Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 131
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 131
After Rickshel appeared, the temple found itself utterly helpless.
Partly because he was the Honored Guest’s family, but more because they had already been overwhelmed by his sheer presence.
‘Th-this can’t be happening!’
Fortunately, one senior priest managed to compose his expression.
He had to get a grip on himself.
One wrong word here, and they would have no choice but to return the Honored Guest to his family’s arms.
To send away someone who might be the true ‘God’s Messenger’ without any verification whatsoever!
That was out of the question!
So he had to hold out — at least until the Archbishop. No, until even one of the candidates could be informed and take measures.
“You seem to be laboring under a misunderstanding. First, please calm yourself…”
“Calm myself?”
The senior priest who met Rickshel’s gaze instinctively hunched his shoulders.
‘…I flinched?’
Even though he had only recently been promoted to senior priest, few in the temple could wield divine power as capably as he could.
Which meant his mettle and mental strength were hardly ordinary.
Moreover, how many grueling years had he trained to become a senior priest?
His mental fortitude and his ability were not things he had been handed for nothing.
And yet… he had been pushed back.
Gulp.
The senior priest’s Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily.
It meant that this young man was stronger than he was.
‘…It must be a disguise.’
From the moment he first visited the temple, the Honored Guest had always been dressed in exceptionally fine clothes.
That meant he was, at the very least, the child of an enormously wealthy merchant or a fairly affluent noble.
On top of that, his presence in Asteri territory meant he might well be connected to a prestigious mage family — or even to a magic tower.
Which in turn meant he could have hired a mage of the 5th Circle or higher and brought them here in disguise.
‘That must be why we couldn’t get any information on him.’
The problem, however… lay in the fact that the temple had no way to verify any of these conjectures.
Right now, that person was officially the Honored Guest’s family.
More specifically, he was the younger brother here in person to retrieve his older brother, who had been held at the temple virtually against his will.
Whether they tried to cast suspicion or apply pressure, the temple was at a disadvantage.
Provoking that mage was already a problem, but…
‘And what if the Honored Guest were to become disappointed?’
The mere thought was dizzying.
In the end, whether the guest decided to stay at the temple or return to his family depended entirely on the guest’s own heart.
And that was not all.
News that the sanctuary had been completed had already spread to the outside faithful within a single day.
That was how monumental and symbolic the completion of the sanctuary truly was.
To be slightly hyperbolic, it was enough to cement one’s stature as a future Archbishop.
The Saint chosen by God’s Messenger: Licht.
Even as an ordained priest, overflowing with divine power, he had completed the unfinished sanctuary to bring greater benefit to the world!
That alone would be ample publicity for the temple.
But! If, in this situation, the ‘God’s Messenger’ were to leave the temple — what then?
“The very person who completed the sanctuary — left?”
“Why?”
“Could it be… because the temple’s corruption has grown too severe?”
Those were the sorts of whispers that might start.
‘No, it was practically guaranteed.’
The temple was already stirring up controversy everywhere over taking children and forcibly turning them into priests.
‘It would be the worst possible outcome. That must be prevented at all costs.’
All the more reason they absolutely had to keep the Honored Guest here!
Hadn’t the senior priest himself witnessed it?
That night.
Vitality had returned to the pale, withered, unfinished sanctuary, and all divine power had converged upon a single point, where a tremendous light of divinity had bloomed!
And it was not only the sanctuary.
From the statue of Anyatras, God of Eternal Flame, enshrined within the temple, and from the sacred brazier revering the flame, mighty tongues of fire had surged forth!
It was, quite literally, the work of divine authority.
This time, the true God’s Messenger might have genuinely come again.
The temple could walk a second golden age, just as it had after the Saintess!
Gulp.
The senior priest swallowed dryly.
And so… much as he regretted to say it about the young man before him, he could not disclose the Honored Guest’s whereabouts.
If that happened, everything would be over.
‘And of all times, for the Archbishop and the candidates to be out of touch…’
In any case, he had to stall somehow. Even if it meant resorting to unreasonable arguments.
It did prick his conscience to do such a thing as a priest of God, but were there not matters upon which one must turn a blind eye for the greater good?
He believed this was one of those moments.
…And the fact that his opponent was a mage made it all the more so!
Just as he steeled himself to speak.
“Heh-heh.”
A genial laugh disrupted the rigid atmosphere.
It was Ann, the head of the seminary.
“How terribly worried you must have been to come all this way.”
The senior priest could only be thrown into confusion by Ann’s voice.
Hadn’t the head of the seminary always shied away from getting involved in disputes, by nature?
‘But for that person to step forward?’
Still. Even so gentle a person would never steer so weighty an affair in the wrong direction…
“This old man knows where the Honored Guest is.”
“Head of the Seminary!”
The senior priest’s hopes were instantly shattered by Ann’s bombshell.
Rubbing his slightly stooped back, Ann slowly walked out, came to a halt before Rickshel with a faint smile, then turned even more slowly to face the priests.
“You all seem much startled that this old man has taken the guest’s side.”
“…”
In truth, the expressions of the priests in the conference room were quite a sight.
Most wore looks of utter incomprehension, and a few even appeared angry.
“You must believe I have betrayed the greater cause. That, too, I understand.”
Still not dropping his smile, Ann studied the priests leisurely.
“Truly…”
Ann let out a bitter sigh.
When had the priests begun to act only to seek a just cause?
Was it when he himself, seized by the ambition to nurture disciples, had first cloistered himself in the seminary?
Or perhaps because the Archbishop had taken all grueling tasks upon himself, leaving the rank-and-file priests no real trial to speak of?
