#94

A thirteenth sacred relic?

Weren’t there only supposed to be twelve?

I widened my eyes at the unexpected revelation. The widely known number of sacred relics was twelve, with ten of them already stored in Hebel’s Treasure Vault.

But now, there was another? That was beyond surprising.

—It’s natural that you don’t know. The Opal of Nothingness was created by the Divine Beast just before their departure. It was made for one specific beastman.

A relic designed with a particular individual in mind?

That was completely different from the other relics, which had been created to maintain the balance of the world.

The Divine Beast had left the continent right after the fall of the first Saintess, so its intended owner must have been her.

I tilted my head, intrigued.

Since this relic hadn’t even been mentioned in the original story, it clearly wasn’t inside the Treasure Vault.

As expected, Taby sighed in frustration.

—The problem is… even the other Guardians don’t know where it is. It’s a completely independent entity that doesn’t resonate with us.

A relic that didn’t respond to the other twelve?

That was like searching for a pearl in a desert.

“Then it’s useless, isn’t it?”

If even the Guardians couldn’t locate it, my chances of finding it were practically nonexistent.

And I couldn’t even rely on my original story knowledge since it had never been mentioned before.

Taby, noticing my frustration, swam in circles around me soothingly.

—For now, let’s focus on purification instead. And getting the Sapphire of Order is your top priority.

They were right.

There was no point in worrying about the future yet—I had to survive first.

I needed to take things step by step.

And just like that, the day of the Saintess Examination arrived.

“Are you ready?”

Naaman, dressed in ceremonial robes, asked me respectfully.

I took a deep breath and nodded.

We were deep inside Hebel’s sacred temple, standing before a river.

This river, known as Mishir, was the first place where the Divine Beast had descended to the mortal world.

Because of that, it was brimming with the Divine Beast’s energy.

Mishir had a unique power—inside it, all beastmen became invincible.

That was because pheromones were amplified in its waters.

Unlike an ordinary river, one could breathe freely underwater in Mishir.

If Hebel’s fog rendered beastmen weak and powerless, then Mishir’s water granted them complete freedom.

It was the only place in Hebel that existed outside the fog’s influence.

At the heart of Mishir stood an altar dedicated to the Divine Beast.

In the original story, only two people could offer tributes at this altar—the head of Hebel and the Saintess.

Even then, the head of Hebel faced restrictions, unlike the Saintess.

Since the altar contained the Divine Beast’s strongest presence, any unapproved offerings were rejected.

Naturally, the offering required was pheromones.

The head of Hebel could not leave Hebel, but in exchange, they were the only person who could freely use their pheromones within it.

Feigning ignorance, I glanced at Naaman, prompting him to explain the rules.

“The process is simple. You must enter Mishir and release your pheromones at the altar.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes. If you are truly the Saintess, the Divine Beast will accept your offering. If you are not, it will be rejected. Ah, and should the altar refuse your pheromones, you must not force an offering.”

“Why not?”

“If a beastman forces an unaccepted offering, they will incur the Divine Beast’s wrath and have their pheromones stripped away.”

Naaman’s voice turned ominous, clearly trying to intimidate me.

For an ordinary beastman, losing their pheromones was terrifying.

But for me… that was exactly what I wanted.

Of course, I couldn’t just blurt out, “That sounds great, actually!”

So instead, I widened my eyes and trembled as if I were terrified.

“R-really? My pheromones could completely disappear?”

Satisfied with my reaction, Naaman softened and chuckled.

“It’s merely a legend passed down in Hebel. No one has ever experienced it, so there’s no need to worry.”

Well, that killed my excitement.

“Ahh~ what a relief.”

I let out a forced sigh, hiding my disappointment.

 

While I was busy acting the opposite of my true feelings, Naaman gestured toward Ella.

“You will guide her.”

“Huh? You’re not coming with us?”

“No. Mishir is the most sacred of sacred grounds, and the priests of Hebel are restricted from entering. The only time I am allowed inside Mishir is during an Atonement Ceremony.”

“But Ella is allowed?”

“Ella has not made a Hebel Contract with the Divine Beast, making her a perfect guide.”

“Ah, I see.”

It made sense.

