Chapter 110 – Stagnant Water Puddle (3)

‘Ah. That crazy priestess finally made her appearance….’

He had such idle thoughts as he saw the girl. She had black hair and blue eyes. Maetel instinctively hid Artpe behind her back. The girl, who had revealed revealed her name as Vadinet, caught sight of this. She covered her mouth as she giggled in a demure manner. Maetel found the sight of Vadinet to be very nauseating.

“You don’t have to be so vigilant against me. I am still inexperienced, but I am called the holy priestess of Paladia. I was basically born to help the hero-nim.”

[Nyaa-ah.]

“Oh my. What a cute cat.”

Roa suddenly pushed her head out from within Artpe’s robe, and she let out a small cry as she watched the holy priestess. Artpe put Roa on his shoulder, and he patted her.

“You have to stay still for now. I’ll tell you when you will be able to play.”

[Nyaa-ah······.]

“It is as if she understands human speech.”

[Nyaa]

“Oh my.”

Roa let out a cry as if she was answering the holy priestess. Vadinet once again giggled. When she saw this, Maetel became more guarded. Until now, an innocent pretty girl like her had never appeared around Artpe. Maetel was worried that Artpe’s heart might lean towards a girl like her, so Maetel did her best to stop Artpe from meeting her!

“You really are acting like an idiot. You should step aside, Maetel.”

“But!”

“I’ll guide you into the temple. There is a blessing that we’ve prepared for the hero-nim from a long time ago. I’ll be able to carry it out immediately.”

“Yes, let’s head in.”

“Ooh-mmmmmm.”

[Nyaa-ah. Nyaa nyaa nyaa-ah.]

Artpe, Maetel and Roa were like country hicks. They were rubbernecking at the great temple as they followed the holy priestess. Several dozen priests and knights followed behind them as escorts, so it was a sight to behold.

“I feel the trace of a thick Mana, Artpe….. Aren’t Mana supposed to be circulated? Is it ok to keep it hostage in one place for so long?”

“They aren’t keeping the Mana hostage. This is what the Artifacts and magic circles are for. If the Mana was stored without the now-how, the Mana would either decay or it would run out of control. However, the Mana you are feeling right now is being directed towards amplifying or purifying the magical energy within the great temple. The great temple primarily filters the Mana. Secondarily, the city’s magic circle is connected to the great temple, and it purifies the Mana. That is why a normal priest could replicate powers of a high rank priest in this place.”

“You really are enlightened in the ways of magic. Even I became focused on your calm and logical explanation..”

The holy priestess had been walking in front of them in the hallway. She turned around to look at Artpe, and she had a smile of favorable impression on her face. Maetel poked Artpe in the back, and Roa cried out as if she found this all to be pathetic. However, the holy priestess wouldn’t drop the subject once she became interested in it.

“When I heard that you refused to affiliate yourselves with any country, I personally became concerned. However, it seems your actions have resulted in you gaining deeper knowledge. Moreover, you now possess excellent skills and ability. In the end, your decision was the correct one.”

“The food in the palace taste ba….. Ooh-boohp.”

“No. It’s nothing”

“Yes…..”

The holy maiden was puzzled when she saw Artpe block Maetel’s mouth. However, her smile returned as she turned around. She led them deeper into the temple.

“This is our destination.”

“Wah-ah.”

It took them 5 more minutes to reach the cathedral. The mana of light was focused there. The altar was letting out a subdued light. There was also an enormous cross that signified the advent of the gods and the land of the humans. Behind these items, there was an open space that reminded one of a massive square. Maetel, who had been in a poor mood, let out an exclamation when she saw this.

“It is a place filled with really warm Mana.”

“If Lihazeta is the heart of Paladia, the great temple is the heart of Lihazeta. It is as Artpe-nim explained earlier. This place is where the purified Mana is gathered.”

Of course, there was another central location. It was the Zero Class area, but she declined to mention this. She moved towards the Altar. Other priests were waiting for them there. However, when she lightly shook her head, the priest moved to the side as they lined up in rows. She was able to stand at the heart of the altar.

“It is the duty of the holy priestess to bless the hero-nim. We’ll finish the ceremony here. After a brief break, we’ll start the second half of the parade. We’ll move into the inner city.”

“Do we really have to be blessed?”

