It’s almost time.
I look at the clock tower, and see the short hand pointing at midday, so the three of us head to the church.
A lot of people are gathered in the church’s square, waiting for Iris to make her entrance. We join the crowd and stare at the front entrance, where a red carpet is extended to the square.
After a while, the door opens. I see a chapel, where many people from the church are standing. And in the center is Iris, the leading woman here.
She’s wearing a white priest’s outfit, with black patterns on the sleeves and hem of the skirt, and the crest of Emeraude.
She’s holding a staff that’s as big as her, which has a fist-sized jewel in its tip. The sunlight reflected on it makes it shine bright yellow.
Everyone gulps at the sight of the saintess who has a solemn air to her, and possesses both divinity and beauty.
“B-beautiful…”
“Is that Iris in her saintess form?”
She’s far from the level of being the most beautiful in class, it’s more like she’s the most beautiful in the world. Her beauty is like a work of art that captivates everyone. Everyone’s silent as the sense of presence of Iris the saintess completely grabs their attention.
She walks through the long corridor from the chapel to the square, and slowly walks on the red carpet.
When she passes by us, I get a good look at her expression. It’s cold as ice, and I have no idea what she’s feeling.
The normal gentleness in her face is gone, and I really feel that this is the side of her that is a stern representative of the goddess, that she speaks about from time to time.
I’ve always talked to her like it was no big deal, but normally, you’d have to follow official procedure to meet with a saintess. They are the symbol of the Emeraude religion, and are seen as important pillars of countries.
Iris has several knights positioned around her, including Sephilia and Isolte. If someone were to approach Iris all of a sudden, they could very well be cut down, even if it was someone she knows.
The center of the square is a little higher than its surroundings, and an altar was placed there.
Iris gets on the altar, and slowly turns this way. She props the staff on the ground, and opens her arms wide. Her sleeves flutter in the wind, making her look big for a second.
After a formal prayer, she explains her current position in simple terms, and speaks to the people as a saintess.
“In place of the saintess Cornelia, who was unable to stand here today, I will speak as a representative of the goddess.”
She takes a deep breath, and speaks with a clear tone of voice, to reach the whole square.
“Let this Merzelia be blessed by the divine protection of the goddess of order Emeraude!”
Her first prayer is about our Kingdom of Merzelia.
She speaks about nature, production, and culture of Merzelia. There’s some stuff in there I don’t know about, and it would seem natural for this to be coming from someone who has lived here for decades.
She makes no reference to Roland, and speaks solely as a saintess of Merzelia.
The second prayer is about the threats surrounding the western continent.
This western continent where we live is under a curse called Area Zero. She speaks about how saintesses such as herself stand in the way of this threat.
“As a representative of the goddess, I will destroy all evil, and vow to bring peace to Merzelia. Let the future of esteemed devout followers be bright!”
Iris declares loudly, and the crowd cheers. Her way of speaking has a charm that really catches the listener. Among them is the demon king, like it’s no big deal.
“Wahahahaha! Good, Iris! Get those bad guys!”
That includes you.
Leaving Iris’ feelings aside, when she says all evil, she’s talking about all demons.
Suffice to say, the demon king is included, and if her number one priority was the title of saintess, she would have the duty to destroy this demon king immediately.
Her speech goes on for thirty minutes. After her closing remarks, she returns to where she came from surrounded by clapping.
Then our eyes just happen to meet, and Iris’ lips curve up.
It’s like I just saw a spring flower blooming where ice has melted.
It lasts only a few seconds, before her face turns serious again and she enters the church.
“She looked so beautiful. And the air around her was completely different, like she was someone else.”
“I wonder if that’s how she was back in Roland.”
Say Lela and Mars.
Neither had seen Iris in her saintess mode before.
I haven’t seen her like that in a while too. That smile at the end only lasted a moment, but it really captivated me. I feel like I got a lot out of it.
About an hour later, Iris exits the church, with Till and Sephilia behind her.
“Thank you for waiting everyone. And thank you for coming here for my sake.”
She’s completely different, speaking with a bright and warm tone.
“Iris. You looked so beautiful!”
Lela runs towards Iris, and praises how charming she was during the ceremony.
“Really!? Hehehe, then it was worth it to remember that speech.”
Iris happily smiles.
“You were just as good as I had hoped, lady!”
Says Sephilia while clapping.
“Are you done for the day?”
“Yes, I’m all free! Now I get to enjoy the summer festival!”
Iris is fired up. She’s even more intense about enjoying the festival than me.
“Lady, there are a lot of people coming and going now, so I think it would be best to wait a while longer.”
“Eh… That’s no fair after coming this far.”
Till offers a suggestion, speaking like a mother, and Iris gives her an emotional response.
I see their relationship is as harmonious as always.
“Head maid, wouldn’t it be all right with Mister Loyd here?”
Asks Sephilia.
“I think it would be best to be cautious, but… Well, it should be fine with Mister Loyd.”
“Eh!?”
I’m confused at what they’re saying all of a sudden.
“Yes, I can’t see any bad guy getting near her with sensei around.”
“Yep, that’s Loyd!”
Even Lela is making fun of me.
Hey hey, are you serious?
Everyone’s counting on me, but where does this trust come from?
I think it’s all strange, but we leave for the market.
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