Chapter 10

༺ The First Letter (10) ༻

The temple was like a Pandora box storing despair and hope within it.

The building, built by the height of civilization, was tall and wide. The temple, where sacred symbols and torch paintings were displayed everywhere, was surrounded by a reverent and antique atmosphere.

In front of this magnificent house of God, a mere human being couldn’t help but feel so small.

The mere beings on the earth kneel down in worship and offer their prayers to God. It took a long time, like a grain of sand that endured light and heat in a furnace.

Praying to God was proof that you couldn’t do something by yourself.

Therefore, it is synonymous with resignation and despair, so much that the only place you could hang on to was a transcendent being who doesn’t even respond to your prayers.

And such a thing happened even at the treatment center located in the temple

The temple, located in the academy, served as a lecture hall for theology classes and was a place where senior priests stayed. So that they could deal with eventual mishaps during training.

The academy was a place where lectures were conducted alongside practical classes, seeing how much training was being conducted. Even a minor mistake would often lead to injuries.

Of course, most of them would have to be treated only for a few days at the most.

Training with a high risk of injury, including duels, was because it was essential for an academy professor to observe the skills of their students. However, it was rare for an irreversible accident to occur in front of such prominent figures on the continent.

However, it wasn’t like there were no patients whom the temple couldn’t handle.

Like the fourth-grader who has been sent out to have real life experiences, such as exterminating the demons, or someone who carelessly roams through dangerous areas on the Academy site. Students who are involved in accidents may sometimes suffer serious injuries that could lead to death.

Of course, this time it was the same. Although she has not died yet, there has been no news of improvement even though the Saintess along with the high priests were dispatched from the Holy Land. She basked in her holy power since early morning.

It was understandable. I heard that her intestines spilled out.

In the meantime, several people gathered in front of the intensive care unit in the temple. They prayed and then left.

They were all related to Emma. Her advisor, her faculty seniors and juniors, her close friends, myself and Leto.

Holding my face with my palms, I reflected on what had happened yesterday afternoon. As I watched the potion Emma gave me in my arms, I felt my insides twist in regret.

By then, the Saintess, who was leading Emma’s treatment with high-ranking priests of the Holy Land, left the intensive care unit with signs of fatigue.

My body, which was holding my face in a daze, sprang up. The Saintess was already familiar with this, so she put her hands together and bowed her head as if she was praying.

“Emmanuel.”

God is with us, it was a blessing from the Holy Land instead of a greeting.

Seeing my impatient expression, the Saintess half closed her eyes as if she understood the situation. Maybe it was because she poured out too much of her holy power, but her milky face, which was already white, was now even paler.

Silver hair flowing gently through the light, and pale pink eyes colored with a tinge of grief.

She was so beautiful that I thought that if a god truly existed, he must have shown terrible favoritism. If it was the usual me, I might have been mesmerized in appreciation.

But today mine and Leto’s eyes were fixed on her lips, not on her face, waiting for her to say something

Her lips, which were always adorned with a gentle smile, remained closed today and showed no signs of opening.

We were just silent.

A man who couldn’t do anything has not right to say anything. It was a matter of course.

“The divine providence is not something that can be controlled by the power of the mortal. So, brothers, don’t be so hard on yourself.”

She bowed her head with her hands folded again at the end of her speech. It was a farewell. It seemed that she was going to leave for a while.

“Of course, if it were that simple, no one would suffer... May you regain your peace of mind, Emmanuel.”

Leaving such a murmur as if passing, the Saintess left.

Me and Leto were scattered in front of the intensive care unit for a long time after she left.

This situation itself was not unfamiliar to me, the fact that I might lose someone. I’ve been to a funeral in the past.

But the feeling at the time was not even close to this, the death of a friend which I might have prevented.

It was a lie if I didn’t have a confused mind. My empty eyes stared into the air, losing track of time.

It was the howling of a countryman that awakened my spirit, which was soaking in regret and guilt.

“Oh, Emma! Emma, my daughter!”

Me and Leto’s eyes, who suddenly came to their senses, ran towards the source of the sound. There, there was a shabby-looking man rushing up the hallways of the temple.

His beard and hair were not properly organized, so he didn’t look neat. He had a simple luggage carrying roughly a bundle.

Me and Leto’s body jumped up after quickly figuring out who he was. The man with gray hair collapsed in front of the intensive care unit.

Wondering whether I should go inside. While having an unsure face, I approached him cautiously.

“Excuse me, are you Emma’s father?”

“...What? Do you know my daughter?”

It was clear. Me and Leto, who were now sure that he was Emma’s father, bowed our heads immediately. It was a natural etiquette that had to be shown toward the parents of close friends.

“Ian Percus, Emma’s friend.”

“Also, Emma’s colleague, Leto Einstein.”

At Leto’s greeting, Emma’s father opened his eyes wide and looked at me and Leto alternately. Then he blinked and remained silent for a long time.

The next moment, Emma’s father reacted.

“Pe, Percus? Einstein...? My god, aristocrats! Oh, I’vesinned, I apologize! This countryman is short of learning, so he didn’t recognize the young masters.......”

He began to prostrate himself and beg for forgiveness from us.

Leto looked at me with a troubled eye, and I looked down at him with sorrow and guilt.

Life is something capable of such cruelty.

Even before his daughter’s death, he had to ask for forgiveness because he didn’t recognize the aristocrats.

It was really unbearable.