Chapter 120
Chapter 120
Burnt Offering (2)
“After living this long, I ended up seeing all kinds of ridiculous things.”
At the words Elisha spoke with a snort, Morrigan stood still and stiffened rigidly.
“So now you even take dogs out for walks for people?”
“…It just happened that way.”
At the very least, it was clear that Morrigan had not intended to run into her like this. Compared to Elisha, who gave off an atmosphere that made it obvious she had come here deliberately, Morrigan looked visibly tense. As if she had not even remotely expected this.
The contrast was so stark that even Reaver, who had a dog leash on, kept glancing back and forth between the two, wondering what was going on.
…The fact that a top-tier magical beast had already grown accustomed to going on walks in the form of an ordinary dog was, in itself, a pretty serious error.
“Well, whatever. Right now it’s not ‘my’ property anyway, it belongs to that man, so it’s your freedom to do whatever you want.”
Elisha yawned as she spoke, then slowly swept her drooping gaze up and down Morrigan.
“Don’t forget the essence of who you are. You know that, right?”
“……”
“You haven’t forgotten what you were born for, have you?”
Morrigan clenched her teeth for a moment at the chill that crept up her spine, then barely managed to force words out past her lips.
“…For what reason have you come, Athena. If this is an order you have given—”
“That part’s probably going fine. I mean, it’s you. And also, it’s Elisha here. Someone might hear.”
Watching her joke around despite being the type who would not have made contact at all if there had been people nearby made my head throb.
“It’s nothing big. Soon, there’ll be invited guests coming in from outside the island. There’s something you’ll need to take care of then.”
“Guests from outside, you say?”
“Yeah.”
Elisha scratched her head roughly and frowned.
“…I’ve got an appointment with some unlucky bastard, so I need you to keep an eye on that side of things. Normally, he’s the kind of human who absolutely should never come face-to-face with an omnipotent being.”
The problem was that, with ‘Varga,’ whom we had encountered before, there had already been an agreement to tacitly allow that kind of behavior.
A top-tier existence even among demonkind. Just looking at that damned bastard was enough to give me a headache.
“What exactly do you mean—”
“It’s nothing complicated.”
She spoke with a sigh.
“You know the person you’re serving right now. That person, I mean—”
“…?”
“—make sure you keep a good watch so he doesn’t go around needlessly charming too many people.”
“…??”
“…If you don’t, some other bizarre problem might crop up again.”
“…???”
I had no idea what she was actually talking about.
But I could at least barely grasp the nuance.
From Morrigan’s perspective, having once served Elisha before, she had a knack for understanding even when Elisha spoke in an incomprehensible way.
“So, in other words, a woman will be coming in from outside the island soon, and you’re telling me to keep an eye on things so that Mr. Aiden doesn’t unconsciously go around acting like a drenched swallow?”
“That’s right!”
…If Aiden himself had heard it, it would have been a request that would have made him cry out, asking what kind of nonsense that was.
▣
The high-ranking clergy of the Holy Crown Kingdom were all known for their rigid stubbornness and standards, the kind that made it seem as though not even grass would grow where they sat.
And that fastidiousness was unmistakably reflected in their appearance as well. Robes pressed smooth without a single wrinkle, neatly groomed beards, resolute expressions, and even parchment and quill pens that felt anachronistic.
The priest named Zeros, who participated in this time’s burnt offering ritual at the Grand Sanctuary, was so inflexible that he could practically be called the very stereotype of a high-ranking priest.
“The number of steps was incorrect. Five points deducted.”
“The order in which the fragrant oil was poured was incorrect. Fifteen points deducted.”
“The quality of the offering is insufficient. Thirty points deducted.”
As those remarks fell one after another, the royal conducting the burnt offering ritual turned to him with a dumbfounded expression.
“No, what on earth does that even—”
“Unnecessary actions were taken during the ritual. Fifty points deducted.”
“……”
“You have failed. You may leave.”
At the courteous yet ice-cold evaluation that came down in a rapid-fire sequence, the face of the royal, who had only set foot on the altar about thirty seconds ago, went blank.
No, all I did was place the offering on the altar, and I’ve already failed? What in the world was that supposed to mean…?
“Now, wait just a moment. Our house devoted its full efforts for three whole years just to obtain this offering. And you’re dismissing it for reasons like that—!”
As he spoke, the royal’s body was flung violently off the altar.
He flew away at such speed that it looked as though a world-class shot putter had grabbed and hurled his entire body, disappearing with a whoosh without even having time to scream…
“Hm.”
As the surrounding people stood frozen in shock at the sight, the sound of Zeros’s snort dropped calmly among them.
It was obvious that he had committed that act by exercising divine power himself.
“Next.”
…And of course, the words that followed carried the air of someone who saw no reason to care about such things.
“……”
Everyone who witnessed the scene probably shared the same thought.
Ah, this man.
He really is someone without a shred of mercy.
Even now, the number of royals Zeros had dismissed the moment the ritual began had already reached several dozen.
And.
That was precisely why, during the burnt offering ritual conducted next by Alester Fansheus Craven, people all around wore faces of utter disbelief at the score Zeros announced.
“There were minor flaws, but… the total score is ninety-five points. The God of Purification is satisfied as well. Good work.”
Zeros spoke calmly as he scribbled various notes onto the parchment with his quill.
In reality, from the altar that accepted the ‘feather of the thousand-year bird’ Alester burned, colorless divine power was gently surging forth with warmth.
Good heavens, ninety points.
Considering that not a single royal had exceeded a total score of ten so far, it could be seen as an overwhelmingly highest score.
