Chapter 148
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: The Goddess's Right Arm (2)
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Beyond the door was the office where the priests of the Amadelia Church handled their administrative duties. Several priests were working at their respective stations.
They were all dressed in gray robes. Though the decorations and styles varied, they all had white cloths draped around them.
So, gray robes and white cloths were the standard attire for Amadelia Church priests. Straightforward enough.
"The head priest?"
"He's the one in charge of all the affairs for our southeastern branch. He said he has something to discuss with you all."
We passed through the priests and headed deeper into the corridor, where a large office door came into view.
The priest knocked on the door and waited briefly for a response.
"Come in."
It was a thick, low voice belonging to a man.
The priest bowed his head and opened the door for us, and we entered the room.
A man in gray robes rose from behind the desk at the far end of the spacious, tidy office.
He was a tall, lean middle-aged Denan man.
Considering this was Peira, the city of Water Arbat, the fact that most of the priests here were Denan carried significant implications.
"Pleased to meet you. I am Philos, the head priest of the southeastern branch."
He gave a simple greeting and guided us to the sofas.
"Silver Guard Knight of Prius, Hunter Stanis. This is our affiliated mage, Liberic."
I followed the Silver Guard Knight's lead and gave a light bow to him.
Philos, the head priest, seemed slightly surprised by the words "Silver Guard Knight" and "mage," but he quickly regained his composure.
"I see. I heard you were looking for our priests... We've brought you here to explain our church's policies directly."
The head priest's face as he spoke didn't look particularly friendly. I could instinctively tell this wasn't the answer we had been waiting for.
"What do you mean?"
"Our Amadelia priests rotate through various branches in their duties. Many of them deliberately go to places where they're not welcome to help the people."
The head priest spoke calmly with an expression devoid of any smile.
"As a result, our priests sometimes face attacks or discrimination simply for being part of the Amadelia Church. To protect them, we've decided not to disclose their identities or whereabouts to outsiders."
This was ridiculous. What an absurd excuse.
"We're with Prius, and we would never do anything to threaten the priests' safety..."
"We can't know that for sure."
Philos, the head priest, cut me off in a low voice.
"Even when we assign skilled escorts to our priests, accidents still happen. That's just how the world is. We're merely trying to minimize any risks. Please understand."
Feeling indignant, I glanced at the Silver Guard Knight. Could he persuade the head priest?
"...I understand."
The Silver Guard Knight, who had been lost in thought for a moment, slowly nodded.
Philos, the head priest, smiled in satisfaction and seemed about to say thank you.
"In exchange, may I ask one thing? It has nothing to do with the priests' safety, so that should be fine, right?"
"Ah, yes. Of course. We'll help with anything that doesn't violate our rules."
The head priest was a bit flustered but responded as politely as he could.
The Silver Guard Knight pulled a sheet of paper from his inner pocket.
I recognized it immediately. The drawing of the seed that had fallen inside the ruins.
"Do you know what this is?"
Head Priest Philos took the paper, and his expression stiffened for a split second before returning to normal. The change was so brief that I almost thought I'd imagined it.
"No, I'm afraid I don't."
The head priest calmly shook his head and handed the paper back to the Silver Guard Knight.
That fleeting change in expression... Did the head priest know what this seed was?
"Not long ago, strange things happened in the nameless era ruins in the Quint Mountains. Magical beasts underwent threatening mutations, and moon howl phenomena became frequent.
The Quint Mountain Guard requested our investigation, and knights from Prius and Lesion lost their lives during it."
"...That's unfortunate."
It was a perfunctory condolence lacking any real emotion, but the head priest's shoulders were tense.
The Silver Guard Knight watched him closely as he continued.
"We entered the ruins, confirmed the bodies, and resolved the issue. And this... was the cause."
The Silver Guard Knight pointed to the small, round object drawn on the paper.
The head priest stared down at the drawing with panicked eyes. He seemed lost in a whirlwind of thoughts, unable to say a word.
"A mountain guard mentioned that Amadelia priests had visited the ruins. They were from Elgrace, and it didn't seem like they planned to go there."
"So you're saying they must have done something in the ruins...?"
"Does anything come to mind?"
"No," the head priest hurriedly shook his head. He covered his mouth and fell into thought for a moment.
The Silver Guard Knight didn't give him time to deliberate long.
"We want to find them and hear a detailed explanation of what happened. We need to identify the cause to prevent it from recurring. For the sake of the fallen knights, if nothing else."
"That's... truly regrettable."
The head priest let out a deep sigh and straightened his posture.
"It might sound like an excuse, but in our Amadelia Church, we regard nameless era ruins as sacred places. It's where the existence of Goddess Amadelia was first confirmed."
"What do you mean? Confirmed how?"
I asked in surprise.
"There's a ruin in the holy city of Amadelion as well. Long ago, scholars analyzed the unusual script carved there and discovered a name: 'Amadelia.'"
"We've seen that kind of script countless times near and inside ruins ourselves. But..."
No one has ever deciphered it. At least not as far as I know.
The head priest spoke as if he knew exactly what I was going to say.
"'Amadelia will return.' I know it's not the mainstream view. But our ancestors followed those words and expanded our doctrines.
As a result, one of our priestly rituals involves offering tributes and prayers at nameless era ruins around the world."
