The Cowardly Baby Saint Can See Ghosts [Novel] Chapter 5

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Episode 5.

Meanwhile, I was just as flustered.

To begin with, I could barely recall the obscure lore of the original novel. Because of that, I had naturally expected an elderly man with a long, flowing white beard!

The Pope was vastly younger than I had imagined.

Mesmerizing light poured through the stained-glass windows of the massive arched ceiling, bathing him in an ethereal glow. His platinum-blond hair caught the light, shimmering much like my own silver locks.

His deep green eyes, radiating warmth, crinkled into a gentle smile.

"I greet the Saintess."

"…Yes."

"Was your journey peaceful?"

"Yes."

Silence stretched between us. Clearly, he was just as taken aback by my appearance.

It was understandable. A five-year-old child, so severely malnourished that her ribs were showing, had just marched in claiming she would save the world.

Smacking my dry lips, I braced myself for the inevitable reprimand. If this were the Director, she would have already struck me, shouting, 'What kind of Saintess role can a lowly rat like you play!'

The Pope gracefully stepped down from the dais and slowly approached me.

When his towering shadow fell over my face, my trauma-wired brain assumed the worst. I violently flinched, shrinking my neck into my shoulders.

"……!"

"S-Saintess……."

At the trembling, heartbroken voice above me, I hesitantly peeled open the eyes I had squeezed shut.

The Pope stood frozen in place, his hand hovering awkwardly in the air.

"Ah."

It seemed he had merely been reaching out to bestow a blessing upon my head. Feeling foolish, I forced my rigid muscles to relax.

"Five years old," the Pope murmured, his voice laced with sorrow. "She is far too thin."

"I… I am a very picky eater."

I stared up at him with trembling eyes, my weak excuse hanging in the air.

Perhaps realizing his pity was making me anxious, he cleared his throat and spoke with slow, deliberate conviction.

"I swear to God, the Saintess is safe here."

I already knew that, of course. Who would dare mistreat the 'daughter of a god' within the heart of the Temple?

However, logic couldn't instantly erase five years of ingrained survival instincts. Tensing my body in preparation for a flying fist was a pathetic, involuntary reflex.

A hot flush of shame crept up my neck at having my weakness so easily exposed. I dropped my gaze to the floor, my face burning.

He gently rested his hand on my head, stroking my hair with infinite care. "It is just a matter of gradually getting used to it, then."

Desperate to lift the heavy atmosphere, I looked around and purposefully shifted the topic.

"More importantly, it's really big in here! I've never been to a place like this before."

"You will be coming and going quite often from now on," he replied warmly. "When you grow up and become an adult, the Saintess will also listen to the confessions of believers and bestow blessings upon them."

Just hearing the words, it was obvious those counted as good deeds.

"Can I do a lot of good deeds too? Can't I do them right now?"

I was in urgent need of the Good Deed Gauge right now!

Whatever the Pope thought I meant by that, he merely smiled and met my gaze.

"There is nothing the Saintess cannot do here."

"……."

"You may do whatever you wish. However, for now, simply eating well and growing up healthy is the greatest service you can provide for the Empire."

Oh. I actually teared up a little at that.

To avoid repeating my embarrassing crying fit from the carriage, I curled my toes tightly inside my shoes. Fortunately, channeling all my physical energy into my toes managed to pinch my tear ducts shut.

I almost made an ugly scene. I had barely managed to get dressed up pretty; I couldn't show tears again!

"Um, then by any chance……." I hesitated, fidgeting with my hands before asking. "Do you have any holy water?"

"Why do you need holy water?"

"I-I'm thirsty."

"……."

Even to my own ears, it was an incredibly nonsensical excuse.

"I will have some brought to you shortly."

The room I was assigned was astonishingly spacious and luxurious. I practically flew across the room, hopping onto the massive bed and burying my face into the soft duvet.

"Wow, this is really nice……."

Bouncing on the plush mattress of my very first real bed, a giddy laugh bubbled up from my chest.

After rolling around lazily for a long time, I pushed myself up to inspect the rest of the room. Catching the light on a mahogany desk was a shiny, metallic paper knife.

I scrambled off the bed and picked up the small blade. The silver edge was decently sharp; it would definitely serve my intended purpose.

