Chapter 99. The Saintess (4)
Shining letters floated above the water's surface, which resembled the night sky.
These weren't simple letters.
The halo of light enveloping the letters.
The surrounding air and scent.
In the solemn atmosphere, it made one unable to stiffly raise their head.
Even Anonymous, the queen of dragons, bowed her head and trembled all over.
"I-is that by any chance a ssage from the Goddess?"
A stuttering tone, unlike Anonymous.
Even for her, who had been through all sorts of trials, it seed she couldn't take this situation lightly.
The sa was true for .
'It feels as if I'm facing a god.'
In the utterly reverent atmosphere, my lips wouldn't part.
Even the gentle wind blowing from beyond the darkened forest felt like the touch of the Goddess.
We stood there for about five minutes, silently gazing at the letters.
'As I thought, I was right.'
Nowhere in the Goddess's ssage did it say to make Iris the Saintess.
It only stated to choose one of the three Children of God.
'Isabel's choice of Iris was nothing more than her own arbitrary decision.'
That wasn't all.
The Goddess did not give a clear instruction as to when to appoint the next Saintess.
But Isabel acted as if she had to hand over the position of Saintess right away.
'Was the position that much of a burden to you, Isabel.'
I narrowed my brow and fell into thought.
I fully understood Isabel's desperation.
She had dedicated most of her life to the Goddess Cult, not by her own will, but by another's.
But this wasn't right.
'Her desperation reached its peak, and she interpreted the oracle in the way she wanted.'
This was tantamount to an abuse of authority.
Will I be able to trust Isabel from now on?
I might start doubting whatever she says.
With a heavy face, I slowly opened my mouth.
"Let's go back."
But Anonymous showed no reaction.
When I turned my gaze to look at her, surprise and confusion were mixed in her eyes.
'She seems very surprised.'
Indeed, to the people here, the Goddess must be an absolute being.
The starting point of their faith and the foundation of their lives.
To have witnessed such a ssage from the Goddess with her own two eyes, it was not surprising that Anonymous was acting that way.
I turned my head again and looked at the letters on the lake.
The letters were slowly disappearing.
Like letters inscribed on old parchnt fading away, they blurred one by one.
The mont the last remaining letter vanished, the surface of the lake spread out like a gentle mist.
As if nothing had happened, silence returned, but the heavy atmosphere remained.
***
In the thick darkness where nothing could be seen ahead.
Only a cold wind brushed past.
I was on Anonymous's back, just as when we arrived.
The black scales revealed a faint outline in the moonlight, and her huge wings were gently cutting through the air as she ascended.
But she maintained her silence from beginning to end.
'She's been silent since the mont the letters disappeared from the lake.'
She's been quiet throughout the flight.
'She must be feeling complicated.'
It was clear that the phrase she had just seen was a ssage from the Goddess.
The reverent atmosphere.
The overwhelming divine power.
The suffocating pressure.
Therefore, I could fully understand why she was confused.
'She must have only known that the only being who could communicate with the Goddess was the Saintess.'
How long had we flown in silence?
At so point, Anonymous cautiously opened her mouth.
"...Master."
It wasn't her usual confident attitude.
Prudence was???? (mudeo - sared/present) in her voice, and a sense of caution seed to hang over her, as if even parting her lips was a careful act.
"I'm listening."
"How did you know about sothing like that?"
I didn't speak for a mont.
I knew what she was asking.
But I feigned ignorance and asked.
"What do you an?"
"The fact that you can see the Goddess's ssage if you drop blood into Lake Kalle."
A voice mixed with so suspicion and wariness.
I maintained a calm expression and opened my mouth.
"As always, it's knowledge I learned from so ruin."
I gave a simple excuse.
But Anonymous didn't believe .
She slowly shook her head.
"That can't be."
A firm voice.
"If it's ruins, I've been to many as well."
She looked up at , with a sharp glint in her eyes.
"That's not sothing of that dinsion."
"I don't understand. What does that an?"
"Even if ruins are old, they are from a few thousand years ago."
Her voice was soft, but there was a certain conviction in her words.
"A thod to communicate with the Goddess. If there was a ruin where a thod for a being other than the Saintess to directly receive a revelation was written, I would have known about it in so way. Because there isn't a single living creature in this world that isn't curious about the Goddess."
I kept my mouth shut and quietly listened to her.
"I can assert that there is no such ruin."
She ca to her own conclusion.
The tail covered in black scales swayed slightly.
I let out a short sigh.
'She noticed, as I thought.'
In this world, the only one who had communion with the Goddess for a long ti was the Saintess.
Not even the Children of God could hear the Goddess's voice.
After organizing my thoughts for a mont, I said in a calm voice.
"I can't tell you the details right now. But..."
I looked down at her and slowly continued.
"If we defeat Primus, then I will surely tell you."
This was tantamount to a vow.
That I couldn't tell her everything right now, but I would reveal the secret if we defeated the final enemy.
