The blue-haired priest beamed brightly.
“Hello. I’m Garson, a servant of Lord Aether.”
Even after the introduction, Edelmar remained wary. The priest raised both hands and spoke gently.
“I’m on a pilgrimage, and I heard someone here was injured, so I came to help.”
Edelmar pointed his sword at the priest and asked coldly.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Over there.”
The priest said, pointing outside.
Outside, beastfolk with curious eyes were peering inside.
“I have healing powers.”
The priest added, pointing at Ian, who was lying unconscious.
“Let me heal him.”
“…Why should I trust you?”
The priest pointed at his own robes.
“I’m a priest of Lord Aether.”
“And what business do you have here?”
“A pilgrimage.”
Edelmar twisted the corner of his mouth at the confident answer.
“Since when did the beastfolk nation become part of a priest’s pilgrimage route?”
The priest’s face briefly showed a flicker of panic, then he gave an awkward smile.
“Well… it is a pilgrimage, technically. I just, kind of, strayed off course for a bit?”
Edelmar’s gaze grew sharper. The priest hurriedly added.
“Actually, I’m part beastfolk myself.”
He brought a hand to his ear and removed it. Suddenly, a pair of blue animal ears appeared atop his head.
“See? I was just on my way to visit some family when I heard fighting and came to check. Then I heard someone was injured, so I came to help.”
Edelmar’s eyes shifted to the ears on the priest’s head. They were unmistakably beast-like, yet something was off.
Blue.
Blue was a sacred color, and aside from the divine bluebird—known as the messenger of the gods—no beast bore that color.
And yet this man, claiming to be of mixed blood, had blue ears.
As Edelmar’s gaze narrowed, the priest quickly spoke again.
“I swear, I’m not a bad person. And if you leave him like that, his condition could get worse! If we want to do what the gods wish of us, shouldn’t we take care of his health first?”
Edelmar’s eyebrows rose.
“How do you know that?”
“I told you—I’m a priest.”
He brought his hands together. Light began to gather between them.
“Look. See?”
The light he gathered was divine energy.
Edelmar, who had once received divine power directly from the previous high priest to heal the Void, could recognize it instantly.
“Come on, let’s talk later. Don’t you think we should treat him first?”
Just as the priest was speaking with a bright smile, a bluebird flew in through the window and landed on his shoulder.
‘Why is a bluebird with that priest?’
The bluebird, known as a divine messenger, was so rare that most people never even caught a glimpse of one.
There was even a popular belief that seeing one would bring good fortune.
So when the bird landed on the priest’s shoulder, Edelmar’s suspicion deepened.
— Flap flap, chirp chirp.
The priest nodded as if listening to the chirping bird and then turned to Edelmar.
“I’m short on time. I need to treat him quickly and get moving. Is that alright?”
Edelmar, glancing between the bluebird and the priest, finally lowered his sword and stepped aside.
“If you try anything funny, you won’t make it out alive.”
“Haha, no worries.”
The priest replied cheerfully, approaching Ian.
Edelmar had done his best to clean up the blood, but since he’d never cared for anyone before, his efforts had been clumsy.
Seeing the lingering blood stains, the priest clicked his tongue.
“…sloppy… should’ve… at least…”
“What was that?”
Edelmar asked, having only caught fragments.
The priest shook his head quickly.
“Nothing. Let me begin.”
He placed his hand over Ian’s chest, and a warm light burst from his palm.
The light spread quickly from Ian’s chest to the rest of his body, then vanished just as fast.
“All done!”
Said the priest, lifting his hand.
It happened so quickly that Edelmar frowned.
“That’s it?”
“Yup. Too much divine power can be harmful. His injuries were more internal than serious anyway.”
As the priest replied with a soft smile—
Grrr…
A white snow leopard was sitting at the open doorway.
“You came to get me?”
Grr.
Looking delighted, the priest hugged the snow leopard.
“It’s all done now. Why’d you come all this way?”
He rubbed his cheek affectionately against the snow leopard’s and said to Edelmar,
“My family’s here to pick me up. I’ll be going now.”
Edelmar waved him off dismissively, then turned his attention to Ian.
Perhaps it was thanks to the divine power—his complexion was visibly better than before.
Then, from behind him, the priest’s voice rang out,
“It’s best not to let go of what you’re holding. If you do, it might be too late to get it back.”
Edelmar spun around—but the priest was gone.
He rushed outside, but like smoke, both the priest and the snow leopard had vanished without a trace.
“Ugh…”
Hearing a noise from inside, Edelmar turned back.
There, inside the house, Ian was stirring and beginning to sit up.
“Duke?”
“Grand Duke.”
Ian, who had brought his hand to his face as if to splash water, dropped it and blinked.
“You’re awake?”
“Yes. This place is…?”
“You didn’t want to return to the kingdom, so I borrowed a beastfolk’s home.”
“Ah.”
Nodding, Ian rose to his feet. Edelmar hurried to support him.
“Shouldn’t you lie down a bit longer?”
“No, I feel fine.”
And it wasn’t a lie.
It felt like he had just woken from a deep sleep—his body felt refreshed, and all pain had vanished.
“The priest’s healing must have worked.”
“Priest’s healing?”
“A priest was just here. He gave you divine power and left.”
“I see…”
‘If a sacred relic could help with soul separation, then divine power must help with healing, too.’
Ian nodded, then asked Edelmar.
“What about the knight?”
