Chapter 7

"What! Alm?"

Upon hearing Wyoneal's report, Johannes stood up, kicking over his chair in the Grand Temple's office.

"The slums... Why would she be in such a place...?"

Johannes clenched his fists.

"Why is that child alone in such a place?"

"Well... there was a misunderstanding..."

When Johannes tried to evade Wyoneal's question, a holy knight standing behind him spat out a mocking "Hah!" with a sneer. Oh, the attitude.

"Anyway, I will bring her back immediately, so please don't worry, Lord Wyoneal."

Johannes tried to smooth things over, and Wyoneal, stating that he was not part of the Grand Temple, left for the palace without saying anything more.

"Alright! I'm going to bring Alm back!"

As Johannes was about to head to the slums, Kisara's voice immediately rang out.

"What!?"

Johannes was shocked to find a glowing ring of light wrapping around his body, immobilizing him.

"This... this magic..."

"Yes. This is the light magic that only a Holy Maiden can use... the 'Light Ring Seal' that immobilizes those who oppose the Holy Maiden! I can finally use it!"

Kisara, who had appeared, approached with her hand raised.

"You...!"

Johannes's face contorted. It was unprecedented for a Holy Maiden to seal a priest in the Grand Temple. Light magic was meant to dispel evil.

"I won't let you go to Alm... never!"

"Why! Alm is a Holy Maiden! What's wrong with bringing her back!?"

"How vile you are...! I won't let you have your way any longer!!"

Kisara prayed with all her might.

"Damn it! My power isn't enough to purify him...!!"

"What are you going to do by purifying a priest!? Let go, damn it!!"

Johannes, veins bulging, shouted in anger, wondering why he was being treated like a monster to be defeated.

"God... give me strength! Judge those who oppose the Holy Maiden!!"

"Lady Kisara!! We will fight with you!!"

"You...!"

The other two Holy Maidens rushed in, and the three of them combined their powers to face the enemy.

"Why are you trying to defeat a priest, you bastards!!"

Johannes's angry voice echoed, but there was no one in the Grand Temple to stop the Holy Maidens' rampage or to help Johannes.

***

"Hmm, what did the Fifth Prince come for yesterday?"

Alm mumbled while biting into an apple.

"Did he come to bring me back...?"

Surrounded by apples that had fallen from the apple tree near the bench and were floating in mid-air, Alm had a troubled expression. She had no intention of returning to the Grand Temple, but since the Fifth Prince had come, there might be something important for her.

"But, I can't think of anything..."

She tossed the floating apples into her magic bag one by one. The cracked ground of the dilapidated park had been transformed into fertile soil by Alm's power. She had lain on the bench, tilled the soil, and planted various crops, harvesting vegetables and fruits to store in her magic bag. Just as she was about to take another apple from her magic bag and bite into it, Alm noticed a small child standing outside the park.

The child, likely a resident of the slums, was wearing dirty clothes and was quite thin. The child was staring intently at the apple in Alm's hand.

Alm threw the apple to the child. The apple flew through the air and landed softly in the child's hand, who was taken aback. The child alternated between looking at the apple in their hand and at Alm, looking confused, but eventually ran off into the slums, clutching the apple carefully.

Alm yawned as she watched the child go.

***

In the slums, where the well had been restored by a miracle of God, the residents were filled with joy and relief.

"But, what was that wind?"

"It must be the work of God."

The adults expressed their gratitude to God. Hind also silently thanked God in his heart.

"Brother!"

"Dom, where have you been?"

When his missing younger brother returned, Hind's eyes widened at what Dom was holding.

"Where did you get that apple?"

"I was given it! By an angel!"

"An angel?"

Dom smiled happily.

"She was lying on a bench in an empty lot outside! She's an angel!"

Dom described Alm, recalling her appearance. He had never seen such a beautiful woman before. Her skin was white, and her clothes were pure white, not a speck of dirt on her. To Dom, who only knew the residents of the slums, Alm appeared as a celestial being.

"It's amazing! The empty lot was completely transformed into a field!"

She must be an angel sent to us.

Dom believed this with all his heart.