It was an hour past noon, and I was giving my farewell to the family of my sister as they return back home. Once I noticed that their [Automo] could no longer be seen, I decided to walk back to my chambers inside the Church of Hure. I had to do something for their sake. I had to destroy all of Alkef's examination records. I wouldn't have to do this if sister or brother-in-law were to have allowed Alkef to become an apprentice in the Church of Hure, but as that wouldn't probably happen within the foreseeable future, I either had to destroy the evidence that could lead to such an outcome or at least delay it.

Alkef's [The True Pacifist] is no ordinary gift from the gods. That particular [Blessing] has a huge significance not only to the Church of Hure but multiple nations and organizations. It's a sought after [Blessing] that is suitable for any ambassador of a nation, very useful to ensure the trustworthiness of renowned individuals, an unremovable badge of genuine intent of peacekeeping, and also an important title for the saints of religious organizations.

There were records in the Church of Hure's archives where the Goddess Hure herself forsake Her title as The Goddess of War and gave up Her [Blessings] that correspond to it in order to show the people Her devotion to abandon conflict and embrace peace. Scriptures say that She was born from the blood of fallen celestials; embodying the vengeful wrath of the celestials that the demons one-sidedly slaughtered. She led the other celestials to victory against the invading demons in the higher realms, and thereafter She was then known as Goddess of War.

When mortals back then prayed for Her aid in battle, She would directly descend from the higher realms and lead Her followers to victory. However, it was said that She later saw the hypocrisy in Her actions as She led the one-sided slaughter of her followers' enemies; that unlike Her battles in the higher realms, the battles among mortals are not fought one-sidedly as each side fought for a cause, and that She, a goddess, should not be meddling in such. As She could not take back the mortal lives She had taken, She abandoned Her weapons and armor, and bathed in the [Spring of New Life] where she left her identity as the Goddess of War, and was reborn as the Goddess of Health and Prosperity.

Goddess Hure's most devoted follower, Saint Lecina Solanious, who accompanied Her to the [Spring of New Life] was granted a [Blessing] for her loyalty. That was [The True Pacifist]. Rumors and whispers within the Church of Hure would claim that those who were born with such a [Blessing] was the reincarnation of the First Saint of the Church of Hure. Although history shows that the Church of Hure did not always succeed in acquiring the person who owns [The True Pacifist], it would be false to say that they didn't try everything to acquire such a person.

Every weekend, the Church of Hure records within a [Storage Tablet] the examination records of all its patients for that week, and then sends them to the Main Church for recordkeeping. As long as I can say that there were defects in the [Sphere of Truth] that I used on Alkef, they'd dispose of it. Unfortunately, I could not dispose of this arcane tool on my own as I would be immediately suspected of trying to hide something. Therefore, I have to act the usual.

I entered my chambers once again, only to find the [Sphere of Truth] that I used on Alkef to be missing. I was too late, but I know who took it. I decided to rush to the Head Priest's chambers. Although I was filled with nervousness and urgency, I still had to be discrete and knocked on the [Barrier] that was concealing his chambers. Eventually, the [Barrier] disappeared and I saw the Head Priest looking at the examination records of a patient, these were the records of Alkef. I still have a chance. As the [Blessings] of Alkef were written in an unfamiliar language, I could still act like this wasn't a big issue and retrieve the arcane tool.

Noticing my presence, the Head Priest called out.

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"Ah, Terpet, I knew you'd visit me."

"Yes, sir, I was supposed to report that a [Sphere of Truth] in my chambers had suddenly gone missing, but I was relieved to see that it was actually in your hands, Head Priest Tianle."

"Oh, do not mind my curiosity, I simply wanted to see what was the problem your nephew was experiencing that warranted the need for two examinations."

"Yes, sir. Due to his peculiar physique, he was experiencing natural [Arcana Intoxication], which led to him becoming easily fatigued."

"Indeed, Elven and Human. Not a mixed-blood, but a pure-blooded elf with a physical body of a human... Terpet, has your nephew shown any interest in the Church of Hure? He could be a promising priest of the church. Elves are inherently arcanely-gifted which is a necessary trait a priest must have"

"I did suggest this to his parents, High Priest. But they wished for Alkef to choose his own path in life"

"An admirable principle. Some parents do tend to forget that children have lives and wills of their own. If only the nobles at Daxtrion Kingdom would have such principles..."

It was once shared by the Head Priest himself that he was a noble from Daxtrion Kingdom who was forced to join the Church of Hure due to him having the gift known as [Healer's Hands] where he could heal people by the mere touch of his hands without the need to invoke [Arcana Patterns]. This gift, however, led him to rise in prominence in the Church of Hure, allowing him to earn a lofty and carefree position as Head Priest of the church in Sevis City. 

Continuing his observance of Alkef's records, I then noticed his calm uninterested eyes grow larger.

"Ten?"

I had to nod. Indeed, Alkef had ten [Blessings], and one of them was [The True Pacifist] that was written in an unknown language only decipherable by Alkef.

"And it seems that one of the [Blessings] has been unlocked. Terpet, do you know what this means?"

"I have no clue as well, Head Priest. Alkef did say that he did not understand what it meant."

"I see. Maybe due to the number of [Blessings] he has, the resurfacing of his past incarnation's memories would take more than just one release of his [Blessings]"

As expected of the High Priest, he also came up with the theory that was the same as mine. He then went to his cabinet and was rummaging through it, as if looking for something. Eventually, he stopped and from inside the cabinet, he took out a pair of glasses. This was the first time I've seen Head Priest wear one.

I watched him as he meticulously observed the text supposedly describing [The True Pacifist]. By the look on his face, it seems that it was a language even unfamiliar to the Head Priest. He took off his glasses, held in with two of his fingers, and sighed.

"Even I can't seem to read it.", he said with a tone as if he was surrendering.

The Head Priest then gestured me to retrieve the [Sphere of Truth]. I calmly approached him, and maybe due to the weak grip the Head Priest had on the pair of glasses, the accessory fell on the floor. However, much to my surprise, the glasses did not break, but rather it lit up. Seeing that the pair of glasses was now glowing, the Head Priest decided to hold on to the [Sphere of Truth] once again as he now sought to pick up the pair of glasses.

"I thought it broke due to neglect, but it seems this is still working."

I decided to ask the Head Priest what those pair of glasses could do.

"Oh this? It's an invention of the Great Scholar Andraxia Strotaman. Although she couldn't remove the translation functionality of the [Sphere of Truth], she was able to remove the examination function of one which greatly boosted the translation functionality of a [Sphere of Truth]. She later called this arcane tool, the [Eyes of Truth] which allowed its wielder to understand and decipher unknown languages. However, it wasn't shared too much as this could also be used to easily read and decipher encoded messages. If any other nation were to be aware of such an arcane tool, that would spell disaster for the Daxtrion Kingdom."

His explanation of the capabilities of the [Eyes of Truth] made me fearful of the fact that I was made aware of a very important and confidential piece of technology exclusively known to the Daxtrion Kingdom. However, what terrified me more was what he plans to do next.

He activated Alkef's [Sphere of Truth] once again and wore the [Eyes of Truth]. The Head Priest then said with a look of astonishment.

"[The True Pacifist]?"

Those very words were the ones I hoped the Head Priest would never utter in front of me as he looked at Alkef's records.

Big Sister Shila, I'm sorry.