CH 7

Didn't they tell you not to try to find the way when you're lost, and to just stand still?

However, since I had walked quite a distance and was wearing a floor-length dress and even heels, my feet hurt, so it was hard to wait.

Looking around for a place to sit, I discovered a spot that could serve as a chair. It was a place that captivated my heart to the point where I forgot that I was lost. Unlike other flashy places, it was a simple but charming place.

It was a simple wooden pavilion under a beautiful hackberry tree. For some reason, I was attracted to its simplicity. So there was a place like this in this splendid temple.

If I sat there and waited, someone would come looking for me.

As I approached the pavilion with such thoughts, I found something there and froze in surprise: it was the feet of a person wearing white trousers and white shoes.

The upper body was hidden by the table, but looking at the uniform of the priests, it seemed that it was one of the priests who was lying on the bench.

…Was that a good thing?  Although I was initially surprised to find someone since I thought there was nobody there, I realized that I had now found someone who could be my guide.

“Excuse me.”

I tried to call the owner of the foot in a low voice. But whether he heard it or not, the person didn't even move.

“…Excuse me, sir?”

So this time, I raised my voice a little louder. But it was the same this time, too, no movement.

Even if you were deeply asleep, a voice like this could still be heard… At that moment when frustration was rising up, I thought to myself, ‘Could it be?’

I hoped he wasn't dead.

Haha, hopefully…

Finding a dead body while walking in the garden of the Great Temple? How likely was that?

“Excuse me, um…”

I muffled the sound of my footsteps and moved a little closer. My heart started pounding.

And then…

The owner of the feet raised his upper body. Dirty sky-blue hair popped up on the table.

…It was a surprise. In any case, it was fortunate that the unfortunate event of finding a dead body was avoided.

By the way, the pink hair on Lucia’s side was unrealistic, but the light blue hair on this priest’s side looked formidable as well.

That was just like… Yes, it was that exact color. The color of a soda-flavored chewy bar. That one.

“…”

The man sat there for a while without saying a word, not even opening his eyes, as if he hadn't woken up.

I opened my mouth again and called out to him. “...Excuse me, sir.”

It was good he woke up, but this didn't help much. You weren’t going to sleep in a sitting position, were you?

“Who…"

He looked at me with one eye open in a sleepy voice, then opened his eyes round. He didn't seem to think at all that a stranger would be standing there.

The man turned his head and busily brushed his shoulder-length hair with his fingers. Then he said “Hmmm” and smoothed his neck.

After he finished waking up fully, he turned his head back to me, looked at me with a sparkling face, and smiled at me, as if he had never made a sleepy face. The corners of his softly curved eyes rose up like fox eyes.

…It was out of the blue to think like this in this situation, but why was the priest so handsome? It was the kind of face that made me think that.

“What are you doing here, young lady? Do you need my help?”

The clear voice was a soft, sweet voice. He had a bewitching smile and even a voice like an oriole. It was a look that was sure to make many women cry and was worth the face value.

“…I'm lost. Which way do I have to go to Chapel No. 3?”

“Ah, you are the one who came for the baptism. Let me guide you.”

The man jumped up from the bench at my words. He seemed to be thinking of taking me there himself.

“You don’t have to do that.”

I refused his offer without letting my guard down. I just needed to show him the way, but why?

I didn’t like men who were overly kinder than necessary. My experience had been telling me so, as my father - or whatever - was a very kind person to women he didn't know outside.

“I also have business there, and it is a bit complicated to explain in words. I hope you don't feel pressured.”

Despite my cold rejection, the man continued to smile the whole time. There was something playful in his gaze as he looked at me.

I couldn't easily believe that there was something to do in the same direction, but I was a little worried because the road was complicated. It was because I didn't have the confidence to get out of this maze-like garden without a guide.

“Then, please.”

“This way. Let's go.”

While walking alongside him like that, I glanced at him from the side of my eye. It wasn't a sharp glance. It was a look of disapproval.

