Chapter 15
In truth, from the moment he heard Prodia’s scream, Irtis had completely forgotten about the ritual.
He averted his gaze slightly, but Prodia grabbed his face firmly with both hands.
“Don’t tell me… you…?”
“N-no. The ritual is over.”
Well, it should be over. He just wasn’t there.
Unaware of that, Prodia let out a sigh of relief.
“Haah… at least that’s a relief.”
Then she fired off another question.
“Then why on earth did you use a magic circle to come find me? I told you that under no circumstances should you use magic!”
Irtis felt wronged.
“You called me first.”
“I did?”
“What are you talking about? You shouted at me through telepathy.”
“Me?”
Prodia looked completely confused. Only then did Irtis begin to understand what had happened.
He asked calmly,
“First of all, you screamed earlier, right?”
That part was true. Luka had suddenly pressed his lips to her wound.
“That’s true, but I never used telepathy.”
“Did you think of me at that moment, or not?”
“Well…”
Did she?
Now that she thought about it, she had briefly wondered if she would be safe if Irtis were there.
Seeing her unable to answer, Irtis said,
“See? You called me first after all.”
“I didn’t do it consciously.”
“Do you know how shocked I was? I thought something had happened to you.”
“Even so, you could’ve just run over. Why would you open a magic circle like a lunatic?”
Just then—
“Ugh… where… is this…?”
The man who had been quietly slumped against the wall groaned and slowly opened his eyes.
But the color of his revealed eyes was not red—it was a clear gold.
Prodia pressed a hand to her forehead.
We’re screwed.
The one who had awakened was not Luka, but Papier.
Faced with the sudden appearance of an unexpected personality, Prodia found herself in quite a predicament.
Unlike Luka, Papier knew nothing about the current situation.
How absurd must this be for him? To wake up and find himself battered and embedded in a wall.
Her head began to ache.
Where do I even start explaining this?
“Your other personality asked me out on a date and then got beaten up by my contractor, a great mage. I’m sorry”? There was no way she could say that!
At that moment, Papier’s body, which had been lodged in the wall, collapsed to the ground.
“S-Sir Priest!”
Prodia rushed to him in a single stride.
He lay sprawled over broken stones like a sheet of paper.
Supporting him, she called out,
“Sir Priest? Please, come to your senses!”
He wasn’t dead… right?
At this rate, they might actually end up at war with the Grand Temple!
Fortunately, Papier exhaled within her arms.
“Cough.”
Haaah…
Prodia let out a sigh of relief.
Slowly opening his eyes, Papier asked in a hoarse voice,
“Be-believer…? What happened… why am I… cough!”
“Ah, well…”
What was she supposed to say?
No, forget that—saving him came first.
Prodia sent a telepathic message to Irtis.
[ Irtis? Hurry and use some healing magic. ]
[ You want me to pour mana into a priest? ]
Ah… right. That would be like feeding him poison.
[ Then what do we do? ]
[ He’ll recover soon enough. That guy seems to have plenty of divine power. ]
Ah, I see.
Thank goodness Papier was a miracle priest.
Then there was only one option.
First, hide him somewhere.
We’ll move him to the waiting room we were using, and once he recovers a bit, we can send him out—
Just then, a deep voice came from behind.
“Believer?”
“…?”
Prodia slowly turned her head.
The moment she recognized the owner of the voice, a shadow fell over her face.
We’re doomed. We’re really doomed.
“Would you spare me a moment? I would like an explanation for this situation.”
The one who had appeared before them was none other than the High Priest.
High Priest’s office.
Prodia sat across from him, feeling like a criminal awaiting judgment.
And then she began her explanation.
Explaining how a “walking miracle” of a high-ranking priest had ended up beaten to a pulp by a great mage—while carefully avoiding the most critical parts—was no easy task.
Feels like I’ve aged ten years…
After hearing everything, the High Priest finally spoke.
“In other words, a participant attacked our priest under the misunderstanding that he was threatening you, the believer… is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Prodia nodded firmly.
At that moment, a telepathic voice rang in her mind. It was Irtis.
[ Why are you leaving out the most important part? Is it normal for a priest to ask a believer on a date? ]
[ I’ll explain everything later. Please just wait for now. ]
[…Alright.]
Sensing that there was more to this matter, he stepped back.
Of course, Prodia understood exactly what he meant.
If she had revealed Papier’s split personality, things would have been much simpler.
But I don’t know how much the High Priest already knows… I need to be careful.
Right then, the High Priest turned to Papier, who was seated beside him.
“High Priest Dofer… no, Papier.”
Hearing his real name, Papier flinched.
“H-High Priest…”
“Did he appear again?”
At the chilling tone, Papier’s eyes widened.
“I-I’m sorry.”
The High Priest closed his eyes quietly, as if deep in thought.
Watching him, Prodia realized,
So the High Priest already knows about Papier’s split personality.
And he had no intention of hiding that fact from them.
Which meant he had likely already figured out that she had met Luka.
