* * *

The next dawn, the High Temple.

Aietar opened the newspaper.

The headline read: “It’s a Good Thing Duke Yuta Orgon Was There.”

The sinking of the Entoho was certainly a huge story, but since there were no casualties, it wasn’t treated as a tragedy.

Fearing that the secrets of the Entoho might be exposed, the Temple had instructed the media to focus all the spotlight on Yuta. Emphasizing “no casualties” and “the Temple’s exemplary leadership.”

Aietar knew that this was the correct move.

But…

The face of Yuta in the photograph, holding the rabbit-shaped Divine Beast while rescuing people, looked kind and radiant. Just like his own youth.

Aietar suddenly looked into the mirror.

There was his reflection, aged from time passing, having failed to find and kill the successor.

If only he had killed that successor right away, he could’ve become twenty years younger. Just like Yuta Orgon.

“I made him a Duke and told him to bring me the Divine Beast… But in the end, he hasn’t figured out how to make me the master of that Divine Beast and just uses it freely for himself?”

Yuta’s popularity, of course, was partly because of his title as Duke. Especially since his angelic appearance holding a cute rabbit always comforted people’s hearts.

“Maybe this bastard…”

Aietar’s eyes glinted.

“Drunk on fame and popularity, maybe he never even wanted to find a way to give me the Divine Beast in the first place.”

Twenty years spent desperately wanting to become the master of his Divine Beast.

He had tried many methods, but this was the one thing he had gotten absolutely nowhere with. Truly, no results at all.

And not only that. For the past nine years, the Temple had been collapsing at an unprecedented rate.

Though he had long been at the pinnacle of the Temple, there had never been a time when things had gone so far against his will.

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The Dyfenril and Lavendal Duchies hadn’t moved as he wished, he still hadn’t eliminated the Emperor, and even the Noart Count Family, which he thought he could easily crush, remained standing strong.

The Temple-led ventures were no longer as profitable as before, and Karso and the Entoho, which had swallowed an immense budget, were now sunk in the sea.

On top of that, the Magic Tower, which should have been under his control ages ago, had become unusually independent and was thriving like never before.

Even public opinion, which had always favored the Temple, was slowly turning against it.

As Yuta had said, if Yuta hadn’t stepped up, public opinion about the Temple would’ve been even worse.

“This won’t do.”

Aietar crumpled the newspaper with Yuta’s face on it and threw it away as he thought.

“The decline has begun. If things keep going like this, only ruin awaits. I’ve been… too complacent, too satisfied with my position.”

Until now, he had simply used trackers to find the successor and steal their divine power, enjoying power and immortality—but now it was time for a new breakthrough.

Especially the sinking of Karso, something he had spent so long on, was a devastating blow.

“…If Karso failed to become the disaster…”

Aietar clenched his fist tightly.

“Then I’ll have to become the disaster myself.”

His face twisted with greed.

“Even if the prophesied master of your Divine Beast appears, I will be able to defeat them too.”

His red eyes gleamed.

He had already defied divine providence once. So why not a second time?

Of course, just like before, he would have to pay a heavy price… It was that fear that had stopped him from making the decision until now…

But having accepted the Temple’s decline, Aietar now wanted to grow stronger and raise the Temple to a place where no one could ever challenge it again.

“I am the Temple…”

Aietar suddenly stood and looked out the window. The dawn light was breaking outside the window of the High Priest’s office, the highest place in the Temple.

“I am God.”

The window reflected the crumpled newspaper Aietar had thrown earlier.

Despite being all wrinkled, Yuta’s face in the newspaper looked fresh and bright.

Aietar glared at that face and thought,

“And no matter how skilled that tracker is, I can’t trust that bastard anymore.”

He immediately rang the bell on his desk irritably, summoning the other priests.

It would be a bit troublesome and take a long time, but he decided he would find that successor, wherever they were hiding, through a different method.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

* * *

I’ll come when the full moon rises.

Zahid was immediately escorted to the High Temple.

Because of his high status, Yuta, who held the same Duke title, handled it personally.

“We’re confiscating the sedative for now, Duke.”

In front of the High Temple’s main gate, Yuta spoke coldly.

Zahid, walking beside Yuta without even being restrained, smirked and replied,

“The sedative? That’s harsh.”

“It’s an external item, so we’ll inspect it first and return it later. Ah, and the pipe too. That’s an external item as well.”

At Yuta’s signal, Payton, who had been following behind, gleefully snatched away the sedative and the pipe.

“Woof woof! Woof woof!”

Fire barked as if more annoyed than afraid, staring at the High Temple.

“It hurts too much without the sedative…”

Zahid spoke slowly, glancing around the High Temple.

It was as grand and enormous as the Imperial Palace. Amidst it all, his eyes caught the tall stairs in the center. From up there, he thought, you could probably see the entire capital.

Rosie’s face flashed through his mind, remembering how she loved looking out at the sea and sky from the Entoho’s special suite.

Hm?

A sudden wave of déjà vu made Zahid frown.

“Temple cleaning? I did it so much, I got sick of it. But cleaning the central stairs was nice. Climbing up high and looking down… it made me feel like my little world wasn’t everything. I loved that feeling.”

A faint, distant midday déjà vu, like a dream from childhood.

“But since I was cleaning, I couldn’t stay long… I wanted to sit there and relax, looking down for a long, long time, but I couldn’t. Now, I wish I could go back just to clean.”

“When we get out of here, let’s sit together for a long, long time. Leaning on each other, looking down as long as we want.”

As Zahid stood there scowling blankly, Payton sneered beside him.

“You must be in a lot of pain? But it can’t be helped. And as a prisoner, you won’t be receiving any divine power either.”

“Eh, then you’ll be bored. You’ve seen the outside world a lot anyway.”

“I can just watch you.”

A strange hallucination, vivid in memory but not real.

Zahid couldn’t even come up with a retort, biting his lower lip in a pained expression.

Next to him, Yuta looked at Zahid with a What the hell is with this incredible acting skill… kind of face.

“Well, anyway.”

Payton spoke, clearly enjoying himself.

“Let’s go in.”

And so, Zahid, with Fire, descended into the depths of the High Temple.

Some time later.

The Temple’s ingredient test revealed that Zahid had been consuming the sedative in the form of water pipe smoke.

And the Temple decided they needed to conduct further tests to see if this method of consumption had any issues.

“Duke Zahid Dyfenril is in severe pain now. Without the sedative, just like when he was a child.”

Yuta said with a pleasant smile.

“There’s that deep underground prison in the Temple, right? N14, the one we originally made to hold Divine Beasts. Let’s put him there.”

There were, of course, objections that this was too harsh—not for Zahid’s sake, but because they feared future consequences.

Considering his status and the fact ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) there were no casualties, they all knew they’d have to release him eventually.

Even the Emperor had hinted that Zahid should be released soon.

“You’re saying we can’t treat the master of a Divine Beast harshly? Hm, well, I’m also a master of a Divine Beast, so I’ll take responsibility.”

But Yuta was merciless.

“Without the sedative, he won’t even need a guard down there. Even one of the Temple’s precious workers would be wasted on Zahid Dyfenril.”

And so Zahid was locked up in the deep, deep prison of the Temple.

“Woof woof! Woof woof woof woof!”

<Here again! My cursed life!>

Along with Fire, who barked in displeasure.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep