“The Bible must be changed as well.”
“What... Wouldn’t the high priest do it?”
The Bible, the precious teachings of the temple, was treated as a chore for the high priest.
Those who nodded their heads to him were thinking similarly anyway.
It wasn’t difficult to change the contents of the Bible little by little to benefit the demons. They just had to roast the priests little by little, saying it was the will of the gods.
This was the demons’ specialty.
However, the problem was, who would listen to the prayers of those... boring priests and pretend to be holy?
After much thought, the demons decided to go with the traditional method.
“Let’s make a bet.”
I let out a small laugh as I watched my suggestion of ‘pretending to be a god’s descendant’ roll around like a big snowball.
Since it wasn’t a life-threatening bet, I could enjoy it too.
“Are you okay?”
Beside me, Belled was looking at me with worried eyes.
It was understandable because even though it had been quite some time since I had drunk the spring of desire, I had not reacted at all.
“It’s okay.”
But I was really indifferent. I had heard that it would take about 12 hours for a reaction to appear, but why was there still no reaction? It was true that I had become closer to a demon, and I felt like I was just surging with energy without needing sleep or rest.
“But you shouldn’t overdo it.”
Belled’s hand was placed on my shoulder. I was about to rub my cheek against that firm, hot hand.
The bet was discussed among the demons.
“Let’s make the one who guesses the number of priests and paladins who will return in a few days the most incorrectly become the High Priest.”
That was Marbes’s idea. However, that idea was immediately criticized.
“I think Lord Ronove will be at an advantage after looking at the data.”
Ronove licked his lips as if he had failed to suggest a favorable bet.
“Then...”
After talking for a while, the conditions of the bet were finally set.
And I burst into laughter upon hearing that.
“Really?”
The demons nodded in unison at that.
“Yes, there is no bet more thrilling than this!”
The condition that they spoke with such excitement was this.
“We will count how many times the knights and priests will visit the ‘Saintess’ in two days!”
This was a bet that was hard to guess no matter what information they had.
Furthermore, it was a bet that stimulated their sense of depravity, so they could not refuse.
The Saintess was no longer a Saintess. To the demons, I was a Saintess in a different sense, but to the temple people, how could someone who helped open the gates of hell be a Saintess?
However, they would still serve the Saintess without knowing the truth, and they would continue to serve me.
It was impossible for the demons not to be interested in seeing that.
Furthermore, for me, who had to personally welcome all those knights and priests, the bet was a source of energy.
“Thank you, Saintess!”
By counting the number of times that those who said that had come, they could guess which of the demons would lose the bet.
“Saintess, finally, the long-cherished wish...!”
Even though I was listening to this all day, it wasn’t boring. It was partly thanks to the bet, and mostly thanks to Belled, who made eye contact with me wherever I could see.
When I had finished receiving the greetings,
“...Well, didn’t the temple people originally dislike the non-prisoner?”
The demon Driana, who had been bet 20 times, was almost in tears.
More people were looking for the Saintess than she thought.
“She was called a total of 172 times.”
“Even when I counted.”
I cross-checked with Ronove and counted the number of times the ‘Saintess’ had been called, and it was 172.
And the one who got that number exactly right was not Ronove, who usually stood out in such things, but Decarabia.
“How did you get it right?”
Decarabia confidently said as everyone’s eyes were on her.
“I picked the number I liked.”
It seemed that all demons were fair in the face of luck.
“Then Driana will become the high priest. I’ll have to go to the central altar to receive the revelation from the god soon.”
“I should also wear sacred clothes.”
“In pure white.”
In the giggling demons, Driana finally covered her face with both hands.
It was the moment when the new era’s sacred and holy high priestess, who had to directly convey the words of a god, or in fact, a Saintess, to humans, was born.
When Cladda opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was gray.
The entire gray sky was swept by clouds that barely maintained their whiteness.
The atmosphere was too gloomy to be considered simply cloudy weather, and Cladda tried to get up without realizing it.
“Ugh...!”
But soon, the pain spreading through his entire back caused him to fall back down onto the floor.
For a moment, he couldn’t grasp the situation. What was this?
