chapter 16
Welcome (3)
An unusual event was held at Robben Academy.
It was the welcome ceremony for the clergy who arrived at the academy after clearing all their schedules for a day.
If you look closely, it was more like an introduction to the clergy, like the explanation of the faculty at the beginning of the semester, rather than a welcome event.
“The overall response is not as bad as I thought.”
As the priests introduced themselves, Vice Dean Claire quietly whispered to the dean sitting next to the sound of applause.
“Even though religious education has been banned in the academy, there is no clear reason to be hostile to the clergy either rationally or emotionally.”
The gray-haired dean gave off a warm atmosphere like the grandfather next door and answered that.
“Religion and politics are mostly separated in the Empire, but most of these other races are still close to theocracy. Each and every one of those priests is a nobleman. Moreover…”
The dean stopped talking and looked at the podium.
At the touch of the elf princess who happened to be standing on the podium, flowers were growing from the ground and from the seats.
The auditorium, which was huge enough to accommodate all the academy figures, was filled with the scent of fragrant flowers.
“Waaa!!”
People who attended the unbelievable sight were screaming.
“If you are not moved by this sight, you must be a deep-rooted disbeliever.”
“It’s definitely a great sight.”
Vice-Chancellor Claire plucked a nearby flower, sniffed it for a moment, and agreed.
Even though flower seeds were planted all over the auditorium in advance at the request of the elven priests for this performance, it was such a great sight that people exclaimed even though they knew that.
“Is it possible that he is the next saint?”
“Well… holy magic isn’t something that can be easily tailored.”
The appearance of the Dwarf Knights, who showed off their military dance in the form of steel armor that shone softly around their bodies with divine power, felt grand.
I felt reverence in the appearance of the beastman priest who directed the scene where countless animals in the academy gathered to worship.
Both of them were impressive enough to recall the grace of God, but the image of the elf princess was different.
Flowers blooming in the bare ground, what is this if not a miracle? Even though the seeds were planted in advance.
“I hope the apprentice saint won’t shrink.”
“Unsurprisingly, Vice President Claire. Was he such a sentimental person?”
“Since I’m a human, I wonder if I’m still rooting for the Orion cult?”
“You? You sound funny.”
The pupils hidden by the gentle eyes of the dean shone.
“It’s just… he’s a good person. A probationary saint.”
Hearing the words of Vice Dean Claire, who couldn’t help but express his true feelings, the dean made a surprised expression as if he was really surprised.
“What is it? A child is not guilty.”
“Yes, a normal child is innocent. I am amazed that you can apply that rational judgment to the Orion religion.”
“Because I didn’t become the deputy dean here just to be scolded?”
“I was the dean here even when you were scribbling.”
“Grumble…”
When she mentioned her age, an invincible weapon, Claire muttered, “Old man,” and turned her gaze back to the podium.
I saw Ronan coming up the podium.
Why send the saint first? It must be the last according to the scheduled ceremony.
As I turned my gaze toward the Orion Bridge with a question in mind, I saw the pale, sickly appearance of the Cardinal and the priesthood.
…Could it be that the impact of the elf princess was so strong that she was frightened and sent the saint to the arrow shaft first?
Thinking that they were really great, Vice Dean Claire shook her head and turned her gaze back to the apprentice saint.
For the first time in his life, the saint must have encountered a situation where a large number of people were paying attention to him, but he had a calm expression as if no one was in front of him.
“It’s amazing as much as courage.”
Come to think of it, he was a strong-hearted man who didn’t blink even when Lord Gorg threatened with a mace.
Is it because of the belief that Orion will protect him?
No matter how great your faith is, there must be a limit to the holy magic that can be implemented with a young body.
Deputy Dean Claire thought it would be difficult to impress Ronan even though she was rooting for Ronan.
In the first place, the opponents were too bad. Gorg, the leader of the Knights of the Steel Anvil, was already a famous paladin on the continent as a master-class paladin who beat and killed numerous demon worshipers.
Iris, an elven princess, was appointed as the next saint and queen from birth, so she must have been exposed to more elves’ holy magic than anyone else, not to mention her popularity.
There is not much information about the representative of the beast tribe, but since he is said to serve the saint of the beast tribe by his side, he must be in a position similar to that of the elf princess.
Didn’t both show holy magic beyond imagination?
It was difficult to expect that a human saint who had only been a saint for a few months, and who had not even been officially designated as a saint, would show off any great holy magic beyond that.
No, I wonder if there is any holy magic that I learned from the church in the first place?
Vice dean Claire’s thoughts, which had been pessimistic, could not continue.
* * *
That’s a pumpkin in the shape of a human head…that’s a pumpkin in the shape of a human head…a pumpkin in the shape of a human head…a pumpkin in the shape of a human head…a pumpkin in the shape of a human head…a person ‘s head is a pumpkin…man is a pumpkin…
Standing on the podium, I had countless such thoughts in my mind.
Otherwise, it looked like it would vomit at any moment.
There were a lot of people. And that was too much.
I feel like I’m already going to die just having to come forward, but in my eyes, the feelings inherent in all of them were mixed like paint and covering the sky.
It was never a beautiful sight like the aurora.
If I had to compare it, it felt like something that could not be understood by a person who would appear in a cosmic horror was spreading in the air.
It was in the worst condition to the extent that it was difficult to even make a commercial smile, which was usually automatically fitted.
To be honest, I don’t even remember exactly how the welcome ceremony went.
I can’t even remember what people around me say.
The cardinals and archbishops, who had remained calm here, seemed trustworthy for the first time.
Come to think of it, these guys still don’t feel pressured to go out in front of people.
This time, I really wanted to see a little bit of the church, but every time the priests of these tribes demonstrated their holy magic in front of them, the confidence of the cardinals and archbishops plummeted.
Why? No, why?
Of course, they are cool and amazing, but is that enough? You guys are still cardinals and archbishops. You have some degree of divine power and sacred tools.
Then why the hell did they only teach me how to make a healing light while telling me to believe in them!
There is a time to check and a time not to.
Or did your brain become raw because you were just laughing and eating the world?
As soon as the elven princess bloomed flowers at the hot spring, the cardinal began to search for a place to escape in his heart.
Why the hell did I even want to trust these idiots?
Ronan, Ronan. No matter how you think about it, you are right. I tried to believe this.
“Please go up first and show us that Orion’s sacred law is second to none.”
As I was lamenting my stupidity, the cardinal went one step further and made such an offer.
I really want to grind it up.
It was a fleeting moment, but it was such an intense desire that the nausea disappeared.
Wow, is that the cardinal’s big intention to bring me stability at the cost of his own personal reputation?
A spirit of philanthropy that cannot be seen without tears?
Seriously, it wasn’t my desire to survive that made me give up worrying about whether I should run away with this bastard.
It was because the apprentice clergy stood out behind the cardinals, trembling as if they were abandoned naked in the middle of winter.
Yeah, what the hell are they doing?
Although my intention was to prevent the priests from living their lives as faithful divine power shuttles in the main office, who knows what they would say is better from their point of view.
It’s like I brought him out, so I’ll do my best.
Thinking so, I accepted the cardinal’s proposal without saying anything.
As soon as I stood in front of the podium, I immediately regretted it.
I feel like I’m going to vomit… I feel like the crowd’s gaze and aura will swallow me up at any moment.
I’m confident that if someone touches me right next to me, I’ll pass out.
He tried to turn people into pumpkins with self-hypnosis, but of course he failed.
Who the hell said this would help?
I had no choice but to close my eyes again.
I couldn’t think of anything I could do in this situation.
Since I closed my eyes, I naturally took the posture of praying.
I hit a shallow curtain on my ears with divine power and blocked my ears.
It was better to just not see anything and not hear anything.
In that state, as I raised my divine power and spread it all over my body, I started to find calm little by little as the warm energy spread through my body.
In that state, he slowly began to speak the words he had prepared to himself, as if he were talking to a wall.
“My name is Ronan. I am an Orion priest who has undeservedly been given the title of apprentice saint.”
Ever since I was little, I grew up with a strict father and a kind mother without lacking… Ah, this is not it.
Not even one word is right.
hahahaha, Ronan is an orphan without parents in the first place. If he wasn’t an orphan, there would have been no chance of him flowing into this dog-like church.
“Sorry, I can’t say enough good things to teach you.”
Emphasize your opinion by putting the standard, inversion, and conclusion of your self-introduction letter in front.
“Because I’ve never had a great enlightenment on doctrine, nor have I been a priest dedicated to God for tens or even hundreds of years.”
After saying that, I took a moment to catch my breath.
A sudden confession of one’s own inadequacy. And silence.
It’s a topic that will be interesting whether you have goodwill or hostility toward me.
Wouldn’t this be enough to draw attention to the noisy hall?
I don’t know if I can’t hear or see anything.
If you fail, there’s nothing you can do about it. You have no choice but to leave the back to the cardinal and run away.
“But, gentlemen, faith is not as complicated or as great as you think.”
Normally, I would have refrained from saying anything that could provoke such a religious order, but now I was literally invisible.
I can’t see the cardinal’s face. I can’t put a physical punch on the cardinal, but I can’t stand it unless I put a political punch on him.
“When you’re having a hard time, when you’re sick, when you’re tired.”
But if I do it, I’ll only get tired later, so from now on, I have to show you something so great that my words won’t stay in your head.
Not that angel last time. That can’t be. It’s really my trauma.
It can be roughly regarded as a degraded version of that.
I think it’s similar to blooming flowers on the bare ground in my senses.
“Even in the midst of that, when no one reaches out to you. When you feel alone. When you feel like you can’t take a single step anymore.”
It materializes a halo of light behind its back, creating the shape of angel wings.
However, it should be far enough away so that there is no misunderstanding that it sprung up from the back, so that anyone can know that it sprung out of thin air.
“The inner voice in your heart that whispers to you not to give up, that you are not alone, to take one more step towards the light.”
The wings once embraced me, then spread them wide and make them disappear.
As the wings disappear, feathers made of light spread from them fly all over the auditorium.
Especially to the seat where the Orion Order apprentices are located.
The halo has a simple energizing effect.
If someone asks later, they say that they applied what the priests taught them. Well, they say they solved geometry and vectors when they taught them how to calculate, but they say that’s what I said. What can I do?
This will be enough. The vitality that dwells in the body will naturally calm the hearts of the frightened believers, and in many ways, it will calm the audience who are excited by the great performance.
“That voice is the voice of God, the teaching of God. As long as you hear that voice, you are following the teaching of God.”
After I finished speaking, I quietly opened my eyes and erased the holy power that was blocking my ears.
oh.
Even though I restored my hearing, the hall was still as quiet as when I was blocking my hearing.
“I wish you happiness.”
This is it. This time, it seems to have been really perfect to the level I intended?
“thank you.”
Satisfied, I entered the podium, smiled comfortably for the first time, and headed to my seat.