Chapter 69: Those Who Can Never Be Forgiven (20)

“So, why did you offer such a prayer?”

A heavy voice echoed through the room.

Both the Hero and I flinched.

Ever since I had caused that mess and moved to a separate room with Mateis, things had been like this.

The other officials clearly couldn’t accept the idea of overlooking this incident—of someone essentially cursing the World Tree in prayer.

Still, due to the requests of Mateis and the Hero, they merely sighed and muttered, “Hah… this is why humans are…” before leaving.

But the problem wasn’t humanity—it was me.

There’s a saying that when you go abroad, you become an ambassador for your nation.

And right now, I was painfully aware of what that meant in this world.

I lifted my head slightly, watching as the Hero continued to apologize on my behalf while Mateis groaned in frustration.

I couldn’t let the Hero take the blame for my mistake.

I needed to intervene.

“Um… I think there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding? Are you saying you have a reasonable explanation for this?”

Terrifying.

Mateis, as expected of an elder elf, had an immense attachment to the World Tree.

His sharp gaze bore into me.

I wanted to run away.

But I couldn’t.

What I had done wasn’t a curse—it was a prayer.

I needed to correct that perception.

“Actually, the holy flame only burns magic energy… It was still a prayer, after all.

And since Lina’s power awakened safely, isn’t everything fine in the end?”

“Sera, maybe you shouldn’t—”

“Oh, was that not okay…?”

My role was merely to act as a spark to ignite the larger flame.

There was no need for an elaborate prayer, nor for me to offer healing or blessings.

What mattered was that a Saintess had prayed before Lina’s power.

And if you really thought about it, holy fire only burns magic energy.

Even if I had prayed for judgment by fire, no one aside from the Hero and me would have actually burned.

Feeling a little indignant, I stated my case logically.

But then, I felt the Hero lightly touch my hand.

If he was outright giving me signals to stop, then I had definitely made a huge mistake.

Instinctively, I scrambled for another excuse.

“… Are you saying there’s magic energy inside your own body, Saintess?

Surely, you understand that the World Tree isn’t something that burns or doesn’t burn based on magic energy.

Be honest with me—why did you say something so reckless?”

“I… I’m sorry.”

If it had been Maleus, he would have said, “Of course, our dear Saintess should burn everything down, just to be safe!”

But with Mateis continuing to press me, the only thing I could do was apologize.

I had no ulterior motive.

It was just that the type of prayer I was best at happened to be… that kind.

Still, since I had sincerely apologized, he would forgive me, right?

That thought barely had time to settle before Mateis handed me a white sheet of paper.

What was this?

Was I supposed to write a reflection paper?

“The prayer must continue.

There are still more locations left to visit.

Write down in detail what kind of prayer you will offer and what attire you will wear.”

His tone carried more than just irritation—it was outright displeasure.

Refusing here would make me a terrible person.

This reminded me of when I first memorized prayer scripts back in the Holy Kingdom.

Back then, I had also made up my own prayer, and a strange fire had erupted, causing everyone to click their tongues.

At this point, I was starting to think I would be better suited to working for the Inquisition rather than being a Saintess.

“The fact that the World Tree shares its power with human lands is such a waste.”

As she walked along the snowy path, Kaellia recalled the voices she had heard at the Flower Garden.

Humans didn’t have a World Tree of their own, so wasn’t it a good thing to share?

Why would sharing something good be considered a waste?

No matter how much she thought about it, she just couldn’t understand.

The World Tree was a tree blessed with the Gift of Life, a divine gift.

It spread vitality across the entire continent.

Now that the forest was covered in snow and cold winds, it was natural for the elves to blame humans.

But Kaellia, who neither understood nor cared about such things, decided not to dwell on difficult matters and simply kept walking.

“Hmm, Ariel said it would have been better if everything had burned away along with the bad memories… What did he mean by that?”

Kaellia first met Ariel when she was twelve.

A man with golden hair so beautiful it seemed unreal.

He had taught Kaellia many skills as someone blessed with the Wind’s Protection, and she respected him deeply as a mentor.

At first, Ariel’s face had frightened her.

Not because of his appearance or because training was difficult.

It was the way he sometimes gazed into the distance, lost in memories.

That expression had scared her so much that she would sometimes skip training and wander the forest instead.

It was the same now.

At the Flower Garden, when Sera’s holy flames briefly burned, Ariel had watched with a strange expression.

Kaellia had thought it was amazing.

Humans used fireworks to celebrate joyful occasions, so perhaps the Saintess had prepared flames for the occasion too?

She couldn’t understand why the other elves had looked at her with such strange expressions.

Why were they looking at the Saintess like that?

After some thought, Kaellia decided to ask Ariel.

When she told him what had happened, Ariel merely gave her a quiet smile, gently patting her head.

“If only the fire hadn’t been extinguished…

How wonderful it would have been if everything had burned away, along with the bad memories.”

She didn’t understand.

His gaze was gentle, yet something about his tone felt distorted.

Then Mateis arrived at the Flower Garden.

He asked if any elves had been saying strange things.

But since nothing had come of it, the conversation soon ended.

Once again, Kaellia was left alone.

Feeling lonely, she thought about visiting the Hero’s party.

But since Mateis was currently scolding them, there was no one to talk to.

“Oh, Laura is here!”

Kaellia quickly made her decision.

She wasn’t interested in magic, since elves were already confident in that field.

But Laura’s horn fascinated her.

She had always wanted to speak with her.

And since Laura constantly stared at Sera, wouldn’t talking about what happened at the Flower Garden help?

With that thought in mind, she marched toward Laura’s room without hesitation.

Since she already knew where the Hero’s party was staying, she didn’t need to search or waste time.

As she walked along the well-trodden snowy path, Kaellia couldn’t stop smiling.

Whenever she spoke with Sera, their conversations revolved around fairy tales or how humans lived.

She had especially wanted to know if babies were really delivered by storks.

But since Sera had ignored most of her questions, she hadn’t learned much.

Still, she had enjoyed their talks.

Knock, knock.

She knocked on the door.

After a moment, a voice asked who it was, and then the door opened.

Kaellia beamed and immediately extended her hand.

“Oh! You’re the elf from before?”

“Wow! I’m so happy to meet you!

Can I come in?”

Kaellia naturally reached for a handshake, but before waiting for an answer, she stepped into the room.

Laura was momentarily speechless.

What was going on?

She had heard rumors that Sera had caused trouble.

So now the elves had sent someone to keep an eye on them?

Why was this elf smiling so cheerfully?

A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, but one thing was clear—Kaellia genuinely wanted to talk.

With a bright, bold grin, she asked,

“I’ve never seen a Beastkin before!

I heard elves used to meet them often…

Oh! Where is your homeland?”

“… It was burned down by magic energy.”

“… Oh… I see.”

Silence.

Even Kaellia could sense the weight of those words.

Laura’s eyes were filled with hostility.

“Uh… I’m sorry! That must have been terrible…

Did your family make it out safely?”

“They’re dead.”

“… Oh.”

Kaellia gulped.

This was bad.