“Yes.”

Unexpectedly, the one to answer Maetel was Artpe instead of the Holy Maiden.

“This is a blessing given to the heroes. It is the most simple method that will allow us to prove that we are heroes. Moreover, there is a lot of Mana concentrated here. The bonus that we will gain from it would be significant. It might also give us an additional Record that I don’t know about.”

“Ah, Artpe-nim.”

Vadinet was taken aback by Artpe’s frank explanation. On the other hand, Maetel tilted her head in puzzlement as she asked a question.

“However, we don’t have Class upgrades. I thought we are able to learn skills and spells from all Classes?”

“Yes, we will receive a blessing on top of that. That is why it is an absolute cheat.”

“I see!”

“Ah-ooh-ooh.”

Vadinet was taken aback when she was confronted with the thought process of the bad hero! On the other hand, Artpe was smiling a smile of triumph inside.

‘It is a blessing. I knew about it, but I thought it was insignificant compared to the annoyance I would experience here. However, the pure Mana gathered here is beyond my imagination. Since events have been hastened everywhere else, I thought it would be the same here. This is unexpected…..’

Since things have already turned out like this, it would be a waste if they didn’t receive the blessing. Artpe led Maetel forward as they stood in front of the altar. The holy priestess’ eyebrows twitched by a minute amount.

“Then······ I’ll start the blessing.”

“Please.”

The holy priestess raised both her hands a little bit higher. Artpe could feel all the Mana within the great temple gather into her hands. Moreover, there was the altar, which had been created for the express purpose of the hero’s blessing. It was a holy artifact that had stored Mana, which didn’t hold a speck of impurity. The altar was letting out a golden light.

“Pretty······.”

“Shhh.”

The holy priestess’ blue eyes turned into gold. This was evidence that she was raising her holy power to its limit! The priests and holy knights were witnessing a sacred moment, so their voices of admiration automatically rose in volume. Artpe was monitoring the Mana reaction that was occurring with his Read All Creation ability. The information was being delivered to him.

However, when the holy priestess’ eyes widened, Artpe sensed something was off for the first time.

‘Will you look at this?’

There were two heroes. Of course, the blessing would have to be split equally. As the holy priestess sacrificed the holy artifact to active the permanent blessing spell, the blessing was being directed towards one person. In other words,. It had locked onto Artpe.

‘They are already starting their little game…. Or maybe it is like the civilians outside. Maybe, there are some here that can’t accept the fact that there are two heroes?’

It was unbelievable! This was so ridiculous! A priest affiliated with the temple had determined that Artpe and Maetel were both heroes. Both of them were true heroes, and they had acted accordingly up until now. The holy priestess was the central figure of the temple, yet she was discriminating against Maetel!

“Oh god. Please let your warm hands touch those that are qualified.”

‘La-di-da.’

Artpe realized that he had gone soft on this matter. It didn’t matter how the business in Paladia was progressing. The holy priestess was crazy from the start!

“No lies will remain. Please show us only the true hope.”

The priestess’ blessing was heading towards it zenith. The overwhelming amount of holy power gathered at the end of her hands were waiting for the moment where it would be able to descend on the hero. The holy power was being amplified as it was once again purified itself. The holy power was taking shape.

While this was going on, Artpe used Mana Link to tether his Mana to Maetel’s Mana. Maetel sensed what was going on, so she raised her head in confusion. Artpe gave a light wink, and strangely enough, Maetel picked up on the meaning behind his gesture.

She activated her Record Divide. Maetel and Artpe shared each other’s Records. They were already linked by Mana Link, so the bond between the two became stronger. Since both of them were heroes, they were able to achieve unity.

“Ah. Ah ah ah.”

Maetel let out a sound as if she was loving what was going on. She was almost dead from pleasure. Normally Artpe didn’t open himself up to this extent. In reality, this was the first time she had established a true connection to Artpe.

Artpe wanted to flick Maetel on the forehead, but he didn’t want to reveal their actions to the holy priestess. Therefore, he kept silent.

“Oh god, please descend upon us!”

The holy priestess’ chant finally came to an end. The golden light containing the overwhelming amount of Mana fell onto Artpe….. It was being shared with Maetel.

“······huh?”

The holy priestess’s voice expressed the confusion she was feeling.

