Karhalantheel Island was a small piece of land off the shore of Elyonda, protected by a barrier created by a magic object made from Aleistunum. A cage designed to imprison the SS rank leviathan this island was named after. Considering the peace and quiet on the isle, it was hard to imagine something capable of destroying nations was right underneath my feet.
A small community had grown around the shrine holding the beast asleep. From what the ship captain who sailed us over here told me, this place was home to a sub-faction of the Church of Yeostar, consisting primarily of warrior priests. Their duty was to protect this island, and they would only leave it for emergencies or events related to Yeostar, like the festival in three days. This was also where the next Champion of Yeostar would be knighted after the tournament.
Once our group landed on this island, we were immediately greeted by a group of armed, muscular, tanned human men in togas with metal gauntlets and boots, complete with scars peeking through their outfits and stoic expressions.These guys looked very much what I envisioned them to be. One of them, though, was wearing a white-gold priest robe adorned with some leather armor. This man came forward and introduced himself as the leader.
Going by the name of Jethro, he called himself a knight. From the look of it, he seemed quite advanced in age, probably past 50, at least going by the number of wrinkles and the amount of white hair on his beard. His demeanor and speech were quite refined, but there was a hint of roughness behind his actions. As if he wasn’t comfortable speaking like this. Still, he gave off a noble’s aura.
And surprise, surprise, he was one!
“Sir Tehmrayn, I have read the letter you wrote for the request to enter this island. I presume you must be the Champion God Yeostar has sent to us! My name is Jethro Caimlace, a member of the Kingdom of Yeos’s royal family. Uncle to our current liege.”
Huh?!
But the more surprising fact was that, instead of addressing me, the actual person Yeostar wanted, he completely ignored me after his introduction and went over to the naga.
“Tehmrayn. Well met.” He gave a short bow and nodded. “This is depth priest Kushlek’zar, a newly inaugurated Saint of the Depth Goddess. We were both sent here by Her Wisdom to aid in the protection of the seal of Karhalentheel.”
“Yes, you had also stated he would be here as well. Although, there is something that perplexes me.” He stroked his beard, looking conflicted. “You see, good sir, the one who wears the crown of Yeos, and is accepted by it, is allowed to briefly commune with Yeostar at the level of a blessed. My nephew had received a Divine Message saying ‘Champion.’ The church and the royal family had thought our grand ancestor had sent only a Champion here to help us, so we readily permitted you to come here.”
Master Kush had mentioned Tehmrayn didn’t want to divulge their status as blessed to people unnecessarily, as too much attention could lead to missed opportunities. He preferred to control word-of-mouth, and was more than okay if his success were only known to the gods. Quite admirable, contrasting my first impression of him.
But he was still extremely blunt of a person.
“Then you have misunderstood the message to an extent. I am here on the Depth Goddess’s command. The Champion you seek is this young lady here.”
He then shoved me in front of him in front of Jethro, before retreating even behind Mother. It was as if he was saying this was not his problem so I should deal with it, since it was mine. Jerk!
“Y-You?” Jethro looked confused as hell.
“Uhm, yeah. In the name of the Goddess, I, Hestia Atsuko, greet you on this auspicious RestDay. May the Goddess bless our meeting today with blessed light.” I then raised my hand and cast [Prayer] on everybody, as it was custom for a blessed of Aurena to do to give thanks for their warm welcome. In addition, it proved my capabilities.
[Blessing of the Goddess of Light (Major)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]
“Wha-?! Alone? A single priestess cast [Prayer]?”
There was a small commotion amongst the warrior priests as they clapped their hands together, praying in thanks to Aurena and me for this blessing. On the other hand, Jethra was dumbstruck as he looked me up and down, looking more and more conflicted the longer he took.
Uhm, okay? I felt unnerved by his rather weird reaction.
“… I do not know of a dragonewt Champion. And you are a woman at that, too.” He frowned.
On the other hand, I went silent. I had not expected such a reaction. Never have I heard anybody say something like that to my face ever since I came to Peolynca. He was reeking misogyny.
