FSFSLU 6

Chapter 6

Susanna read through the reflection letter that Isabel had proudly presented, her face weary.

As her eyes skimmed down the page, she stopped at a certain passage and propped her forehead with her hand, dragging it down over her eyes and to her lips.

After a moment of carefully choosing her words, Susanna spoke heavily.

“Sister Isabel.”

“Yes!”

“You must not waver in the face of temptation.”

Isabel looked dumbfounded.

“…I see!”

“Isabel, I am not joking.”

Susanna set the letter down and fixed her wrinkled eyes on Isabel.

“Nobody likes being scolded. But if you try to escape a crisis with lies, you will shatter the trust between us. And especially—claiming that your guardian angel descended upon you is not only a lie, but an act of great blasphemy and rudeness. You know that, don’t you, Sister Isabel?”

Isabel, looking blank for a moment, slowly nodded. But her tone remained unchanged.

“It’s not a lie, Sister!”

“You should address me as Auxiliary Bishop. And speak more quietly.”

“It’s not a lie, Auxiliary Bishop…”

“Good.”

Susanna once again read the reflection letter, then stared sharply at Isabel.

She knew Isabel wasn’t the type to make this kind of lie.

But still, it was hard to believe.

“Not a lie, you say? Then you really mean… this morning, your guardian angel suddenly descended upon you, and you were so overjoyed that you ran all through the halls?”

“Yes!”

Susanna studied Isabel with skeptical eyes.

Looking into Isabel’s shining gaze, she felt a strange tension.

Isabel was bad at lying—she was usually easy to read—but she acted so strangely on a daily basis that it was hard to tell if she was lying now or not.

So Susanna decided, for the moment, to assume Isabel was telling the truth.

What would it mean if Isabel’s guardian angel really did descend upon her?

“Has the angel chosen Isabel as her vessel?”

The thought made Susanna’s heart pound.

More than anyone in Zeroprime, Susanna knew Isabel’s shortcomings. And yet she also acknowledged Isabel’s talent.

The talents a priest must have are: a deep sensitivity that allows them to commune with God, and a body attuned to accept the divine power granted by Him and draw it out when needed.

Isabel possessed both. Since her days in the convent, she had been able to radiate a purer, more pristine divine power than her peers.

And above all, Isabel had the highest virtue a priest could aspire to:

A heart pure and kind, unstained by corruption.

A rare quality that most would struggle a lifetime to attain—Isabel possessed it as if it were natural.

If such a girl truly had been chosen by a guardian angel, then as her teacher from the convent days, Susanna could only rejoice for her.

“Sister Isabel.”

“Yes!”

“What is the holy name of this angel?”

“Smiel!”

“Smiel… I’ve never heard of that name.”

“I heard it for the first time too!”

Isabel’s bright declaration only deepened Susanna’s unease.

“Smiel… I haven’t heard of them, but many angels’ names were lost in old records. It wouldn’t be strange if one of them descended upon Isabel. But still…”

But something remained off.

Even the most renowned guardian angels never gave their chosen vessels direct orders.

The most famous vessel in the main church, Inquisitor Lister, had testified that even in prayer he only received vague voices or brief counsel from his angel.

And yet this reflection letter claimed that an angel, Smiel—unknown to the church—had actively commanded Isabel to set out on a sacred pilgrimage.

“I’ve never heard of an angel intervening in the mortal world so directly…”

Could it be that Isabel was simply tired of life in Zeroprime?

Knowing that an ordinary priest’s application for pilgrimage would be rejected, did she invent this story—“The angel commanded me!”—as justification?

It was Isabel. With her, nothing was ever certain.

If it was a lie, Susanna would have to stop it here before it exploded into a blasphemy trial later.

“Sister Isabel.”

“Yes?”

“This reflection letter is not enough. To confirm whether a priest is truly chosen by a guardian angel, another vessel must verify it. But that cannot be done right now. Without proof, I cannot permit this pilgrimage.”

“What? But… it has to work…”

To Susanna, Isabel looked genuinely flustered.

And in fact, she was.

“W-what do I do?”

She thought the reflection letter would explain everything. After all, even if it didn’t say it all, it contained no lies.

But clearly, the letter wasn’t enough to convince Susanna. What now?

At that moment—

In the corner of her vision, Isabel spotted a blue message bestowed by her angel.

Her face instantly lit up with expectation as she looked at Susanna.

“Sister!”

“Auxiliary Bishop, please.”

“Auxiliary Bishop, should I prove it right here? Right now?”

“…Prove it? Here?”

Flustered, Susanna asked. Isabel giggled mischievously, pulling out her cross and holding it in both hands.

Then she closed her eyes calmly.

【Quest has been generated.】
【Prove your truth to Susanna by displaying overwhelming divine power. (0/1)】

“As expected of Lady Smiel!”

