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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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It was two days ago.
The Saintess of Hameln, the one who was directly chosen by the great god visited Cologne.
‘What’s going on?’
I heard that the construction of Hameln was almost complete.
Except for the collapsed cathedral, all the government offices were completed and started functioning.
People were also moving into the residential areas, and the population was gradually increasing.
Now, Hameln was the capital of the Holy Kingdom in name and reality.
Cologne remained only as a cultural city preserving the old history of the Holy Kingdom.
In the midst of that, the Saintess suddenly visited Cologne, which wasn’t even on the schedule.
It was an emergency.
We were not prepared at all to welcome the Saintess.
We struggled to make welcome preparations after receiving notice only an hour before the arrival.
Just before the Saintess’ arrival, a messenger who arrived said not to make a fuss…
I was slightly annoyed but held back.
I sent away the welcoming crowd.
I canceled all the scheduled banquets and parties.
Because the Saintess had come only to meet me, Cornelia Briam, personally.
“Greetings, Saintess. I am Cornelia Briam, currently serving as the acting mayor of Cologne.”
“Nice to meet you. You are in a position that is difficult for a woman to stand. I know that hardship well.”
“Is that so…”
“You must be very surprised. I’m really sorry. I should have told you in advance that I was planning to visit quietly.”
“Not at all.”
The atmosphere was quite good.
I was worried since it was my first time meeting the Saintess in person.
But she was much more gentle than I had imagined, far from being overbearing.
“I’ll take you inside for now.”
“Alright. You must be very busy, so I should finish my business quickly and leave.”
“No, there’s no need to rush…”
“I don’t want to burden you. What kind of position is the Saintess? I’m just an orphan who happened to hear the voice of God one day.”
On top of that, her natural dignity and humility flowed as if it was ingrained in her body.
Omitting the fact that she had built an unrivaled position by studying theology and magic like crazy after being appointed as the Saintess and defeating all those who doubted her legitimacy and qualifications through debates.
She only highlighted her own shortcomings.
Although we had just met for a few seconds, it already felt like the Saintess had a halo around her.
“No one can hear us here, right?”
“Yes. The mayor’s office is completely soundproof.”
“Then, to get straight to the point… I need legal advice.”
But the moment I brought the Saintess inside, her eyes changed and she showed an anxious look.
The Saintess needed legal advice? From me?
“I’m sorry, Saintess. I’m not a judge, so legal advice may be difficult for me.”
“Aren’t you a law major? You must be familiar with court work as you serve as the acting mayor.”
“It’s just fragmentary knowledge. I can’t provide professional help.”
“A simple consultation is enough. It’s not a difficult request. Can you at least hear me out?”
“I understand…”
Why me of all people?
There would be many more suitable people for legal advice.
Did she judge that my mouth would be tight enough?
I thought that this might be a story about the Saintess’ shame that she couldn’t reveal to others, so I got nervous.
“Acting Mayor. Is it possible to issue a warrant for a non-existent person?”
“Pardon? A non-existent person?”
“A person who definitely exists but has no way to prove their existence. A person who is not registered as a citizen in any city of any country, and whose name is known to no one…”
But the story that came out of the Saintess’ mouth was completely unexpected.
I couldn’t even tell what it was about.
Issuing a warrant for a non-existent person?
It was absurd, but I thought there must be a reason since it was the Saintess’ words.
I had to answer as sincerely as possible.
“Hmm. It seems difficult in reality. Issuing a warrant isn’t like scattering a montage to catch an unspecified suspect. It’s a document commanding the arrest of a specific person. So issuing an order to a non-existent person…”
“He exists! He definitely exists, that person!”
The Saintess suddenly got excited, pounded the table, and shouted.
I was startled.
I didn’t know the Saintess could raise her voice like this.
“I’m sorry. Were you surprised…”
“…”
After a moment, the Saintess sat back down, calming her rough breath.
The subject was so sensitive that the Saintess couldn’t control her excitement.
I thought this wasn’t an ordinary matter.
“If you say so, Saintess, he must definitely exist. I believe you.”
“Really? You believe me, Acting Mayor?”
“Of course. The Saintess wouldn’t lie. But apart from that, issuing a warrant is almost impossible. The court can’t issue an order to a target it doesn’t even recognize.”
“So as long as the court recognizes his existence, it’s possible? Whether it’s a sighting information or a photo or whatever…”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Thank you, Acting Mayor. You were a great help.”
The Saintess smiled brightly and held my hand.
To be honest, until then, I didn’t know what kind of conversation we had.
I didn’t know what kind of help it was to the Saintess.
But now I think I know.
Who the Saintess was so desperately looking for.
Who she was going crazy about because she couldn’t bring him in.
“Yoo-jin… The person the Saintess is looking for was you…”
“…”
At those words, Yoo-jin closed his eyes tightly instead of answering.
That was enough of an answer.
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‘This is driving me crazy.’
Last time, I missed Yulia by a few hours.
This time, I narrowly brushed past Jill by two days?
It gave me chills.
This would probably happen frequently in the future.
I was now at the point where I could convert the tension into a thrill.
“Yoo-jin. What is your relationship with the Saintess?”
“…”
Cornelia asked with a serious expression, correcting her posture.
Of course she would be curious.
The noble Saintess had lost her reason and shouted because she wanted to find one person.
If one wasn’t curious, they wouldn’t be human.
“I have the Saintess’ weakness. The Saintess will try to catch me no matter what. Regardless of the charges.”
“Are you saying she’s trying to frame you and catch you?”
“Yes.”
Within the bounds of not revealing the complete truth, this would be the most accurate answer.
The reason Jill was trying to catch me was because I had betrayed and left Jill in the 1st round.
But in this round, that incident had become undone.
So there was no proper justification to arrest me.
To the people of this round, it would seem like Jill was trying to frame me.
“How could it be… How could the Saintess…”
Cornelia muttered blankly, as if in shock.
Well, it would be hard to believe.
I understand.
When I directly heard “Ugh, commoner smell” from Jill, I was so shocked that I couldn’t swallow food for three days.
It was the most shocking moment since I witnessed my first love talking behind my back.
‘Wait a minute. I can use this.’
After being surprised by the sudden news, I quickly realized this wasn’t a misfortune but a blessing.
“Cornelia. Take on the Saintess’ legal consultation.”
“What? The consultation to arrest Yoo-jin…”
“Yes. But don’t work so hard that I get caught. Use the consultation as an excuse to extract information from the Saintess. How she’s trying to find me. What’s the search range? On a scale of 1 to 10, how angry is she at me? Tell me everything, even the trivial things.”
This was an opportunity.
An opportunity to escape Jill’s pursuit.
She was trying to issue a warrant for a person who didn’t even exist.
Jill couldn’t have disclosed this story to just anyone.
Jill must have highly evaluated Cornelia’s character and thought she was trustworthy.
Perhaps she felt a sense of kinship as a woman holding a high position.
So if it was Cornelia’s legal advice, she would spill information without suspicion.
This was how placing collaborators here and there paid off.
It was like Jill had fallen into the trap I had set in reverse.
“I understand… But will it be okay?”
“What?”
“When the Saintess catches you later, can you handle it?”
“Don’t worry. At that time, you can use me as a sacrifice and escape. There won’t be any evidence left that you and I conspired to deceive the Saintess, right?”
“That’s not it. I don’t care what happens to me. I was asking if you could handle the Saintess’ anger when you get caught.”
“Hmm…”
Handling it when caught.
I hadn’t thought about that.
Should I say the situation was already so messed up that I didn’t consider an even worse situation?
“I can’t handle it.”
“…”
I frankly admitted it.
There was no way to handle Jill’s anger.
Of course, there was one way to avoid it.
Faking death.
I would get a plausible corpse, completely cremate it, and bury my mana in it.
Then Jill would have no choice but to believe I had burned to death when she found the corpse.
“But there’s no way I’ll get caught, right?”
“…”
Of course, there was no need to go that far.
I would defeat the final boss and return home before getting caught by Jill.
There’s no way I’ll fail, right?
There’s no way I’ll get caught before that, right?
No way.
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Those “no way” sounds way too desperate lol.
Denial, a common symptom. To deny one’s predetermined fate.
Lmao come on bro don’t keep repeating the foreshadowing. Now it’s definitely gonna happen, there’s no way it won’t.
This guy already see a black flag… But painted it white instead… 🤣
Mans coping
Yup buddy you have raised a flag