Turning
chapter-127

"...Understood."

"For now, it seems too early to go into further detail. I'll inform you once things are more settled."

"Yes."

Yuder realized that the conversation had reached its end, and he gently placed his fork on the now empty cake plate. A faint smile played on Kishiar's face.

"You cleaned your plate... You must really like sweets, huh?"

"I've told you before, I neither particularly like nor dislike them."

Although his comment wasn't particularly funny, Kishiar, for some reason, held back a chuckle with pursed lips.

"Understood. You may go now."

"Yes."

Not long after Yuder had left the office, Nathan Zuckerman entered, almost as if taking turns. The object he handed to Kishiar was a report and a letter sealed by a special method.

"Where did these come from?"

"There are two internal reports from the Imperial Army, one letter from Hartan, and on top of them, a letter from Peletta Castle."

Kishiar effortlessly broke the seal and skimmed through all the documents in a moment.

The news that higher-ups were starting to be vigilant due to the newly awakened common soldiers in the Imperial Army, the reports of those diligently working for the development of the domain even in the absence of the Duke, and the actions of his loyal Knights of Peletta across the continent, all this was written in those few pieces of paper.

"Everyone's doing well. Now that it's certain that neither Diarca nor Apeto noticed what happened in Hartan, we can hold off for a while. Nathan, you've done well."

"Deception, isn't that what we always do?"

With a light reply, Nathan turned his gaze towards the empty cake plate and the extra tea cup in front of Kishiar.

"I see that Yuder Aile was here just a moment ago."

"Yes. It seems we need to establish a dedicated medical system for the Cavalry soon."

"Has he been injured again?"

As Nathan's face, who had been with Yuder when he was being treated in the office all day, suggested that he knew something, Kishiar gave a slightly bitter smile.

"No, he's not hurt now, but I have a feeling he will be soon."

"You are a person with abilities and patience far beyond ordinary people. Don't you think you're worrying too much?"

"How can I let down someone who's so certain I will take care of it?"

"Excuse me?"

As Nathan Zuckerman failed to grasp the quiet words, Kishiar shook his head with a smile, as if it was nothing.

"It's nothing. Just do what needs to be done as quickly as possible."

Understanding Kishiar had never been an easy task, but now, somehow, it felt even harder than usual. Nathan sighed briefly and nodded.

"Understood. I will scout for doctors and pharmacists as quickly as possible. Finding a discreet priest will probably take more time, so it would be best to bring in who we can find first. I'll also get more holy water and purifying stones."

"Good. And one more thing..."

Kishiar nodded, then added another task to the agenda.

"Along with that, start the construction of a medical room on the first floor where we can take care of people immediately when needed. It would be even better if we could fit about 30 beds."

"Haven't you said that you'd consider making that after we have a few more members with healing abilities?"

Nathan Zuckerman tilted his head in a questioning manner.

"If we wait to make it until we actually need it, it might be too late. And beds can be used not just for the sick, but also for various isolations when needed. There's no harm in being prepared."

Just as Nathan suggested, Kishiar had initially thought that it would be sufficient to establish facilities like a medical room or beds only after several members within the Cavalry had awakened healing abilities. He had judged that there was no need to create these facilities in advance, considering that one holy water or purification stone brought from the temple could heal people faster than doctors or pharmacists.

However, his thinking changed slightly after seeing multiple people coming and going from the private quarters due to the lack of a separate isolation space when the second gender manifestation of Jimmy Ocker occurred recently.

The bodies of the Awakeners are different from those of ordinary people. Kishiar himself did not yet fully understand the changes to his own body after awakening, let alone others. He speculated that the need for specialized medical care for the Awakeners would be raised even years from now.

"Understood."

Even though he didn't fully grasp or accept the implications of his words, the loyal adjutant would follow his command more faithfully than anyone else. As he thought about the Cavalry that would change even more in the future, Kishiar's gaze suddenly fell on the empty cake plate.

"Why are you laughing all of a sudden?"

"No, it's just... I felt like laughing."

Despite sensing Nathan's gaze on him with confusion, he couldn't help but chuckle. Kishiar gave a slight shrug and laughed for a while.

