Chapter 9 of Maknae On Top (9/299)

What?

What did you just say...

Before I could say anything, Tom's shocked voice was heard.

"W-What is that...?"

He alternated his gaze between me and the deacon.

"T-That child is from our orphanage..."

"Until now, perhaps. Before Artemis accepted the child as a novice priest."

Randel interrupted Tom.

His eyes, which were always warm and kind, had turned cold.

Just that change made his appearance markedly different.

"Is there any objection?"

"......"

At Randel's question, Tom closed his mouth.

There couldn't be any objection.

There shouldn't be, and even if there were, he couldn't voice it.

How could he dare to question the events of an Octagon-affiliated temple?

Instead, it was a situation where the orphanage should be overjoyed.

They should have hung a banner celebrating the birth of an Octagon novice priest.

The deacon approached me.

I, however, had no idea what to do in such a situation, so I just clung tightly to my rabbit plushie and looked up at him.

"Are you ready to go, Sae?"

"Yes."

He bent his knees and opened his arms toward me.

I stared at him blankly.

I couldn't believe it.

I was afraid that if I moved even a little, it would all turn out to be a joke.

Even though I knew it was a silly thought, I couldn't move.

The deacon patiently waited for me.

Thud...

Once I took the first step, the next steps became a bit easier.

Thud, thud, thud!

I ran into the deacon's arms without hesitation.

His large arms wrapped around me firmly.

His embrace was stiff, but very warm.

Feeling that warmth, I finally realized that this was all real.

I was accepted as a member here.

This place would be my home from now on.

* * *

"Sae! You became a novice priest!"

"Congratulations! I knew you could do it! A child who prays so diligently would be rare even among novice priests."

"You're a bit late, though."

The adults congratulated me.

It was my first time receiving congratulations from so many people, so I felt both happy and embarrassed.

With my cheeks blushing, I said, "Thank you."

The adults chuckled.

I was carried to the office in the deacon's arms.

The deacon said to me,

"Sae."

"Yes."

"From now on, you will hear the results of the investigation into how you came to be here."

They investigated me.

Of course, it was natural.

But can I really listen to it?

"You are now a member of this temple, and this is your story, so you have the right to hear it."

"Yes."

I answered obediently, but I was a bit surprised inside.

'So, they accepted me as a novice priest without knowing how I got here?'

I thought they accepted me after confirming my innocence through the investigation.

Then... was everything I did here not in vain?

They accepted me after observing me and my actions.

For some reason, my heart felt ticklish, so I pulled on the rabbit's ears.

While I was doing that, the investigation report began.

That I grew up in an orphanage.

That I had no special contact with the priests of Parmenas during my upbringing.

And so on, the basic facts were briefly mentioned.

"Then, the relic in the orphanage activated, and you were moved here."

"That's strange. If it's a relic of Parmenas, why did it move you here instead of to Parmenas?"

"Did the priest who activated the relic modify its coordinates? He must be quite skilled."

The investigator shook his head at that.

"No, no one activated the relic."

"Hmm?"

"The relic malfunctioned. I checked the activation records directly and found an error code."

"Good job investigating the relic. If Parmenas finds out, they won't sit still."

"We put in a bit of effort. Just in case, we also deleted the error code. Parmenas doesn't seem to know that a child has disappeared from the orphanage yet."

"So, Sae was caught in the relic's malfunction..."

"That's why the divine power of Parmenas was felt."

Phew.

It's over so quickly.

Now that I think about it, I remember that when I first touched the relic, there was an error message saying the connection failed.

They must have inferred that I was caught in the malfunction due to that error trace.

It's natural to think that way.

'They wouldn't think I used my superior divine power to force it to activate, right?'

As I nodded, my eyes met Sirius the elder's.

"You seemed very eager to become a novice priest, despite coming here by such a coincidence."

It was a sharp remark.

"I... pray to Artemis every day."

"Pray?"

"To meet Lady Artemis. (To meet Lady Artemis, I prayed.)"

"......"

Sirius the elder closed his mouth.

Phew.

I thought it was a brilliant answer.

How could anyone ask 'why' here?

A priest serving Lady Artemis.

And it wasn't a lie.

"Sae particularly likes Lady Artemis."

"Lady Artemis is the best! The strongest! (Lady Artemis is the best! The strongest!)"

"Hmm, a fine attitude for a novice priest."

"Parmenas is bad! Die! (Parmenas, beat them! Kill them!)"

"Excellent, excellent!"

I received praise.

"Then, it's settled."

The deacon placed his hand on my head.

"Yes, there's no need to worry about Parmenas. The orphanage won't want it to be known that a child they lost ended up with us."

"Even if they find out later, they'll think Sae, who was lost, met one of our priests on the road and joined the temple. We've already told the orphanage that."

"Right."

The deacon looked down at me quietly.

It seemed he had something to say, so I waited silently.

"......What was the orphanage like?"

"Huh?"

"That guy... tried to touch you."

Ah.

He was worried.

"You don't have to say it. Forget it."

He changed his mind right after asking, and for some reason, my lips felt a bit relaxed.

The orphanage I was in was a decent place.

"The orphanage was good. (The orphanage was a good place.)"

"Good? With that kind of person there?"

"If you listen well, they don't hit you. (If you listen well, they don't hit you.)"

"......Then, what if you don't listen?"

"I... would go to the reflection room, and so..."

The deacon looked at my face and suddenly frowned.

"Enough. Don't think about it."

I realized he had a misunderstanding.

"The teachers didn't hit me. (The teachers didn't hit me.)"

"......"

"The children were the orphanage's merchandise. If they got damaged, it was bad. (The children were the orphanage's merchandise. If they got damaged, it was bad.)"

