Chapter 45
“Lord Abel, it’s time.”
In the end, without ever figuring out why Felix was angry, Abel left the annex to begin the day’s schedule.
There were more people accompanying him than usual, making the procession noticeably longer, though not enough to become bothersome.
That was probably because Abel had kept Felix by his side instead of letting him slip into the ranks of the holy knights.
Today’s destination was the largest garden within the temple grounds.
Yesterday—or rather, the day after the prayer ceremony—had been the day the Order relieved its guests of their money.
The guests who had witnessed Abel’s prayer firsthand were still unable to shake the overwhelming sense of bliss they had experienced then. Usually, no matter how critical someone had been of the temple, once they realized how much lighter their bodies felt, their gratitude toward the Father would soar to the heavens.
As a result, the Order would have had little trouble emptying their guests’ pockets.
So what about today?
Unlike yesterday, after another day had passed—or, more precisely, after a considerable amount of money had left their hands—the guests would begin wondering if the donations they had offered had perhaps been excessive.
They had too much pride to ask for their money back, but they often developed a tendency to keep their purses tightly shut for quite some time afterward.
So, to make sure they wouldn’t come to regret the money they had given, the Order prepared another spectacle.
And for that, they needed Abel and the priests.
That was why Abel had been given only a single day’s rest.
The moment he stepped into the garden, Abel calmly accepted the countless gazes converging on him and continued walking forward.
* * *
The arrival of the Herald of God brought an excited hush over the garden.
Was it because they had witnessed that blessing with their own eyes? Or because they had felt the power flowing from the Herald’s body with every fiber of their being?
The Herald of God was a quiet, impassive man.
His hair had turned completely white, and his eyes shimmered with an enigmatic light, as though they embodied the sun itself.
His mysterious appearance suited his position as the Herald of God perfectly. But once people grew accustomed to his striking looks and observed him a little more closely, anyone could notice how detached he truly was.
It was as though he alone existed in the world, paying no attention whatsoever to those around him.
If someone stood before him and begged for mercy, he would extend a hand.
But he would never be the one to reach out first.
A man who seemed to exist on a plane above everyone else, looking down upon them with the detached gaze of an observer.
There were those who praised him for being every bit the Herald of God.
Most, however, found themselves instinctively unsettled by him.
But the overwhelming holy power they had felt during the prayer had washed away even those negative feelings they had harbored toward the Herald. It had been so gentle, comforting, and filled with boundless compassion.
A man devoid of emotion, a man who looked upon them as insignificant creatures with such a detached gaze, could never possess an aura so warm and so kind.
Was this what it felt like to be embraced in the Father’s arms?
Even after the prayer had ended, the gentle power that lingered throughout their entire bodies left people unable to regain their senses so easily.
Most of those who had come to the temple for the prayer assembly carried the memory of that radiant moment with them until the very moment they fell asleep.
Then, the following day, they awoke with minds far clearer than they had been the day before, only to hear the news that Abel’s miracle had spread beyond the sanctuary and throughout the entire holy grounds.
Ever since Abel had first revealed himself outside the temple, the annual prayer gathering had continued without interruption, yet nothing like this had ever happened before.
Ordinarily, Abel’s blessing was confined to the sanctuary.
But now its power had reached beyond the temple itself?
The moment people realized what that meant, they could do nothing but praise Abel once again.
A being who had already stood closer to God than anyone else had now ascended to an even higher place.
Unlike these mere ordinary humans, the clergy had been chosen by the Father.
And among them, it was Abel, the greatest of them all, who had bestowed his blessing upon them.
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