Chapter 213: The Wandering Merchant’s Quest (2)
“Is something wrong?” Ketal asked Seraphina, noticing her intense gaze.
Seraphina hesitated before speaking. “Your bracelet... Is that a holy relic of Kalosia?”
Ketal nodded. “It is.”
“I thought so...,” Seraphina murmured in disbelief, her voice almost lost in the hush that followed.
As a devout follower of the god, and one whose strength placed her among the highest echelons of her faith, Seraphina immediately recognized the bracelet for what it was. She’d suspected from the start, but even knowing, it was hard to accept. She simply had to ask, just one more time, for confirmation.
“How did you acquire it?” she pressed.
Ketal’s bracelet was unmistakably a true holy relic, the sort that only a god could grant permission to use. In the history of the churches of the continent, such bestowals were so rare that they bordered on legend. Even within the vast, powerful Sun God’s Church, there was not a single member who could claim to have personally received a divine relic as a permanent gift. As for Seraphina herself, she had, on occasion, borrowed a relic for the purposes of battling evil, but it was always on loan, a tool for a task, to be returned the moment the mission ended.
Yet, here was a barbarian, openly wearing a true relic of Kalosia. Seraphina spoke again, her tone more cautious than before. “Did you perhaps receive permission from the Saintess of Kalosia?”
Ketal shook his head. “No. I received it directly from Kalosia.”
“What?” Her voice cracked, eyes wide. “You met with the god directly?”
The others, who had been listening quietly until now, all turned toward Ketal in shock.
Seraphina’s mouth dropped open. “You spoke with Kalosia face-to-face?”