1. The First Letter (57)

The corridors of the temple were silent. Those who seek God usually love silence.

It was because the more desperate people were, the more they forgot their language. The cry of a parent who lost a child was rather close to the cry of an animal.

The stronger the intensity of emotions, the more residues that cannot be translated into words. The torrent of emotions that have crossed the road cannot be defined by one name, nor can they be classified as individual emotions. Only he himself could feel it, and no one could fully understand the feeling.

So humans head to the temple to find God. Because there is no one but God who understands and understands my burned and wounded heart. It was also the reason why the house of the heavenly god Arus should always be open for the sick and needy.

I was waiting in the hallway as well. I was silently contributing to the silence of the temple.

The stabbing emotions didn’t stop me from shutting my mouth. It was just that I didn’t want to say anything in a shabby and stuffy mood.

The wound Seria got was not that deep when viewed objectively. It must have been a mistake, but Celine looked visibly embarrassed.

While heading to the temple, Seria, who was supported by me, spoke to me hesitantly.

“I-I… Seniors?”

“Yes, Seria.”

I tried to return my voice as kindly as possible, but my voice was a little colder than usual. It was because the anger hadn’t subsided yet.

Then I heard that Celine and Seria were fighting and quickly headed to the scene. At first I thought it was just an argument, but at some point I realized that a commotion had broken out around him.

It was the news that there was a knife strike. When I headed straight to the swordsmanship training ground, there was one scene that caught my eye.

The blade dug into Seria’s forearm, and Seria knelt while moaning. And Celine holding the handle of the knife.

Even so, I was nervous about the news that Celine and Seria were fighting. Seeing that scene, the heat ran to the top of my head.

It wasn’t just for Seria. Even for Celine, I had to be angry.

It was not a neck sword, but a real sword, and it was a reason for disciplinary action. In the worst case, you could even be expelled. What the hell were you thinking when you pulled out the sword?

Even thinking about it again, I gritted my teeth in frustration. Seria, feeling a bit more intimidated, confessed to me, as if she felt that my atmosphere was unusual.

“Well, actually, she’s not the only one holding a sword… In fact, I was also responding with a sword. I heard the senior’s voice, so I suddenly drew the sword, but it wasn’t Celine’s fault. I’m sorry, senior. If I had been more patient… … .”

“… … Who drew the sword first?”

Sarah kept her mouth shut instead of answering. The way he looked at me was that he was worried that his answer might have offended me even more.

I didn’t need an answer anyway. Because the words ‘if you had more patience’ were already hinting at the answer.

Celine drew her sword first. When I let out an irritated sigh, Seria stuttered as if to comfort me.

“That, that, Ian senior? I’m not very good at talking, ugh… Maybe there was a misunderstanding because it wasn’t that good… … .”

“Okay, let’s go to the temple. Why is the injured child talking so much?”

I felt sorry for Seria, who chewed her tongue and made excuses, so I said that. Pushing her into the treatment room like that, the hallway of the temple.

It was clearly a shallow wound, but treatment took longer than expected. It seemed that the symbolism of knife fighting within the academy was creating a complicated problem. If the disciplinary committee is held, the statement obtained from the temple and the extent of the injury will emerge as an issue.

As I let out a deep sigh, someone approached me. Of course, that natural movement, as if it should come next to me, even I didn’t feel much resistance.

There was only one opponent that could do that to me. There were originally two of them, but one was the one who created this division, so I didn’t even know where it was.

“… … Leto.”

“How are you?”

His voice seemed nonchalant, but the fact that he came to the temple on purpose showed that he was quite concerned about this matter.

I shook my head without saying anything. A sigh kept leaking out. Then, the blessing runs away, my sister said something.

“I don’t know, Seria doesn’t seem to want to make a big problem… … .”

“… … Tsk, anyway, even when I tried to fix that messy personality, he didn’t listen.”

Leto clicked his tongue and grumbled like that. It meant that he wasn’t feeling too well either. From his point of view, his cousin, who grew up like a brother and sister, had an accident out of the blue, so of course he wouldn’t be in a good mood.

I was feeling a bit dazed. I thought I finally got over a hurdle with Elsie-senpai joining, but Celine and Seria were fighting with swords.

My head was pounding. Celine and Seria couldn’t be together anymore. How could he trust and entrust his back in the yard where he even resorted to sword fighting?

Leto glanced at me. As if he knew well what I was worried about, he asked me feigning indifference.

“So, what are you going to do with the hunting team?”

Although he is talking vaguely about ‘Hunter Joe’, I didn’t lack my senses enough to not know that his true intention was a question of what to do with Celine.

After thinking about it for a while, I answered while washing my face dry.

“… … Celine can’t wear it, if it’s like this.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Should I bring Thean? Take the hatchet again and go find it.”

Thean of Count Eitri, a noble family in the Southern Ten Kingdoms.

He was a person who had a bad relationship with me once while leading Seria’s bullying, but he joked that since I hit him with a hatchet like Elsie-senpai, wouldn’t it be okay to carry a hatchet again?

But Leto seemed to take my mood-boosting prank quite seriously. He muttered, stroking his chin.

“Hmm, isn’t that bad? He is famous for his strong body, so he should be able to play an active role in the front line, and people from the ten southern kingdoms value loyalty.”

“… … It’s okay, Seria won’t like it that much.”

Celine did not even lead the bullying. Although he made a bad image by talking behind his back, even that was a recent thing and it was something that could be easily overlooked with an apology.

Also, if Seria and Celine reconcile on this occasion, my friendship will be a little better, and for those reasons, I tried to recruit Celine, but Tian was different.

Thean had been constantly arguing with and harassing Seria since before that. They say they haven’t touched Seria lately, but that doesn’t change the past.

Can I be forgiven for apologizing? If it was Seria, it might be surprisingly easy to pass without much thought, but I was skeptical.

The skills were great. If Tean came, he would form a 4-member group with Seria, Elsie seniors, and me, but it was a pretty spectacular roster.

Except for my name, I was delusional for a moment, then shook my head again. An irritated murmur escaped my lips.

“Then why are you arguing… … .”

The subject was omitted, but there was no need to say whose story it was. It was Celine’s story. Leto was silent for a while, and then summarized the information he had heard and gave it to me.

“The kids say, Seria used to come out a bit badly.”

“Anyway, did you draw the knife first?”

I reacted rather sharply in tears, then lowered my gaze again, wanting to be sorry.

Leto didn’t seem to care too much. He looked at me blankly, then spoke quietly.

“Since Seria is a high-ranking aristocrat, she must have been impatient with her pride. You know what happened to Baron Hastur.”

‘Baron Hastur’, I shut my mouth for a while after hearing that.

I heard Celine’s father and now he’s weak and can’t get out of bed. Since a number of high-ranking nobles intervened in the process, Celine had a strong enmity towards the high-ranking nobles.

Even so, I couldn’t erase my stuffy mind. A warm voice came out of my mouth.

“… … Alpenhauser and Yurdina are different.”

“Do you think Alpenhauser was the only high-ranking aristocrat involved in the conflict? At least six families came in and messed up the Hastur estate.”

“So even more so!”

I involuntarily groaned. I flinched for a moment, but Leto just stared at me without saying anything.

A sigh eventually escaped from my mouth. A weak voice came out of my mouth.

“There is only Celine in the Hastur family now. You don’t have to go back after getting an academy diploma, and find a suitable marriage partner… We have to revive the Hastur family again.”

So I just got even more angry. For Celine’s sake, Celine shouldn’t be like this.

I couldn’t figure out why I did such a stupid thing.

It was understandable to manage personal connections and gather people to avoid being beaten by those proud high-ranking aristocrats, but even so, if you were expelled from the academy, it would be nothing more than futility.

