Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Zenith Church (4)
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Jamie didn't know what to do with the blind girl standing before him.
'What is a "Saint"?'
It was a being who wielded the power of the god they served more freely than anyone else.
In the age when gods rampaged through myths, they had been the ones to give Diablo Volpir the most headaches.
Their power was negligible compared to his own, but the weight carried by the title "Saint" was another matter entirely.
Saints were called the agents of the gods.
To those who served the gods, they were like another master.
Vast armies had risen at their command.
They threw away their lives without hesitation.
Those who defied death had even driven a mighty black sorcerer into a corner.
A wave of fanaticism.
Even now, recalling that time made him dizzy.
'And this child is born with the qualities of a Saint.'
The blind girl.
Her name was Anna, if he remembered right.
Riki's younger sister, who had yet to awaken to her power as a Saint.
It wouldn't matter if she never realized it in her lifetime, but he'd never seen such a case.
'On top of that, her eyes are specialized for it.'
Saints are born with immense divinity concentrated in one specific part of their body.
In Anna's case, it was her two eyes.
This was a congenital blindness caused by overwhelming divine power.
She probably couldn't see even a speck of light now, but once she awakened as a Saint, who knew how far her vision would extend?
At the very least, one thing was certain.
'She'll be able to see the flow of the entire world.'
Magic. Aura. Divine power.
Perhaps even natural phenomena.
She would gain eyes that could perceive it all.
'Should I kill her now?'
He didn't know when, but Anna held the potential to become a major nuisance.
The Zenith Church had her under its wing for now, but she was just an orphan. He was confident he could assassinate her discreetly.
"Why the sudden serious face? Don't tell me you've fallen for my little sister?"
As Jamie wore a grave expression, Riki smirked slyly and nudged his arm.
Jamie looked at Riki. He wasn't a bad kid. Back when he roamed the night streets, his future had seemed so bleak that he'd been quite twisted, but now he was completely different. This was probably his true self.
If he killed Anna, the boy would lose his only blood relative.
That didn't matter. What did he care if the kid wallowed in despair?
'The problem is what might happen if I kill her.'
She hadn't awakened her Saintly power yet, but the church's high priests couldn't possibly be unaware of it.
It was this clear to Jamie right now; if they didn't notice, they should quit being priests and go dig ditches.
So killing her recklessly was dangerous.
But he couldn't just leave her be, either.
'Whose divinity has she inherited?'
Unlike an apostle of a god, a Saint's power remained unknown until awakening, so it was impossible to tell which god's divinity they bore.
That's why they were leaving her here as well.
It would be fine if it was Zenith's, but if not...
'They'd go berserk trying to claim her.'
Or put her to use elsewhere.
Whatever it was, the orphanage's existence itself was suspicious.
"Oppa~ Read me a book."
At that moment, Anna began groping around blindly for a book.
"Anna! Careful. I'll get it for you."
"But I can find a book on my own."
"You know that's not true. Besides, I'm right here. Let me do it."
"Okay."
Anna nodded with a faint smile.
A close-knit pair of siblings.
They had grown up relying on each other their whole lives. Their bond went beyond blood; they were practically one body.
Jamie watched them silently.
Riki read to his sister without a care for Jamie's presence. He ignored everyone else, devoting himself solely to her.
It reminded him of his own little sister Sara, playing with Sears.
Anna looked a bit older than Sara.
'If I reach out now.'
It wouldn't take more than a second to kill her.
No matter whose divinity she bore, she would eventually become Jamie's enemy.
It would be ideal to eliminate her, but he couldn't right now, which was regrettable.
'At least I learned about a child with Saintly qualities.'
Better to know and suffer than to be blindsided.
Of course, 'knowing and avoiding it' would be best, but with his current power, that seemed impossible.
Or perhaps he could turn her to his side some other way.
If he could make her an ally, that might change things.
'But as something belonging to a god, that's unlikely.'
It couldn't happen unless his relationship with that god improved.
And that would only occur if the sun rose in the west.
Jamie's hatred for the Twelve Gods ran too deep.
'I'll have to watch her for a while.'
The silver lining was that her brother was very favorable toward him.
Considering he'd saved his life, that made sense.
Anyway, staying here would only trouble him further.
Jamie rose from his seat.
Riki, who had been reading, looked up and asked,
"Gotta use the bathroom?"
"I'm heading out."
"Huh? Yeah, dinner's late. But the uncle hasn't come to pick you up yet."
"It's fine."
He could go find him himself.
Or just leave without him. Riki had already memorized the way; he could find his own path back.
Right now, he just wanted to go home and rest.
Jamie left Riki and Anna's room. Riki excused himself to his sister and followed.
"I'll walk you to the entrance."
He could find the entrance on his own, but Jamie didn't refuse. Now that things had come to this, he needed to get closer to Riki.
The way there was quiet, so he asked Riki,
"What do you want to be?"
"Huh?"
Riki looked surprised, as if he hadn't expected the question, and asked back as though he hadn't heard.
"What do you want to be?"
"Oh. Uh..."
At the question about his future, Riki scratched the back of his head with interlaced fingers, thinking.
"Never really thought about it. My sister and I never had the luxury to dream about the future. Hmm. If I had to say, I'd want to stay by her side and protect her until she dies."
"Nothing you want for yourself?"
"Like I said, I've never thought about it."
Riki's life revolved entirely around his sister.
He hadn't asked Anna, but she'd probably say the same.
"What if something happened to your sister?"
"...What's the intent behind that question?"
