Chapter 121: Priests of the God of Lies and Deception (6)
“What the hell are you talking about?” Hayes yelled at the top of her lungs.
A saint was someone widely acknowledged for their wisdom and virtue—an enlightened figure who had, in some sense, transcended mundane desires. Across all the world’s faiths, very few individuals were ever hailed as saints. They were revered by countless believers, their status often nearing that of legends.
And Naflas had just called Ketal such a saint.
“He’s nothing like that!” Hayes protested. If anything, Ketal was one of the least enlightened people she knew. He was someone who embraced his own desires without shame or apology. Hearing Naflas describe him as a saint made her head spin.
Naflas only chuckled. “Those are the words of someone blinded by her own bias. You mentioned you completed requests alongside Ketal as comrades, yes? Maybe you were so close that you failed to see his true greatness.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Hayes replied, her voice trembling with exasperation.
Truth be told, she had expected Naflas might end up thinking well of Ketal and accept him—Ketal rarely caused tangible trouble, after all. However, this was beyond her imagination. She couldn’t help but wonder if Ketal had done something to mesmerize Naflas.
When Hayes glanced at him in shock and asked questions, Naflas merely grinned and brushed her off, as if she had no idea what she was talking about.
The next day, Hayes showed up to see Ketal with bags under her eyes, looking thoroughly drained. She had spent half the night trying to convince Naflas that Ketal was not some exalted being and that there had to be a misunderstanding. Yet, Naflas wouldn’t listen. In fact, he treated Hayes’s vehement denials with suspicion, as though she were the strange one.
Left with no voice, she had withdrawn in defeat. So when she met Ketal, her face was drawn and pale.
“Hayes, are you okay?” Ketal asked, concerned. “You look like you haven’t slept.”
“I didn’t, really,” Hayes admitted, lowering her gaze. “It’s... just everything that’s been going on.”