As morning duties wrapped up,
I stared at the pile of gold coins, deep in thought.
"These didn't just sprout from the ground. And they sure didn't fall from the sky... obviously."
No matter how much of a fantasy world this was, there was no way gold coins would rain down like some contrived plot convenience.
Which meant someone had deliberately donated this massive sum to this crumbling chapel.
"...That woman from yesterday, maybe."
I recalled yesterday afternoon.
A self-loathing burnout case.
That was the image of her stuck in my head.
Could she really have been the one who put money in the offering box?
"This much money?"
It was extravagant to the point of absurdity.
Having transmigrated into this world and lived a poor orphan childhood right away, I knew the value of money here better than anyone.
One gold coin was enough for an average commoner to live comfortably for at least a month without starving.
And there were twenty-one of them.
Meaning I could live off this for nearly two years without working. For someone to casually toss that much into the offering box...
"Must be some filthy rich noble lady."
Her sense of money was way off.
Whatever the case, the fact remained that an enormous sum had been donated to this chapel.
I swallowed dryly and picked up one gold coin.
Its hefty weight, cold and solid texture. With just this...
"...Should I just bolt?"
My heart started pounding.
No need to live like a church mouse, no need to wait for the academy to go to hell.
I could leave right now, head to some remote village, buy a little house, do odd jobs, and scrape by.
The very life I'd dreamed of.
But...
"Am I insane?"
I shook my head.
I didn't know who she was, but anyone who could throw around this much money without batting an eye wasn't your average noble.
If I ran off with it and got caught?
This world was brutal. I remembered the thief from my ten-year-old days, begging in the back alleys with his wrists severed.
And that would be the lucky outcome.
'Too much risk.'
I wasn't the type to gamble my life for a quick fortune.
My current life wasn't bad. A low-ranking priest at the academy, sure, but the title of priest was a minimal safety net anywhere.
In the end, only one choice.
I carefully summoned the chapel's Supervising Priest.
"A donation? Here?"
The priest looked skeptical of my words.
Truth be told, even I had half-suspected they sprouted from the ground, so it was understandable.
When I showed him the gold coins from the offering box, his mouth slowly gaped open.
"Th-this is all donation money?"
"Yes."
"N-not counterfeit, right?"
I demonstratively bit down on a gold coin and flashed a cheeky grin.
"...Hmmm..."
The priest's brow furrowed. The corner of his mouth twitched.
"Want to give it a bite too, Father?"
As tithing proves, the gods love money.
And their priests are no different.
Besides, money solves most problems beautifully.
"Hoho. What a find. Priest Leo, you're a fine servant of the divine. A rising star in our church!"
"Hahaha."
"Hohoho."
I'd made friends with the Supervising Priest.
From that day on, my dinners went from meager bread crumbs to hearty meat soups.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Clack, clack.
The next afternoon, after finishing her busy schedule, Elise found her feet carrying her somewhere without her realizing it.
Her destination was the chapel where she'd received confession two days ago.
As she creaked open the door and stepped inside, Elise's eyes widened in surprise.
The musty dust smell was gone, replaced by polished wooden floors, gleaming candelabras, and a faint incense aroma welcoming her. Even the spiderweb-covered offering box had been replaced with a shiny new one draped in white cloth.
'...It's changed so much.'
Elise instinctively knew all these changes were thanks to her donation.
A warm, fuzzy feeling welled up in her chest.
This wasn't charity under family or church pressure. It was purely her own will, her own choice that brought this about.
Elise closed the chapel door gently, a pleased smile on her face.
But the joy didn't last.
"Next week's already the end-of-month evaluation."
"Already? I heard this one's no joke."
Voices of academy students.
"And this time, the professors are supervising directly..."
"What? Why?"
"Don't ask. For the divine power evaluation, Archbishop Balua's coming himself?"
"Whoa... That lone wolf? Divine faculty students are doomed."
Elise's face stiffened at the voices from down the hall.
The end-of-month evaluation.
The academy had a system to assess students' progress monthly.
Even Saintess Candidate Elise was no exception. If anything, she was under stricter scrutiny.
As the role model for all divine faculty students, she had to achieve unparalleled results no one else could touch.
She recalled the recent letter from home.
[Do not tarnish the family name or the church's reputation.]
