<26>
A beam of light was pouring from a window located at a high, circular ceiling.
Below it was an old priest kneeling and praying.
“Pope.”
Velicimus Peltro, who was the Pope of the Temple.
Despite the call of the head priest, the Pope continued to pray with his eyes closed.
As if he was familiar with that, the high priest looked at his back and recited a report.
“The amount of demonic beasts coming to the villages near the Black Desert is increasing. The power that is blocking them is still the same, but there are some opinions that the beasts are evolving.”
The Pope’s tightly closed eyes slowly opened.
His mouth, which had never been open for the past five hours of prayer, opened.
“How about him?”
“He’s still at the Temple in Remia. Should we call him back here?”
“He’s still there…”
The Pope wondered how long the guy who hated troublesome work could last becoming the head priest of the temple in Remia and if he suited that kind of work with his aptitude.
Although Cesar was a child that the Pope raised like his own, it was impossible to understand him because Cesar was such an eccentric. “What is it like there?”
“It’s just a small temple on the outskirts. However…”
“However?”
“Because of the epidemic going around these days…”
“Is the damage severe?”
The Pope stood from being on his knees.
“That’s not it.”
The head priest continued to talk, scratching the back of his neck.
“It’s a blessed temple, and the believers from each region are flocking there. The neighboring villages were devastated, but only the villagers of Remia were fine.…. Perhaps by now, the temple will be bursting with believers.”
As the pope turned, the high priest had to face his golden eyes.
Just by looking at it caused cold sweats, as if the eyes were piercing his insides.
“Really? I was wondering why he was so persistent.…”
‘There must be something interesting there.’
The corners of the Pope’s mouth went up. Then he walked slowly and silently and left the prayer room.
It was good to hear news about his child after a long time.
*****
“I heard this is a blessed place”.
“If you drink the holy water, you won’t get a plague!”
“If it’s such a good thing, I think nobles would have already swept it all away.”
“They’re not selling it for money! What do you think of the temple?”
Even today, the temple did not set up a market for it.
The reason was that people who visited the Temple of Remia were blessed and did not suffer from the plague, attracting people from all over the country.
This was the first thing Hanna said when she heard what the people are saying.
“If we had holy water in our temple, shouldn’t we give it to them first?”
The children looked at each other with tired eyes.
“Do you want to bet how long our teacher will be like that?”
“At this point, I think it’s safe to say that she’s acting.”
Marsha and Ian shook their heads and responded to Hanna’s words.
“Teacher. Please accept that you have healing powers.”
Marsha grabbed Hanna’s shoulder and shook it in frustration.
“You guys, too. There is no such a thing.”
Hanna was actually denying this situation.
It made no sense to say that the priests distributed her cold tea to the people, and that the people who came to the Temple of Remia became safe from the plague, let alone transmitted it.
Because she really didn’t do anything.
‘In order to have healing powers, don’t you need to receive the Goddess’ revelation and a great faith?’
All I had to do was put tea leaves in boiled water and stir them, but it being treated as a holy water was too much and made me blush.
“Well, the temple is still busy, but I’m glad the villagers are safe anyway.”
Isn’t it okay if people don’t get sick?
“Ah… But I’m so sleepy.”
Hanna, who had been watching Jeremy’s delayed swordsmanship class starting in the afternoon, was very tired, unlike usual.
“It’s because the sun is so warm.”
I couldn’t resist the sleepiness.
“I’m going to sleep a little bit. Kids, wake me up after class.”
Eventually, Hanna fell asleep lying down in the garden.
“Our teacher, she’s going to be in big trouble.”
“I know. I’ll call a priest.”
Marsha and Ian had a worrisome conversation looking at Hanna’s emaciated face.
Just in time, Cesar walked from afar and said, “There’s no need.”
“Sir!”
“I thought I’d take a look if you were doing well.”
His blue eyes were looking down at Hanna who was sound asleep.
“You nagged me about sleeping just anywhere.”
Cesar carefully lifted Hannah, who fell asleep.
