Just as the borders of the Holy Kingdom were freely open to pilgrims, entering the capital city of Temris required no special qualifications. The only procedure was passing through the Blessed Gate.
There were two reasons for this simplicity.
Practically speaking, there wasn't time to scrutinize every pilgrim coming from around the world. The Church always needed to focus its efforts on opposing the Abyss.
Doctrinally, the gods looked upon even the lowest person and did not favor those of high status, so how could they justify screening visitors?
There was only one reason to bar entry to the holy city: if the visitors belonged to the powers of the Abyss.
Criel's preference for the Dark Knight profession had been declining almost daily, but today the drop was particularly steep.
*To think I'd be blocked at the main gate.*
The moment Criel tried to step through the door, the golden light gently enveloping the Holy Gate suddenly extinguished.
As the gate's radiance faded, soldiers pointed their spears at him. It was frustrating that they wouldn't listen even when he showed them his Western Army orders.
[Um... is this because of me?]
Orishin whispered while floating around. Criel was tempted to shift the blame to this creature, but there would be little point.
If he said, "It's because of this cursed horse head!" they would simply reply, "Then leave it behind and come back." As long as Criel was a Dark Knight, the Holy Gate's light would not shine for him.
The priests of the Holy Kingdom were known for their devotion, but whether their mercy and love extended to spawn of the Abyss was questionable.
"Stop."
In this deadlock, a familiar but unwelcome voice rang out.
Criel turned around. The all-black attire, including a deeply pulled-down hat, naturally evoked the image of a witch.
Long hair cascaded from beneath the hat. The shadow-black hair turned red at the tips, reminiscent of blood droplets on a blade's edge.
"Morgina..."
Criel muttered the name of the "witch" he had hoped never to see again.
[What? You know each other?]
"She's a saint of Yv Caha."
[Huh? That goddess with the corpse fetish?]
Morgina's gaze turned toward Orishin. Startled by her fierce look, Orishin yelped and hid behind Criel's back.
While Orishin trembled behind Criel, Morgina strode forward. In one hand, she held a raven-shaped pendant, the symbol of the Church of Yv Caha, while with the other, she shaped a raven from holy power resembling the pendant.
"I vouch for this person's identity. He is a penitent seeking to cleanse his curse while working for our church."
"Curse... you say?"
Those called saints, whether male or female, were special beings outside the church's normal hierarchy. But being outside the hierarchy didn't mean they lacked authority. Those who dedicated themselves to serving the lowest in society were respected regardless of rank.
The gate guardians, selected from the Holy Kingdom's most honorable knights, naturally held such respect. Hearing that the saint would vouch for him, they gradually lowered their spears.
"Enter. But please do not leave the saint's side."
Before Criel could say anything, Morgina linked arms with him.
"Let's go, Sir Knight!"
A cheerful exclamation. But as soon as they passed the Holy Gate, her demeanor changed. With a hardened expression, Morgina whispered to Criel.
"Hey. What did you kill this time to get such a lowly spirit stuck to you?"
[Lowly spirit?!]
Orishin, acting as if he hadn't just hidden from Morgina's gaze, flew around her vigorously protesting.
Or rather, he tried to protest.
The raven she had shaped with holy power suddenly split into more than ten birds and began pecking at Orishin. Despite swinging his horns in resistance, Orishin couldn't overcome the violence of numbers.
With an undignified scream that sounded like 'Keeek!' for a spirit, Orishin hurriedly retreated into the horn to hide.
"This good-for-nothing..."
"Shut it. How inefficient is it to deal with each lowly spirit individually?"
Criel wanted to sigh. He'd never had an easy time when entangled with this woman. He'd headed to the Holy Kingdom precisely to avoid giving her any excuse to meet, so why had he come here?
"I'm surprised, though. Did that old man really send you?"
"Old man?"
The old man Morgina referred to was obviously the commander of the Western Front. However, Criel hadn't come to Temris following the old man's orders; rather, he'd come to Temris to avoid hearing those orders.
"...?"
Morgina tilted her head at Criel's reaction.
"Didn't you come after receiving our church's cooperation request?"
"I should be asking you. Weren't you wandering in search of traces of the Abyss after leaving the Western Army? What brings you all the way to Temris?"
Morgina muttered under her breath at Criel's cold response. Since he wasn't paying attention, he couldn't hear exactly what she said, but phrases like "narrow-minded human" and "this stubborn mule" suggested it wasn't particularly nutritious conversation.
"Haah..."
Sighing openly, Morgina grabbed Criel's hand and pulled him along.
"Since you've come this far, it must be about clergy matters, right? I can give you tickets to the Grand Temple and even private audience rights with the saint, so let's go to our church first."
"Is there another saint in the Church of Yv Caha besides you?"
"No?"
So she was offering a chance for a private audience with herself. From Criel's perspective, who trusted Morgina's abilities but distrusted her character, it was an unwelcome proposal.
Sensing Criel's hesitation, Morgina hastily added:
"Hey. You should know I'm being this friendly because it's you. You almost got kicked out at the entrance."
Morgina was right. Wasn't he rejected at the gate because of his Dark Knight profession? Even if he went to the Grand Temple, he'd be lucky to be turned away at the door; at worst, a fight might break out.
It was an offer he couldn't refuse.
In the end, Criel headed toward the Temple of Yv Caha, led by Morgina.
[Nooo, not there!]
The wailing of a horse head could be heard, but unfortunately, there was no one around to listen to the suspicious ghost's lament.
***
The Grand Temple of Yv Caha was modest compared to other grand temples, as the Church of Yv Caha itself was relatively small.
With Morgina leading the way, no priests blocked Criel. Watching people quietly bow their heads to greet Morgina, Orishin grumbled.
[Wow. Is this violent thug really a saint? The world is ending.]
This time, he spoke from inside the horn. A thought-wave that only reached Criel.
*He can send telepathy too?*
Criel was impressed by Orishin's magical capabilities. Mental communication required quite sophisticated magical technique.
It was rather comical that such delicate magical control was being used to badmouth others. Orishin had to stop his chatter when Morgina suddenly turned her head to glare at Criel, or more precisely, at the broken horn of Baikon in his pack.
[Eek!]
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I thought I heard someone calling me."
Thinking she must have misheard, Morgina continued walking. Looking at her back, Criel whispered:
"Her abilities are genuine. Her skill at detecting ethereal vibrations is the most impressive I've seen."
[Yv Caha really chose a saint with a personality just like hers...]
Morgina called out to Criel.
"What are you doing? Come in."
The room was rather bleak for a saint's quarters. No luxurious furniture caught the eye. Only the light-blocking curtains and the bed occupying one corner of the room seemed to have cost money.
In place of furniture were weapons. A solid iron mace without a single seam. A spiked shield. A club carved from ash wood. Various bladed and blunt weapons.
It looked more like a weapon display than a bedroom.
As the door closed with a creak, Orishin slowly crept out of the horn.
[I'd believe it if you said Yv Caha herself had decorated this. The goddess who guides the dead doesn't need to make her room look like a battlefield, does she?]
"A lowly spirit talking back?"
Dejected, Orishin fell silent.
"So, Criel. What brings you all the way here?"
"It's because of that spirit you keep calling 'lowly,' who's now sulking. What about you?"
"It seems too deeply stained with Abyss water to be a spirit."
Tilting her head as she looked at Orishin, Morgina soon turned back to Criel.
"The Priest King has summoned all the saints from every church."
"For what reason?"
"They say a relic of the Abyss has been discovered."
The Abyss was originally the Dark Knight's area of expertise. Criel intuitively understood why Morgina had requested his dispatch.