Hunter Sergio did not express any intention to return.
“I’m not sure what will happen with the Saintess’s condition, so I think it’s best for to stay close and keep watch. If the Moon Sect permits, I’d like to remain in the temple and look after her until she recovers at least sowhat...”
“If you’re willing to do that, then it would be an honor for our Moon Sect. With Hunter Sergio by her side, the Saintess will surely stabilize quickly. In fact, we had hoped to ask that of you first.”
The bishop, who had co to visit Gio lying in bed, asked,
“More importantly... how is your body?”
“I’m fine.”
“I hear that a lot.”
“Ah, do you?”
“Our Moon Sect is full of foolish ones.”
She suppressed a sigh with practiced grace.
“Even when they’re not fine at all, they insist they’re fine and throw tantrums. And then there are the ones who try to gloss things over slyly without being outright defiant.”
“I said it only because I truly am fine...”
“Hunter Sergio, even if you were part of the Moon Sect, you’d have adapted well.”
“That’s rather flattering, considering I’m just a tar.”
“No, I ant it sincerely.”
He was born «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» with the disposition of a priest.
“......”
Even the foolishness.
‘...There’s no way subduing that level of mystic power wouldn’t have taken a toll.’
Hunter Sergio appeared to possess an unusually vast vessel for a saint. But until one truly sets foot on the divine path, a human is still just a human. The blood he coughed up during their conversation had been proof enough of that.
‘If he hadn’t been hard at all from the start, it would be one thing, but after displaying symptoms like that, it’s undeniable that it cost him dearly. And for him to still insist otherwise—it can only be called foolishness.’
Above all, Hunter Sergio seed exceptionally skilled. Not just in handling mystics, but also in dealing with people—as a priest, as a human being.
‘Is that why he’s still overexerting himself?’
She couldn’t be sure.
‘He refused treatnt.’
And the Moon Sect was a place that always respected the individual’s will. With even a hint of intelligence, one had to respect diversity as much as possible if one hoped to reach the supre realm as lowly creatures.
‘Even if that ans allowing the priest to harm themselves... it’s the right thing to do.’
At least here, it was.
The bishop recalled the report about the Collector’s response to Sergio’s injury but chose not to dig deeper.
“Please accept this.”
“This is...?”
“An access pass.”
He had done a great service to the Moon Sect.
“We will treat Hunter Sergio as a benefactor.”
“A benefactor... that sounds too grand for soone like , just an outsider who’s only stayed in the temple for a few days.”
“You showed us sothing within that short ti.”
The Moon Sect always asured results.
“We don’t ignore the value of process, but the most important thing is ‘what was achieved.’ And Hunter Sergio, you accomplished quite a lot. You resolved a matter that the Moon Sect had failed to solve for years.”
“...It’s been years?”
“Yes. Because of the weight of the Saintess’s existence, the Moon Sect did everything it could to conceal it. But now, no matter how much we try to hide it, concealnt is impossible. It’s been four years since the Saintess began suffering from her affliction.”
“......”
Hunter Sergio paused, then asked thoughtfully,
“How old is the Saintess?”
“She turned seventeen this year, but...”
The bishop chuckled softly.
“She probably doesn’t look it to you.”
The Saintess had stopped growing at fourteen.
“As I ntioned, her problems began four years ago, when she was thirteen. Thanks to her excellent vessel and character, she was chosen as the Saintess at the fairly young age of eight.”
“That sounds very young to .”
“A saint’s seat isn’t determined by age. Still, even considering that, it was unusually early. Most saints are chosen in their early teens...”
But it couldn’t be helped.
“The Moon chose her.”
Their master had chosen his own child.
“Do you know the core characteristic of the Moon Sect? Fundantally, we are not children of the Moon—we are students. The Moon offers us vast knowledge and wisdom, which we pursue with devotion.”
“And the Saintess is not a student, but a child?”
“On the surface, yes. That is...”
Should I say this?
“......”
She had already made her decision before coming here. Hesitation was aningless.
“...Hunter Sergio, what I am about to share is a top secret of the Moon Sect.”
“...We’re getting close so fast, I’m struggling to keep up...”
“I feel the sa.”
The bishop, too, was a priest raised in a deeply closed tradition and culture. Until just days ago, this man had been a complete outsider to her. Confiding sothing so grave to him wasn’t easy.
But she judged it to be necessary.
“I could say that the reason we now treat Hunter Sergio as a benefactor is so I could share this secret with you. Many opposed it... but I persuaded them.”
The title of “benefactor” in the Moon Sect was not given lightly. It ant accepting an outsider as a sibling, a mber of the community, and even sharing hierarchical privileges.
“You probably don’t understand why we’re going this far, but... I saw you bring our Saintess back. At that mont, I knew—it had to be you.”
“That’s a bit much.”
“Please bear with it.”
