Chapter 35
Did I accidentally put some mind-numbing drug into the soy sauce egg rice? A temple, out of nowhere? I’m suddenly hearing barking. Oh my—looks like I said my thoughts out loud without realizing it. Sorry.
“……”
Dazar, who had been silently listening to my deliberately provoking words, clenched his fist tightly.
What—don’t tell me he’s about to hit me with that fist?
But just as that thought crossed my mind, his clenched hand slowly relaxed.
“I think I’ve said this before, but… if you were a demon, that would’ve been nice.”
“Oh my. Then the moment we went to the temple together, I’d have been arrested, wouldn’t I? That place punishes even ordinary people harshly.”
Dazar’s eyebrow twitched.
He frowned slightly, as if about to snap back with something unpleasant, then closed his mouth after glancing at the empty bowl in front of him.
The bowl that had held soy sauce egg rice just moments ago was now spotless.
“……”
“……”
Clapping takes two hands, but once Dazar shut his mouth, I ran out of things to say too.
Feeling a bit awkward, I pretended to be distracted and looked out the window.
After a short pause, Dazar finally spoke again.
“I surprised you by jumping straight to the point without explaining, didn’t I? In the Empire, temples carry a strong connotation of punishment.”
For once, he was making sense.
As he said, in the Quizen Empire, temples weren’t sacred or beautiful places—they were terrifying and cruel ones. The moment someone was labeled a heretic, judgment followed.
Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl… guess this body never liked temples to begin with.
Digging vaguely through my memories, it seemed that because of a particularly turbulent and unusual past, this body had gone in and out of temples frequently even from childhood.
‘There’s no way this could be my daughter. She must have been bewitched by demon magic!’
A middle-aged man’s furious voice, eyes sharp with rage—those were the images that surfaced the moment I thought of a temple.
Because of that,
I guess I overreacted a little.
I’d ended up snapping at Dazar with a bit more sincerity than intended.
That man I just remembered… was he this body’s father?
While I was lost in thought, Dazar, apparently misreading my silence, spoke again.
“The reason we’re going to the temple is because of a ritual that takes place after the Day of the Rift. Nothing more.”
“A ritual?”
A ritual after the Day of the Rift? Was there something like that?
“Yes. Originally, it’s only performed for Transcendents and their direct subordinates—those who directly encountered monsters on the Day of the Rift.”
“Ah…”
People who encountered monsters…
That would be me.
I’d practically spent the whole day exercising with monsters back then.
“Do I really have to do it?”
“Hmm.”
If it wasn’t mandatory, I honestly wanted to avoid it.
Just thinking about the temple made my stomach churn—this body’s reaction clearly wasn’t good. Dazar seemed surprised by my reluctance and paused before answering.
“I don’t particularly like the temple either.”
A Transcendent chosen by a god disliking the temple that worships said god—it should have been shocking, but coming from Dazar, it sounded perfectly natural.
True. I can’t imagine this man worshipping a god at all.
“But after the Day of the Rift, there’s no choice. It’s to deal with the residual traces of demonic energy left behind when monsters are slain.”
“Residual traces?”
“Well… you could call it the leftovers monsters leave behind when they disappear. Something like that.”
Waving his hand dismissively, Dazar stood up and rummaged through a drawer in the desk at the center of the office. He pulled something out and handed it to me.
“What’s this?”
“I thought it’d be better if you read it yourself.”
It was a small booklet.
Judging by the emblem stamped on the cover, it seemed to have been published directly by the temple.
“This is distributed to each noble house as a guide. It explains Transcendents and the temple. Some of the contents aren’t meant for the general public, so be careful what you say.”
“……Is it really okay to give this to me?”
You just said ordinary people shouldn’t know about it.
With the temple emblem and everything, the booklet felt uncomfortably full of forbidden information. But Dazar simply nodded, unfazed.
“Payment for the soy sauce egg rice.”
Shouldn’t repayment involve something valuable to the other person…?
I looked down at the booklet in my hands and pouted slightly.
He probably hated this thing too and shoved it into a corner of his desk. Feels like I’m just taking out his trash…
Still, since he was planning to bring in a Transcendent daughter-in-law.
Maybe it would help Axion someday.
With that thought, I accepted the booklet and opened it. Coincidentally, the page that opened discussed the Day of the Rift.
