Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 16 Mist
Standing above the gray mist.

The crazy whispers that were bothering my ears were silenced as if they were silenced!
Claire raised her head abruptly, looking at the mysterious man in the gray mist in disbelief.

Unlike the two people beside him whose general figures and features such as hair color can be vaguely seen, the mysterious man is shrouded in fog and only a vague male figure can be distinguished. The figure is as noble and mysterious as the night sky.

It turned out to be the owner of this place.

There was a brief moment of loneliness and silence, as if waiting for these outsiders to adapt to the current situation.

After a moment of silence, the mysterious figure shrouded in gray mist responded calmly:
"An attempt."

try?

Claire looked at the mysterious man with gratitude and a hint of inquiry hidden in her eyes.

Could this person in the gray fog be a goddess?
But...it's not like that.

This mysterious person has a more masculine figure, but are gods really divided by gender?

Could it be the incarnation of the goddess?
Or a high-sequence goddess's follower?
Because the gray fog and the goddess's holy relics had saved her from the contamination of the hidden sage one after another, Claire had been connecting the mysterious man not far away with the goddess.

To put it another way, even if it was a power unrelated to the Goddess of Night, it could still isolate her from the contamination of the Hidden Sage, and it must be at least on a similar level to the Hidden Sage.

She was almost contaminated and harmed by the Hidden Sage. Claire had just looked up the Hidden Sage's information from the Nighthawks' vast archive that morning.

While little information was available, we did know that the Hidden Sage was suspected to be an evil deity, worshipped by a secretive organization called the Morse Trappist Order. Old Neil's often-cited motto, "Do what you will, but do no harm," originated from this organization.

The divine level?
Claire felt a little terrified, but behind the terrified feeling was a burning desire to explore.

Fearing that the mysterious man had the ability to read minds, Claire forced herself not to think of any disrespectful thoughts towards the gods, and tried to shift her attention to the man and woman beside her who had just shouted something in Loenese.

Loen people?
The woman's choice of words clearly reflects the spoken language habits of the Loen nobility.

Claire, whose aristocratic memory had been enhanced by the "Generalist" potion, could easily determine that this was a noble lady of high status who had lived in Backlund since childhood.

The man next to him was much more cautious, and even in his state of shock he managed to deliberately hide the distinctive features of his accent.

These two people were probably pulled here by an unknown force just like her.

A noblewoman with smooth blond hair, taller than Claire, was the first to test the waters: "Sir, is this experiment over? Can we go back now?"

She is a girl who is confident enough and innocent.

Claire formed a preliminary impression in her heart and suppressed all her emotions. She subtly glanced at the other "visitor" - the man with messy dark blue hair and a medium build.

Although both of them were obscured by the gray fog, Claire was still able to keenly notice that when she tilted her head slightly, the blue-haired man's shoulder also tilted slightly to her side.

...is a scheming man.

...is a scheming woman.

After confirming with each other, Claire and the blue-haired man held their breath and waited for the mysterious "master"'s response.

The mysterious "master" seemed to be observing them as well. After a brief pause, a slightly friendly chuckle rang out:
"Of course, if you formally propose, I can let you go back now."

As if emboldened by the mysterious man's gentle demeanor, the girl's attitude became even more distinct and bold—evidently apprehensive, expectant, and eager to try.
"This is truly a wonderful experience... Well, I've been looking forward to something like this. I mean, I love mystery and miracles beyond nature. No, my point is, Your Excellency, what do I need to do to become an Extraordinary Person?"

The girl's excitement was so intense that she spoke incoherently.

She was a girl from a prominent Loen noble family who was restricted from contact with extraordinary people.

It's somewhat similar to the Meazza family's situation, Claire speculated silently in her heart.

The image of the girl became more complete in her mind. Of course, out of caution, Claire did not rule out the possibility that the girl in the gray fog was a top-notch actress with realistic acting skills.

The mysterious man's response to the girl's question was preceded by a sudden surge of gray fog!
No! This is the mysterious man's response!
With these people as the center, towering stone pillars suddenly rose up around them!

The dome is covering!

A majestic palace that looks like the legendary giant king's palace is built!

Under the miracle.

They are as small as ants.

Under the dome, gray fog surrounded a long bronze table with ten seats on each side. A mysterious man sat at the top seat, while the blonde girl and the blue-haired man sat on the left and right, right next to the top seat.

Claire noticed that she was sitting far away from the three of them.

It was on the same side as the blonde girl, but oppositely—

It is the bottom position.

The seating arrangements in most miracles contain some kind of revelation.

Claire didn't think this was just a random arrangement made by the mysterious person who looked like a god on his first contact.

Hobbies and the like are unlikely.

Maybe... she is significantly different from the other two in some characteristics?
Is it because I'm a Beyonder?
The mysterious man sitting high up in the table was sitting leisurely, but he did not respond to the blonde girl's wish.

Instead, the blue-haired man, who had been silent like her, spoke up and answered:

"You are from Loen, right? You can try to join the three major churches of the Loen Kingdom."

"In this era, Extraordinary beings are kept secret. Most ordinary people will never come into contact with them in their entire lives. Even within the church, there are clergy who have similar thoughts. But I can tell you clearly that Extraordinary beings still exist in the Arbitration Tribunal, the Inquisition, and the Punishment Bureau!"

The blue-haired man was obviously also an Extraordinary.

Claire suppressed her doubts and spoke in unison, "Just as this gentleman said, their names are Nighthawk, Mandated Punisher, and Mechanical Heart. Or you could look for your Loen royal family, or those families with a heritage of over a thousand years. Some of them also have extraordinary heritages."

The blonde sighed softly, "Sir, Madam. I know everything you've said, maybe even more, but I don't want to lose my freedom."

The blue-haired man chuckled and shook his head, "Who wants to become a Beyonder without paying a price... Heh, why don't you go look for those secret organizations?"

Claire was worried that this girl was truly innocent and hadn't noticed the ambiguity in the man's words. She kindly added, "Most hidden organizations are cultists. You'll pay a lot more."

After saying that, Claire wanted to try to test the waters by saying, "Perhaps you could pray to the supreme master here," but she was unwilling to use the lives and future of innocent people to do so.

And testing a suspected god?
This suicidal behavior is not much different from hugging the Hidden Sage.

This thought only flashed through my mind for a moment before I gave up.

So what is the difference between me and the two people at the top?

Claire thought of the Holy Goddess's emblem on her chest and the pollution of the sealed Hidden Sage.

Perhaps it's... "contamination" from other gods?
(End of this chapter)