“…Well. This is my first time performing a burnt offering ritual. Is that a sign that the God of Purification is satisfied?”
“Gods cannot communicate directly with humans. Instead, they imbue objects with their will and let those objects speak on their behalf. The very fact that divine power is emanating from the altar means that He is satisfied.”
And indeed.
That was clearly the maximum level of response the human race could receive from a god.
There were records, found only in ancient texts and myths, of humans who claimed to have seen a ‘form of god’ after first receiving divine power through the First Vow, but those stories were far too fantastical to be considered realistically possible.
What Alester had shown just now could safely be regarded as the highest possible response. It was not for nothing that such an overwhelming score had been given.
‘Her Highness Milene scored eighty points, His Highness Julius scored eighty-five….’
And the scores given to those running at the front alongside Alester also fell within a similar range.
The ‘mandrake’ Milene brought and the ‘cassowary’s heart’ Julius offered were undeniably extremely rare items as well, even if they did not quite match Alester’s.
While the other royals barely managed to avoid failing, these individuals truly stood head and shoulders above the rest.
As Zeros meticulously recorded every one of those details onto parchment, the murmuring voices of the royals whispering among themselves gradually died down.
When one lifted one’s head to see why, there was no need to ponder the reason very deeply.
…the man who was the talk of the capital was stepping onto the altar with crisp, measured footsteps.
Zeros’s eyes immediately narrowed.
‘…So it’s this one.’
With a gaze that was clearly unfriendly toward Aiden, he swept him up and down.
Old, rigid, and reverent of tradition and law, Zeros was someone who loved the internal culture of the Holy Crown Kingdom more than anyone else, befitting a high-ranking priest.
From that perspective.
‘…What on earth was His Holiness thinking, bringing in a man like this.’
The fact that an imperial citizen named Aiden Kellermain was being protected by the Pontiff during the succession ceremony had already spread widely as a rumor.
Although most high-ranking clergy had long since foamed at the mouth and submitted petitions to the Pontiff as if in convulsions, as always, the Pontiff was stubbornly exercising his authority.
…In other words, he did not even snort and treated their words as utter nonsense.
‘Let’s see everything you can do.’
Grinding his teeth audibly, Zeros fixed Aiden with a venomous glare.
From the outset, the very fact that an outsider was participating in a succession ceremony like this was deeply displeasing. If even the slightest flaw came into view, I intended to evaluate him so harshly it would make his bones ring.
With that in mind, Aiden’s first impression was, quite literally—
“…?”
No.
What was he trying to pull.
There was nothing in his hands. As a basic rule, one was supposed to enter while respectfully holding the item to be burned as an offering with both hands.
On top of that, his attire was not the traditional ceremonial robes of the Holy Crown Kingdom, and the angle of his head and his gestures carried a weary air that showed not even the bare minimum of respect for the ritual—
‘…Th-this bastard…!’
Without realizing it, Zeros found himself forming a vulgar curse in his mouth as he lifted his quill, anger rising to the point where his vision seemed to blur.
Even the other royals he had mercilessly failed had not behaved this disgracefully. Yet this was the one who deserved the strictest evaluation of all—what kind of nerve did he have to act like this…!
“Y-you, what in the world is this outrage—”
Zeros’s mouth fell open mid-sentence.
Because, regardless of what was being said, Aiden simply walked straight across the path laid out on the altar.
Of course, this too was originally a part of the ritual that was meant to be carried out solemnly while observing dozens of principles.
“Y-you, you irreverent wretch…!”
Now it was to the point where he could barely breathe.
A thick vein bulged on Zeros’s forehead. If he had used divine power earlier to gently fling people off the altar, now he even felt that inflicting some pain, even if it meant burning this man a little, would be acceptable.
…Yes, that was what he was thinking.
But what followed went far beyond even that.
“…?!?!”
Zeros gaped and leapt to his feet.
Of course, he was not the only one reacting that way.
Anyone would have reacted similarly upon seeing what Aiden did the moment he reached the front of the altar while exercising divine power.
After calmly stepping ‘directly’ onto the altar himself, Aiden—
…used divine power to burn the offering immediately.
Namely, his own body.
“Ky, kyaaaaaaaaah—!”
“Th-th-that lunatic! What the hell is that?!”
Naturally, utter chaos erupted all around.
Seeing a man commit self-immolation without any warning would provoke that kind of reaction from anyone.
No.
No…!
“M-medics! Call the medics!”
Zeros shouted that in a panic.
He was furious enough for blood to rush to his head, but even so, he was not so deranged as to simply stand by and watch such madness unfold.
Somehow, they had to save the man first—!
“…?”
But before that thought could go any further,
Zeros’s body froze as he suddenly sensed something strange.
First.
The Aiden Kellermain committing that act was standing perfectly upright in place, merely staring at the altar.
The first strange point was that burning his entire body seemed to mean nothing to him at all.
Second.
His attitude looked as though he were waiting for some kind of response to come from within.
And clearly, that stance was not taken without reason.
Something emerged from within the altar.
A ‘humanoid’ form, wreathed in thick golden energy, rushed toward Aiden, who was burning from head to toe, in a frantic manner.
[Do-don’t burn—! No—!]
…Along with a ‘voice’ that boomed all around.
“…?”
At that voice, imbued with overwhelming numinous power, Zeros dropped his quill with a vacant expression.
“Priest Zeros.”
Alester, who was half out of his mind like everyone else present, opened his mouth.
…His voice sounded even more unhinged than before.
“That just now—was that the God of Purification Himself speaking directly?”
“……”
At a time when records of seeing a god’s form were treated as mere myth.
The god Himself had spoken directly.