[CHAPTER 104]
“I don’t understand what you mean. Only A-rank or higher mages can open and close cracks, and I hadn’t awakened yet that day.”
“There is an exception.”
“What kind of…”
Caliph took back the scripture record and opened a page he had marked in advance.
It was near the very end of the book, which exceeded a thousand pages.
[However, there remains one last hope. When the Empire faces the brink of ruin, the divine proxy who shall come in place of the god Bizan.]
Meyna began to read aloud the long passage written beneath the title.
“The divine proxy is the sole being who exists outside the order of this world, and the one who shall awaken in response to the call of life that exists upon this land. The divine proxy shall connect the inside and outside of time to revive dead lives. She shall create paths that did not exist and reverse what has already happened…”
Meyna suddenly lifted her head and looked at Caliph.
“That’s right. It’s the content the High Saintess recited atop the altar. At the time, I only thought she was quoting the scripture record.”
“…”
“Keep reading.”
He gestured toward the book.
His expression was filled with deep anguish.
“She shall reverse what has already happened. The lonely ones have called the divine proxy into this world. The divine proxy is the sole being who possesses the sacred eyes that distinguish white from black…”
The pure white light that had flickered in Caliph’s heart.
The white light and darkness that Vaneysa had unleashed in succession.
“…The sole being with sacred eyes shall discern goodwill from malice. The divine proxy says, ‘Follow the goodwill that emits light, and punish the malice that reveals darkness.’”
The tips of Meyna’s fingers holding the book began to tremble faintly.
Caliph reached out instead and turned the page for her.
“The divine proxy shall foresee impending misfortune and prevent it. There shall be no unjust deaths by her side. There shall be no unforeseen accidents, and no disasters beyond remedy. The ‘Blue Stone of Prophecy’ shall aid her.”
The Bizan faith was a religion in which only women could inherit the will of the god.
Judging by the word “she,” the divine proxy spoken of in the scripture record also seemed to be predetermined as a woman.
Even so… there’s no way it could be me…
Meyna’s gaze wavered without finding focus.
Caliph reread the first sentence, then took back the scripture record and added quietly.
“Could it be that you opened the crack because you knew in advance the assassins would kill you?”
Meyna shook her head.
“No. I only fainted from the shock of the accident. I don’t even know how to open a crack, let alone the method.”
“Think about it, Meyna.”
Caliph’s hands firmly gripped Meyna’s shoulders.
His sharp eyes twisted with an indescribable sorrow.
“On the day of the holy war too, you activated an overwhelming protective spell without knowing how to handle mana. No one awakens like that.”
“Wait a moment.”
So many unbelievable stories had poured in at once in such a short time.
Thoughts she could not possibly judge on her own rampaged chaotically through her mind.
Spiculum. The carriage accident. The crack. Instructor Banje. The day of the holy war. White light and darkness…
Puzzle pieces scattered everywhere without order, never fitting together.
And the key that could gather them all was an utterly unfamiliar name called “divine proxy.”
“So what exactly is this divine proxy?”
Having organized her thoughts, Meyna asked the most important question.
The divine proxy was a concept not found in ordinary doctrine books.
It existed only in the Bizan scripture record given solely to holy knights, which was why she was encountering it for the first time today.
“…”
Caliph neither affirmed nor denied it.
But this silence itself meant affirmation.
“What is the divine proxy supposed to be? What does it mean to come from outside this world? You’re saying it’s someone who will save the Empire? How?”
As Caliph refused to answer further, an unbearable frustration welled up inside Meyna.
She began reading the next line of the scripture record he had taken back, using only her eyes.
At the final moment, the divine proxy shall weep and say, ‘Ah, lonely and fragile one. Why do I love you? Why is it that I love you so…’
Bang—!
Noticing her gaze, Caliph snapped the book shut.
Urgently, as if there were something he wished to hide.
Ignoring Meyna’s earnest look, he stood up.
“Once Banje is discharged, let’s ask him directly. Whether it was truly him who sent you Spiculum.”
As he opened a portal to return to Lenox Castle and put away the scripture record, he added,
“As for the Blue Stone of Prophecy, we can probably find information in the Southern Continent Library of Moonkasim. Let’s stop by together once the joint training ends.”
* * *
Seven in the evening, the time they had agreed to gather.
The twenty-eight guild members who had each finished their training assembled at a tavern near the hotel.
It was a dinner without alcohol, held to pray for a successful subjugation.
After Caliph’s brief founding remarks, a lavish feast began.
As everyone had expected, the guild members’ attention focused on Meyna and Biterion.
“So we finally get to dine together. It’s an honor, Lady Winslet!”
“I knew you were beautiful already, but without your glasses, you’re dazzling. Don’t you agree, Sir Brown?”
“…Haha. Indeed.”
“It’s a shame there’s no alcohol tonight.”
“Since you’ve received SS-rank approval, will you be imprinting with Prince Parker?”
While answering the barrage of questions with a cold sweat, Meyna found her plate neatly filled with salad and meat.
She scanned the table to take her own food, but nothing tempted her appetite.
“Today’s main dish, bone-in roasted lamb, has arrived.”
Two hall staff members carried out an enormous platter together.
“Marinated in salt and herbs, then slowly grilled over charcoal? Hmm, about eight hours?”
When the inspector sprang to his feet and did what he always did, both staff members nearly fainted at the same time.
“Gasp! How did you know?”
“Our head chef prepared this ambitious dish starting last night! The skin is crisp, and the meat inside is sealed with rich juices. The moment you take a bite, the savory crust and tender meat will explode with flavor in your mouth!”
It was a perfect description, enough to make even starving hunters drool.
Caliph indifferently watched the guild members, seated across five wide tables, rise one after another to take lamb ribs from the bone.
Succulent chunks of meat.
Perfectly roasted vegetables.
Mashed potatoes mixed with garlic and potatoes, and even a sauce reduced with red wine.
Now that he thought about it, he had not eaten a single grain of flour all day, yet he had no appetite whatsoever.
“Your Highness. Please answer! Will you be imprinting with Lady Winslet?”
Scrape—!
As Caliph stood up, dragging his chair, all eyes turned toward him.
“I’m going to get some air.”
He said only that to Meyna beside him before leaving his seat.
They had warned that separation from one’s partner would be met with strict accountability, but well.
If they didn’t like it, they could make someone else the leader.
The moment the ill-tempered Caliph left his seat, Narcitan’s radar began to sparkle.
His yellow eyes, fixed on the now-alone Meyna, gleamed like a snake poised before the hunt.