Perhaps the reason I was so angry was not because Seria was hurt, but because I was worried about Celine.

Because he was a precious friend whom I had known for more than 10 years.

An exhausted voice came out of my mouth.

“… … Could it be my fault?”

If I hadn’t gotten closer to Seria, Celine and Seria wouldn’t have had a knife fight. It was a lament that contained such a frustrating heart. Then Leto tapped me on the shoulder. As if trying to comfort me.

“Yeah, of course not. Do you understand now?”

Those words were far from consolation, though. When I turned my annoyed gaze to Leto, he had a surprisingly serious face.

“Originally, human relationships are, yes, it’s a bit damn right. There are people who hate you for no reason, and there are times when you say you will solve it well, but there are times when it gets twisted… There are times when a person you thought you knew well feels unfamiliar, and it’s a complete mess.”

“… … Then what should I do?”

At my question, Leto just shrugged and smiled.

“Isn’t it Nandle? Do as you please, because you can’t do anything else anyway.”

And he tapped me on the shoulder. It’s like don’t take it too seriously.

“If you’re really upset, go to sleep with a bottle of whiskey at night.”

“… … Will that solve the problem?”

“If you don’t drink, it won’t be solved, right? In that case, I’d rather just forget about it for a moment.”

At any rate, he was a great guy. I said huh, and swallowed a laugh, but after hearing it, I thought it was something else.

If I had that kind of speaking skills, I wonder if I could have made the relationship between Celine and Seria more harmonious. Of course, it was a futile idea.

It was when I made up my mind that I should drink whiskey tonight.

The door to the doctor’s office opened, and Seria cautiously poked her head out. Leto and I looked at her at once.

Seria seemed a little embarrassed, slightly lowered her eyes and said to me.

“That, senior Ian? The saintess told me to come in… … ,”

“… … me?”

It was, indeed, an unexpected call.

**

The clear sunlight passed through the colorful glass and dyed it in natural colors. The scenery of the treatment room looked desolate, but it was clean.

The temple has always been like that. At least outwardly, he struggled to remain frugal. Even magnificent buildings and works of art painted by prominent figures of the time have no meaning in the face of this essential pure white.

The fact that such a place had to drive out the sick if there was no donation showed the gap between religion and reality. Otherwise, it was because the operating funds to maintain the temple did not come out.

But today, one focus was on the pure white drawing paper. Pale pink eyes that attract all eyes, and feminine curves drawn beneath them.

As beautiful as a piece of art, she was surprisingly a living and moving human being.

Even though she was born in an orphanage, she was nicknamed ‘Saint’, but she was said to have been favored by the gods for her innate divine power and benevolent personality.

Regardless of whether it was an empire or a castle, it was all the same to determine the origin. Still, the fact that someone from an orphanage rose to the top of the saintess meant that much of what she possessed was outstanding.

I sat down in front of her, taking a sneak peek at the person in front of her.

It was after Seria had already been told that it was okay to leave. If so, the saintess wanted to be alone with me, but I had no idea.

As soon as I sat across from her, the saintess began to speak softly.

“Brother Ian, I heard the news. The brother’s best friends, Miss Celine Haster and Miss Seria Yurdina, had a quarrel.”

“Yes, it is, but… … .”

It was a brief summary of the incident, but I couldn’t guess the intention of the saintess who called me. So I had to carefully look at the saintess’ eyes and say that.

The saintess closed her eyes without saying anything. A clear, clear voice came out of her mouth.

“It looks like the two of you were fighting over Brother Ian.”

“Oh, was it? I’m fine with that… … .”

When I smiled awkwardly, a benevolent smile appeared on the corner of the saintess’ lips.

Her pale pink eyes opened. She smiled and asked me.

“Did you like it?”

“… … yes?”

I was a little taken aback and hung up. Even so, the saintess did not erase her smile. I just asked in a slightly hardened voice.

“Are you okay?” I asked. Brother Ian.”

It was the moment my tongue froze.

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