Chapter 36
The next day, I boarded the carriage bound for the temple with Axion cradled in my arms.
“Are you really sure it’s okay?”
“I’ve told you several times already—the barrier placed on that kid is perfect. Neither the temple nor the other Transcendents will ever notice that a Demon Dragon’s Dragon Heart is embedded in his heart.”
Dazar, seated across from me, waved his hand irritably. There was even a hint of annoyance on his face—no doubt because I’d been repeatedly asking since last night whether Axion’s Dragon Heart was truly safe.
“And if you’re wrong? After being a dog, this time you’ll be—”
“If you’re that anxious, then don’t bring him.”
“But Axion encountered monsters too.”
And he even woke me up calling for Mama.
Dazar shrugged, as if giving up.
“If, by some chance, they realize his heart isn’t ordinary and try to seize him, I’ll stake my life to save him.”
“……Then you’d turn the entire temple into your enemy.”
“Even so, I’ll save him. You saw it last time—I keep my promises.”
A promise? When did he ever keep one?
As I narrowed my eyes and stared at him, Dazar sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“That’s why you shouldn’t suddenly barge into a man’s bedroom like that. It’s dangerous.”
“Excuse me? A man? Where?”
“…….”
When I looked around in confusion, Dazar’s face crumpled miserably.
Last night, spurred by a sudden thought, I had stormed into his bedroom late. I’d grabbed him just as he was about to go to bed and blurted out—
“I think Axion should go to the temple tomorrow too!”
At that, Dazar had looked at me like I was completely insane.
Apparently remembering that moment, he crossed his arms, turned his face away, and shut his mouth—clearly signaling that he wouldn’t say another word until we arrived.
Meanwhile, the carriage had already set off and was moving at a brisk pace.
Well, if he was confident enough to say all that… I decided to trust him for now, even if I still felt uneasy, and head to the temple with Axion.
Axion’s asleep, too…
As Axion slept soundly in my arms despite the moving carriage, I carefully adjusted my hold on him and pulled out the small booklet I’d tucked into my clothes.
The booklet Dazar had given me yesterday.
I’d brought it along to read whenever I had time.
Thud.
“Ah.”
As I pulled it out, something else slipped free and dropped to the floor with a soft thud.
It was the pouch containing the stone Morokhanil had left behind.
I hurried to pick it up, but holding Axion made it difficult.
“Um.”
“…….”
“Knock, knock.”
“What is it?”
After calling several times with no response, I scooted closer and poked Dazar’s side with my elbow. Only then did he turn his head sharply toward me.
“You know, I felt this last night when you barged into my room too—but don’t you think your sense of personal distance is a bit too… nonexistent?”
“Huh? But we’re in a carriage. We don’t really have a choice, do we?”
When I gestured between the two of us as I answered, he scowled.
“That’s not what I meant. I mean, a noble lady should normally maintain a certain distance from others—especially from a gentleman… Never mind. Forget it. You weren’t exactly a normal noble lady to begin with.”
What was that supposed to mean? That sounded suspiciously like an insult.
If he’d just answered when I called him, I wouldn’t have had to do this. Hmph.
Thinking that nothing good ever came from being around Dazar, I pointed downward with my finger.
“Could you pick that up for me? I don’t really have a free hand right now, sir gentleman.”
Dazar glared at me sulkily, then glanced at Axion. Surprisingly, without much complaint, he bent down and picked up the pouch.
But just as he was about to hand it back to me with a blank expression, his movement suddenly froze.
“What is this?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“This thing inside. What is it?”
Dazar’s face was unusually serious as he stared at the pouch. I quickly snatched it from his hand and tucked it back into my chest.
“What do you think it is? It’s just a rock.”
“A rock?”
“Yes. You touched it, didn’t you? It’s nothing special—just an ordinary stone.”
“Where did you get it?”
His expression remained grave.
For some reason, I felt like I’d done something wrong and started to hunch my shoulders—then suddenly felt indignant and widened my eyes.
“Why do you even care? It’s not mine, so stop asking. I don’t know anything about it either.”
“…….”
Dazar slightly furrowed his brow.
Judging by his reaction, I was starting to feel uneasy.
“What’s wrong with that stone? Is there a problem?”
