Ch.68Chapter 68 – Prayer Ceremony (2)

The day after hearing the ominous news about the arrival of the Saint from the Emiris Order had come.

I went to visit Eve and told her about my conversation with Lich.

“The hero was summoned by the dragons.”

“From his tone, it seems like he didn’t know.”

“Of course. Besides, I’m not particularly interested in legends and such.”

Eve smiled as she drank her tea.

“My fath… The head of the Metis family is quite interested in legends, so he might know something.”

“I see.”

She was suggesting that her father might know something, but it wasn’t a particularly meaningful comment.

I didn’t have deep connections with nobles, and Eve herself was uncomfortable with getting involved with her family again.

Therefore, it was far-fetched to suddenly visit a noble family head and ask if he’d heard anything about a story that might not even be true.

It would be better for me to investigate on my own.

“Anyway, since it’s Lich, it’s probably not good to worry too much about it.”

“That’s right.”

Eve just smiled and drank her tea, seemingly pleased about something.

“By the way, will you be alright attending the Prayer Festival?”

“I’d be happy to, but will Kay be okay?”

“…Since Christina recommended it too. I think it’ll be fine as long as we don’t get too involved with that order.”

Out of consideration for Christina, who had apologetically tried to dissuade me from attending the festival, I decided to go anyway.

It should be fine if I’m careful not to get entangled with the Emiris Order.

Eve seemed to share my thoughts as she nodded.

“I’d heard that the Prayer Festival would be bigger this year, but I didn’t know the Saint from the Emiris Order would be coming.”

“That’s actually what makes me anxious.”

Eve gave a bitter smile at my complaint.

“Still, that order is quite popular among the general public.”

“From my perspective, they’re just a bunch of lunatics. Why are they so popular?”

“Simply put, it’s because they have power.”

Eve said as she sipped her tea.

“The order has branches in various countries, and holy knights from those branches regularly patrol local churches. While doing so, they take the initiative in exterminating monsters.”

Eve put down her teacup.

“Adventurers demand money, and knight orders or armies only come when requested by lords and never move easily. Therefore, poor rural people can’t help but welcome the holy knights of the order, and by extension, the people of that order, who come regularly to exterminate monsters.”

“From another perspective, it’s like an armed group that doesn’t follow the country’s control is roaming around freely.”

“We can’t blame the villagers though.”

Eve started peeling a fruit, seemingly producing it from nowhere.

“From their perspective, these are people who solve their survival problems.”

“I see.”

After dividing the fruit into bite-sized pieces, Eve handed me a piece.

I removed my helmet and put the fruit in my mouth, tasting a slightly sour yet sweet flavor.

“Not everyone in the Emiris Order is crazy or filled with a sense of superiority.”

“I suppose so.”

Old man Ludger once told me that while he didn’t know about the New Kingdom, the order in the Mikea Kingdom was just a normal religious order.

Come to think of it, when Christina and I first went on a request together, she mentioned that their supervisor was losing hair because the people from the New Kingdom weren’t listening.

“So the problem is with the New Kingdom folks.”

“Yes. We should be careful around the people from the order in Traigie or the New Kingdom.”

Eve said in a slightly cold tone.

It was natural since Eve had almost died because of the Emiris Order, so she couldn’t possibly have good feelings toward them.

“Still, there are other ordinary believers, so I don’t think they’ll do anything completely reckless.”

“I hope so.”

When I said that, Eve gently took my hand.

“It’ll be alright.”

“…Yeah.”

In any case, it must be a place with many ordinary people too.

Still, I don’t plan to go anywhere near that order during the Prayer Festival.

“Thanks to Kay, I’ve received some really good information, so I should prepare to make money.”

“Can merchants get involved in that?”

“There are many ways. Like making product contracts to receive profits, or becoming a sponsor to get returns.”

Eve smiled mischievously.

“Excluding the Emiris Order completely, maybe Zeolei or Harti would be good…”

Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to have any intention of investing in Christina’s order.

Well, her religion is minor, so it might be too burdensome for Eve to invest in it.

Anyway, money-making plans seemed to be assembling in her head.

She soon became quiet, apparently making various calculations, and I waited for a while, eating fruit and drinking tea.