A bad premonition prickled Susanna’s mind.

And before she could stop her, Isabel’s clasped hands gripped the cross tightly.

“Sister Isabel, what are you—”

In that instant.

With a blinding radiance, a pillar of light surged upward from Isabel’s hands.

“Good heavens…!”

A torrent of divine power like a gale.

The reflection letter and all the papers on the desk flew up to the ceiling, and Susanna’s robes whipped violently in the wind.

This was no mere windstorm. It was wind suffused with divine power.

Susanna could feel Isabel’s energy not only filling the room, but enveloping the entirety of Zeroprime.

“This is…”

“A barrier, Sister!”

Even after doing such a tremendous thing, Isabel smiled proudly, without the slightest strain.

Susanna glanced through the small window behind her. Just as Isabel said, everything visible through it shimmered under a faint, glowing veil.

It was true. Isabel’s power had cloaked the entire church.

“Zeroprime is vast. An ordinary priest could never cover it all with a barrier…”

Looking up in astonishment at the glowing ceiling, Susanna’s gaze turned back to Isabel.

“And the density of her divine power is so thick… This level is comparable to Bishop Patrick… no, perhaps even higher. To wield this overnight—is this truly the grace of a guardian angel?”

So strong was Isabel’s divine power that it seemed reasonable to believe her angel had indeed bestowed it.

She had confirmed it with her own eyes. That was enough.

“Isabel, stop!”

If only she knew her limits and could end it on her own.

【Quest: Prove your truth to Susanna by displaying overwhelming divine power. (1/1)】
【Quest completed.】

Seeing the message appear before her, Isabel clenched her fist triumphantly, quietly satisfied.

Done. She had faithfully completed her quest. Surely the angel would be pleased.

“Isabel…”

“Yes, Sister!”

She smiled at the Auxiliary Bishop—then froze.

The gale stirred by her unleashed power had already sent countless documents scattering all over the bishop’s office.

In the chaos, Susanna smiled thinly, veins standing on her forehead.

“Let’s clean up together, shall we?”

“…I’m really good at that!”

For a while, they tidied the scattered papers side by side.

When all was back in order, they faced each other again.

“Sister Isabel. That barrier that wrapped around Zeroprime before fading… you created it, didn’t you? And this was the second time.”

“That’s right!”

“What was the reason the first time?”

“I just wanted to test my divine power! But even then it wrapped the entire church, and the angel scolded me.”

“She scolded you…”

Susanna chuckled faintly.

“Gaining such divine strength overnight… no wonder you were so excited. But Isabel, even so, you are a priest of the Main Church, the very image of the goddess Sunya. You are her face. You must always maintain dignity.”

“I’ll live with dignity!”

“I mean throughout the entire pilgrimage. Unless you want the disgrace of being sent back early.”

“Ah, you mean…”

“I couldn’t possibly reject the request of a priest wielding such power. My hands are tied.”

A strange expression flickered across Isabel’s face.

Was this the moment to rejoice, or was she misunderstanding something? She weighed the thought back and forth.

Susanna always enjoyed the moment Isabel’s uncertain look blossomed into joy.

“Go and prepare. You’ll depart soon.”

“Waaah!”

What better expression of pure joy than such a cry and smile?

When Isabel realized Susanna had given her permission, she looked absolutely delighted. Susanna quickly added—

“Sister Isabel, quietly.”

“Thank you! I’ll do my best!”

“Quietly, I said.”

After admonishing Isabel several more times to keep the dignity befitting a pilgrim, Susanna finally managed to send her back to her quarters.

Silence fell after the noisy storm. Susanna leaned back in her chair with a sigh.

She had often pondered the true purpose of priests.

Only about twenty priests set out on pilgrimage each year. Yet there were hundreds of reported deaths and injuries from monster attacks annually.

There were countless lambs in the world in need of God’s aid. The divine power of priests could save them.

But because priests were bound to the Main Church, they were unable to go out and help freely.

It was a contradiction.

“Even now, somewhere in the world, someone is dying from a monster’s attack. What use are priests if they remain cloistered in the church?”

It was a question every priest with divine power asked themselves sooner or later. For Susanna, the question still weighed heavily on her heart. Always had.

And so, today was even more astonishing.

A priest of bishop-level power—or higher—setting out on pilgrimage under the angel’s guidance.

And that priest was none other than Isabel.

“Hah…”

Susanna laughed softly.

If someone claimed one person could change the world, adults would sneer. Children would admire it.

Then what would Isabel—neither child nor quite adult—say?

Susanna didn’t know. She could only hope Isabel would succeed.

That thought brought a small smile to her lips.

Though, admittedly, it carried a hint of pity as well.

For Isabel didn’t yet know—

That before she could depart on pilgrimage, she had dozens of documents to complete. Documents far more troublesome than a mere reflection letter or two.