The Game Difficulty
Is Crazy
After sending Glen Wardsworth away, Bishop Roderic went back inside the house.
He then walked over and stood beside Luceria, who was sitting at the shabby living room table.
“I told him the location of the residence we prepared in advance, and instructed him to keep his arrival in the Holy Capital a secret until the secret meeting is over.”
Since everything was being handled discreetly, Glen would not even be able to go and greet the Pope, but he accepted it without complaint.
“I’ve also bribed the checkpoint guards, so there shouldn’t be any problems later.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Brother Roderic.”
Luceria gave a gentle smile and lightly toyed with her teacup.
After a brief silence, Roderic carefully asked,
“What did you think of him?”
“What kind of person did he seem like to you, Brother Roderic?”
“To be honest, I didn’t find him trustworthy. It felt like he had an ulterior motive. And if I may say so… he doesn’t seem like the Third Saint either.”
Roderic did not know what kind of conversation had taken place between Saintess Luceria and Glen Wardsworth.
But at least to his eyes, Glen was a very suspicious person.
“His holy power seems far inferior—not only compared to you, Saintess, but even compared to me.”
For reference, Roderic possessed seven Rings of Sanctity.
Though he merely assisted the Saintess and handled her errands, he was a figure of fairly high rank within the Grand Cathedral.
“At most, five rings.”
Saints and Saintesses were those blessed by Minies, possessing an immense amount of holy power that ordinary people could never have.
Saintess Luceria gained holy power reaching nine rings more than ten years ago, when she was around ten years old.
Pope Agostino II likewise gained a similar amount of holy power shortly after the previous Pope passed away.
But Glen was different.
“Reaching that level at the age of seventeen is impressive, but it’s hard to call it the path of a Saint.”
Of course, the sheer amount of holy power alone did not define a Saint.
Still, Glen Wardsworth lacked the sacred aura that Saintess Luceria naturally radiated, and his behavior and speech were neither calm nor particularly holy.
“So that’s how you see him.”
However, Luceria seemed to see Glen Wardsworth differently.
“…It seems something happened during your conversation with him.”
“Yes.”
Luceria’s violet eyes shimmered faintly as she gazed into empty space.
Just as Roderic said, Glen Wardsworth appeared lacking in many aspects to be called a Saint.
And yet—
Through a conversation that hadn’t even lasted an hour, Luceria became convinced that he could hear the voice of God.
It wasn’t simply because he knew things that only she should have known.
“Though it was brief, I felt a sense of sameness while speaking with him.”
As mentioned before, Luceria was not born a Saintess.
She was the daughter of a coachman with no title, and in the year she turned ten, she suddenly began hearing the voice of God and gained an immense amount of holy power.
That fact became widely known, and she was invited to the capital, Istirenne, as a Saintess.
At the time, Luceria knew nothing of noble etiquette, nor did she understand the conduct expected of high-ranking priests.
She saw Glen Wardsworth as similar.
Though he was a noble, it had not been long since he received God’s favor, so habits from his days as an ordinary person still surfaced.
“As you say, his holy power and conduct are lacking, but that will change soon.”
Luceria’s slender white fingers wrapped around her teacup. Watching her, Roderic smiled faintly.
“It’s said that Saint Belostan lived a life of indulgence until the age of thirty. Saint Roberto could hear God’s voice but had no holy power.”
“If the Saintess is this confident, how could I doubt you? Still, I will prepare for unexpected situations, just as I’ve done with every candidate so far.”
Honestly, at this point, whether Glen was truly a Saint mattered less than how cooperative he would be with their plan.
And over the ten years since being acknowledged as a Saintess and residing in the Grand Cathedral, Luceria had painfully realized that faith alone could not stand against the corruption within the Order.
So, setting aside the excitement she felt from meeting someone like herself, she let a cool light settle into her violet eyes.
“Yes. Please do so until you are fully convinced. Though I say this, I also need to observe him more.”
The secret meeting would take place in three days.
There, she would begin her journey to change the corrupted Papal State.
After finishing his meeting with Luceria,
Glen reunited with his waiting companions and headed to the lodging Roderic had told him about.
He then explained the situation to Hawkney and Tasha, who were wondering why he had not yet greeted His Holiness the Pope.
The corrupted Papal State.
The Saintess who wished to change it.
And the hidden talents across the land that she intended to bring into her plan, along with the secret meeting meant to gather them.
“That can’t be…”
“I’m shocked.”
After hearing everything, Hawkney and Tasha were left speechless.
“Sadly, it’s the truth.”
Corrupt high-ranking priests.
A knight order busy playing both sides.
And a Pope who turns a blind eye to it all.
No wonder that, in the original story, most of the human faction’s scenarios focused on resolving internal problems.
“I feel foolish for believing it was nothing but a beautiful and sacred place!”
Hawkney’s eagle-like eyes trembled with frustration.
Facing the truth of the Papal State he had devoted his life to protecting clearly struck him hard.
Tasha, too, seemed overwhelmed by the vast truth she had suddenly encountered.
“Anyway, we’ll change things step by step from now on. I’d like your help.”
There were roughly fifty days until the Demon King’s Army launched a full-scale invasion of the Papal State.
Until then, Glen planned to resolve as many internal issues as possible, using Saintess Luceria as the figurehead.
‘About a month.’
He was accounting for the possibility of another disaster, like before, where the demons invaded earlier than expected.
“I understand. I, Hawkney, will do anything if it means correcting what is wrong!”
“If it is Young Master’s will.”
Each for their own reasons, Hawkney and Tasha declared their resolve.
Glen nodded.
“Good. Then I’ll briefly explain what we need to do.”
The broad outline of Glen’s plan was simple.
Bring down the corrupt priests who were driving the Papal State toward ruin, and fill their positions with Saintess Luceria and other upright, honest individuals.
To accomplish this simple yet difficult plan, Glen had brought Hawkney and Tasha as his aides.
‘So do your best.’
Soon, Glen assigned them several tasks.
Hawkney’s role was that of an informant.
He would move through the places Glen designated and immediately report on events and reactions within the Papal State.
At first glance, since Glen already knew the general flow of events and even the future, it might seem unnecessary.
But that was only if things proceeded exactly as Glen remembered.
‘The scenario can change.’
Just like how the Demon King’s Army invaded Wardsworth two months earlier than expected, or how all the demon commanders became stronger—things could deviate from the original story.
Glen’s actions themselves could also create butterfly effects, producing entirely new developments.
Just like how destroying two Black Order dioceses led to an unexpected encounter with them at the Ursula Monastery.