All priests of Hebel swore absolute loyalty to the Divine Beast.

But since Ella was Isaac’s adopted daughter, she hadn’t made the contract and was therefore free to enter Mishir.

So that’s why they had assigned Ella as my guide and kept her by my side.

I had been wondering why she was the one escorting me—now it all clicked.

“Shall we go?”

Ella stood beside me and extended her hand.

I took it firmly and began stepping into Mishir.

As soon as the cool water wrapped around my ankles, a refreshing sensation spread through my body.

When the water rose all the way to my head, I let out a breathless gasp of amazement.

“I really can breathe underwater.”

It felt as if I had turned into a mermaid.

I didn’t have gills, yet it was as if I did. The whole experience was surreal.

As I marveled at my surroundings, Ella asked gently,

“Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Nope.”

In fact, I felt amazing in Hebel.

Unlike other beastmen, the longer I was exposed to the fog, the better my body felt.

‘It doesn’t feel any different from being outside.’

Come to think of it, my body was full of oddities.

While others grew weak under Hebel’s fog, I remained completely fine.

I wasn’t even physically weak, yet I had no restrictions.

If I was going to be an anomaly anyway, I really wished I could have handled my two pheromones properly, too.

But, of course, that was too much to ask for.

Meanwhile, Ella looked much freer than she had been outside.

It seemed that those who were affected by the fog experienced a drastic change inside Mishir.

In contrast, I felt the same both inside and outside.

It was almost like I was always in Mishir, even when I wasn’t.

Ella spoke with a note of excitement in her voice.

“That’s a relief. Since you aren’t affected by the fog, I was worried Mishir might be different for you.”

“Not at all. It’s exactly the same in here as it is outside.”

“That’s fascinating.”

Ella glanced at me curiously before carefully leading me toward the altar.

The path to the altar was made of pure gold.

At the end of this luxurious path stood a massive golden altar.

A golden statue of the Divine Beast coiled protectively around it, exuding an overwhelming presence.

“This is the place.”

“…Oh, wow.”

Just how much money was this worth?

The golden altar shimmered under the water’s refracted light, casting a mesmerizing glow.

The statue of the Divine Beast embracing the altar was nothing short of magnificent.

Ella gestured toward the altar.

“Place your hands here and release your pheromones as you normally would.”

“Like this?”

Following her instructions, I placed my hands on the altar—

But the moment I did, a scorching heat surged through my palms.

“Ah!”

Startled, I immediately yanked my hands back.

“Lady Cersia?”

“I-Is it supposed to be this hot?!”

Clenching my fists to shake off the burning sensation, I looked at Ella in alarm.

But she only tilted her head in confusion.

“Hot?”

Without hesitation, she placed her own hands on the altar, completely unfazed.

There wasn’t the slightest reaction.

She didn’t feel anything unusual at all.

As I blinked in confusion, Taby suddenly materialized in their fish form.

—Oh, oops. The altar must be rejecting you because of my power.

They flicked their tail innocently, but I shot them a sharp glare.

‘Couldn’t you have warned me sooner?’

For a second, I thought I was about to fail the Saintess trial!

I let out a deep sigh, waiting as Taby hurriedly withdrew their influence from my body.

Meanwhile, Ella added,

“It’s probably because you’ve already contracted a Guardian. The altar rejects anything that isn’t pure pheromones.”

“You sure know a lot about Guardians.”

“I’ve heard plenty from Lord Isaac.”

She smiled sweetly and stood by patiently.

A moment later, I felt Taby’s energy completely retracting from me.

A sharp pang of pain followed.

It was a clear sign that my body was still in an unstable state.

—Let’s finish this quickly. The longer this drags on, the worse it’ll be for you.

“Got it.”

Steeling my resolve, I placed my hands back on the altar.

This time, it wasn’t hot.

“Hoo…”

Why was I so nervous?

Taking several deep breaths, I slowly released my pheromones into the altar.

 

⋆｡ ﾟ ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ ☾ ﾟ ｡ ⋆

☕ Hi, friends! Your support means the world to me. If you’d like, you can buy me a coffee here: Click the link on the image! 💖

Thank you for keeping me inspired! 🌸

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