zhIZuDjYGTYwYyiY – Chapter 257

Ch 257

The Radion Cathedral, called the heart of the Order.

There, priests of all factions within the Order are equal.

Under the name of God and the First Saint—that sacred name, I mean.

As proof of this, priests of various factions were gathered in the hallway.

“Does the Saint still remain secluded these days?”

A gray-haired priest cautiously began. Then, a relatively young middle-aged priest answered.

“Yes, due to her constitution…”

“This is troublesome. Truly troublesome.”

“The resources spent so far to improve the Saint’s constitution alone could have saved hundreds—no, thousands of the sick…”

“Such impiety…!!! To dare approach matters related to the Saint with such a calculating viewpoint. Unacceptable!”

“Calm down. Bishop Kados isn’t entirely wrong. Even a Saint is ultimately just one of God’s many torches.”

“What…?”

Priests within the Order who were closer to the Saint than to God were indignant.

Nevertheless, the conversation continued.

“The reason her name holds meaning is because she possesses an exceptionally bright light among our Lord’s torches. But, if other torches must be used as kindling to keep that flame burning—wouldn’t that be a complete reversal of priorities?”

The priest’s statement was reasonable.

They heal the sick and drive away the wicked.

Even at this moment, countless priests willingly sacrificed their bodies and energy, driving away the world’s shadows with God’s light.

Meanwhile, the Saint remained secluded in her room, possessing numerous elixirs, medicinal herbs, and blessings that should have gone to them—

“Then, do you intend to deny even the holy miracles she has performed? The Saint is currently taking a necessary rest because of this.”

“…”

However, the voices of criticism that had been pouring out subsided at the following statement.

Not long ago, from now.

There was a city that had been slowly dying for years from an unidentified plague.

Countless congregation members spared no sacrifice or dedication in attempting salvation, yet the city only continued to slowly die.

The one who saved that city was an ordinary girl from a rural village.

The congregation members residing in the city at the time clearly witnessed it.

The moment a girl knelt and prayed in the city square, a giant beam of light descended and purified the entire city.

Saint Asrania.

The background of how she, an ordinary girl from a rural village, became a Saint respected by many congregation members, lies in this story.

“That miracle was undoubtedly performed through the Saint’s power. Yet, to criticize the Saint who is resting to manage the resulting backlash. Is it your opinion that a torch that burned itself to illuminate the darkness should be discarded because it has served its purpose?”

The priests could not refute.

Thus.

The Saint was qualified.

In other words, she had justification.

Justification to take an indefinite rest.

Justification to exercise all the privileges of the Order.

“Hmm? You there, what is it? Where are you going in such a hurry—”

“The Saint has expressed her intention to go out! She says she will perform a prayer ritual!”

“Prayer?”

“Yes! She heard the voice of the First Saint—Tara Dorin, the Star of Purification—…”

“…!”

Saint Asrania’s full-fledged activities began.

Under the complete care of the First Saint—

✦✦✦

Saint Asrania.

The congregation members called her existence the reincarnation of the First Saint, Tara Dorin.

There were certainly many commonalities between the two.

The fact that they were both originally ordinary girls from rural villages.

The fact that they possessed an innocent appearance befitting their origins.

The fact that they possessed an overwhelming divine power that added mystery to their innocent appearance.

Above all—the fact that they were pathologically selfless.

“Cough.”

Saint Asrania was never in good health.

It was because she prioritized helping as many people as possible over taking care of herself.

“Saint, are you alright!?”

“I’m fine! So, please, continue the trial—”

The current situation was also like that.

The Order’s group stopped at Bondales on their pilgrimage to rest the Saint.

However, the Saint could not stop her dedication even during that short rest.

-I feel darkness in this city… immediately begin preparations for purification…

That was the story of how the Saint came to conduct a heresy trial in the city square.

Instead of resting, she chose to root out the darkness hidden in the city.

“Ah… how noble… she never lets go of her selfless heart for even a moment…”

The congregation members were filled with admiration.

They believed that the Saint’s endless self-sacrifice stemmed from a sublime religious conviction.

“…”

Thus, the Saint smiled.

She secretly mocked the congregation members looking up to her.

Is there any pleasure as convenient as taking credit for someone else’s work?

Saint Asrania’s boundless self-sacrifice.

Its driving force was not a sublime religious conviction.

Faith.

The truly sublime, and therefore foolish, faith of the Order’s priests.

“Cough!”

Saint Asrania coughed again.

It was to suppress the laughter welling up inside her.

As a Saint, she roots out heresy on behalf of the Order.

It was a ridiculously funny situation, no matter how you looked at it.

And that’s because.

