Part 2 Episode 78
The second temple is in the Strait of El Amuz.
The soft sound of bells could be heard, and the footsteps and prayers of people coming and going from the temple blended naturally.
The Parthenon, the first and most important temple, was still being rebuilt after being damaged by the explosion.
Naturally, the entire party of the Holy Nation, including the Knights Templar, stayed at the Second Temple.
"Shouldn't we also return to the Holy Land now?"
"Yes. The high priest said that he would return after this memorial service is over."
Leonor, the commander of the Templars, nodded.
"Master, have you not seen the Saintess?"
At that moment, a knight approached and whispered to the commander of the Templars, Leonor.
"What do you mean? Weren't you supposed to be guarding the Saintess side?"
The face of the Knight Commander of the Temple suddenly became fierce.
"That's right, the Saintess was in the prayer room, but she went outside to get some fresh air, and when I checked again... she wasn't there."
The Knight Commander's mood suddenly became fierce.
"You call that an excuse! How can you let your guard down when you know how many enemies are targeting our holy country!"
"What can I do when she insists on leaving no matter what? The reports of the demons that need to be dealt with keep coming in. But it's not like I can lock the Saintess up like a three-year-old child, right?"
The knight in charge of the escort could not hide his resentment.
"You are a proxy. Avoid using rude language!"
Leonor warned sharply.
But there was a deep, unspoken conflict in his eyes.
As the Aaintess's petty misdeeds have become more frequent lately, the workload for the knights in charge of her escort has increased.
With a sense of duty to protect the Saintess and the reality that her actions were becoming increasingly difficult to control, Leonor could not help but swallow a heavy sigh every time.
"First, Commander. Please check the inside of the temple, including the prayer room."
As Theo tried to calm the captain's anger by giving calm orders, High Priest Paul entered.
"Everyone is gathered here."
"Saintess!"
Behind him, Rachel's golden hair was visible.
"Saintess, haven't we repeatedly told you that you must take us with you wherever you go?"
"Don't blame the Saintess. I brought the person who was in the prayer room out."
Before Leonar could begin his denunciation, Paul intervened.
"I see you are still having a hard time preparing for the memorial service."
"Anyway, this might be the last gift I can give to the people of Valdina. I want to do my best."
The face of the Saintess in the prayer room was a little pale. It must have been because she had put too much effort into praying.
"Huh, how unkind were these Valdinas to the Saintess that she bestowed such a lenient grace upon them?"
Rachel approached the temple knights and offered them apples.
As they got closer, the faint scent of lilies in the air grew stronger.
"I'm sorry, Sir. It was my fault. Things keep bothering you."
"There is no need to apologize to the Saintess. The existence of the Knights Templar is also for the Saintess."
Before the knights could even open their mouths, the high priest Paul stopped her with a grumpy expression.
Even though many things had happened that made them doubt her, Paul had not yet completely lost his faith or hope in Rachel.
And he shouted once more at the women in white priestly garments standing beyond Rachel's shoulders.
"You must watch over the Saintess carefully so that she does not overdo it! You must not use up too much of her power either."
"Yes, Your Eminence."
As if responding to Paul's words, the five white priests bowed down.
Their faces were covered with white cloths that covered their lower parts so that only their slightly lowered eyebrows were visible.
The colleague next to Theo leaned over slightly.
"Your Eminence, who are they? Are they faces I've never seen before?"
"They are the priests dispatched to assist the Saintess. They will accompany her wherever she go from now on, so you should get to know their faces."
"The priests who perform? I haven't received any reports from the central temple..."
Paul waved his hand as if it was nothing to the Knight Commander's remark.
"Some of them are not from the central temple, so that's probably why. Rather than being affiliated, I selected those who have similar wavelengths of power as the Saintess. That way, the Saintess will feel more comfortable."
"I am always grateful that the high priest takes such good care of me."
Rachel turned to the knights, including the commander, and gave them a request.
"My lords, I ask you to take good care of these people. They are kind people who came a long way for me, so I hope you will take good care of them."
For her, it was no different from organizing the hierarchy of her own priests within this group.
Since these priests radiate powers of a similar wavelength to her own, they were likely to become close associates of the Saintess.
Creating an entourage means expanding her own power within the temple.
'It seems the Saintess is thinking of getting involved in the power struggle of the temple.'
The Templar Knight read her intentions and made a slightly strange expression.
Perhaps they were a little embarrassed by the ambition she displayed less than a year after awakening.
"Yes, I will do so. Don't worry, Saintess."
But anyway, since they all belonged to the same temple, there was nothing major wrong with it.
Rather, the Knights Templar accepted the priests without difficulty as they needed to build a strong relationship going forward.
"..."
But only one person. Theo felt an inexplicable discomfort from the Saintess's entourage of priests.
The dazzling white priestly robes were rather jarring and jarring.
It felt like a very thick curtain, created to hide the black and ugly things inside...
"Sir Theo?"
Rachel asked Theo again, who had not heard the answer.
He nodded a little late.
"Yes, as the Saint wishes."
"Thank you. Sir Theo never disappoints me."
Rachel smiled faintly and patted Theo's shoulder as he prostrated himself in praise.
"Saintess, please come here. We need your permission to prepare for the memorial service. We will take you to the main shrine."
It was the moment when Rachel, led by Paul's hand, took a step forward.
A thick, bloody stench rose up and stung Theo's nose.
'The smell of blood...'
Theo froze.
It was such an ugly smell that it distorted his impression without him realizing it, if he hadn't let his guard down.
"Why are you doing that?"
Only the knights noticed Theo's silent reaction.
No.
"What on earth are you so surprised about?"
"That... didn't you smell something strange?"
"Smell?"
"Theo, are you telling me off for coming from training without washing up?"
The senior knight next to him sniffed his armor and glared at Theo.
"... You seem to have been very stressed out lately. Go in first and rest for a bit today."
The commander of the Templars urged with worried eyes.
While he pursued the evil traces he had discovered in the Parthenon, he entrusted Theo with protecting the Saintess and keeping an eye out for signs of the Demon Wave.
He began to wonder if he had placed too much of a burden on the man he had chosen as his successor in his greed to raise him.
In the meantime, the stench in the air disappeared as if it had never existed, and only the clear scent of lilies filled the air again.
"... Yes."
Theo clenched his fist.
The priests who performed the ritual were already following Rachel, so only their white backs were visible.
But then, a useless impulse arose.
An utterly cruel, unbelievable urge to jump into the distance and swing his sword into the white crowd.
"You're crazy."
As the captain said, he may have spent too much time suppressing the demons.
When Theo sees people suddenly become filled with murderous intent towards their own kind, unable to tell the difference between species.
Theo frowned and rubbed his dry face.
But no matter how much time passed, he couldn't shake off the strange smell of blood that had settled on the tip of his nose.
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