Hanna was still in a deep sleep without knowing who was moving her.
“Is our teacher sick?”
“It’s just that she’s out of energy.”
Marsha and Ian walked along Cesar to the orphanage.
“Is it bad for your health if you use a lot of divine power?”
Ian asked Cesar a question.
“You’ll know when you look at me.”
“That’s bad.”
It was given as an example to show that there is no particular danger like dying, but when Ian said with a frown on his face, Cesar felt strangely offended.
“I’m saying it’s okay. Why is it bad?”
“Sir, you don’t look like a living person.”
“Wait, that’s too much,” Cesar felt furious.
“Is there any power without a price in the world?”
“Hey, little guy…”
Cesar clicked his tongue at Ian’s adult-like words.
It’s not like he’s a person who lived twice, but sometimes he is more mature than an adult.
“Yeah. You’re right. You don’t know when the price will come. The Goddess never gives anything unconditionally.”
“Why? Doesn’t the goddess love us enough to give us gifts?”
Marsha said as if she didn’t understand.
This was because the biblical content she heard over her shoulders while eating temple meals didn’t contain that.
Isn’t she a goddess who is benevolent and pitiful of humans?
“Human beings are modeled after God, indeed.”
Cesar pursed his lips sullenly.
“We just have to beg. ‘Please, share with me a speck of mercy’.”
“This is why I don’t like temples.”
LEARN MORE
!
!
!
!
!
!
“Is there anything you can’t say in front of the priest?”
At Ian’s words, Cesar had to feel a second fury.
“So even the head priest has things he can’t say in front of the goddess.”
Cesar had to surrender to those words. In the hallway that they were passing by, the goddess’ statue was looking down at them.
The next day, Hanna headed to the village with her body wrapped up tightly.
At this time, she didn’t want to go to a crowded place, but she had to go get the clothes and blankets for the children she had previously commissioned.
It was also a measure to look around the situation of the neighborhood.
“Almost all the stores are closed.”
Still, she heard that the damage was less than that of the other villages, so she thought the market would be running to some extent, but it was freezingly empty.
Sometimes the people on the street didn’t look good.
It wasn’t necessarily because they were sick, but because they seemed to be wrapped with fear.
‘I’ll just pick up the goods as soon as possible.’
It was unclear whether the shops that she had to go to get the clothes and blankets were open. ‘What if it’s all closed..?’
The store, which she reached with anxiety, was also locked.
She was worried that the owner of the store might have also contracted the infectious disease.
“I should just go back.”
It was regrettable that she had commissioned new clothes for children, but couldn’t even make a fuss about finding clothes in this situation.
Hanna took a bitter step forward and chose to go around the road in order to look around for the situation of the village instead of the shortcut she always uses.
‘I’m going out to see if the locals are doing well.’
As she walked for a while, she passed an alley in the slums that she would not normally pass when traveling with the children.
“Knggh.”
“Hey, get yourself up!”
“What would you do when you shake people who are already dead? The senator also locked the door. I can’t even dream of treatment.”
“However…!”
There was no chaos in the alley.
There were not only a couple of people who fell to a wall or a pillar.
There were crowds of people around the old man, who was lying on a tattered, dirty cloth and bleeding.
‘Oh my God, what’s going on?’ Hanna shut her mouth at the devastating scene.
A child ran to the man who vomited blood.
He was probably two or three years older than the children in the nursery school, and at first glance he was just a young boy.
“Mister! How can you die just like this?”
“What is there to be sad about? In the yard where commoners and nobles are all dying of the plague, if a beggar like us gets the plague, it’s a blessing! Aren’t you lucky that you’re not starving and getting beaten to death?”
The old man in a hoarse, cracked voice said to the child.
“Beggars can’t just die. Mister, calm down. Temple, let’s go to the temple.”
“The temple doesn’t accept people who are already ill. Would they especially like to help people like us?”
The old man snorted at the child’s words and said.
“Drunk old man! What do you know!”