“He got away. The dark mages took him.”
“I see.”
That one shouldn’t have slipped away.
Though Ian knew he couldn’t blame Edelmar—it was Ian who had been unconscious—it still felt like a loss.
“You didn’t catch the dark mages either?”
“No. They even took the bodies.”
Ian nodded again.
“Then let’s finish what we came here to do and head out.”
“What we came to do?”
Ian pulled out a sheet of paper from his inventory, one inscribed with a magic circle.
“Ah… right.”
“Rose is waiting.”
When they stepped outside, beastfolk were gathered around someone—Napharoa.
As Ian approached, Napharoa noticed the footsteps and waved.
“Oh, Duke. Are you alright now?”
“Yes, I’m feeling better.”
Napharoa pushed past the crowd to inspect Ian closely.
“You looked like you were about to die earlier, but your complexion really has improved.”
“I’m sorry to have worried you.”
“No need to apologize. It all happened because of us anyway. So now that you’re up, are you going back to the kingdom?”
“No. Not yet—we need to treat the epidemic first.”
Napharoa frowned.
“You still want to do that now?”
“Yes. Please gather everyone who’s infected. I’ll start right away.”
“Why not do it tomorrow? Even if you’re feeling better, wouldn’t it be wise to rest?”
Ian shook his head, then turned to the guard standing next to Napharoa.
“Please gather the infected. We’ll begin the treatment.”
“Ah—yes? Right!”
The guard glanced at Napharoa, then ran off to gather the villagers.
Napharoa nudged Edelmar in the ribs with his elbow and muttered.
“You should stop him. Sure, he looks better, but he’s still a patient. Overdoing it won’t help anyone.”
“…Let him be. Actually, I’m more curious about something else.”
Napharoa perked up his ears.
“Have you ever seen an animal with blue coloring?”
“Of course not. That’s impossible.”
At that response, Edelmar stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Hey. You’re the Grand Duke of the Empire and don’t even know what blue means? If someone was born with that color, they wouldn’t be in the beastfolk nation. They’d be sent straight to the High Priest.”
“What about dyeing?”
“If you find a crazy beastfolk who dyes their fur blue, bring them to me. I’ll personally give them a mental re-education.”
Humans with blue hair weren’t that unusual—after all, the gods had granted blue to humans.
But no beast—ever—had naturally blue fur. It simply didn’t exist.
“Napharoa.”
“What now, you punk?”
“Can beastfolk-human hybrids hide their ears?”
Napharoa paused to think before answering.
“I’ve heard some can. Didn’t believe it until I saw it myself, but one of Kura’s friends could hide not just their ears—but their tail too. It was so amazing that I thought maybe I could learn to do it if I knew the trick, but it didn’t work for me. Must be the human blood that makes it possible. Oh, and you know our second kid—”
Napharoa kept rambling, but Edelmar tuned him out and turned his attention back to Ian.
Ian placed a magic crystal atop the spell circle and recited the activation phrase.
As before, light spread out, and glittering particles rained down from the sky.
Where the light touched them, the villagers’ blemishes vanished.
“Wow, the spots—!”
“They’re gone!”
“We can finally return to the village!”
Cheers erupted from the beastfolk as they confirmed the spots had vanished.
Ian retrieved the magic crystal and the magic circle and said calmly,
“Let’s go.”
***
“You sure you’re alright?”
Inside the carriage, Ian didn’t look tired or unwell in the slightest.
If not for the traces of blood, one might’ve thought he’d just returned from a relaxing trip.
“Yes, I’m in surprisingly good condition. It seems divine power suits me.”
Right now, Ian’s body felt just like it had when he first became an Aura Master.
No pain. Overflowing energy.
If his body could stay like this, he might not even need to chase after sacred relics anymore.
“Really?”
Edelmar spoke up.
“Then once we’re back in the Empire, why don’t you try receiving divine power directly from the High Priest?”
“…Divine power?”
“Yes. What you got from that priest was on a whole different level. If you received it from the High Priest, your body might improve even more.”
Ian paused in thought, then shook his head.
“No, thank you.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to return to the capital.”
He already hated the capital because of the Flow, and every time he’d gone there, something had happened.
Worse, Yekhaterina was there.
And who knows what someone as influential as her might try with Rose? He had no intention of going back.
“Hmph.”
Edelmar muttered, stroking his chin in thought.
Ian turned his gaze to the window.
Though not quite the royal palace, a beautifully classic white castle came into view.
“Rose must be waiting anxiously.”
Though she was with Hamil, Ian couldn’t help but worry she might be scared being somewhere unfamiliar without her uncle.
“Are you heading straight to see her?”
“Yes.”
Ian’s expression made it seem like that should’ve been obvious.
Edelmar pointed at his clothes with a finger.
“You’re covered in blood.”
“Oh…”
Ian had been feeling so well that he forgot he’d coughed up blood earlier.
“Do you have an artifact with cleaning magic?”
Edelmar shook his head.
“Nope.”
‘Always when you need one, it’s nowhere to be found.’
Ian debated using magic or stopping by his room to wash up before seeing Rose. Just then, the carriage began to slow down.
“We’ve arrived. Out you go.”
Napharoa flung the carriage door open.
‘Too late now.’
Since magic wasn’t allowed inside the palace, Ian resolved to stop by his room first as he stepped out of the carriage—
“Kyaaah!! Uncle!!”
Rose’s scream rang out.