“I’m the newest Champion of the Light Pantheon, with my patron goddess being the Goddess herself,” I announced clearly for everybody to hear. “I was tasked with a Divine Quest to assure the blood of Yeostar is correctly given to somebody who is worthy for it. If you are a member of the royal family, and also the leader of this faction of the Church of Yeos, then I assure you, I am here to help.”
“…” He didn’t seem any friendlier, but neither was he more hostile. “Then come. Allow me to give you a tour and a little clarity on the situation. Sir Tehmrayn and Kushlek’zar, please, I ask you to accompany us.”
This nation sure has its problems…
Master and Themrayn quickly agreed to the tour, asserting that it would do them well to learn more about the island. With them going along with it, I had to swallow my wish to shout and follow along with it. I honestly had no idea if I should follow right behind Jerkthro or behind Master.
[“Are you sure you don’t want to reveal your identity, Hestia?”] Mother’s voice suddenly entered my mind. I turned my head around to her, looking at me curiously instead of being angry.
I guess this wasn’t something I should care about. Jethro hasn't said anything majorly wrong just yet.
[“No need. My identity was already revealed at the gate. News will fly around soon enough. After what happened in the city today, I wanted to understand the stance of the royal family first.”]
[“Oooh, reconnaissance? Smart thinking. Although, from what I’ve seen in the past, a country reflects the authority of the ruler. Even if the current prince is young, the efforts of his father took their toll on Yeos. Use your own influence, don’t forget.”]
[“Yeah.”] I nodded before walking next to Jethro, walking with him as if I was an equal. Looking at his face, it seemed he had a problem with it.
In any case, the Principality of Yeos, as Mother said, was currently ruled by a boy of the age of eight. According to the Muraina’s and Shaturein’s spy network, the previous prince of Yeos, along with nearly all his heirs, died fighting for the Empire against the demonkins. The only ones left were his only daughter and pubescent son.
Yeos had an Agnatic-Cognatic succession rule, in other words, women could only inherit titles if no eligible males were available. Apparently, due to their superstitious belief that only males were allowed to inherit, as it would bring misfortune to them otherwise. Further reinforced when a past princess almost caused the downfall of the principality until she “unfortunately died from a sickness.” Only if it was to maintain the bloodline may a noblewoman inherit anything in this nation.
Saori went on a field day to find all this information for me before she left for the Belzac forest. When it came to history, I could not possibly have found anybody better to teach me about it. It also helped that something like this was extremely common in Medieval Europe, so it was easier for me to understand.
“Oh ho!” Master let out a surprised noise once we reached a side of the island with multiple wooden rafts docked a bit further away from the beach. Multiple warrior priests were there, maintaining large fishing rods with metal lines. “Mhmm, I presume fishing would be the best way to gather supplies on a lonesome island.”
“Yes, that is correct Saint Kushlek’zar.” Jethro replied, his tone formal with Master. “As you should know before coming here, the mana barrier holding the leviathan back contains immense amounts of mana. Although its mana doesn’t leak, at least as far as we can tell from years of staying on this island, my predecessors presumed all this mana attracts large amounts of merfiend. We hunt them not only for training, but also to protect the seal.”
“Merfiend” was the general term for ocean monsters, as the majority were considered fish. Similar to how there was a distinction between garms and virigresses, despite them both being mammals, there were all sorts of different merfiends.
“Us warrior-priests of Yeos are the protectors of this island, the greatest achievement of Yeos, and also of our faith. As such, we are to learn the arts of war as much as we must better our understanding of the gods. Unlike paladins or holy knights, we are more scholarly.”
And this was their primary place to train — the fishing area. They would fight against the surrounding merfiends, kill them for experience before turning them into products for their country. Their primary diet was seafood and the fruits they grew here, as all inhabitants on this island had taken a vow of abstinence, rejecting any food they had not grown or killed on the island. Any money they gained would be donated to the local church or used to buy equipment.
The only exception was the leader of this group, who would always be a member of the royal family. They acted as the link between the warrior-priests and the castle, and would act in the former’s interest to uphold the value of Yeostar. It was an oath for life and prevented them from inheriting any titles or to marry, but was considered one of the highest honors you could gain.