[On the Day of the Rift, the demonic energy of the rift intensifies dramatically. As explained earlier, Transcendents are frequently exposed to demonic energy and face the risk of losing their sanity. To reduce this risk, the temple performs sacred rituals for Transcendents.]
So, in short—they manage Transcendents at the temple so they don’t go insane?
“It’s annoying every year, but you have to go. If I count my previous life too, just how many years has it been?”
Dazar muttered, folding his fingers one by one.
I blinked a couple of times as I watched his fingers curl.
Wait—did he just say…?
“You had this in your previous life too?”
“Of course. The temple always exists.”
“Wow.”
When I’d asked before whether he remembered his past life, he hadn’t answered properly. What a surprise.
“Then… were you a Transcendent back then too?”
Dazar paused and looked at me.
After seeing my eyes—surely sparkling with curiosity—he slowly nodded.
“Yes.”
“Oh wow. That’s amazing.”
I was having an extraordinary experience myself, but the man in front of me was just as fascinating.
“Then was your name the same?”
“Yes. Transcendents always have the same name. Even when reborn.”
Really—what a thing.
Watching him answer so obediently felt strange.
Must be the effect of the soy sauce egg rice.
Sensing my chance, I fired off questions rapidly.
“Then is your face the same too? Or wait—before that, is the world itself the same? Does the same life repeat? Is it like regression? Oh, I mean, living the same life over again—no? Then what is it like—”
He shook his head, then nodded, clearly annoyed but still answering sincerely.
“What about Transcendents who remember their past lives and those who don’t? Why is that?”
“……”
Dazar’s head, which had been moving diligently, came to a stop.
A brief silence followed, then his index finger traced a smooth arc through the air and pointed to one spot—
The booklet in my hand.
“Too many questions. Read the book.”
“Ah—”
“We’re going to the temple tomorrow. It won’t take long.”
Before I could respond, I found myself standing outside Dazar’s office.
I hadn’t thought I’d stayed that long, but the corridor was bathed in red sunlight.
Guess it was longer than I thought.
I looked at my long shadow stretching across the floor, then slowly started walking.
“Hmm? Elston? What brings you here?”
I blinked when I saw Elston standing in front of my room. He seemed to have just finished teaching Vanilla, holding a book in one hand.
Elston suspiciously scanned the surroundings, then gestured for me to come closer.
What’s he doing?
When I approached with a sulky expression, he whispered in a very small voice.
“You’re going to the temple tomorrow, right?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
Elston cleared his throat and lifted his chin proudly.
“Who do you think I am? I’m the mage—no, the magician—personally teaching the future prodigy of House Ciaster, Lady Vanilla Ciaster. I’m very quick with information.”
More likely he heard it directly from Dazar, but I just nodded vaguely. I was tired after dealing with him anyway.
“Right, right. So?”
“I came to warn you to be careful if you’re going to the temple.”
“About what?”
“About the Dragon Heart of the Demon Dragon residing in Axion’s heart.”
Ah.
Now that I thought about it, Axion had encountered monsters that day too.
I’d never told Elston about that, so why was he bringing it up?
“I might not take Axion with me to the temple, you know?”
“Was that your plan? But isn’t this a great opportunity?”
“An opportunity for what?”
“When else would you get to see the temple! Ordinary commoners can’t even step inside unless they commit a crime—”
Wait. This makes no sense—so why does it sound tempting?
I scratched my head, lost in thought.
How did I only now remember that Axion had encountered monsters too?
But the Dragon Heart inside Axion worried me. What if the temple noticed it?
Even Elston assumed I’d bring Axion along and came all this way to warn me.
“Okay, I get it. But won’t the temple notice the Dragon Heart? Wouldn’t it be safer not to take him at all—”
Elston, who had been passionately lecturing about the importance of childhood experiences, abruptly stopped.
“It’ll be fine. My magic is layered over the Dragon Heart, and on top of that, Duke Ciaster’s barrier is in place.”
“Hmm… still.”
“Don’t worry. That’s why we put multiple layers of magic and barriers in place. Besides, Duke Ciaster is special even among Transcendents.”
Even among Transcendents?
I wanted to ask what that meant, but Elston seemed to realize he’d gotten a bit carried away. His face reddened slightly, and he hurriedly bowed.
“Then, have a safe trip.”
As I was about to enter my room, I stopped and turned back.
Elston said it was fine, but I wanted to confirm with Dazar.
However, he wasn’t in his office, so I had no choice but to head toward his bedroom instead.
