17 – High Priestess

The ripe spring was able to leave the territory of the empire by the time it took off its colorful clothes to leave. A week has passed since leaving the territory, and we are walking through the empty southern fields.

The hot and humid climate of the south and the hotter sunlight meet and eat away at the vitality of the body. Every time I wipe the sweat from my forehead, I long for the horses and carriage I left behind in the last village I visited.

It doesn’t matter if you keep thinking about it. Due to the southern environment and poisonous bugs, it would be useless because even if you bring it back, you will soon die.

“Brother, if you go a little further, you will come to the forest.”

“Yes, yes.”

I’ve been told since I was camping yesterday, but I can’t see anything that can be called a forest. I have doubts about her words, but since there is nothing I can do other than believe her, I put up with it and move my feet in silence.

After walking for a while, when the sun above her head began to tilt, she, who had been leading the way, stopped.

“Brother has arrived.”

She says that she has arrived, but only the plain stretches before her eyes.

“Well. Since when did plains become forests?”

“Oh, brother, can’t you see it? Please wait a moment.”

She takes out a stone engraved with a peculiar pattern from her bosom and thrusts it into the air. The air that the stone touched shook and then a gap formed, and she beckoned as she entered.

“You can come in with your brother.”

Follow her words through the cracks. The landscape changes and the empty fields disappear and a dense forest spreads out. The scorching sun is gone, and only the cool climate and soft light linger around the forest.

This place is different from the cursed garden I saw in my previous life. It was not as hidden as this place. It hasn’t changed like the rest of the world. I feel a bit uneasy about this forest, which is different from what I saw in my last life.

“Welcome to Kaian-sama’s garden. brother.”

she greets me with a smile

“It’s like another world here.”

“It’s because I separated the forest and the outside world with the blessing I received from the high priest.”

“Is that possible?”

“Yes! Instead, the high priest can’t get out of here.”

Thanks to the absurd words she spat out, the question she had just had was resolved. There must have been no high priest in the Cursed Garden I saw.

“How old is the high priest?”

“Well. I don’t know the exact age of people who have lived a long time like the high priest, so I don’t know how old he is, but the high priest lived the longest among his own people.”

“Right.”

I was half convinced by her words. I don’t know exactly, but the life span of the High Priest must be short. It is fortunate that the high priest came while he was still alive, but he becomes impatient with the fact that he may not have much time left.

“Let’s hurry up and go.”

“Yes!”

We speed up our steps and cut through the forest. After walking through the frighteningly quiet forest for some time, I feel someone in front of me and Rachel runs out.

“High Priestess! I’m here.”

Her lively voice resonates through the forest, followed by a heavy yet soft voice that spreads through the forest.

“Yes, you are back. Good job.”

The High Priestess, with pointed ears, tanned skin, and a long white beard, indicates that she is a Dark Elf, stroking her hair. The High Priest must have been a Dark Elf blessed with eternal youth, but for some reason he looked like an old man running to the end of his life.

After Rachel says hello, the old man looks at me and smiles.

“Welcome. Alik”

My name comes out of the mouth of the high priest, and I get goosebumps all over my body.

“Do you know me?”

“Sure. Kaian told me. Let’s go to the Holy Land to talk in detail.”

After that, the high priest waved his hand in the air, and the trees that grew densely in the forest moved and the road opened. I doubt my eyes at the mysterious yet unbelievable sight.

“Follow me.”

My body moves by itself at the gentle yet heavy words of the high priest, and I follow the high priest who is going first. As I followed the high priest’s leisurely gait, strangely, the surrounding scenery quickly passed by. After enough time to drink a cup of tea, the end of the forest is visible.

At the end of the forest, a large white stone building and wooden houses spread out. There was no sun in the village, but a soft light came down from the sky and illuminated the village, so it was not dark.

“Welcome to the Holy Land, Vaishal.”

After saying that, the high priest blows a whistle. After a while, a group of Dark Elves dressed in black leather came up to us and bowed their heads.

“Is the high priest here?”

“yes. What happened while I was away for a while?”

“Nothing happened.”

The high priest nodded once at the words of the man standing in front of the group and waved at me. At that gesture, I approach him.

“This person is receiving Kaian-sama’s blessing and attention, so please don’t be rude.”

“All right.”

“And I will be staying here for a while, so you know that.”

“All right.”

“Pass it on to others and see what they have to do.”

After the high priest’s words, the Dark Elves quickly dispersed.

“Rachel, who must have had a hard time coming, rest for a while, and you follow me. Don’t you have a lot to say?”

“Yes.”

Following the high priest who knows me strangely well, I enter the stone building I saw at first. Inside the stone building, spheres emitting soft light float around to illuminate the inside, and both walls are lined with books like a huge library. And the front was occupied by two unusual stone statues of beasts.

While looking at a slightly mysterious and unusual place with his eyes, the high priest waved his hand once, and a wooden table, three chairs, and a cup and kettle flew out of nowhere and were placed in front of his eyes.

It was the same in the forest, but the more I looked, the more I couldn’t tell the high priest. It separates this wide forest from the world, makes a path by splitting the forest with a gesture, and has the power to move people in a soft yet heavy voice.

Despite having such power, the feeling I received from him was peculiar. It was completely different from the feeling he received from William Brandt, the strongest sword in the world and the strongest sword in the empire. When I faced them, my hamstrings tingled and my instincts gave me a frantic warning.

On the other hand, when I met him, I didn’t feel anything. Even though he saw powers beyond common sense, he naturally accepted them with the idea that they were mysterious. Every time he meets a strong man who cannot even resist, his instincts, which have been paroxysmal, are as quiet as a docile sheep.

Such an unfathomable person shakes the kettle once, pours a blue drink into a glass, and passes the glass over.

“Let’s talk over a drink.”

Even while my head is busy thinking about him, my body moves in response to his voice. As the blue drink with a sweet scent enters your mouth, a soft sweetness blooms and your mind becomes calm.

Only the sound of drinking drinks spreads out, and a brief silence comes. The silence that came for a moment is gone by his voice.

“So, was there anything uncomfortable while you were here?”

“There was nothing inconvenient.”

“I’m glad then.”

Having said that, he sips his mouth with a drink and continues talking.

“I know why you came here. I can guess what you want to say.”

“then”

While talking, his mouth is closed by his gestures.

“Listen to the end of the story.”

He nodded at those words.

“I wish I could answer everything you want to say, but I can’t.”

His words frowned. The fact that there is an answer in front of you, but you do not know it, makes you angry.

“Don’t make such a face. The reason I can’t answer is because of you.”

I couldn’t understand what he was saying. When I said it was because of me, I couldn’t guess the cause.

“It is considered a blessing for me to answer your questions. But you have already received so many blessings that there is no room for them.”

Biting your lips at those words He’s right. I turned my life around and got another chance, what could be a greater blessing than that.

I agree with his words, but I don’t accept them. Even though the opportunity is given again, I feel sick to my stomach in a situation where I don’t know anything.

“It’s not like I can’t help anything. If you did, Master Kayan wouldn’t have told me about you.”

A piece of hope blooms in his words.

He showed me hope, and as he waved his hand in the air, several books stuck on the wall flew out.

“These books will help you.”

Examine the old books he handed over. The title of one of them caught my attention and made my heart beat.

“Daniel Brandt”

An old book with the name of the founder of the empire and the first head of the Duke of Brandt adds strength to the small hope.

“You can stay here as long as you like.”

I replied with a nod of my head with my will in his soft voice.

The hope that he couldn’t find even at the end of his life, and the days to hold on to that hope began.