241 – Claridium (8)
On the way to the Acates Temple to find the prophet, Lily asks:
“Will you be okay? I mean, the professor’s portrait.”
“What can I do if she wants to keep it?”
Even if the mayor has more than just interest in Sylverin, there’s nothing I can really say. It would be stranger if someone with that beauty didn’t have an ulterior motive. It was quite predictable, as she had attracted the attention of male students when she was teaching at Iternia. The mayor’s power is unlikely to affect Sylverin. Unless she’s hysterically jealous of me.
We returned to the ‘Street of Light’ that we had visited on the first day to see the launch of the skyship.
There were still traces of the riot on the street. Workers were busy repairing damaged buildings and clearing debris.
We stopped in front of the temple.
Bricklayers hang from ropes and apply mortar to the cracked parts of the temple.
And the cathedral that the skyship had crashed into was still in the same shape as when we last saw it, except that the ice had melted. It felt artistic to see it perched precariously on the broken steeple.
The area around the temple was heavily guarded by guardians.
As we tried to approach the temple, the guardians rushed over and stopped us.
“No entry here. Go back.”
“Is it closed today?”
“Get lost. Can’t you see? It’s off-limits until the investigation is over. Are you the culprit? Have you come to destroy the evidence?”
Then he rudely pats me on the shoulder. The guardians, who had always been polite before, now respond with hostility.
Then, out of nowhere, the guardians are hit hard by a flying basket.
“Hey, you blockheads.”
The Guardians, who had been beaten up, salute while looking pale.
“Captain Mason of Earth.”
“You dare to blame the one who prevented the disaster? You little brats were just standing there dumbfounded even when the fleet was destroyed.”
Then, they look me up and down with surprised faces and hesitate.
“You are the one who prevented the disaster… I mean, oh, I’m sorry.”
“You guys go get some more water and mortar. Scram.”
The Guardians who had been guarding the perimeter run away.
And Captain Mason of Earth welcomed us.
“You are the delegation from Eternia, right? Please understand the rudeness of my subordinates. They have been working day and night because of the aftermath.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s their job to block uninvited guests.”
“Ahem, may I ask why you have returned to the temple? As you know, you can only enter if you have a valid reason due to the preservation issue.”
“We came here to investigate upon the request of someone named Westwood. We are here to meet a priest. It’s not related to the fleet.”
I thought he would ask questions, but he nods without asking for details. He seemed to have no intention of interrogating us strictly, despite what he said. He sends a signal to his subordinates guarding the temple gate.
Lilit looks up at me with sparkling eyes as if she is proud.
I enter the temple.
A chapel with a high ceiling. The stained glass windows let colorful light into the interior. Surprisingly, there was no sign of damage inside.
A priestess who had been sitting alone in the front of the pews gets up and turns around.
“Who are you? How did you get in here?”
“I received permission from the Captain of Earth. There is someone I am looking for.”
“What business do you have with the priests? Everyone except me evacuated from here?”
“I heard that there is a prophet named Proxima here.”
The priestess’s eyes flicker slightly. Then, she speaks with a gentle face.
“…Oh, please wait a moment.”
The priestess leaves somewhere in a hurry. About a minute passes. The priestess comes back with a basket and walks towards us menacingly.
Splash!
She pours water on us without mercy. Then, she shouts in a resentful tone.
“You shameless things. Did another arrogant congressman send you? No, judging from your clothes, you are from the Zhernia family. Did you think I would be scared and just let you in! You know about Priest Proxima’s condition and you still shamelessly come looking for him? Are you planning to suck his marrow now?”
I got splashed with water, but now I can see that my body is covered with fine particles of frost like powder. Did Priscilla protect me at that moment?
However, Lilit was drenched in water and had a sullen expression on her face.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding. We are a delegation from Eternia.”
“What nonsense… Huh?”
“We came to find Priest Proxima upon the request of Elder Westwood.”
“Westwood? Oh, my! Well, just a moment!”
The priestess runs somewhere else with a shocked face.
Lilit looks at me silently with her drenched face. Her eyes are full of resentment as if asking why I didn’t protect her.
“My sword defended you on its own.”
“…”
She must be very upset because she dressed up so nicely and got ruined. I wipe the water off Lilit’s face with my sleeve and say,
“You’re still pretty, even when you’re wet.”
“….”
Lilit made an even more sullen face as if to coax her more.
Just then, a priest came with a towel. And then rubbed Lilit’s head.
“Ouch!”
Lilit screamed as if her hair had been caught.
“Sorry. Oh my, what is this. I don’t recognize people. If you are the Eternia delegation, you are the ones with that special contributor?”