As he closed and opened his eyes, the last thing he remembered was the great shock that shook his body and the pitch-black hallway.
This was where he had reached after passing through a strange place where he couldn’t tell if there was a ceiling, walls, or even a floor.
“Where the hell is this..."
He wiggled his toes and when something tangled, he barely managed to get up and looked down.
Several priests were lying around in their dusty attire.
“Um...”
Cladda frowned slightly. It was because he realized that the priests who were lying around together were people who did not get along well with him in the temple.
However, it was much better than being left alone in an unknown place!
“Hey, can you get up?”
He barely managed to get up and shook the priest. Then the priest flinched.
“Hmm.”
“Are you awake?”
As he shook the priest earnestly, the priest finally opened his eyes.
“You... Cladda?”
Then he began to be wary of him. Then he slowly began to wake up the other priests who had fallen next to him.
“Hey, wake up.”
“Ugh...!”
“Now is not the time!”
Cladda could not understand the priest’s reaction.
Why was he so hastily waking up the other priests when he was not a demon?
“You still haven’t come to your senses, I...”
“C, Cladda?”
Then the other priest who had woken up saw him and stopped. Then his expression distorted.
“You... traitor...!”
At those words, Cladda opened his mouth in bewilderment.
“Traitor?”
Even if they and the temple had factions, he should not have been called a traitor.
After all, hadn’t he tried to open the gates of heaven even when the demons appeared?
However, even the priests who came to their senses soon began to criticize him.
“The gods will be angry!”
“How could you do such a sacred event...!”
Some of them stumbled as they ground their teeth in genuine anger.
Cladda frowned in absurdity.
“What did I do to make you say that?”
“What did I do to make you say that?”
The priests raised their voices as if they found him absurd.
“If only you hadn’t brought the demons!”
“I brought the demons...!”
Cladda, who was about to shout back, stopped.
He had never brought the demons. No, he thought he hadn’t.
But...
“Hit them!”
The knights of the Vine had rushed in as they said that. No... the demons.
He had actually brought them.
“That’s...!”
But if he had known they were demons, would he have brought them?
“You shameless bastard!”
“It’s because of you that the gates of heaven can’t open!”
Cladda waved his hand at the priests who were shouting.
“I didn’t mean to bring them! I was fooled too!”
But there was no one to hear that story.
Finally, the ten or so priests who had risen up began to surround him and pressure him.
“We must show our sincerity to the angry gods by punishing this man!”
Their eyes even showed madness.
“That...!”
Cladda clenched his teeth. There seemed to be no room for misunderstanding.
That was when.
Uuuung...
He clearly felt it. The murderous magic resonated around him.
He quickly turned his gaze to another place. And then he paused.
In the distance, something clearly in the shape of a person...
“That!”
It was flying into the sky!
It was when he stretched out his hand and pointed to the sky.
“Do you think I’d fall for such an absurd trick!”
“Subdue him!”
The priests rushed at him. Cladda instinctively jerked back.
It was possible because he was lighter than the other priests.
“Something is coming here right now!”
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“What... Wouldn’t the high priest do it?”
The Bible, the precious teachings of the temple, was treated as a chore for the high priest.
Those who nodded their heads to him were thinking similarly anyway.
It wasn’t difficult to change the contents of the Bible little by little to benefit the demons. They just had to roast the priests little by little, saying it was the will of the gods.
This was the demons’ specialty.
However, the problem was, who would listen to the prayers of those... boring priests and pretend to be holy?
After much thought, the demons decided to go with the traditional method.
“Let’s make a bet.”
I let out a small laugh as I watched my suggestion of ‘pretending to be a god’s descendant’ roll around like a big snowball.
Since it wasn’t a life-threatening bet, I could enjoy it too.
“Are you okay?”
Beside me, Belled was looking at me with worried eyes.
It was understandable because even though it had been quite some time since I had drunk the spring of desire, I had not reacted at all.
“It’s okay.”
But I was really indifferent. I had heard that it would take about 12 hours for a reaction to appear, but why was there still no reaction? It was true that I had become closer to a demon, and I felt like I was just surging with energy without needing sleep or rest.