“It’s not dangerous. It’s just…”
“Yes?”
If it wasn’t dangerous, that was a relief.
Then why did he still look like that?
“…Never mind. Looks like that idiot is up to something strange again. Just throw it away.”
That idiot?
It sounded like he knew exactly who the stone belonged to.
“Is that idiot’s name Morokhanil, by any chance?”
“……What? You even know his name?”
Dazar’s face darkened again.
“Well… somehow. By coincidence. Accidentally…?”
Compared to the man in front of me, he was practically an angel.
Dazar bent his eyebrow as if dissatisfied with my vague answer, then let out a small sigh.
“Yeah. That’s right. All the barriers he piled onto that thing are giving me a headache. How did I not notice it until now, with it right beside me?”
His narrowed eyes filled first with a question mark—then, as he looked at me, with a bold exclamation point.
“Ah. So it was because of you.”
“Mm.”
A body immune to barriers. That must have been why.
“Oh? But if you say barriers, then—”
The words ‘Only another Transcendent could use barriers like that, right?’ never made it out of my mouth.
“Waaah!”
Axion, whom I’d shifted awkwardly while talking to Dazar, woke up crying pitifully.
Thanks to Axion fussing the entire way until we reached the temple, I couldn’t ask Dazar anything more about Morokhanil.
“Wow.”
That was my first impression upon seeing the temple.
It was enormous—and overflowing with holiness.
Tall, elongated walls made entirely of ivory-colored stone stretched upward, and beyond them, several spired buildings rose sharply toward the sky, creating a strangely calming sense of balance.
“It looks incredible.”
“There’s nothing worth seeing. The Ciaster estate is far more beautiful.”
At first, I didn’t know what he meant—but once we entered and followed Dazar inside, I began to understand.
There was truly nothing to see inside the temple.
No wildflowers like those blooming outside. No gardens you’d expect in a structure like this.
Not even common artworks or paintings.
Only white—white walls and white floors.
And since no one else passed through the corridor we walked along, it felt as though the two of us existed alone in an unreal space.
“This is the temple, right?”
“It is. The very heart of it.”
“…….”
Thanks to using an entrance reserved exclusively for Transcendents, we arrived at the temple’s center almost instantly.
“That’s why there are even fewer people here. There’s actually nothing here at all. This place represents the temple’s true nature.”
“True nature…?”
True nature, all of a sudden?
I narrowed my eyes at Dazar for suddenly using such an abstract word.
“Do you know the name of the god worshiped in this temple?”
“Uh…”
What was it again?
The god worshiped by the temple that protects this continent alongside the Transcendents…
Um… well…
“There isn’t one.”
“What?”
“There’s no name. No one knows it. They just call it ‘God.’”
Come to think of it, I’d never heard a god’s name before.
“This emptiness here is the same idea. Only the Saintess who communes directly with the god knows anything about it. Even the priests here don’t.”
“Then how do they worship the god?”
“Who knows?”
Dazar chuckled mockingly and shrugged.
“I’m not interested, so I wouldn’t know.”
Was he really a Transcendent?
Uttering something dangerously close to blasphemy, Dazar strode ahead. I hugged Axion—who had stopped crying the moment we arrived—and followed after him.
Eventually, we stopped before a massive white door, tall enough to rival two grown men.
“Go in first.”
“What? Me first?”
“Yes. Other Transcendents will be arriving too. If they realize you came with me, it might get annoying. Go in, receive the ritual, and come back out. I already told them you and the kid would enter first.”
Thinking about it, my involvement in the Day of the Rift had been unusual—caused by my body being immune to barriers.
Quickly grasping Dazar’s intent, I nodded and pushed the white door open.
As I did, a thought struck me.
Wait… what exactly am I supposed to receive in there?
The question answered itself the moment the door shut heavily behind me.
“Welcome.”
More precisely, the answer came when I saw a woman sitting gracefully in the center of the vast chamber.
“Nice to meet you, Lady Evanroir, daughter of the Count.”
The woman’s long white hair cascaded down her back, and at a glance, she looked undeniably holy.
“I am the Saintess. I don’t have a name. You may simply call me Saintess. Now then—would you please sit in front of me?”