Lilit’s head, which had been wiped dry like that, had become a dog’s hair.
“Contributor?”
“I heard that you stopped the Heavenly Ship with a mysterious ability. The priests are so grateful that not a hair was harmed. Please tell him thank you.”
“Yes, I dare not say it, but that’s a lie.”
The priest covered his mouth with both hands and was astonished.
***
Lilit changed into a simple nun’s habit from a soaked dress and sat at the table.
The priestess gave us warm tea and sat opposite us.
“High Priestess Proxima is not here.”
“Did you evacuate like other priests because of the risk of roof collapse?”
“No, the High Priestess went into hiding a long time ago.”
“Did you give up the work of the prophet?”
The priest shook his head.
“Rather than giving up, I think it was because I couldn’t stand it anymore. Since I don’t have much time left to live, I left after saying that I would save it for the last prophecy.”
“Life span? Do you need a price for prophecy?”
“Everything has a price. If you disrupt God’s plan… the price is even greater.”
“You said you turned the curse upside down a little while ago, is that related?”
The priest nodded with a hardened face.
“There are many prophets in the world, but there is no prophet who can even glimpse God’s plan. Priest Proxima was a prophet who could do that. I stayed in the Holy Land as a candidate for a saint when I was young.”
“A saint… a candidate?”
“Yes, but I quit because it wasn’t the path I wanted. And I went on the path of a prophet. I used the blessed divine power as foresight to help the unfortunate. Born as God’s agent, I rebelled against God and defied all intentions. If I had been more greedy, I might have been in the Holy Land even now.”
A saint. It’s a story that’s too far from reality to be easily believed. It’s like listening to a drunkard’s bluff that he could have taken the emperor’s place but gave it all up and returned home.
“Can you tell me the rest of the curse story?”
The priest’s gaze turns to the void. It was a look immersed in past memories.
“…A curse befalls those who disrupt God’s plan. We call it the ‘Prophet’s Curse’. It’s not like lightning strikes from the sky and a mark appears saying this is a curse… but those who have watched closely for a long time know that it is a curse.”
“What happened to make that happen?”
“Priest Proxima was the most beautiful person. Anyone would have exclaimed in admiration. Such a beautiful face that had not aged for decades began to lose its light one day. I remember it was after helping the village chief who came with the villagers suffering from an unknown plague. That’s how God makes the prophet who disrupted the plan suffer. In that way, he lost his family, his fortune, and even his eyesight. There is a contradiction that the prophet himself loses everything, even though he has the foresight to save those who are about to die and rebuild a ruined family. It’s nothing but a curse.”
“….”
“I can’t tell you how angry I was when the aristocrats who had enjoyed wealth and honor all their lives would demand a prophecy for nothing. The High Priestess knew everything, but she tried to help people….”
The priestess closes her eyes tightly.
“Therefore, I do not know where the priest is, and even if I did, I cannot tell you. Surely he is somewhere quietly helping others.”
“I understand.”
I now understand the old man Westwood’s clever expression. I also understand the feelings of the priest who poured water. My plan to borrow the power of the prophet to uncover the secret of Claridium was completely wrong.
He said he was saving his body for the last prophecy. Did that Proxima… see the fall of Claridium?
A prophet who disrupts the plan of God shall pay the corresponding price.
It’s a chilling statement. Then does that mean Amarillis, who told me about my future, paid the price? Why me, who she had never met in her whole life? Was that foresight also obtained through divine power?
I cut off the questions that followed one after another in my mind. I wouldn’t find the answer even if I racked my brain alone. Unless I go to the land of death myself.
***
We spent half a day on it, but in the end, we didn’t get anything.
On the way back to the dorm, Lilith asked.
“Damian, you’ve heard of Priest Proxima, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s just my vague guess… but there may be someone who doubts him.”
“…Yeah.”
“By any chance, that house of love…”
“We don’t know anything. The prophet is not related to us.”
Lilith’s eyes widened. Soon after, she shook her head as if she understood what it meant.
“Ah… yeah.”
I decided to erase the prophet from my mind. If it’s something really important that made her go into hiding, she’ll find the right person at the right time and deliver the prophecy.
We returned to the dorm. About an hour later, Zhenia and Hayley also returned to the dorm.
Their expressions were dark.
They called me out to a separate room and asked.
“Rookie, did you find out anything?”
I shook my head.
“No, what about you, seniors?”
“We found a few things. About the mirror.”
“What is it?”
“Have you ever seen someone on the street, muttering to themselves while looking at a glass window?”