Her father's stern voice echoed in her mind.
"...Ugh."
Sudden nausea hit her; Elise leaned on the railing, steadying her breath for a while.
And this evaluation would be supervised by the very Archbishop Balua she dreaded most.
"...It's okay, Elise. You can do it."
Muttering to herself, she regained her composure.
She'd overcome it so far.
She could this time too.
To do that, she needed to focus on divine magic lessons.
"Ah, time already..."
Afternoon lesson time approached.
Elise headed to the academy cathedral.
The High Priest in charge of divine magic training awaited her with a gentle smile.
"Lady Elise, you know next week is the end-of-month evaluation, right?"
"Yes."
"Archbishop Balua will be observing this time, so do your best. Now, shall we practice?"
The priest held out a seedling in a small pot.
"Try sprouting this seedling?"
"Yes."
Not a difficult task.
Elise took a deep breath and channeled her divine power.
Whoosh.
Golden concentric circles spread from her pale hand. Soon, a fresh green sprout emerged from the seedling.
"Excellent! I've never seen anyone your age emit such brilliant light. Truly perfect divine magic."
The priest lavished her with honeyed praise.
Elise felt no joy from it.
If anything, the word 'perfect' grated on her.
- 'Obsessing over perfection isn't always good.'
A voice flashed through her mind.
Unlike the sternness in her father's letter, it was kind and considerate.
"..."
Two days ago, she'd confessed her inadequacies to someone for the first time, and they'd affirmed her.
Just recalling that voice brought back last night's sense of liberation, making her heart race.
-Crack.
"Ah..."
Elise's eyes widened.
The sprouting shoot withered in an instant.
Her broken focus had ruined the divine magic.
"Ah... Your concentration slipped. Did I distract you?"
The priest gave an awkward smile.
But Elise didn't miss the disappointment in his eyes.
"..."
The High Priest wasn't one to gloss over her mistakes discreetly.
Today's slip-up would surely reach Archbishop Balua's ears.
Elise bit her lip and shook her head.
"...I'm fine."
She wasn't.
*
"Elise, I heard you slipped up in today's lesson."
As expected, that evening, a guest visited Elise's room.
"Archbishop Balua..."
Archbishop Balua.
More of a father to her than her own father.
The man who'd dragged her, forced into Saintess Candidate due to family prestige as a child, to her current position.
A top church hardliner who'd forgone cardinal rank to request academy assignment out of duty to make her a saintess.
"Archbishop, what brings you here..."
"I heard."
"..."
"A Saintess Candidate who can't even sprout a seedling? It'll besmirch the church."
"...It was a mistake."
"No mistakes allowed. You know what happens if this reaches His Holiness the Pope."
"I'm sorry. I'll do better."
"Next week, I'll check myself."
Elise inwardly sighed in relief.
She'd expected harsher reprimand; ending here was a mercy.
But she was wrong.
Instead of leaving, Archbishop Balua crossed his arms.
"I've heard you've been coming back to the dorm past curfew lately."
"H-how did you..."
"The Head Maid told me. Covered in dirt late at night."
"Ah..."
A clear blunder.
The guards might play dumb, but the Head Maid was strict.
Elise's indiscretions had reached the archbishop.
"What irreverent things is a Saintess Candidate doing? Breaking rules, wandering at night covered in filth? Tarnishing House de Lua?"
"...I-it was just a fall."
"Falling is a mistake. Who would follow someone who's to stand beside His Holiness as the church's face, filthy all over? Elise, you must shine brighter than anyone. Millions of continent faithful watch your every move. You must be the beacon lighting a new era. Haven't I told you countless times?"
"...I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
Elise bowed her head in apology.
Something she'd done countless times since childhood; not difficult.
The archbishop tsked, frowning.
"I'd punish you, but with evaluation imminent, I'll be lenient. But prepare—I'll judge stricter than ever."
With a bang, the dorm room left Elise alone.
"...Haha."
She'd gotten scolded after all.
Elise wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve.
But that was it.
In the past, such inquisitions kept her up nights crying.
She'd vow to work harder, be more perfect, meet expectations.
But...
'Do I really need to be perfect?'
Today, oddly, a chuckle escaped her.
Strange.
Because of that confession two days ago?
"Heh."
Elise buried her face in her knees and laughed aloud for a while