No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!?

No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!? – 72

EP.72 Kindness and Calculation (6)

Clanet and I had shared a lengthy conversation the day before. After returning to the lodging, I combined the information I’d gathered from others.

Apparently, her family was well-known for processing magic stones.

If I were to ask whether they were the best, opinions would vary. But in general, families of that caliber couldn’t definitively claim to be the best at anything.

When buying an item, people often say it’s better to shop around to avoid being taken advantage of. However, the reason I came directly to Clanet’s family workshop, the “Stram Workshop,” was because any family approached with the topic of crafting magic stones imbued with divine power would undoubtedly accept the proposal immediately.

“At least it’s fortunate that individual families wield significant power,” I remarked.

“Otherwise, deals like these wouldn’t even happen, would they? If the Gnome government opposed it, everything would be off the table.”

It was also fortunate that few families had experience handling holy relics.

Gnomes were as curious a race as their reputation suggested. If there had been families accustomed to dealing with holy relics, they might not have shown much interest—or they could have charged us exorbitant sums. But the chance to work on holy relics, which only someone like me could create, was a different story altogether.

When word got out, other families would surely respond. That said, I had no intention of granting access to just any family. Even I couldn’t "mass-produce" holy relics, after all.

“Still, be cautious,” Ria said softly as I organized my thoughts.

“You’re aware, aren’t you, that your value has skyrocketed over the past few weeks?”

“…Yes, I’m aware,” I replied with a nod.

I had gone from being a rebellious Saintess Candidate to someone with limited foresight abilities who could freely create holy relics.

“I’ll make sure it doesn’t become more of a hassle than it already is.”

“…That’s not quite what I meant,” Ria answered with a slightly hurt expression, making me chuckle.

*

The fact that I had expressed interest in speaking with specific Gnome families seemed to trigger a surge in requests for private meetings with me.

Fortunately, I could decline most of these without much issue since there wasn’t a compelling reason to entertain them.

For the most part, I redirected them to the Church. However, there was one matter I couldn’t ignore.

“A lake tainted by magic?”

“Yes, if you’re willing, I’d like to show it to you.”

I recalled Ria’s earlier words about my value increasing excessively.

The implication behind showing me a lake tainted by magic was clear—they were asking if I could purify it.

We weren’t the only ones gathering information at the banquet; the other side was doing the same.

The fact that I had purified land contaminated by magic wasn’t exactly a classified secret.

“…”

After a moment’s hesitation, I glanced toward Ria.

Her expression said, ‘There’s no need to go.’

But…

Having gone through that incident last time, I couldn’t help but feel the need to check it out.

Besides, it was tied to the “original story.”

A lake tainted by magic.

To be precise, calling it “tainted” was a misnomer.

The lake wasn’t filled with water corrupted by magic—it was filled with pure magic itself.

…Well, at least I had managed to prevent one trigger event before. This wouldn’t escalate to the level of disaster portrayed in the novel. Besides, in terms of timing, this world’s events were happening earlier than the original story.

Even so, considering the previous incident, I couldn’t be certain about anything.

What I could be certain of was this—yes.

If I managed to prevent things before even the “signs” appeared, the casualties would be far fewer than in the original.

“Yes, I’d like to see it,” I said, nodding in agreement.

*

The "lake" wasn’t located within the Gnome residential area.

It lay outside, in the middle of the desert, existing almost like an oasis.

Or perhaps there had once been an actual oasis there. According to the original story, traces of civilization lingered around the area.

But now—

"……"

A vast, black lake spread before me.

Oases typically have a water source somewhere. Rainfall in the desert evaporates quickly under the blazing sun, so it’s natural to assume there must be a steady supply feeding the lake.

This meant the source itself might have been tainted with magic.

Could there be a magic vein beneath it? If it were connected to a vein from which magic stones were mined…

“What do you think?”

The Gnome beside me asked. He was a figure of high standing, someone I’d also noticed at the banquet.

What did I think?

I could tell it was a dangerous situation. Frankly, considering how magic had formed that sphere last time, I was surprised there wasn’t something similar this time around.

“Has the lake been expanding over time?” I asked.

“Yes. Even under this scorching sun, it doesn’t evaporate at all.”

So, something was indeed feeding into it continuously.

"……"

After a moment of thought, I approached one of the knights standing nearby.

Noticing me, the knight snapped to attention with precise discipline.

“May I borrow your sword for a moment?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

With a swift motion, he unsheathed his sword and handed it to me, gripping the blade carefully so the hilt faced me.

Taking the sword, I stepped a bit closer to the lake.

At first glance, the sand looked like ordinary desert sand—soft grains in a pale yellow hue.

But when I lightly traced the tip of the blade across the sand—

Hiss.

A faint burning sound accompanied by a wisp of smoke rose from the sand.

"……"

It was just as I suspected.

Not only the lake, but the land touched by its water, which continuously absorbed it, had been thoroughly tainted by magic.

Sigh.

I’d read about this in the novel. In fact, the situation described there was likely much worse—magic had completely consumed even the Gnome residential areas.

But seeing it unfold in person was an entirely different experience.

“To be honest,” I began, wiping the sweat dripping down my face under the blazing sun.

“Yes, please speak freely,” the Gnome replied, his tone serious.

“Don’t plan on using the holy relics you’ve purchased for the war.”

“What…?”

“Even if you poured them all into that lake, it likely wouldn’t be enough.”

At my words, the Gnome’s face stiffened. Was it because he realized the situation was more dire than he thought?

Or was it because I’d just contradicted his government’s policies?

"……"

I gazed at the ominous lake, a heavy feeling settling in my chest.

*

"…Is that a prophecy too?"

"Pardon?"

"I could tell just from your expression when the lake was mentioned."

"…You can tell things like that?"

"Your expressions are ridiculously easy to read. If you ever think about going into politics, you’d better learn how to keep a poker face first."

"……"

I clamped my mouth shut.

Was it because of the initial lie I told about prophecies?

At this point, it felt awkward to deny it wasn’t one. Besides, saying something like, "I just knew from the start," would probably sound like a prophecy anyway, so phrasing it differently wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

"If I… deliberately kept quiet about it, would you hate me for it?"

At my question, Ria looked genuinely baffled.

"Do you think I'd hate you over one little lie?"

I knew Ria wasn’t the type to be that petty.

But still—would I hate Ria if she lied to me about something?

Hmm.

To be honest, at this point, I doubt I would.

Sure, she occasionally played pranks that annoyed me or nitpicked every little thing I said to the point of frustration, but none of that was a reason to hate her.

…Even though most of the ties between Lee Si-yoon and Ria had already faded, if she were to suddenly start dating Lee Si-yoon now—hmm.

No, I think that would really make me angry. For various reasons.

"No."

When I answered, Ria smirked and reached out to pat my head, ruffling my hair gently.

There was no one else around. The Gnomes had set up a private tent for us.

"Same here. If you’re keeping something about the gods from me, I’m sure you have your reasons."

Her words were reassuring—well, except for the part about the gods.

"So, what do you plan to do about the lake?"

I stayed silent, lost in thought.

A soft white light began to fall over my head, and I waved it away with my hand.

From the moment Ria saw that light, she seemed to know what I had decided. At first, she let out a short, exasperated laugh, then she reached out and patted my head again.

…

I could easily brush away the light above my head, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to push away Ria’s hand.

I knew she’d stop if I so much as swatted her hand away, but still.

"…Would it be alright to extend our stay here?"

"Well, it’s not like Earth has any urgent matters waiting for us."

At Ria’s reply, I suddenly felt a little more self-conscious, pressing my lips together tightly.