Chapter 27 – Temples and Divine Blessings – Part 2
When I reached the innermost part of the temple, I found a crystal that was bigger than a large adult. It floated slightly off the floor and stood still in place. Pale light was flooding out of the beautiful blue crystal.
“Oh, isn’t it Clarice?”
Beside the crystal was an elderly woman who appeared to be a priestess.
“Yes. Priestess Dorote. This is Theodore, a special student at the military academy in Mildiana.”
“Hello. I’m only here for a short time, but it’s nice to meet you.”
I greeted her, but the chief priest, who was called Dorote, did not have a very favorable expression on her face.
On the contrary.
“…… Mildiana, huh? You’re studying under that Ludio?”
“Yes, Principal Ludio is also a commander-in-chief of the military. He’s not an instructor, but he’ll occasionally give us a short lesson on a whim, but basically, his duty is not to teach.”
“Oh, I see. That half-elf is now a commander in chief. That’s a good position, at all.”
The Chief Priest, whose deeply wrinkled face was further twisted in disgust, muttered. What is it? Is she an acquaintance of Principal? At least she doesn’t look friendly at this rate.
As I was thinking this, Clarice echoed my sentiments.
“High Priestess Dorote. Are you acquainted with Lieutenant General Lambert?”
“Hmm. I was one of that man’s mistresses, though he threw me away when he tried to break up with me.”
Oooh. Principal Ludio is not only a nice guy, he has a dark side too.
I knew he was a man who had a few things going for him, but he seemed to be doing something quite daring.
“So, you’ve been dumped. …… and one of his mistress is, it means……”
“That’s probably not a term a Lady like you should hear, Clarice, but that’s what it is. That man had a lot of women in his youth. I was one of them. That was more than fifty years ago, though.”
The old Chief Priest spat out.
“Gambling, womaniser and drinking. He’s a really bad guy. I was young then and didn’t know the truth. That’s how I got into him. He was good looking because of his elven blood, and he was basically kind to me when we spent time together. …… As a country girl, I was completely fooled by his facade.”
“Ugh, so it was real face of Lieutenant General Lambert. Um …… what can I say ……?”
Clarice is clearly sympathetic and caring, but she doesn’t seem to be able to put it into words.
Seeing this, Chief Priest Dorote laughed gaily.
“Hahaha! Clarice is so kind. It’s just like me when I was young. However, as I said before, it’s been 50 years ago. I don’t care about it anymore. If he were right in front of me, my hands may slip and kill him. ”
It’s a tremendous obsession. ……
I should be careful in various ways, too.
“Especially that nice guy, Theodore. He is full of a stinky atmosphere, just like the young Ludio. Please don’t be fooled by him.”
“No! Me and him don’t have that kind of relationship!”
“That’s a terrible thing to say. I would never treat a woman like that.”
“Don’t be silly. I can sense a womanizer in you. You have the face of a man who has had the pleasure of serving many women in his life. Others may not be able to see it, but I can. You’re a crock, and you are indeed fit to be his student.”
….. She has as pretty good eye for other person. As expected, she is a chief priest and a sharp-minded woman. Do I need to kill her?
As I stared blankly at her, the hateful Chief Priest Dorote glared back at me.
Just when things were about to get out of hand, Clarice said.
“Hey, Theodore? You didn’t really …… do that, did you?”
“Well, I don’t know. But I never leave a woman once I’ve fallen in love with her, ever.”
“That’s even if there are two or three more women?”
“Of course. The more flowers, the better.”
The Chief Priestess Dorote giggled as she immediately said this.
“You’re really open-minded, aren’t you? But don’t mess with Clarice-sama with an easy heart. If you do, I’ll kill you myself.”
“I know, I know. I’ll take good care of her if I lay my hands on her. I promise I’ll keep you by my side, Clarice.”
“.. Ah, uh, ah, stop teasing me…!” She said, putting my hand on Clarice’s chin.
“I’m serious, okay? You’re pretty and you’re brilliant. On top of that, I believe there is kindness in the midst of harshness. You’re a rare gem. Not bad.”
“Um, ……, uh, …….”
“What do you think of me?”
Clarice’s face turned red, and she moved her gaze before quickly suppressing her slightly ragged breathing.
And after just one deep breath.
“To think you an untrustworthy insolent person!” The hand on her chin was quickly brushed away.
Oh dear, I think I’ve been rejected.
Seeing this, Chief Priest Dorote laughs again.
“Thank you for coming to your senses. If you were in love with that man, I would have had to give Clarice a hard shot in the nuts as well as the guy.”
“I’m still sane, of course! I’m just a little confused because he said something I’m not used to. …… That’s all! Theodore! Don’t get me wrong!”
“I don’t. But I’m not lying about the impression I have of you.”