She was that ‘heretic’.

Dawn’s Guidance.

This religion, which takes the form of a secret society, denies God and worships an opposing entity.

In other words, the group designated as heretics by the Order.

Asrania was a high priest with the title of ‘Leader’ in Dawn’s Guidance.

In short.

A spy created to exert influence on the Order from Dawn’s Guidance—

That was Saint Asrania’s true identity.

Since performing the ‘miracle’, Asrania had been taking the Order’s resources under the pretext of recovery.

‘Foolish things. When will they finally notice…’

Just like now.

Asrania looked up at the sky.

‘Ah.’

A beam of light descending from the heavens towards her.

She savored that vast energy.

The divine power bestowed by the First Saint.

It was more than enough power to restore the ‘weak’ Saint.

However.

The Saint would not recover.

If she regained her health, she would lose her pretext for embezzling the Order’s resources.

‘Tara Dorin… a worthy friend. I shall use your power well.’

Asrania transferred the power bestowed by the First Saint into the ‘vessel’ she had prepared in her inner world.

Feeling that abundant power, Asrania thrashed in ecstasy.

‘Tara Dorin… there was still this much power left…’

It wouldn’t be long.

At this rate, the vessel would soon be full, and the day she would become a true Apostle of God would come.

The God of Dawn.

As an Apostle of that truly great being, the day she would subjugate the Order’s foolish ‘heretics’.

Therefore, she couldn’t afford to rest.

Every time the ‘Saint’ ‘dedicated’ herself, the vessel would be filled with their foolish faith.

“Come here.”

Asrania gestured to the woman who was the subject of the trial.

A beam of light created by the First Saint’s power.

It was illuminating the Saint.

The moment an impure being approached the Saint, their true nature would be revealed.

“…”

An impure being disguised as a human, a demon.

The woman, accused of being a demon, hesitated and looked elsewhere.

It was where her master, ‘Deputy Council Member Pien’, was standing.

Asrania also looked at the pure white maiden, following the woman’s gaze.

‘A troublesome woman. Really.’

This was what she had felt while staying in Bondales for the past few days.

As in other cities, Asrania planned to perform a large-scale ‘dedication’ in Bondales as well.

However, the city’s power, centered around Council Member Pien, was checking her.

In that sense, the significance of this trial was immense.

‘Even if a ‘demon’ is found in the city, will they still bother me like before?’

In places where darkness resides, light shines even brighter.

Asrania could guarantee it.

After this trial.

The ‘Saint’ would receive the adoration of all the citizens of Bondales.

“What are you hesitating for?”

Asrania urged the woman with an excited heart.

“This is the embrace of the Star of Purification—the First Saint Tara Dorin. There is no reason to fear the warm touch that embraces and illuminates everything. Come on.”

Then Asrania gestured to the Paladin.

Deputy Council Member Pien.

Prevent that person from causing trouble.

“…”

The Paladin nodded.

Just as they were subtly blocking the Deputy Council Member’s path.

“Sophia!”

The pure white maiden spoke to the woman.

She calmed the other party with a calm gaze.

“It’s alright. You don’t have to be afraid.”

“…”

An unexpected action.

Asrania was confused.

‘What? Getting involved with that in this situation would be pointless…’

That demon’s impure identity was about to be revealed.

To show a connection in such a situation?

‘Are you planning to deny it and cut off your tail? If so, you’ve made a poor judgment.’

Asrania judged Pien’s judgment as a careless response and secretly mocked her.

At the same time, the woman nodded and approached Asrania.

The Star of Purification.

She exposed herself to the energy of the being that could purify all impurities.

Murmurs.

The crowd gathered there began to stir.

That much was what Asrania had expected.

However, the nature of that stir.

“What?”

“What, a demon hiding its identity? A demon? Wasn’t that what they said?”

“Are you sure? There’s no change at all?”

The woman accused of being a demon was fine even under the First Saint’s energy.

No, it wasn’t just fine.

“Ah…”

The woman was unconsciously absorbing the light.

The energy contained in that light was somehow similar to the energy she received from her master, Pien.

“Saint.”

At that moment.

The pure white maiden spoke.

She didn’t create a triumphant smile.

Instead, she created a delicate smile that evoked the compassion of others, using her unique atmosphere.

“Is… our city’s citizen alright…?”

For some reason, her delicate voice was clearly conveyed to all the people gathered in the wide square.

The crowd stared at the Deputy Council Member as if hypnotized.

What they saw was a pure white maiden who sincerely worried about and cared for the innocent city citizens.

Her appearance, like a single pure lily, had an appeal that was not inferior to the Saint’s name.

Booing!!!

The crowd began to boo in unison.