Thanks to that, I lived a decent life.

They didn't starve us for the quality of the merchandise.

After reincarnating as a human, I had only lived in two places.

The orphanage and the Parmenas temple.

'Compared to the Parmenas temple, the orphanage was heaven, really.'

But the office was too quiet.

I looked around.

'Why do they all have those expressions?'

The priests were looking at me with a mix of emotions.

"You are not merchandise."

"......?"

"Your name is not a number."

"......"

"Just because they didn't hit you and gave you food doesn't mean it was a good place."

"......"

"Never call that place a good place again."

The deacon's gaze was so intense that I nodded silently.

"Yes."

The deacon still looked at me with a disapproving expression.

What did I do wrong? Why is he looking at me like that...

"Come on, Sae will realize it on her own. She will have many experiences in the future."

At the elder's words, the deacon raised an eyebrow and put me down.

"Go play."

I blinked, not knowing how to respond immediately.

"Go play."

"Yes!"

I nodded energetically.

I have to play hard.

Holding Randel's hand, we walked out of the office, with Sirius the elder following.

"Sir."

"I have something to say to the child."

"Go ahead."

"I meant for you to leave."

Randel smiled without answering.

Sirius sighed and looked down at me.

Sirius was one of the people who opposed my becoming a novice priest the most.

I braced myself.

"Saelica."

"Yes."

"I have one thing to say. I didn't look down on you because you were an orphan or because you grew up in an orphanage."

"......?"

Of course not.

I just found out I was an orphan.

"I didn't look down on you; I was just cautious. Not because you were an orphan, but for other reasons."

"Yes."

"Knowing that you are an orphan doesn't change anything."

Sirius continued coldly, without any change in his tone.

"I won't treat you kindly just because you're an orphan, and I won't look down on you just because you're an orphan."

"......"

"I will follow the deacon's decision to accept you as a member of the temple."

"......"

"But don't forget that I will always be watching you. You were not supposed to become a novice priest. You didn't take the exam. That means you haven't proven your qualifications."

"I will work hard!"

At my answer, Sirius snorted and turned back to the office.

Randel smiled and squeezed my hand.

"Shall we go? Morgan and the other priests have prepared a party."

"Party?"

"Yes. A party to celebrate Sae becoming a novice priest."

My eyes widened.

A party!

A party to celebrate me!

It was my first time.

Seeing my sparkling eyes, Randel chuckled.

"Do you like it that much?"

"Yes!"

After answering loudly, I suddenly remembered something.

Parties are only for invited guests.

I hesitated and then asked quietly,

"Um, is Bunny also invited? (Um, is Bunny also invited?)"

Hugging my rabbit plushie tightly, I asked, and Randel's eyes widened slightly.

He then smiled and poked Bunny's ear.

"Don't worry. Bunny is invited. I'm invited too."

"Is the deacon invited?"

"......The deacon is."

Somehow, his answer was slow.

Randel glanced away and then said to me,

"He's not invited."

"Really?"

Even the deacon?

"Yes. He's not invited."

Randel emphasized it again.

Randel's smiling face was as gentle and considerate as always.

That face wouldn't lie.

'How can this be?'

But thinking about it, it made sense.

Who would want to invite their boss to a party?

Randel seemed to respect the deacon quite a bit, but this was a different matter.

'The deacon must be a bit of a killjoy when it comes to fun.'

I nodded and patted Randel's hand.

Hang in there at work!

* * *

Time passed quickly.

I opened my eyes, which I had been closing in prayer, and blinked.

As soon as I finished my morning prayer, I gauged the divine power inside me.

'Good. It's fully recovered!'

The divine power that was drained from forcing the Parmenas relic to activate had been restored.

I jumped out of bed, feeling elated.

In the process, I saw my reflection in the window.

Wearing the novice priest's robe.

I was quite used to it now, but I still felt good, so I smoothed out the fabric.

"Sae, are you ready?"

Randel smiled warmly at the door of my room.

I nodded vigorously and firmly took the hand he offered.

"Yes!"

There was another piece of good news besides the recovery of my divine power.

Finally, today.

'My subordinates—no, the novice priests are coming back!'

"You must be looking forward to it."

"Yes!"

I answered loudly, and Morgan, who had approached, smiled.

"Of course, you should be. The boys in this batch are all handsome."

"Handsome?"

"It means good-looking."

I know what 'handsome' means.

I asked because I thought it was a good word to use since he said it was worth looking forward to.

"Already, the news of their good looks has spread to the village. Especially Ile, who is so good-looking that even I am amazed—"

"Morgan."

Randel covered my ears and glared at Morgan.

Morgan shut his mouth, looking taken aback.

'That's not something that needs to be covered, is it?'

Tilting my head, I looked up, and Randel smiled warmly as if he had never been stern.

'By the way, Ile?'

When I hear 'Ile,' one person comes to mind.

If you know the future, anyone would think of 'that man.'

The ruler of the underworld.

The black hand that holds gold.

A tycoon who owns a casino the size of a city.

And one of the three major information guild masters on the continent.

That casino was a place for backroom deals by high-ranking officials and a place where very dirty and sticky secrets circulated.

Ile, as the owner of that place, used information and gold to achieve whatever he wanted.

'Some kind of shadowy figure, perhaps.'

Recalling the rumors, I shrugged.

'Probably just someone with the same name.'

No matter how corrupt the world is, a priest becoming a criminal who runs a casino is just not believable.

I held Randel's hand tightly and started walking.

Randel walked very slowly to match my pace.

With such a kind and gentle person like Randel around, I was looking forward to meeting the novice priests.

But the first meeting, which I had been waiting for, was different from what I expected.

Very different.

"What. You're so small."

A boy laughed and looked down at me.