Chapter 227

“Hm. What about this one? When was this?”

Ceres pointed to the photo of Artia alone.

“...When he was five?”

“...Hey.”

He clearly looked over ten! How could he possibly have been five?

“Why would I remember something so pointless?”

The sheer firmness of Kainel’s answer left Ceres speechless, but she soon broke into a chuckle.

Good grief. No wonder you two are friends. You’re both so stubborn.

“You two really are alike in that way.”

When they liked or disliked something, their reactions were about as opposite as they could be. Elliet and Ersi both shook their heads.

“So, what happened with that?”

“Hmm?”

Once they had finished going through the album, Ceres turned to Ersi with another question. There was something she had asked him to look into before.

“The thing I told you about.”

“Ah... That’s...”

Ersi looked uneasy. He had actually been planning to report on it to his master today.

“Why? You still haven’t found anything?”

Ceres had told Ersi about the Tamer Relics she had seen at the illegal auction. People had been buying Tamer Relics without a second thought, and she suspected the Temple had something to do with it.

The nobles wouldn’t pay that much just for decoration.

She was certain they would take the Tamer Relic to the Temple to have it examined. If they intended to examine it without making an official report, there must be someone inside the Temple willing to turn a blind eye.

That was why she had told Ersi and asked him to find out whether anyone in the Temple was secretly dealing with nobles.

It’s not really my business, though.

Whether the Temple was full of corrupt people or not, Ceres could have left it all to Crown Prince Aseraian and simply watched from the sidelines.

He was at the auction too, after all.

The Crown Prince had surely come to the same conclusion she had. He might even already be investigating the Temple in secret.

That’s why I told Ersi. He didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving, anyway.

Even after Kainel discovered that Ersi was still alive, Ersi had decided to stay at the Temple. Apparently, he was perfectly suited to it.

Who would’ve thought a blood-drinking fellow like him would make a good priest?

This is exactly why I don’t believe in gods. How does someone like him end up as a priest?

Still, Ceres had given him a heads-up in case he got caught up in the investigation and ended up in trouble. She had also asked him to keep an eye on the people in the Temple himself.

“What is it?”

But why did he look so troubled? Had he been caught keeping tabs on someone? Or...

“Is there no one you suspect?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“There are too many.”

“...What?”

Ersi let out a long sigh.

“I saw something strange.”

***

Haa...

Am I just putting myself through all this trouble for nothing?

It was late at night, and hardly anyone was still awake in the Temple. Only a handful of guards remained on duty, making their rounds at regular intervals.

Even at this hour, someone was secretly keeping watch from a hidden spot. It was Ersi.

Another wasted night?

After Ceres told him about the illegal auction, Ersi had been watching the Holy Spring. If what his master had told him was true, someone would eventually come to have the illegally purchased Tamer Relics examined.

The illegal auction house run by Marquis Merial may have been shut down, but...

It wasn’t the only one. Similar auction houses operated throughout the [N O V E L I G H T] Empire, and not all of them had been shut down. Rumors still circulated that Tamer Relics were being traded illegally.

But while illegal auction houses could be found in many places, the only place where Tamer Relics could be examined was the Temple with the Holy Spring.

So Ersi had decided to keep watch here. Someone was bound to show up sooner or later. With the Temple nearly deserted at this hour, tonight seemed like his best chance.

It’s the night of the Red Moon.

After several days of coming up empty-handed, Ersi sighed and looked up at the sky. It was unusually dark tonight. The Red Moon, which appeared once a month, made the dark sky seem even more ominous.

I’ll stay another thirty minutes.

Ersi pulled out his pocket watch to check the time. Certain that tonight would be another fruitless night, he decided to wait a little longer before leaving.

Hmm?

Just then, a group of people approached the spot where Ersi was hiding. Thinking this might finally be the moment he had been waiting for, Ersi became more careful not to make a sound.

Those people...

He knew them. All five were high-ranking priests who had joined the Order before Ersi, and most were considered strong candidates for the next High Priest.

Could he be here too?

What surprised Ersi most was that the High Priest himself was among them.

They don’t look like they’re here to pray.

The prayer hall wasn’t in that direction. Besides, no one was allowed to enter the building containing the Holy Spring without official permission.

Which meant that anyone sneaking in at this hour was very likely one of the people Ceres had been talking about.

Ersi quietly followed them into the building where the Holy Spring was located. He was moving so silently that even his breathing couldn’t be heard.

Hmm?

But a moment later, they headed somewhere completely different from where Ersi had expected them to go.

Why are they going that way?

Instead of heading toward the Holy Spring underground, they were making their way into another area beside it.

What’s that?

Even after spending years in the Temple, Ersi had never seen it before.

There was a door there?

Unless he was mistaken, there had never been a door there before.

Swoosh.

“—!”

The moment the people disappeared through the doorway, the door vanished as though it had never existed. Ersi hurried over.

...It’s a wall.

He definitely saw them go inside. Yet no matter how closely he looked, there wasn’t a trace of a door.

Magic?

A magically created space inside the Temple? Ersi couldn’t hide his confusion.

Tap, tap, tap.

“—!”

At that moment, he heard people approaching and quickly slipped behind a nearby pillar.

Who are they now?

When he saw the approaching group, Ersi frowned again.

***

“Children?”

“Yes. There were women with them, too.”

The group consisted of four children and three women, accompanied by a priest.

Just like the priests before them, they approached the wall. A doorway appeared, and they simply disappeared inside.

“They made a door? How?”

It wasn’t like a priest could use magic.

“I know divine power is at its lowest these days, but isn’t this a bit much?”

Ceres clicked her tongue as she listened to Ersi. A magical space inside the Temple made no sense. Magical power and divine power were said to be as incompatible as oil and water.

“The priest touched the wall, and a door appeared.”

“He only had to touch it?”

“Yes. Nothing happened when I tried.”

There must be some trick to making the door appear. Ersi wasn’t able to get a good look since he had been watching from behind a pillar.

“Did you recognize the children or the women?”

“No.”

They were all strangers. Of course, Ersi didn’t know every worshipper by face, but anyone coming to the Temple at that hour was likely to be a regular. Yet he didn’t recognize any of them.

“But there was something strange about them.”

“What?”

“Their expressions...”

How should he put it? They looked almost ecstatic.