The boy jumped up in anger. The boy who was going towards the old man found Hanna.
“Who are you?”
At the sharp question, Hanna hesitated and took a step back.
The boy wasn’t scary, but it was disconcerting that the attention of the people in this alley was focused on her.
“Ah… I’m just passing by the road.” Why did I have to go down this road?
“Kukuk. You just had to see such dirty things.”
The old man who was arguing with the child found Hanna and let out a creepy laugh towards her.
“…Why are you not doing anything when you are sick?” Hanna was really curious and asked.
No matter how much she said there was an epidemic, there would be a legislator, and even if she went to the temple, she would at least take care of it.
No matter how much an epidemic broke out, there would be at least one member of the legislature, and if he went to the temple, he would at least be taken care of.
She couldn’t understand why he was so helpless here that he was going to die soon.
In particular, the man who had just vomited seemed to be out of breath.
“Beggars like us get no help.”
No way. That can’t be.
“It is not true. The temple does not discriminate between people’s status.”
Of course, it was a temple open to everyone.
Hanna flatly denied the old man’s words.
“Dear child, death has already fallen here. Take a look inside. Do you see any prospects? Who is gonna help us? They must be busy taking care of the people who paid them. What’s more, would you have pity on beggars like us?”
Hanna looked at the boy without answering the old man’s words.
“Are these all sick people?”
“It’s almost like that.”
“Why aren’t you getting treatment?”
“Like my grandfather said, everyone gives up after not trying hard enough. People here are more accustomed to giving up than hoping.”
At the child’s words, Hanna took one more step into the alley.
The stench vibrated in a place where there was not much light.
From the smell of rotting pus to the smell of excrement.
If death had a smell, she thought it would be like this.
One step, two steps.
Every time she took a step into the darkness, her eyes opened to the depths of the alley.
The entrance she saw as she walked along the road was really just the tip of the iceberg.
It was full of people who were so disorganized that she doubted whether they were even alive.
Not just a few, but all of them.
“…Ah.”
Hanna was in stupor.
<26>
A beam of light was pouring from a window located at a high, circular ceiling.
Below it was an old priest kneeling and praying.
“Pope.”
Velicimus Peltro, who was the Pope of the Temple.
Despite the call of the head priest, the Pope continued to pray with his eyes closed.
As if he was familiar with that, the high priest looked at his back and recited a report.
“The amount of demonic beasts coming to the villages near the Black Desert is increasing. The power that is blocking them is still the same, but there are some opinions that the beasts are evolving.”
The Pope’s tightly closed eyes slowly opened.
His mouth, which had never been open for the past five hours of prayer, opened.
“How about him?”
“He’s still at the Temple in Remia. Should we call him back here?”
“He’s still there…”
The Pope wondered how long the guy who hated troublesome work could last becoming the head priest of the temple in Remia and if he suited that kind of work with his aptitude.
Although Cesar was a child that the Pope raised like his own, it was impossible to understand him because Cesar was such an eccentric. “What is it like there?”
“It’s just a small temple on the outskirts. However…”
“However?”
“Because of the epidemic going around these days…”
“Is the damage severe?”
The Pope stood from being on his knees.
“That’s not it.”
The head priest continued to talk, scratching the back of his neck.
“It’s a blessed temple, and the believers from each region are flocking there. The neighboring villages were devastated, but only the villagers of Remia were fine.…. Perhaps by now, the temple will be bursting with believers.”
As the pope turned, the high priest had to face his golden eyes.
Just by looking at it caused cold sweats, as if the eyes were piercing his insides.
“Really? I was wondering why he was so persistent.…”
‘There must be something interesting there.’
The corners of the Pope’s mouth went up. Then he walked slowly and silently and left the prayer room.
It was good to hear news about his child after a long time.
*****
“I heard this is a blessed place”.
“If you drink the holy water, you won’t get a plague!”
“If it’s such a good thing, I think nobles would have already swept it all away.”
“They’re not selling it for money! What do you think of the temple?”
Even today, the temple did not set up a market for it.