Whatever the reason, Ann had learned one thing with piercing clarity from this meeting.
If he remained silent and merely stood by, the very foundation of the temple would be shaken.
To be so consumed by the just cause that one obstructed an ordinary family’s reunion and severed the chance for a new family to form — could that truly be called the conduct of a servant who served God?
No. Absolutely not.
“All of you gathered here — what do you believe the virtues of a priest to be?”
At his quiet question, a different sort of silence descended.
“Is it not time that we turned our ears to the voice of the heart?”
As he asked the question, Ann managed to restore his subdued smile.
Even so, Ann did not dislike or resent these people.
People, by nature, could err.
The only division was whether they reflected and moved forward, or concealed their faults and claimed they had never done wrong.
But still…
‘It seems they are still all right, for now.’
The face of the senior priest who had first stepped forward was tinted crimson.
Whatever the reason, it surely meant he felt shame enough that blood had rushed to his face.
That was better than brazenness.
“…”
“Hmm.”
It was no different for the other priests.
‘Good.’
For now, this was enough.
If nothing else, had he not bought some time?
‘Could the Honored Guest have even anticipated this much?’
If so, the depth of that consideration was truly unfathomable. And even if not, it changed nothing about the fact that he had steered these people in the right direction.
‘He is no ordinary person. It’s as though… yes.’
Ann recalled a long-distant past.
That is, from the height of the war against the demons.
He had once glimpsed ‘that person’ from afar and, unintentionally, had overheard a conversation with the Saintess.
A stalwart youth who was called Hero.
Even though it had sounded like ordinary conversation, a strange power had emanated from that person’s words.
So much so that even now, after an immense stretch of years, the sensation of that moment remained vivid.
But, now that he thought about it, a similar feeling had emanated strongly from the Honored Guest as well.
‘Though it may be the delusion of an old man.’
He shook his head inwardly. Even if his feeling was right, nothing would change.
Ann turned to face Rickshel.
Younger even than Licht, the boy still looked at him with cold eyes.
But along that coldness, a layer of worry and anxiety seeped through.
An ordinary person might not have noticed, but there were things only an old man’s clouded eyes could perceive.
“Would you permit me to guide you?”
“…”
Rickshel was profoundly displeased with this situation.
‘Perhaps because it’s the temple, they’re remarkably soft.’
It was a moment that illustrated in sharp relief precisely why priests and mages were incompatible.
‘Everything proceeds entirely according to whim.’
Neither systematic nor logical.
If matters in House Asteri were ever handled this way, the root would have been cut out long ago.
If the head of the seminary before him had not stepped forward, he might well have had to endure this absurd tussle many times over.
‘This must be the ally that Brother wrote of in his letter.’
Rickshel called his brother’s letter back to mind.
The lines saying that a meeting was certain to be convened, and that when it was, there would be an ally at that meeting to assist him.
And then the worried postscript instructing him that, while the temple was unlikely to resort to physical force, he should bring a single escort just in case.
Rickshel sighed inwardly.
‘Brother is far too kind.’
Surely, the reason his brother had chosen this particular method was because of that priest called Licht.
Otherwise, even extracting himself physically was something his brother could have managed on his own.
‘Since it has come to this, I’d better extract a great deal from that archbishop candidate.’
Wasn’t this also one of the reasons his brother had specifically sent for him?
‘Do not worry, Brother.’
Rickshel lightly clenched his fist.
For all the trouble you have endured, I shall exact the price in full.
Seeing Rickshel burning with combativeness, Varg flinched despite himself, but lamentably, Ann, who was walking ahead, did not see it.
Had he glimpsed it, he might have regretted his earlier choice just a little.
“We have arrived.”
“…This place.”
They were located in a deeply secluded space even within the temple.
No doubt on account of the special status of an archbishop candidate.
‘Had things gone as they were supposed to, I should have been guided here by the holy knights straightaway.’
But because the priests had obstructed him by every means, he was only now arriving.
Though it was within expectations, the feeling was not at all pleasant.
“This old man shall stand guard out here.”
As if he had read Rickshel’s expression, Ann chuckled and volunteered to chase the other priests away himself.
“I, I will remain outside as well.”
Varg timidly raised his hand and spoke.
He, too, wished to see the young master, but serving as guard to both of them was more suited to repaying a favor at this moment.
“Understood.”
Rickshel did not urge him a second time.
He had no such intention to begin with, and more than anything, he wanted to confirm his brother’s condition first.
And above all…
If they were to act according to the scenario his brother had prepared, the time to enter and cause a commotion was already overdue.
‘The head of the seminary held them off for a moment, but the priests will come swarming back soon.’
Shock therapy had only bought a little time; they would surely gather their wits and rush here shortly.
That was why Ann had personally stepped forward to guard the door.
That suited him just fine.
“Very well.”
Rickshel gave Ann a curt nod and went inside.
Click.
The door shut, and sure enough, before long priests came dashing frantically from the far end of the corridor.
They flinched when they saw Ann, but only for a moment.
“We have thought much. We have also come to realize what you meant, Head of the Seminary. Yet we have judged this matter to be of an altogether different gravity.”
“Yes. At least until the Archbishop has spoken…”
Just as each priest was presenting his own reasoning.
Thud!
From inside the room came the sound of something collapsing, followed by a loud voice.
“What is the meaning of this! You say my brother has not long to live?!”
“…”
A silence of a wholly different order descended.
The priest who had been speaking last clamped both hands over his own mouth.
He had just overheard something gravely serious.