The Beloved Fake Saint

Chapter 7

* * *

I roamed around the library a little longer to calm my racing heart before returning to my room. My desk was piled high with books about imperial banquets, the saint, and prophecies.

And...

I could still see the dialogue box glowing in the corner of my eye. I noticed that it faded if I didn’t focus on it but became sharp when I looked directly at it.

“Receiving prophecies is a saint’s unique ability...” I looked at the description in the book with knitted brows.

So these must be prophecies. But they look exactly like a video game... And I’m not even the real saint!

If the screen hadn’t mentioned the deities, I would never have guessed that these were actually prophecies.

How was I supposed to make sense of things like Lv. 1 or Cap? And why were deities who couldn’t join furious and pouting?

“Don’t tell me...” A ridiculous idea popped into my mind, and I shook my head to drive it out. “They didn’t just rush in out of curiosity, as if I were a store with a huge sale or something, did they?”

The blue light of the chat box grew darker.

[Hessed, the deity of knowledge, is wondering what “sale” is.]

[Odyssey, the deity of love, is watching you with sparkling eyes.]

[Monde, the deity of arts, is painting your portrait.]

My hand flew to my forehead in shock. So they’re really watching me?

According to the books I’d read, it seemed that prophecy was the saint’s unique ability, and she had to reach a certain level of divine power in order to receive it. The books also said the prophecy would disappear after a while. But the one before my eyes was constantly blinking and updating. The deities seemed so excited, like subscribers watching a new livestream.

“Can’t I turn this thing off?” I muttered, growing increasingly distraught with each update.

Then, a glittering box appeared.

[Would you like to deactivate the Prophecy function?]

[Yes/No]

So it does have an off button. While I was sighing with relief, the chat box was on the verge of exploding.

[Monde, the deity of arts, is brandishing your portrait threateningly.]

[Odyssey, the deity of love, is going wild.]

[Hessed, the deity of knowledge, is staring at you with sad eyes.]

I put down my hand that was about to press [Yes] and looked at the dialogue box. It had gone a little quiet, as if the gods were holding their breath.

[Hessed, the deity of knowledge, is showing faith in you]

So this is like... Finally getting an internet connection for the first time in years. Or castaways on a deserted island clinging to a radio. Anyway, it was a strange feeling, to have people watching me on the edge of their seats.

In the end, I pressed [No], choosing not to disable the prophecy.

“But...” I said to myself while studying the blue screen, “what am I supposed to do with this?”

After all, I was no saint. Apart from the new subscribers watching my every move, nothing had changed. Too bad there wasn’t a premium subscription function so I could at least make money off of it.

A new message appeared in the dialog box.

[Hessed, the deity of knowledge, has used “Assimilation” on you.]

Suddenly, the content of hundreds of books began flowing into my mind, including Imperial Banquet Etiquette and The Collection of Congratulatory Speeches for Imperial Banquets, which were sitting unfinished on my desk. But the flow of knowledge was soon blocked, like an interrupted download, with a message that read:

[You are unable to receive “Assimilation” because your level of Prophecy is too low.]

I could feel the knowledge I’d just received slipping out of my mind, like sand through my fingers. Hmm. Well, that’s hurtful. It makes it sound like I’m not intelligent enough to absorb this knowledge. But at least I knew now what the prophecy could do for me.

Before long, another message popped up on the screen.

[Hessed, the deity of knowledge, blesses you.]

My mind suddenly grew clear. I felt like I could absorb the contents of a book just by looking at it. With this state of mind, I was confident that I could pass any kind of test existing in the modern world. When I looked outside, night had already fallen. I opened a book to write my speech for the prince. The chat box grew dim as I focused my attention elsewhere. My hand seemed to move at lightning speed. The sound of my pen scratching the paper echoed in the quiet room.

While I was still confused about the whole prophecy business, I was pleased to know that it could prove to be very useful.

* * *

The next morning, as I was stretching after a good bath, I heard a knock at the door. After I had given permission, the door opened to reveal Reihas. His beautiful face made me wonder how he looked so perfect first thing in the morning.

[Monde, the deity of arts, cannot take his eyes off Reihas.]

There was a bright smile in his golden eyes. “Did you sleep well, Ariel?”

I grinned and nodded. “Yes. May the blessing of the nine deities be with Your Holiness.”

He came closer to me with a dazzling smile, then looked at the books on my desk. “It seems like you did quite a lot of studying after I left yesterday.”

I quietly nodded. I did end up reading a lot of books. I’d come to realize a few things based on my experience yesterday. Hessed’s blessing provided me with a special ability that lasted around three hours. During that time, my cognitive abilities were heightened and afterward, they returned to normal.

I could’ve gotten a perfect score on the SATs if I had this power then.

“Of course,” I replied. “My speech has to reflect the dignity and honor of the temple.”

If I had read the speech I showed him the day before, the temple would have been a laughingstock.

I had decided to try my best to carry out the duties of the saint during my time in the temple. And it was in my best interests to stay on good terms with all the love interests. Just enough for them to think well of me. No more, no less.

It’s all a survival tactic.

And although it had caught me off guard, I had decided to accept the prophecy to gain knowledge and cope with my situation.

Reihas stared silently into my eyes. His gaze was so peculiar, I felt the need to explain myself. I didn’t want to come off too different from the old Ariel and arouse suspicion.

“I have behaved quite immaturely until now,” I said, thinking I’d better pretend like I’d done some self-reflection. “I don’t know how long it will take to find the real saint. But from now on, I shall try my best to fulfill her duties.”

I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I saw Reihas’ golden eyes darken a bit.

“Look, Ariel...” he whispered, gazing steadily into my eyes. “As I’ve told you before, this is your home now.”

I somehow managed to smile despite his words sending shivers down my spine. How did such seemingly pleasant words sound so much like a threat? Like he wouldn’t let me out of here alive? The original Ariel wouldn’t have given it much thought, but it was hard for me to ignore.

After a brief moment of silence, Reihas held out his hand to me.

“So don’t say such things.”

With a mysterious smile on his face, he looked into my eyes. “Now. Let’s take a look at your new speech.”