Chapter 73: Maybe Mr. Mateo Is a Better Person Than I Thought

At first, I suspected Mateo. Because I was afraid of what he might try to do when we were alone.

I even wrapped my body in a Mana Shield, ready to counterattack the moment he tried any nonsense.

“…Hahaha, there’s no need to be that tense. I only want to talk with the Saintess.”

Whether he’d noticed my Mana Shield or not, Mateo said that the moment he entered the room.

“I still don’t fully trust you guys.”

“How sad. I saved your companions, protected an important item, and I still haven’t earned your trust.”

…Saying that, he suddenly covered his eyes with his sleeve as if pretending to cry. I watched him, dumbfounded and exasperated.

“…Anyway, let’s get to the point. I’ll be blunt. I know about your past life.”

“What?”

“You weren’t originally in a woman’s body. Shall I guess who you are? An S-Rank Hunter, a great mage, a Hunter who closed S-Rank Gates and saved many using various magics including Incantationless Casting.”

“…”

“That’s right. I know who you are. Your real name is… Yoschuko Verdiol.”

I was speechless. This guy knew my identity, just as he’d claimed.

“…How?”

I asked, feeling dizzy. Then Mateo pointed to his own eyes and spoke.

“These eyes. Clairvoyance. Eyes containing the truth that pierces all things.”

So he had an ability like that. I sighed inwardly, dumbfounded. Honestly, Incantationless Casting might not be such a big deal after all…

I’d gone through all kinds of effort to hide my identity, and Mateo had turned my efforts to dust in an instant with just his ability.

“I’ve always wondered why God granted me Clairvoyance. And the moment I saw you, I understood.”

Mateo gave a speech with exaggerated gestures. I still listened silently with an exasperated face.

“It was! It was God’s will to help you, the Saintess!”

“Yeah, yeah… I see… Wait.”

While listening to Mateo’s words without much thought, a sudden idea struck me.

“Come to think of it, Mr. Mateo.”

Whether I’d unconsciously acknowledged him as an ally, I addressed him with honorifics as a bonus.

“Yes, go ahead.”

“You said the reason you helped Karelin was to find that… Saintess, right?”

“Correct. And the moment you appeared before me, I had no reason to keep helping Karelin, who was your enemy.”

“I… see. Then how did you come to know Karelin?”

“She approached me first. She knew I had Clairvoyance.”

“She knew?”

“Yes. Karelin knew every single ability of the people she brought along, without exception.”

“Just what kind of person is she…”

Someone strong enough to use Teleportation Magic and wipe out a dragon tribe. And she even knows the awakened abilities of other Hunters. Wasn’t that practically an omniscient ability?

‘God…’

Maybe because of Mateo’s influence, I couldn’t help thinking that Karelin might be a god.

“What gathered that way was ‘the Group.’”

“Organization?”

“Yes. There’s no official name. That’s just what Karelin calls it. Every single member of the Group, including me, was personally recruited by her. She presented what they desired, and they responded.”

Come to think of it, Jihyeok had said that. That he was with them to find me.

So they each had their own goals. Well, gathering people of that caliber wouldn’t be easy.

Unless you made a solid offer to grant their wishes, they wouldn’t come over.

“Mr. Mateo, do you know what Karelin’s goal is?”

“…No.”

Mateo spoke with a dark expression for the first time.

“Huh, you don’t know? You said it was an eye that could pierce through anything!”

“That’s right. But for some reason, this Clairvoyance didn’t work on Karelin.”

“Well, well.”

Even the ability that saw through my identity couldn’t figure her out? What the hell?

‘Too bad.’

If I’d known what Karelin’s goal was, I might have gained a pretty important advantage.

“I’ve been agonizing over why my ability doesn’t work on her for a while, but I couldn’t find an answer. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help there.”

“No, there’s no need to apologize…”

…Had I been judging people too much by their looks? This guy Mateo didn’t seem like a bad person… No, wait. Come to think of it, he’s the head of a cult!

I’ve never met a normal person who got involved with a cult. This bastard might be acting all nice on the surface, but that’s probably just because I’m that… Saintess.

‘Fuck.’

This is ridiculous. Me, a Saintess? I’ve never believed in a god a single day in my life. And on top of that, I used to be a man.

“What will you do from now on?”

At Mateo’s question, I tilted my head. What’s it to you?

“Karelin is a rather persistent woman. She’ll keep chasing you from now on. And now that she knows who you are, if she uses her ability… for example, if she appears while you’re sleeping, it could be dangerous.”

