Hearing the knock on the door, both of them fell silent instantly. Jeanne was curious; who would be coming by at this hour? Very few people even knew she was staying here. Who could have tracked down her residence?
It couldn't be those fanatic Sankta again, could it? Surely they wouldn't be so obsessive as to interfere with her private life! The thought of a crowd of over-enthusiastic followers surrounding her front door made even the usually fearless Jeanne shudder. She truly hoped it wasn't them; if her normal life was being disrupted, she would have a hard time adapting.
"Jeanne, are you in? It's me. I've brought some things for you to see..."
The person outside called out immediately after knocking. From the aged voice, it was clear that the Pope had come running over. Why isn't this old man at work? Did he also make a special trip just to deliver a pile of merchandise?
At that thought, Jeanne quickly rose and opened the door. Standing there was a white-bearded old man clutching a large bag. The bag looked far too familiar—Jeanne had just seen an identical one in Lemuen's hands.
"Oh, Lemuen is here too! It seems you already know about these. I was originally planning to give you a surprise."
The Pope saw the pink-haired angel and the items already on the table, realizing he wasn't the first to visit Jeanne with these goods. It was a pity; he had intended to personally deliver the items as soon as they were finished as a surprise for her. That wish had now gone up in smoke.
"These were rushed out, so the craftsmanship might be a bit rough in some places. I had no choice; those merchants really have no shame when it comes to making money..."
The Pope complained. Originally, they had no intention of making such things. After all, Jeanne was a Saintess, not an idol; why would she need merchandise? If they wanted to honor her, they could just build a statue in the square. In all his years as Pope, he had never seen anyone make a doll of him.
Perhaps it was just that Jeanne's design was more popular? After all, compared to a scruffy old man with a grey beard, who wouldn't prefer a beautiful young girl?
Because of this, some people tried to seize the chance to make a fortune. If their work had been high quality, the request for Jeanne's image rights might have been understandable, but the craftsmanship was so crude that even he couldn't stand to look at it. Not to mention the subpar materials.
"But don't worry, we won't make anything too strange. Aside from the figurines, it's mostly just pendants and such. As for other things, we don't plan on making them."
The Pope explained that the only reason they took over production was to prevent fakes from damaging Jeanne's reputation. But the demand was truly staggering! If he weren't the Pope and able to get some samples, even he wouldn't have been able to get his hands on anything.
"And you've gained another source of income, haven't you? Judging by the fanatical buying spree, your earnings this month could rival my entire year's worth of disposable budget."
The Pope looked at Jeanne with a hint of envy. The money was being earned so easily that even he was tempted to release a model of himself. If he could just earn a tenth of what Jeanne did, he could at least restore his drastically shrunk afternoon tea budget and keep himself in a better mood while working.
He just didn't know if anyone would actually spend money on it. Perhaps he should take the advice someone gave him and try making oversized plush toys? They said a plush toy made to his scale would definitely have a market. He just wasn't entirely sure what that meant.
"I see... I didn't realize it was such a large sum of money."
Hearing the Pope's words, Jeanne understood that he wasn't really making a profit on this; most of the proceeds were likely being funneled to her. This was no small amount, considering the old man's annual budget was quite significant—enough to rebuild an entire office with plenty to spare.
But on second thought, having so much money at once wasn't very useful to her, was it? She already had enough money to last several lifetimes. Moreover, in the place where she currently stayed, money didn't really buy much. In some regions, bread was more popular than gold bars.
While gold was valuable, you couldn't eat it. In a place where people mostly bartered, it wasn't even as practical as a few pieces of meat. Besides, if she took the money, it would likely just sit somewhere gathering dust. That was clearly a waste.
"Your Holiness, could I ask a favor of you?"
After a brief moment of reflection, Jeanne looked up at the Pope. Her eyes were firm, as if she had come to a major decision. Seeing her expression, the old man knew she was about to speak of something serious.
"Go ahead. Though there may be things I cannot help with, I promise that if it is within my power, I will do my utmost to help you achieve it."
The Pope couldn't guess what Jeanne was planning. Was she going to give the funds to him so he could help her gather supplies for that Infected organization? But didn't she already have partners for that? In that regard, what that Penguin could achieve was far more professional than what they could do. He remembered Mostima's report mentioned their cooperation had been quite pleasant.
"I want to use my portion of the money to support people in need. But as you know, I can't handle these things alone. I hope you can help me find someone to manage this."
Since it wasn't a small amount of money, Jeanne felt that rather than letting it accumulate in her hands, it was better to use it for something truly meaningful. Even if it only created a small ripple, it was better than doing nothing at all.
"Help people in need? Do you mean the Infected or others? If it's just the Infected, I've heard of several relief organizations I can put you in touch with."
The Pope was surprised. Although the amount was huge, it wouldn't last long if spent like that. Across this land, the Infected and the impoverished were like weeds—found everywhere and spreading wildly. Forget helping the entire continent; even if she threw this money into the slums of Lungmen, it wouldn't make a dent.
"Not just the Infected—or rather, the Infected are only one part of them. I want to help the ordinary people who are truly suffering in poverty."
Jeanne's eyes were filled with compassion. She truly hoped to make life a bit better for those who were merely surviving rather than living. Seeing the Pope about to speak, she cut in before he could:
"I know this money is a drop in the bucket compared to the need. But I still hope that even if it only helps one person who truly needs it, it will be worth it!"
The Pope nodded. Since she already understood the likely outcome, he had no reason to stop her. However, people capable of doing such work were rare—so rare that not many in Laterano were doing it, either because they lacked the idea or the funding.
"Very well. I believe I can find people with that mindset to handle this. I will oversee their actions for you to ensure no funds are embezzled."
As he heard her plan for charity, several names came to the Pope's mind—a group of people who shared such ideals. They would likely be very happy to receive this task.
"I didn't expect you to really use that money for charity. That's such a huge amount of money!"
After the Pope left, Lemuen, who had been listening to the conversation, spoke to Jeanne with admiration. If it were her, she definitely wouldn't be able to part with that much money. It would hurt too much!