CJRD CH 06

Chapter 06

It was a warm afternoon, around 2 PM.

“Here we are.”

After walking with Estelle for a while, I stopped in front of a building.

When I stopped, Estelle looked around and asked with a confused voice,

“Didn’t you say we were going to the temple?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Then where is the temple?”

Instead of answering, I pointed to the building in front of us.

Estelle looked shocked.

“That’s the temple?”

She had every right to be surprised. The building didn’t look like a temple at all.

The Ashikle Village Temple didn’t look like other temples.

It wasn’t big, there were no shiny golden fences, and no pillars carved with fancy designs.

It was just a plain white, square building awkwardly standing in the middle of some greenery.

If it weren’t for the symbol on the top, no one would guess it was a temple.

“Didn’t you say we’d pray and look around too?”

“Doesn’t it look like there’s anything to see?”

Estelle didn’t answer. She simply pressed her lips together tightly.

She probably did think there wasn’t anything to see but didn’t want to say it in front of the temple.

“It’s okay. I thought that too the first time I came. But once you go inside, you’ll change your mind.”

I smiled meaningfully and walked toward the temple.

“Wow…”

Just as I stepped inside, I heard Estelle let out a gasp behind me.

And I understood why.

This temple of Habika in Ashikle Village was the first temple ever built in the Empire.

Even though the outside was simple, the inside was more grand and beautiful than even the one in the capital, Heros.

The moment you walked in, you could see colorful lights shining on the floor.

They came from sunlight passing through the stained-glass windows that covered the walls, each one showing scenes from the Habika mythology.

When you looked up past the tall pillars holding the stained glass, there was a super high ceiling that could make your neck hurt from staring.

Painted on that ceiling were blue skies, clouds, and angels—it looked almost real.

And in the center of the temple, there was a round flower bed filled with daffodils, which represented Habika’s purity.

Maybe because of the holy water, the flowers weren’t wilted at all. They were fresh and lively.

Even the scent of the flowers was so strong, it filled the entire temple.

I turned to Estelle and asked,

“What do you think? Isn’t it amazing?”

She didn’t answer—but that silence was an answer in itself.

I still remembered how amazed I was the first time I came here.

And I had seen many famous landmarks from all over the world back in 21st-century Korea.

That’s how impressive the inside of this little village temple really was.

Seeing Estelle with her mouth open in awe made me feel proud for some reason.

Wait, now’s not the time to relax.

Estelle might be mesmerized, but I couldn’t be.

I almost forgot why we came here.

Where was that person again…?

The person who needed to pray for Estelle to make her birthmark appear.

I had to find him.

While Estelle kept admiring the temple, I looked around.

Where did I meet him again? Was it right when I entered? Or did I have to go further in? Is it even okay to walk in on my own like this?

Since this was an early game event, I had lazily skipped through it before, so my memory was fuzzy.

I tried hard to remember while quietly muttering to myself.

Then suddenly—

“Ah. Visitors.”

A calm voice came from behind, near the entrance where Estelle was standing.

I turned toward the voice.

From behind one of the large pillars, a man stepped into the light and walked toward us.

As he walked closer, his face slowly became visible from the shadows.

A soft smile, a sharp jawline.

Smooth, clear skin. A strong forehead. Thick eyebrows.

And finally, deep purple eyes that looked right at us.

“Wow…”

I let out a small gasp.

His face was so beautiful and graceful—it truly suited someone called a servant of God.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Welfion Gracia. I was sent here as the new bishop, replacing the former bishop who was called back to the main temple.”

And… he was exactly the person I was looking for.

Welfion!

Welfion Gracia.

The current bishop of this village’s temple, and a man who would later become a cardinal of the Moncast Empire.

Also, a romance route character in the game.

Welfion’s personality was calm and mature—just like a priest should be.

Maybe because of that, he didn’t have many bad events compared to other characters.

He wasn’t just for romance either.

Unless he became your enemy, he could be one of the biggest supporters in the game.

One of the ways he helped? That prayer for Estelle.

According to the game developers, you needed a cardinal’s prayer to unlock the royal birthmark.

But cardinals were super hard to meet.

Unless Estelle had grown up in the imperial palace, it was almost impossible to meet one unless you had a social stat of at least 300.

Was the game telling us to give up the emperor path? How are we supposed to get 300 social points and meet a cardinal?

Gamers all over the world were frustrated.

But this was Korea—we don’t give up easily.

Korean players worked hard, searched every corner of the game, and finally found the answer.

There was a hidden condition the game never explained:

“To get the royal birthmark, you need to receive a prayer from someone who has the divine power of a cardinal or higher.”

Once that was discovered, players started checking all the characters in the game.

And one of them met the condition:

A man who had been chosen as the next cardinal even before officially becoming a priest.

Welfion Gracia.

I can’t believe I met Welfion right away like this.

What a relief.

I had worried that, just like Estelle’s personality had changed in this reality, maybe Welfion would be hard to find too.

But seeing him here made me so happy that I had to clench my fists to calm myself down.

“Sister?”

I snapped back to reality when I heard his voice.

I had been so distracted by excitement that I forgot to introduce myself.

Welfion looked at me curiously since I hadn’t said a word yet.

Focus! Now’s not the time to space out.

Embarrassed, I quickly spoke up.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Bishop. I’m Reina, and this is Estelle.”

“Sister Reina and Sister Estelle,”

Welfion repeated our names, looking at us each in the eyes.

Then he smiled kindly and asked,

“What brings you both to the temple today? The festival outside is in full swing.”

At his question, Estelle looked up at me.

She must have been curious too. After all, she had just followed me here without knowing the reason.

“Estelle recently moved to our village, so I brought her here to pray for a happy and peaceful life.”

As I answered, I gently pulled Estelle closer to me.

She lost balance for a second and stumbled toward me.

I caught her in my arms so she wouldn’t fall and held her close.

Estelle looked up at me in surprise and confusion.

I just smiled at her.

“Ah!”

But it didn’t last long—Estelle quickly pushed me away and stepped back.

I felt a little sad.

“You came to pray for peace and happiness. For her new life here.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I’m sure Lord Habika will be pleased.”

Welfion placed his right hand on his chest and closed his eyes briefly—a gesture showing he shared in God’s joy.

“Then let me find a priest who can help with your prayer…”

His eyes passed over me and landed on Estelle.

Then, he suddenly stopped talking and just stared at her.

“Ah.”

But after a moment, he smiled like he had just realized something and nodded.

“If it’s alright with you both, would you let me offer the prayer?”

“You, Bishop? Yourself?”

“Yes.”

“We’re honored, but… would that really be okay?”

I pretended to be surprised.

Of course, this was the exact reason I brought Estelle here, but technically speaking, a bishop’s prayer wasn’t something common folks could just ask for.

“It’s fine. I feel like the reason God brought me here was to meet you both. But if you’re not comfortable…”

“No, no! We’d be honored. Thank you!”

I quickly answered before he could change his mind.

Welfion was surprised for a second, but then smiled warmly.

“Then I’ll guide you to the prayer room. Please follow me.”