Chapter 42
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I'll purchase divine power with money.
Chapter 42
* * *
With Ordel Kiris's consideration, Monica guided her parents to the Saint's Reception Room.
'Something feels strange about this.'
Since becoming a lady's maid, Ordel Kiris's Bedroom and Reception Room had become one of my primary spaces.
Seeing my parents, whom I hadn't met in half a year, in a place now as familiar as my own room stirred unexpected emotions.
"It's quite neat. Clean, too."
Monica observed her mother calmly surveying the Reception Room.
The graceful, impeccable bearing was exactly what she had always admired and wished to emulate.
"The Sun God's Saint must be quite frugal."
"...."
Even in this impoverished Temple, she had once embodied the pinnacle of extravagance, but Monica chose not to contradict her mother.
After disposing of all her luxurious possessions, she truly had been living frugally—so it wasn't a lie!
"I was honestly a bit surprised after seeing only the Sea God Temple's Saint."
"Don't you dare compare that wretch to our Saint."
Monica's eyes flashed as she set down the teacup she'd been holding.
It was an intense reaction to display before her respected mother, but this was truly unavoidable.
How could anyone compare our Saint to that Sea God Temple charlatan!
"...You've truly become a devoted Sun God Follower."
Rather than reproach, Lady Hindel's expression grew troubled at Monica's vehement response.
"You made your parents weep for half a year, and I never imagined you'd become a priestess here."
"Do you have any idea how shocked your father was when he learned you were here?!"
Count Hindel erupted in emphatic agreement, his voice rising.
It wasn't anger that filled his face, but worry and relief.
"I'm sorry for causing you concern."
Monica readily admitted her fault.
"But I didn't intentionally hide my divine power awakening. It happened suddenly, not long after I left home."
My divine power had awakened unexpectedly while I was wandering after leaving the mansion, uncertain where to go.
Divine power isn't inherited through bloodline, nor is it something one possesses from birth.
Since it awakens suddenly, as if blessed by the gods themselves, I had been equally shocked.
And a few days after my awakening, a Sun God priestess had come seeking me out.
She said that since I'd been chosen by the Sun God, I could walk the path of a priestess if I wished.
She never forced me to become a priestess unconditionally.
She simply showed me the way, explained everything in detail, and gave me sufficient time to consider.
That consideration moved my heart, someone who had never imagined becoming a priestess.
And so I became an Apprentice Priestess.
For someone who had lived as the daughter of a noble house, life in the impoverished Sun God Grand Temple was never easy.
From the moment I opened my eyes each morning until I fell asleep again, I had to do every conceivable chore, yet I never once regretted it.
Rather, I found satisfaction in finally discovering the path I was meant to walk.
"I will spend my entire life as a priestess. This is where I belong."
"...Monica."
"So I won't inherit the family."
This was precisely why Monica had driven a dagger through her beloved family's heart and fled.
Born as the eldest of the house, she should have become the heir, but she simply didn't want to.
Looking back now, perhaps her resistance stemmed not from the role itself, but from the realization that living as a priestess of the Sun God was her true destiny.
"Alexei will carry on the family brilliantly."
Her younger brother, two years her junior—Alexei Hindel.
He loved the family. He cherished the territory's people and dreamed of its prosperity.
Monica understood his heart better than anyone in the world.
That's why she willingly ceded the position of heir to him.
He would lead far better than she ever could—a man burning with passion, unlike herself, who harbored no ambition for the patriarch's seat.
"...That matter is already settled. Alexei has agreed to become the heir."
Lady Hindel spoke with a sigh, having listened to Monica's explanation.
Monica's face brightened.
"Truly?"
"How could we make you the heir when you fled the house because you didn't want to be patriarch? Even if we forced you into the role, it's obvious you'd desert again the moment the work displeased you."
"Exactly! You really do know me best!"
Monica clapped her hands together, beaming with delight.
Of course my family understands me better than anyone in the world!
"Well then, you're free to do as you wish now...."
Lady Hindel, observing her daughter, posed a question.
"But isn't this place far too meager for you to live in?"
Monica's joyful expression froze at her mother's pointed remark.
Count Hindel moved to support his wife.
"Indeed! Looking around, it seemed terribly impoverished. And the Sun God—isn't that temple nearly bankrupt?"
The couple, having discovered Monica's whereabouts after half a year, began their investigation with the Grand Temple itself.
And they were appalled.
Their daughter was at a Grand Temple so thoroughly ruined—nearly destroyed, in fact—that even they had never heard of its dire state.