“…Does Karelin have any conditions for using Teleportation Magic?”

“That’s why she’s a Transfer Mage. That woman uses magic regardless of her environment. Isn’t that the same for you, Saintess?”

That’s true. What mage Hunter is bound by their environment? A mage Hunter is someone who can create fire underwater.

‘…What do I do.’

I hadn’t realized it until now since I’d never seen her in person, but if Karelin uses Teleportation Magic, she can find me anytime, anywhere as long as she knows my location. If that happens, like Mateo said, she’d likely try to assassinate me. She might suddenly open a Gate and appear while I’m asleep.

“If you’d like, you can stay here.”

“No thanks.”

I flatly refused Mateo’s offer. If I slept in this cult church that was nothing but white, I felt like I’d go crazy just like them. I get that Mateo’s a decent guy, but I didn’t want to stay with them. I’d rather get caught by Karelin.

“…I see.”

Mateo made an openly disappointed face. Then, he suddenly pulled a key from his pocket and held it out to me.

“Then how about staying here for a while?”

“A key to where?”

“An underground hotel in a place no one knows about except for me and a few relevant parties.”

“…Underground hotel?”

I tilted my head at the unfamiliar term.

“Yes. Karelin doesn’t know about this place either. How about observing the situation from there for a while?”

“…Can I trust you?”

Something about this felt uneasy.

“Of course. The facilities are excellent. It should be a suitable place for the Saintess to rest. And of course, since the Arc Church will do anything for the Saintess’s convenience, the price is free.”

“Alright.”

I answered without a moment’s hesitation. Free…! How could I pass that up! And he said the facilities are good? I can trust him, right?

“Ramiel will guide you.”

Ramiel?

…Ah, I remember now. When I first ran into these guys, she was the woman who looked like an executive. She must be one of the relevant parties Mateo mentioned.

“Then I’ll take my leave. You look very tired.”

“…You’re right. Today was a rough day in many ways.”

I let out a sigh.

Today really, really had a lot happen. Just as I thought I could finally rest and turned to leave, something I’d forgotten came to mind.

“Ah, right. I was supposed to negotiate.”

“What negotiation do you mean?”

“Well, about the compensation for the Hunters you saved… from the Arc Church? I came as a representative of the Crescent guild.”

“Ah, that.”

“…How much do you want? It’s not my guild, so I don’t really care about the money.”

“You don’t have to pay anything.”

“Huh?”

“They’re people who helped the Saintess. How could we accept money from them?”

Then couldn’t you just bill me instead?

I really wanted to say that, but I held back.

“…I’ll pass that along. On behalf of Hames, I’ll express my thanks.”

I bowed my head. At the very least, they saved Deneb. I didn’t know about anything else, but I was grateful for that.

“Hahaha, as expected, the Saintess is so kind.”

‘…’

“Ramiel will guide you to the hotel. Go in carefully.”

I bowed my head once more briefly as a farewell.

…Honestly, I owed Mateo a debt of gratitude. I never expected him to not only save Deneb but also arrange a place for us to stay. This morning, and even when I first came out of the Gate, I’d just thought another troublesome bastard had shown up.

‘Guess not everything is negative.’

I gripped the key in my hand tightly.

* * *

When I came outside, Deneb and Marcel quickly approached me.

“Did that man try any tricks on you?”

Marcel said in a worried voice.

“No… Maybe Mr. Mateo is a better person than I thought.”

I shook my head and said that.

“That’s right! My hyung-nim always said you shouldn’t judge people just by how they look.”

Deneb chimed in to back me up. Well, she had received direct help from her, after all.

Leaving the church building, we started walking behind Ramiel.

Just then, a thought popped into my head.

“Hey, Ms. Ramiel.”

I called out to Ramiel, who was walking ahead.

“Yes.”

“Before we go to the hotel, there’s a place I need to stop by.”

* * *

The place I needed to stop by was Mr. Luca’s lodging.

A place that felt like home. In fact, thanks to Mr. Luca’s generosity, I’d lived there for several years.

“You’re back.”

As I entered, Mr. Luca greeted me as usual.

“…What the hell? Why are there more people again?”

The moment he saw Deneb, Marcel, and Ramiel, who’d come to guide us, coming in behind me, I could see Mr. Luca’s surprised expression behind his sunglasses. Ramiel was only accompanying us for today, though.

“Mr. Luca.”

I deposited the money I’d received as payment from the A-Rank Gate through an Artifact, then spoke, feeling a little choked up.

“I’ve been a damn burden on you for a long time.”

It was time to leave now.