The Temple Reborn
Blanconia’s snowfields stretched endlessly white.
Among them stood the Dragon God Temple, the place where Winter Bell made his home.
The temple had always been a cozy place, where the gentle winter sunlight slipped in like a thin blanket and lit up the shadowed corners. It was also so still that one could easily forget time was passing there—until, now and then, the beat of a bird’s wings or a wind carrying snowflakes rattled the windows and reminded you the world outside was still moving.
As always, morning had dawned on the great white building in a hush, accompanied by the soft crunch of fresh snow gathering outside, and yet……
“We need more hot water! There’s still frost all over the walls!”
“Bring that frame over here!”
“No, not there—over here!”
“There’s no room there because of the pillar!”
“There’s space behind the pillar!”
Voices buzzed everywhere.
The Hartney territory folk who had arrived through Door were first stunned by spatial teleportation magic, marveling at it in a dazed flurry of excitement.
But only for a moment. The instant they saw the Dragon God Temple, neglected as badly as an abandoned ruin, they rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
And now this was the result.
“Seal that window properly so no cold air gets in!”
“We’re short on dry firewood in this room.”
“I’ll go get some!”
“……”
Because everyone kept hauling in hot water, cleaning tools, dry wood, and building materials from the village, Seherbian could only leave Door open and stare blankly at the scene.
From little children no taller than Kisha to elderly old folks, everyone was moving without a moment to spare.
Fwoosh!
The white crows, startled by the temple’s unusual din, were flitting about in every direction, unable to hide their confusion.
「Master, why are there so many humans here?」
「They’re ruining the temple!」
「Waaah. Master, are you really just going to let them do this?」
The white crows, who loved the snowfield’s old-fashioned, intimate atmosphere and its silence, looked close to tears, but Seherbian simply leaned against Door and watched wordlessly.
They don’t seem like they’re ruining it to me.
The people of Hartney were very good with their hands.
Unlike in the cities, supplies were hard to come by in the countryside, so whenever they ran into trouble they had to bring in what they needed themselves and make do. That was why, from children to adults, nearly everyone had some knack for making things.
The children sat down on every glittering patch of ice and carved tiny decorations into it. The floors that could serve as walkways were covered with carpets woven from bark and wool, and empty walls were adorned with framed paintings of vineyards, skillfully done by the village artist.
The holes that let in the cold wind had become proper windows, neatly sealed with wood and glass, ready to be opened whenever needed.
The white, blinding ceiling had been painted over in bright colors, and potted plants had been placed throughout the interior so that one could see green leaves even in winter. They were all hardy species that thrived in the cold.
And Seherbian, the owner of the Dragon God Temple, found he quite liked the scenery Hartney had created.
“Um, Lord Seherbian.”
At that moment, Kisha appeared after changing into a shimmering silver apprentice priest’s robe, fiddling awkwardly with her sleeves as she spoke to him.
Seherbian turned to look at the girl with a fresh kind of attention. It was the first time any human other than Roun had called him by name. Of course, he had asked the Hartney people to do so, but hearing it for real still felt strangely unsettled, somehow.
“We’ve prepared a meal……”
While reorganizing the temple, the people had gone so far as to build a dining hall as well.
After all, this had once been a place where Roun and the dragon priests had lived, so there had been a large enough space to use as a dining room.
They had already brought in several tables.
Embroidered tablecloths had been laid over them, and braziers had been lit to create a warm, inviting atmosphere.
The savory scent of corn soup tickled his nose.
“That smells lovely.”
“It’s soup made with corn, milk, and mashed vegetables. We also have baguettes topped with tomatoes and cheese, and ah! There’s a drink made by boiling wine, too. It’s a local health food from our village, so I’m not sure if it’ll suit your taste……”
“I like anything warm.”
Unlike a silver dragon, Seherbian enjoyed warm food.
He liked stews packed full of ingredients and left to bubble away, soups gently stirred over a low fire, and teas brewed from the leaves of plants.
Remembering how she had once been handed a warm cup of tea when she first met him, Kisha smiled softly.
The meal was enjoyed by everyone together.
Those who had wiped frost from the walls by pouring hot water over them, those who had carved wood to make tables, those who had climbed ladders to paint the high ceiling—all of them raised their cups together. The children, too, happily tore into bread and cheese and drank warm milk to their hearts’ content.
For the ever-quiet Dragon God Temple, it was a rare and unusual night, and for the people of Hartney, it was a feast long overdue. Now that the illness had finally vanished, everyone could eat and drink with light hearts.
“Lord Seherbian.”
When the celebration was at its height, Lady Erill Hartney rose quietly from her seat and bowed as the representative of the group.
“Thank you for accepting our presumption.”
Though the entire gathering had volunteered its service, calling it a presumption was no false modesty. Seherbian was the divine representative, Winter Bell.
In truth, it had been rude to tamper with the Dragon God Temple at all. Lady Erill expressed her sincere gratitude to Seherbian for graciously taking it in stride.
“And thank you for so generously understanding my daughter’s stubbornness as well.”
When her mother mentioned her, Kisha standing beside her also lowered her head, a little embarrassed.
Her wish to become a dragon priest had long since been discussed with her mother, but the silver priest’s robe swaying around her knees still felt awkward.
I honestly never thought it would really happen……
As awkward as her clothes felt, there was still a mountain of things she would have to learn as an apprentice priest. At least after spending the whole day working, she had gotten to know the temple’s structure inside and out, so she was confident she wouldn’t get lost.