The reason was that people who visited the Temple of Remia were blessed and did not suffer from the plague, attracting people from all over the country.
This was the first thing Hanna said when she heard what the people are saying.
“If we had holy water in our temple, shouldn’t we give it to them first?”
The children looked at each other with tired eyes.
“Do you want to bet how long our teacher will be like that?”
“At this point, I think it’s safe to say that she’s acting.”
Marsha and Ian shook their heads and responded to Hanna’s words.
“Teacher. Please accept that you have healing powers.”
Marsha grabbed Hanna’s shoulder and shook it in frustration.
“You guys, too. There is no such a thing.”
Hanna was actually denying this situation.
It made no sense to say that the priests distributed her cold tea to the people, and that the people who came to the Temple of Remia became safe from the plague, let alone transmitted it.
Because she really didn’t do anything.
‘In order to have healing powers, don’t you need to receive the Goddess’ revelation and a great faith?’
All I had to do was put tea leaves in boiled water and stir them, but it being treated as a holy water was too much and made me blush.
“Well, the temple is still busy, but I’m glad the villagers are safe anyway.”
Isn’t it okay if people don’t get sick?
“Ah… But I’m so sleepy.”
Hanna, who had been watching Jeremy’s delayed swordsmanship class starting in the afternoon, was very tired, unlike usual.
“It’s because the sun is so warm.”
I couldn’t resist the sleepiness.
“I’m going to sleep a little bit. Kids, wake me up after class.”
Eventually, Hanna fell asleep lying down in the garden.
“Our teacher, she’s going to be in big trouble.”
“I know. I’ll call a priest.”
Marsha and Ian had a worrisome conversation looking at Hanna’s emaciated face.
Just in time, Cesar walked from afar and said, “There’s no need.”
“Sir!”
“I thought I’d take a look if you were doing well.”
His blue eyes were looking down at Hanna who was sound asleep.
“You nagged me about sleeping just anywhere.”
Cesar carefully lifted Hannah, who fell asleep.
Hanna was still in a deep sleep without knowing who was moving her.
“Is our teacher sick?”
“It’s just that she’s out of energy.”
Marsha and Ian walked along Cesar to the orphanage.
“Is it bad for your health if you use a lot of divine power?”
Ian asked Cesar a question.
“You’ll know when you look at me.”
“That’s bad.”
It was given as an example to show that there is no particular danger like dying, but when Ian said with a frown on his face, Cesar felt strangely offended.
“I’m saying it’s okay. Why is it bad?”
“Sir, you don’t look like a living person.”
“Wait, that’s too much,” Cesar felt furious.
“Is there any power without a price in the world?”
“Hey, little guy…”
Cesar clicked his tongue at Ian’s adult-like words.
It’s not like he’s a person who lived twice, but sometimes he is more mature than an adult.
“Yeah. You’re right. You don’t know when the price will come. The Goddess never gives anything unconditionally.”
“Why? Doesn’t the goddess love us enough to give us gifts?”
Marsha said as if she didn’t understand.
This was because the biblical content she heard over her shoulders while eating temple meals didn’t contain that.
Isn’t she a goddess who is benevolent and pitiful of humans?
“Human beings are modeled after God, indeed.”
Cesar pursed his lips sullenly.
“We just have to beg. ‘Please, share with me a speck of mercy’.”
“This is why I don’t like temples.”
LEARN MORE
!
!
!
!
!
!
“Is there anything you can’t say in front of the priest?”
At Ian’s words, Cesar had to feel a second fury.
“So even the head priest has things he can’t say in front of the goddess.”
Cesar had to surrender to those words. In the hallway that they were passing by, the goddess’ statue was looking down at them.
The next day, Hanna headed to the village with her body wrapped up tightly.
At this time, she didn’t want to go to a crowded place, but she had to go get the clothes and blankets for the children she had previously commissioned.
It was also a measure to look around the situation of the neighborhood.
“Almost all the stores are closed.”
