Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 65

“It’s real. It’s the emblem of Ellyuen. Amazing, to think that a priest of Ellyuen, whom I’ve only heard about, is so close by.”

Only then did I realize that the aura emanating from the priest was very similar to Ellyuen’s. The familiar feeling I got from him was because of that. I hadn’t been able to make the connection because his demeanor and presence were completely different.

“Do you know what the meaning of that emblem is, El?”

“Meaning?”

“The scales, balanced and not tilting to either side, represent the fairness of judgment. The snake wrapped around the axis warns that divine punishment cannot be avoided, no matter the outcome. It’s a fitting emblem for Ellyuen, the god of punishment, isn’t it?”

“Ahaha, y-yes, it really is.”

Fitting? More than that. As if to prove he is the god of punishment, even the meaning of the emblem is bleak. Yet, the fact that I can’t help but agree is, in a way, frightening.

“Anyway, judging by the position of the emblem, he’s not just an ordinary low-ranking priest. He’s probably quite high-ranking.”

“Position? Does that have a meaning too?”

“That’s right. A priest’s rank is determined by their divine power, and you can tell by the position where the emblem is engraved. The higher the divine power, the more recognized they are by the god, and the emblem appears on a more noticeable part of the body. The wrist is a sign of considerable divine power.”

“Heeh…….”

I looked at the priest again. At that moment, he seemed to sense my gaze and looked back with a puzzled expression.

‘Ugh, our eyes met. What should I do?’

Unable to hide my embarrassment, I awkwardly averted my gaze. But the next moment, something even more embarrassing happened. The priest, whom I expected to ignore me, excused himself from the others and approached me. He smiled gently and spoke to me.

“Excuse me. Aren’t you the one who safely escorted the head merchant here earlier? I’m late with my greetings. I am Kaitain, a priest serving the god of punishment.”

“Ah, y-yes! H-hello. I’m El…….”

“Nice to meet you, El. But you seem to have been looking at me for a while now. Is there something you wanted to say to me?”

“Yes? Ah, n-no, it’s just…….”

An unprepared situation is always embarrassing, especially when you’re the one who feels guilty. I hesitated about what to say and then awkwardly replied.

“Sorry. It’s just that it’s my first time seeing a priest of Ellyuen in person, so I was just curious…….”

“No, there’s no need to apologize. But that’s rare. How did you know his name was Ellyuen?”

“Yes?”

“Ah, I was just curious. Most people don’t even know he exists, even when I say ‘god of punishment.’ Especially here in the Swalt Empire, which embraces other religions but believes in the Demon God as the supreme god, so the names of other gods are rarely even mentioned…….”

“Ah, y-yes, that’s right. Ahaha…….”

If I answered, ‘I’m Ellyuen’s (adopted) son,’ I’d probably be arrested for blasphemy, right?

I’ve always heard that the most controversial topics among people are religion and politics. Kaitain seems relatively gentle, but no one knows how even the kindest person might change when it comes to issues related to their religion.

I racked my brain to find a way out of this situation. I could only hope that the knowledge I had begun to recognize as the Spirit King would be helpful this time as well. But knowledge and wit are different matters, and I couldn’t think of a suitable answer at all. What saved me was Trowel, who had been quietly watching from the side.

“Actually, El has a deep connection with the god Ellyuen. He gained comfort and peace of mind through him in the past.”

At that moment, I barely swallowed a sigh of relief that was about to burst out. It was a fresh reminder that Trowel was truly my sanctuary. Kaitain, who had no idea of these circumstances, immediately reacted to what he said.

“Ah, I see. It’s a great pleasure to meet someone who knows the grace of Ellyuen in a place like this. If it’s not too much to ask, I’d like to arrange a personal meeting later to have a more detailed conversation.”

“El would want that too. I think you’ll have a lot to talk about. El is also training to become a priest. He plans to visit the temple in Clamore to hear Ellyuen’s voice this time.”

Kaitain’s eyes widened at those words. He looked at me with a flustered expression and asked.

“You’re trying to become a priest?”

“Yes, w-why?”

“Excuse me, but how old are you……?”

“I’m seventeen years old.”

Kaitain began to examine me slowly from top to bottom. I saw a light of admiration briefly flicker in his serious gaze.

“You seem to have undergone quite honest training. I can feel a clean and pure aura. It’s rare to find such a refined aura even among priests, so you must have a truly pure heart.”

“T-thank you.”

“But I’m not sure if it will be okay. The time when one receives the call of God is usually when they are ten years old or younger. Compared to that, your age is relatively high.”

“Huh! Ten years old or younger? Then can’t you receive it after that?”

“It’s extremely rare. After all, the less tainted and the more pure the soul, the closer it can get to God. I was two years old when I received this emblem.”

According to what he added, the higher the priest, the earlier they receive the emblem of God. Some are even born with the emblem, which I could only purely admire.

“A priest from birth. Those people wouldn’t need to go through separate training.”