“You came to our city and did this, trying to kill innocent people!?”

“What’s an Order, and what’s a Saint!!!”

“Get out!!! Get out of our city!!!”

“You’re far less trustworthy than Saint!”

Someone started throwing whatever they had in their hands at the Order’s group.

Thwack!

One of them hit the Saint’s head.

“How dare you!!!”

The priests, including the Paladin, glared at the citizens in anger.

“Enough.”

Whooshing.

A gust of wind swept through.

Archmage Frozen Breath.

The blue Archmage was directing a cold gaze.

“We’ll let this go, considering the Saint and the Order’s face. But any further—”

The freezing energy emanating from the blue Archmage.

The warning given along with it was enough to make even the devout priests take a step back.

“…”

That’s when it happened.

“…”

The blue Archmage narrowed his eyes.

“Ah—”

“This is…”

“S-Saint!?”

The divine power scattered by the Saint gently enveloped the priests who were struggling in the cold.

In other words—

It instantly dispelled the blue Archmage’s energy.

It was a clear mistake by Asrania.

While pretending to be a ‘weak’ Saint, she was dominated by her emotions and revealed the power she had hidden.

Easily dispelling the Archmage’s energy—

A vast power far removed from weakness.

Oops.

Immediately realizing her mistake, Asrania conspicuously coughed dryly.

But it was too late.

‘Something’s wrong…’

The priests felt a sense of incongruity in the series of events.

The whiter the cloth, the more noticeable the stains.

A small crack appeared in their pure faith.

‘Damn it, damn it…! What the hell is going—’

Asrania couldn’t regain her composure in the situation that was spreading like an uncontrollable fire.

At that moment.

Pien’s figure entered Asrania’s sight.

“…”

Grin.

Her appearance, creating a sly smile she had learned from ‘a certain man’.

Asrania felt her head grow hot and cold at the same time.

“I-I’m sorry…! I didn’t intend to—”

She used her trump card.

She started crying while acting as an innocent young lady.

Oh no. Oh no.

She acted as if she was struggling with guilt over having wrongly accused an innocent person.

In this situation, the priests couldn’t just stand by.

“We will formally apologize for this matter later. For today—”

The high priest and high-ranking holy knight, the actual leaders of the Order’s group, quickly resolved the situation.

With Pien’s group joining in, the chaotic Bondales square quickly returned to its original state.

✦✦✦

“Ugh…!”

The beam of light descending from the ceiling stopped.

At the same time, Lisir groaned.

The prayer was over.

Lisir had successfully fulfilled the duties of the First Saint.

He succeeded in bestowing his energy upon the person praying.

“Lisir!”

Tara, standing next to him, was startled and supported Lisir’s body.

After checking Tara’s expression, Lisir smiled wryly.

“Don’t worry so much. I’m young and healthy. This much will recover quickly with some rest.”

Tara chuckled at his natural, exhaled joke.

“That’s not why I was surprised.”

“Yes?”

A fairy who had also witnessed the same scene nearby added.

“Why did this work…?”

That was why the Saint and the fairy were confused.

The connection of energy through prayer.

It was a kind of miracle achieved by two congregation members through the coincidence of their special identity as ‘Saints’.

It wasn’t something that could be replaced with a lighthearted feeling like, ‘I’m a bit tired today, so I’ll leave it to my successor.’

But it worked?

Lisir successfully bestowed his energy upon the person praying in place of the ‘First Saint’.

“Didn’t the Saint help you?”

“Yes, she did help. With all her might. But—”

The Saint blinked repeatedly while speaking.

“Is this something that can be done just by helping…?”

The Saint looked at the fairy.

The fairy shrugged.

Well.

It worked somehow.

“…”

The Saint nodded.

They were gradually getting used to Lisir.

✦✦✦

“Then… is it alright for a while now?”

Immediately after the prayer ritual.

Lisir felt considerable confusion.

The depletion of energy from the prayer was beyond expectations.

To the point where one would naturally wonder how the Saint, who couldn’t even ‘exuviate’, had repeated this ritual until now.

“No.”

“Yes?”

“Probably… facing a great trial. Lately, the frequency of prayers has increased.”

“Then…”

“Following the usual flow, another prayer will probably come soon—within three days.”

Lisir was momentarily stunned.

“Then, the Saint will share her energy again?”

“…”

“And you’ve been repeating this until now!?”

“It’s not ‘doing’ this…!”

The Saint rebuked the impiety, but her tone was weak.

She herself knew.

“And you intended to continue repeating it? Until your energy is completely depleted?”

“…”

How foolish that act was.

“I have… a duty to repay their faith…”

It was just that no one had questioned its sublimity until now, so she had ignored it.

