Chapter 138
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I Will Purchase Divine Power with Money
Chapter 138
"You skipped your morning exercises today—where did you go?"
Seth gazed around the empty bedroom in bewilderment.
There was no sign of anyone anywhere.
"High Priest, Holy Knight Commander."
Just then, Monica rushed in with Idella.
With Airic still frozen in place, Seth asked urgently.
"Where is the High Priestess?"
"What? The High Priestess? She's not inside?"
Monica's face went pale with shock.
"This morning, she said not to wake her until she got up herself...."
Since Monica had never even entered the bedroom, she had no way of knowing where Ordel Kiris was.
Then Airic approached the table. Upon it lay only a single white envelope and some sort of document folder.
To the High Priest.
It was a letter left by Ordel Kiris.
It seems the time has come for me to leave the Temple of the Sun God. So I am leaving this letter.
Airic swallowed hard.
Seeing his grave expression, those present could only watch him in silence, unable to bring themselves to ask what the letter said.
Count Kiris made me a false High Priestess for the purpose of destroying the Sun God's Temple.
Only now have I learned this truth, but I realize I was unknowingly complicit with the Count.
Had I not come to my senses, even if late, the Temple would already be ruined.
Therefore, I have no right to remain here. It makes no sense for me, a false High Priestess, to continue staying in the Temple in the first place.
Since the potion business and the Holy Stones have set the Temple back on its proper course, I shall depart now.
Do not worry about the Holy Stones. I am leaving behind the deed transferring rights to the Rubar Land region.
"Sigh."
Airic let out a groan.
So that's what those documents were.
How thoroughly Ordel Kiris had done things—it made him want to laugh.
A hollow, bitter laugh.
I, who have caused you all such trouble, am now departing. So please, all of you, find peace and happiness.
From afar, I shall earnestly pray for the eternal prosperity of the Sun God's Temple.
I am truly sorry for everything.
- Ordel Kiris
"...."
Not the Sun God's High Priestess Ordel Kiris, nor Ordel Kiris the noblewoman—just Ordel Kiris.
The simple signature seemed far too sparse for her.
So where had Ordel Kiris, who was neither the Sun God's High Priestess nor the Count's daughter, gone?
"High Priest, what does the letter say?"
Seth asked Airic, who stood staring blankly at the letter.
Since anyone could read the contents without tilting their head, Airic Dert immediately folded the letter.
So that no one else could see it.
"The High Priestess has left the Sun God's Temple."
"...What?"
"What on earth are you saying!"
Seth Noel's eyes widened, and Monica let out a cry.
"It appears she felt guilt over the troubles she caused to the people of the Temple. Since the Sun God's Temple has regained its former glory, she wrote in her letter that she would now let go of everything and depart."
Monica covered her mouth. Her shocked eyes trembled violently.
"However, I have no intention of letting the High Priestess leave like this."
Airic Dert spoke with resolve.
Seth Noel, Monica, and even Idella beside them nodded vigorously.
"We must discover where the High Priestess has gone, so please summon Jeremy and the Holy Knights who guarded this place last night at once."
"Yes, understood!"
Monica, who answered loudly, departed to fetch Jeremy.
Seth Noel also followed, saying he would summon the Holy Knights.
"Miss Idella."
Once they were alone, Airic Dert called to Idella.
"Congratulations on awakening as the new Sun God's High Priest."
"Ah, thank you. I never imagined I would become this either."
Idella spoke in bewilderment.
Until just recently, she hadn't even known of the Sun God's existence, yet she had awakened to his divine power.
And it happened not long after arriving at the Sun God's Temple.
"Normally, this would warrant great celebration, but given the current circumstances...."
"Don't worry about it. It's more important that the High Priestess returns to the Temple soon than for me to receive congratulations. Why did she leave in the first place...."
Idella spoke with melancholy.
Airic Dert gazed down at Idella quietly.
The light radiating from the divine statue and Idella was certainly not ordinary.
No, it transcended the ordinary entirely....
As Airic Dert recalled that moment, he quickly shook his head.
'...This is not the time to think about that.'