“No, the method is different, but they still train. The later one receives the emblem, the more effort they put into purifying their heart and gaining God’s recognition. Those who receive the emblem early train to understand God’s true will and control that power. In the latter case, they mostly live in the temple from a young age and then go on a healing pilgrimage when the time is right. I started at fifteen and have been on pilgrimage for four years now.”

“Heeh, so Kai-ssi is…….”

“Just call me Kai. That’s more comfortable.”

“Ah, yes. Then Kai is nineteen years old now. And you’re still on pilgrimage.”

Kaitain nodded calmly.

Priests on pilgrimage mostly volunteer for the landless peasants, impoverished villages that are not protected by the government, and red-light districts. He joined this merchant group to go to Ellyuen’s temple in Clamore. He is obligated to return to the temple regularly during his pilgrimage to report to the clergy, and it was that time.

“I was lucky. This path is so rough that I didn’t have the confidence to go alone. Instead of being indebted to the head merchant’s consideration, I decided to take care of the injured.”

“I see. It must be very difficult to treat people like that every day.”

“It’s a rewarding job. Rather, from my point of view, the more patients, the better. That’s the meaning of going on a pilgrimage. It’s also my mission to use the power Ellyuen gave me for his sake.”

Kaitain gave an answer that was truly befitting of a priest. And as if to prove those words, he soon left his seat and returned to the patients who were waiting for him.

I looked at his treatment, which I had already watched countless times, with a fresh perspective. He never easily overlooked even the smallest wound. He paid attention to all the symptoms they complained of, and after completing the treatment, he always offered a short prayer of thanks to God. In some ways, it was even reverent.

Isn’t that the kind of person who is a true priest? Seeing that made me feel ashamed for trying to receive the emblem of God simply to make my play more convenient. Furthermore, I had a subtle feeling about the fact that someone I had taken for granted could be an object of reverence and worship for someone else.

It was like Ellyuen had been taken away. Of course, it was an absurd thought. From the beginning, he had only shown kindness, and I had no right to monopolize it.

Besides, he already had precious angels like children by his side, didn’t he? Even if I was his adopted son, it probably wouldn’t mean anything special to him. Thinking that way suddenly made me feel depressed.

* * *

The next day and the day after that, the battle continued endlessly. I was worried that all kinds of monsters would be wiped out, and the road the procession passed was piled high with the corpses of monster hordes, like medals. Of course, the number of injured on our side was steadily increasing as well. As a result, the busiest person was the priest, Kaitain.

I later learned that using divine power consumed a lot of stamina. Furthermore, in order to replenish the depleted divine power, he needed to spend that much time praying. Therefore, instead of completely healing even the most urgent patients at once, Kaitain was using a method of helping them improve little by little each day by using divine power.

As the saying goes, your eyes go where your interest lies. Now that I knew he was a priest of Ellyuen, I often noticed his presence, which I hadn’t been aware of before. Every time I happened to see him, he was always busy. Recently, he seemed to be working hard to take care of the injured, even cutting back on his sleep.

“Hello.”

“El, what brings you here……? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, I just thought you seemed very busy. Is there anything I can help you with? I can do anything you tell me to do.”

“That’s a kind offer, but your clothes will get dirty. Besides, there are many people who are more seriously injured than you think, so it might be terrible to see.”

“It’s okay. I’ve seen so many monster corpses that I don’t care about most wounds anymore. There are so many injured people, it’s hard for Kai to handle it all alone. What can I help you with first?”

At those words, Kaitain smiled as if he couldn’t help it. From his point of view, he needed even one more hand, so there was no reason to refuse.

After I started helping with the treatment in earnest, I was able to have many conversations with him. Having traveled to various regions for a long time, Kaitain was a very knowledgeable person. He told me many stories that I didn’t know. They were mainly about the lives of priests and the divine power they possessed.

“Ah, I see. So, priests of the demon attribute don’t have healing abilities?”

“Yes, you probably know that the attributes of God are largely divided into celestial and demonic. Among these, if the gods with the celestial attribute govern the bright parts of human happiness, the gods with the demonic attribute generally govern the dark parts of human life. Therefore, their power is more focused on destroying and attacking than protecting people. They inflict pain and curses on enemies and inspire fighting spirit in warriors. That’s why priests of the demon attribute are often called dark priests.”

Furthermore, among these, those with the strongest divine power were the priests of the Demon God. Their holy knights had never lost a battle they participated in and were famous for leading enemies to death with the power of divine power alone. The reason why Swalt, which was only a small kingdom a long time ago, rose to become the current empire was also because of their power.

Because of this, the people of the Swalt Empire almost blindly trusted the priests of the Demon God. The fact that they were swept away by such absurd oracles without any qualms, and the fact that the Grand Duke could interfere in politics and act as regent even though he had already devoted himself to God, were all for that reason.

‘If possible, I’d like to meet that Demon God.’

I want to meet him and hear his thoughts on the current situation. Of course, the reality is that I can’t even meet the nearby Ellyuen as I please. I swallowed a sigh and shook off my thoughts.