The day after the Pope's attack.
At the call of Feybi, I arrived at the sanctuary and blinked as I saw several high-ranking individuals bowing in my direction.
Why are these people, who should be desperately working in their own countries, here?
Isn't it more urgent to prepare for the impending disaster rather than this?
Why are they trying to get to know me!?
Feeling flustered, I turned my gaze to Feybi, and she gave me a gentle smile.
"I told you last time, didn’t I? If you create an environment where Lady doesn’t need to sacrifice herself, wouldn’t that work?"
Feybi's words about shifting the responsibility to the countries were indeed correct.
Correct, but...
Can’t I have a little time to prepare myself?! Meeting people for the first time is really stressful!
And especially if they are people of high status!
Ah, I used to think that no matter who I met, they were just people unrelated to me, so I could be bold and confident, but now I can’t do that!
I can’t act coy because of this damn mesugaki skill!
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I had so much to say, but I suppressed it and complied with Feybi's intentions.
Since she had prepared this environment for me, I couldn't say anything.
...And honestly, I can’t handle everything on my own.
Just looking at the incident that happened last night proves that.
I only have one body.
When everything happens all at once, there’s nothing I can do.
But I can’t just leave the situation to others, especially with the variable of the dungeon in the mix.
Dungeons that deviate from normal conditions are likely to be much different from what I know.
Just look at the dungeons I tackled yesterday.
"Don’t worry for now, Employer. I’ll help you."
More than anything, it seemed like Feybi had noticed my discomfort and had already called Karia, so I joined the meeting without much stress.
It seemed true that my authority had risen because, even though I blatantly spoke in a rude tone, calling them pigs, beasts, or saying their castles smelled like cattle pens, none of the high-ranking people expressed complaints despite looking uncomfortable.
At the end of the meeting, the direction we decided was as follows:
I would tackle any dungeons that were too risky or had large variables.
For dungeons with lower risk or almost no variables, I would delegate the responsibility to each country’s forces, and in case of emergency, I’d give instructions on how to handle dangerous dungeons.
In fact, most of this had been discussed before in meetings with the Apostles, so the only change was the methods to handle dangerous dungeons and preparations to minimize damage.
What felt different, however, was how cooperative the others were.
"We’ll dispatch the 1st Knights."
"We’ll call up special knights."
"I’ve requested the cooperation of several elders."
In the past, while the countries had agreed to cooperate with this disaster, they hadn’t committed to sending all their forces.
Ultimately, what mattered to them was not the crisis of humanity but the safety of their own countries.
But today, things were different. They eagerly sent their finest forces.
There was no need to ask why. The one who created this situation was standing clearly before me; who else could be blamed?
"I’m sorry, Lady. I couldn’t tell you earlier since I’ve been preparing since the night before."
"Ha. Actually, that’s not what you want to say, is it? Just say you want me to praise you. I can clearly see you’re wagging your tail, you silly Saintess."
"...Is... Is that so?"
"No? Then it’s fine. I don’t care."
"I-I... would you... praise me?"
Forgetting the morning’s confusion, I patted Feybi on the head.
Feybi smiled and accepted my gesture.
After that, Feybi continued to move around to make things more convenient for me.
She helped prepare the equipment I had set up for the sanctum, sent people ahead to prepare for places I needed to go, and got the holy knights involved in various situations around the world to minimize sacrifices.
She sometimes told me not to overwork, and tried to stop me through Joy, but Feybi always did her best.
I don’t know how happy she was to receive praise, but she kept trying to share my burden.
Watching her, I thought that there was no need for her to do so, but at the same time, I felt a strange urge to stop her.
The result was good, I had become more comfortable, and Feybi was happy as well.
Yes. I had overlooked Karia's words and forgotten again that this world doesn’t work like a game.
Humans, as beings, can make mistakes, driven by their desires, whether their intentions are good or not.
They are beings capable of mistakes.
So easily said, humans themselves are variables.
I realized this two days later when Feybi called several people and the situation took a turn.
I was quite in a good mood.
