Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 81
Five Sacred Relics
* * *
At the end of a long dream, Elonen heard a voice calling him.
“…lonen, Elonen!”
Startled, Elonen jerked his head up and looked around. His youthful face was filled with drowsiness.
“I wasn’t dozing off!”
Elonen blurted out reflexively, then, upon recognizing the man standing in front of him, let out a sigh of relief.
The man with soft brown hair and a gentle expression was Dane. He was older than Elonen, but they had received priestly ordination around the same time, making him Elonen’s closest colleague and friend.
“Oh, it was Reverend Dane.”
Dane laughed as he placed a hand on Elonen’s head, where Elonen had been rubbing his chest in relief.
“No, I was just going to tell you not to doze and to lie down comfortably and sleep. Why did you get so startled?”
“I thought it was Brother Aaron, so it scared me.”
As Elonen grumbled in a way that wasn’t unpleasant, Dane sat down beside him.
“Starting tomorrow it’s the grape harvest, so the bishop told everyone to rest today. Didn’t you hear?”
“I did hear.”
Saint Robella’s Sanctuary was a small temple in a quiet rural village. At most, there were only around a dozen priests assigned to it, and there weren’t many worshippers who visited either.
Because of that, the event they put the most effort into each year was making wine.
The wine produced at Saint Robella’s Sanctuary was famous for being the most expensive on the continent. The climate, terrain, and soil conditions of the land where the sanctuary stood were perfectly suited for growing grapes.
It was to the point that people said the Emperor drank only wine from Saint Robella’s Sanctuary.
“Then why were you dozing off while looking at the vineyard? Were you making plans on your own for how to harvest tomorrow?”
“That’s not it… It’s just that it was pretty, so I wanted to keep it in my memory.”
Elonen raised a hand to shade his eyes, dazzled by the bright autumn sunlight pouring down. The vineyard spreading wide across the sloping hill looked as if he’d stepped into a painting.
“Elonen, you’re more sentimental than most people. Is that why your personality is so attentive?”
At Dane’s compliment that didn’t quite feel like a compliment, Elonen thought he was being teased, and his face flushed red in an instant.
“Seeing how red your face is, we should head inside now. You’ve been in the sun too long.”
“Alright.”
It wasn’t because of the sun, though. Elonen grumbled inwardly as he followed behind Dane.
Inside the sanctuary, he read with Dane until just before dinner, then headed to the dining hall. With a big event coming up the next day, a generous spread of food had been prepared on the table.
“Everyone will need to work hard tomorrow, so make sure you eat plenty.”
Aaron, the oldest priest in the sanctuary, said as he encouraged the others. At the rare feast, all the priests, including Elonen, were in high spirits.
Elonen finished his meal quickly and was about to leave the dining hall when Aaron grabbed him and spoke.
“Elonen, the bishop says he has something to tell you, so go see him.”
“Ah, yes.”
It wasn’t common for the bishop to summon Elonen. Wondering if he might have made some mistake, Elonen reviewed his past actions as he headed toward the bishop’s room.
“Elonen, come in. Sit down.”
Contrary to Elonen’s fears, the bishop greeted him warmly. He had Elonen sit and even poured him a cup of warmly heated tea.
“For what reason did you call for me?”
Not knowing what the conversation would be about, Elonen asked carefully. The bishop gave him a gentle, reassuring smile.
“I heard from Brother Aaron that you can wield divine power.”
Not every priest could wield divine power just by becoming a priest. Only a very small number of priests blessed by the god could do so.
It hadn’t been long since Elonen himself had learned that he possessed divine power, so he had no idea the news had already reached the bishop’s ears.
“My ability is still insignificant. All I can do is heal small scratches.”
“You’re quite remarkable for someone so young.”
Elonen answered humbly, but the more he did, the more satisfied the bishop’s smile became.
