Chapter 28 – The Freelance Saint

“Simply put, all that water is holy water.”

Hirune pointed to the fountain with a small finger and said without any hesitation.

The water, which had been gushing up, almost reaching the roof of the steel mill, was slowly calming down.

“Holy water ……? What do you mean? All that?”

“Yes. If you wash the iron ore with that water, there won’t be any black smoke.”

“….oh, really?!”

Master Zuguri immediately rushed out and rang the steel mill bell.

The bell rang loudly.

“Stop working! Gather in the courtyard!”

Perhaps it was an emergency signal, all the craftsmen came running at once.

They all lined up with serious expressions, taking notice of the magic circle that spread from the courtyard.

(I’ve made such a huge magic circle,……….I’m sure all of them have realized I’m a saint.)

The craftsman whose eyes met Hirune’s bowed happily to her.

She gladly returned the bow, thanking them.

(That’s right! Let’s just keep going with the ” saint of the stream ” approach.)

When everyone had gathered, Master Zuguri took a deep breath.

“Alright you guys! The stream saint here, Makura-chan, has turned all the water in the fountain into holy water!”

Everyone made a variety of expressions at the master’s words.

“Gentlemen! I’m sure you’ve heard of her. The stream saint is…. You know….that one uh. I’m sorry. …… What is it?”

Master Zuguri turned his head to Hirune.

Doesn’t matter what he says, Hirune thought, but she couldn’t come up with any good words to say either.

(I have no choice but to say something like this…!)*

“I’ll tell you what, a stream Saint is a freelance saint.”

“Freelance?”

Everyone had a doubtful expression on their face.

“Yes, she is a freelancer. This world is too big for the saints currently working to cleanse the miasma, so there is a secret occupation of freelance saints who can move freely. Since they are freelancers, they travel from place to place and perform their activities by disguising themselves as citizens like this.”

“Oh!”

Everyone knew that Hirune was a Great Saint, but their eyes lit up when they heard the story.

It must be difficult for the Great Saint Hirune to act alone if she remains a Great Saint. That’s why she uses a false name. That’s what everyone assumed.

Besides, the word “top secret” seemed to tickle the men’s fancy.

(Everyone’s reaction is good. ……)

Hirune, in a fit of late-night tension, clenched her fists like a politician making a speech with her hands outstretched.

“I am focusing on the small events that are troubling our citizens. I’m a community-based freelance saint, so to speak! And today, I have discovered the true nature of the black smoke!”

The craftsmen were buzzing with excitement.

Black smoke was a problem that had plagued the steel mill for years.

Many of the workers suffer from lung diseases after working for long periods of time, and it was also a nuisance to the neighbors.

However, they couldn’t live without continuing their economic activities. So the entire community, including the Craftsmen, had to endure. Such was the painful background.

“The cause of this is – there is a small miasma attached to the iron ore. The miasma is so small that it can only be seen by the eyes of a saint. And if you burn the ore without purifying it, it will smoke!”

The place buzzed even more.

When everyone heard this, they were shocked and asked questions such as, ” miasma,” “Really? “I’m sick”, “what about the steel mill?” Some of them began to discuss the matter with their colleagues nearby.

“Quiet! The freelance saint, Makura-sama, hasn’t finished talking!”

At Master Zuguri’s command, things quieted down quickly.

It was a very controlled scene.

Hirune cleared her throat.

“I’ve made the fountain semi- permanently let out holy water! From now on, please use the holy water to wash the iron ore, okay?”

(You’ll have a good night’s sleep now!)

Hirune smiled.

All of them alternately looked at the fountain and at Hirune, and then opened their mouths.

If she had told them that she was going to hand out a hundred gold coins to everyone, and that they should open their hands, they would not have been so stunned.

(Oh, was that fine…..? they’re not saying anything, but ……)

She was sure they would be happy to hear that but there was no response at all.

The only sound was that of the fountain.

“Oh, um, …….”

As Hirune opened her mouth to follow up, everyone threw their hands up in the air in unison. Master Zuguri tried to hide his tears, exaggeratedly wiping his eyes with his sleeve, and muttering, “Oh, water is dripping.”

“Long live the saint!” “Hail, Freelance Saint Makura!” “Hail, Makura-sama!”

They all rejoiced with happiness, jumping up and down, high-fiving and hugging each other. Men with loose tear glands were shedding tears. The joy of the men echoed through the night streets.

(Thank goodness ……, it was originally for a good night’s sleep, but it seems to have helped them. ……)

Hirune also became happy and raised her hand, saying, “I did it!”

Hearing this, everyone shouted, “Yeah!”

() ()

Then, under the direction of Master Zuguri, an experiment was conducted.

Iron ore was washed with holy water and melted in the iron-making equipment.

The iron ore melted red and slid down the lane on the burning demon coal furnace.

“There’s no …… smoke ……!”

About three hundred men, who had been watching with bated breath, shouted with joy.

“Now we can say goodbye to the smoke.”

Hirune smiled at Master Zuguri.

“Makura-sama…. how are we to thank you, ……. Can you at least accept money? If we don’t thank you, it’ll ruin the reputation of the Morgul Steel Mill, which is famous for its loyalty.”

“I’m very grateful for the offer, but Saints cannot accept money. Please forgive me.”

（I want some money. But I’m a saint, so I can’t accept it.)

She’d like to buy and eat with the money, but she couldn’t give in to this.

since she called herself a saint, she wanted to act in a way that wouldn’t bring shame to Jeanne and Holly.

“Well, you’re right. …… But that’s not going to make us feel any better. Isn’t there anything we can do?”

Master Zuguri asked as if he was about to make the holy seal and kneel down.

The three hundred or so craftsmen around him nodded their heads.

As they pondered what to do, one of the craftsmen who was refining the iron poured into the mold with a hammer shouted in a panic, “Master!”

“Master! My goodness!”

“What is it?”

Master Zuguri immediately rushed out.