Anonymous remained tight-lipped after that, as if deep in thought.
Only the moonlight shining from above made her sharp red eyes sparkle.
And finally, she nodded her head.
"...I understand. I must survive until we defeat Primus."
She seed to want to say sothing more, but in the end, she said nothing.
It seed to be sothing related to Noctavira, but she didn't open her mouth any further.
We flew through the night sky, maintaining our silence.
Soon, the lights of the mansion began to appear before our eyes.
***
Upon returning to the mansion, I imdiately sought out Isabel.
The front of the Saintess's room was still quiet.
I carefully knocked on her door, and Isabel greeted
with a calm face.
"Have you brought your conclusion?"
It was a serene tone.
A firm expression.
An unwavering gaze.
A face as if she had already steeled herself for whatever answer I might give.
I nodded and slowly opened my mouth.
"I will tell you the truth. I, too, have received an oracle from the Goddess."
A short sentence.
That alone was enough to make Isabel's face harden like stone.
"What?"
Isabel was at a loss, flustered.
Her lips trembled faintly.
A face like a frightened child.
But I continued to speak.
"I haven't revealed it until now, but I too have occasionally heard the Goddess's voice."
Her breathing quickened.
"Why... are you telling
such a lie?"
"It's not a lie. I thought it might beco a problem if I revealed this, so I have remained silent until now."
I slowly gazed at her and added.
"But I couldn't hide it any longer. Because it's a matter involving my daughter."
Isabel's hands trembled.
"B-but you didn't say that before?"
"I needed ti to think."
"Th-then..."
She struggled to continue.
"Tell
what the Goddess said. Though I'm sure you're lying to ."
Her suspicion was natural.
However, I too was innocent.
I recited the Goddess's ssage as it was.
"Choose one of the three Children of God and make her the next Saintess. Is that not so?"
The mont she heard those words.
Isabel's lips turned pale.
Her face drained of blood in an instant.
Her breathing beca ragged, and she sank to the floor with a thud.
"How can this be..."
She stared into the air with a dazed expression.
She tried to raise a hand to cover her mouth, but as if her strength had left her, her fingertips fumbled in the air.
Dumbfounded.
She was in shock.
I slowly approached her.
I could see her fingertips trembling.
I took her lost hand and said in a low voice.
"How about we do this?"
I looked into her wavering eyes and made an irresistible offer.
After hearing all my words, her eyes grew as wide as an owl's.
"A-are you being serious?"
"Of course."
In the end, she accepted my proposal.
No, she had no choice but to accept.
***
The next morning.
Isabel left the mansion.
Her steps were heavy, and her expression was blank.
She didn't look around, nor did she speak to anyone.
A figure hastily fleeing as if she shouldn't be here.
Seeing that sight, Adel's eyes widened and she spoke.
"What on earth did you say for the Saintess to return in such a fluster?"
She was asking , but her gaze was still following Isabel.
"Besides..."
Adel frowned slightly.
"She didn't even glance at Iris. That's not like soone who was going to take Iris with her."
I shrugged lightly.
"We decided to hold off on the abdication of the Saintess for a while."
"After so ti has passed?"
"Yes. We decided to postpone it until after we defeat Primus."
Adel asked back with a bewildered face.
"But is that really okay? It's an oracle from the Goddess, isn't it?"
I smiled gently and shook my head.
"The Goddess didn't clearly state when to appoint the Saintess."
"Ah!"
"But the Saintess was so surprised upon receiving the oracle that she rushed to us to tell us the news. That's all there is to it."
Only then did Adel's expression relax as if she understood.
"How urgent her heart must have been... Still, that's a relief."
She let out a sigh of relief.
But Iris was different.
'Sothing's strange. Isabel backed down that easily?'
Until just yesterday, she had shown an attitude as if she had already made up her mind.
She had delivered the oracle to her directly, and hadn't she even shown her resolve to step down from the position of Saintess?
'There's sothing I don't know.'
At that mont, a single question flashed through Iris's mind.
'Could it be that she stepped back because she gained sothing?'
Iris looked at the man standing at the center of this whole situation.
Frank.
Her legal father, and a forr Hero.
'And also Isabel's forr lover.'
His expression was serene.
A face as if he had foreseen everything, and it was all going according to plan.
Iris bit her lip tightly.
'As expected, he's dangerous.'
Even if it was for her own sake, was it okay to trust soone who acted so arbitrarily without
explaining a clear reason like this?
Iris decided she needed to put a little more distance between herself and Frank.
Without even knowing how much he cherished her.
***
A few days after that.
Iris received an urgent report from a mber dispatched to the eastern country.
"Th-this is terrible! An undead army has invaded!"
"What? Until a few days ago, there were no signs at all? What's the scale?"
"I-I can't count the numbers! Right now... Gaaah!"
With those words.
The magic crystal ball no longer broadcasted any image.
It was just sared with red blood, and only a terrible scream could be heard.
With a heavy face, Iris knocked on Frank's door.
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