Jethro was the current leader of the group. He was allowed to eat and act as a royal when he was called upon to the castle, but once he returned to the island, he was to follow the life of a warrior-priest.
Ahhhh, such nice weather. It’s almost autumn, but it’s still pretty warm in Yeos. Taking a swim in the ocean doesn’t sound too bad.
Summer. Swimsuits. Tropical island. Why couldn’t everybody else be here with me? Haaaaaaa…
I stared in wonder, only to be suddenly interrupted when one of the priests started shouting from the bottom of his lungs. Like a war horn, it jolted everybody into action as they anxiously ran over to the moving fishing rod, weapons in hand. The man who called began attempting to reel the catch in.
From the looks of it, the rods were manatech; by injecting mana into them, the rods reeled in the catch by themselves. Looking down, although the accumulated mana was high, I saw a single body of mana struggling against the fishing line, only to suddenly lose strength and quickly ascend to the surface.
Until an eel-like creature shot up from the water like a flying fish.
Serpentine Ripper Merfiend
An aquatic monster found roaming in coral beds, navigating through the tight area with its snake-like body. Once in combat, the eel hardens its scale, turning them razor-sharp to the touch. Able to swallow water and shoot out rays of water by using mana. Rank D
The priests reacted immediately with fervor. They shot [Smite]s at the creature before throwing harpoons at it. The beast rattled and fought back, too panicked to take notice of the damage it took from their attacks. Like a snake, it jerked his head around, almost biting one or two warrior priests.
However, once it began shooting water beams out from its mouths, the situation got a bit hairy, prompting Jethro to click his tongue and pull his armor off to swim over to the raft. Once he and his guards were there, he began issuing commands while joining the fight as a combatant.
“He can fight,” Tehmrayn commented. “He has clear experience as a commander. Competent, good.”
I nodded. There was a clear difference between Jethro’s combat experience and all the other priests. I hadn’t checked his profile, for obvious reasons, but I guess with age did come wisdom and experience.
Through his participation, the warrior priests finally managed to slay the monster, but in the end, the damage dealt to the raft and priests was not ignorable.
At least nobody died.
I stood up and flew over to the raft, intending to heal them after the fight, but with a loud “Stop!” from Jethro, I froze in place.
“Healer or no, your job is not to heal these men, Champion. They are to do it themselves to train their [Holy Magic].”
I turned to the injured, noticing a multitude of the warrior priests riddled with wounds, either from getting hit by a water beam or being scratched by that eel’s sharp fins. Considering he was their leader, wasn’t it too heartless to do that?
“They are the new generation of warrior-priests. If they cannot become better fast enough, then they will only be a disappointment to everybody who died!” Jethro then gestured to the beach, telling me to fly back before he readied himself to swim. “Come. Leave them alone for now.”
And then he dived into the water, swimming over at record pace.
“…”
Such a weird place.
The tour continued, this time without his guards as they had to attend to their wounds. Now that I thought about it, those scars littering their bodies probably came from living on this rather dangerous island.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Standard healing magic fostered the body’s natural regeneration. It wasn’t a heal-all miracle like [Miraculous Grace]. Even [Major Heal] or my [Sanctified Blaze] could leave behind scars if I healed somebody too late into the recuperation phase.
However, looking at the priests, they could all use the minor and moderate healing spells from the System. They were even healing them right on the spot. This either happened a lot, or they weren’t very proficient even after all this healing. Even then, I had to ask, why was Jethro the only one who came out of that battle unharmed? They outnumbered that merfiend by 16 people.
The rest of the tour was pretty uneventful. He showed us around the different facilities of the island, including the armory, smithy, storage building, and so much more. It was as that ship captain said, this was pretty much a self-thriving community — a village.
Only, there are no women here. I guess they are more like monks.
After we made the rounds, Jethro asked Tehmrayn, Master, and me to join him at the shrine. He wanted to speak with us in private, so he asked if we could tell our followers to leave. We didn’t argue back, as there was no need, since the saurians and the wyverns had their interest locked onto something else already.
