Chapter 123

Chapter 123
Chapter 123: Never Mind The Heir, I’ll Focus On Healing

With unexpected help, breaching the temple grounds turned out to be far simpler than anticipated.

Furthermore, watching Rikschel enthusiastically step forward to help sort things out made me confident that Peter’s predicament would also find a favorable resolution.

Therefore, what Lion needed to do right now was…

“Whatever it is, I suppose I ought to lend a hand here, just as the priest suggested. Correct?”

“Beep.”

Nature, who had been quietly tucked away inside his pocket until that moment, peeked out and gave a resolute nod.

Its expression seemed to say, “That fellow Rikschel actually turned out to be decent.”

Lion let out a quiet chuckle, pushed himself up from the bed, and methodically retraced future events in his mind.

First of all, it was far too early to let his guard down.

The true extent of Rikschel’s kindness and good intentions could only be gauged through careful observation over time.

After all, he was an Archbishop Candidate positioned directly at the epicenter of the temple’s ruthless political maneuvering.

Even though he had brought him here like this, he could easily cast him aside later and handle matters however he pleased.

Nevertheless, thanks to that arrangement…

‘It is an undeniable fact that gaining entry was effortless.’

It appeared Rikschel was willing to make concessions as long as his true identity remained unquestioned, so it was best to treat it as a temporary, mutual truce for now.

“Still, there is no telling when my identity might come to light…”

Lion retrieved a sheet of paper and a pen, hastily penned a letter to his younger sibling to send off, and finally climbed back to his feet.

“Before that reliable priest returns, shall I take a stroll and look around?”

“Beep.”

Nature shared a sly smile alongside Lion.

—

Lion was able to wander the temple grounds without facing the slightest obstruction.

This freedom was entirely thanks to the ‘Guest’s Token’ left behind by Rikschel.

“Oh, that token! Are you by any chance the guest from the precognitive dream? Welcome. How did you manage to come all this way without an escort priest?”

“Ahaha. I slipped out because I preferred to explore on my own for a bit. Would you mind if I looked around for a moment?”

“Not at all. Please make yourself comfortable. I pray that the divine blessing remains with you always.”

“Yes. Thank you very much.”

Lion ambled casually, mimicking the composed gestures of the resident priests.

The clerics cast curious, startled glances his way but politely stepped aside, likely assuming he required some private solitude.

‘This is remarkably convenient, isn’t it?’

It seemed entirely true that Rikschel had made extensive preparations for his comfort.

Even though it was the designated hour for morning prayers, not a single person came over to bother him.

‘Though, what exactly are they plotting?’

‘Someone chosen as a guest by an Archbishop Candidate simply cannot be an ordinary person, can they?’

Naturally, there was nothing he could do about the lingering, inquisitive stares, but he was already quite accustomed to such scrutiny from his own family, so it hardly fazed him.

On the contrary, an entirely different detail had piqued Lion’s curiosity.

‘There are remarkably few elderly people here.’

Throughout the temple, the inhabitants were at most his own age, or considerably younger.

Could this phenomenon also be linked to the influence of the ‘Ritual’?

‘This is a matter beyond my current reach, so I had best set it aside for now.’

Lion walked past the throngs of people hurrying toward the main prayer hall and steered himself toward a much quieter sector where foot traffic was sparse.

“Let’s see here.”

Checking the directional signposts…

It appeared the path leading directly toward the chapel was heavily congested, whereas the academy and garden sectors had significantly fewer visitors.

It was the precise direction Lion had been hoping for.

‘Perhaps I should check out the academy first.’

Armed with the Guest’s Token, unrestricted access was guaranteed, making it an ideal opportunity to visit the academy library, peruse a few texts, and head back.

Shortly after, he spotted a library, which was considerably smaller than the sprawling archives housed within the Asteri Family estate.

‘I suppose the texts kept here heavily pertain to Anyatras mythology?’

If that proved to be the case, he would be able to read through them with genuine fascination.

Lion reached out, pulled a random book from the shelf, and cracked the cover open.

Just then.

“Hmm?”

Sensing something felt slightly amiss, he began flipping through the pages.

‘Is something off here?’

This particular volume had been positioned prominently at the very front.

It was the kind of accessible book anyone could easily grab, one even a young child could flip through effortlessly…

『The God and the Shadow: An Exploration of the Ancient Abyss and Wisdom Vol. IV』

…Yet the title boldly declared, ‘I am a thoroughly difficult book.’

‘Come to think of it, this one as well.’

Oh, truly? This volume too?