And sure enough, the High Priest turned to her.
“Believer?”
“Yes.”
“You already understand what I’m referring to, don’t you?”
There was no point in hiding it anymore.
“…Yes.”
Then suddenly, the High Priest bowed his head toward her.
Startled, Prodia exclaimed,
“H-High Priest?”
“This is my fault for failing to properly guide my priest. I apologize on his behalf.”
“It’s alright. It was just a misunderstanding on both sides.”
“However…”
Lifting his head, the High Priest now turned to Irtis.
“How did you know that the believer was in danger?”
At that, Prodia focused as well.
She hadn’t had the chance to properly hear about what happened earlier.
The High Priest continued,
“Are you, by any chance, the participant who left in the middle of the Oath Ritual?”
Irtis let out a sigh and nodded.
“…Yeah.”
Prodia’s eyes nearly popped out.
What? He left in the middle of the ritual?
She immediately sent him a telepathic message.
[ What is this? You said you finished the ritual properly! ]
[ It did end… just without me. ]
She felt like she was going insane.
Seriously, how are we supposed to fix this?
But then, the High Priest spoke again.
“Then there is only one answer. You used magic within the Grand Temple.”
“….”
Irtis said nothing, and Prodia turned pale.
That’s why he apologized to me first—to gain leverage to question this, damn it!
Her mind raced.
Would this be reported to the imperial family?
Would Irtis be disqualified?
How could they get out of this situation?
Then—
the High Priest said something unexpected.
“Ordinarily, this would be treated as a grave crime. However, if you grant me a favor, I will overlook this incident.”
Prodia seized the lifeline without hesitation.
“What kind of favor?”
“A young priest informed me that a distinguished teacher has once again taken an interest in training participants for the royal consort selection.”
That brat already spread that rumor?
Smiling gently, the High Priest pointed at Papier.
“My request is simple. Please personally teach this child and send him to the royal consort selection.”
“…What?”
At the unexpected proposal, everyone in the room froze.
Send Papier to the royal consort selection?
The first to break the silence was Papier himself.
“N-No way, you must be joking! High Priest, you want me to participate in the selection? I am a servant of the gods!”
“Papier.”
The High Priest spoke with a benevolent expression.
“This is all for your sake.”
Papier.
He was born a commoner, without even a surname.
Ordinarily, someone of such status could never become a priest.
But Papier was an exception.
He was born with immense divine power.
The most sacred light in history eventually reached the Grand Temple.
To find the bearer of this miraculous power, the High Priest mobilized even the holy knights and searched the entire empire.
And at last, they found Papier in a lowly village.
Papier, who was shy and fearful of strangers, refused to go with them.
But his parents sold him to the Temple for money.
And just like that, the most despised child in the empire became a priest of the sacred order.
Regardless of his own will, he came to be called a “walking miracle,” becoming a great asset to the Temple.
Then, one day—
a red-eyed “Luka” appeared.
“Do you know how many priests have fallen because of Luka?” a senior priest reported in the High Priest’s office.
The High Priest’s hand, which had been reading documents, came to a stop.
He leaned back in his chair and quietly closed his eyes.
“Will you truly continue to leave Luka unchecked?” the priest pressed.
“Luka? No matter what anyone says, he is still Papier. Watch your words.”
“But—!”
“To prevent confusion, ensure that the priests keep their mouths shut.”
There was nothing more the senior priest could do.
“…Understood.”
“On your way out, send that child to my office.”
“Of course.”
Not long after, footsteps approached.
Light, unrestrained steps.
Without even seeing his eyes, the High Priest knew which one it was.
…Luka.
The door opened, and Luka walked in.
The High Priest spoke coldly.
“Luka, I hear you’ve been toying with priests again.”
Luka looked offended.
“Toying? That’s unfair. I just went out to have some fun together.”
“Because of your frivolous actions, that child was stripped of his priesthood.”
“Oh? So it finally happened?”
Luka grinned.
“That’s good. It’s not like that kid chose to be a priest anyway. It’s a waste for someone like him to rot in a place like this just because of his parents.”
“You insolent—!”
The High Priest shouted, veins bulging.
But Luka remained unfazed.
“What do you want me to do? You’re the one who trapped that guy in this hell. So of course I’m stuck here too.”
“Hell? Watch your blasphemous tongue. This is the Grand Temple, blessed by the gods.”
“To me, it’s a prison.”
The High Priest stood and approached him.
“This is your final warning. Do not appear from within Papier again.”
“Isn’t it strange?” Luka tilted his head.
“Why are you so sure that I’m the one inside Papier?”
“…What?”
“Have you ever considered that I might be the real owner of this body—and that Papier is the extra one?”
The High Priest’s gaze wavered.
Luka continued,
“Have you ever thought that this—this way of living—is the life we truly want?”
That was the last conversation between Luka and the High Priest.
His eyes turned gold—
and he soon lost consciousness.
After that, Luka did not appear for a long time.
Not until today, when he met Prodia.
