Chapter 38: Meeting the Cardinal

Creak, clank!

“We’ve arrived! This is our destination, the ‘Great Temple of Light’!”

As the small boat that had been swiftly cutting through the water came to a stop with a clank, the boatman cheerfully announced their arrival.

“Oh, we arrived faster than I thought!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! Fortunately, the waterways weren’t crowded. When I came here before, there were so many boats in the waterways that I couldn’t move at all, you know?”

Khan, who got off the boat a step ahead of Paul, held out his hand to make it easier for him to cross as he followed.

Paul kept chattering as he took his hand and got off the boat.

Although he had taken the motion sickness potion Gorgon had given him as soon as they got on the small boat, it seemed the motion sickness debuff hadn’t completely disappeared, so he staggered a little as he stood on the ground with both feet.

“Are you alright?”

“Hmm, I’m a little dizzy, but I’m fine! I took a motion sickness potion, after all!”

When both of them had gotten off, the boatman took off his hat and bid them farewell.

“Then, may the blessing of Rasis be with you!”

“Goodbye!”

The residents of <Arcana Chronicles> would often say the name of a god when parting ways and bless the other’s future.

However, since <Arcana Chronicles> was ‘polytheistic’, there were many existing gods.

And since everyone believed in different gods, fights would frequently break out between the followers of gods who were on bad terms over greetings, so at some point, an unspoken agreement was made to use the name of the main god unless one intended to start a fight.

And that was Rasis.

The God of Light, Rasis, was the ‘main god’ of <Arcana Chronicles> and represented all the gods.

He was also the first god that Noah had created.

Therefore, he was of a higher class than the other gods created after him, and could not even be compared to them.

On top of that, wasn’t he the god who governed life?

It would be strange if he weren’t the main god.

Rasis showed great tolerance even if one believed in other gods besides himself.

As a game mechanic, it was possible to believe in Rasis and one other god at the same time.

Of course, this did not apply to other gods.

For example, it was like this.

A player or an NPC could not believe in the ‘God of Fertility and Earth’ and the ‘God of Storms and Currents’ at the same time.

But it was possible to believe in the ‘God of Life and Light’ and the ‘God of Victory and War’ at the same time.

If you wanted to believe in another god, you had to convert.

However, in that case, all the temple contribution you had accumulated would be gone, and if you were unlucky and got caught by a god with a bad personality, you could even receive a [Divine Punishment].

Of course, the buffs of that god that you had been receiving would also disappear.

If you had even received a skill from the temple, you would no longer be able to use that skill.

So choosing a temple was an action that had to be done very carefully.

“It’s over there.”

He could see a pure white building that had filled his vision even before getting off the small boat.

That was the Great Temple of Light.

As its name, the Great Temple, suggested, it was incredibly huge and very beautiful.

The pure white building sparkled dazzlingly in the sunlight.

And as befitting the country of gold, the pure white outer walls were also adorned with patterns drawn in gold, giving it a simple yet magnificent feel.

Despite the contradictory words, that was the feeling he got.

Admiring the sight anew, the two approached the temple.

The area around the temple was bustling with people, as befitting one of Hwion’s famous attractions.

Perhaps because of the masks the two were wearing, people’s gazes would occasionally turn to them.

But that was all.

There were other people besides the two wearing masks sold during the festival held in Hwion, so it probably wasn’t that strange of a sight.

It was just that the gorgeous appearance of the masks naturally drew their attention, so they would cast a glance from time to time.

It was when the two were about to climb the stairs at the entrance of the temple.

“Paul-nim?”

A voice calling Paul was heard from behind them.

Paul turned around, following the sound.

Then he could see a person standing in the shade of a tree a little distance away.

Seeing the person in a believer’s outfit, Paul thought it might be a guide NPC and approached the place.

“It’s me!”

“Shh, please lower your voice.”

As he raised his hand and approached while speaking, the NPC hurriedly made a gesture to lower his voice.

The NPC, who introduced herself as a believer of light, [Yulia], spoke softly with a blank face.

“…I have been waiting for your arrival. Is your companion the person next to you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Now, quietly this way. Please follow me.”

The two followed Yulia.

Yulia did not head for the main gate of the temple.

They moved to the quiet backyard of the temple, where people were scarce, passed through a quiet corridor where not even an ant could be seen, crossed a wide hall where the sound of heeled shoes echoed, and then opened a small door and went inside.

The Great Temple of Hwion was a place where the flow of people never ceased.

So, no matter how careful one was, a small amount of noise would usually follow everywhere.

But the place they entered following Yulia was so quiet.

So quiet that their footsteps echoed dully.

The three went further and further up.

They passed a few other believers on the way, but they acted as if they hadn’t seen the three.

Paul was puzzled but didn’t bother to ask.

Finally, the place where Yulia stopped was a place where only a white door stood.

“You may go in.”

“Aren’t you coming with us, Yulia-ssi?”

“Yes, my job is only to guide you here. Then, may the blessing of Rasis be with you.”

“Goodbye!”

Paul waved his small hand and saw Yulia off.

After watching her receding back, he turned to Khan, who was standing next to him.

Honestly, Paul wondered a little if it was okay for Khan to be here.

Isn’t Khan a monster?

Then how did the temple call for him?

No, how did he even get into the temple in the first place?

As far as he knew, monsters were restricted from entering the temple at all.

It was a matter of course, but the mercy of the gods was never directed towards monsters.

Gorgon had said he wouldn’t go for Paul’s sake, but Paul knew it too.

So he had actually considered leaving Gorgon at the housing and coming back.

But Khan had entered this place without any problems.

How was that possible?

Is it because he’s not an ordinary monster but a boss monster?

This question would probably be answered once he went inside.

“Shall we go in?”

“Let’s.”

Creak, the door opened with a sound.

Ding!

[System: You have entered the [Cardinal’s Prayer Room].]

[System: Fame greatly increases!]

[System: Please be careful, as causing a disturbance in the prayer room may result in [Divine Punishment]!]

His fame increased just by entering the cardinal’s prayer room.

When you visit a place where not just anyone can enter, you are sometimes given fame like this, and it seemed this was one of those cases.

Well, it’s a prayer room where a cardinal resides, so it’s a place where most people can’t just come in.

When would Paul have ever met a cardinal?

He hadn’t even met a high priest yet.

Upon entering the prayer room, the first thing he saw was a holy statue that was breathtakingly beautiful.

That was probably a statue made in the likeness of Rasis.

The next thing he saw was an old man standing in front of that statue.

As the two entered, the old man spoke to them.

“Welcome, Paul-nim.”

“Hello! Um… Cardinal-nim?”

“Yes, I am called ‘Eclie’, the cardinal of the Temple of Light.”

[Eclie] introduced himself with a gentle smile.

It was a name that sounded delicious.

Eclie, with his kind impression, let out a small groan upon seeing Khan.

An ambiguous atmosphere, as if he were troubled and scared, hung in the prayer room.

After a brief pause, Eclie turned to Paul and said.

“…I will be waiting in the room over there, so please come there when your conversation is over. He will come after I leave. Please wait quietly.”

“Yes.”

It was a very gentle tone, as if a grandmother were speaking to her grandson, so Paul blinked and obediently agreed.

After he finished speaking, Eclie, with quick but graceful steps, opened another door located in the opposite direction from where they had entered and disappeared inside.

Thud.

The sound of the door closing was unusually loud.

Paul wondered what to do now that he was left alone with Khan in the prayer room.

Is Rasis coming soon?

Will it take a little longer?

With those thoughts, he just tilted his head and looked around the prayer room.

About 5 minutes passed like that.

The sound of a heavenly trumpet echoed in the air.

At the sudden sound, Paul jumped in place in surprise.

Soon after the trumpet sound, a beautiful choir echoed, and a light resembling the warm sunlight of a spring day shone strongly into the prayer room from the glass ceiling.

It was so dazzling that Paul squeezed his eyes shut.

That wasn’t enough to block out all the light, so he was about to raise his hand to cover his eyes, but Khan’s large hand covered Paul’s eyes instead.

Thanks to that, not a single bit of light came in.

Paul blinked his eyes inside the mask.