A Great Being (6)

“Now, let’s hurry and go. We should sleep after all the work is done.”

It didn’t take long for Lebevre to treat Maria’s father. In fact, it took longer to rush here by carriage to this village a bit far from the city.

Lebevre was exhausted as if he had used all his power, but the sight of the father and daughter, who had been on the brink of death, crying with joy was still worth seeing.

“But to go to such a far place…”

“It’s okay. They said that when I become a real Saint, I can call for dad.”

Her father’s reaction was that it was hard to believe even knowing that his daughter carried some talent originating from a distant ancestor, but Maria seemed to have made up her mind now.

She said she would follow us to the Order with a more steadfast and unwavering attitude. It was a bit frustrating when her mental state was broken and she didn’t know what to do, but perhaps because of the environment she grew up in, she had many tough and mature aspects that belied her age.

“We need to hurry. By calculation, the Saint and hero should have already arrived at the Order and they should be having a grand welcoming ceremony.”

“Well, to be honest, it’s not really related.”

I snorted at Patrick’s urging. The Order of Light isn’t really borrowing power from an absolute being as they believe, but rather it’s an order that began to take on a real divine nature in a world changed after the collapse of the Tower, due to the countless beliefs of people continued over a long time.

The hero and Saint they think of have only inherited power from their ancestors in the past, and the Order doesn’t have the right to manage and control them.

It’s just that this too has become a kind of customary law, solidified like a custom from thousands of years ago.

“Th-then are you saying that the authority our Order has over the hero and Saint is false?”

Surprised, Lebevre opened his eyes wide despite his fatigue. Well, he’s a power holder in the Order, and he knows that if I, known as a person from 10,000 years ago, say one wrong word, the authority the Order holds could be shattered.

Of course, if I came out in full force to deny the Order, they would attack me in return to save themselves, but I had no intention of attacking them in the first place.

“Calm down. I know that what’s important isn’t the starting point but the process that’s been built up anyway. Just that some things that can be fixed should be fixed. And there are precedents for multiple Saints existing in the same era, right?”

I reassured Lebevre. According to records, there have been times when two or three Saints existed simultaneously, so the Order people won’t foam at the mouth and have a fit just because one more Saint appears.

I’m not sure about those who were planning to cling to the Saint and scheme though.

“Maria is a being who can succeed the first Saint. If they try to deny that, we have no choice. We’ll have to push through too.”

In the worst case, they might try to push Maria as a different being from the existing Saint and deny her, but if they do that, I have no intention of sitting idle either.

The entire elf race already knows about my identity, and I’ll have to show myself once again, even if it means putting up with troublesome things.

“Are you really thinking of stepping forward yourself, Lady Isilia?”

“I know too. That I can’t hide behind the scenes forever.”

On the way back, Arisa whispered quietly with a tense face. She seemed worried, but I had already made up my mind.

“It’s a world-saving matter. I have to step up when necessary.”

I was planning to set a backfire before a bigger forest fire breaks out. As I start to get deeply involved in world affairs contrary to my intention, I too have to let go of some things one by one.

“Patrick, Laila, and Lina, you three wait here. Your faces are known, so if you come with me, the connection with Ethan will be exposed too.”

Still, there was no need to step forward first and open all the connections.

Ethan’s organization’s information network, funds, and underlings are a secret weapon that can be used quite nicely. If it could be hidden, it should be hidden as much as possible.

“There will be records of using spatial jumps. Thinking about that, it doesn’t really mean much anyway…”

“The spirits agreed to handle that secretly. Even if we erase just one day’s worth of records, they won’t be able to track us.”

Lebevre said while scratching his head, but I calmly replied that I would commit terrorism, stunning the group.

Spatial jumps are like airplanes, the stations where you can take spatial jumps are like airports, and those records are a kind of immigration control record. It would be harder not to be surprised at my words about blowing those away.

But for records managed by magic, it’s not too much for wind spirits to slip them out quietly. I already have experience of breaking through all the security measures protected by magic and spells using the power of spirits. If we just clear away the official records like that, they won’t be able to track us.

“The best thing would be for you, Lebevre, to take Maria and handle everything yourself. Can you do it?”

“Honestly, I can’t be sure. Although we’ve temporarily joined forces, there are quite a few who want to seize real power within the Order, so there will surely be fierce opposition.”

“They’re really worthless. And they call themselves people who believe in and follow God.”

For an Order that claims to believe in the power of faith, they’re full of lust for power. From the beginning, there’s enormous benefit and authority that comes from being the number one Order dominating the entire continent, so it can’t be helped.

There are countless religions that have covered the world without any special power, let alone having divine power and holy water.

“Do your best. If it really doesn’t work, then I’ll have to step in.”

For now, Lebevre agreed to try, but I instinctively felt certain that I would have to step in, and I tightly held the hand of Maria, who had fallen asleep with her head on my shoulder.

We are the only backing for Maria, who is heading to the Order alone with nothing. Thanks to us, her father was saved, but anyway, I was the one who pulled her out of her normal life and got her involved in this, so I did feel some responsibility.

* * *

“Where on earth has Lebevre gone?”

“He must have had some urgent business. More importantly, let’s drink! We won’t be able to drink tomorrow, haha!”

While Isilia’s group was hurrying to return, the Order headquarters and the surrounding area were already in the midst of a boisterous celebration.

It was because the hero and Saint, whom the Order had extensively promoted and boasted about, had arrived. As soon as those two awaken with the power of holy water tomorrow, they will become the Order’s strong force and dominate for a century.

“That erosion thing is a bit worrying, but conversely, we can use it to spread our influence to other forces.”

No one has yet figured out a means to purify the erosion. But they all speculated that it would surely be possible with the power of the hero and Saint.

If that becomes reality, the Order would be able to wield tremendous power over other forces.

No one would dislike that. One of the duties given to the Order’s priests is to expand that influence.

“The merit of discovering both the hero and the Saint is very great. Since both of them are still young, and this place is unfamiliar territory for them, they should rightfully have a guardian.”

“They will be at the center of this Order for at least several decades. Can we choose their guardian carelessly?”

At the same time, among some priests, there were already those dreaming of a brilliant future. A dream of seizing real power in the Order by riding on the backs of the hero and Saint.

If Lebevre, the second-in-command who had settled the division while shitting blood, were here, he would have been greatly angered, but now Lebevre was absent for unknown reasons.

“So, Coppelius, what kind of people are those two? You must have observed them for several days. Although they are said to be uneducated due to their background, there must be apparent tendencies.”

“Of course, Grand Priest. The Hero is a calm and taciturn person. Even now, he said he would stay quietly in his room until the ceremony. And the Saint…”

Coppelius, the accompanying priest who brought hero Ian and Saint Melissa together, hesitated for a moment.

“The Saint has been preoccupied with looking at the most expensive clothes and accessories since arriving in her room.”

“I see, understandable. Good.”

It wasn’t surprising news that Melissa was acting like a master and deeply immersed in her reversed life as soon as she arrived.

She puts on a mask and acts arrogantly in her own way, but after all, she’s just a young kid compared to the priests here.

‘Rather, such people are easier to handle.’

For those trying to use them as puppet chess pieces, those who strictly adhere to principles and gain the trust of those around them are rather difficult to handle.

Melissa’s cute deviation only appeared to them as reins to control her.

“I understand you’re happy, but everyone drink in moderation. We can’t be absent from tomorrow’s ceremony, can we?”

The celebratory banquet was ripening like that. It was when a bomb they never expected was getting closer and closer to the spatial jump.