“By the way, Kay.”

“What?”

“Your face, it’s looking much better.”

Eve said softly.

“Maybe it’s because Sera researched and applied ointment.”

She had applied ointment even before we caught Bycon.

Eve smiled brightly.

“At this rate, it might become impossible to tell that you ever had burns.”

“That would be nice.”

I smiled slightly as I looked at the smiling Eve.

Soon, Eve started looking at the clock.

“It’s about time you should go. I have appointments after this.”

“I’ve taken too much of your time. Sorry.”

“No, I was very happy that you came to invite me.”

Eve spoke gently as she stood up.

She was already holding my helmet and put it on my head.

Then she started fastening the straps of my helmet.

“…I would have preferred if it was just me going with you.”

“Huh?”

Her words were slightly muffled by the sound of the straps being tightened.

“Did you say something?”

“No. Oh, take this and share it with Seraphina. You can also share it with Christina.”

Eve handed me a basket containing the fruit I had eaten earlier.

I had no reason to refuse, so I took it.

“Well then, take care.”

“You too.”

Eve greeted me as she returned to her desk, seemingly having another appointment.

I also greeted her and, as usual, opened the door of her office and headed outside.

“It was next week, right?”

I started recalling the date of the Prayer Festival as I looked at the sky where snow had begun to fall lightly.

+

And a peaceful week passed.

It was a week spent waking Sera up every morning, going to the guild, and accepting requests.

I mainly took extermination requests, while Sera focused on delivery ones.

There was one small incident in between, though.

“You’ve been promoted.”

Sera, who had been at F-rank for quite a while, finally became E-rank.

Since Sera was an alchemist, alchemy requests were more important to her, so she didn’t consistently complete regular requests.

That’s partly why she was promoted later than me.

However, it was good news for Sera.

“I hear people are looking for you at the association now?”

“I seem to have gained a few regular clients.”

Sera said with a smile.

It seemed that although the number was small, she had gained regular clients because she diligently completed alchemy requests.

In fact, Sera’s skills were by no means low-level, and thanks to Eve, she had a proper working environment, so it was understandable that people would seek her out.

“I feel a bit strange, like I’m losing Sera to others.”

Somehow, it feels a bit sad that the child I’ve been taking care of is now receiving affection from others and associating with them.

Hearing my words, Sera smiled and said,

“Still, I pay the most attention to Kay’s medicines. So bear with it.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I lightly responded to Sera as I headed toward the Lavencha Trading Company.

Eve had asked me to pick her up.

As we moved, I confirmed with Sera, as I had mentioned before.

“As I said before, we absolutely avoid the Emiris Order.”

“Yes.”

For some reason, the order had sent adventurers targeting Sera, and if I were exposed, they would surely attack me.

Normally, I wear a helmet, so my identity shouldn’t be easily revealed, and in Sera’s case, I had made sure she wouldn’t act carelessly in crowded places, so I thought it would be fine, but…

“We shouldn’t go anywhere near on the day that Saint arrives.”

“She’s coming on the third day, right?”

“Yes.”

It was information Christina had provided in advance.

The Saint is scheduled to recite the final blessing on the third day.

“Anyway, let’s be careful.”

“Yes.”

We nodded to each other.

When we arrived in front of the store, Eve was standing there.

Perhaps because the weather had gotten a bit colder, she was wearing a coat over her usual clothes.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“No. I just came out thinking you’d be arriving soon.”

Eve smiled as she approached me.

“It’s been a while, Seraphina.”

“It’s been a while, Madam Guild Master.”

Soon after, Eve and Sera greeted each other.

“It’s gotten a bit cold lately, are you feeling well?”

“Yes. How about you, Madam Guild Master?”

“Fortunately, I’m fine.”

The two were smiling and greeting each other warmly.

“That’s a relief. It’s really cold, so I was worried you might catch a cold.”

“I was worried that Seraphina might catch a cold since you’re active outdoors.”

“Hehe, I have a strong constitution. I was more worried about you, Madam Guild Master.”

“Thank you. Fortunately, I’ve had periods of training, so I don’t catch colds easily.”

…I’m starting to think my impression of warmth might have been mistaken.

“…Let’s go.”

As I said that and turned my body, Sera and Eve looked at each other once before starting to follow me.

We walked for quite a while toward the district where churches were gathered.

Naturally, the only church in the slums was Christina’s church.

The other churches were properly gathered in the church district.

As we headed there, the streets were filled with tents.

As Christina had mentioned before, it seemed to be a festival of eating and drinking, with food stalls everywhere.

“Originally, the Prayer Festival wasn’t this kind of event. Unexpectedly, there’s another festival, so quite a few people have gathered.”

Eve said with a smile.

“Let’s meet Christina first before we start walking around.”

“Yes, I wonder where she is.”

“I have a map here.”

Sera pulled out a map, which she had apparently brought along.

Looking at the map, we could see that there were designated places for each religious order.

Naturally, since Christina was a nun of the Evgenia Church, we headed to that location, thinking she would be there.

As we made our way through the crowd, we indeed found Christina standing there wearing a thick outer garment.

“Ah, welcome!”

“What are you doing?”

Looking at the flyer in her hand, it seemed like she was advertising something.

“There’s a food stall set up by our church. This is the flyer for it.”

“I see.”

“We’re also doing some missionary work on the side.”

I just nodded as I saw the membership form behind the food flyer.

While there were only a few flyers at the front, there was a stack of membership forms.

It was clear that hardly anyone had taken them.

“By the way, what kind of food stall is it?”

“Simple sandwiches. They’re sized to be eaten as snacks.”

Looking at where Christina pointed, I could indeed see bread with vegetables and meat in between, neatly cut into quarters.

“So it’s the magic of turning one sandwich into four.”

And if you sell one piece for the price of a whole sandwich, it’s the magic of quadrupling your money.

Impressive business tactics.

“Is that too much…?”

“Not particularly?”

“There are even worse business tactics out there.”

Eve, a current merchant, said with a smile.

Like using ingredients that can’t even be eaten, or lying about the origin of products.

There are various methods in the world.

“Oh, I kept some leftovers from what we made for distribution. Have one each.”

“I won’t refuse.”

Christina distributed sandwiches, and everyone took one to eat.

They weren’t very big, so they were a good size for a snack.

The taste was also good, suggesting they used quite fresh ingredients.

“Well, I’ll be working here.”

“Aren’t you coming with us?”

“I have some work to do. I’ll join you later.”

Christina said with a smile.

At those words, Eve smiled and grabbed my arm.

“Shall we go then?”

Seeing Eve immediately pressing her body against mine, Sera’s expression began to darken.

Behind us, Christina was giving a bitter smile.

“Let’s go this way.”

“I want to go that way.”

Sera grabbed my other arm and pulled me toward her.

Eve, not to be outdone, pressed closer and started pulling me as well.

Various parts were touching, but I wasn’t in a situation to worry about that.

‘Did I make a mistake?’

As I began to indirectly experience Solomon’s judgment, I belatedly had such a thought.

Looking at the sky where snow had begun to fall, I quietly began to empty my mind.

+

It was a research room in a magic tower.

Inside, a witch was combining various medicines.

-Knock knock

“Why would someone who never knocks suddenly knock?”

As Asam grumbled, the door immediately opened.

A woman entered with the smell of alcohol and tobacco.

“Did I disturb you?”

“Of course not.”

Beatrice sat down next to Asam with a grin.

“Have you heard the news?”

“What news, Asam?”

“That the Saint of the Emiris Order is coming.”

At Asam’s words, Beatrice narrowed her eyes.

“Of course I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

Beatrice began twirling her hair with her finger for a moment.

After being silent for a while, as if deep in thought, she opened her mouth.

“What am I going to do?”

Beatrice looked at Asam.

“If a big shot like the Saint is moving, they’ll be careful about personnel selection too.”

Beatrice’s eyes moved slightly.

An indescribable light dwelled in her eyes.

“It’s time to move.”

Outside, snow began to fall.

Beatrice smiled as she looked at the snow.

Perhaps because the day had darkened a bit.

The snow seemed to have a grayish tint.

“Shall I make it a splendid Prayer Festival?”

Beatrice said as she gently put down the ignition stone she was holding.