Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 552

552. The Saintess and the Oracle

“I almost didn’t recognize you with the black hair. When did you change it?”

“It’s been a while. Does it look strange?”

“No, it suits you well. But didn’t you have quite long hair? I imagine there was a lot of opposition. You managed to cut it. Was there even a barber willing to do it? I thought no one would agree.”

“Don’t even mention it. You have no idea how much I struggled to persuade them.”

The unexpected reunion at dawn was very amicable. Since leaving the Empire, they had known nothing of each other’s whereabouts. It didn’t seem right to continue the conversation standing, so they settled down and sat in a circle, sharing stories of what had happened in the meantime. But as welcome as it was, encountering each other in such a place was quite unexpected. In response to the question of how it happened, Edith answered with a bright smile.

“I received a divine message.”

“A divine message?”

The story began two weeks ago, at a focused prayer meeting held at the main temple of the Demon God Church. The priests were gathered, deep in worship, when suddenly the High Priest stood up from his seat and recited something akin to a founding myth. He had received a divine message from the Demon God.

*On the day Envy opens its eyes, when the time of Nashik deepens. The light guided from the bosom where the old dragon sleeps will arrive. You shall meet a pitiful noble who chases the truth.*

It was the kind of content that made you wonder what it even meant, but the expert priests managed to interpret it well.

“The God of Envy, Invidia, is also the god of February. The opening of eyes signifies the beginning. Nashik is the god of the moon, and the name of this mountain in ancient language means ‘old dragon.’ It’s said that the name was given because it looks like a dragon crouching when viewed from the sky. So, we interpreted it to mean that we would meet a noble at the center of the mountain at dawn in February.”

Thus, the Demon God Temple dispatched two priests and three holy knights to confirm the divine message. That was Edith and her group, who were now before my eyes. Unable to know the exact date and location, they had been exploring the mountain for the past week, but they looked very bright, showing no signs of fatigue. Edith, especially, looked excited, smiling that good things came after hardship. Her gaze was very meaningful, and just as I was about to feel embarrassed, I was left dumbfounded by what she said next.

“Seeing us meet El like this, it seems we interpreted it correctly. It seems El was the noble.”

“Me? I’m the noble?”

“El is a noble, indeed.”

I wondered what this was all about, but Ayira even agreed with a satisfied look. But thinking about it again, this was definitely aimed at me. The moon, the time, and the place all matched; it couldn’t be anything else. But wait a minute. In that case, the modifier before it was quite bothersome.

“So… you mean me.”

“Yes, the noble.”

My face flushed with embarrassment, but the others didn’t seem to care at all. I was even more taken aback by their nonchalant expressions. It’s not like I was the only one who heard the modifier. Am I the only one who cares about it right now? Why is everyone glossing over that?

“Hey, the Demon God called you pitiful. Oh, you were a pitiful noble?”

But that wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for either. After telling Lapis to shut up as she snickered, I rubbed my throbbing head. Another divine message out of the blue. I guess this is how they try to stab me in the back when I don’t respond no matter how much they call. I became even more troubled as I became aware of the glances that seemed to find it fascinating. It felt like the story was going to be longer than expected.

“Um, okay. The noble aside, does this mean the Demon God Temple needs help enough to receive a divine message?”

“Yes, we have an important mission ahead.”

“What important mission?”

“The temple will be restored soon.”

The explanation was that the Demon God’s temples, which had disappeared from the Epen Kingdom and the Seik Empire, would be rebuilt. I stared blankly at Edith, not understanding what was going on.

“Do priests have anything to do with the restoration of a temple? Isn’t that something the god takes care of?”

“That’s right. But right now, those lands are contaminated by the power of a corrupt false god, so we need to purify them first. It’s a kind of groundwork that needs to be done.”

“A false god? Contamination?”

“Remember the declaration of divine will that the Seik Empire made when they started the war.”

It was easy to recall what that was. The emperor, who had been swayed by the crown prince, had publicly announced to the world that he would revive the forgotten god, Siren. Most people reacted with absurdity, but since the emperor wasn’t in his right mind, they had no choice but to follow. In the past two years, there had also been scenes of a group with a mermaid picture as their emblem openly proselytizing in the square.

“But wasn’t that just something they said to create a justification?”

“No. Siren was actually trying to revive.”

“Wow.”