“…”

Lisir’s expression showed both respect and pity.

The Saint couldn’t raise her head for some reason at that attitude, so different from others.

“But, you know, that—the person praying, doesn’t that Saint seem a little strange too?”

“Strange…?”

“No, I understand it’s hard. I understand that she needs the Saint’s truly valuable help. But, isn’t it too frequent? The Saint’s energy is almost like a top-grade elixir. To demand this constantly? Is this right? This is just greed—”

Saint.

Greed.

To associate those two?

“A greedy Saint…?”

“Even a Saint is still a person before being a Saint.”

“…!”

The Saint and the fairy were shocked by that action, possible only because of a modern person’s way of thinking.

“Now that you mention it…”

However, that unique viewpoint clearly opened a new path of thought.

“…”

Tara Dorin’s expression was clouded with anguish.

Because she was a Saint.

Because she was in the same situation, carrying the same burden, Tara had completely trusted her until now.

But, now that the Saint’s purity was being questioned, she couldn’t help but be confused.

“First.”

Lisir said, looking at Tara.

“I’ll take over this for a while.”

“What…?”

“I have ‘exuviation’, don’t I? No matter how much energy I share and weaken, I’ll eventually find a way to recover.”

“…”

Tara’s expression, somewhere between shock and emotion, became increasingly subtle.

Watching the change in her expression, Lisir said.

“Hey… was I a bit unlucky just now?”

The fairy and the Saint couldn’t say no.

✦✦✦

Nevertheless.

The Saint and the fairy strongly tried to dissuade Lisir.

The depletion of energy was not something that could be recklessly endured, even with the insurance of ‘exuviation’.

“Isn’t this also part of handling divinity? I’ll gladly endure it, thinking of it as a path to refining divinity.”

The Saint was worried about how to persuade Lisir.

Unlike his expectations—

It was unrelated to the refinement of divinity.

No, rather the opposite.

The act of sharing one’s energy through divinity.

It didn’t elevate divinity, but rather regressed it.

It was no different from cutting off one’s own flesh and giving it to others.

Despite the Saint’s explanation, Lisir did not yield.

“And, if possible, I’d like to connect more deeply with that person and exchange opinions. I want to know what kind of thinking leads to endlessly demanding energy like this.”

Not simple goodwill, but a certain suspicion. And doubt.

Lisir had already made up his mind.

The Saint and the fairy could only step back and respect his judgment.

✦✦✦

That night, after the heresy trial.

Saint Asrania, returning to her room, struggled to control her boiling inner emotions.

‘Why! Why! Why!!! What went wrong?!?’

After the heresy trial.

Asrania could feel that the congregation members’ gazes towards her had changed.

Is it just my imagination that I feel like there will be serious problems with my future plans?

Probably not.

“Sigh…”

What calmed Asrania down—

Was the energy of the ‘First Saint’ that she had embezzled into the ‘vessel’ through today’s heresy trial.

Even though everything went wrong, the vast energy of that benevolent friend was clearly added to her vessel.

The ‘First Saint’s energy felt particularly abundant today.

Thanks to this, Asrania was able to calm herself.

It’s alright.

Even if all the other congregation members turn their heads, that benevolent friend would not doubt her and would continue to bestow her energy.

Therefore, what was needed was another justification.

Asrania began to seek another justification to receive the ‘First Saint’s’ grace.

✦✦✦

The next day.

After sufficient rest, Lisir met Tara at the cathedral.

It was for the Divine Guidance they hadn’t finished yesterday.

Tara felt a sense of incongruity at that moment.

Was it a misconception?

Lisir.

He was faintly glowing.

“Lisir, aren’t you sparkling a little?”

It wasn’t a misconception.

Shuyen also agreed with Tara.

“As expected. You two see it too. He’s been like this suddenly since last night. Why is he like this?”

At that moment.

A grayish-white fireball appeared and shouted.

It was like a student eager to show off their homework.

-This is Dangaleon!!! I have fulfilled my duty, understanding Master’s intention!

“Intention? Duty?”

-Through the path Master opened, I have retrieved Master’s excessive energy from that worm! And other things as well!

“?”

Lisir blinked.

“Worm? Retrieved? From where?”

-Yes?

Dangaleon blinked.

It’s a fireball, but anyway.

-Didn’t you intend to make it a servant?

“Yes?”

-Yes?

“Servant?”

-Yes.

“Yes?”

-Yes?

✦✦✦

『A new status is added to the target.』

『Status: Servant』

『Target: Asrania, Leader of Dawn’s Guidance』

✦✦✦

Translator’s Blog

Blog

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *