The Romance Fantasy Novel MC is Only Into Me

—Meri.

The dreams began the year Merigold turned fifteen. Sometimes once a week if short, or once every two or three months if long.
—We will meet again someday...
Fragments of memory.

Though his face and voice were blurry, every time Merigold met him in her dreams, she felt herself being swallowed by a bottomless depth.
Thump. Thump.
Her heart raced. A suffocating pain welled up from deep within her lungs. She gasped for breath.

Thump. Thump. Thump.
—Merigold... you’re... alive...
Thump.

Thump.
Thump.
“Miss!”

“Huh?”
Merigold jolted awake.
The sound of birdsong, the bright sunlight beyond her blurry sight. Pinna’s touch pressed firmly against her face, waking her.

“Did you forget today’s laundry day? If you don’t go, the priest will scold you again.”
“Ah! Laundry!”
“The sponsor is coming too. I heard he’s a knight, and rich, rich!”

“Rich? Hmm, what if it’s some weird person again?”
Merigold’s worry showed. Every time a wealthy sponsor came, something strange always happened at the Salvation Church.
“This is the prayer room. We offer prayers here every morning.”
Lancel barely listened to the clergyman’s words while looking around.

There was graffiti everywhere that looked like children’s. The priest chuckled awkwardly.
“Haha, since it doubles as an orphanage, it’s a bit messy. The laundry is probably hanging out now, let’s go have a look.”
He looked at the children. The wording sounded odd, but Lancel obediently followed.

Out in the garden, countless white bed sheets hung on a long fixed clothesline.
Between the fluttering pure white sheets, children moved busily. Lancel immediately spotted Merigold.
She fumbled hanging laundry with her poor sight. She seemed accustomed and managed her share well.

“There’s a blind child here.”
“In orphanages, there are always circumstances. {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Just because someone is disabled doesn’t mean exceptions are made.”
“I thought she was begging on the streets.”

“Oh... you knew? I heard you just arrived on the island...”
The priest faltered and cleared his throat.
“Lately, our sponsors have been scarce...”
“I figured as much.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said nothing.”

Of course. There was no way that money reached Merigold’s hands. Having seen the last cycle, I roughly guessed the situation.
“Management must be really tough.”
“As you can see, we’re in dire need of sponsors’ interest. People like Lord Lancel.”

Still, the idea of throwing even a blind child out begging on the street was baffling.
For hundreds of years, I had lived scoffing at gods rather than believing in them, so it was hard to tell if the Salvation Church was particularly mercenary or if this was typical for such obscure, lousy cults.
‘What a tragic fate, Merigold.’

I quietly watched Merigold among the noisy children.
“Meri, guess who stabbed you.”
“Meri can’t see, so I’ll never guess.”

Those bastards?
“Have you decided on the sponsorship?”
“How much does it cost to build a temple?”

“Excuse me?”
The priest stammered briefly.
‘They probably think building a temple and spreading the religion lowers karma.’

I wasn’t sure.
I was just trying.
“It... costs quite a lot, but that amount...”

The priest trailed off, but I knew what he meant: “Do you even have the funds?” And obviously, she did not.
“Don’t worry, there’s enough money.”
“Roughly this much.”

“I’ll pay it today.”
“R-really?”
‘Yeah, I’ll just borrow it.’

I could borrow from Baron Ibil Shen. Just write a promissory note to repay several times over in ten years. He trusted the Dante family’s credit implicitly and would lend gladly. Free money, basically.
“So, when do you want the sponsorship reward?”
“Reward?”

I thought for a moment, then answered.
“As soon as the temple is built.”
“Understood!”

The news of the temple’s completion came after two seasons had passed.
————————————
[Fallen Noblewoman Simulation]
Merigold, 16 years old, second week of January passed! -

Charm 42 -> 43 UP.
Morality 57 -> 59 UP.
Grace 31 -> 32 UP.
Sensitivity 58.
Seductiveness 23.
Magic Power 1.
Strength 13 -> 14 UP.
Stamina 9 -> 11 UP.
Faith 231 -> 229 DOWN.
Condition 41 -> 32 DOWN.
Karma 200.
Worked hard helping decorate the new temple! Faith, stamina, strength UP!
Fell while walking and hurt ankle a bit. Condition, faith DOWN!

Learned manners from the nuns. Charm, morality, grace UP!
————————————
“Hm.”
I silently observed this and thought,

“It’s not going down.”
Karma 200.
Fixed, unmoving.

 
“Oh, you’re here, Lord Lancel.”
I met the Salvation Church priest with a more indifferent face.
Since I knew their doctrine was just empty nonsense, I no longer felt any attachment.

“Thanks to you, the temple was completed and we started accepting offerings today. All thanks to you, Lord Lancel.”
“Yes, well. Yes.”
I trimmed my nails and replied,

‘Whatever you’re giving me, just give it quickly.’
This cycle was already ruined anyway. I figured I’d just kill time like last time and wait for the next.
“So, about that... tell them to come in.”

“Yes, priest.”
I lazily opened my eyes as Merigold entered holding a nun’s hand.
Her white clothing revealed one shoulder and side, her braided hair decorated with red and yellow flowers, light makeup, and faint scent of perfume — clearly overdone.