Curiosity sparked, Lion pulled out several more books from what should have been the children’s section.

Without exception, a number of deceptively complex scholarly texts were stashed among them.

Conversely, the books resting within Lion’s direct line of sight—specifically those placed upon the much higher shelves—were remarkably elementary.

* Theology from the Basics
* Learning Lord Anyatras’s Story Through Song!

“……What absolute chaos is this?”

How on earth could an archive be organized in such an utterly nonsensical manner?

At that exact moment.

“Ho ho… I am terribly sorry for displaying such a disgraceful mess to an esteemed guest.”

A heavily stooped priest with a deeply curved back shuffled slowly into view from down the hall.

He was an elderly cleric with silver hair and thick, round spectacles perched on his nose.

“Ah! Please, do not apologize. I simply poked around out of sheer curiosity, completely uninvited.”

“I am the head librarian tasked with overseeing these archives, but my health has deteriorated greatly of late, leaving me quite unable to properly sort the stacks…”

The old priest adjusted his round glasses with a trembling hand and swept it across the bookshelf with a sorrowful sigh.

A delicate cloud of fine dust drifted down from his fingertips.

To Lion, it felt almost as heavy as the sheer passage of time the two of them had quietly shared.

“I try my absolute best day after day, but even with the grace of Lord Anyatras sustaining me, this aged back refuses to straighten out… ho ho.”

“……”

For reasons unknown, the image of Silvia suddenly flashed across Lion’s mind.

‘Come to think of it, Silvia wore that exact expression before.’

It felt as though he had inadvertently stepped on a rather sensitive nerve.

“I shall manage to restore some order at my own sluggish pace, esteemed guest, so please pay it no mind…”

“Actually, if you wouldn’t mind too much.”

“Yes?”

“Would it be entirely improper if I offered to help organize these shelves?”

“Oh… if the esteemed guest truly wishes to. Surely, this too must be counted as a blessing from Lord Anyatras.”

In truth, having recently experienced the pristine organization of the Library Labyrinth, Lion found the sheer, realistic chaos of this library entirely agonizing to witness.

It was an impulse he simply could not resist!

‘Besides, I did acquire that rather convenient ability recently.’

Had he not unlocked a brand-new talent just a few days prior while tinkering with structural blocks?

Without wasting a second, Lion began pulling every single volume off the shelves.

He then reached into his pocket and withdrew the specialized dyes gifted by the Golden Branch and Jade Leaf.

‘I’ll paint the bottom edges of the book spines to neatly categorize them by difficulty.’

At the very least, separating them cleanly into basic, intermediate, and advanced tiers would make them infinitely easier to navigate.

“Hmm?”

“I have always held a deep personal interest in the texts archived here. My goal was to read through them sequentially starting from the absolute basics anyway, so this timing is truly perfect. Would you mind guiding me through the general difficulty levels of these texts?”

With a cheerful wink, Lion immediately set to work sorting the literature.

“……!”

At those words, the elderly librarian and priest’s eyes widened in sheer astonishment.

It had been a completely chance encounter, a completely voluntary offer of labor, and a daunting task undertaken out of the blue, but.

The overwhelming sensation was precisely that of suddenly gaining a devoted grandchild eager to pitch in with chores.

‘How could a young person possibly be this wonderfully kind!’

A web of deep, joyful wrinkles crinkled around the corners of the old priest’s eyes.

“Ho ho… Then, would you perhaps care to delve into the profound mythology of Lord Anyatras alongside this old man afterward…?”

“That would be an absolute honor.”

Thus began the passage of time. One hour slipped by. Then two.

Had hours truly bled away before the sun even managed to climb high into the sky?

“……!”

『Experience points for Painting Proficiency have increased by 20 percent.』

The old librarian’s eyes widened to their absolute limits in utter disbelief.

‘Is a feat like this even remotely possible?!’

Every single volume pulled from the shelves had now been immaculately sorted and returned to its proper place, perfectly categorized by academic level!

‘Incredible!’

Were these not precisely the one hundred advanced texts that she had painstakingly selected and set aside for high-level study?

Even with dedicated assistance, it was not the sort of undertaking that could ever be completed with such miraculous speed.

“This… surely not…”

The librarian and priest.

No, ‘Ann,’ the Head of the Academy of the Anyatras Asteri Branch, stared in absolute shock at the guest who had flawlessly fulfilled her impossible criteria.

Not only did he possess profound academic insight, but he also demonstrated a rare, compassionate willingness to assist others.

Coupled with limitless patience.

To embody every single one of these virtues while not even being an official member of the clergy, but merely an invited guest!