It was an expression that said, ‘This can’t be?’

Artpe put on a reverent expression as if he didn’t know what was going on.

“Wah-ahh. Artpe.”

“Shh. Just enjoy the show.”

Since the blessing was sent out, the holy priestess was no longer in control of the blessing. The powerful energy of the blessing touched Artpe, and it flowed into Maetel. Her Record was a complete Replica of Artpe’s Record. This was why half of the energy flowed into her. Everything went so smoothly that it looked as if the blessing had gone as the holy priestess had intended.

The energy settled within the two heroes. Finally, a wing with feathers made out of golden light sprouted from their backs. The holy priestess couldn’t suppress her shock when she saw this.

“How can this be······.”

A wing appeared on Artpe’s left shoulder, and another wing appeared on Maetel’s right shoulder.

“Ah ah. So beautiful.”

“There is one wing on each hero’s shoulder. They have to be together for them to have a whole wing.”

“Since it like this…. I have no choice but to accept it. This generation has two heroes. No one made a mistake in determining this. The two of them will rely on each other to magnificently take down the Demon King.”

“The sight of them warms my heart.”

In the moment of the blessing, a wing had sprouted from the shoulders of Artpe and Maetel. Since the two heroes were connected by the Record Divide, the two wings fluttered in rhythm. It was quite surreal. Then the wings withdrew into their body.

If both their clothes were removed, there would be a small tattoo of a golden wing placed on their shoulder blade.

“This shouldn’t…..”

After the blessing ceremony came to an end, the great temple regained its original appearance. Despite this fact, the holy priestess looked unsatisfied. She looked taken aback as she kept grasping at the empty air with her hands.

However, the holy artifact was gone. The Mana prepared for the blessing ceremony was completely consumed. Even if she wanted to reverse this, she couldn’t.

“What’s wrong, Vadinet?”

Artpe acted dumb as he slyly asked the question. It looked as if Artpe was truly worried for her. Vadinet bit her lips. A small amount of tear formed near her eyes.

“It is nothing. The blessing ceremony was successfully…. It’s finished.”

“Thank you for working so hard for us.”

“No…. I should be the one thanking you. This is my first time doing the blessing ceremony, so I was nervous….. Thankfully, I was able to carry it out successfully.”

Artpe wanted to burst out into laughter. He had to try really hard to suppress his laughter. Maetel finally realized what was going on, so she wanted to hit Vadinet once. She was having a hard time restraining herself.

“If you are exhausted…. Why don’t you take a break?”

“You do look exhausted.”

“Y…yes. In truth, I am feeling a bit…. I have to accompany both of you in the parade. I’m sorry, but please wait until I feel better.”

“All right. Rest to your heart’s content.”

Artpe waved his hand as he sent her off. When he saw Vadinet turn around, he thought about taking a rest. However, at that moment, a very faint light started to emanate from Artpe and Maetel at the same time.

At that moment, there was a short snippet of memory that flowed into Artpe’s head……

“Artpe······?”

“End it!”

At Artpe’s cold words, Maetel quickly cancelled the Record Divide. Artpe’s expression had turned unimaginably rough. Maetel knew that the situation was very serious. She looked like she was about to cry as she gave an excuse.

“I’m sorry, Artpe. I didn’t mean to deepen the connection. My skill was suddenly strengthened, and it worked without regards to my own will,”

“I know it isn’t your fault. It’s fine. Don’t cry.”

“Hoo-ooh. But Artpe looks really mad right now.”

The explanation to what had occurred was extremely simple. The output of the Record Divide had suddenly increased, and the Record between Artpe and Maetel had synced more than ever before.

As a result, their memories had flowed into each other.

“I’m not mad.”

“Hoo-ee. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Artpe. Hoo-eeee.”

He said he wasn’t mad, but Maetel continued to cry. He let out a sigh. However, if everything was fine, he would have consoled her by hugging her. He wasn’t able to do that.

He had almost revealed his past life to her.

In truth, his heart was beating fast. He knew it wouldn’t happen, but he was afraid that everything would be conveyed to her if he touched her again.

This all happened because…..

‘Fucking sunbae-nim! You should have told us that the strengthening would happen when we receive the blessing!’

With exquisite timing, the Unique skill and spell became strengthened. It was all sunbae-nim’s fault!

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