Hames was definitely a blunt man with blue hair.
If this blue-haired woman is the female version of that Hames, why is she here now?
Originally, Hames doesn't appear here. He only shows up later to investigate the rumors about Ceres being a witch.
Finding it strange, I watched her, and perhaps noticing my gaze, she looked my way.
“I see. That man.”
“Hey!”
Ignoring the soldiers trying to stop her, she approached me.
She tried to approach unhindered but was blocked by someone.
“Stop right there. No one here has permitted you to meet him.”
“・・・ Hero Alios, is it.”
When Alios blocked her path, even Hames couldn't ignore her and stopped walking.
Alios narrowed her eyes.
“By whose permission are you doing this?”
“I merely came to meet someone. Do I need permission for that?”
“Of course, you do. Ceres is the only son of the Whiperion County family. It is only natural to contact his mother, the Countess, beforehand and receive permission.”
That's right.
To put this in terms of the original world, it's like a strange man trying to meet a noble family's daughter without permission.
Even if the opponent is a clergy member, it's not something to be welcomed.
Alios, who at least got permission before meeting me, made a common-sense point, but,
“Rules of noble society like that are none of my concern.”
Hames wasn't the type to follow such common sense.
She's blunt, focuses only on her duties, and ignores everything else.
That's why the original Hames also showed up unannounced, claiming to check if Ceres was a witch.
He calmly ignored Ares's fury, asserting the temple's authority.
In a way, he was more arrogant than the Emperor, and I could see Alios was dumbfounded.
“I'd heard rumors, but seeing you in person, the rumors were better. You truly are a rude person.”
“I merely came to inquire about the situation, yet you're overreacting.”
“What situation?”
“I heard rumors circulating that the man over there is a Saint.”
Ah, so she came because of that.
Since the genders are reversed, the original Saintess became a Saint.
The people I helped started calling me a Saint, and she heard that and came to check. It makes sense she'd arrive much earlier than in the original.
“Ceres Whiperion, are you truly a Saint?”
Hames, still blocked by Alios, directed only her gaze towards me and asked.
“Answer properly.”
“I don't know either.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I don't know. How would I know?”
I answered sarcastically, but it was half true.
At this point in the original story, Ceres still didn't really know what her power was or what kind of being she was.
It was only after Hames observed her for a long time that he learned she was a Saintess using divine power.
“I did awaken some kind of holy power, but I don't know exactly what it is either.”
Since I'd already told the people around me this, I said the same to Hames.
Hames's eyes twitched.
“Then what's this about being a Saint?”
“Other people called me a Saint. I never called myself a Saint.”
Since it's come to this, I have no intention of hiding it anyway.
But to avoid being accused later of calling myself a Saint, I didn't say it with my own mouth.
It seemed I had explained everything necessary, but Hames looked somewhat dissatisfied, her eyes holding a peculiar glint.
“Why the informal speech?”
“You're speaking informally too.”
“I am much older. You must be at least ten years younger than me.”
That's right. Hames looks young but is in her early 30s, while Ceres is in his early 20s.
But so what?
“Good for you for being old. If you're so much older, what are you doing bothering someone ten years your junior?”
Hames fell silent.
The other priests she brought with her did the same.
The villagers and servants around me also held their breath.
“Ceres, isn't that too harsh?”
Even Alios, who had been hostile towards Hames, spoke up in surprise.
“Your opponent is High Priest Hames.”
I know. That's why I'm doing this.
Originally, Hames developed feelings for Ceres precisely because she acted polite and weak.
When Hames went to check if Ceres was a witch, he was actually perplexed upon meeting her.
Ceres had such a kind and timid personality.
He thought such a woman couldn't possibly be a witch, felt sorry for bothering her unnecessarily, and started liking her.
In other words, the colder and more arrogant I act, the lower the chances she'll develop feelings for me.
"If you've confirmed what you needed, you can leave now. I have my work to do.”
Emotionally, I didn't want to treat her politely anyway, and now I had a reason, so it worked out well.
I spoke coldly and turned away from her.
"Wait, I haven't finished confirming yet!"
Hames protested, but I didn't answer and just continued the healing I was doing.
“Can you not hear me?”
“Ah, you're noisy. If you want to confirm so badly, just watch me heal and confirm that way!”
I shouted at Hames, who kept interfering.
“Can't you see I'm openly using my power right now? You can just watch that and confirm, stop talking so much.”