“But you shouldn’t overdo it.”
Belled’s hand was placed on my shoulder. I was about to rub my cheek against that firm, hot hand.
The bet was discussed among the demons.
“Let’s make the one who guesses the number of priests and paladins who will return in a few days the most incorrectly become the High Priest.”
That was Marbes’s idea. However, that idea was immediately criticized.
“I think Lord Ronove will be at an advantage after looking at the data.”
Ronove licked his lips as if he had failed to suggest a favorable bet.
“Then...”
After talking for a while, the conditions of the bet were finally set.
And I burst into laughter upon hearing that.
“Really?”
The demons nodded in unison at that.
“Yes, there is no bet more thrilling than this!”
The condition that they spoke with such excitement was this.
“We will count how many times the knights and priests will visit the ‘Saintess’ in two days!”
This was a bet that was hard to guess no matter what information they had.
Furthermore, it was a bet that stimulated their sense of depravity, so they could not refuse.
The Saintess was no longer a Saintess. To the demons, I was a Saintess in a different sense, but to the temple people, how could someone who helped open the gates of hell be a Saintess?
However, they would still serve the Saintess without knowing the truth, and they would continue to serve me.
It was impossible for the demons not to be interested in seeing that.
Furthermore, for me, who had to personally welcome all those knights and priests, the bet was a source of energy.
“Thank you, Saintess!”
By counting the number of times that those who said that had come, they could guess which of the demons would lose the bet.
“Saintess, finally, the long-cherished wish...!”
Even though I was listening to this all day, it wasn’t boring. It was partly thanks to the bet, and mostly thanks to Belled, who made eye contact with me wherever I could see.
When I had finished receiving the greetings,
“...Well, didn’t the temple people originally dislike the non-prisoner?”
The demon Driana, who had been bet 20 times, was almost in tears.
More people were looking for the Saintess than she thought.
“She was called a total of 172 times.”
“Even when I counted.”
I cross-checked with Ronove and counted the number of times the ‘Saintess’ had been called, and it was 172.
And the one who got that number exactly right was not Ronove, who usually stood out in such things, but Decarabia.
“How did you get it right?”
Decarabia confidently said as everyone’s eyes were on her.
“I picked the number I liked.”
It seemed that all demons were fair in the face of luck.
“Then Driana will become the high priest. I’ll have to go to the central altar to receive the revelation from the god soon.”
“I should also wear sacred clothes.”
“In pure white.”
In the giggling demons, Driana finally covered her face with both hands.
It was the moment when the new era’s sacred and holy high priestess, who had to directly convey the words of a god, or in fact, a Saintess, to humans, was born.
***
When Cladda opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was gray.
The entire gray sky was swept by clouds that barely maintained their whiteness.
The atmosphere was too gloomy to be considered simply cloudy weather, and Cladda tried to get up without realizing it.
“Ugh...!”
But soon, the pain spreading through his entire back caused him to fall back down onto the floor.
For a moment, he couldn’t grasp the situation. What was this?
As he closed and opened his eyes, the last thing he remembered was the great shock that shook his body and the pitch-black hallway.
This was where he had reached after passing through a strange place where he couldn’t tell if there was a ceiling, walls, or even a floor.
“Where the hell is this..."
He wiggled his toes and when something tangled, he barely managed to get up and looked down.
Several priests were lying around in their dusty attire.
“Um...”
Cladda frowned slightly. It was because he realized that the priests who were lying around together were people who did not get along well with him in the temple.
However, it was much better than being left alone in an unknown place!
“Hey, can you get up?”
He barely managed to get up and shook the priest. Then the priest flinched.
“Hmm.”
“Are you awake?”
As he shook the priest earnestly, the priest finally opened his eyes.
“You... Cladda?”
Then he began to be wary of him. Then he slowly began to wake up the other priests who had fallen next to him.
“Hey, wake up.”
“Ugh...!”
“Now is not the time!”
Cladda could not understand the priest’s reaction.
Why was he so hastily waking up the other priests when he was not a demon?
“You still haven’t come to your senses, I...”