Biting my lip, I got to work. One, two, three. I gnawed them off one by one, spitting the jagged little crescents into my palm.

After finally biting off the nail on my pinky, I counted them.

"Five. Now the preparations are almost done."

All that remained was my own resolve.

As if it had been eagerly waiting, the Status window popped up.

I had thought the requested materials were suspiciously disturbing. In the end, it meant I actually had to play a cursed game of hide-and-seek to communicate with the ghost, didn't it?

"I don't want to!"

Oh, really? Now the system was actively defying me?

I took a deep breath, trying to mentally steel myself for the horrifying task ahead.

Suddenly, a faint, erratic sound drifted in from outside the window. Curious, I approached the glass and peered out.

Down in the courtyard, birds chirped merrily as they darted between the branches. The afternoon sunlight was warm, casting a golden hue over the blooming flowerbeds. It was an incredibly peaceful landscape.

"It really feels like a dream," I murmured unconsciously. It was beautiful, even if the immediate future facing me was terrifyingly dark.

Right then, my eyes landed on a figure near the entrance. The female ghost from the carriage was standing on the pristine lawn, seemingly holding court with a cluster of other wandering spirits.

"Urrrrrrgh."

"Kyaak kyak khek-khek."

"Urrghh urrr."

What in the world were they saying?

Frowning in confusion, I watched as the female ghost aggressively chased away the smaller, weaker spirits. She stood tall, seemingly establishing an iron-clad hierarchy among the dead.

Before I knew it, the remaining ghosts were prostrated around her bare feet, coughing and groveling in submission.

This was utterly ridiculous.

Terrified by the bizarre spectral gang activity happening in my front yard, I violently yanked the window curtains shut.

The moon hung high and luminous in the night sky. Late at night, when the rest of the Temple was fast asleep, I dragged my exhausted body out of bed and tiptoed out to the main entrance.

"I get it!" I hissed, clapping my hands over my ears and mouthing a colorful curse at the blinking interface.

A frigid gust of wind swept past me. I was freezing, terrified, and on the verge of passing out from sheer anxiety.

Clutched tightly in my small hand was the fluffy bunny doll Liam had bought for me. Inside its slightly slit belly rested my fingernails and the Crown Prince's stolen hair. I had made the incision as small as possible so the grim contents wouldn't spill out.

I couldn't tell if the temperature had actually dropped or if the proximity to the supernatural was giving me full-body chills, but my physical condition was rapidly deteriorating.

"So, what am I supposed to do now?"

I could feel an invisible, heavy gaze watching me from the oppressive darkness. The system window glowed brilliantly, seemingly trying to reassure me.

That wasn't a positive, reassuring message at all!

With trembling fingers, I took the crumpled 'weapon' I had brought with me and slipped it into the doll's plush paw.

It was the paper knife from my desk.

The system window stuttered for a moment, glitching slightly before a new message popped up.

"Paper can be a weapon too. Didn't you know?" I argued in a hushed whisper.

"Have you ever gotten a paper cut? The particles are sharp, so the flesh tears really messily. Do you have any idea how much it hurts?!"

"Forget it! You didn't even specify what kind of weapon to use in the instructions, yet you sure complain a lot."

Perhaps flustered by my flawless logic, the system blinked rapidly a few times before finally conceding with an affirmative ding.

Hmph, I'm not scared of a paper cut at all.

Giggling nervously, I tossed the possessed doll onto the ground and broke into a dead sprint.

As I ran, panting heavily, the icy night air burned my lungs. Honestly, it had been a very long time since I had done any actual running; I was out of breath almost immediately.

"Huff, huuuff, oh my god!"

Had it really only been five minutes?

Even running as hard as my short legs could carry me, I barely made it a few dozen meters away from the Temple. Worse, because the area was designed for heavy pilgrim traffic, the surrounding roads were wide, well-paved, and entirely devoid of hiding spots.

"……Damn it."

Flailing my arms, I frantically scanned the surroundings, but only saw small, locked buildings and smooth stone walls.

Eventually, entirely out of options, I crouched behind a smelly public trash can. I checked the timer, watching the final seconds tick down to zero, and let out a shuddering sigh.

Well, the weapon was just paper anyway. Even if I got caught, I wouldn't die.

But…….

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