I looked up in surprise. It was still dark and only the roof of the temple was visible beneath the dark clouds, but there was nothing unusual about it. If you really need to find it… Unlike when I was with Luke earlier, the dark shadow on top of the temple roof has disappeared? But that’s because the clouds become visible and invisible as they flow… I glanced back at the police officer standing next to me.
“Did you just hear that?”
“Yes?”
“What… I heard a strange sound.”
Amanta made an ‘ah’ sound and she answered calmly as if it was no big deal.
“I usually hear that sound once in a while. There are many narrow alleys, so on strong windy days, the noise can be a bit strange. I know Arviche is also from Park… I guess it wasn’t?”
“Ah…”
‘The sound of the wind? Did you hear that strange sound just now?’
I couldn’t understand, so I tilted my head. But looking at Amanta’s nonchalant expression, I couldn’t argue with anyone from the park about something they didn’t care about, so I didn’t ask any more questions. Amanta glanced at the line that showed no signs of abating and spoke to me.
“Looking at the length of the line, I think I can only enter the temple late at night… What would you do?”
I couldn’t imagine that the line of people heading to the temple would stretch all the way across the bridge, so I let out a small sigh. I didn’t mind returning later than Luke, but I’m not a private soldier and I can’t make the officer suffer for that long.
‘Next time, should I come back when I can during the day?’
“There’s nothing we can do…”
“If I borrow Luke’s name, I might be able to move the order forward a little.”
‘I appreciate your consideration, but I dislike it because it draws too much attention to you. I was thinking about it earlier. I haven’t done anything special yet, but I’m already receiving an unusual amount of attention.
As I pricked up my ears, wondering why everyone was staring at me so much, I noticed small whispers going back and forth among the people in line in front of me.“Is this the new governess of the Rearmonds?”
“Is that so? You were able to catch such naughty kids in one fell swoop?”
“That’s it? You captured Luke’s heart right away. I saw you two friends in the shopping district this morning, right?”
“Nonsense. Luke is kind to everyone, but I heard you’re not really close to anyone?”
“That’s right. You said he doesn’t give his heart well? You can tell just by how much the princess has been courting you, but you haven’t given in.”
“Ah, then is it just a rumor that they are lovers? Anyway, I hope so. What’s a month? Everyone quits and gets fired after not being able to last a week, so how do you get a job?”
In a world without politicians or celebrities, it is only natural that the lives of nobles become the subject of gossip, but it is not very welcome that the rumor continues to spread that Luke and I are lovers.
“I’ll come back next time.”
“…It’s been a long time coming, I understand.”
Amanta nodded her head and led me back towards the carriage. As I followed her for a few steps, I suddenly noticed a familiar person in front of the large angel statue placed near the entrance to her bridge. It was a priest wearing pure white clothes with a slightly tired face. He was short and had white hair and eyebrows, so at first glance he looked like a grandfather, but if you look closely, you could see that he was only in his late 20s.
“…Alay Kus.”
As I mumbled his name, which I clearly remembered, the priest looked at me with a puzzled expression. He looked at my face and blinked as if he had trouble remembering me.
“How did you…”
I looked him up and down again. Alay Kus I knew was the youngest person to become a high priest.
‘While serving the people of the park day and night, I was attacked by a criminal right in front of me while I was playing.’
However, although his current attire was more formal than that of the laymen wandering nearby, it was quite different from the flashy, gold-clad high priest’s attire seen in the middle of the game. Looking at his plain white clothes and hat, it seemed like he had not yet become a high priest. This was my first time seeing Alay Kus as he was before he became a high priest.
‘Well, you can save the early part of the game at Luke’s mansion… There was no need to come to the temple.’
I met him at every purification or saving event hosted by the temple, and Alay was like one of the few lights that alleviated the dark atmosphere that hung over the entire park.
‘After all, the NPCs near the save point are like light and salt.’
