Gazing at the beautiful Saint, Rita vaguely recalled someone’s jest that even the Rihanes God must have been enchanted by his beauty.
She wholeheartedly agreed.
His presence was so overwhelming that everyone around, including Rita, seemed to fade into the background.
“I’m Rita, a mage trained under the teachings of the Mage Tower. It’s an honor to meet you, Saint Mikael.”
As their eyes met, Mikael, dressed in pure white priestly robes, smiled brightly.
His golden eyes, like Rita’s, exuded warmth and kindness.
His serene smile was so calming that it soothed anyone who looked at him. Mikael gazed fervently at Rita’s golden eyes.
“Thank you for your visit, Fifth Blessed. Welcome to the Rihanes Temple.”
***
With a shy smile, Mikael cautiously observed Rita.
A tall, slender young woman with disheveled black hair and mercenary-like attire.
Her sunken eyes were cold, her demeanor sharp and emotionless.
Even without her radiant golden eyes, she was a striking beauty.
As Mikael memorized the face of this new supreme-rank individual, he froze.
A beast-like glint flashed from behind Rita.
Recognizing an unfamiliar presence, Mikael’s eyes widened.
***
“Oh, this is my companion. A tribesman boy from the north. Please forgive his unstable state due to an incident.”
Rita hurriedly stepped forward.
Strangely, the boy was showing hostility toward Mikael.
Regardless of gender or race, everyone became docile as a lamb before Mikael.
Rita glanced at the boy, huffing at Mikael, finding his reaction peculiar. Mikael, too, seemed flustered by this unprecedented response.
“Sorry, Lord Mikael.”
Rita apologized repeatedly.
Her primary reason for visiting the temple today was to entrust the boy.
She hoped the temple wouldn’t view him unfavorably, though it seemed unlikely.
Fortunately, Mikael didn’t mind.
True to his reputation, he smiled kindly and beautifully.
“No, it seems I startled him. It’s my fault for not noticing your companion in my haste. Please, come inside.”
Following the excited Saint, Rita kept glancing at the boy.
For the Shadow, who in the past protected Mikael like his life depended on it, to show hostility upon seeing him was absurd and amusing to Rita, who knew their relationship.
Perhaps they hadn’t gotten along at first?
Lost in various thoughts, she soon found herself in Saint Mikael’s private reception room.
“Please, come in.”
The Saint’s private room was as white and grand as the temple’s exterior, yet cozy.
Positioned in the sunniest spot, it was filled with warmth.
The high ceiling was adorned with majestic plaster sculptures depicting the god, and a large window offered a clear view of the lush garden outside.
Though Rita had visited the temple before, she had never been in a room of such significance.
She eagerly looked around.
“I’m sorry to bring you to such a humble place.”
Mikael set out prepared refreshments with an apologetic expression.
It was meant as humility, but to others, it was an absurd statement.
As the Saint who conveyed the god’s words, he held a position equal to the Pope—perhaps even harder to meet.
Even the King of Lagos had never set foot in the Saint’s private room.
Yet, this exalted figure kept checking Rita’s reactions, making her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.
“I’m just a mage who got lucky with supreme-rank mana. Please treat me casually.”
“How could I dare? You are blessed by the god, Lady Rita. As a humble servant of the divine, it’s only natural to revere you.”
His words left Rita speechless.
No matter what she said, the Saint wouldn’t change his attitude.
So, she got straight to the point.
“Forgive me, but I seek the wisdom of the Order.”
“Anything, just say the word.”
“Well…”
It was time to discuss Iskis, the fragments, and the beasts in the north.
But she noticed Mikael’s gaze, fixed on her, occasionally shifting to the side.
He’s concerned about the boy.
Sighing softly, Rita patted the tense boy to calm him.
“It’s okay. This is the Saint of the Rihanes Temple. He’ll look after you from now on.”
“Did he understand this time?”
As she gently soothed him, Mikael, seated across, asked in surprise.
Rita, realizing her slip, smiled awkwardly.
It was time for an explanation.
“This boy is a survivor from the tribesman’s territory in the north.”
“Yes, I had my suspicions…”
“He’s not in his right mind, likely due to the shock of losing his kin before his eyes. That’s the main reason I came to the temple today.”
“He lost all his kin? Is something happening in the north…?”
“Unfortunately… the tribespeople living above the Harun River are all dead, except for this boy. There may be other survivors, but I burned all the bodies I saw.”
Rita then calmly explained the situation.
Starting with the red seed that appeared on the Aid Hills in the north, the mysterious small monsters she encountered there, and the cannibalistic beasts that devastated the tribesman’s territory.
She recounted her battles with them, leaving nothing out.
Of course, she avoided specific terms like Iskis, fragments, or beasts, as they would naturally be established later, as in her past life.
There was no need to preemptively cause misunderstandings.
“I’ve heard reports about the seed. Recently, the Mage Tower reported capturing unidentified chimeras in that area. But now, cannibalistic monsters… This sounds gravely serious.”
