The Sun Cathedral.
It was the place where Clara, the heroine of Reca Chronicles, was born and raised.
The time when the young girl sneaked out of the cathedral and set off on her journey alone was January of Dragon God Year 983.
After that, about half a year later, she caught the attention of the Dragon Horse Cult and ended up being pursued by them.
However, even while continuing her long-term life as a fugitive, Clara never once sought help from the cathedral.
That was because, while she was desperately fleeing, the Sun Cathedral had been completely annihilated. In an instant, she became someone with no ties left, and only after five years of constant running did she finally meet Epio.
Upon hearing that the cathedral would soon fall, the shocked Clara quickly regained her composure and asked me.
“What do you mean the Sun Cathedral will fall? How can you be so sure about that?”
“You’re about to hyperventilate. Calm down a bit.”
“Ah, yes.”
When I lightly restrained her, Clara caught her breath.
Soon, she asked me in a much calmer manner.
“…Aiden. Did you perhaps see a future where the great cathedral is destroyed in one of your prophetic dreams?”
Linia had already explained that I knew the future. Having received significant help from us at the ruins, Clara accepted the story of the prophetic dreams without much difficulty.
“Just as you said. In a prophetic dream I had not long ago, I saw a scene where a great cathedral bearing the sun emblem on its flag was being destroyed.”
“Hmm…!”
Clara furrowed her delicate brows and continued to ponder deeply. Suddenly, she opened her mouth with a dubious expression.
“…But it’s hard to believe the great cathedral would be destroyed so easily.”
“Is it because of the Sacred Cradle?”
“Wow, you know about that too? You’re so knowledgeable!”
The four great cathedrals that worship the Dragon God are protected by a barrier spell called Sacred Cradle. It’s a large-scale defensive magic that can only be maintained if dozens of mages proficient in the cathedral’s faith-based spells continuously supply mana.
It requires a lot of effort to maintain, but it boasts tremendous durability as a barrier—even one of the Continent’s Twelve Heroes would struggle to make a single hole in it. Of course, some munchkin-level powerhouses who appear in the latter parts of the story could break through it easily. However, at this point, before Part 1 even begins, it’s practically an invincible barrier.
“But the Sun Cathedral will be completely annihilated within five months, along with that barrier spell. I can assure you of that much.”
“Is that so….”
Clara’s expression hardened.
The reason or circumstances behind the destruction of the Sun Cathedral weren’t clearly mentioned in the original work or the setting book. However, readers, including myself, speculated based on the context that the Dragon Horse Cult used the magitech weapon ‘Vice Wolf’ to break the Sun Cathedral’s barrier.
This is where the contradiction arises.
For that speculation to hold, Hagel Vinter, the leader of the Dragon Horse Cult, should be charging the ‘Vice Wolf’ right now. But he recently showed up in the Snowflower Swamp, which means the Sun Cathedral was destroyed by something other than the ‘Vice Wolf’s’ mana bombardment.
I need to confirm who, why, and how the Sun Cathedral was destroyed.
Considering the value of the relics and treasures stored in the great cathedral, depending on luck, I might win a MacGuffin with an extremely low number.
I said to Clara.
“Let me say this in advance, but with the cards our clan currently holds, we absolutely can’t prevent the destruction of the Sun Cathedral. Since you were born and raised there, I felt I had to explain this to you, which is why I called you aside like this.”
“…I see.”
Her golden eyes sank deeply. With her benevolent nature, she must be concerned about the countless lives that would be lost due to the cathedral’s fall.
To the darkened Clara, I said.
“I plan to infiltrate the Sun Cathedral to uncover the truth of the incident. If luck is on our side, we might be able to save quite a few people in the process.”
This is about the limit of what I can do.
In a situation where I haven’t accumulated enough power, I can’t go around spilling my secrets by claiming I saw the future where the cathedral is smashed in a prophetic dream. Considering that the four cathedrals worshiping the Dragon God are extremely conservative and closed-off in nature, even if I present the Seal of Struggle, it’s uncertain whether they’d believe me.
Clara shook her head.
“…No. If it’s a major incident severe enough to damage the Sacred Cradle, even you, Aiden, would have a hard time making a big impact.”
“Yeah. To be honest, there’s a limit to the number of people I can save while hiding my appearance with the Formless Robe (S-). Is there anyone you were close to in the cathedral? I’ll prioritize saving them as much as possible.”
Clara thought deeply and then spoke.
“…There’s exactly one person I really want to save.”
“Who is it?”
“A friend named Tanya. She helped me escape from the cathedral. We promised that once I went out into the outside world, we’d meet again someday….”
Upon hearing that name, I closed my mouth.
Finally, it’s come up—’Tanya Ornick’.
She’s a character who doesn’t even appear directly in the original work, but no dedicated reader of Reca Chronicles could ever forget that name. That’s because Tanya is the one who, in Part 2, sends a mysterious letter that causes Clara to leave the party.
I nodded.
“…Tanya, huh. I’ll remember that. Now, I’d like to discuss how to enter the Sun Cathedral.”
The four great cathedrals that worship the Dragon God have an extremely exclusive nature.
For starters, their locations are hardly known to the outside world due to security reasons.
Clara, being a priestess, knows the location of the Sun Cathedral, but outsiders can only pass through the Sacred Cradle barrier and enter the cathedral interior during specific religious gatherings. And only a select few pilgrims whose deep faith has been recognized can participate in those gatherings.
For reference, the next gathering is in five months.
That’s the day the Sun Cathedral falls.
That will be the only opportunity to retrieve the MacGuffin and save Tanya as well.