“Wruuuoah! Catch, Beth!” Krim-Slak shouted as he jumped out of the water and threw a C rank merfiend into the air.
[“Caug— Woah! It’s moving around too much! Brother, freeze the fins!”]
[“On it!”]
On the other hands, the twins were flying around in their dragonewt form, freezing and incapacitating whatever was thrown at them. This was their fourth catch, already.
“Akasht, get moving! Bring that merfiend onto the ice island already!” Grazlahta ordered as he decapitated a shark-like monster with a single chop from his axe.
“Krruuuuuaaaagh!” And the large sarcosilian did just that, swimming like a jetboat before wrestling the monster, all while Rajah was on his back and capturing the merfiend with [Dark Tendrils] and mana threads.
[“Go! Go! Big Bro Akasht! I can heal you!”] my virgiress said before casting [Minor Heal].
… Looks like they are having fun.
Rajah was an odd one, to be honest. Then again, considering the people he was associating himself with, I guess this was just normal. He really was fearless.
On the other hand…
“I have brought you a fruit punch, my lady. I harvested the ingredients from the local flora.” With a quick bow, Tasianna served Mother an ice-cooled drink in an ice glass, all while the latter was laying on an ice lounge chair. Mother looked like a stressed-out career woman enjoying her vacation… outside of the fact she was still wearing her elaborate dress.
“Why, thank you, Tasianna. Mhmm.” She drank from it, making the warrior-priests either look at her in envy or anger, probably thinking she was ridiculing them. “Mhmm, a perfect drink for such a warm day. With all the music, it’s certainly fitting. Pleasant.”
Music? Huh? Where? Wait, is Mother’s hearing better than mine? No way. She’s probably talking about those weirdos.
I looked over at the warrior-priests eyeing them. Nobody even wanted to approach them. Tasianna had made all that ice herself and Mother’s nonchalant attitude while on that frozen chair weirded everybody out.
“… Your companions are certainly… colorful,” Jethro stated before leading us to the shrine.
Guess they are.
The island itself was protected by the mana aura, but there was a second shield covering the shrine itself. The mana tool responsible for this creation was right in the middle of the plaza in front of the shrine. Jethro explained that only the leader of the warrior-priests was allowed to open this mana barrier, and usually only for the inauguration of the newest Champion of Yeostar.
As such, this was an extremely rare moment. Not only did the barrier protect anyone inside from outside threats, but also prevented any leak of information while talking. If somebody with ill will tried to enter it, they would be repelled immediately. In other words, this was Jethro’s way to test out motives.
… And we passed, of course.
“This was the start of our grand ancestor’s, God Yeostar, legend and also his greatest achievement. The imprisonment of the SS rank leviathan, Karhalantheel, and the protection of the kingdom which would one day be divided amongst five princes. Welcome, to Yeos’s most treasured area.”
… It honestly just looked like something you would find in ancient Greece. Stone pillars combined with arches. And more pillars, really. The plaza was huge enough to accommodate families, excellent for a forum. The only two noteworthy places were the sole pillar in the middle holding a stone owl head and the shrine in question.
When I pointed at the object, Jethro, looked at it for a moment. “Our gift from Aleistunum. A device created by the God Istari. A catalyst made from a technique nobody can find the details of, not even today. Apparently, when Istari ascended to godhood, he was never able to fully finish his manuscripts about his life and techniques. A knowledge-starved elf, who learned more than he could teach others.”
“So you don’t know exactly how it works?” I asked, but…
That so? Mana Eyes.
This knowledge is blocked by the God of Magic and Knowledge, Istari. To acquire knowledge of his creations, you must first acquire his favor
Even [Mana Eyes] can’t overcome the restrictions of a god, huh? Hmm, maybe if I usurp the control? I did it with Ellaine’s aberration. Speaking of which, I wonder if she started using it or not.