Thanks to Feybi’s help, I had become much more comfortable, and with the Pope losing much of his strength, he hadn’t caused any more variables. Honestly, I felt a bit better with all the praise I had been getting.
Anyway, no one dislikes being praised.
While tackling dungeons, I thought I could prepare for the final day without issues.
I imagined saving everyone.
After all, I was the "filth" of the Soul Academy.
So, when I stepped out of the dungeon and met Karia,
She told me not to be surprised and to listen to what she was about to say.
When she informed me of the catastrophe in a certain city,
I felt a wave of shock hit me.
"Those crazy bastards did something foolish."
Some individuals ignored my plan and acted on their own.
They decided to tackle the dungeons by themselves, disregarding the plan I had shared before I made up my mind to visit various dungeons.
"...What kind of crazy bastards are they!?"
I only told them to guard it! I just told them to guard it, and this is what they did!
Upon hearing this news as soon as I exited the dungeon, I asked Joy for teleportation magic and listened to Karia’s full account of the situation.
"Did those useless bastards follow the plan properly?!"
"If they did, I wouldn’t be here."
That was fine so far. If they had followed the plan perfectly, no damage would have occurred.
At the very least, if they had followed the backup strategies for failure, the consequences wouldn’t have spread around. But they didn’t do anything.
"I haven’t heard anything from them, so it’s not accurate, but they probably didn’t. If they had prepared a way to handle it, that chaos wouldn’t have happened."
Karia told me to brace myself.
The place would be more horrific than anything I had seen before, so I couldn’t afford to panic.
"Ha. I don’t care how much those useless bastards screwed up."
I said this with a strong attitude.
To be honest, I may have underestimated the hellish sight.
Having faced hell several times through others' memories, I thought it would be fine when I encountered it in reality.
Maybe the others' firm expressions after hearing the story influenced this?
Probably. As long as they don’t back down, I won’t either. I made up my mind and followed Joy’s magic to that place.
The first thing I saw was people running around in a frenzy.
"Doctor! Is there a doctor around!?"
"Kerry! Where are you, Kerry!"
"Did you see someone named Pavog!? What did they look like!"
"Mom. Mooooom!"
"Ahhh!"
"Fuck! Escort the injured! Now!"
"Where are the clergy?"
"Here... Saintess!"
Someone spotted Feybi and raised their voice. One by one, people rushed toward her.
They begged to save their loved ones. They pleaded to end this disaster.
They asked for her authority to call for support.
Leaving Feybi to listen to their complaints and do her best to create the best possible situation, I moved forward.
"This one can’t be saved!"
"No! There’s still hope!"
"Get out of the way! Before you die too!"
A doctor condemns one person to death in order to help as many people as possible, and those who can’t accept that death.
"Those who can fight, come out now!"
Even though blood was dripping from their head, someone raised their voice, trying to gather more soldiers.
"We’re short on weapons!"
"Shit! Throw stones if you have to!"
People speaking of things desperately needed and those thinking of the best they could do in the worst reality.
"When is the support coming!?"
"There are not enough people!"
"Monsters! Monsters!"
"Shit. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die!"
"Shut up and get out! You bastard!"
In a desperate situation, there are those hoping for a miracle. There are those struggling to survive. There are those shouting to keep the soldiers in line.
"...Apostle?"
I shoved aside those who tried to hold me back, kicked away those who tried to stop me, and climbed higher to stand on top of the city wall.
There, I saw the battlefield.
Screams came from the front of the battlefield.
People, terrified, looked back and died as monsters charged at them.
The cries of someone scattered across the ground.
The smell of rotting corpses, the swarming insects, the smell of blood so thick it was almost unbearable, and the burning land.
As I took it all in, my grandfather spoke, but I couldn’t understand his words.
All I heard were the screams of humans. There was no room for excuses.
This was the hell I had created. All the suffering here was my sin.
Letting out a hollow laugh, I threw away my mace and shield, gathering both hands.
Unexpectedly, fairies came out beside me and wrapped their arms around my face, and the divinity within me flowed out, creating wings behind me.
I closed my eyes and whispered a prayer.
May blessings rest upon them.