The next day, Maris and Lucan spent their final moments together. They greeted the townspeople and visited memorable places. They spent an entire day in the temple, talking about trivial things, then went home, bathed together, and slept.
The next morning, a carriage arrived from the Great Temple in the capital. It was a solemn white carriage with the temple's crest engraved on it. Descending from the luxurious carriage was Erokoit Kannon, the Archpriest, the highest rank a priest could attain.
"I have come to escort you, Saint," the Archpriest said as he knelt and bowed respectfully.
Surrounding the carriage were the Temple Knights, who had dismounted from their white horses and were also bowing their heads towards Maris. In addition, the townspeople, who had heard beforehand that Maris was going to the capital as a saint, had gathered and were tearfully saying their farewells to her.
"Thank you for the escort from the capital," Maris said calmly, dressed in a new white robe. Despite the grand reception from the Archpriest and the Temple Knights, she showed no signs of fear. Her dignified appearance was truly that of a saint, causing those around her to sigh in admiration.
"...Your words are too kind, Saint," Erokoit said without raising his head.
Maris nodded and said, "Please, rise."
"In this way, we are most delighted to welcome the Saint..." Erokoit began a ceremonial greeting. He noticed that Maris, looking up at him in her pure white dress, seemed like an angel descended from heaven. After the greetings, Maris thanked everyone and turned towards the townspeople.
"Everyone, thank you so much for everything until now." Speaking to the townspeople in a voice that rang like a bell of blessing, all eyes in the vicinity were drawn to Maris. "I have been able to live until today because of the kindness of everyone here. I will never forget your grace."
"You've grown so splendidly... And you are truly the most beautiful girl," Rina said, leaning against a wall as she looked at Maris.
"May blessings be upon this town." As Maris raised her right hand, a faint light descended from the sky like snow. The light was absorbed into the people, the ground, and the buildings, enveloping the entire town in a gentle blessing.
"Oh..."
"It's a miracle..."
"How beautiful, how wonderful..."
The Archpriest and the Temple Knights exclaimed in admiration, and the townspeople were captivated by the light particles absorbed into their bodies.
Maris turned and looked at Lucan. She smiled and walked close to him. She leaned forward and said, "I will come back, and don't forget to fulfill my wish."
"Yeah, be careful and remember everything I taught you, and more importantly," Lucan said, touching her head, "be happy."
Maris nodded, stepped back, and turned to the Temple Knights and the Archpriest.
"Well then, shall we go?"
"Yes, please," Erokoit said as he opened the carriage door for Maris to get in.
Erokoit looked at Lucan, who smiled back. Erokoit sighed and got into the carriage. The Temple Knights loaded their belongings onto another carriage, and they all departed.
"The Saint is departing!" The sound of trumpets resounded as the carriage began to move. Dozens of Temple Knights rode their horses, surrounding the carriage.
"Goodbye," Lucan said.
Lucan was a bit excited as he returned to his familiar temple. When he opened the door and looked at the temple, knowing that Maris was gone, it felt oddly lonely and empty.
"From today onward, it's living alone... I can't even get a wife; otherwise, Maris will fall in love with someone. Should I hire a maid for housework and cooking?" Lucan thought, feeling quite lonely. He could get a maid to do housework and cooking, but he wasn't going to find someone to talk to freely and have a good time with.
"Humans are really creatures that are just too complex," Lucan sighed. On one hand, he didn't care about Maris much besides getting benefits, but on the other hand, he wanted to talk to her and liked her.
"Forget it, let's read those books," Lucan said and walked into his room.
"Foxy, fox."
"..Huh?"
Someone unexpectedly welcomed him. A white fox with red eyes was sitting on a chair in the chapel, as if saying, "Yo," and raising its paw.
"Huh, eh...?! You didn't leave!?"
"Foxxxx ffooo."
"You know I don't understand your Pokémon-type language, but hey... It's good. You can do housework, right?"
The white fox looked at Lucan, and he felt as if the fox was looking at him with hopeless eyes.
Lucan didn't mind and decided to go and read the book.
Lucan was at his desk, reading a book. The book contained some holy magic of the attack type.
This magic was top class. Lucan had requested these magic books when the Grand Temple asked him what reward he wanted for discovering the saint.
In addition to this, Lucan also received the nine most powerful spells of the temple. If it had been before, he might not have been able to learn these nine spells, but after the saint's blessing for five years and her love, his magical power had grown a hundred times faster.
As his magical power increased, he was able to perform these nine spells. While he was engrossed in reading, he didn't notice the door to his room open. However, he soon smelled something delicious, and his stomach began to growl as he hadn't eaten anything for hours.
When he turned, he saw Rina with a pot in hand.
"Hey, I was right, you didn't cook anything yourself," Rina said.
"I was busy reading, but thanks; I was hungry."
"You're welcome."
After eating, Lucan asked, "How about becoming my maid and leaving your adventurous life?"
"What's the salary?"
"There's no salary system. I'll put money in the third drawer. Whenever you need something, take money from there. There's enough to live comfortably for your whole life."
"That's great. Okay... I can bring you lunch and dinner, but cleaning? Find someone else."
"Well... okay."