Ellaine told me she had some apprehension due to the fact it could make her immortal like a lich. Pretty much my own fears about my probable immortality once I reach Rank S. I haven’t had the time to fully have a talk with her about it, but I guess she had to figure it out herself first before we spoke. After all, even I was scared of the aspect of slowly losing people through age.
“Hestia?”
“Hmm? Yes?” Master’s voice woke me up, bringing me back to reality.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, no problem. Come on, Master, I think someone is waiting for us.” I glanced at Jethro’s disapproving eyes before following up to the front of the shrine.
Now, this was the real winner when it came to the marketability of this landmark. First things first, the shrine itself was massive, as large as Lincoln’s Memorial in DC. Second, a large statue of Yeostar in full armor and two-handing a greatsword was built inside of it, including a small altar for himself. And lastly, art displaying the fight between Yeostar and Karhalantheel was etched into the walls, displaying both the tragedies and heroics of the tale.
Fascinating, honestly, I could imagine the whole event purely by analyzing them. Even without any text, the effort the artist placed into having people understand the emotional weight these pieces had was mind-blowing. This was some Greek-level storytelling.
“… Blessed, do you happen to know the current state of the Principality of Yeos?”
After literally reading off the whole story of Yeostar from the wall, well as best as I could, Jethro suddenly spoke. Honestly, he and Tehmrayn were standing before the statue the whole time while Master and I wandered around the place. Were we keeping them up?
… Guess I should learn how to control my impulses a bit. But, then again, that story was like from a child’s storybook. It was fun.
Considering he was posing that question to all of us, I looked around but neither Master nor Tehmrayn seemed to want or was able to answer the question. Guess that meant I had to use Shaturein’s intel.
“Two years ago, the Principality of Yeos was called upon by the Empire for a battle, correct? That’s where you lost not only your previous prince but also most of his sons. That is why your current liege is a young boy, correct?”
“…” He squinted his eyes at me.
Honestly, what is your problem?
“Correct, Champion,” he finally answered. “And during that battle, we also lost the Champion of Yeos.”
Guess that’s why they are having this festival, huh?
He continued, “As such, we had to hold a Festival of Yeostar to find a new, capable candidate. As you might know, that is the whole idea behind the tournament. The winner will become the new Champion, not only a vital warrior in the name of the Goddess but also a national hero to Yeos.”
“National hero? But aren’t you inviting people from far-off lands to the tournament, too?” Master asked, and I agreed. If some random mercenary won the tournament, wouldn’t that just, you know, ruin the whole idea?
“Of course, we are not foolish enough to actually perform such a ridiculous rite. The last thing we needed was a traitor or a foreign enemy taking a hold of God Yeostar’s blessing. No, that is why we always send our own candidate into the tournament.”
The idea was for Yeos to send in a multitude of their knights or possibly warrior-priests into the tournament to contest for the title. Usually, these people were candidates for the blessing anyways, and were going through a roundabout way for it.
It was a failsafe, an illusion to the common people and foreign countries. A publicity stunt, you could say. They would reject certain participants if they had a high enough chance to win the tournament, always making sure one of their own became Yeo’s blessed. It seemed a bit weird to me, considering Yeostar was the God of Knighthood, Bravery, and Loyalty, but I guess he could overlook such actions due to the implications if the country didn’t.
“However… the ‘blood of Yeostar,’ is a creation synthesized by using the blood of the current ruler through a process I wish to withhold. Usually, this would take five to ten years. However… I and two others have pressured my nephew, Markval The Fifth, into announcing the festival before the blood is ready.”
“You lied?” Tehmrayn asked immediately while I was flabbergasted at this information. I was pretty sure Aurena would have told me this inside her Quest description!
“No, not entirely. The next blood isn’t ready, however—” He went over to the altar and picked up an amulet with the symbol of Yeostar, that of two helmets placed next to a sword. “This is the amulet of our previous Champion. A fine knight and mighty warrior, he was. In case a Champion doesn’t believe they are worthy of the role anymore, they are able to extract some blood and give their blessing up. After one year of alchemy, it was ready to be used.”
“Still, that doesn’t answer why you aren’t waiting. Why are you being so rash, Sir Jethro?” Master asked another good question.