In the end, it had been Hunter Sergio who bore the cost and worked the miracle—despite the bishop’s objections. That ant he was also willing to help, even at great expense to himself.
“...If you hadn’t perford such a miracle, I wouldn’t be so greedy now.”
“Ah, am I being scouted again? I recall the Church of the Sun tried to recruit a few tis.”
“More like... I’m pressuring you.”
Certainly, the miracle Sergio perford was enough to warrant the title of “benefactor.” But even considering that, this level of candor was unusually fast. It was because she had seen his foolishness.
“The Saintess... she’s pitiful.”
“......”
“...That’s why I’m doing this.”
“You want to use my sympathy?”
“Yes.”
She didn’t know if this would be enough to hold onto him. But the Saintess needed another saint—a guide. And Sergio, with his wide heart and deep compassion, was the perfect candidate.
‘He’s not stupid, of course... That’s why it’s better to lay everything out now and let him decide. More efficient.’
Having made up her mind, she finally brought up the core issue.
“If lucky, a saint of the Moon Sect becos the next Moon.”
“I’ve heard sothing like that.”
“You probably think it ans becoming another Moon—a separate divine being.”
“So it doesn’t an that.”
“When a saint of the Moon Sect becos divine... they are devoured.”
That was the truth of the “Moon.”
“In essence, they’re a sacrifice.”
The bishop let out a bitter laugh. In that mont, she was no longer a bishop—just an old woman. If she was going to pull on Sergio’s compassion to forge a feeble shackle, there was no need to hide her face.
“The Moon we serve is a mass of information. Our master absorbs knowledge and wisdom from all dinsions—even the knowledge he lacks or already possesses. So...”
“He also learned ‘how to communicate with humans.’ That’s why you all revere him as a master—because he grants you wisdom.”
“And how do you think such a vast divine being learned how to communicate?”
“By eating them.”
“Exactly.”
Of course, he couldn’t eat just anyone. If he did, the Moon would never have been recognized as a deity of order. He only gathered information—he was still a traditional god.
So in the end, the evil lay with humans.
“During the Great Catastrophe...”
“I’m listening.”
“...for the first ti, a saint beca divine.”
“I’ve heard that as well.”
“Through that person, we realized—”
Ah.
“When a saint becos divine, the Moon may devour them.”
For those who knew and served the Moon, that was a blessing. That massive, terrifying being was becoming kinder, gentler.
The cold Moon was growing warm.
“Of course. The Moon absorbs everything about a divine saint—how they treated people, what they thought, their posture and attitude.”
“So the Moon Sect keeps creating saints, hoping to make the Moon more human—to gain easier access to his wisdom.”
“In short, yes. But please don’t misunderstand. Our master has no malice. All this evil—it's our doing.”
Divinity was fate. Nature. The Moon was just that—a presence. It wasn’t he who insisted on forging saints and sacrificing them. It was humans who did it.
“To make excuses in advance—this is disclosed before initiation. Anyone who can’t accept it is given a mory wipe and allowed to leave.”
“Then every priest in the Moon Sect consented to their own potential death.”
“Yes. So may have joined thinking they’d never beco saints anyway, but most... strive desperately to beco one.”
“Why?”
“Because if you beco a saint, and thus divine... you might beco the Moon. Many see it not as death, but as another beginning.”
A vast vault of noble knowledge from every dinsion.
“We all gathered to enter it.”
For our own reasons.
“To beco more perfect.”
“To , that sounds terrifying.”
“For soone saying that, you look quite composed.”
“I’ve heard similar stories before.”
“Have you...”
So this man had seen his share of strange things too.
“...The first saint of the Moon Sect offered herself willingly, hoping the Moon would grant knowledge to save Earth from ruin.”
And the Moon learned that saint’s mindset.
“Ever since, when our master sees a divine ‘child,’ he assus it’s okay to absorb them. The Moon Sect could have tried to change that system—but we didn’t.”
“For supre knowledge and wisdom?”
“Yes.”
“You’re confessing to now.”
“......”
The bishop spoke a beat late.
“...Forgive . I’m saying this here because... there’s no one else I could say it to.”
“You care for her?”
“I considered her like a daughter.”
“That explains your reaction.”
“What kind of reaction?”
“One that said: whether she lives or dies, you’ll be fine with either. Like you could accept both. It looked ambivalent.”
“That’s true too.”
Why her? she wondered. But no other saint ca to mind. Still, she had grown fond of the girl. That only ant she herself wasn’t perfect either.
“That’s why I’m holding onto you, Hunter Sergio.”
“What do you want from ?”
“Make the Saintess perfect.”
“Nothing can beco perfect.”
And with that, Hunter Sergio smiled.
“But I will help you.”
“...Thank you.”
Even that was more than she’d hoped for.
“The end of Hunter Sergio won’t be an easy one, I see.”
So it is with saints.
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