"That should be much easier to deal with than the person who conjured it up. ”

The paladin waved to Ed and continued the conversation, "A little light can wipe it out." ”

"That's why that guy was so far away from us at the time. One pastor agreed, "That way, it's not hard to tell the difference." ”

Ed, who had spoken to "that guy" at close range but didn't immediately distinguish it, couldn't help but smile bitterly. Also...... It's not that easy! You can't take the Holy Light before dealing with anyone, right?

"Everyone. ”

Behind him, York raised his voice, "I beg your pardon for taking the liberty of it. Since everyone is here, there's one thing I hope I can ......"

"York Tracy!"

Someone interrupted him sharply.

The man who strode through the door was tall, with deep features, thick black hair with strands of silver in it, neatly tied behind his head, and a beard that had also begun to gray and sideburns had modified his slightly sharp jaw, making him look calm and respectable, and extremely charming.

"Lord Bornser. York bowed to him faintly.

Rano Boense, the high-ranking priest who was supposed to succeed him as high priest, swept his angry gaze over him, condensed slightly, and his pupils constricted with suspicion. After a brief moment of silence, he calmly replied, as if the-for-tat fierceness of the first step through the door was just an illusion.

“...... I hope you really know what you're doing. He said, his tone full of the gentleness and helplessness of the elders.

Filly leaned back silently. The pastor had entered the door as if he had thunderbolt and was extremely powerful, but in an instant he had changed his mind—he had apparently discovered something. Unfortunately, no matter how much you lean back, from the position where the paladin was sitting, you could only see York's back...... It's really itchy and hard to scratch.

"I understand your concerns. York responded politely but bluntly, "but concealment doesn't solve anything." ”

There was a desperate sharpness in his firmness, which made Ed faintly uneasy. The young pastor was proud, and that pride was evident when they first met on the May Day more than a year ago—his flamboyance and confidence shone like the dawn sun, even a little aggressive. But at this moment, even if the momentum has not changed, there is no light in his eyes.

Ed had seen such a decisiveness in another man—in Scott Christus. And that is a man who thinks he has committed an unforgivable sin and is determined to sacrifice everything to pay for it.

York turned to face the crowd. He ripped off the pendant that had fallen out of his collar on his chest and held it high.

The silver pendant was no more than half a finger long, dull in color, inconspicuous, and shaped like the symbol of the goddess of dawn—three straight lines shooting upwards from an arc, the longest in the middle and slightly shorter on both sides, symbolizing the rising sun on the horizon to dispel the night. It's just that the three straight lines on the pendant have been cast into the shape of a long sword.

"I think you all know what the sacred relics of the Temple of the Dawn are. The priest spoke, "Sword of Light...... For example, the Staff of Eternity in the Temple of the Water God is a sharp blade that can only be mastered by the Holy One, and when there is no Holy One, it is passed down by the High Priest. ”

Ed was taken aback. He looked more closely at the little pendant, and even poked Iss secretly - he couldn't feel any divine power on it...... On the contrary, it seemed to have been eroded by something, covered with a layer of dead ash, against York's bloodless face, and it became more and more ominous the more you looked at it.

Everyone waited in silence in confusion, but York stopped, as if he had lost the strength to continue.

"So," Is, who was already sitting bored and impetuous, in a temple that tickled him, couldn't help but break the silence, "you mean to say that you should be the heir to the High Priest?"

York took a deep breath: "...... No. ”

He whispered the incantation, his voice trembling with the light that flashed from the pendant. In the shimmer of light that spread like mist, a brighter white light stretched out from the thin sword in the pendant, gradually condensing into a slender sword of light in mid-air...... Then it was held in York's hand.

There was a dead silence all around. This is some kind of proof...... As York said, this is a blade that only a saint can grasp. In the hands of everyone else, it will only be a mediocre pendant, and only the saint chosen by the goddess of dawn can reveal its true face.

But there was not a hint of joy or pride on York's face, nor reverence or reverence—he was as pale as a ghost about to melt away in the light.

The blinding light dimmed, and the silver-white sword in his hand was covered with thin black lines, like the runes engraved on it when it was cast, and like the cracks before it was about to collapse.

"Sword of Light," the priest's voice was low and hoarse, "it has been tainted. ”

A low gasp sounded in the silence. Rano Boinse stepped back with a sad expression, as if evading and as if taking a stand—in short, it certainly had nothing to do with him.

"It once pierced the high priest's chest and took her life. York's word by word truth fell like another lightning bolt, leaving everyone speechless: "I don't know if that's why it's polluted......"

“...... But aren't you the only one who can use it?" said Is, the only one who wasn't human, without mercy.

Whoever said it, it was a question that York had anticipated. He didn't lose control because of this, but he looked at Iss one more time, and there was a little loss in his eyes.

Isis shifted in his chair, inexplicably uncomfortable. He had no ill intentions...... Of course, there was not much sympathy for York. He was probably the calmest of all at the moment, and he was indeed a little curious—he certainly did not think that York had killed the high priest.

"A few months ago," the priest began, without answering his question directly, "Elven Elder, Kao Inari has sent a messenger to visit the High Priest......"

Aurora Lee was in a coma, and no one even knew if she would wake up. But Inari was not only the eldest elder among the elves, but also the distant ancestor of the High Priest, and there was no reason for them to refuse him to send someone to visit his only descendant. Accompanied by York, the messenger who had been ordered to come bowed slightly to Aurora in front of the bed and left, without even saying a word.

So when they found out that the High Priest had died before he appeared in Stoke Square and uttered those few prophecies, the first thing they suspected was not the messenger, but the probationary priest who had been taking care of Aurora, a girl who was not yet sixteen years old, Lori Garrett.