‘What an astronomical waste of extraordinary talent!’

“You are truly, remarkably astonishing…”

“It is nothing much. Just how grueling must it have been to manage all of this entirely by yourself? Even sorting it felt quite demanding. Did truly no one else lend a hand?”

“Well, it’s not as though…”

The surrounding junior priests, silently pointed to as the ‘others,’ attempted to voice a weak protest before abruptly snapping their mouths shut.

Academy Head Ann delicately brushed away a stray tear of emotion, quickly gathering her composure.

This was an unprecedented opportunity.

Although she sensed virtually no inherent divine power radiating from him, factoring in that an Archbishop Candidate had personally brought him as an honored guest, alongside his peerless grasp of theology, his raw potential as a scholar of the faith was simply boundless.

‘Perhaps this very guest holds the missing key required to resolve our current, desperate crisis of divine power depletion!’

Therefore, regardless of how brazen or rude it might appear, she simply had to ask…!

“Ah, esteemed guest. I realize this is a terribly forward inquiry, but… *cough*. Might I humbly ask your esteemed name…?”

Right at that critical juncture.

“Ah, there you are.”

Approaching swiftly from a distance, Rikschel—who had apparently been scouring the temple grounds in search of him—finally caught up.

The moment his gaze locked onto Ann…

Crackle.

A visible flash of pure tension sparked between their locked gazes.

“I have been searching everywhere for you. We need to head back immediately.”

“Oh, oh goodness me. My poor back! Esteemed guest, I sincerely apologize, but could you perhaps escort this old woman just a short distance inside the academy?”

“Pardon?”

“Esteemed guest. I urgently need to impart something of utmost importance to you.”

Without warning, Ann and Rikschel each lunged forward, grabbed one of Lion’s arms, and began forcefully tugging him in opposite directions.

“Wait! Hold on, why are you both suddenly acting like this?!”

Completely overwhelmed and unable to comprehend the chaotic turn of events, Lion found himself trapped dead in the center, utterly immobilized.

To forcefully shove one away meant disrespecting an elder, yet to rebuff the other risked alienating the very person holding the key to saving Peter!

‘Good grief, what on earth are these eccentric priests playing at?!’

Just as that desperate thought crossed his mind!

“Peeyooo!”

Nature, which had been observing the escalating madness with quiet disapproval from inside Lion’s pocket, gracefully launched itself into the air, let out a sharp, piercing cry, and unleashed a burst of chilling water.

Pffft!

A spray of droplets as bitterly freezing as the howling snowstorms of the Byrdentis Family splattered directly across both of their faces.

…….

“Shall we head inside the academy building to discuss matters in a civilized manner?”

“……Let us do precisely that.”

Abruptly jolted back to their senses by the sheer humiliation of their behavior, the two clerics sheepishly smoothed down their robes and led the way indoors.

—

“……I offer my most profound apologies for the unseemly commotion earlier. It merely occurred because your innate talents happened to surpass all reasonable expectations.”

“No need to apologize. I am simply glad you found my assistance satisfactory.”

“Ahem. Rest assured, you have nothing to fear. While this particular individual occasionally gets thoroughly carried away the moment a promising theological prospect crosses their path, they are fundamentally an unwavering ally.”

“An ally…?”

Rikschel raised a fist to cover his slightly flushed face and cleared his throat a few times before continuing.

“Allow me to properly introduce her. This person is none other than the Academy Head, who is tirelessly striving to find a fundamental solution to our deepening crisis of dwindling divine power.”

“Ah, the Academy Head… sir?”

Huh?

Lion blinked and turned to scrutinize Ann once more.

“The Academy Head… yourself?”

“Ho ho. It is thoroughly embarrassing to admit, but I do indeed hold that particular title.”

Ann readjusted her round spectacles onto the bridge of her nose and offered a warm, good-natured chuckle.

“Now, now, isn’t that secondary to the matter at hand? While I remain entirely uncertain how someone of your background came to be aware of our institutional struggles, the sheer mastery you displayed outshines even my own expertise… Consequently, I intend to share every single piece of knowledge I possess with you, however meager it might prove to be.”

“Just a moment, please.”

Lion raised a single hand to pause the conversation.

“Neither of you actually knows my true identity, do you? Is that truly acceptable?”

“It is of no consequence whatsoever.”

“Because you remain our cherished guest.”

“…….”

Is… that genuinely how it works?

What if my identity happens to come to light down the road? Would they still be so relaxed?

Slowly lowering his raised hand, Lion Asteri let out a long, silent breath.