The rest of the speech followed a standard course; Jeanne led the crowd in a round of prayer, and her public debut drew to a close.
Through this event, the devout Sankta came to recognize and accept this suddenly appearing Saintess from the bottom of their hearts. No—to say they merely "recognized" her would be an understatement. These people began to fervently pursue and idolize her, placing absolute faith in every word she spoke.
Naturally, the "great disaster" Jeanne had mentioned was taken as an absolute truth. The citizens began making preparations for the coming storm she had foretold. Yet, miraculously, there wasn't a trace of the panic the officials had feared. Everyone's life seemed largely unaffected. Aside from a surge in the popularity of non-perishable goods, people seemed to possess a quiet confidence in facing the catastrophe. Perhaps it was Jeanne's assurance that "as long as we stand united, we can overcome any hardship" that gave them strength. They truly believed they could weather this storm together.
As for how this public debut affected Jeanne's personal life? Simply put: she could no longer go window-shopping like she used to. Now, no matter where she went, the Sankta who recognized her would swarm together, looking at her with expectant, sparkling eyes. Whenever that happened, no matter what she said, they would listen with smiles on their faces; all they really wanted was to exchange a few words with her.
Faced with such a crowd, Jeanne didn't know whether to be flattered or overwhelmed. The biggest issue was that she felt too embarrassed to simply turn and leave. They weren't exactly intruding on her private life—they hadn't set up camp outside her home or anything—they just showed immense admiration whenever they crossed paths on the street.
Consequently, Jeanne was forced to hide in her residence. If she absolutely had to go out, she would switch to her black-clad form and test her luck. Since the two forms looked different enough to outsiders, she figured that with a bit of a disguise, there was a good chance she could fool people.
"I didn't even have to ask around to know you'd be hiding in your room. Come on, look at the treasure I brought you!"
While Jeanne was still cooped up, Lemuen walked in with a joyful expression, hefting a fairly large bag to show her. Just looking at her face, Jeanne could guess the contents definitely had something to do with her, though she had no idea what they actually were. She hadn't done much in this city lately; what kind of merchandise could there be? Surely it wasn't just photos of her?
"I can tell by your face that you haven't a clue. Come on, tell me if you like it! I had to wait in a long line just to get this!"
Seeing Jeanne's slightly dazed look, the smile on Lemuen's face widened. It seemed Jeanne really hadn't heard the news yet! As she spoke, she pulled an exquisitely crafted packaging box from the bag. Inside was... a figure of Jeanne in her formal gown? Or perhaps a statuette?
Jeanne couldn't tell what material it was made of, but the craftsmanship was stunning, capturing her appearance from the debut with vivid detail.
"Is the business sense of Laterano merchants really this sharp? It's only been a short while, and they've already processed a doll of me?"
Jeanne stared at the miniature version of herself, amazed by the efficiency. Were these people working themselves to the bone? She had anticipated her likeness appearing in shop windows eventually, but this was incredibly fast. At least wait until I've left Laterano before you start selling these, okay?
"You have no idea how explosive the demand is. I barely managed to snag two sets! Though, come to think of it, Mostima's ability is really handy..."
Apparently, this elder sister had used Mostima's time-manipulation abilities to "cheat," managing to secure two sets despite the fierce competition. Jeanne felt the list of things to complain about was growing by the second. Why are you using Mostima's Originium Arts just to buy merchandise? Did it affect the crowd or the electronic payment systems?
However, Jeanne didn't say much. She simply took the finely crafted figure and examined it closely.
"Looking at it like this... it feels very strange. Seeing a shrunken version of yourself from this perspective is quite... embarrassing."
Jeanne's lips twitched instinctively. She hadn't expected that looking at her own merchandise would feel this way. Upon taking it into her hand, she realized the weight wasn't light at all! Does that mean this thing is actually made of metal? As Jeanne looked at the model's familiar, gentle smile, she found herself at a loss for words for a moment.
"The craftsmanship is quite refined. They must have put a lot of effort into this."
Jeanne toyed with the small object. At first, she found it a bit awkward, but after looking at it for a while, she felt it wasn't such a big deal. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen herself in a mirror before; it was just the initial shock of seeing it as a product. Now that she had regained her composure, she didn't overthink it.
"They say the Laterano officials found people to make these because things were becoming a mess. Apparently, a few merchants tried to make some quick cash earlier and produced some really ugly ones. Didn't the old man tell you about this?"
Jeanne had actually heard a bit about that. Word was the Notarial Hall had caught a few merchants recently who were using shoddy craftsmanship to make plush toys of her likeness. The materials they used were subpar, resulting in some children getting sick after buying them, so the Notarial Hall took the merchants away.
After that... the Pope had indeed called her to explain the situation, and he mentioned something else too, but she seemed to have forgotten the details. Thinking back now, it must have been this.
"I think I remember something like that, but you know how enthusiastic everyone has been these past few days. It slipped my mind completely."
Jeanne had spent most of her energy dealing with the overly passionate Sankta recently, so she had indeed forgotten such matters. But then, Jeanne's gaze drifted toward the large bag. There were clearly more items inside; it seemed this girl had bought quite a lot!
"What else is in that bag? Don't tell me there's more besides this!"
Although she knew there wouldn't be just one type of commemorative item, Jeanne didn't know exactly what these people had cooked up. At this point, as long as it wasn't something exceptionally weird, she could accept it.
Hearing this, Lemuen pulled out all sorts of plush dolls and keychains from the bag with a beaming smile. Are you planning to open a franchise store?! And why is there even a version of me in my armor?! Who leaked that design?
After all, Jeanne rarely showed her full-armored form to others, and not many people would have recorded her appearance at those times. Thus, Jeanne cast her gaze upon the most likely culprit. The pink-haired girl in front of her was the prime suspect! Since they had spent so much time together, she was the one who could provide such details. Her intuition told her she had found the truth.
"Why are you looking at me like that? It's making me a bit nervous..."
Seeing Jeanne staring at her intensely with those large eyes without saying a word, Lemuen felt a bit guilty and asked tentatively. Jeanne remained silent, just keeping her eyes locked on her friend. Lemuen had no choice but to keep dodging Jeanne's gaze.
"Alright, alright! I admit it, I provided the design for the armor! I mean, people had already seen you in that armor back then! It's just that the merchants' designs were too ugly, so I helped them tweak it a few times..."
Well, that was perfectly reasonable. Jeanne looked at Lemuen with a deadpan expression, and just as she was thinking about how to handle this pink-haired angel, her door was knocked upon once again.