Chapter 71

Now that I've been officially allowed to enter, I followed Eisha into the church.

The corridor, lined with a red carpet, was illuminated by the light from the stained glass windows, casting a myriad of colors.

"Thanks for putting in a good word for me, Eisha."

"Not at all, it's no trouble. Lloyd, you're like a little brother to me. If you want to thank someone, thank those kids over there."

"Yeah, thanks, Ren, and Shiro too."

"U-Uh, it's nothing..."

"Oink!"

I gave Shiro, who had hugged me with all her might, a hearty pat on the head.

There, there, good job.

Ren watched this enviously.

"Hehe, you all have such a good relationship. That's wonderful."

Eisha smiled softly.

I felt a bit embarrassed, so I decided to change the subject.

"By the way, where are we heading?"

"Of course, to prepare for the Eucharist. Will you help?"

"O-Of course!"

Crap, I completely forgot.

Since I pretended to be a believer, I have to do the work.

"That's a good answer. Let's clean the chapel together, then."

"Alright..."

So, I joined everyone in cleaning the chapel.

During this time, quite a number of people, young and old, came to pray and visit the chapel.

There must have been dozens.

Wow, it's amazing that so many people believe in God. It's hard to believe.

"Do you believe in God, Lloyd?"

"No, I don't believe at all."

"Right! God is just a lie! Even if you pray to God, you don't get any help. It's unbelievable!"

Ren was indignant.

Probably because of her difficult childhood due to her ability, she has strong feelings about God.

"Calm down, Ren. You shouldn't raise your voice here. Besides, not everyone here really believes in God."

"What do you mean?"

"People need something to rely on in life. But surprisingly few have it. For such people, God is a convenient idol they can pray to anytime, anywhere."

In other words, everyone is clinging to something.

By doing so, their hearts are calmed, and they can continue living.

"...? Hmm."

But Ren tilted her head, not really understanding what I meant.

"Oh dear, that's quite a statement, Lloyd. Such remarks are a blasphemy against God."

"I-Iisha!?"

Crap, she heard.

Eisha spoke to me gently as I hastily clamped my mouth shut.

"Indeed, God does not easily show Himself. But He does exist. A year ago, He appeared before me and granted me sacred magic. The divine figure I saw then... is still vividly imprinted in my mind."

"Wow! Eisha can use sacred magic!? You've seen God!? I want to see Him too!"

"Hehe, if you're a good boy, Lloyd, you might get to meet Him someday."

Mmm, she's dodging the question.

But more importantly, her statement.

I remember that to learn sacred magic, you need to serve God as a believer and be recognized by a celestial being.

From Eisha's tone, it doesn't seem to be a metaphor.

Or maybe she's just saying it casually to a child.

"Hmm, anyway, I can't do anything until I see sacred magic directly. If I let Grimo loose and cause a ruckus, will the priests use sacred magic to drive him away?"

"Please, spare me, Lord Lloyd!"

"Just kidding. Just kidding."

Actually, I already tried that in the past.

I once used a self-standing magic that looked demonic to cause a minor disturbance in the church, but the people there just ran around in panic and didn't fight back.

I guess devout believers are good people mentally.

So when attacked, they don't immediately choose to fight.

Well, it's a waste that the sacred magic is underutilized.

"...Lord Lloyd, you'll be banned from entering if you keep this up."

"Huh? Did I say something?"

"You were muttering something dangerous."

Oops, I must have said my thoughts out loud.

It happens sometimes. I need to be more careful.

"Eisha"

Suddenly, a stern voice echoed through the chapel.

I looked in the direction of the voice and saw Saria.

"It's almost time to meet."

"Oh, it's already that time. See you later, Lloyd, Ren. ...And Lloyd, you might get to see sacred magic today."

She winked and ran off.

By evening, after the cleaning was done, we sat in the chapel and waited.

A concert was about to start, and more people were gathering to wait for it.

"But what did Eisha mean earlier? She said we might see sacred magic... Did I forget to ask if Grimo has seen it before?"

"Just a few times. Looking back, it seems that sacred magic is activated by singing."

"Interesting, so it's a type of magic that's activated by a ritual."

Magic activation methods are broadly divided into incantations and rituals.

Incantations involve writing various formulas into magical power to manifest phenomena.

Rituals, on the other hand, involve singing or dancing by someone with high magical power.

They have existed since ancient times, with rain dances being their origin.

Nowadays, they are often used in conjunction with incantations and are incorporated into many magical systems.

"So we might see sacred magic at the concert. Grimo, are you okay with that?"

"The nun doesn't have that much magical power, so even if she uses it, it won't affect me. I doubt she'll use offensive sacred magic. ...Even if she does, since I'm inside Lord Lloyd's body, there's no problem."

Sacred magic is said to be effective against demons, so I was worried about being purified, but if you say so, I guess it's fine.

"Let's look forward to it... Huh?"

Suddenly, I heard voices from the entrance.

I saw the adventurers who had bothered me on the way standing there.

"There he is. That brat is here!"

"He's grinning, that annoying brat. I don't care about the Eucharist or whatever, I'm going to wreck it!"

Hold on, wreck the Eucharist?

Just when we might get to see sacred magic, what are they planning to do?

...No choice. I'll have to ask the outsiders to leave.

I cut off all my magical power and slowly stood up.

With my presence hidden by magical power suppression, I walked towards the men.

No one seemed to notice my movement.

I headed for the entrance, but the men weren't looking at me.

To avoid drawing attention, I had to be very careful not to be noticed, even by a pebble in my line of sight.

I passed by the men and stood behind them.

Then, I released the magical power in my palms.

In an instant, the two men disappeared.

I returned to my seat without being noticed, and Ren whispered to me.

"Was that... spatial teleportation?"

"Yeah, I got the incantation from Jade."

Jade, the boss of the Assassin's Guild, had the ability to teleport and controlled it with an incantation.

By absorbing and analyzing all magical powers with this magic-absorbing sword, I gained the ability to teleport.

However, I'm far from fully controlling it, and I don't know where they were sent, but from the feel of it, I think they were sent to the outskirts of the city.

"Amazing, Lloyd! ...Sigh, I wish I could incantate my ability soon."

Ren sighed.

If she could control her ability to produce poison, it could be used as medicine.

I've been encouraging her to study, but she's struggling.

Ren hasn't had proper education, so I've been reading her simple magic books, but I'm not sure how much she understands.

It might be faster to copy part of my knowledge and directly implant it into her brain with an incantation.

But I don't know what effects it might have on the recipient.

I'll consider it as a last resort.

"...Lloyd, weren't you thinking something scary just now?"

As I thought about this, Ren looked at me with a frightened expression.

That's rude. I'm just as I always am.