“Seeing Wyndis go to Master Reytan, I feel at ease in my old heart.”
Hahaha. Hahaha.
At the words of the Grand Priest, the priests burst into laughter.
It was a rare sight, seeing the holy sword leave the Great Hall.
The thoughts of the priests were in unison.
‘It was holy to meet it, and may we never see it again!’
Though saying ‘never again’ might be an exaggeration. From today, they could sleep peacefully without worrying about the remnants of divine power.
The Grand Priest clasped both of Reytan’s hands firmly.
Reytan’s eyes flinched at the sudden physical contact. The Grand Priest’s face softened with a kind smile, deepening the wrinkles around his eyes.
“May the mercy of the god Aubawth be with you always.”
[Khaha.]
A sharp laugh rang out.
It was a sound only Reytan could hear.
[Mercy of the god, you say.]
The wind was a chatterbox.
Reytan’s life had been as unpredictable as the wind itself, yet it was never filled with idle talk.
Reytan really couldn’t understand why the holy sword of the Wind had chosen him.
[You have no idea what an honor it is to be chosen by the holy sword.]
It had been babbling on and on since earlier.
Leaving the Great Hall was for the best.
Unless it was the time to unleash its power or come to the Great Hall, Wyndis couldn’t use enough strength to speak.
Wyndis harbored significant resentment toward Reytan for abandoning its.
The Aubawth religious order believed the holy sword was suffering from lovesickness, but in truth, it was a matter of pride wounded by Reytan, who had discarded it
[You’re the first human to treat me this way, you know?]
Even as Reytan exchanged farewell greetings with the Grand Priest, Wyndis wouldn’t stop talking.
It was as though it was determined to fill Reytan’s ears with words until they left the Great Hall.
[That woman’s daughter, right?]
Reytan flinched.
“Is something wrong?”
“Nothing.”
The Grand Priest asked, surprised at the sudden change in Reytan’s demeanor.
[Pink hair. She was the only woman around you with that color.]
“Shut up.”
Reytan tapped the hilt of Wyndis with his elbow.
The wind was both a chatterbox and oblivious to social cues.
Wyndis continued its chatter, irritating Reytan further.
[How does no one know? Your daughter is-.]
“Grand Priest, I have a long journey ahead, so I should be on my way.”
Reytan’s steps crossed the threshold of the Great Hall, and Wyndis’ voice fell silent.
“I see. You mentioned you’re heading to a disciple’s house? Travel safely, and I hope to see you again soon.”
With the Grand Priest and the priests seeing him off, Reytan made his way to the carriage outside the temple.
The carriage was already occupied by Berry and Theon.
Everyone was curious.
Who was the woman Reytan Quartz Travel had met to have a daughter?
Everything was a mystery.
The sudden appearance of a daughter. And his retirement.
No one knew anything beyond that. Among the people, the leading theory was that the mother might already be deceased.
Mother…
“I’ll raise her myself. Better that than leaving her to you.”
“………..”
Even in the moment he was leaving, holding Berry, she lay on the bed staring at the wall.
The irresponsible mother who abandoned her daughter. Reytan despised her.
“Dad~ Theon says he wants to see his Grandpa soon~!”
His daughter leaned out the carriage window, her icy blue eyes filled with affection.
“It doesn’t matter even if that woman is the biological mother.”
Reytan muttered as if intending Wyndis to hear him.
“I’m not letting Berry be taken away.”
***
After Reytan and his companions left the Great Hall.
The Grand Priest gathered the priests.
“You should have seen the young boy standing there with such composure, even though he’s only ten years old.”
It was a lament.
The priests, who just wanted to rest today, felt a heavy weight settle on their shoulders.
“I deeply regrets it and reflects on it thoroughly. The era of peace has lasted long. To correct our lax spirits, from tomorrow, we will begin a special dawn prayer-.”
Ratatat! Bang!
Someone hurriedly ran into the main hall, slamming the door open with their entire body.
“Grand Priest!”
It was Priest Holt. He seemed incredibly alarmed, desperately seeking the Grand Priest.
