Just watch and confirm if you want, stop talking so much.”
“…Fine. Then I’ll watch.”
Hames seemed to have more to say, but she couldn’t argue and did as I asked.
So, with the priests watching, the treatment continued.
As I treated one patient after another, an unusual patient came in.
“This looks like malnutrition?”
A person who appeared to be severely undernourished, their condition looking far more dire than any injury.
“Does that mean you can’t heal it?”
“I can heal it, but if I do, it’ll happen again later.”
“…I can’t help it. It’s my fate, so please heal me now.”
A woman, who seemed to be from the lower class, said with resignation.
Others who appeared to have come with her also shared similar expressions.
It looked like a group from the slums had come for treatment, but with their situation, healing them seemed pointless.
I looked at Alios.
“Hey, don’t you have any gifts today?”
“A platinum ring with diamonds in it.”
“Give it to me.”
I handed the ring I received to the poor people.
“Sell this for money. You should be fine for a while.”
“I can’t accept this! I’m already receiving a favor with this treatment, how can I accept something so precious?”
“I have a lot of these, so it’s fine.”
Feeling sorry for them and wanting to boost my reputation, I forced the ring on them.
“Ceres.”
As I immediately gave the gift to someone else, Alios shuddered, but I wasn’t bothered by it.
If giving away the gift made people disillusioned with me, then I thought it would be for the best.
“Why are you so kind? You’re like a lovely angel descended from the heavens.”
…I’m losing my mind.
I suppressed the awkward feeling and continued treating the patients.
“My goodness.”
“How is this possible?”
As I was almost finished, I heard the priests whispering among themselves.
“The treatment we’ve seen so far could be done by a high-ranking priest.”
“But to use divine power like that for so long on so many people is impossible.”
“You would need a divine power of an entirely different dimension.”
“Or perhaps a legendary divine power.”
The priests were speaking with awe when Hames continued to observe me with an unreadable expression.
Finally, when the treatment for the day was done, Hames approached me.
“Ceres Hyperion, I apologize for my rudeness.”
“What?”
I was shocked that she would apologize. I didn’t expect it.
“Did you confirm that I’m a saint?”
“No, I haven’t confirmed that, but one thing became clear. You didn’t heal people for any bad purpose.”
Hames bowed her head.
“You treated so many people. Even if you’re not a saint, you deserve the temple’s respect. I too will respect you.”
“So you’ve given up on confirming whether I’m a saint?”
“Just for today. Once I receive official permission, I’ll come back and confirm it properly. When you have time, invite me.”
Hames bowed and took the priests with her, leaving.
It seemed she hoped for an invitation later, but why would I do that?
I inwardly scoffed, knowing there was no chance I’d ever invite her.
“Archdeacon, do you really think he’s a saint?”
One of the priests, leaving the territory, asked Hames, curious.
“He healed so many people without his healing power diminishing. It’s impossible for an ordinary priest to do that. Does he really have divine power?”
“That’s uncertain.”
Hames answered bluntly to the priest, who spoke with eager anticipation.
“There are cases where someone is born with enormous divine power. How can anyone know that it’s divine power if they’ve never encountered it before?”
When Hames said that she couldn’t make a hasty judgment, one priest grumbled.
“I hope he’s not a saint. Did you hear everything Hames said? He’s beautiful but arrogant.”
A few others agreed with her.
“With looks like that, it’s no surprise she’s arrogant.”
“She must’ve been pampered in the Count’s family, being the only child.”
“What do you think, Archdeacon Hames?”
When asked about her thoughts on Ceres, Hames, who had been idly touching the nearby structures, paused for a moment before answering.
“Indeed, she was bold. But I didn’t find her unlikable.”
At first, Hames was taken aback by Ceres’ boldness, but as she observed Ceres’ actions, she began to like him.
Although Ceres had spoken harshly to her, he was kind to the patients and willingly gave them valuable items.
She felt a sense of kinship with him, as he quietly went about his work, regardless of what others said.
‘Then again, I’m not in a position to criticize anyone.’
Just like him, Hames herself did her work quietly, without caring about others’ opinions.
They shared a similar approach, and it made her feel drawn to him.
‘Heh, I look forward to our next meeting.’
Despite his pitiful appearance, his boldness came to mind.
Hames, unknowingly, smiled.