“What? Well, there you go again. ……”
Clarice looked at me warily as she gripped my arms. She’s not bad, this one. She’s fun to tease.
“Well, Clarice-sama. You brought a wolf in a beautiful boy’s skin, what on earth are you doing?”
“Yes! Oh, that’s right, …… actually.”
Clarice, who sensed the change in the conversation, explained the situation, although she spoke quickly, as if to cover up the previous atmosphere.
As I watched her smiling, I also looked over the entire temple.
At least, as far as I could see so far, I couldn’t find anything strange.
The soldiers on guard, the priests in the temple, and this outspoken but dynamic old chief priestess.
There was nothing unusual about the objects or people. At the same time, there was no reason for them to be attacked.
However, if I were to say that there is something that bothers me a little, it would be this crystal.
The most common type of crystal used in temples is a spherical one that can fit perfectly in a person’s hand.
I’ve never seen a temple dealing with such magnificent and huge crystals.
Moreover, I couldn’t feel any magic at all from this crystal, despite the fact that it was floating.
But I feel something completely different from that. It is divine energy.
It’s exactly the same as the sky demons who attacked Mildiana the other day, the one that was slightly emitted from General Duras’s sword, and what was always emanating from my wife, Lumiere.
A temple is a place dedicated to the gods. It may be natural to feel a sense of divinity. However…..
I can’t help but feel uncomfortable. What on earth are they planning to do with such a huge crystal?
I found myself turning to the chief priest, who was going on and on about how dangerous men are in this world, and to Clarice, who was listening intently.
“Hey, you two. Is this crystal something that’s been around for a long time?”
“It was already there when I first visited this temple.”
“I’m sure it is. After all, it’s been in this temple since before I was born. …… According to the records left behind, it’s been here for over 400 years.”
Has this giant crystal been around that long?
When I used to look around the temples of the empire, I never saw such pure and big crystals that emit divine energy.
“Is there something on your mind, Theodore?”
“Yeah, ……, think of it as a fine crystal.”
“Isn’t its divine? I’ve never seen such a magnificent crystal before, not even in the temple of Granden.”
I was a little concerned about the Chief Priest’s words as she spoke with deep emotion.
“If this is your first time at the temple in Granden, have you looked around at temples elsewhere?”
“Of course. I’ve had a lot of training before I became a chief priest. I’ve been in Mildiana, as I told you, but I’ve also seen temples in the East, the North …… and the Imperial City. But I’ve never seen a crystal as magnificent as this one. I was curious, so I looked it up and found out that it’s really old. Well, it’s magnificent.”
It is indeed stunning.
At the same time, I had a feeling that I had seen something like it before, and my memory quickly led me to it.
Yes. A giant crystal that once blocked the power of Principal Ludio at the High Court Magic in Mildiana. I couldn’t help but feel a similar feeling from the giant crystal in front of me and that of Mildiana.
☆
“O green wind, full of the breath of the earth. Heal the wounds of the fierce warrior– [Healing Winds]!”
A dignified voice echoed in the drill hall of the military academy.
A moment later, a fresh breeze blew and healed the wound of a male student who had injured his arm.
There was no longer even a trace of a cut there.
“Oh, awesome, …… elven recovery magic is really something.”
“Well, yeah. No pain, right?”
“Oh, I can move it without any problems. Thank you.”
“No, you’re welcome.”
Liz squatted down to check on the boys who were sitting down. As she got up, the students around her rushed to her side.
“That’s amazing, Liz-san! That wound was pretty deep, but you were able to heal it so easily!”
“I’ve heard that many of the elven techniques are different from the magic in the empire, but what are the techniques in this case!
“Wait, wait, wait. Let’s see, I’ll explain in order.
There’re only few people in the Granden territory who can handle magic.
Therefore, only few students who specialize in magic in military schools.
The instructor’s skills were inferior to those of Mildiana. That’s why Liz was invited to a real battle style exercise with a wooden sword, and when someone was injured, she gave them recovery magic.
It is a common technique for elves, and is frequently seen in Mildiana.
However, since there are few elves in this Granden, most of them saw the technique for the first time even if they specialized in magic.
Most of them had never seen the technique before, even though they had studied it professionally.
Because of this, the students specializing in magic often had questions for Liz.
As she answered them, Liz had become completely like a temporary instructor.
Liz, who is kind of caring, amiable, and beautiful, is now completely accepted with this Granden military school.
After the question and answer session was over, Liz yawned as she stretched languidly.
“Aaaah…. It’s over, finally..”
As she was squeezing her moist eyes, a voice called out to he from the side.
“You’re so popular, Liz. You must be exhausted.”
“Oh, Keith. Really. I’m not very good at this kind of thing, so…”
“You look like you’re getting used to it.”
Liz said with a mischievous smile.
