Published: August 3, 2025
"Myne, we must finish the ritual while the medicine is still working."
After finishing his reprimand, the high priest said this and swept his cloak aside. He touched the gauntlet on his right hand, summoning a white lion-like creature.
Following the high priest’s movements, the knights’ order also rose, each summoning their own mounts.
"Come."
I walked gracefully toward the high priest who extended his hand, and I reached out mine. When he lifted me up and set me onto the creature, I immediately gripped the reins to keep my balance.
The high priest lightly leapt onto the creature behind me and raised one hand.
"Let’s go!"
As he grasped the reins, the white lion-like creature, which had seemed like a sculpture, came to life. It shook its large wings and soared into the sky. It trotted leisurely above the treetops, heading toward the site where the massive trombe had been rampaging.
The trombe, which had grown by sucking my blood and mana, hadn’t absorbed much mana from the surrounding land, so it seemed no healing ritual was necessary to replenish the mana. However, the crater left by the huge trombe was vast, and if the mana wasn’t restored, no grass would grow.
"I’m sorry for what happened to you."
Since we were in the air and no one else could overhear, the high priest’s low voice whispered behind me. I was afraid to turn around mid-flight, so I tilted my head slightly while facing forward.
"I never intended to hurt you or expose you to such malice. Moreover, I didn’t plan for the ritual to require forcibly stabilizing your condition with medicine. It was my fault for never imagining the knights’ order would go against my orders."
Regret and frustration laced the high priest’s voice. To him, the escort assigned to ensure everything went smoothly had ended up ruining everything, and he seemed to regret having assigned them at all.
But the escort’s rampage, the spreading of malicious rumors, my self-eater condition, and my frailty—these were not things the high priest should bear responsibility for.
"It’s not your fault, high priest."
"No, anything concerning you is my responsibility."
The high priest said firmly. Since the temple couldn’t function without properly using me, a commoner, it was his duty as my superior to handle me well.
Because he was unusually capable, the high priest tended to take on all the work himself, unable to delegate.
"Myne, is the medicine still working?"
"Yes."
"Good. I fully understand the ritual will put a strain on your body. But we must show the knights’ order that you can perform the duties of a blue shrine maiden apprentice."
Since the high priest had defended me as not just a commoner but a blue shrine maiden apprentice, I had to prove I was worthy of that position.
"I will protect you. Show them you are worthy of wearing the Blue Robes. Prove that you are an indispensable existence to the temple and the knights’ order protecting this land. Once the knights recognize your necessity, that will become the power that protects you."
"Yes... but I’m nervous. It’s my first time. I’m really worried whether it will succeed."
I understood what I had to do, but I couldn’t help feeling anxious. I had never performed a ritual before.
The high priest snorted, brushing off my worries.
"Hmph, there’s no need to worry. I will prepare a supporting role the knights’ order can’t help but acknowledge."
"...What?"
"I don’t engage in battles I can’t win."
The chill in his voice made me shiver. Apparently, the high priest’s anger at having his plan disrupted had not abated at all.
"…Darmel has been kind and has tried to help, even reprimanding Shikikoza, so please go easy on them."
The place where the giant trombe had grown now appeared as a large circular patch of exposed earth, like a huge reddish-brown plate set in the forest.
"With the ritual and mana restored, it seems like we could establish at least one farming village here, doesn’t it?"
"If this weren’t deep in the forest, I’d turn it into farmland, but here, it would be hard for priests and nobles to attend prayer ceremonies and harvest festivals."