***
“Binding you?” Roberta asked reflexively.
“Why is that?”
“Because I have not only lived for a long time.”
She was about to grumble about his age talk again, but just then, a strong wind blew from outside and the door rattled open. When she turned her gaze, she saw children peeking their heads out from the entrance of the tent. Two of them were stealing a peek with sparkling eyes at what the two adults were doing.
“The conversation became long.”
Ulrih smiled with his eyes as he looked at the children.
“Now, let us stop the talk and get up.”
She looked up at him for a moment and then stood up. At the same time, she shook her head to shake off the contemplations that filled her mind. The mystery was almost entirely unsolved. Rather, one question led to another. Her head was so complicated that it reached a point of irritation.
However, she decided not to pry further. Although it was difficult to accept, there was no other way right now. Whether he was a real Lord and not an actor, how he performed the sacrament with a body that had not even received priestly ordination, or what had happened with his predecessor—even if she asked, his attitude suggested that no clear answer would return.
‘Fine. Anyway, there was plenty of time.’
There was no rush. Hadn’t Alonso said so?
All she had to do was fulfill her responsibilities as the presiding priest.
She had only just been assigned to Dithmarschen. Unless the Pantheon commanded her to move her post, she would stay for at least ten years, and during that time, she could wait for the truth to come out of the Lord’s mouth on its own.
Ulrih left the tent and gathered the people who were resting.
“I shall resume the Sacrament of Infancy.”
As soon as those words fell, each person held a baby in their arms and stood around him.
‘Let us see. What it is you are hiding.’
Roberta felt uncomfortable entrusting the sacrament to someone who was not a priest, but she decided to watch quietly. She had seen the scene where the sacrament was performed without problems earlier, and she thought that if she watched, she might obtain a clue.
Even if a problem arose, she, a formal priest, was there.
<><><>
Suddenly, Roberta realized something while looking around.
Was there not a protocol that usually had to be followed during a sacrament?
“Are you going to proceed like this? The sacrament?”
She asked while retracing her memory. Was there a brazier when Ulrih performed the Sacrament of Infancy earlier? There was not. He had performed the sacrament without even a single line of smoke.
“I intend to do so.”
“At least light the smoke, and you should have the fragrant oil ready.”
“Why?”
What did she mean, why? She blinked her eyes.
“Well, because that is the protocol. It is to perform the sacrament safely while commemorating Lord Hestio. If the protocol of the sacrament is not followed, the name might not properly rise to the heavens.”
Her voice trembled with embarrassment as she answered.
In the beginning, when the gods created palaces in the sky and resided there, Ganimea was among them. That god had a foster son, and the foster son’s name was Hestio.
One day, Hestio looked down from the heavens to the ground, and there was a group of humans huddled in a cave to avoid the rain. At that time, while the dwarves and elves had built holy civilizations, humans merely came down from the trees and roamed around.
Hairless monkeys who did not even know how to light a fire and were likely to freeze to death when the weather turned cold—that was what humans were in those days.
It was said that Hestio gave fire to the group of humans who were trembling while hugging each other so they could endure the cold, and he taught them various techniques after the rain stopped.
Since then, when humans performed events such as sacraments, they created several protocols to receive his blessing while commemorating Hestio. Lighting a fire when starting a sacrament and extinguishing it at the end to create smoke was representative of this.
“The word ‘commemorate’ is wrong.”
Ulrih shook his head.
“Pardon?”
“It is not ‘commemorate,’ but ‘call’ that is the correct word.”
‘Another strange thing to say.’
Regardless of her feelings, he continued speaking.
“The reason you light smoke—no, the reason you light a fire and then extinguish it—was to call Hestio. Because when the fire went out, Hestio would come down again and light the fire for them. He taught them how to light a fire, but that was not an easy task, was it?”
“……”
“He personally visited and lit the fire every time so they would not suffer unnecessarily, but the humans at that time accepted it differently. They thought that if they extinguished the fire, that human would visit. So, every time they looked for Hestio, they extinguished the fire to create smoke.”
Ulrih added that it could not be helped since it was a time when speech was clumsy.
“It is something I also said to Alonso.”
She had never heard it.
