I remained awake all night after witnessing a magical creature’s shadow. This made sense considering the last recorded appearance of a magical creature in a village dated back to the Sio dynasty. I searched my memory for a similar incident in the novel but couldn’t recall anything relevant.

The protagonist Iris, who maintained closer connections with magical creatures than humans, typically learned about social rumors later than other characters. Consequently, village events rarely appeared in the novel’s narrative.

That created my dilemma. Complete ignorance would have been preferable; this vague knowledge of the future only heightened my anxiety.

When morning finally arrived, I hurried to the research lab to inform Asrein about the magical creature sighting. Despite gathering my courage to open the door, Asrein wasn’t there. This struck me as truly odd since he typically arrived much earlier than me and would greet me upon my arrival. Concerned something might have happened, I sat at my desk and organized the unfinished reports.

This continued well past our agreed 9 AM starting time, stretching to 10 AM. While repeatedly underlining the same section out of worry, I heard the doorknob rattle and the door opened with urgency. The man who entered against the morning sunlight was Asrein, whom I had waited for over an hour.

“Professor! Did something happen this morning…”

“I’ll explain the details as we go.”

“Pardon?”

“Get your clothes ready and prepare to follow me. We have somewhere to go urgently.”

Asrein appeared unusually rushed today. Crossing the lab with his wide stride, he placed a small bottle on my desk. Looking down, I recognized the motion sickness medicine I always took when traveling in carriages. Unable to grasp the situation, I held the bottle and glanced around uncertainly. His golden eyes, sharp with tension, looked at me.

“I said we’re busy.”

“Ah, yes sir!”

His reaction clearly indicated something had happened. I quickly downed the motion sickness medicine in one gulp and hastily grabbed my jacket hanging on the chair. Then I followed Asrein outside the lab and sprinted all the way to the main gate where the carriage waited. Due to our height difference, I had to take two steps for each of his one, but by practically running, I managed to keep pace.

The driver departed immediately after we boarded the carriage, without even hearing our destination. Catching my breath that had risen to my chin, I looked at Asrein sitting across from me. Unlike me, who appeared practically dead and pale, his complexion remained unchanged.

“Huff, huff… Now will you tell me what’s going on?”

While patting my pounding chest, I asked, and Asrein turned his gaze from the window to me.

“We received a letter from a small village bordering the imperial city. He identified himself as ‘the priest who serves Reton.'”

My eyes widened at the unfamiliar occupation of priest. While I had seen Count Ameli occasionally send donations to temples, I had never encountered someone who dedicated themselves to serving a god. Swallowing dryly and nodding, he continued his explanation.

“He says he was leaving after praying at the altar as usual that day. On that particularly quiet evening when even the birds weren’t chirping, he saw some shadow through the window.”

“…A shadow?”

“He said it glided through the forest with a snake-like long body, not making even a rustling sound as it moved through the grass. Even after sensing human presence, it raised its smooth head and stayed there for quite some time before vanishing like a mirage in an instant.”

The magical creature’s shadow. The story I heard from Sezan yesterday flashed through my mind. Could two magical creatures appearing in different places be mere coincidence? Anxiously biting my finger, I raised an unresolved question.

“Isn’t the temple quite close to the village?”

“Indeed. Moreover, temples protected by divine power are places magical creatures particularly avoid.”

“Then there must be a specific reason it appeared.”

“The priest seemed to find that strange as well, which is why he sent me the letter… asking me to come in person.”

The clop, clop of hooves hitting the hard ground pushed away the silence that had fallen in the carriage. I pondered what reason could have driven a magical creature, which instinctively avoids humans, to come down to the village.

If hunger motivated it, it would normally head to grain storage areas with plenty of food and few people. If carnivorous, it would go to stables or prosperous farms. But this magical creature chose the temple instead.

“Actually, I heard from Lord Sezan yesterday. His servant saw a magical creature’s shadow in the village.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. But when Duke Piart dispatched knights to investigate, they concluded it wasn’t a magical creature. Though Lord Sezan… doesn’t seem to think so.”

The wrinkle between his brows deepened considerably. Asrein seemed to organize his thoughts while watching the scenery rapidly passing outside the window. I too tried hard to think of ways to help, but couldn’t reach any proper conclusion. In the end, we couldn’t discover any meaningful clues before the driver opened the door.

Stepping out of the carriage, we saw a marble building surrounded by trees like a forest lodge. Though ornate statues stood here and there, the cracks showing the passage of time were particularly noticeable. It seemed fortunate enough that someone maintained it to prevent moss from growing. Standing before a statue of a soldier in armor with hands clasped together, I carefully spoke.

“The temple has quite… an atmosphere.”

Though I tried to phrase it diplomatically, Asrein looked around and said,

“It’s old and shabby.”

“Ah, um… Yes. It is.”

