CH 18

: Zenith (1)

I didn't know that the day would come when I waited until I was thirsty for tea time.

Jamie was walking briskly to the garden.

I wanted to hear from Sears about the relationship between the Bell and the Pyro Church.

I don't know how far I'll tell my young lover myself, but I was going to listen carefully.

Eventually, we arrived at the garden where we always enjoy tea time.

"Is my son here?"

Sears, who had arrived first, embraced Sarah tightly in her arms and waved her hand. Sarah was munching on a cookie that was about half her face in her small hand.

"Come on, sit down."

Yeah.

Jamie jumped into a high chair and sat down.

The maid came and poured red tea in a luxurious teacup.

"I will drink."

I drank a little bit of hot tea. At the end of the sweetness came a little bitterness.

Jamie put down the glass and looked at Sears.

"Are you sure you have something to say?"

I have a question.

"Hmm. Shall the mother guess what my son is curious about?"

Sears brought his face up to his nose with a playful expression on his face. Then he smiled and lightly tapped the tip of his nose with his index finger.

"Were you curious about your mother's house and the paladin uncle?"

Yeah.

"I wonder who's son he is. You should know that you are curious."

She straightened herself and stroked Sarah's hair.

"It was from the days of my great-grandfather, whom I never saw Jamie."

"Your great-grandfather?"

Huh. You are my mother's grandfather."

The former head of the Bell family, Marquis Ispil Bell.

Jamie didn't know much about him. All I know is that the Bell family at the time he was in California enjoyed a greater reputation than it is today.

Jamie looked at Sears curiously, and she started talking.

"50 years ago. It was even before Mom and Dad were born."

* * *

evening when the sun goes down.

Jamie looked at the sunset and was in trouble.

I heard from Sears about the relationship between the Bells and the Pyro. Why the paladin bowed to her, it was fully understood.

"It was a benefactor of the church."

Fifty years ago, the Pyro Church had the highest relic, the Mirror of Truth, stolen by someone.

The mirror of truth is a symbol of the goddess Pyro, and it could also be called the identity of the church.

It was also a big problem that someone had stolen it, but the real problem was the identity of the person who stole it.

He was a follower of the Demon King. He made a direct contract with the Demon King and was planning to manifest the Demon King into this world through the Mirror of Truth.

This was a huge crisis that would destroy the peace of the continent that had been going on for hundreds of years in an instant. The Demon King's followers summoned a force called [Demon] and drove the Kingdom of Seldam into crisis.

Jamie was also interested in history, so he knew what was going on.

"I was really surprised that the beginning of the Portsmouth Garden incident was related to the Pyro Church."

Apparently, the Pyro Church somehow hid the fact that the Mirror of Truth was stolen.

Anyway, [Daemon] attacked the territory called Portsmouth. Their power, which replaced the divine in the holy relics with magic, was powerful.

They occupied most of Portsmouth and infiltrated the gardens of the Lord's Castle. And when the land of Seldam was in danger of being taken away, Marquis Ispil Bell appeared.

He led his elite knights to break through the [Demon], slashing many followers, and succeeded in subjugating even the followers of the Demon King who stole the Mirror of Truth.

In the process of subjugation, great sacrifices were made, and the Marquis of Ispil Bell passed away due to the wounds suffered at that time.

The Pyro Church appointed the Marquis as an honorary archbishop as a token of gratitude and remembrance, and pledged to treat all members of the Bell family as a bishop for the next 100 years.

'The horse is treated like a bishop, and that's a ridiculous level of compensation.'

That is why the Pyro Church was taking the incident very seriously.

'It was worth it, though.'

The mirror of truth knew Jamie.

The 12 gods bestowed their symbol as the supreme holy thing to each denomination. The mirror of truth is a symbol of the goddess Pyro, and has the power to illuminate everything on the subject.

That's why her nickname was 'mercy and punishment'.

"It's not that bad."

The corners of Jamie's lips rose slightly.

At first, I thought it might be a hindrance to my future plans, but now I have a different opinion.

Minimum bishop level treatment. Goddess Pyro is an enemy that must one day be killed, but shouldn't you make the most of what is available?

Recently, I heard that the power of the Pyro Church has decreased. Even so, the 12 gods were 12 gods.