“...Fine. Then I shall observe.”
Hames looked like she had more to say but couldn't retort and did as instructed.
Thus, the healing continued under the watchful eyes of the priests.
As I healed patients one by one, an unusual case appeared.
"This looks like malnutrition?"
Someone arrived looking severely emaciated, but it wasn't due to illness or injury.
“Does that mean you can't fix it?”
“Fixing it is possible, but even if I fix it now, it will just happen again later.”
“...It can't be helped. It's my fate, so please fix it for now.”
The woman, who looked like she was beyond commoner status and into poverty, spoke with resignation.
Nearby were others who seemed to have come with her, all reacting similarly.
It looked like a group from the slums came for treatment, but healing them like this seemed pointless.
I looked at Alios.
“Hey, don't you have a gift for me today?”
“A platinum ring embedded with diamonds.”
"Give it."
I took the received ring and handed it to the poor people.
“For now, sell this to make some money. You should be alright for a while.”
"We cannot accept this! We are already indebted to you for the healing, receiving something so precious on top of that!"
"It's fine, I have plenty of things like this."
Feeling sorry for them and also wanting to boost my reputation, I forced the ring on them.
“Ceres.”
Alios trembled when I immediately gave away the gift she'd given me, but I remained unfazed.
If she was going to be disillusioned because I carelessly gave her gift to someone else, I thought that would actually be good for me, but...
“Why are you so kind? You're like a lovely angel descended to earth.”
...This is driving me crazy.
Suppressing my exasperated feelings, I finished the rest of the healing.
“My goodness.”
“How is something like that possible?”
As I was nearly finished, I heard the priests whispering among themselves.
“The healing itself shown so far is possible for a high priest, but...”
“Using holy power on so many people for so long is impossible.”
“It would require holy power of a different dimension.”
"Or perhaps possessing the legendary divine power.”
The priests talkd as if in awe.
Hames continued to stare at me, her expression difficult to read.
Then, when today's healing finally concluded, Hames approached me.
“Ceres Whiperion, I apologize for my rudeness.”
“What?”
I never expected this stuck-up person to apologize. I was genuinely surprised.
“Did you confirm I'm a Saint or something?”
"No, I couldn't confirm that, but one thing became clear. That you didn't heal those people with ill intentions.”
Hames bowed her head.
“You healed so many. Even if you're not a Saint, you are worthy of the temple's respect. I, too, shall respect you.”
"So you've given up on confirming if I'm a Saint?"
“For today. Later, when I receive formal permission, I will come to confirm in detail. Invite me when you have time.”
Hames gave a slight bow and disappeared with her priests.
It seems she wants me to invite her later, but why would I do that?
I inwardly scoffed, thinking that would never happen.
“Lady Hames, do you really think he might be a Saint?”
One of the priests leaving the territory asked Hames curiously.
“His healing power didn't diminish even after treating so many people. That's impossible for ordinary priests. Could he really possess divine power?”
“That cannot be known.”
Hames replied bluntly to the priest who spoke with anticipation.
“There are cases where individuals are born with vast amounts of holy power. Since no one has ever encountered divine power, how could one know if that is divine power and not just holy power?”
As Hames stated that she couldn't make a hasty judgment, one priest grumbled.
"I hope he isn't a Saint. You all heard how he spoke to Lady Hames, right? He's beautiful but arrogant.”
Several others agreed with her.
“Well, with looks like that, it's understandable he'd be arrogant.”
“He's the only son of the Countess's family, so he was probably spoiled rotten growing up.”
"Lady Hames, what do you think?"
When asked what she thought of Ceres.
Hames, who had been idly touching a nearby structure as if looking away, paused for a moment before answering.
"He was certainly audacious. But not unpleasant."
At first, his audacious attitude surprised her, but watching his subsequent actions, she developed a liking for him.
He spoke harshly to her, but he was kind to the patients and willingly gave away valuable items.
She felt a sense of kinship with his figure, who just silently kept doing his own thing whether she was watching or not.
'Then again, I'm not really in a position to criticize anyone.'
She herself was the same way—ignoring what others said and silently doing her assigned tasks.
Perhaps because their behavior was similar, she found him appealing.
'Hmph, I look forward to meeting him again.'
The image of his audaciousness, unbefitting his delicate appearance, came to mind unbidden.
Hames found herself smiling unconsciously.