I’d heard temples were the ears of gods who cannot manifest in this world. But Asrein, perhaps not believing in gods, gave quite an honest assessment right to its face. Of course, I couldn’t deny it. The two pillars supporting the ceiling had dangerous cracks, and the stained glass decorating the windows amounted to nothing more than faded glass. Moreover, the walls bore clear traces of rainwater streaks, giving off a somewhat eerie atmosphere.

“Are they being persecuted? I thought all gods were equal within the Karsa Empire.”

The Karsa Empire cannot establish a state religion due to founding king Jupiter’s declaration. Of course, which temple receives prophecies during an era changes depending on which god the current emperor believes in, but all gods remain equal within the empire. Therefore, their priests receive the same treatment regardless of which god they serve.

“Your words are correct. On the surface, that is.”

“That means…”

“In the past, Emperor Sio traditionally followed Reton, the god of war.”

Asrein leisurely walked toward the lion statue placed in the temple’s front yard. Though the roaring lion had long fangs, their tips had been rounded by wind and rain. Asrein removed his white gloves and stroked the lion’s cheek with his neat fingers.

“Though it’s now just a lion statue crumbling to dust, it once looked almost alive.”

The lion statue, long since robbed of its breath, had lost its majestic appearance long ago. It naturally became increasingly shabby as fewer devotees came to serve or make offerings to the temple. Asrein elegantly dusted off his fingertips and put his gloves back on.

“For the same reason, the temple of Metis, whom the Evgenia royal family serves, now has the most devotees since the empire’s founding.”

Metis, the god who oversees wisdom. I thought I’d heard that name somewhere before, and then remembered it was at the temple of Metis where Evgenia VII received the prophecy suspected to be an ill omen. Just as I considered visiting the Metis temple near the imperial city someday, the sound of rusty hinges grinding came from up ahead.

“Ah, you’ve arrived.”

A man wearing pure white robes emerged through the side door. The blue cloth draped over his shoulders swayed like waves with each step. Perhaps intending to bless the visitors, the neat priest approached me, gently closed his eyes. Touching his forehead with three fingers while placing his other hand on my shoulder, he murmured softly.

“May Reton’s spear never turn toward you.”

For a blessing, it sounded quite frightening. Soon, his pale pink eyes, like cherry blossoms, turned toward Asrein. However, the priest didn’t perform the same action for him. Taking a step back and showing a benevolent smile, he said,

“Haha, I know well. Professor, you don’t believe in gods. But Lord Reton will embrace even a professor who denies him.”

The bright pink irises gleaming between narrowed eyes felt strangely chilling. Soon, the priest with his faint smile offered a polite greeting.

“I am Karl, who sent the letter. I serve the great god Reton with my humble self.”

“I am Tae-oh. I’m studying under Professor Asrein.”

“Pleased to meet you, Tae-oh.”

He projected an even more unapproachable atmosphere than Professor Berke whom I met at Flora’s sanctuary. Though polite and courteous, his distinct gaze felt strangely burdensome. I wondered if all priests behaved this way. As soon as the formal greetings ended, Asrein got straight to the point, seemingly impatient.

“I read your letter. So where did you see the magical creature’s shadow?”

“Over there.”

The priest walked ahead with his hands respectfully clasped together. Taking the path beside the temple, we soon came upon a backyard wide enough to pitch a tent. The priest raised his hand, half-covered by his sleeve, pointing to the forest connected to the backyard.

“At first, I thought the Lord was giving me a revelation. That day was much quieter than usual, without even a breeze blowing. But the most important torch… remained unchanged.”

According to the novel, whenever a god descends or gives a prophecy, the torches mounted on the temple pillars always burn with blue flames. But at that time, all the torches placed around remained calm, he said. Asrein approached a ginkgo tree with the most beautifully colored autumn leaves among those surrounding the backyard and bent down.

“Is anyone else here besides you?”

“No one else resides in this temple except me.”

“Devotees?”

“It’s been long since their visits became rare.”

The priest, who had been touching his lips trying to recall memories, made a short exclamation “ah” and said,

“A young man came to pray.”

Asrein, who had been caressing near the tree roots, abruptly stopped his hand and turned around.

“Is he a regular devotee?”

“He’s a child that Baron Klaus often brings along. But that day… the child came alone.”

“So what did the child do?”

“Naturally, he prayed and left. When a devotee enters the prayer room, I guard the door until their prayer ends. You never know what might happen.”

The priest gently stroked his lips seemingly by habit and quietly looked around the temple. A desolate wind brushed past the branches, making a sound like waves crashing.

“But… nothing special happened.”

Suddenly his gaze lingered on one spot before unnaturally turning away. Asrein, being in front, didn’t seem to notice. As I alone sensed something suspicious, the priest turned to me with a perfect smile. I couldn’t bring myself to cast doubt on that benevolent face.