“Strengthening the power of the mermaids, drawing in the emperor to start proselytizing, it was all part of that process. Fortunately for everyone, it failed due to something completely unexpected.”

Even Minerva was involved in that failure. The Islebra Count family, who had maintained Siren’s lineage by inheriting her soul through forbidden arts, had been preparing for Siren’s revival for a very long time along with the mermaids. Now, with the power of the mermaids strengthened by the newly completed dark magic, it was the perfect time, and they had prepared magic on Princess Anais’s body early on for this purpose. Siren was supposed to inhabit that body and be revived. But before they could even attempt the revival, the princess suddenly died.

“Huh……”

“Their grand plan was ruined. But thanks to the Empire’s active proselytizing over the past two years, there are now many followers of Siren. Their faith is giving Siren power again. This vicious cycle is causing a miasma [a noxious or poisonous atmosphere] to flow through the two countries.”

Even if it’s a cult, faith is faith, and when it comes together, it becomes a dangerous power. This kind of power is inherently impure, so it usually causes harm to the world (which is why abilities that cannot be proven in my era are severely punished by religious trials). Fortunately, the Seik Empire was self-correcting after the emperor came to his senses, but the Epen Kingdom, which was the center, seemed to have worsened. It seemed that a sanctuary for Siren had been created, becoming a gathering place for fanatics. My heart grew heavy with the suffocating story.

“It didn’t end with the crown prince being captured.”

“That’s right. The real solution is just beginning. But that crown prince has been reinstated.”

“What? Reinstated? The crown prince?”

“Didn’t you know? Haven’t you heard any news from the Epen royal family?”

I nodded to mean that was the case. The last news I knew was that the crown prince was imprisoned in the Empire. After that, even while living in the Epen Kingdom’s territory, I hadn’t particularly looked into the political situation. It was such a remote countryside, and I hadn’t deliberately tried to find out. Edith gave me a look as if she expected that.

“It’s probably going to be worse news than you think.”

The story that followed was shocking. At first, it seemed like the Epen Kingdom was resolving things on its own. When the crown prince, who possessed the power of bewilderment, was imprisoned, the king was released from his brainwashing and regained his senses. The enraged king imprisoned the queen in a tower and sent troops to the Islebra family, massacring their entire clan. He also launched a large-scale subjugation force to drive out the mermaids from the kingdom. But the situation was reversed in an instant when he was counterattacked by the queen, who had escaped from the tower.

“The Epen Kingdom is now under the control of the queen. The king is missing, and his whereabouts are unknown. And just recently, the crown prince, who had been imprisoned in the Empire, returned home. He’s said to be holding a coronation soon.”

“……Why did the emperor release the crown prince?”

“It seems the kingdom poured all of its finances into paying the ransom. The Empire, which had suffered enormous losses due to the last war, thought it was a worthwhile deal.”

So he releases the guy who tried to assassinate him? Anyway, he was an emperor who was of no help in life.

“Now, the only Islebra bloodlines are the queen and the crown prince. The queen is gathering women of childbearing age from all over the country. It seems she’s trying to have them bear the crown prince’s child to prepare a body for Siren to be revived again.”

I couldn’t help but rub my face wearily at the increasingly outrageous content. I knew the mastermind was the queen, but as expected, the scale was different when the real thing came forward. But Edith didn’t pay much attention to that part. She said it was better that the crown prince had returned, and she casually dismissed it as it would be their last struggle anyway. No matter what plans they made, the prophecy was that everything would be over once the Demon God’s temple was rebuilt.

“His Holiness the Pope received a response while praying. At the same time that the temple is rebuilt in the Epen Kingdom, which massacred countless Demon God followers, the power of punishment will befall it.”

“The power of punishment?”

“It’s the power of judgment that annihilates the Demon God’s enemies. It’s also the most merciless and terrifying power.”

Edith’s face was dark as she calmly answered. Considering the weight of what she said next, it was inevitable.

“The power of punishment makes no exceptions. When that power descends upon the earth, it will destroy all those who follow Siren. Since there is that sanctuary in the kingdom, the people will not be exempt from responsibility. They will all die. Not just the queen, the crown prince, and the mermaids… but the entire population of the Epen Kingdom.”

“……!”

“We’re trying to prepare for that. If we eliminate their sanctuary, we can minimize the damage.”