"Then that ritual must have been extremely dangerous. One priest died there, after all."
The Silver Guard Knight spoke matter-of-factly, but the head priest's eyes widened in shock.
He stared at us in alarm.
"Wh-what do you mean? A priest died? Who...?"
I was just as shocked as the Silver Guard Knight.
A priest from the Goddess Church had died on the way here, yet they hadn't heard a thing?
"You haven't heard?"
The Silver Guard Knight frowned as he spoke.
"According to the testimonies of the accompanying priests and escorts, one priest went down to the ruins alone in the middle of the night and was snatched away by a Phaynax nearby."
"That's impossible!"
The head priest suddenly shot to his feet with such force that the sofa scraped backward.
He repeatedly rubbed his cheeks, muttering "This can't be... How could this happen?" over and over.
"I assumed they would have reported the incident if they came here, but apparently not."
"This is the first I'm hearing of it. How...?"
His face paled and flushed repeatedly. He even spat curses, saying something like a mere Phaynax couldn't have done that.
I exchanged a quick glance with the Silver Guard Knight and decided to wait until he calmed down.
It was quite surprising that he hadn't received any report at all. Were they deliberately keeping it quiet?
Why?
It seemed the internal affairs of the Goddess Church were quite tangled and complicated.
Whew. Head Priest Philos finally exhaled deeply. His complexion had settled somewhat as he gripped the back of the sofa and stood.
A strong resolve emanated from his face as he looked down at us.
"Very well. I'll provide their information."
It was the response we'd been waiting for.
"What happened to the rules?"
"This concerns the honor of our Amadelia Church. We can't allow such dishonorable misunderstandings over the deaths of Prius and Lesion knights."
Was it really just about honor? I could sense anger from Head Priest Philos as well.
"I trust a Prius Silver Guard Knight will handle this matter fairly and wisely. Please... ensure no harm comes to our good parishioners, those with pure faith alone."
"...Understood."
Good parishioners make an excellent shield, I thought to myself.
"Arjen Soleil. A first-class priest from the holy city. His two escorts are Duran and Konet. They're not under this southeastern branch, so not my jurisdiction."
"I see. Do you know where they went?"
"The last I heard, they were helping refugees near Delatria. No reports since then."
"Thank you for the information. We'll seek them out and hear their side."
I stood along with the Silver Guard Knight.
Around Delatria, some inquiring around should yield more details.
We bid farewell to Head Priest Philos, but he seemed preoccupied and distracted, as if eager to see us out quickly.
However, just before leaving the office, the Silver Guard Knight paused and turned back to the head priest.
"One last question. Do you know anything more about the Quint Mountains incident?"
"Pardon? Ah, yes. I haven't received any reports about anything happening in the mountains. I've never seen that white seed either. Priest Arjen would know."
The head priest answered hurriedly with a startled expression. As soon as we stepped out, he quickly shut the door.
With the guidance of the priest waiting outside, we exited the main building.
Most parishioners and priests were inside the main hall, leaving the church grounds eerily quiet.
"Liberic, what do you think?"
The Silver Guard Knight, who had been deep in thought, suddenly asked. I walked beside him and replied cautiously.
"It looks like they're trying to cut off loose ends."
The head priest had cited regulations to withhold information, but changed his mind upon hearing a priest died in the Quint Mountains ruins.
Was Priest Arjen Soleil, not affiliated here and failing to report properly, the one they wanted to sever ties with?
"I felt the same. And at the end, he mentioned the 'white seed.'"
"His expression changed the instant he first saw the drawing too. He knows what it is but didn't tell us."
We had only shown him the drawing without any detailed explanation. We hadn't even mentioned the color.
When we said it was the cause, he should have asked what it was or how it triggered the anomaly.
But he didn't. He was too busy dodging and glossing over it. As if he already knew it was a seed harboring evil power.
Since the seed contained fragments of a sealing formation, merely knowing of its existence put him at odds with us...
That's why Head Priest Philos couldn't say a word to us.
"It seems the right arm doctrine of 'no mutual deception' doesn't apply to outsiders."
"Looks that way."
I couldn't forget the head priest's fleeting look of dismay when he first saw the seed drawing. Nor his astonishing skill in wiping it away instantly.
"At any rate, we know who they are now. They might not still be near Delatria, but let's go gather intel."
I nodded.
By the time we returned to the branch, it was lunchtime.
Shuren had safely completed the tasks the Silver Guard Knight assigned with help from other clerks, and Wedin had become essential staff at the makeshift clinic.
After a quick lunch, we checked once more if our travel preparations were complete.
Ilenia's sword and the Prius emblem were in Shuren's care.
Shuren's expression was complicated as he placed her sword in the bag and secured the emblem to his belt. But he didn't doubt we'd return it.
Just before departure, Branch Manager Peltora, who had come to see us off, handed the Silver Guard Knight a newly made emblem.
A white flower crest symbolizing the White Guard, and on the reverse, the thorny tree crest. It was the emblem of the Silver Moon Knights.
The Silver Guard Knight thanked him gravely and had Shuren hold onto it for now.
We left the remaining tasks to Branch Manager Peltora and hurriedly set off for Delatria.
Peltora's gaze lingered on our backs, persistent and wistful.