“I will repay this kindness under Hartney’s name, until the day I close my eyes for the last time.”
“I haven’t really done anything.”
“Nothing? You saved us all.”
Lady Erill curved her eyes gently.
“And……”
Her clear green eyes, so much like Kisha’s, drifted for a moment toward the space behind Seherbian.
“You gave winter back to the children. They learned what a snowing sky looks like, and how to carve patterns into ice. Thanks to Lord Winter Bell’s grace, they can play even in the cold now.”
Winter Bell’s blessing Cold Resistance is currently applied to all Hartney territory residents.
At just the right moment, Mimir chimed with a pleasant ding.
The people couldn’t know it, but in Seherbian’s eyes there was a blessing marker hanging above each of their heads like a name tag.
Even now, the children were laughing as they packed snowballs with bare hands. Seherbian watched them alongside the lord, then idly rolled Mimir in his hand and spoke.
“Very well. As long as you keep the secret, I won’t interfere any further, so live comfortably.”
On the day he had revealed himself to the village people, Seherbian had asked them not to speak of it anywhere.
When he saw the lord once more solemnly swear that they would, he continued.
“I’ll leave Door open at all times.”
The Door still open at the temple entrance was meant as a kindness, since getting through the snowfields to and from the Dragon God Temple would be far too difficult for the people living in Hartney territory.
Up until now, there had been no need to keep it linked to any other place, so it had only ever been used and dismissed on a one-off basis, but if he wanted to, he could set one up whenever he pleased. Besides, maintaining an ice Door took so little mana for someone of the Silver Clan that it was no more trouble to him than blowing his nose.
“Ah! Are you perhaps going somewhere far away?”
Kisha, quick to catch the unease in his words, rushed to ask.
Seherbian was about to shake his head, but instead tilted it ambiguously as he answered.
“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.”
“Oh……”
A small sigh escaped her.
When the girl’s expression darkened, Seherbian remembered that she was only a newly admitted apprentice priest and added,
“Don’t worry, Kisha. The temple will always be guarded by the guardians.”
“The guardians……?”
The term was unfamiliar to an ordinary person, and Kisha’s eyes widened. Rather than explain with words, Seherbian rose and opened the window himself.
The newly made wooden window opened smoothly without a squeak.
A golden sunset, soaked through with the sharp winter sky, poured inside.
It’s so bright. It’s only sunset, and yet……
Usually, she thought of sunset as calm and gentle, but today the light was so dazzling that Kisha lifted a hand to shield her eyes.
Flap!
In that moment, a silver crow slipped through the window and alighted lightly on Seherbian’s arm.
“This one’s name is Liliana. She’s one of my familiars.”
The white crow, sitting demurely while looking up at her master with sparkling eyes, turned to Kisha and cocked its head.
It seemed to be asking who she was, and Kisha hurriedly clasped both hands together and bowed.
“H-hello. I’m Kisha Hartney!”
“Pii?”
For a crow’s cry, it sounded rather cute. Kisha thought it sounded almost like a neat whistle, and smiled, whereupon the white crow flapped up and circled around her.
“While I’m away, Liliana and the other guardians will help out.”
Outside the window, countless white crows were flying through the sky. Most of the birds were far out over the snowfields, so they looked blurred, like fish swimming through rippling water.
The people, who had never imagined all of them were guardians, stood there with their mouths open in awe.
“Door open.”
As Seherbian stepped out of the building and entered the command, a new Door not connected to Hartney village came crashing down from the sky with a thud. It was, once again, a luminous door made of ice crystals.
After setting his destination in the simplest terms possible, Seherbian stepped through the Door.
But just as he was about to board it, a voice stopped him.
“L-Lord Seherbian!”
It was Kisha. The brown-haired girl came running in a fluster, as if afraid he might leave without her catching him, and at last managed to grab the edge of his clothing while she caught her breath.
“You’ll…… come back soon, won’t you?”
“……”
Seherbian lightly patted Kisha’s head. Though she was only an apprentice, she was now the temple’s one and only priest, and seeing her call out to him like this made her seem rather endearing.
“Door can connect anywhere.”
“Then……”
“Think of it as me going for a walk right outside the house. I’ll stop by to check in from time to time.”
“……Yes.”
“If you need anything, talk it over with Liliana. She’ll pass along anything urgent. The guardians are all connected to my soul, after all.”
That meant communication was always possible through the guardians.
Only then did Kisha relax and recover her smile.
Trust from Kisha Hartney toward Master has increased.
You really don’t need to report every little thing……
Mimir already delivered an enormous amount of information on a regular basis.
If he went out into the world like this, it was obvious the thing would chatter without pause, and Seherbian briefly found himself wondering if he ought to limit the notification function to some degree in advance.
Flap!
“Ah?”
Something suddenly settled on her shoulder, startling Kisha. But when she saw what it was, she quickly calmed down. It was a beautiful pure white crow—Liliana, Seherbian’s guardian.
「Have a good trip, Master!」
Piiiii.
The white crow that had landed on Kisha’s shoulder gently closed its mint-colored eyes and gave a delicate, ringing cry.
“Liliana. Take care of the people. Especially Kisha—since she’s come in as an apprentice priest, she’ll probably need some training too.”
「Yep, leave it to me!」
Seherbian gave a nod to Liliana’s brisk answer as well. His gaze then returned beyond the Door.