A Wish to Grab Happiness

Flimslat. In the mountain range where tough nature resided, several decayed ruins stood out in the harsh landscape. Among them was a particularly huge building, which was the temple of the Great Holy Church, or the ruins of the age of gods. That was the Great Temple of Flimslat.

For what purpose was it built and who was using it? To whom did that temple honor? It was still inconclusive.

Some said that the power of the god Altius had reached this point, while others said that it was nothing more than a foreign god of the local tribes. Others even said that it was meant to appease the giant that once destroyed the land. There were many theories and myths surrounding it.

In any case, there was no doubt that those ruins were a relic left behind from the age of mythology, and it seemed that it was once managed by the Cathedral. Even so, due to the unimaginably inconvenient location and difficulty of management, it seemed the priests were no longer dispatched to this place at some point.

However, if the saint’s revelation pointed to this great temple as the destination, then the priests might decide to make this place a sacred place again. Garras Gargantia, the Cathedral Knight, clapped his teeth lightly.

For saints, a revelation was the voice of the god Altius. It descended into human flesh, bound to be interpreted by priests, twisted by those in power, and eventually becoming a tool of political strife. Factions were formed over a single word, and it was not uncommon for wars to occur.

Fortunately, nothing like that had happened since the current pope rose to power. However, a lot of people could make a fuss with this revelation. Garras put his favorite vermillion spear on his shoulder after loosening his sharp eyes in annoyance. Those eyes stared at the blonde-haired man in front of him.

「What did you think of the Songstress, Helot? It looked like she was in a good mood. 」

Those words were muttered out of nowhere. It was crude for a knight to speak that way. His language was quite impolite. However, without paying attention to such behavior, Helot Stanley bounced his blonde hair and returned the words.

「I don’t think she is in a bad mood, but there weren’t many words. It must be because of the cold wind.」

It was a quick answer. There was no great emotion and there were no excessive words. Garras shrugged his shoulders and nodded, blinking his eyelids.

Garras thought that the young man named Helot Stanley was a strange person, although he himself was not right person to judge when he was strange too.

Buckingham, who was Garras’ old acquaintance, was a difficult person to deal with, but Garras allowed Helot to accompany the saint. Buckingham thought that Helot had a promising future in the Great Holy Church’s political and warfare sphere.

When Garras met Helot and saw his face and sharp eyes, he could tell that Helot was someone completely different from what he had imagined.

He had an expression that seemed to be pure and innocent. Yet, Garras felt an impression that Helot hid something that was the opposite of that pure persona.

Garras thought that if Helot met the saint, his heart would be lifted up and his explanation of her would be just rainbows and flowers. How beautiful her face was, or how beautiful her words were.

At least, that was how it looked like when the other Cathedral Knights exchanged just a few words with the saint. Even though most of them felt awe, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of reverence. For the believers of the Great Holy Church, a saint had such powerful existence.

But that didn’t seem to be the case for Helot Stanley. That’s why Garras asked Helot about the saint’s mood. Garras made a small noise with his sharp canine teeth and strengthened his gaze.

That girl, Ariene, was a pitiful person.

She was picked up by the Cathedral because she had a rare magic talent and was forced to live as a nun regardless of what she wanted to do. In simple terms, living as a nun meant living with her limbs tied together.

There was no freedom and no time to breathe. Garras knew how she lived her life with clenched teeth and pain in her chest.

Then, she chose to live by shaking off the sludge thrown at her even though she was in the lowest status.

That’s why, when Ariene was chosen as a saint candidate, Garras congratulated her amidst the confusion and hostility brought by everyone else. It had nothing to do with his pride as a knight that flowed within him. It was just a blessing from the bottom of his heart.

However, it was also bittersweet. Although it was a joyous occasion, the human Ariene would be devoured by the gods.

She was still good now. But if she officially became a saint, the remnants of her soul would be annihilated and she would not be able to freely move her limbs or speak her own words. Whether or not that was happiness, it depended on the person, but at least Garras knew that future was certain.

