# 99
The structure of temples everywhere was very similar. The Imperial Palace Temple was huge but not as beautiful.
‘If I sold the gems on the ceiling, Racleon Temple could survive for a whole year.’
Dearyn looked at the shining jewels on the ceiling as she bit her lips. The temples were full of money, while she struggled to make a living on the battlefront, making her feel unfair.
Although the size and luxury varied, finding things inside the building wasn't difficult even if it was her first time here.
But Diarin stopped walking and looked around deliberately at the entrance.
What she was aiming for was to wait for her prey to fall.
“I see you haven't been here before.”
As Dearyn watched from the doorway, a priest quickly approached her as if he had detected a target.
“As I expected.”
Deyarin's joy was special, because she knew full well that this priest had fallen into a trap.
New member… No, even new followers were always welcome.
People who can bring money easily like in the Imperial Palace are more than welcome.
Dearyn pointed at Sirius with her eyes.
“Do you know him?”
"no."
But Dearyn wasn't quite sure, so she signaled for Sirius to lean a little on her shoulder.
By placing his head slightly behind his hair to cover his eyes, the young man appeared with a sad and beautiful appearance, and became more affected.
“Hello, hello.”
Dearyn did not return the usual temple greeting.
The priest smiled wider at the weak greeting. That was the smile Deyarin was used to seeing.
“Welcome, valued customers.”
“Thank you...”
“Have you come to find solace in the ruler’s temple?”
“Ah...actually...”
Deyarin began to talk as if she were a little girl, pretending that she did not understand things very much.
“My friend recently got rejected...”
"Oh, really? That's unfortunate. How could such an attractive person get into such a situation?"
“That's exactly what I mean. It seems that the shock was so strong that he can't even seem normal anymore... He can't sleep well every day... He talks nonsense sometimes, and sometimes he feels so much pain, as if the world has ended.”
"Ah, ah. Nothing sores the soul as the wounds of separation. It is natural that it should be so."
The priest answered as best he could to fit in with Dearyn's speech.
And it made sense.
People did not skimp on love with money.
When people came to the temples in search of the ruler out of love, the priests would talk about them like this:
“Stupid customer.”
There was no reason for them not to be nice to these “stupid customers” who came to the temple themselves.
The truth is that these customers were spending money, so it was necessary to be kind to them to pay more.
“Ah… it's not impossible.”
The priest nodded seriously.
'What?'
The priest's response was surprising to Darren.
Is it really that easy to get memory clearing spells? This kind of magic was not easily available even in her previous temple.
But this priest, who seemed to be an ordinary person, mentioned magic so easily. Does he know anything about magic?
“Is this really possible?”
"Yes."
Obviously, this is not something any ordinary priest can do.
If the temple administrator intervened, it would definitely be possible.
Even the high priest who runs the temple usually does not handle the rituals personally. There are many ways to make money without using magic.
This was a good thing for Deyarin.
“Whatever the cost, the important thing is to erase that woman’s memory!”
“Did you say ‘whatever the cost’?”
A sharp gleam flashed in the priest's eyes.
“In that case… how about we move somewhere more comfortable to talk about the details?”
“OK.”
Finally, Dearren and Sirius were invited to the reception room inside the temple.
The priest led them to the drawing room at the end of the long corridor.
As they passed, they passed some other priests.
And each time, Sirius repeated the word “huck” while burying his face in Dearyn’s shoulder.
“Can you two wait here a moment?”
"Yes."
The priest opened the door and went out.
Dayaren felt nervous as if she had entered a tiger's den, so she tensed her shoulders.
But Sirius, who was burying his face comfortably in her shoulder, showed no signs of nervousness.
“There's a stranger coming.”
“Shoulder, shoulder.”
Dearyn pulled Sirius' head so he buried his face deeper into her shoulder.
At that moment, the door opened and an elegant woman dressed in a splendid priestly garb entered.
"Yes."
Dyarin knew those clothes of priests.
'Temple Administrator!'
It was the temple administrator's clothing that even ordinary priests rarely saw.
She is the priestess in charge of an entire temple.
And then there is the temple director who runs an entire area.
Highest of them all are the “Seven Sons of the Ruler,” who are the highest priests.
The ruler's seven children keep everything about them, from the selection process to their identity, a secret, and do not engage in any public activities.
Some of them are rarely seen, but their identities have never been revealed at the same time in their history.
So, in effect, those at the top of the religious structure are the substitutes.
Namely, the underlings who run the empire have the greatest decision-making power.
But there is only one alternate separated from the area, and that is the alternate that runs the Imperial Palace Temple.
This meant that the Imperial Palace Temple possessed enormous power.
'So, this person is…'
Then, the substitute who opened the door entered.
Alternative to the Imperial Palace, Marianne.
Deyarin felt an innate tension.
Even if she was only going to meet with the High Priest, her back was becoming stiff with tension, so what about when she was facing Marian, the substitute who represented the living force of the temple and the closest person to the Second Prince.
If it weren't for Sirius next to her, she probably would have immediately stood up and saluted her with a bow.
“Ah, have you been waiting long? I was a little busy hearing you talk.”
“?”
What were you hearing now?
Deyarin asked, confused by the cheerful voice that filled the serious atmosphere.
“I heard that the young man over there is suffering from a love wound and is feeling a lot of pain. How sad… How could there be a woman who would reject him when he was so beautiful? In this world there are all kinds of tastes, right?”
“?”
Marianne sat on the opposite seat, continuing to talk and laughing lightly.
Dayarin was in a daze and could not regain her focus.
Before she could reason, Marianne continued speaking in a bright voice.
“Oh, yes... of course.”
“I heard from our priest that he said he was suffering a lot and wanted to erase his memories, right?”
Marianne laughed with a sparkle in her eyes, and began to broach the topic directly.
“Oh, yes.”
She's really a scary person. She was definitely planning to start exploring things seriously after she made them feel at ease.
Dearyn focused her attention. Maybe she had already discovered their identity and was manipulating them.
She said: “But as you know, the magic that priests do is not as easy as street fortune tellers who pick cards. By the way, have you ever tried other magic?”
But what came back to her was not “Who are you?”, or “How dare you try to find out our secrets?” Rather, it was quite the opposite.
Dearyn was surprised again.
“Oh, just… regaining energy from exhaustion…” she said.
"Have you tried energy restoration magic? What do you think, it's definitely different. This can't be compared to what those who practice ordinary magic do. Only someone who knows it realizes the difference. After you try it, you won't find that it was a waste of money, will you?"
“Yes, that’s right,” Deyarin replied.
Her only experience with druidic magic was through a priest with holy powers. He was a colleague of hers, so he only offered to help her out of kindness after seeing her about to die.
She thought that just a shoulder massage would be a simple kindness, but could such holy power be given in such a great way?
Now, her feeling wasn't just nervous, it was a feeling of admiration.
‘This is how holy power can be sold!’ Dearen thought.
Indeed, older people vary greatly. Despite her position as High Priestess, she went straight to business, and instead of observing others from afar, she approached them and rose to their level of understanding.
Even though she was an opponent, she was a great person.
“Then... let's get started,” Marian said suddenly. She took a more serious pose as she clasped her hands together.
Diarine straightened her seat and took a more upright position.
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