He was the biggest reason why I visited this temple. As I was trying to pour out a lot of things to say to Alay at once, I glanced at the police officer standing next to me. I didn’t feel at ease when I thought of him as the person chosen by Luke.
“I… Officer.”
“Yes?”
“Would you like to go to the carriage first? I want to pray to this priest for a moment and then go.”
If Officer Amanta’s purpose was to keep an eye on me, I thought he would stretch out a little more, but surprisingly, the officer just nodded his head and took his foot first.
‘As expected, I don’t know the intention.’
I took a step closer to Alay, who was looking at me with puzzled eyes, and pointed to the large stones scattered on the riverbank.
“…Miss?”
“Well, I have something to tell you. Can we talk for a moment?”
“I am… Even if you pray to me, it won’t help… Because he’s incompetent. Don’t do that, I’ll call another priest.”
When I saw him whispering softly in a dejected voice, I felt somewhat sorry for him. He was my light and salt, so who put Alay down like this?
“Why do you say that?”
“…Just today, during the consecration ceremony, he dropped his drinking glass… Have you completely forgotten the scriptures and cannot recite a single line properly? …I don’t know how long I can stay in the temple when I’m so stupid and untalented.”
I had no idea that Alay, who always gave words of blessing with a calm and collected face, had a past like this. He was so depressed that he even confessed this to me, a person he didn’t even know very well.
“Not at all.”
“…yes? But the miss treats me well…”
“Alay.”
“So, how do you know my name? I’m just a priest.”
“I’ve been watching you for a very long time.”
‘In the game.’
Perhaps because my words were sincere, Alay opened his eyes and stared at me. I looked into his confused eyes and continued speaking.
“Alay, you are completely mistaken. Everyone is comforted by Alay’s sincere heart and attitude toward people. That is the most important thing of all.”
“…Are you my believer?”
“Sure.”
Alay frowned as if he was remembering his memory. It was fun to see the pure white eyebrows bending. After doing that for a while, he smiled awkwardly as if he couldn’t remember anything.
“There are not just one or two believers whom Allai guided, how can I remember them all? So stop saying things like that and just keep going like you said.”
“…thank you.”
“And from now on, please listen carefully to what I say.”
I glanced toward the carriage. I saw Officer Amanta snooping around here, curious as to why he hadn’t come yet. I didn’t drag it out for too long and got straight to the point.
“Alay will soon become a high priest.”
Alay looked at me in confusion.
“…What is that?”
“Of course, I know that the current High Priest is a good person. However, the condition suddenly worsened… Anyway, Alay will be nominated.”
“…Dear believer! I appreciate you comforting me, but that is going too far.”
“I would like that too, but this is going to happen soon. So, please come see me again when that time comes. Because there is something I must tell you.”
Alay’s confused, sky blue eyes stared at me for a long time. I put off a lot of things I wanted to say right now. If he didn’t trust me, I didn’t know what to ask him, what to ask him, what to warn him… Because it will all be of no use. There was so much he could do for me. He was satisfied just being able to sow seeds for the future like this.
“…you are?”
“My name is Arbice Green, and I am a tutor at Rearmond Manor. You can contact Rearmond Manor.”
“…how.”
From a distance, I saw a police officer walking towards me. Now, my time to talk to Alay is over. I finished the story hastily and quickly walked towards the carriage. It was a great fortune to meet him here. I have no choice but to wait for that luck to bear fruit. It was all smooth sailing after leaving Green Manor. With Luke not around, I had plenty of time to wander around freely, picking up items wherever I wanted or researching rumors. On the carriage ride back, I looked up the item window with pride.
[Reading Glasses: Shows traces that are invisible to the eye.]
[Stag beetle, morpho butterfly: Event items that will increase favorability when gifted to children]
[Summer wildflowers (34): Collect 10 to make a wildflower necklace]
[Polaroid camera (10 sheets of film)]
[Scales: ??]
Among the items that are essential for story development, there are seasonal items that must be collected at the right time and cannot be collected after a certain period of time. I was proud that I had gathered them well in advance.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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