It is a being who has a huge influence on the entire continent.

"Kukkuk."

Jamie's eyes turned purple.

"Jamie!"

Just then, I heard Sears calling for Jamie from outside.

Jamie responded by suppressing the black mana as much as possible.

Yeah-!

* * *

Even though no one ordered it, Ricky has been cleaning the church since early morning.

The priests and nuns who had just finished their morning prayers found him and praised him for being beautiful.

Ricky, who had never been praised in his life, was unaware of their praise.

'I really like this place.'

The boy, who was forced to become an adult, was gradually returning to his original age.

A child must be a child.

Ricky smiled broadly, remembering what the priest once said.

After cleaning, I went back to my room. It was time for breakfast, so I was thinking of going to a restaurant with my younger brother.

'By the way, did you say Shinno is going today?'

Shinno, a boy chosen by God.

Whatever it was, it was embarrassing. There is nothing I lack more than Shinno. Ricky felt a little jealous of him.

'No no. Jealousy is bad.'

He shook his little head violently.

It's true that Shinno is envious, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be jealous.

The priest was like that. Jealousy narrows the scope of thinking. Don't narrow your thinking. In order to become a big person, you must also be able to think broadly.

Ricky offered a brief prayer of repentance to God and opened the door.

"Is that your brother?"

let's go eat.

Uh!

Ricky took Anna's hand and headed to the dining room.

The van arrived at the restaurant first.

Yo!

"You came early."

"Hello Anna."

"Hello, Van."

Anna waved her hand in the empty air.

The van walked there with a gunshot. And he waved his hand.

Ricky thought Van was a really good friend. Although we hadn't met for a while, a good friend of mine was kind to my brother who couldn't see.

They got their food and sat down.

"You know it's today, right?"

"Shinno oppa farewell party?"

"Anna has a good memory!"

Hi-Hi.

At Van's compliment, Anna blushed and smiled.

Ricky took a handful of bread and asked him.

"What time do you start?"

11 o'clock.

"I can eat and rest for a while."

right.

"I envy Shinno oppa."

I also.

Van nodded as if he agreed with Anna's words.

Among the people in the orphanage, there is probably not a single orphan who is not envious of Shinno.

Ricky spread jam on the bread and read the two of them together.

"If we work hard, we will be able to get a favor. Until then, let's work hard."

right. Fighting!

Fighting!

"Dining quietly!"

Van and Anna became a couple at the command of a priest.

Ricky looked at them and burst out laughing.

The farewell party began.

In the auditorium, Bishop Lincoln was holding the hand of Shinno, a boy with short hair that suits him well.

"Today, our young brother Shin-no is chosen by our parent, Janice God, to leave. Let us all bless him on the road ahead, and let us raise the toast on this significant day."

When Bishop Lincoln raised the golden cup high in his left hand, all believers followed him and raised their own.

"Blessing Shinno."

"Blessings."

Shinno followed those words with a happy face.

From the moment I heard that Janice was chosen by God, I couldn't control my excitement.

He looked at Bishop Lincoln with twinkling eyes.

"Thank you very much, Bishop."

"Gratitude is giving to God. I'm proud of you, Shinno.

Bishop Lincoln stroked Shinno's head with a kind face.

"I wish you blessings on the road ahead in your life."

Yeah. I also wish the Bishop and everyone here a blessing. If it wasn't for the bishop, I would still be walking around the streets."

"Miracles are fair to everyone. If I get a chance someday, I will see you again."

The farewell party didn't last long.

Shinno left in a gorgeous white carriage with everyone's blessings.

Shinno leaned out the window, waved his hands to everyone, and shouted loudly.

"Thank you all! I will definitely come back and repay you all!"

"Goodbye, Shinno!"

"Be happy!"

"I'll follow you soon too!"

Friends of the same orphanage sent enthusiastic support to Shinno.

Ricky grabbed his younger brother's hand and waved Shinno's hand. And when the carriage was completely out of sight, he lowered his hand.

"Will Shinno oppa be happy?"

Huh. you will be happy So let's be happy too."

Huh.

The brothers and sisters held each other's hands and went back to the room.

* * *

The carriage stopped until late at night.

Shinno was in a deep sleep. The priest who followed him as his protector lightly shook Shinno's shoulder.