I didn't notice it when he was sitting, but he was dressed really badly.

The neat stand-up collar shirt, the symbol of priesthood, had all its white flesh exposed, no matter how many buttons had been undone. Again, one side of the shirt that was supposed to be worn neatly tucked into the trousers protruded out of balance.

All over the world that I had lived in, some people dressed like that, but what this was… It wasn’t fashion.

Besides, it was distracting.

He was moving with a cheerful movement as if dancing. Humming was a bonus.

Gosh, really. I shook my head. Would it feel like this if I took a walk with a beagle?

I was annoyed that my feet, which had been hurting a little since earlier, started to sting in earnest, but even the beagle, which was excited at the side, was running around.

No, it wasn’t a beagle, it was a complete fox when you saw it when you smiled. In many ways, he was like an Arctic fox, jumping and hunting.

As I patted my aching leg and followed the fox-like priest, he suddenly stopped.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I have not been sensitive enough so I made the lady suffer.”

He spat out incomprehensible words and sat down on one knee in front of me.

“…What is it?”

“If you don’t mind, could you put your foot on my hand for a second?”

…Feet? Coming from a different world, I knew that it was not polite to place my foot on the hand of someone I had never met before.

I tried to hide my embarrassment and stared at him with an expressionless face, but he closed his eyes again like a fox.

“I don't mean to do anything suspicious, I'm just trying to make your feet comfortable.”

I can't believe you're going to make my feet feel better. I couldn't figure out what he was going to do, but it was true that my legs and feet hurt, so I put my foot in his hand.

A moment later, a warm streak of light rose from his hand, and the pain in my legs and feet disappeared like the pain had been a lie.

…Was this the holy power I've only heard about?

Having healed both feet, he stood up with a grin. “Let's go, young lady. There's not much time left.”

Even if I didn't flinch and frown, I might have felt a little good about him for relieving the pain.

It was no joke to know exactly when to hit and fall and show off your talent. It was obvious that he was a player. You'll get an estimate.

If you were a priest, it would be nice if you pledged chastity to the god like a priest and lived a life of purity for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, it was common for the priests of this world to get married and start a family.

This was because holy power tends to be inherited.

To preserve the holy power, the Terenus Church appointed and managed those who possessed the holy power as 'sacred nobles', a separate class from the feudal aristocracy of the fifth rank system.

There was also a class of priests who lived chaste and poor lives, but priests were characterized by neatly dressed clothes and short-cropped hair.

So this man's appearance meant that he was not a priest.

So it was clear that he was a bastard who would make many women cry in the future. Or he could have already made countless women cry.

“…By the way, young lady.”

Humming a song as he walked along, he spoke to me again.

“I hope you will listen to me without misunderstanding. I'm not that weird, and I'm not a charlatan. I’m definitely an official priest belonging to this temple. I'm not the kind of person who would say that to anyone.”

What the hell are you trying to say with such a grandiose rhyme? I looked at him with cold eyes as if seeing something unpleasant, and waited for him to continue.

“I can feel God's touch on you, and it's very strong.”

“…I beg your pardon?”

You just told me you're not a charlatan.

But what kind of nonsense was this? How would you know something like that? Saying things like "You have a clear spirit." The excessive nonsense stopped me from walking.

“I can feel God's touch from the young lady. You seem to be loved by God.”

…This guy's crazy. What kind of new bullshit was this?

“Are you trying to sell me something? I'm not buying it.”

Like a jade plate or a germanium bracelet. Something similar to that.

Just looking at it, it seemed like you were thinking of grabbing and robbing a noble lady in a luxurious dress, but I wasn’t that kind of superstitious person.

“…I am not that kind of person.”

The man snorted and felt wronged. But I couldn't believe it. When have you ever seen a cheater wear a sign on his forehead that said he was a cheater?

Seeing him use his holy power just now, it was clear that he was a formal priest of the Holy Nobility. Even so, it was not 100% reliable.

“How can I trust you? I don't see it.”