A blue satin dress draped with white lace.
Irik knew exactly what it was.
That dress was the one Count Kiris had bought for Ordell on the day she first arrived at the Grand Temple as the Saintess.
Ordell cherished it deeply, calling it a precious gift from her father. Every time she wore it, she was incredibly cautious, and if a maid so much as mishandled it, she'd fly into a rage.
And now she wanted to sell it without hesitation.
Even going as far as lying that she had bought it herself with saved-up allowance.
‘Isn’t this something she and Count Kiris plotted together? Is she really planning to leave the Temple?’
Come to think of it, she had said she’d even deceive the Kiris family with him.
Maybe she had a serious falling out with the Count.
Ordell had always been loyal to Count Kiris, but he never truly cherished her.
It wouldn’t be strange if she had finally realized that and turned her back on him.
‘That would explain everything.’
Her sudden change in behavior, her decision to give up being the Saintess and leave the Temple, and the hollow expression she wore when she said those things—it all made sense now.
“…I think it would be a good idea to go ahead and sell them. The Temple’s running funds are getting tighter and tighter.”
As Irik remained silent, staring grimly at the list, Dietrich cautiously offered his opinion.
He didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
Truthfully, the Temple’s finances were in shambles because of the Saintess’s luxury spending.
“…Very well. Let’s do as the Saintess wishes. Begin tomorrow. You’ll be in charge of overseeing it.”
“Yes! Understood!”
Dietrich’s face lit up with relief as he gave a firm nod.
He needed to get it all done quickly, before either Ordell or Irik could change their minds.
“……”
But unlike Dietrich, Irik could not bring himself to smile.
He was, admittedly, glad about Ordell’s change.
And yet… the fact that she was willing to sell even the blue dress she treasured so much continued to bother him.
Especially the part where she insisted on keeping the money from just that dress.
It meant that despite her anger, she hadn’t fully let go of her attachment to the Kiris family.
Recalling the hollow look on Ordell’s face from earlier in the day, Irik let out a long sigh.
* * *
“Ah, that feels great.”
Having handed over the item list to Dietrich the night before, I greeted the morning feeling refreshed.
A weekday morning without work—how truly delightful.
“Maybe I should just stay here.”
If I went outside, I’d have to start working again just to survive…
But here, I was the Saintess—the top of the ladder. I didn’t need to work.
Meals came on time, cleaning was taken care of.
Wasn’t this a perfect job?
Maybe I should just stay at the Grand Temple, save up little by little, and leave when Idella shows up in a year.
It would be a little awkward to tell Irik I’d changed my mind now… but he already opposed the idea of me leaving, so maybe it’d be fine.
But my brilliant plan didn’t even last ten minutes before it crumbled to pieces.
“I-I-I-I’m so sorry, Saintess…!”
I blinked, staring blankly at the woman kneeling and bowing in front of me.
The maid who had brought my breakfast had looked terrified from the beginning.
At first, I hadn’t thought much of it.
She must have experienced Ordell’s abuse firsthand.
Maybe I should start apologizing to people, beginning with her.
That’s all I had been thinking.
Until the tray she was holding brushed against me ever so slightly.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please, p-please forgive me…!”
“……”
Wow. I was actually speechless.
She barely touched me, and now she was prostrating like this…?
What on earth had Ordell been doing here?
“…I’m fine, so please go now.”
What could I even say to someone trembling in fear of being struck?
Even if I apologized right now, she wouldn’t be able to accept it properly. So I just let her go.
“…Y-Yes?”
“I’m not the least bit angry. You can go now.”
I figured she’d be even more frightened if I pushed the issue, so I just ignored her and began eating.
After a moment of hesitation, she gave a deep bow and rushed out the door.
Strangely enough, even in that hurry, I didn’t hear a single footstep.
Actually, it wasn’t funny at all.
“…Guess I really do have to leave the Temple.”
Forget changing my image—if I cared even a little for the mental health of the people here, I had to leave.
I finished my meal with a heavy heart.
Once I was done eating, I ran into a new dilemma.
Yesterday, Irik and Dietrich had taken away the empty dishes themselves. But today, since I’d sent the maid off early, no one was around to take them.
Rather than have someone else come in terrified and trembling, I decided to just take the tray myself.
“But… where’s the kitchen?”
From what I remembered, the kitchen was connected to the dining hall. So where’s the dining hall?
And I didn’t even know where my bedroom was located in this building.
When I first arrived at the Temple, I’d been so out of it from hunger and nausea that Irik had carried me in.
What should I do? Should I call the maid back?
Wouldn’t she faint this time, thinking I was actually angry…?
I was staring at the empty tray, seriously weighing my options, when—
【Per user request, ‘Map’ system is now available.】
A system message popped up in front of me.
“…Oh, right. You exist.”
It had been so unhelpful, I’d completely forgotten about it in just one day.
As if offended by my neglect, the system display expanded dramatically.
In the upper left corner of the screen were the words <Map of the Sun God’s Grand Temple>.
Good. Of course a transmigration system should have a map function.
“Show me the path from where I am now to the kitchen.”
A dotted red line appeared on the map, leading straight to the kitchen.
I take it back—this thing actually is helpful.
I immediately began following the red dots.
I’d considered heading straight to the kitchen, but that route was only connected through servant corridors. So instead, I decided to cut through the dining hall.
Please… let no one in there have a heart attack when they see me.
Unfortunately, that hope was dashed the moment I stepped inside.
“Ah.”
The instant I entered the dining hall, dozens of pairs of eyes locked onto me mid-meal.
Right. Of course it was mealtime.
Everyone I made eye contact with instantly went pale.
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your pleasant mealtime…
“Saintess?”
Irik stood up abruptly and approached.
“What brings you here…?”
“I was just trying to return my empty dishes to the kitchen. But it looks like I misjudged the timing.”
I felt bad for showing up and making everyone uncomfortable.
As I offered a roundabout apology, Irik snatched the tray from my hands.
“I’ll take care of this.”
“Oh, if you would…”
“And, Saintess, there is no place in this Grand Temple that you are forbidden from entering. Anywhere and everywhere you wish to go, you are free to walk.”
Uh… Isn’t that a little dramatic just for showing up in the dining hall?
“…Right. I’ll keep that in mind.”
I mean, I’m planning to leave soon anyway… But I nodded anyway.
I was about to quietly slip out of the dining hall for everyone’s sake when—
“…Huh?”
Something looked off.
“Saintess?”
I ignored Irik’s puzzled voice and strode toward what I had just seen.
I felt bad for the children whose faces turned pale as I approached—but right now, I couldn’t focus on that.
“What… is this?”
At the very end of the long table, I stood before a small cluster of children and widened my eyes.