And the only way for me, who isn’t even a follower of the Dragon God, to participate in the gathering is one: ask an external believer who has earned tremendous trust from the cathedral side to accompany me as a new entrant.
When I asked Clara if there was a suitable collaborator, she immediately replied.
“Among the external believers, there’s a member of the Continent’s Twelve Heroes named ‘Elkoro Dubao’. Someone of his stature could probably bring a newcomer to the gathering.”
“…Indeed.”
It was the name I expected.
Elkoro Dubao doesn’t appear directly in the original work; he’s merely mentioned as a former member of the Continent’s Twelve Heroes. According to the timeline, he dies in five months. The cause of death isn’t specified, but considering his background as a Dragon God follower and the timing, I speculated that he likely died while attending the gathering at the Sun Cathedral.
“Let’s continue this discussion later.”
“Understood, Aiden.”
“Chloeria. You know why I summoned you without me having to say it, right?”
“That’s….”
In the office of the Caracol Clan house, Chloeria Altus was kneeling with her face pale as a sheet.
The middle-aged man with streaks of white in his hair, sitting in the upper seat and looking down at her, was her father, the master of the massive Caracol Clan, and also one of the Continent’s Twelve Heroes—Citrio Altus.
He clicked his tongue as he looked at his daughter.
“I had high expectations for you in many ways, but it seems I was wrong. I’ve looked into marriage prospects for you in the Glicia Kingdom. I’ve finished all the talks with the prospective in-laws, so hurry and prepare to leave Elanore and hold the ceremony.”
Chloeria bit her lip.
Right now, Citrio was clearly trying to demote her.
Up until now, Citrio Altus had aggressively expanded the clan’s influence through marriage alliances using his children. Naturally, the children’s own wishes were completely excluded, and most had to go through unwanted marriages.
However, Chloeria, who had consistently produced results as an outstanding mage, had been an exception, and until now, she had sneered at her siblings being married off to other families, immersed in a deep sense of superiority. Being used as material for a marriage alliance meant they had no notable abilities of their own to boast.
Therefore, she couldn’t easily accept the current reality of being in such a position. Those feelings were plainly visible on Chloeria’s face, and seeing this, Citrio furrowed his brow.
“You don’t have any objections to this decision, do you? Because of your foolishness, we lost one of the Altus family’s heirlooms—the Seal of Struggle. Considering the fault, remember that this is an extremely merciful disposition.”
“…Understood.”
“You may leave.”
Chloeria, who had been trembling, rose at Citrio’s order to depart.
Suddenly, her eyes met with the man standing silently behind Citrio. He was the most promising candidate for sub-master of the Caracol Clan and her half-brother, Adelio Altus.
He sent a sneer toward Chloeria.
“Heh heh.”
“…Grr!”
The two had been competing to become the heir to Caracol until now, but at this moment, the hierarchy was clear. All Chloeria could do was swallow her anger and leave the office.
Suddenly, Citrio spoke.
“That brat who received the Seal of Struggle… Aiden, was it? To survive unscathed despite harboring a grudge, he must be quite lucky. Brenda Morillo from Teakan was a talent even I had my eye on.”
“Shall I take care of him in advance and nip it in the bud?”
“Forget it. I want to avoid clashing with the owner of the Seal of Struggle as much as possible.”
“Even with the seal, isn’t he just a naive brat who knows nothing of the world?”
“You know, don’t you? If we mishandle that naive brat, the old bear from the north might come charging out.”
He was wary of Ebel Stroke, who, like Citrio himself, was one of the Continent’s Twelve Heroes.
“Rather than worrying about such a brat, it’s better to focus on other matters. In any case, our Caracol Clan will soon become a force that no one around this free neutral city of Elanore can touch.”
Saying that, Citrio looked at the map spread out on the desk. Suddenly, his gaze lingered on the Glicia Kingdom to the east of Elanore.
…Two years. At most, in two years, the Glicia Kingdom will fall into our clan’s grasp. Once that happens, expanding our influence across the entire central region won’t be a dream. Adel, how is the preparation for the civil war going?
“It’s proceeding smoothly, Father.”
“Good. I have countless children, but among them, you are by far the most reliable.”
“You’re too kind.”
A deep smile hung on the lips of Adelio as he humbly responded.
“In about one year and four months, a civil war will break out in the eastern Glicia Kingdom. Caracol plans to pull strings during the process and turn the Glicia royal family into puppets.”
“A civil war? In that peaceful Glicia Kingdom?”
“Yes. We need to prepare starting now.”
Arent’s eyes widened in disbelief at my words. But if he investigates closely, he’ll soon find out. There’s already an unusual atmosphere stirring among the Glicia royals.
Taking an entire kingdom into their hands has a far greater impact than some mere marriage talks.
In fact, in the original history, Caracol’s power expanded rapidly with the Glicia Kingdom at their back, and all the surrounding clans ended up being absorbed and merged into them.
If that happens, my plans will completely fall apart.
Whether I like it or not, once Glicia enters civil war, I’ll have to make a decisive move against Caracol.
Of course, there’s still time regarding the civil war, so I can prepare leisurely. The immediate fire at my feet is the matter related to the Sun Cathedral, which will fall in five months.
To survive in that place teeming with dangers, I first need to sufficiently build up my personal strength.
“Master Lindal. I plan to take four people on an expedition for about three to four months. Is it okay if I entrust the duties to you?”
“It’s fine. As you mentioned before, are you heading south?”
“Yes. I intend to make contact with the Quentaltin Subhuman Mercenary Clan.”
With their cooperation, I’ll obtain the Wings of the Firebird (S-) elixir. That way, our clan’s power will surge dramatically in a short time.