“Various reasons, but the most important ones are the civil unrest after our previous Champion died and the fact we fear the demonkins might do something about it.”
There it is, again. Demonkins.
“… You are thinking about sabotage, correct? The demonkins might steal the blessing?” I pointed out, earning Jethro’s nod. It seemed he was too engrossed in the matter to worry about me.
“All Champions of Yeostar are national heroes, but our previous one was the embodiment of valor and power. He was the finest knight we have had in decades. He was popular inside the whole country…” He went silent before putting the necklace back on the altar. “But, after his death, there was dissent from the common folk. They blamed the royal family for accepting the Empire’s decision to join their war outside of sending our levies. Our consequence was his death and my brother’s.”
Losing a public icon could be tragic, not only to the people who were related and personally involved with them, but also to the icon’s fans. Some only cried and mourned for them, but others were more fanatical. More extreme. They needed an outlet, someone or thing to lash out on. People could become irrational.
“Now, we somehow managed to quell the unrest when it all happened, but after a while, we noticed it starting to appear again. From our information network, we are sure it was done by the other four principalities.”
“Ahh, I see. Despite joining together to protect yourself from the other countries, your allegiance is slowly turning against each other for their own gain. I understand that well,” Tehmrayn spoke. “‘The Divide of the Five Princes’ you call this country, only so you could show the surrounding nations your might. However, internally, you are less united than you might seem from the outside.”
Nailed it. That was exactly what Muraina told me.
And Jethro approved of his answer. “Yes, and that is why we require the Champion soon; otherwise, this country might fall. Our prince is only a young boy, after all. He cannot calm and rally the people to him without first showing some feats. At least, the Princess Dowager won’t. Nor his seneschal or sister, really.”
From what Muraina said, the Principality of Yeos was currently in a political war between three people. Jethro Caimlace of the warrior-priests, and a war veteran of the battle which claimed his brother and the Champion of Yeos. Prince Markval The Fifth’s half-sister, Anasthasia Caimlace, a child born from the previous king's first wife. And, lastly, Yurius Alberstien, the seneschal and most prominent member of the noble faction.
When I revealed this knowledge to Jethro, he grimaced at how much I knew about his country, to the point he became even more distant, instead of trying to work with me here.
“As you heard, that is the problem… Lord Alberstien is a supporter of the Empire, my niece wishes to make reforms in favor of the common people, while I wish to make our nation strong again. Independent of the Empire who stole everything from us.”
He was finally revealing his true colors.
“I fought in their war. I saw the treatment we received for the death and sacrifice. My brother and his sons died in battle, but what did the Empire do for us? Nothing. They left us to die. It was only thanks to the previous Champion, Sir Royce, who stalled the army of demonkins on his own that I and the remnants of our army managed to escape! Even without the blessing, Sir Royce was strong enough to fight back an army…”
“And that is why you are being so strict with the current warrior priests? You are missing military streng—”
“Your pity is not needed, girl! I have not fallen far enough to hear the lecture of a girl young enough to be my granddaughter. You do not know the horrors of war, so do not speak of them, lizard!” He spat on the ground, furious.
… Tsk, yes, call a dragon a ‘lizard.’ Wanna get burned? I can do that!
“I advise you to hold your tongue, Lord Jethro.” However, Master suddenly stepped in front of me. “This young scale is my apprentice. She is a person fully worthy of the title of Champion of Aurena. Do not sour my mood even further…”
But Jethro did not back down. “Women are not fit to be Champions, Priest. Saints, maybe, but the role of a Champion is to inspire the faith and fervor of people to fight—”
“Enough!” I shouted. I had to step in before those two got into a fight.
I glared at Jethro after everything went silent. “Maybe I forgot to mention this, but as I said before, I am a Champion of the Goddess. I was sent here by God Yeostar’s Divine Quest to aid the Principality of Yeos in the protection of the blood of Yeostar. Currently, you are being an obstacle in that goal as you cannot even fathom letting your prejudices slide to the side for the sake of our mutual objectives. I will warn you, only once, don’t insult me as if I was some clueless child ever again. Now, instead of wasting my time, speak about what you brought us here for!”