Had it been the Sea God's Grand Temple, they might have understood. Even another deity would have been acceptable.
But the Sun God was not.
"We simply cannot fathom what benefit you gain by becoming a priestess in this place."
The couple held their daughter's talents in high regard.
So much so that even knowing Monica despised the heir position enough to flee, they couldn't bring themselves to abandon hope.
She was talented enough that they'd unhesitatingly designated her as heir despite recognizing her brother's passion.
How could they possibly abandon such a precious daughter in this desolate place?
Monica deserved a grander stage.
"Benefit...."
Yet Monica's thoughts diverged entirely.
She twisted her lips in amusement.
"Mother, Father. I'm not here as a merchant or anything like that. I'm a priestess who has received baptism, even if I'm still an apprentice."
A priestess who serves the divine, exercises the sacred power granted by the divine, and bestows it upon those in need of it.
"Profit? You seem to be mistaken from only observing worldly places like the Sea God Temple, but true priestesses live by faith alone, regardless of gain."
Monica understood this.
The Grand Temple where warm sunlight always poured down, the people who lived courageously despite their poverty, and the divine who had never once turned away from us.
As long as the Sun God, who loved her so blindly, dwelled in this place, Monica would remain here.
"I'm not here to obtain something, but because I am a priestess. The Sun God's reputation means nothing to me."
To be honest, I was somewhat disappointed.
That my mother, always so composed, rational, and logical, would say such a thing.
"...Pfft."
Yet my mother wasn't angry—she was laughing?
"Ahahaha! That's our daughter for you!"
It wasn't even mockery, but genuine, delighted laughter—the kind where she doubled over.
"See? I told you Monica wouldn't come back and would stay here instead. If she were the type to succumb to our persuasion, she would have returned long ago."
Lady Hindel patted her husband's shoulder as they sat side by side.
It was quite different from how she had conducted herself elegantly before Ordel.
"Monica, my dear. Is that truly your choice...?"
"Yes."
Though bewildered, Monica answered the Count's question earnestly.
The Count exhaled deeply and covered his face with his hands.
"Very well, do as you wish. You were never the sort to need our permission anyway."
"Were you testing me, then?"
"Testing? I merely wanted to know the truth of your heart."
At her mother's matter-of-fact reply, Monica was left speechless.
Still, she was grateful they hadn't opposed her vehemently.
"However, there is something I should clarify. The Grand Temple is indeed poor now, but we will soon overcome that."
Monica informed her bewildered parents of the current state of affairs at the Grand Temple.
Under Ordel's leadership, they had joined hands with Duke Sherry, and were currently conducting a potion business together based on powerful healing properties.
"What? The Lumen Merchant Guild?"
"Good heavens, Duke Sherry, no less."
The Hindel Territory lay in the east, the complete opposite direction, so news of the potion business had not yet spread there.
Thus, the couple, only now learning the truth, were genuinely astonished.
"Moving the Lumen Merchant Guild is something even His Majesty the Emperor would find difficult...."
"Yes, and our Saint accomplished this difficult feat. That's not all—the Saint saved me!"
"Saved you? Monica, surely you weren't in danger?!"
Lady Hindel, who had been quietly reassured by the knowledge that Monica had lived at the Sun God's Temple almost immediately after running away, was greatly alarmed.
The Count felt the same.
"What scoundrel did what?!"
Monica immediately tattled to her enraged parents.
"Baron Gale, a retainer of House Count Kiris, slapped my cheek and insulted me!"
I had merely asked them to wait for the procedure to be completed, yet I was slapped across the face for supposedly blocking their path.
And as if that crude behavior weren't enough, I had to endure hearing about how that fool had insulted me, the Temple of the Sun God, and the Saint herself—every last transgression of his.
Naturally, what followed was the timely arrival of Ordel Kiris, who rushed to my aid with concern, and the subsequent tale of how she had shamed William Gale before all those witnesses—a deed that only elevated her standing further.
At the mere mention that their precious daughter had been struck, the doting parents' eyes turned entirely toward her.
* * *
"...So, in other words."
I regarded the Hindel couple, who were fuming before me.
"You wish to actively support our Temple of the Sun God going forward."
In the midst of the desolate garden, at the table where the four of us had been enjoying tea, the couple came rushing over and declared:
"Yes! We wish to become patrons of the Temple of the Sun God!"
What is this? I had done nothing, yet suddenly a patron had rolled in, vine and all.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org