Just moments ago, they had spoken about maintaining composure in any situation.
The Grand Priest, though smiling, clenched his teeth and asked Priest Holt.
“What is it? I thought the door was going to break.”
“You have to come see this!!”
Hearing his urgent call, the Grand Priest followed Priest Holt, and the other priests trailed closely behind.
The rear path of the main temple. They passed the fork in the road of choices, the waterfall plaza, and as they climbed the hill of blessings, they reached a remarkable sight.
There was a long-standing history of a thousand years at the Great Hall.
When the god Aubawth descended temporarily to the mortal world, he took pity on the humans suffering from drought and gifted them an everlasting spring.
But due to human wrongdoing, the spring dried up, and to seek forgiveness, the people built a temple and created an artificial waterfall beneath it.
This was the Temple of Aubawth.
However, the spring never filled again.
There had only been a prophecy.
“The spring…”
When water fills the dry spring once more, the world will change.
“How magnificent this is.”
The shimmering spring water met the beginning of the waterfall, breaking apart like mist.
Water droplets reflected light, and a rainbow stretched across them.
The Grand Priest, witnessing the miracle, felt his knees give way. Two nearby priests quickly supported him, tears welling up in their eyes.
‘What is this?’
Was it the grace of the main god, or a miracle performed by someone?
‘Who came here today?’
The Grand Priest retraced his confused thoughts. Finally, as a certain person’s voice surfaced in his mind, he felt a chill down his spine.
About an hour ago. A cute child being scolded by his dad in front of the main temple.
Didn’t Master Reytan clearly say that?
“You said you’d only look at the statue. Did you end up going to the top of the waterfall?”
Could it be?
It was unlikely that child had anything to do with this phenomenon. Nonetheless, the old heart of the Grand Priest was pounding.
***
We had left the Great Hall and were on our way to Theon’s grandfather’s place.
The destination was the countryside village of Leaf, about a three-hour carriage ride away.
We briefly stopped the carriage in the forest connecting to the village.
On the way here, we stopped by another village, bought some gifts, and had desserts, but time was still tight.
I caught Theon’s gaze as he sat across from me.
“How much farther to Theon’s house?”
“About 20 minutes by carriage from here.”
It would be just in time for dinner.
“How many people are in our group?”
Dad asked as he stepped out of the carriage, and the deputy commander of the second knights’ division answered him.
“Sixteen people.”
“And how many horses?”
“Twelve.”
It was quite a large group.
Although dad had sent word in advance to announce our visit, having more than ten people all arriving at once could be burdensome for Baron Voltman.
“Your grandfather is a knight too, right? Is he strong?”
“Yes. When he was young, he served in the Emperor’s personal guard.”
“Wow.”
Sitting next to Theon, Jeffrey wagged his tail.
While Anne was organizing the food supplies from the cart, Jeffrey, who had been sitting in the coachman’s seat, slipped into the carriage.
Jeffrey seemed as interested in swords as Theon was. The two of them grew more engrossed in their conversation over their shared interest.
‘Hmm.’
I wasn’t particularly interested in sword talk, so I perked up my ears to listen to the conversation outside the carriage.
Dad was still talking with the knights.
“You all can stay at the inn in the nearby village. Join us on the day of departure.”
“What?! We came to guard the young master!”
“With Wyndis here, it’s fine.”
“We have Wyndis, but we’re here too, aren’t we?”
“With Miss Berry here, you’ll need protection.”
The knights around dad voiced their opinions, making it clear they weren’t going to leave him unguarded.
Dad narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the knights.
“… You’re rather chatty, as if someone ordered you to stay by my side and keep watch.”
“No, no. It’s purely out of concern for the young master’s safety…”
“We’re nothing like those sneaky guys from the 4th knights’ division!”
“Young Master, if you don’t need guards, can we at least come along as porters?”
“Didn’t you say your shoulder was sore today? Let me be your massage therapist!”
“Oh, by the way, Young Master, could you show us Wyndis just once?”
The knights from the second division, who had been giving excuses, now showed their true colors.
They were my dad’s ardent followers.