Therefore, Garras decided to let her have a little freedom during the pilgrimage journey. That’s why Garras attached the semi-heartless Helot Stanley, who cared about her well-being without being emotional, to guard one of the sidelines, so that the other guards would not reach her eyes too much.

If everyone covered their faces when close to her, those who followed her would also be forced to tighten their expressions. In the not-too-distant future, she would surely be thrown into such situation. If so, only for now, it was better to let go of worries consuming the mind and just relax.

「Commander Garras, we have secured the perimeter near the entrance to the Great Temple.」 𝐟𝐫𝗲𝙚ｗ𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝘦𝗹.c૦m

One of the Cathedral Knights bowed to Garras with his fist in front of his chest. Garras nodded in response. He didn’t know why, but it seemed there were no magic beasts walking around in the Great Temple.

Garras was called the Commander, but officially there was no such position in the Order of the Holy Knights. This was because all of the Cathedral Knights were under the direct control of the Great Holy Church, and only the Pope could command them. Even the King could not give orders to them lightly.

However, that didn’t mean the Pope would accompany the Cathedral Knights every time they went to the battlefield. It would be silly to send a messenger to the Pope every time they wanted to make a crucial decision on the ground.

Therefore, when a situation arose in which a Cathedral Knight took the reins and made decisions, such person would temporarily take over the authority of the Pope and command the Cathedral Knights.

In that way, the Commander who received the right to guide the troops in the battlefield would command the Cathedral Knights.

This time, no, actually more than just this time, Garras Gargantia inherited the authority of the Pope. Only a few people knew the reason.

Garras let out his words while relaxing his body.

「Let’s guide the saint to the temple. Sorry for this rudeness of mine, but we’ll go together. Hey, it’s better to be inside a decayed temple than diving into the snow like a mole.」

—

A voice leaked inside the Great Temple. It didn’t resonate in the surroundings and immediately dissipated without leaving a trace.

「…Did the Cathedral Knights come here too? If so, then that ferocious beast must be with them.」

Caria shook her lips and said that it was not customary for a saint to have escorts for the last route of the pilgrimage journey. Beyond my eyes, I could see the appearance of those knights’ footprints through the majestic corridor of the Great Temple.

I see, certainly. That ferocious beast Caria spoke about was like a large sword under the direct control of the Pope. He was one of the forces of the Cathedral, yes, a force to be reckoned with.

It felt overwhelming. Since it was the saint’s pilgrimage, I thought there would be only a few escorts at most, just like on the previous journey. However, it was not the case. There must be dozens of people at the very least, most probably the crazy elites of the Cathedral.

They were probably just acting as escorts for the saint. Even so, it was still troublesome. For some reason, it seemed that God wanted to put a wall in front of me. 𝑓𝙧𝘦𝘦we𝘣𝙣𝘰𝘃𝗲l.com

I took out the chewing tobacco from my pocket while staring at the knights’ footprints. However, I thought it would be stupid if the smell leaked out, so I put it away at once.

「What are you going to do, Lugis? Speaking of the Cathedral Knights, everyone in the Gharast Kingdom looked up to them and feared them.」

I heard Filaret’s voice and nodded. Just like those words, no matter how much I thought about it, they were not people we should deal with carelessly. They could throw their lives away for the sake of their faith, and they could be cruel whenever they wanted. They didn’t have the heart to show mercy to the people of the Heraldic Order.

It was a stroke of luck that I was able to step into the temple after them. As a measure, it would be appropriate to keep quiet in the temple until they left this place.

It would be a different story if Ariene wasn’t here.

I breathed out slowly in order to avoid making a loud sound. I spoke like moving my cold fingers.

「They’re not the kind of people we should go head-on with. Then, why don’t we stray off from the main path? In fact, that’s something I’m very good at.」

I replied, rippling my lips. I lightly touched my nose amidst the cold environment.