Still, she heard that the damage was less than that of the other villages, so she thought the market would be running to some extent, but it was freezingly empty.
Sometimes the people on the street didn’t look good.
It wasn’t necessarily because they were sick, but because they seemed to be wrapped with fear.
‘I’ll just pick up the goods as soon as possible.’
It was unclear whether the shops that she had to go to get the clothes and blankets were open. ‘What if it’s all closed..?’
The store, which she reached with anxiety, was also locked.
She was worried that the owner of the store might have also contracted the infectious disease.
“I should just go back.”
It was regrettable that she had commissioned new clothes for children, but couldn’t even make a fuss about finding clothes in this situation.
Hanna took a bitter step forward and chose to go around the road in order to look around for the situation of the village instead of the shortcut she always uses.
‘I’m going out to see if the locals are doing well.’
As she walked for a while, she passed an alley in the slums that she would not normally pass when traveling with the children.
“Knggh.”
“Hey, get yourself up!”
“What would you do when you shake people who are already dead? The senator also locked the door. I can’t even dream of treatment.”
“However…!”
There was no chaos in the alley.
There were not only a couple of people who fell to a wall or a pillar.
There were crowds of people around the old man, who was lying on a tattered, dirty cloth and bleeding.
‘Oh my God, what’s going on?’ Hanna shut her mouth at the devastating scene.
A child ran to the man who vomited blood.
He was probably two or three years older than the children in the nursery school, and at first glance he was just a young boy.
“Mister! How can you die just like this?”
“What is there to be sad about? In the yard where commoners and nobles are all dying of the plague, if a beggar like us gets the plague, it’s a blessing! Aren’t you lucky that you’re not starving and getting beaten to death?”
The old man in a hoarse, cracked voice said to the child.
“Beggars can’t just die. Mister, calm down. Temple, let’s go to the temple.”
“The temple doesn’t accept people who are already ill. Would they especially like to help people like us?”
The old man snorted at the child’s words and said.
“Drunk old man! What do you know!”
The boy jumped up in anger. The boy who was going towards the old man found Hanna.
“Who are you?”
At the sharp question, Hanna hesitated and took a step back.
The boy wasn’t scary, but it was disconcerting that the attention of the people in this alley was focused on her.
“Ah… I’m just passing by the road.” Why did I have to go down this road?
“Kukuk. You just had to see such dirty things.”
The old man who was arguing with the child found Hanna and let out a creepy laugh towards her.
“…Why are you not doing anything when you are sick?” Hanna was really curious and asked.
No matter how much she said there was an epidemic, there would be a legislator, and even if she went to the temple, she would at least take care of it.
No matter how much an epidemic broke out, there would be at least one member of the legislature, and if he went to the temple, he would at least be taken care of.
She couldn’t understand why he was so helpless here that he was going to die soon.
In particular, the man who had just vomited seemed to be out of breath.
“Beggars like us get no help.”
No way. That can’t be.
“It is not true. The temple does not discriminate between people’s status.”
Of course, it was a temple open to everyone.
Hanna flatly denied the old man’s words.
“Dear child, death has already fallen here. Take a look inside. Do you see any prospects? Who is gonna help us? They must be busy taking care of the people who paid them. What’s more, would you have pity on beggars like us?”
Hanna looked at the boy without answering the old man’s words.
“Are these all sick people?”
“It’s almost like that.”
“Why aren’t you getting treatment?”
“Like my grandfather said, everyone gives up after not trying hard enough. People here are more accustomed to giving up than hoping.”
At the child’s words, Hanna took one more step into the alley.
The stench vibrated in a place where there was not much light.
From the smell of rotting pus to the smell of excrement.
If death had a smell, she thought it would be like this.
One step, two steps.
Every time she took a step into the darkness, her eyes opened to the depths of the alley.
The entrance she saw as she walked along the road was really just the tip of the iceberg.
It was full of people who were so disorganized that she doubted whether they were even alive.
Not just a few, but all of them.
“…Ah.”
Hanna was in stupor.