"It has arrived, Shinno."

"Ugh. Already?"

"Already. It is time for the moon to pass already."

Ugh. I slept a lot."

Shinno rubbed his still sleepy eyes and stretched wide.

Then he smiled and asked the priest.

"Is this the headquarters of the main school?"

" Follow me."

Instead of answering, the priest opened the door of the carriage and went out.

Shinno tilted his head and followed him.

And looking around, I noticed something strange.

'forest?'

Is the Zenith Church's headquarters in the middle of a forest like this?

There was doubt, but there was no doubt.

He is a boy who has been chosen by God. A brighter future than anyone else was waiting.

The forest was eerie, but considering it was a sanctuary, it wasn't scary.

"Let's go."

The priest took the lead.

Shinno followed him with joy.

And I arrived at a building. The building was so old that I couldn't even think of it as a church.

There was a lot of dust on the back that lit up the surroundings, and the corpses of insects were stuck together.

In particular, there were sculptures of unknown beasts standing on either side of the entrance, so it was very reluctant.

"Sah, Priest?"

"Let's go in."

"Hey, are we okay? I don't think so."

The place to arrive was the headquarters of the Zenith Church, which should shine brilliantly. It was not a building with such an old and eerie atmosphere.

"Let's go in."

The priest grabbed Shinno's hand with an expressionless face.

I thought something was wrong, but I couldn't resist the touch.

'okay. There's no way something's wrong I was chosen by God.'

No problem. God cannot betray Himself.

Shinno took the priest's hand and followed him into the building.

The inside of the building was more serious than the outside. Cobwebs hanging everywhere, all kinds of bugs and dusty floors.

It is a sight that has no choice but to stop walking. However, at the priest's attraction, the light body had no choice but to be dragged.

The priest stood in front of the bookshelf and pulled out a particularly clean book halfway through. A secret space appeared as the bookshelf was borrowed sideways with a click sound.

It was then that Shinno realized that something was wrong.

However, it was late.

Shinno was too weak to resist the priest's hand. As I went downstairs, a terrible sight unfolded.

The corpses of all kinds of animals were contained in the glass tube, and an object thought to be a brain was floating in some glass tube.

From half-dissected corpses to squashed skeletons were also visible.

Several reagents were being produced, or something was boiling on the lamp.

four Priest?"

" ."

"I think I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Hehe.

Shinno pretended not to know as much as possible and pulled the priest's hand.

"Go up again. Ooh, let's go to our headquarters. Go get the stigmata... You said you had to get a stigma."

The priest turned and looked at him. There was no emotion left in his cold eyes.

Shinno felt a chill in his spine.

"Priest ."

"I brought it."

The priest opened his mouth.

And from somewhere, footsteps began to be heard.

The buzzing sound was the sound of footsteps, but it felt like my soul was pounding.

All the new clothes made by the members of the church were soaked with cold sweat.

Tung- Kugugugugugung-

The right wall opened with a loud noise.

Someone walked out of there.

Shinno's eyes widened.

"Lord, Bishop."

"Shinno. See you again."

Appearing from the wall was none other than Bishop Lincoln. He obviously remained in the church. The only people who left Heis were himself, the coachman, and the priest next to him.

But how is Bishop Lincoln here?

"You have a very frightened face."

"Lord, Bishop. Have I not been chosen by God?"

"It's true that I was hired. Janice God has personally named you."

"By the way, why did you come here and not the headquarters?"

"Because this is the utopia we will reach."

Bishop Lincoln stroked Shinno's head with his characteristic benevolent face.

"Children are born with innocence. unspoiled purity. That's great."

Yes?

"It's something that adults can't have. So, isn't there a saying that children suck up anything like a sponge?"

I didn't understand what the bishop was saying.

"So it's been chosen."

The smiling bishop's eyes opened.

There was a glimmer of madness in his blue eyes.

"Come in."

"Is it my turn at last?"

It was an unpleasant voice, as if scratching iron.

Behind the bishop, an old man with glasses bent over his waist walked out. Both sides of the old man's hair were sticking out.

He adjusted his glasses and looked at Shinno.

"A good test subject."

This place is full of madness.

Shinno thought so.

- Continued on next episode -