It had been a long time since he laughed at a purely amusing memory.

…

"I can't figure out what the Elder priest thinks of this significant event. When did he confirm the participants, and how can he so casually increase the number of them a day before?"

The novice priest Lusan, who was selected to assist in today's Sharing of the Sacred Flame event, was eavesdropping on the conversation of the priests who were grumbling in front of him while pretending to clean the floor. He had been curious because there had been a bewildered atmosphere among the priests since last night, and it seemed that the sudden increase in event participants was the cause.

"Is he going to overturn a matter settled half a year ago just like that? Is he saying to change all the flowers we have grown because he doesn't like them?.... And we've been tolerating all of this, but now he's asking us to prepare a seat for the young master of the noble house! I'm really so angry that I can't live."

"Is this kind of thing happening only once or twice? It's not just him, all those from powerful families are like that. Considering the amount of offerings that the Apeto family gives to the representative shrine, we just have to endure and manage it."

"What does family matter to a priest who has pledged his body and soul to God?"

For a while now, Lusan had suffered at their hands, ostensibly preparing for the Sharing of the Sacred Flame ceremony. Their anger was rather gratifying to him, but he made sure not to show it outwardly.

'They badmouthed me, saying a lazy person like you can never become a formal priest, yet when the Elder Priest, who never shows his face, speaks, they don't dare move an inch. Pathetic, just pathetic.'

According to the sacred texts, priests serving the Sun God were required to sever ties with the secular world. But now, there were hardly any who kept this rule. Unless one was an orphan like Lusan, abandoned at the temple's doorstep, the position one could ascend to and the right to speak often changed depending on how distinguished their family was.

These priests, who saw themselves as victims and accused the Elder Priest of misusing the power of his clan, probably had no idea how much they had ignored and excluded Lusan simply because he was an orphan. To Lusan's eyes, there was no difference between the Elder Priest and them.

"Lusan! How long are you going to keep sweeping the same area? Stop being lazy and go help with the sacred flame!"

Perhaps his eavesdropping had been too obvious, having stayed in one place for too long. One of the older priests turned his head and scowled. Lusan hurriedly grabbed the broom and fled, giving a barely sincere response.

"Ah, yes, yes."

"What kind of answer is that, you useless boy! You should be grateful for receiving mercy and making it to the altar as an orphan. What's wrong with that boy!"

'Who are you to call someone useless when your divine power is even lower than mine?'

Lusan transferred the mound of sacred flames he had painstakingly grown for a year, and tidied the stage and tables where the nobles' children participating in the ceremony would stand.

'Priests like me did everything from growing to harvesting the flowers and preparing them by removing the thorns, but the nobles' children are the ones who stand here and distribute them. Who on earth came up with such a meaningless ceremony?'

The expressions of the other acolyte priests working beside him all looked unsatisfied. It was astonishing that such a ceremony, where no one seemed happy, had continued for hundreds of years under the guise of tradition.

"The participants will arrive soon. Finish up and come down."

As soon as the preparations were completed, the noble participants emerged as if they had been waiting. Those attending the Sharing of the Sacred Flame ceremony were all nobles' children, each with beautiful appearances and hands that clearly never did any dirty work. Among them, a young boy with beautiful red hair, looking like a doll, was said to be the youngest of Duke Apeto, who had suddenly decided to participate in the ceremony and enraged the priests.

The acolyte priests, including Lusan, had to help the nobles' children put white priest capes over their clothes. Lusan was in charge of the youngest Apeto. As Lusan draped the cape over his shoulders and was about to tie the string, he was startled to notice that the boy's forehead and neck were drenched in cold sweat.

'That's unexpected. Even a young lord like him gets nervous when attending such an event.'

Startled, he paused, but there were tasks to be done. As he tied the string, Lusan noticed not only the cold sweat of the youngest Apeto but also his tightly clenched fist shaking, which almost made him laugh.

"...If you're not feeling well, please let me know. I can imbue you with divine power right now."

The young noble, who had only seemed annoying, felt like the orphaned younger siblings he took care of at.