“I prepared this since you seemed pleased last time.”
“Wh-what do you mean...?”
“You donated a large sum, so you must adopt the child.”

“Adopt?”
“Yes, adopt.”
Merigold’s blind face tensed. Adoption. A sixteen-year-old girl adopted by a nineteen-year-old knight.

“If God knew this, wouldn’t He be angry?”
“He’d be happy. He would bless the rescue of a poor child abandoned on the streets, raising her pure and sending her to good people. He would also be pleased with the newly built temple.”
Apparently, I looked like I was putting on airs.

“Well then, Meri, go greet them properly.”
Meri bowed stiffly. Her expression was frozen. She still didn’t know who was in front of her. We hadn’t had a proper conversation this cycle.
“I greet the sponsor.”

Indeed.
Purity as a commodity.
Was this one of Salvation Church’s ways to make money?

“In fact, although she is so beautiful, because she’s blind no one cared. But now that a good person came to her, how lucky...”
I suddenly stood and kicked the priest in the chest.
“Ugh!”
“Ahhh!”

The priest’s and nun’s screams mixed. A display cabinet toppled, shattering vases. Surprised, Merigold groped around and backed away to the wall.
“Even thieves say selling people is villainous, yet you, a priest, pick up a kid and sell her? No matter how stupid God is, He’ll send a bastard like you to hell.”
“Wh-why are you doing this, Lord Lancel...!”

“Close the temple by tomorrow. Since I paid for it, you won’t complain if I take it back, right?”
Yes. That was Baron Ibil Shen’s hard-earned money — in other words, my money — invested in this temple. It was not money to waste on such a cult.
“Th-that’s impossible, the money’s already in, and it’s not small!”

“Not small? It’s not your money, it’s mine.”
“Damn you!”
The priest straightened and spat curses.

“You knew when you came! Otherwise, you should’ve gone to the Martyrs’ Church, not here!”
From the priest’s perspective, he was right.
Though I had little interest in religion, I at least knew that the Martyrs’ Church was regarded highly by the Empire.

The other sects survived by eating the crumbs from the Martyrs’ Church.
They lived by actively bowing and begging for mercy, saying, “We’re your cute little siblings, please don’t kill us.”
The Salvation Church was one of those.

“Even the other sects’ nuns do everything if you donate. We’re just... well, tame...”
What ‘everything’ exactly?
The priest’s voice faltered as he sobered up. Of course, I had no mercy.

“I’m demolishing the temple. So be aware.”
“W-wait, Lord Lancel, you can’t be serious? You just started business — no, proselytizing — and now you’re destroying it...”
“Want me to give you proof that I’m not joking?”

“Gah...!”
I grabbed Merigold’s hand and swiftly left.
“S-sponsor?”

“Come with me. You shouldn’t stay here.”
“M-my arm... it hurts!”
“Then I’ll carry you.”

“Huh? Ah!”
I hurriedly picked up the flustered Merigold.
‘If I hadn’t done anything, would she have really been sold?’

There were no signs of that with Merigold in the previous cycle.
The Salvation Church was such a pitiful cult that even those willing to sponsor it had lost interest, and Merigold, accidentally becoming a begging prodigy copying silver coins, naturally stopped being sold.
But if not for that...

If she had been left alone...
She wouldn’t have been surprised to be sold anywhere.
I planned to at least prevent that from happening.

“Stay here for now. Hesti, please take care of her. She has eye problems.”
“Yes, young master.”
I handed the dazed Merigold over to Hesti.

I planned to have her stay at Baron Ibil Shen’s mansion.
‘Well. This cycle is ruined anyway, so just enjoy the servants’ care. Spend the next nine years leisurely.’
Later.

I called the thief guild master again, to send the Salvation Church temple back to nature. Building takes a long time but tearing down is quick.
The problem was...
“Lord Lancel, even though Salvation Church is tiny, a temple is a temple. If you demolish it blindly, people will notice...”

The thief guild master, who usually did anything for money, unusually expressed concern.
“Then how about we destroy it and build something new?”
“If you have enough money, that’s the best excuse. Do you have another sect in mind?”

“No.”
“Then under whose name will you build it...?”
“I wonder.”

I thought for a moment.
Where should it be?
“Martyrs’ Church? No, no need to do good for the royal family. Should I look for another minor sect? But there’s no guarantee the same problems won’t happen.”

Minor sects all had petty and shady parts, differing only in degree.
The Salvation Church priest’s words about brothel referrals were probably true. Such behaviors were common in the medieval world.
I didn’t want to waste money on such places again. Baron Ibil Shen’s pockets weren’t infinite.

“Hm.”
After thinking, I came to a simple conclusion.
“Let’s build it and think later.”

“Agreed.”
.
.
.
==========
—Fame event: ‘Merigold’s Church’ was built for the first time by believers! Your legend truly begins now.

※ Merigold’s karma decreases by 1 point.
“Hey, you bastard.”
“Yes, yes?”

Startled, Merigold answered my rough mutter.
The system window appeared in the peaceful garden picnic.