Perhaps because she spoke as a golden-eyed supreme-rank mage, or because the temple took things more seriously than the Tower, Mikael listened intently and nodded, unlike Talos and the elders who dismissed the bodies they saw.
Given the scale of the incident—an entire tribe massacred—it was a natural reaction, but it was more proactive than Rita expected.
“We should organize an investigation team immediately…”
Mikael let out a troubled groan.
Rita nodded, knowing the temple’s key figures were absent.
Even a Saint couldn’t act unilaterally without an urgent crisis.
“I’ve sent word about the Fifth Blessed, so His Holiness will return as soon as possible, likely by tomorrow afternoon.”
“That’s fine. If you could pass on this information, I’ll handle scouting the north until then. There may be more creatures.”
“Alone?”
When Rita nodded, Mikael pondered deeply, his expression serious.
Rita subtly added,
“Given that I received the Fifth Blessing and these strange creatures appeared at this time, I wonder if this is related to the fate of the world. It’s just my limited speculation, but what do you think, Saint?”
“If it’s the will of the god, I’ll do my utmost to assist you, Lady Rita.”
The Saint smiled beautifully, and Rita sighed in relief.
I was worried he’d react sensitively to the oracle, but thankfully…
If he’s willing to obey the oracle, the question is when to bring it up…
Lost in complex thoughts, she felt Mikael’s gentle gaze.
Meeting his eyes, he smiled shyly, and Rita returned an awkward smile.
“Are you curious about how I gained this power, Saint?”
“Forgive me. It’s such a rare case, I couldn’t help but…”
It wasn’t an unexpected reaction.
In the past, when Talos became supreme-rank, he was hounded with questions from the temple, the kingdom, and the Tower’s elders.
Rita, a relatively unknown mage outside the Tower, suddenly appearing as supreme-rank naturally sparked curiosity about the process.
“I’m not sure how to explain it. That day…”
Rita recounted the battle she experienced.
“…Afterward, corrupted mana leaked from the corpse, forming a field, which I purified.”
Of course, it wasn’t the whole truth.
“I had already expended much mana, so I lost consciousness immediately. When I woke, my eye color had changed.”
Her prepared words flowed smoothly.
Her supreme rank came from the immense mana stone from the fragment, but she couldn’t reveal that yet.
A misstep could make her seem complicit.
Until others gained similar power, she had to feign ignorance.
Fortunately, Mikael accepted it without suspicion.
“I see. Other supreme-rank individuals also gained their power in life-or-death crises.”
Her story, based on those accounts, made Rita smile awkwardly.
“Congratulations. May glory grace your path, Lady Rita.”
“Thank you, Lord Mikael. Now…”
Rita glanced at the boy.
Understanding her unspoken request, Mikael smiled again.
“Don’t worry. We’ll care for this Kuyan guest at our temple.”
Rita sighed in relief, but the boy suddenly teared up.
Somehow grasping the situation, he looked at Rita with anxious eyes, as if pleading not to be abandoned.
His desperate gaze flustered her, and her resolve wavered.
Should I just take him with me?
But his condition was too poor.
She couldn’t bring someone with whom basic communication was difficult to a battlefield.
Judging rationally, Rita averted her gaze.
Instantly, the boy grabbed her sleeve.
His childlike, sullen expression shook her eyes violently.
Then Mikael spoke.
“You can go without worry.”
“What?”
Rita’s eyes widened.
His tone implied she could return.
Questioning with her eyes, Mikael smiled warmly.
“From what I see… the person this boy needs isn’t us, but you, Lady Rita.”
Rita was speechless.
The sniffling boy and the gently smiling Mikael—she looked between them, her heart pounding.
The idea that this unaware boy wanted her sparked an unexpected desire.
She imagined him thriving behind her in the future.
A guardian by a mage’s side.
The mere thought sent shivers through her.
Licking her lips unconsciously, Rita cautiously asked Mikael,
“Can you… really improve his condition? Make him better?”
“If it’s a temporary impairment from shock, mental awakening isn’t my expertise, so it’d be difficult alone. But with the help of skilled priests, it’s certainly possible.”
Swallowing hard, Rita looked at the boy again.
A part of her grew worried.
What if he became imprinted on Mikael in the meantime?
A pointless anxiety arose, as if he were already hers.
Sighing inwardly, Rita stared at the boy.
Knowing communication was limited, she asked with faint hope,
“Do you really want to stay with me?”
The boy nodded vigorously.
What if the boy is iskis? It would explain why the sage reacted like that.
They were a loyal companion but then awakened into iskis so they pronounced them dead. Then when they were about to kill iskis, the saint and the princess couldn’t kill a companion like that and hesitated trying to see if they could bring reason back to them
Makes sense
it also makes sense since mc has power from the “I might be a god” guy that gave her “abilities that only the monsters have” and is disappointed in the saint.