336. Childhood Ep – Holy

‘W-what is this?’

A new sensation blossomed. It felt like eyelids were growing next to my heart. Leah, startled by the unfamiliar feeling, repeatedly brushed her chest with her hands.

‘What is this?’

The staff had long been dropped.

However, even after releasing it, once the {Holy} awakened, it accelerated and spread rapidly; the bubbling sensation rising from her heart began to spread through her veins.

All over her body.

Bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling.

Leah felt the strange sensations sticking to her stomach lining, underarms, right kidney, thigh bone, inside her eyes, and even her heels. No, saying it was itchy was merely a misinterpretation due to her not adapting to this sensation.

Leah was terrified. Regardless of whether the feeling was good or bad, she was surprised by the sudden change and dashed off.

Her destination was, of course, the church.

Whether her body was malfunctioning or if she was possessed by a demon… whatever it was, there was no one else in this village who could resolve this situation except for the Priest. As she ran, Leah worried about the treatment costs.

“Watch out! You almost tripped!”

Priest Leslie shouted at Leah, who was sprinting into the church.

He seemed to be preparing for the evening service, carefully carrying altar items in his arms.

“Priest! Something’s wrong with me. It’s not pain, but…”

“Hmm?”

“Well… my insides feel stuffy and itchy. No, it’s not itchy, it’s like steam is bubbling up inside me.”

“Do you have a fever?”

“A fever? I think… I might feel a bit hot…”

“If it’s stuffy and you feel hot, hmm! You’ve probably caught a chill. Just sit down for a moment. I’ll bring you some cold water.”

Speaking nonchalantly, the Priest shuffled away. Leah thought, ‘That doesn’t seem right…’ and chased after him. Sorry, Priest, but I need to ask the other Priest.

Upon entering the church’s main hall, she saw the Priest lighting candles on the altar. It was evening time. Twelve candlesticks were lined up neatly, burning brightly.

The Priest nodded as though acknowledging that Leah had come to borrow candles to study after a long time. Leah hurried up to him and asked.

“Priest! Something’s wrong with me.”

“Where does it hurt?”

“Well… it doesn’t hurt, but it feels really stuffy inside…”

The same words she had just given to Priest Leslie.

While Priest Leslie busily arranged the altar items without saying much, Leah couldn’t help but feel apologetic and awkward.

Even among clergy, there’s an unavoidable inequality. Despite having completed the same education, some received divine power while others did not.

The delicate relationship between Priest and Monk started from here.

It wasn’t decided by anyone, but those who carried altar items worked as monks, while the Priest lit the altar.

Priest Leslie had been in this church for nearly twenty years, yet there was no hope for promotion, and the Abbot seemed to think nothing of it, handing over the role to a much younger Priest.

While the monk remained a low-ranking priest for his entire time at one church, the Priest often transferred to different parishes every few years.

With promotions being the norm.

Feeling guilty, Leah’s voice became faint. However, Priest Leslie continued to calmly do his duties.

“You may not know if you will become a Priest or a Monk, but I think it’s not that important either. Even if you couldn’t.”

As he had once advised Leah, whether one has divine power or not is not crucial in serving God.

But then he suddenly lost his composure. “Let’s see.” — As he grabbed Leah’s wrist and examined her condition, the Priest exclaimed in shock.

“W-what happened? Why do you have divine power?”

“Huh?”

“Divine power is residing within you! This is divine power!”

– Clang!

The metal vessel clattered to the ground. Ignoring the Monk’s gaze, the Priest pressed on.

“Leah, have you seen any other Priests recently?”

“Ah, no.”

She was so flustered that she asked, even though she knew it couldn’t be true. If there had been visitors in their small, remote village, she would have heard about it.

How could this happen… The Priest, curiously touching her palm, was stunned again.

‘She has… more divine power than I do? And why does it seem like her pulling strength is stronger?’

Unlike the free-spirited mana, divine power tended to clump together. He recognized Leah had divine power upon holding her hand, but the direction it was drawn was the opposite of what he expected.

A girl who hadn’t reached adulthood had more divine power than him…

The Priest suddenly felt suspicion.

Is this the ‘evil god’s divine power’ he had only heard rumors about? The possibility was high. There were no other Priests here.

It was thought that divine power from the god was very closed off and could not be possessed without receiving it from someone, but he did not know that the perfect divine power of the Supreme God could never be drawn to the inferior divine power of the Evil God.

‘What should I do then? Should I bestow a blessing?’

That’s what he was taught. However, since this was his first appointment, he was too young and inexperienced, and he didn’t know much about the Evil God either. Yet, there was something he distinctly remembered more reliably than that uncertainty.

The church’s endeavor to expel the unconverted barbarians.

It was a campaign undertaken aggressively by the Cross Church for decades, and although there were not many of those barbarian villages left lately, it still continued.

He heard the goal was to ensure the Evil God had no foothold in this land, so if that is the case…

The Priest sent Leah back. He told her not to worry too much about it as it was nothing serious and reminded her not to reveal this to anyone.

The girl complied.

In a remote mountain village where even the village chief was clueless, the Priest’s knowledge and authority were absolute. Leah returned home, believing the words to come back tomorrow.

“…What are you doing?”

Monk Leslie, who had been standing blankly, asked the now busy Priest. He was rummaging through dusty chairs.

“I’m going to call the Inquisition. They were supposed to be around here somewhere…”

“Huh?”

“For precautionary measures. As far as I know, the Nevis Church is dispatching an Inquisition here. Do you know where to contact the Nevis Church?”

The Inquisition.

Having never seen or heard of one, Leslie thought he had an idea of what they were like. Arrogance, rigidity, and a cold aura.

Moreover, the Nevis Church was notorious for aggressively conducting the Cross Church’s barbarian expulsion campaign. Given the characteristic of the Orun Kingdom, with its many mountains and numerous barbarian villages, the Nevis Church must have caused an enormous amount of casualties.

“Oh, here it is.”

In that instant, Monk Leslie’s hand moved. Whoosh! He snatched the church’s communication document from the Priest’s hands.

“Monk Leslie! What are you doing?”

“Calling the Inquisition. That cannot happen.”

Embracing the document with a determined face, the Priest sighed.

“Monk, you seem not to understand the situation. Leah has divine power. Do you know what that means?”

“Yes, I do.”

“No. Based on your actions, it seems you don’t. You might not realize it, but what I’m feeling is…”

“Leah is not that kind of child.”

Monk Leslie declared firmly.

Even without divine power, it was an evident fact. Lacking divine power, he could still see people.

“But…! You never know. I want to prevent a significant issue, so hand it over.”

“I cannot. Priest, you are making a wrong judgment right now. If you’re determined to handle things unilaterally, I will have no choice but to inform the village head and bring this matter to a village meeting.”

The white Priest robes and tattered gray Monk robes faced off. However, the upper hand lay with Monk Leslie.

He was a person born and raised in this village and was the one who should have become the village chief originally.

Far away, in the capital of the Jerome Holy Kingdom, located in the Monastery Church. Leslie was born into the former village chief’s household but dreamed of a clerical career from a young age. The funds he needed for travel to the Monastery Church, hiring mercenaries, living expenses, and education caused the village chief’s household to decline, and Leslie returned as a monk instead of a Priest.

The people of Demos Village looked at him with sympathy. However, Leslie felt no regret at all.

He was captivated by God. Serving Him, helping others, and living diligently brought no shame at all.

Given Leslie was such a person, one could say all the villagers were on his side. Especially when it came to matters involving Leah.

It was rare for anyone in the village to not participate in raising funds to send Leah to the Monastery Church. While still small amounts, money and interest were steadily trickling in.

Anyway, if this affair became public, the Priest would have no chance of winning. Though he was usually respected as “Priest,” as an outsider, he had no right to interfere in matters regarding the residents of this village.

Eventually, the Priest inquired.

“What then? It’s a fact that Leah possesses mysterious divine power, and this is a big deal. We can’t just brush it aside.”

“…Yes. You’ll need to report it somewhere. However, instead of contacting the Nevis Church, wouldn’t it be better to report it to Lutetia?”

The Nevis Church was steeped in blood.

The Cross Church’s main body, the Monastery Church, was a higher institution, so skipping to report to them would be a mistake.

Moreover, that place had Cardinal Michael, a person obsessed with expelling unconverted barbarian villages, sitting in a high position, controlling matters.

It was entirely possible that an investigation order might be immediately issued to the Nevis Church, making this diversion of reporting not very meaningful.

Still, it was the only route the Priest could accept, and it would buy Leah some time… Leslie prayed as he watched the Priest prepare to report to the Monastery Church. May this be something Leah could overcome! But then, at that moment, the Priest exclaimed, “Huh?” in bewilderment.

Communicating using the holy relic did not require vocalization; thoughts could directly send text. There was no reason for him to make a sound, yet the Priest, confused from their earlier argument, looked up at Leslie with shared astonishment.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Did our church do something wrong? Or is there something special hidden here?”

“? How could there be such a thing here?”

Leslie retorted. The Priest couldn’t take his hand off the holy relic as he spoke.

“Today, the Holy Woman commanded us to be entrusted with our church. Soon the communication will reach the Holy Woman… Ah!”

Monk Leslie must have realized the Priest did not scream out in vain; he was connected to the Holy Woman.

In the mountain village. The holy relic stored in Demos Village Church blazed white and radiated light.

As if to hint that a colossal presence was watching over them.