“C, Cladda?”
Then the other priest who had woken up saw him and stopped. Then his expression distorted.
“You... traitor...!”
At those words, Cladda opened his mouth in bewilderment.
“Traitor?”
Even if they and the temple had factions, he should not have been called a traitor.
After all, hadn’t he tried to open the gates of heaven even when the demons appeared?
However, even the priests who came to their senses soon began to criticize him.
“The gods will be angry!”
“How could you do such a sacred event...!”
Some of them stumbled as they ground their teeth in genuine anger.
Cladda frowned in absurdity.
“What did I do to make you say that?”
“What did I do to make you say that?”
The priests raised their voices as if they found him absurd.
“If only you hadn’t brought the demons!”
“I brought the demons...!”
Cladda, who was about to shout back, stopped.
He had never brought the demons. No, he thought he hadn’t.
But...
“Hit them!”
The knights of the Vine had rushed in as they said that. No... the demons.
He had actually brought them.
“That’s...!”
But if he had known they were demons, would he have brought them?
“You shameless bastard!”
“It’s because of you that the gates of heaven can’t open!”
Cladda waved his hand at the priests who were shouting.
“I didn’t mean to bring them! I was fooled too!”
But there was no one to hear that story.
Finally, the ten or so priests who had risen up began to surround him and pressure him.
“We must show our sincerity to the angry gods by punishing this man!”
Their eyes even showed madness.
“That...!”
Cladda clenched his teeth. There seemed to be no room for misunderstanding.
That was when.
Uuuung...
He clearly felt it. The murderous magic resonated around him.
He quickly turned his gaze to another place. And then he paused.
In the distance, something clearly in the shape of a person...
“That!”
It was flying into the sky!
It was when he stretched out his hand and pointed to the sky.
“Do you think I’d fall for such an absurd trick!”
“Subdue him!”
The priests rushed at him. Cladda instinctively jerked back.
It was possible because he was lighter than the other priests.
“Something is coming here right now!”
This is not the time for us to fight among ourselves!
And this gray sky, and the magic that made it hard to breathe.
He could tell because he was sensitive to magic. This was a strange place.
It was definitely not heaven, and it might not even be the human world they originally came from. Maybe this place was...
Before he could come to an ominous conclusion, the priests shouted.
“Don’t do such obvious things!”
Some of them were picking up rocks and such from the ground and playing with them.
Cladda gritted hia teeth.
These are not people I can understand!
He was about to turn around and run away.
And this gray sky, and the magic that made it hard to breathe.
He could tell because he was sensitive to magic. This was a strange place.
It was definitely not heaven, and it might not even be the human world they originally came from. Maybe this place was...
Before he could come to an ominous conclusion, the priests shouted.
“Don’t do such obvious things!”
Some of them were picking up rocks and such from the ground and playing with them.
Cladda gritted hia teeth.
These are not people I can understand!
He was about to turn around and run away.
Bam!
A rock thrown by one of the priests hit him squarely in the back.
It was the place where he had received a great shock when it flew here.
“Bam!”
The priests gathered around him as he fell.
“...!”
The last thing Cladda saw before he died was the priest taking out the dagger hidden in his bosom.
“Speak...”
“Shut up!”
“Shut up!”
“Shut your sinister mouth!”
It was no use trying to say anything. Just as he had once done to Beryl, his voice was drowned out by those who were shouting at him.
Ssring!
With the sound of the sword being drawn, he met his end at the hands of those who were shouting without logic, in the way he had lived his whole life.
A rock thrown by one of the priests hit him squarely in the back.
It was the place where he had received a great shock when it flew here.
“Bam!”
The priests gathered around him as he fell.
“...!”
The last thing Cladda saw before he died was the priest taking out the dagger hidden in his bosom.
“Speak...”
“Shut up!”
“Shut up!”
“Shut your sinister mouth!”
It was no use trying to say anything. Just as he had once done to Beryl, his voice was drowned out by those who were shouting at him.
Ssring!
With the sound of the sword being drawn, he met his end at the hands of those who were shouting without logic, in the way he had lived his whole life.
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