"No intent. You two just seem really close."
"It'd feel like losing half of myself. We're all we've got."
Though he'd made a few friends lately.
Riki grinned as he said it.
Jamie knew. He knew what the strongest bond in the world was.
Family love.
That was Riki's greatest emotion.
"I see."
"Ah."
Then Riki stopped in his tracks.
Jamie watched him quietly.
"I had a dream recently."
"...Suddenly?"
"I never thought about dreams much, but now that I do, I realize I have one too."
"What is it?"
"One of the orphanage kids, like Sinno yesterday, got chosen by the god and went to the church headquarters. He's getting a stigmata and priest training. I want to get chosen by a god too and become an amazing priest."
"...Is that for real?"
"Yeah. He left yesterday. I was so jealous. Me too! Definitely!!"
Riki clenched his fists, steeling his resolve.
But Jamie barely heard the rest.
'Child. Kidnapping. Church. Orphanage. Selection. Stigmata. Priest. Headquarters.'
Words swirled in his mind.
Like a jumbled puzzle.
'No way.'
And the mismatched pieces began to fit together one by one.
'I can't be sure.'
Jamie asked Riki one more question.
"Where were you before coming to the orphanage?"
"Wandering the streets, like I said."
"Before that?"
"Uh... Kinda embarrassing to say."
"It's fine."
"I lived in Ribal."
At the word "Ribal," Jamie nearly shouted.
'Of course!'
Suspicion turned to certainty.
Zenith wouldn't help anyone without a purpose.
Everything had a goal.
'Whatever it is, I'll figure it out in time.'
The corner of Jamie's mouth lifted.
Riki tilted his head at the sight.
"We had a good talk."
"Likewise."
The priest serving as acting bishop of the Hays branch shook hands lightly with Ras.
Unlike the tension he'd felt, nothing major happened.
It ended with casual talk about everyday life.
Put another way, it was a clear line drawn. No intention of deep discussions with a Pyro Church priest.
So Ras hadn't brought up the chimera creator either. They might even be in on it.
'A stretch, but I have to consider all possibilities.'
The Pyro Church had suffered direct harm from the chimera creator. And lately, relations with Zenith Church had soured.
Unlikely that god-serving folk would plot such things, but as the one handling this case, Ras had to check every angle.
"I'll be going now."
"Let me walk you to the entrance."
"I need to fetch Jamie—the young lord. Riki took him on a tour."
"I'll guide you to the orphanage."
"Haha. Appreciate the kindness."
The two headed to the entrance with more mundane chatter.
Then they spotted Jamie and Riki approaching from the opposite direction.
"Oh. Priest Terria!"
"Riki! And the young lord?"
The priest asked for confirmation, and Ras nodded.
"That's right."
"Heh heh. An honor."
"Pleasure."
Jamie returned Priest Terria's greeting casually.
"Was just coming to get you. Perfect timing."
"Yeah."
Jamie responded indifferently, then bid farewell to Terria and Riki.
"See you. Tour was fun."
"Come visit again."
"Next time, I'll show you the whole place!"
Riki said with a bright smile.
Jamie nodded and glanced at Ras.
"Let's go."
It was just as the two turned to leave.
"Oh. Has the bishop arrived?"
"Ah! Bishop!"
At that moment, Bishop Lincoln returned to the church.
With the bishop's appearance, Jamie and Ras had no choice but to turn back.
Perfect timing, right as they were leaving.
"Heh heh heh. Looks like we had guests."
"A priest from Pyro Church and the young lord."
At Priest Terria's words, Lincoln looked at them with mild surprise.
He waddled over, his plump body swaying.
"Honored guests. I stepped out for work today. My apologies."
"No need. Priest Terria and I had a pleasant chat."
"Glad to hear it. And I didn't expect our young lord to visit."
Lincoln met Jamie's eyes with a kindly face.
His layers of fat made him look rather affable.
"Pleased to meet you. Jamie Welton."
"I know. How could I not know the son of our liege lord, to whom we owe this land?"
"I'm flattered."
"Heh heh. Come again. I'll treat you to some fine refreshments."
"Your words alone are thanks enough."
Jamie smiled in response, then eyed the knight in full plate armor, helmet included, standing behind.
Ras's gaze was on the knight too.
In this peaceful region, full helmeted armor was unheard of outside training.
So why was this knight fully geared?
More importantly, Azad and Raiza had never mentioned such a knight.
'A guest from outside?'
No ordinary knight.
Clearly a paladin, brimming with powerful divine power.
'Something feels off, though.'
There was a sense of incongruity in the divine power. He couldn't pinpoint what, but it wasn't a normal paladin.
He glanced at Ras.
'His expression...'
Ras looked unwell.
As a paladin himself, he sensed divine power more acutely than Jamie.
He couldn't have missed the incongruity Jamie felt. Maybe he'd noticed even more.
Ras composed himself and stood by Jamie.
"It's getting late. Time to go. The count is waiting."
"Ah, yes—evening soon. Until next time."
Jamie and Ras exited the church.
Once they were fully gone, Lincoln's smile vanished.
He turned to Riki, still there.
'Hmm.'
The Pyro Church newbie had sniffed something out.
'Need to tread carefully.'
If worst came to worst.
Lincoln glanced at the fully armored paladin behind him.
'That should suffice.'
Not perfect, but enough to handle a Pyro Church fledgling.
"Let's go eat, shall we?"
He smiled again at Riki.
Riki responded energetically to his touch.
"Yes!"