“Lighting smoke, applying fragrant oil, immersing the body in water—all those protocols were created in that way. But think about it. What meaning is there in an act that the gods did not even teach? Do you think such a thing helps with the sacrament?”
Subsequently, he spoke in a tone like a teacher instructing a student, saying, “Humans are merely using the legacy of the gods and do not know its principles,” and “Therefore, they are obsessed with and package meaningless acts under the name of protocol.”
She could not bring herself to cut him off, and she gave him a hint by slightly twisting her expression, but he ultimately poured out everything he had to say. Roberta narrowed her eyes and asked.
“You have not forgotten that I am a priest, right?”
“I know very well.”
“Do you say such things knowing that?”
He scratched under his chin with his thumb and looked down at her.
“So? Will you take me away as a heretic?”
“……”
She kept her mouth shut.
She could not refute him. Because she had no intention of doing anything to him. Honestly, her curiosity was greater than her concern. A priest with deep faith would have had a fit at his behavior, but she was different.
Why, was it not so? Were not people who walked the path of the priesthood while harboring worldly desires common in the human world? She was just that kind of person.
Just like Alonso, who had recommended Roberta.
And Ulrih had seen through that point.
“Watch. See if my words are wrong.”
He received a baby from another young man and held it.
It was a child who did not even know it had left its parents’ hands because it was sound asleep. Ulrih lightly stroked the child’s head and touched his forehead to the baby's. At that, light arose.
Like the baby Roberta had seen earlier, light emanated from the center of the forehead and spread throughout the entire body. She was seeing it for the second time, yet she was still marveled.
‘Except for not following the protocol, it was perfect.’
When she felt the baby’s pulse, the flow of mana was faintly felt from the baby. Since mana was circulating inside the body just like blood circulating in the veins, the Sacrament of Infancy had been performed completely.
“Is there really no problem?”
Ulrih did not answer that there was not.
“Try it yourself.”
Instead, he handed over a child who had not received the sacrament to her.
“To all the children here, perform the sacrament without the protocol. If you personally check if there is any child whose name has not risen to the register after finishing the sacrament, you will be able to believe my words a little.”
When she lowered her gaze, the child looked up from her arms and laughed brightly. It had a cuteness that made one’s mouth hang open while watching it. Just as Ulrih had done, she stroked the child’s head.
However, she did not touch her forehead to the child's. She hesitated for a moment about whether to try the sacrament while ignoring the protocol, but it was only for a second. An impulse inside her mocked, ‘What is the use now after not stopping the sacrament of someone who has not undergone ordination?’ but it could not lead to action.
Even if she became a priest out of worldly desires, a priest was a priest. Even if her faith was not deep, she had trust in the protocol. Furthermore, would it be rational to throw away a protocol that had no side effects for thousands of years because of the words of some eccentric?
“That is enough.”
She spoke firmly and returned the child to its parents.
“I will do it according to the protocol of the Pantheon. However, since the Lord started this ritual, I am merely entrusting it until the end. I will preside over all future sacraments.”
“Do as you wish. If that is what you want.”
He readily accepted.
“But know this. It was also something Alonso did.”
Roberta furrowed her brows at those words.
“Lord Alonso did not teach me this method.”
When she spoke with resistance, he smiled faintly. It was the first smile he had shown in front of her, but there was no joy in it. It was not a mockery either; she felt it was a smile that conveyed regret.
“It cannot be helped in order to live in the land of the one-eyed.”
#
After the sacrament was over, it was a feast.
Since it was a world with a high infant mortality rate, it was not rare for a lineage to be cut off even after giving birth to three. Moreover, they said the environment of Dithmarschen was harsher than other regions, to the point where even adults could not endure it.
Because of this, it was said they did not consider them as lives until the child grew enough to receive the Sacrament of Infancy, or until they received the Sacrament of Infancy, but how could that be possible after harboring them in the womb for a year? The parents could not contain the pouring joy as they hugged the babies who had finished the sacrament and smiled.
The residents of the territory gathered in a large tent. It was a tent ten times larger than the one where Roberta had her private meeting with Ulrih. They had set a feast table inside and installed a stove in the same way, so it was warm even in the corners.