Ayira added the explanation with a bitter expression. I took a deep breath that I had unknowingly stopped. I don’t even know what to call the complex emotions I’m feeling right now. While I was leisurely wandering through the forest looking for the Soul Stone, these enormous things were happening on the other side. As expected of the realm of gods, it was a completely different world.

“Is there a way to eliminate the sanctuary? You said you were going to purify it earlier, right?”

“That’s right. Usually, these fake sanctuaries have a central pillar that serves as a symbol. It’s also where the faith of the believers gathers. Here, that’s the statue of Siren. It can be purified with the power of the Demon God.”

“The problem is that we can’t approach that place with our power. Right now, that place is shrouded in a terrible fog, so no one can approach it. We’ve tried purification several times so far, but all those who went inside haven’t returned. We received the divine message while we were looking for a way to solve that.”

I felt like I knew what the next words would be without even hearing them. I couldn’t bring myself to utter curses outright, so I stared blankly at the sky. The night sky, which resembled the Demon God, was particularly dark today.

“I understand what you’re saying. You’re saying that I’m the one who can solve that problem, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Is there any possibility that the noble mentioned in the divine message isn’t me?”

“No matter how you look at it, it’s El.”

Edith answered firmly, not considering any other possibilities. Ayira, as well as the other people I was meeting for the first time, had confident expressions. Honestly, I felt the same way, so I had nothing to say about it.

“I know it’s a difficult task, but I’ll ask you. Won’t you help us, El? There’s not much time left until the day the punishment is to befall. It’s something we need to hurry with as much as possible.”

“Um, just a moment. I……”

If this were a game, it felt like there would only be an accept button on the screen. Sweat flowed down my face, and I just kept opening and closing my mouth. I knew the situation well enough, and it wasn’t that I didn’t want to help, but I couldn’t readily give an answer. It was especially unsettling that this was happening just before the Descent of Divinity, and the fact that the loan period for the divine object was running out was especially concerning. Even if I were to accept, wouldn’t it be better to head to the Demon God Temple first? But at that moment, Edith’s expression suddenly went blank.

“If you help with this, I’ll go meet you. Don’t use those boring toys.”

“……Pardon?”

“……What did I just say?”

Edith asked back with a bewildered expression. It seemed like she didn’t even know what she had just said herself. Ayira and the others were also frozen with bewildered expressions. However, they were quicker to come to their senses than I was. After a moment of silence, the words that followed were bewildering.

“It seems to be a divine message.”

……Don’t deliver divine messages like this.

Of course, I was the only one who was dumbfounded, and it had a different meaning for the Demon God followers. The surroundings instantly became noisy.

“Oh my god, Demon God! Do you understand what language it is?”

“Ah, no. It’s a language I’m hearing for the first time. ‘Ihi heu kium……’ What was next?”

“Wasn’t it ‘Iki keu rium’ instead?”

“I heard it as ‘Kipi tuhi titum…’”

Moreover, it seemed that the others heard it in a language they couldn’t understand at all. I sighed as I stared blankly at the people who were in chaos because they couldn’t even properly remember the pronunciation, let alone attempt to interpret it. I don’t know what’s going on, but I think I know one thing for sure. Kanos is trying to avoid the Descent of Divinity. The problem is that I’m the one who can’t refuse this offer even though I know all of that.

‘……Just you wait and see if you don’t keep your promise.’

I’m going to storm into the Demon God Church’s main temple and stage a sit-in until you show up. I’m going to take a seat in the prayer room, the hall, or the chapel, and lie down for days and nights. I’m going to show you what being a nuisance is all about!

“So, what do I need to do?”

Only after asking through gritted teeth did the priests, who had been flustered, barely manage to regain their composure. Since there was no way to interpret the divine message right now, it seemed they had decided to focus on the fact that I was helping.

“Thank you, El. As I said, you can go to Siren’s sanctuary.”

“Where is that sanctuary located?”

“It’s the forest where the Islebra Count family’s villa used to be. It’s also where the count family’s daughters, who were born deformed and died, were buried. It’s now called the Mermaid Forest.”

Edith, who had taken out a map, pointed to a spot slightly below the kingdom. In terms of the human body, it was the area where the heart is located. Just by looking at it, it was a location selection that seemed to have a magical meaning. Is this why the entire population of the kingdom is held jointly responsible for just one sanctuary?