“Hmmm. Elves are very good at being outgoing. Even if you see a cute and kind elf like me, you should careful. You never know what they’re thinking behind the scenes.”
“So that’s how it is. You don’t take too kindly to your own people, do you?”
“Well, yeah. The more serious a boy like Keith is, the more likely he is to fall for that kind of thing. You have to be careful, okay?”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Although, I doubt there’s any elven woman who’d come up to me.”
“Keith is cool, but he’s a bit on the muscular side. Elven women all love thin, gentle men. Especially like Theo-kun. At Mildiana’s military school. There were some elf girls, but they were all curious about Teokun.”
“I don’t think he’s the guy he looks like.”
“Yeah, yeah. People don’t notice that kind of thing. But I like that part of him. It’s kind of mysterious, and that’s what attracts me to him. Normally, when I attack a man, he falters, but was calm, he was really scary cold.
“He’s a very unpredictable man. He is not afraid to take on anyone, excels not only in swordsmanship and magic but also in learning, and sometimes gives the impression that he is a completely different person. I wonder where and what kind of education he received to become like that.”
“Well, I’d like to know about that. I did some searching, but I couldn’t find anyone who knew Theo-kun here in Granden. He said he’s from Granden, but who he really is?”
No one at the military school, not even the instructors, knew who Theodore was.
Not only does he have the appearance of a beautiful boy with blue hair, but he also has tremendous skills. Then no matter how well he hides it, you’ll always be able to find it.
After that brief exchange, she left Keith. Liz remained silent and thoughtful after that.
“…… I’m still curious about that maid. Who is she?”
When she was attacked by demons in Mildiana, she used tremendous swordplay and sorcery.
The silver-haired maid who never let Liz and Eynlana got a single scratch.
Her age felt about the same as her. However, the icy feeling of murderous that drifts from the whole body is something that a woman of the same age can never have.
It seemed as if he was a warrior of some sort.
Elsa, who served the Dukes of Duras, was quite something, but she thinks that silver-haired maid far surpassed her.
At that moment, Liz was so confused that she almost forgot herself, but she remembered one thing.
“My Master has commanded me to put your safety first.
Indeed, that maid was muttering about it.
Ludio has a lot of secrets, but with such a monster-like subordinate, the late Final Droplet incident wouldn’t have aggravated so much.
In fact, she tried to find out with Eiynala, but he didn’t seem to know anything about it.
In the kingdom of Tsefte Aria, there are naturally those who are there to protect the royal family.
But it is made up mostly of elves, and Liz herself doesn’t know much. However, [The Invisible Ones] who were directly under Eynlana’s command, she told her that there is no one like her.
There are only a few people who knew ahead of time that the Final Droplet incident would occur.
Even Liz and Eynlana were fully expecting the incident to happen.
It was only after the case had been settled that she learned that she had been used as bait.
If Ludio, who knew everything, didn’t have any idea what was going on, the suspicion would be directed at the special students.
“…… I think Keith-kun and Roka are the only ones who can afford to hire a maid, but those two aren’t what I think they are.”
Julian would be different, not to mention Shaula, who purports to be a slave of Roka.
If so, the most suspicious person would inevitably be that blue-haired boy.
And the decisive factor was an event that happened after he arrived here in Grandin.
“Tell me about the silver-haired maid behind you, brother Theo!”
The words that General Duras’ daughter muttered were clearly audible to Liz, who had good hearing.
She remembers Theodore being more surprised by that than she had ever seen him before.
She quickly looked back behind him at that moment. But there was no one there.
It’s too good to be a mere coincidence.
The only thing she can conclude is that she couldn’t catch it with her own eyes, however she thought there was no doubt that there was something because Theodore had reacted so sensitively
Later, at Roka’s birthday celebration at General Duras’ mansion, Charlotte left in the middle of the event and went outside to talk with someone.
She couldn’t blatantly listen in, but that girl had said something that bothered her.
“Big brother Theo isn’t human, is he?
That’s the only part she can still remember clearly.
The rest of the conversation was muffled and inaudible, but at the end of the words she followed, she also said:
“He’s not an elf. He’s not a dwarf. He’s not a dragon. Then, he’s a demon…”
That was all she could hear, but it was a reasonable conclusion given the current situation.
If he was a demon, it was no wonder that she had no idea about the identity of that beautiful boy.
After all, they have very little information about the demon race. They don’t even know what kind of biology they have.
It is no exaggeration to say that the fact that no one knows anything about them has narrowed down our options.
But if he was a demon, why would he imitate himself-and eventually help Mildiana and the entire empire?
And why is he still staying in this empire and enjoying life in military school?
No matter how much she thinks about it, she can’t figure that part out.
“…… I think I’ll do a little exploring.”
Eiynlana had warned her not to go too deep.
However, it was not enough to stop Liz’s sense of curiosity.
