SS 14📍

⁜ Episode 14

. Hunting

“Where should we go first? All right—ah—guess—ding-dong-dang, correct!”

We decided to pick one of the temples farthest from Gerka’s.
If it’s too close, getting on bad terms with them might make life difficult. What if there’s a land dispute or something?

After putting the farthest temples up as candidates and using a classic method to decide, we ended up with the temple of Demia, god of earth and plenty.

“Ha, look at this temple. How grand.”

Our Gerka’s temple looks like a thousand-year-old ruin, but this one? Perfect condition.
That high roof, those beautiful columns, that dazzling white marble—blinding, really.

Wouldn’t a temple this wealthy spare some ingredients for us?

Even the doorknob, carved with barley and violets, was grand. As expected of Demia. Truly a god of abundance.

Confidently, I grabbed the doorknob, knocked with a bang-bang-bang, and waited.

Then, a young priest, about my age—around twelve—opened the door and quietly studied me.
Before long, he smiled brightly, placed his right hand over his left chest, and bowed.

“For what purpose does the visitor wish to enter the embrace of the earth?”

Uh……?

I was momentarily thrown off by that fancy phrase. When Pythia first met me, she had just said:

“Wh-who are you?”

But here? Such refined words!

That meant they must also use such words at Gerka’s temple.
Oh no. That means when I clumsily greeted Jean Korche and Damien Hamilcar, I really botched it. My enthusiasm for collecting ingredients dropped.

By about 3%.

“Eternal glory to the Lord of the Earth. I am a disciple serving the daughter of Gerka. May we speak inside?”

At my words, suspicion flickered in the priest’s eyes.

“What aid could we possibly give to the beloved daughter of Gerka, who is enlightened in all truths of heaven and earth?”

From his reaction, I realized two things.

First, Pythia had already raided this temple. Thanks to that, the temple became wary the moment her name came up.
Second, not only had she raided them, but her very identity as the ‘saint’ who could commune with the gods made her unwelcome.

Otherwise, why would even a boy priest tense up at the mere mention of Gerka?

Which meant—

“Then, will you refuse us?”

I blinked. Ah, this would be a great time for a tear to fall dramatically, but I’m no actress. So I bit down on my tongue. A tear, barely, welled up.

“Her Holiness the Saint…… such a tragedy…… ah, never mind. Of course, no matter how wide Demia’s embrace is, it could not contain Gerka’s saint. People will surely understand. Please don’t worry.”

I sniffled, and the priest’s mouth fell open.

“W-why are ‘people’ involved in this?”

“But Pythia, as you know, is the only saint…… and the king’s sister. Her tragedy will certainly be thoroughly investigated, and then…… Well, still, don’t worry. I respect the judgment of the Earth’s son. I will follow that decision.”

“You’re insane.”

The boy spat it out without a filter—whether from shock or sheer irritation, who knew.

“You resemble the High Priestess a lot.”

This brat just swore at me.

“Thank you. It’s an honor to be compared to her.”

I cupped my cheek and smiled sweetly.

Of course, he meant I resembled Pythia’s shamelessness, but I acted as though he had praised me for her beauty.

From that alone, he seemed to realize my “combat power” was beyond his ability to handle.
With a sigh heavy enough to split the earth, he opened the door a little wider.

“……Come in.”

His face openly expressed his distaste.

“Thank you.”

I beamed and brushed past him into Demia’s temple.

Wow, rich temples really are different!

The moment I entered—gardens. Statues everywhere. Stunning.
I almost pitied Gerka’s tiny statues in comparison.

Why is Gerka so unlucky? Even with a king’s daughter as saint, the temple looks like that.
What would Gerka have had to do to thrive?

{How pitiful, child. Your talent shines too brightly to be bound to a powerless being.}

Was that Demia’s voice?

It was directed at me, surely. Which meant “powerless being” referred to Gerka?

Hey! What’s wrong with Gerka? It’s a god capable enough to grant me status screens!
And you, some farmer god, dare to call Gerka weak? Ever heard of the “Light of Truth”?

‘Mind your own business.’

I silently mouthed the words, and the priest walking ahead of me flinched in shock.

{You can hear me? My goodness, you are the daughter of us all! How long it has been since I beheld one of our children, eh?}

‘I’m Gerka’s daughter. A disciple of Gerka’s temple. What are you saying?’

{Then why do you hear my voice? If you only belonged to Gerka, you’d hear only Gerka. Resonating with me means you’re my daughter too. Of course—you must be Madeleine’s bloodline.}

‘Who is Madeleine?’

As I asked, I thought, wait—that name sounds familiar.

{Madeleine of the Infinite Night. Your grandmother. A sorceress of darkness.}

I nearly screamed but held it in, though I couldn’t stop my feet from halting.
I glared at a massive statue in the garden.

‘You’re saying my grandmother?!’

My grandma, the Infinite Night? Impossible. She just went to bed early every night!

Then the name hit me. Madeleine Confino. A legendary mage from history books. Founder of the magical Confino family. Ancestor of the current Tower Master, Isabelle Confino.

……Wait. Grandma, did you practice bigamy? Really? One husband here, another in District 88?
Grandma! Did you have another child besides my mom? How could you?! You had me, the cutest granddaughter ever, and you still needed another?

Shaking with betrayal, I heard Demia sigh weakly.

{Whatever you’re imagining…… Madeleine Confino was a once-in-a-lifetime mage, a dragon slayer. She defeated the evil dragon, Sigurd, and received the title of Count Confino. But afterward, she vanished. Her younger brother inherited the title after ten years and passed it down to his descendants.}

For someone who “didn’t know what I was thinking,” that was awfully detailed.

I glanced up at the statue.

‘Was it that obvious?’

{Your face looked like your dead grandmother was about to burst out of her grave.}

Embarrassed, I smiled sheepishly.

‘Grandma can’t come. She rests in District 88.’

{Madeleine wanted to go somewhere no one knew her.}

“Why?”

Oops. That slipped out loud. The priest turned, puzzled.

“Ah, the statue is just so impressive.”

{Compared to that poor little temple, I’m much better. Even your mother, Louise, would understand.}

“Still, visitor, you mustn’t stop. We need to meet the High Priest first.”

“Yes, yes.”

We walked again, and I mouthed silently once more.

‘You say my mother would understand?’

{Of course,}

‘And if she doesn’t? Everything a god says is revelation. If you deliver a false revelation, it must be corrected. How will you correct it?’

No reply. Was it because I’d entered the building, or because the god just didn’t want to answer? Let’s assume the former.

The priest led me through winding corridors.

Wait, was he leading me somewhere shady?

I grew uneasy and decided to check his status.

‘Reveal to me this priest’s body and soul, his life and destiny…… no, wait.’

Hold on. If I phrase it more specifically, will it show me only specific details?

‘Reveal what he does not want others to know.’

Glowing letters appeared. And I was—speechless.

[ Carnivorous monster, prefers human flesh ]
[ Hunting ]

Hunting?

 what?