I finally snapped at this old man. I didn’t care what he thought of me as a girl, but the last thing I could accept was for him to ridicule what I experienced or have done ‘cause I was a one!
“Agreed.” And it seemed Tehmrayn was equally impatient. “This is enough small talk. I do not care for human politicking. Listen to your Champion. I do not know of any of her feats, but her Patron Goddess is the Goddess of Light herself. Your animosity in front of an Origin God’s representative would demand for your blood where I come from!”
He unsheathed his trident. I had to stop him. It was nice that he supported me, but this might go too far if I left him to his own devices.
After Master and I calmed Themrayn down, the three of us stared at Jethro, waiting for him to speak his request already.
“… The festival is held too early, as you might have figured out. It was our way to lure out our enemies while also making sure to find a Champion candidate. However, due to the war effort, we did not have the personnel to maintain our old methods. My niece and Lord Alberstien called upon the Empire and Church of Aurena for help, a tradition to maintain our relationship with them; however, none of their envoys have come.”
… Ah, I get it.
“I intended to join the tournament myself with whoever I found worthy within our knight’s order and warrior-priests. However, with the fact you two are Champions, I would like to ask you two for a favor.” He bowed. “Please, join the tournament, and help us weed out the filth and the weak.”
“No restrictions on women joining?” I asked, remembering how male-focused this country was.
“There are.”
Oh, of course.
“However, due to complaints from the Empire, specifically, from the female Hands of Heaven, the Empire’s royal knight order, we had to change the rules. If you are female and pass a combat test arranged by the tournament staff, you will be eligible to join.”
Goddess Aurena, can I please, please, reject this Quest! I want to leave the country!
Fuck!
“I decline.” That was not me, it was Tehmrayn. “I am here to protect the shrine from potential interlopers while the festival is still around, and until you have chosen your Champion candidate. I will not leave this island. This is the will of Plesia.”
He then turned to Master and me. “Depth Priest, you may do what you wish, but I suggest for your party to train and stay here. I will need help with the defenses.”
Master nodded. “Of course, the sea underwater is ripe with enemies. However, I have not seen my two apprentices in almost a year. I wish to learn their capabilities. Training them is no issue?” He was talking about Tasianna and me.
Tehmrayn nodded before addressing me, but I already knew what he wanted. “Yeah, I can handle the tournament by myself. Am I allowed to win?”
I turned to Jethro.
“… If you are that confident… do whatever. We will find our candidates while you fight and after the tournament, we will grant them the blood. Expose or eliminate whatever threat you believe is necessary. I will inform the castle about what we talked about today.”
Seems like the tournament arc is coming up~ But, first.
I went up to Yeostar’s altar and clapped my hands together in a prayer. I kneeled down and focused on the image of Yeostar before me.
God Yeo—
And then something happened. My senses became wobbly, as if I was being moved somewhere. The moment I opened my eyes, the world was pure white.
“—star.”
I turned around. There, in this vast cloudy world, a single furnished room occupied it. Sitting there wasn’t one person, but three. And strangely enough, two of them I had never seen before.
“Ooooh, look at the girl. Ha! The minimum required for being a mortal our impeccable Goddess had chosen to bless. A soul she had deigned the honor to speak with her personally!” One was a woman in full armor with flowing orange hair, speaking with an especially pompous voice.
“Still, I am surprised. Subordinate gods we may be, but it is still three gods she is meeting.” The other was a woman in a white dress, looking more like a worriless noble lady who would rather enjoy a day at a tea party, than whatever this was.
And, lastly, the only person I recognized. An aged man with a full beard and a broken crown-like helmet sat on a chair. His armor was pristine, adorned not with fancy accessories to look impressive, but with the coarse materials of monsters. Still, even then, the craftsmanship it was made with was nothing to scoff about.
A warrior? A king? No, he was far more than that.
He was—
“Champion Hestia, the Pantheon of Light welcomes you to my domain.”
— Yeostar.