Chapter 77
Strictly speaking, I wasn’t the one who summoned him directly… But still, isn’t it strange for the Kastrine family to be calling upon the High Priest so often? Then again, maybe it’s fine if both sides are satisfied.
“Excuse me, but what do you use all that budget for?”
“Well, noble priests like High Priest Marzid charge an outrageous sum for every single healing—and on top of that, they receive mountains of donations. But since we go around doing volunteer healing work, there’s nothing left over for us! Hahaha!”
High Priest Illian laughed heartily, but for some reason, hearing it made my eyes sting. What was this? He sounded like the head of an orphanage struggling to feed starving children.
“Ah, yes… stay strong…”
“More than that, Her Highness Princess Titania seems to get caught up in quite a lot of things, doesn’t she?”
He clicked his tongue sympathetically, and I could only give an awkward laugh.
I never imagined I’d be seeing the High Priest this often. Just the other day, I’d had to go see Raymond wrapped up in bandages because they couldn’t even be bothered to send a proper priest for me—after I nearly died!
“Well, I’m just here on an errand. Priest Cronen doesn’t even know I came. So, what do you plan to do with this holy relic?”
Illian took a small relic out of his robes as he asked. The so-called “relic” was a round sphere with an exquisite blend of orange and violet hues, gently shimmering with light. It was beautiful.
“Hmm, how should I put it… I heard that with those fake relics, things get dangerous if they come into contact with living flesh or blood—but otherwise, they react normally. So I had them set fire to the inner chamber.”
I calmly went over the plan in my head.
“The real relic wouldn’t burn so easily, but the fake did. Obviously, they can’t just offer up something burnt during the consecration ceremony. So, rather than us sneaking in to switch it ourselves, we’re guiding them into replacing it on their own.”
“Ah… but isn’t there a chance they’ll just find another fake that looks convincing?”
“Even as a priest yourself, Your Holiness seems to have very little faith in the southern temple priests. Do you really think they’d treat the consecration so carelessly? I mean, I could imagine that happening, but you—being a fellow priest…”
“Well, that’s because the power we call divine energy—or ‘holy power’—isn’t really granted because we’re pure of faith or chosen by the gods, you see.”
Illian dropped that line in his warm, easygoing voice—like tossing a bomb into the room. My pupils trembled.
“…What?”
“If you study and interpret the ancient texts of the temple long enough, that’s the conclusion you’ll inevitably reach. Everyone just pretends not to notice it.”
His explanation went like this:
The temple had always claimed that divine power—specifically the priests’ healing ability—was proof of being chosen by the gods.
But that wasn’t the truth.
The temple’s highest leaders had known the real story for centuries—or at least, they had suspected it.
What they called “divine power” was nothing more than a form of earth energy—a natural healing force. The temple had never once communicated directly with any god.
All the prayers, rituals, and devotions that supposedly enhanced divine power were simply ways of strengthening that healing force.
And the so-called first Holy King, Adriana, the one said to have been chosen by God, was merely the twin sister of the erased hero Gloriana.
In short, divine power was nothing more than a fragment—a convenient lie wrapped in the name of the gods.
Even the power that fought against the monsters of darkness came from other divine fragments, and strictly speaking, it was a tier below the light wielded by the royal family.
Of course, most who realized this truth tried desperately to bury it. It was too blasphemous to accept. The royal family, which also couldn’t wield the light freely and had erased traces of the past, conveniently went along with the deception.
So, whenever ancient studies contradicting temple doctrine were discovered, they were suppressed—labeled heresy, servants of darkness, allies of monsters.
The royal house, pretending not to know its own origins, was no different.
“So, this might sound absurd, but… you know that the Kastrine family is collecting weapons imbued with divine power, correct?”
Instinctively, I glanced around the room. Barbara, who had been clearing the dessert plates, froze mid-movement. I blurted out, panicked:
“S-such a sensitive topic, here of all places?!”
“Well, considering that the Kastrine family already stands at odds with Empress Cleo due to Your Highness’s existence, even if Her Majesty learns of this, she likely won’t make an issue of it.”
Why me?! I’d gone out of my way to keep Barbara out of these matters—even when visiting Hecate’s Tavern, even when I was kidnapped! I didn’t want to drag her into the tangled mess between me and the Kastrine family!
I screamed silently at him with my eyes, but Illian’s expression remained infuriatingly serene.
“From the moment Miss Barbara chose to accompany Princess Titania, she could no longer turn back. Especially now, after all that has happened and since Your Highness has decided to act—knowing the truth will only help her.”
I bit my lip hard.
“…And what exactly is it that you want to tell me by revealing all this?”
“As far as I know, there are five weapons that contain the power of the gods.”
His explanation lined up with what I’d already learned.
During the founding era of the Empire, five divine weapons were known:
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〈Flamberge’s Wrath〉, imbued with the power of fire
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〈Chloris’s Necklace〉, imbued with the power of wind
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〈Dagda’s Staff〉, imbued with the power of earth
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〈Oceanus’s Wave〉, imbued with the power of water
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〈Gloriana’s Standard〉, imbued with the power of light
Only those who could wield the corresponding divine element could use such weapons—and even then, the weapon had to choose its master. Like how Flamberge’s Wrath had chosen Lysiansius.
That was the basic rule.
But there was something peculiar in the way Illian continued.
“I suspect that Dagda’s Staff is enshrined within the Central Temple itself. And unlike the others, it may not belong to one person—but rather lend its power to anyone who fulfills certain conditions.”
“What… do you mean by that?”
“Well… where to begin? You do know that not all divine weapons share the same form or function, right?”
“Yes, I know that much…”
“The ‘Gloriana’ in Gloriana’s Standard was actually the first Saint and Holy King. Yet, it’s the royal family—not the temple—that’s known for wielding the power of light. Isn’t that… curious?”
That—actually, yeah.
I recalled the book I’d found in the imperial archives. “Gloriana,” the name of a saint, not a royal—yet her name was tied to a weapon of light? Maybe it was just symbolic…?
As my mind grew tangled with questions, Illian continued with that same gentle smile.
“There’s something else the public doesn’t know: not every priest can use healing magic. To become a full priest, novices undergo a long, formal process at the Central Temple—and only after that do a select few gain the ability to heal. Strange, isn’t it? Why should that be, if divine power is a blessing from the gods? Shouldn’t a truly devout priest be able to use it without any ritual procedure?”
I could only gape at him, speechless at his increasingly heretical remarks.
“So my theory is this: the Staff of Dagda, imbued with earth’s power, grants the gift of healing to those who meet certain qualifications. The Central Temple must have hidden that staff within a statue or relic. In other words, without the Staff of Dagda, priests couldn’t use any so-called ‘divine power’ at all.”
My breath caught.
“T-t-tell me, is it really all right to speak of such an enormous secret to me so casually?!”
“Well, Your Highness has worn Gloriana’s Standard before, hasn’t she? And you also wield a magnificent sword capable of defeating monsters. Besides, the temple’s influence is so firmly entrenched that no one would believe this story even if you told them. Still, I believe every successive Holy King has at least suspected as much, yet remained silent.”
“……”
So, in summary—
The temple has been pulling off one colossal scam against the Empire all this time.