As he had told everyone, he had no intention whatsoever of letting Ordel Kiris leave just because she was a false High Priestess.
If it was because of mistakes made in the past, then she should apologize here, not simply depart.
Where Ordel Kiris belonged was the Sun God's Temple.
She must return here without fail.
"High Priest, I've brought Jeremy and the Holy Knights."
Soon Monica and Seth Noel returned. Victoria Lawrence was with them as well.
She too bore clear signs of confusion.
A guard knight who knew nothing until Ordel Kiris departed from this place.
"Did you see the High Priestess last night?"
Airic Dert first questioned the two Holy Knights who had stood watch in front of the Bedroom at dawn.
They answered with visibly dejected expressions.
"Around 2 AM, she said she was going to meet Jeremy and left for a brief time, returning about an hour later."
"After that, she never stepped outside again until the shift change."
The Holy Knights knew nothing more.
That left only Jeremy.
"...."
Even when told that the High Priestess he blindly followed had departed, his expression barely shifted.
As if he had already known.
"Did the High Priestess hint last night when she came looking for you that she would be leaving?"
"Yes."
At his matter-of-fact reply, Monica immediately seized him by the collar.
"Why didn't you stop the High Priestess!"
"Because she said she'd made mistakes in the past and that no one here likes her. So when she said she was leaving, how was I supposed to stop her?"
Monica was taken aback by Jeremy's cold words.
It was true the High Priestess had erred, but no one liked her?
That may have been the case before, but not now.
It was a misunderstanding.
"From what I could see, everyone was obviously avoiding the High Priestess. Whatever the reason, if it's the High Priestess's fault, there's nothing to be done."
"No, that's not...."
"So just let it go. Besides, even if the High Priestess came back, nothing would change anyway."
Jeremy wasn't blaming them.
Yet his words pierced like a dagger.
Tears welled up, and Monica buried her face in her palms.
She hadn't realized Ordel Kiris cared about it enough to leave the Temple of the Sun God.
"We've found the last person who saw the High Priestess."
Just then, a Holy Knight brought the Stable Keeper forward.
"When did you last see the High Priestess?"
The Stable Keeper, sensing from Airic Dert's cold expression that this was serious, confessed everything he knew with a frightened face.
"Oh, it was around 4 AM this morning. The High Priestess said she had urgent business at the Holy Stone Mine in Rubar Village and asked me to provide a horse."
"Wait. Not a carriage, but a horse?"
"Yes? Y-yes...."
But Ordel Kiris didn't know how to ride a horse.
Wasn't that why, as soon as the Temple of the Sun God had surplus funds, I immediately procured a carriage for her?
"Her attire was lighter than usual, and she carried no luggage, so I thought she was just making a quick trip to the village...."
"...."
At those words, Monica's face hardened, and she yanked open the Dressing Room door.
Then she let out a sigh.
"...One shirt, one pair of trousers, one robe. That's all that's missing. Everything else is still here...."
A woman with no money took nothing with her?
It would have been easier on the heart if she'd at least taken something.
In the end, Monica burst into tears.
"...Four hours wouldn't have taken them very far. Even if she secretly learned to ride, she wouldn't be skilled at it. We must find her quickly."
"I'll dispatch the Holy Knights at once."
Seth Noel nodded with a hardened expression and hurried out of the bedroom with Victoria Lawrence.
"...Can you find the High Priestess?"
Airic Dert asked Jeremy.
Jeremy, who had been staring at the Dressing Room with sunken eyes, shook his head.
"No. That's not what the High Priestess wants."
His face, shaking his head with such firmness, was as unyielding as stone.
Airic Dert didn't press him.
"You're right. Someone should respect the High Priestess's wishes."
He simply couldn't be that person.
Ordel Kiris had to be here. Her place was at the Sun God's Temple.
Airic Dert clenched his fists tightly.
* * *
At that very moment.
"Ah, it feels wonderful to ride freely after so long."
Contrary to everyone's assumption that I would be near the Temple of the Sun God, I had already traveled quite far.
Four hours of riding without rest had made it possible.
My face, glistening with sweat as my robes fell away, shone brilliantly in the light.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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