After sending the three former Jinx Skill holders off to the Raging Kingdom, the next thing to do was, of course, investigate the Church.
The plan was this.
I can use [Holy Magic].
I'd have Alisa change her sex, then infiltrate the Church by declaring, "I want to become a saint."
The saint route should be the quickest way in.
Then she'd work her way into the Church's upper echelons and find out why they were so eager to banish Jinx Skill holders.
There were bound to be other misdeeds too, so it might be worth leaking information to Marquis Mool, who should already be investigating the Church.
I had Alisa change her sex, and she donned the Sage's Robe.
It shouldn't come to violence for a while, so she wouldn't bring a sword this time.
◇◇◇
"Hey, Alisa — there's a way you could become a saint right away. What do you think? I don't think it's a bad deal."
I was approached with those words in a sweet, wheedling voice.
This was the room of a certain priest at Church headquarters.
I'd gone to the Church and said "I'd like to become a saint," and they'd immediately ushered me into a lavish room, but—
The beautiful sister who had guided me here — the priest's attendant, by the looks of her — leaned in and spoke in a hushed voice,
muttering
under her breath.
"That perverted priest is at it again with his bad habits... It's always the same, but still, poor thing..."
I could hear every word, of course.
"There have been fewer Saintess candidates lately, you see. We're short on them. A beautiful young lady like you would most certainly be certified as a Saintess."
Beside me sat a grotesquely robust priest—bloated with fat, his face puffed up like a balloon, eyes narrowed into slits. He spoke with a slimy grin plastered across his face.
That greasy face couldn't conceal his base desires one bit.
"That inexperienced quality of yours is just wonderful… Truly my cup of tea. Oh wait, no, no—I mean that your potential as a Saintess would make training you most rewarding. Please don't misunderstand."
The Sister furrowed her brow at the perverted priest's remarks.
"Isn't it because of you that the number of Saintess candidates has plummeted…"
Sure enough, she spat those words out in a barely audible murmur.
"Did you say something, Sister? Well, no matter. I am about to bestow upon this one a"
secret
technique,
"so I'll need you to leave the room. Understood?"
"Understood."
The Sister promptly hurried out of the perverted priest's room.
◇◇◇
Once the Sister had left, it was just me and the greasy priest—alone together.
Then, with practiced ease, he began burning a suspicious incense.
"The ritual involves applying a secret technique known only to me. Don't worry—not a thing will hurt. You'll be done before you even finish gazing up at the chandelier on the ceiling, so relax."
What on earth is he planning to do…?
"This incense is also necessary to help activate the secret technique. It's perfectly harmless."
A little trick that doesn't work on me, of course.
"Now then, stare into my eyes. [Holy Magic]Hypnosis... Did it work? Take off that ridiculous outfit and lie down on the bed."
"I refuse."
"See, your eyes are going all glassy... What?!"
"You're beneath contempt for a man of the cloth. So this is how you've been deceiving underage saint candidates, isn't it?"
"Damn it, the hypnosis isn't working?! Then I'll just use force..."
The perverted priest wobbled his massive body toward me, breathing heavily, trying to pin me down.
Don't you dare come closer!
"[Sacred Magic]Saint Fire."
Judgment flames surged toward the perverted priest.
"Wh-why would you suddenly cast such high-level magic?! But it's useless — that only works on the wicked!"
Why don't you find out for yourself whether it works or not.
"Uwoooooh, hot, hot, why — why am I being burned alive?!"
The lustful priest went up in spectacular flames.
Saint Fire was effective against monsters too, but when used on humans, its power varied depending on the depth of their sins.
For an ordinary person, it would sting a little and that would be the end of it — but this priest had apparently committed far too many misdeeds.
The priest, now a full-body pillar of fire, reached his hands toward me.
Ooh, he's really burning.
"Hot, hot, so hot, help me — God, I..."
The priest burned to nothing, not even leaving ash behind.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
The burning incense had the tremendously convenient effect of dulling one's thoughts and, as a bonus, making the priest look like a handsome man (normally).
Skills: [Reverse][Divine Eye][Sword God][Fist God][Spear God][Scorching Magic][Frozen Ice Magic][Clear Storm Magic][Rock-Iron Magic][Holy Magic][Dark Magic][Spacetime Magic][Thunder God Sword][Phantom Thief Gentleman][Ninja Master][Seeker of Truth][Monstrous Strength Beyond Divinity][Pain Dulling][Complete Status Ailment Resistance][Dark Spirit's Protection][Super Intuition][Heaven's Gate][Abyssal Contractor][Magic Hand][Treasure Search][Seduction][Eloquence][Super Luck][Growth Speed ×10]
Rank: Orichalcum
Thank you for reading!