After leaving the conference room and returning to his guest chamber, Alejandro Palencia, the crown prince and representative of the Kingdom of Palencia, gathered his close aides who had accompanied him to the Kingdom of Luxaria.
With a sly smile that hinted at scheming, he began to speak:
“What I am about to say must not leave this room. Understood?”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
“First, let me state our kingdom’s ultimate goal: to acquire the Saintess. Sending her back to her original world is out of the question. Nor can we allow her to fall into the hands of another nation. We will guide the Saintess into choosing the Kingdom of Palencia herself—without drawing criticism from other countries.”
Hearing Alejandro’s bold proclamation, his aides looked conflicted but nodded, urging him to continue.
“Don’t give me those doubtful looks. I wouldn’t propose something impossible. I’ve already devised a plan.”
“And what might that plan be?”
“We will establish a new religion—‘The Church of the Saintess.’”
“The Church of the Saintess? Do you mean a religion with Saintess Haruka as its central figure?”
“Exactly. She can be portrayed as its founder or even as a divine entity. Once the Saintess begins her activities, such a religion will naturally arise. But we’ll act preemptively. We’ll establish the Church of the Saintess ahead of time, based in the Kingdom of Palencia, and encourage everyone to join it.”
Alejandro grinned mischievously, scanning the faces of his aides.
“And when that happens… public opinion across the continent will shift toward the Saintess staying here. Additionally, a vast number of Church followers will support inviting her to the headquarters. At that point, victory will be ours. The Saintess is an incredibly compassionate person, willing to decide overnight to work for an unfamiliar world. She cannot ignore the voices of the people.”
Alejandro’s strategy left his aides impressed.
“As expected of Your Highness. A truly brilliant plan.”
“It’s certainly worth attempting. Above all, our role is merely to establish the Church of the Saintess, which minimizes our risks. I think that’s an excellent aspect of the plan.”
“Exactly. Now, let me assign tasks for our next steps. One of you will return to Palencia and handle the preparations for the Church of the Saintess. The rest of you will remain in this kingdom. Once the Saintess embarks on her purification journey, focus on recruiting believers here in the capital.”
“Understood.”
While the Kingdom of Nordine moved to eliminate the Saintess, and the Kingdom of Palencia sought to claim her for itself, various nations’ schemes swirled, unbeknownst to Martina and her allies.
♢
On the day Haruka began her training to wield the Saintess’s powers, Martina was in the archives of the royal palace library. Her work on researching the magic circle for Haruka’s return was starting immediately.
Martina also planned to study the miasma pools themselves, aiming to develop a way to address them without relying on the Saintess.
Present in the archives were key members of the Saintess Summoning Magic Circle Project: Martina, Roland, Nadia, Sylvan from the administrative department, and Laforet and other historians.
Sophian was busy supporting Haruka and was not present. The knights were also occupied with handling the miasma pools and coordinating with Haruka, leaving the archives knight-free for the time being. As before, help would be requested only when necessary.
“Thank you all for gathering here today. First, let me announce that the Saintess Summoning was a success. The summoned Saintess, Haruka, has begun training to wield her powers as of today.”
Standing before the group, Martina spoke as the leader of the summoning project. Yet, despite the good news, no one showed cheerful smiles—only strained expressions. They must have already been informed of the circumstances surrounding Haruka.
Noticing their reactions, Martina gave a wry smile and continued.
“Hearing about Saintess Haruka, you might wonder whether what we’ve achieved is something to be proud of… However, it’s a fact that we’ve seized a chance to save this world. At the same time, the sins committed against Haruka are undeniable. To atone, I intend to ensure the creation of the return magic circle.”
Laforet was the first to speak in response to Martina’s declaration.
“We’ll fully support you in researching the return magic circle, Martina.”
“We’ll do our best as well.”
“We completed the summoning magic circle, so we can definitely accomplish this too.”
“Next, we’ll need to uncover the history regarding the fate of previous Saintesses.”
Following Laforet, the other historians also voiced their encouragement, prompting Martina to smile warmly.
“Thank you. I’ll be counting on you all for a while longer.”
The group then discussed how to proceed with their research. The historians quickly scattered across the archives and library, diving into their work.
Since investigating the history of the return magic circle could mean revisiting books previously deemed useless, they would need to review all the texts from the beginning.
Though Martina felt more mentally composed than during the summoning research, Haruka’s feelings motivated her to finish the magic circle as quickly as possible. The busy days were about to begin again.
“Roland, Nadia, Sylvan, will you continue handling coordination duties as before?”
As the trio discussed their upcoming tasks, Martina approached them after seeing off the historians.
“Yeah, we’ve been instructed to. Additionally, it seems that most Saintess-related tasks will be assigned to us moving forward.”
“Really? That sounds like a lot of work… I’ll help whenever I can!”
When Martina clenched her fists in determination, Sylvan lightly tapped her on the head with the edge of his hand.
“Ow!”
“Martina, focus on your own work. We can handle our responsibilities, so don’t waste time on unnecessary things.”
Despite the sharp tone, Martina understood Sylvan’s concern and nodded obediently.
“Got it. Thank you.”
“Martina, don’t overwork yourself, okay? You’re the only one with in-depth knowledge about the magic circle, so the burden will inevitably fall on you. If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”
“Exactly. If you need help, lean on us.”
“Thank you, Nadia, Roland. I’ll be sure to ask for help if I need it.”
After discussing their respective roles, the three left the archives, and Martina began focusing on her own work.