When they sat centered around the stove, adults stood up in ridiculous outfits and circled around while singing and dancing. Children ran between them and made a commotion.
“Ugh......”
Roberta stuck out her tongue at the Songhwacha and then trembled. It was a taste she could not get used to no matter how much she drank. As if even the residents of the territory who must have lived with Songhwacha in their mouths all their lives had not adapted, there was no one who did not grimace.
‘Drinking that so calmly is, what is strange.’
She glanced at Ulrih.
Since they were sitting in a circle, there was no such thing as a seat of honor, but people of considerable age took seats on both sides of where Ulrih was sitting.
In a seat quite far from her, he was occasionally nodding and laughing at the old men chatting beside him, and merely sipping the Songhwacha lightly as if he were drinking plain water.
She had intended to finish the conversation they could not complete, but it seemed like the opportunity would not come today at this rate. She smacked her lips and hesitantly drank the tea again. Her body trembled.
“Priest.”
A voice was heard in the commotion.
“Are you tired?”
An old man approached her side and gave a silent bow. He was the old man who had guided the two to the tent when she wanted to have a private meeting with Ulrih. He introduced himself as Brasse, the elder of the clan.
“Yes, because the journey was long.”
“Shall I prepare a separate seat for you?”
“No. It is not to that extent.”
When she shook her head, the elder sat down, saying he understood.
“Do you have more to say?”
“Please do not push that person too hard.”
She sighed inwardly, thinking ‘As expected.’
“I have not particularly pushed him hard.”
Her voice rose without her knowing.
“I am sorry if I offended you.”
The elder bowed his head and handed over a glass. It was wine. When she tasted it, it had a depth of flavor that was surprisingly startling. It was a top-quality product that was difficult to taste even in the High Temple.
“It is something the master gave me as a gift in the past.”
“Is that so?”
She took another sip. She felt her mouth pucker and thought it was a waste to just drink it. Brewing should not have been possible in this environment, so where did he get it and how much would it cost? And he gave it as a gift?
“It was when I was sixteen. I went out hunting with the adults and was hunted by a magical beast instead. I put the injured adults on a sled and ran away, and Lord Ulrih gave it to me as a gift, saying I was admirable.”
Brasse’s face was full of wrinkles. Even considering the fact that nomads aged faster than their actual age, his age had to be over sixty. She had essentially drunk wine that was at least fifty years old.
“You have kept it well.”
“The Lord kept it for me. As you know, we are a wandering people. We do not know alcohol well. At most, we just gulp down the distilled spirits sent from the South to warm the body.”
The elder filled Roberta’s glass.
“When I received this, a thought suddenly occurred to me. Just like when I saw the wooden horse I rode as a child after I had my coming-of-age ceremony, I decided to drink this when my life reached its end.”
She faltered while tilting the glass.
“And he returned it to me today.”
There was no way she did not know the meaning of those words. To her, who had erased her smile and was facing him, the elder said it was a kind of reminiscing about memories and gave a hollow laugh.
“Actually, this old man had forgotten. Is it not something that happened half a century ago? I barely remembered what I did the day before, let alone things from long ago. But he was remembering. How surprised I was when I received the bottle! The moment I saw the bottle, the events of that day came to mind.”
The elder’s gaze left her and searched for Ulrih.
He was just about to stand up from his seat. Did he feel the gaze of the two? He also looked at her and the elder for a moment, but it was only for a brief second, and he immediately left the place.
“It is natural for the priest to be suspicious. You must have a lot to say, wondering if another person is playing a joke by pretending to be the Lord, how a human can maintain such youth, if he is associated with an evil god. Everyone who was here before and everyone who was here even before them was suspicious. It cannot be helped. Because priests are different from us.”
“Different?”
“Yes. Different. You have now been assigned here as the presiding priest. This is also your first time seeing that person. But we have grown up seeing him since we performed the Sacrament of Infancy. It is natural for us that his time is different from ours.”
“Have you never thought it was strange?”
“Before I answer that question, I would like to ask you first.”
Elder Brasse looked at the empty seat where Ulrih had been sitting.
“If a person can live a very long time, if this person is a being who has escaped aging and death, and if they have deeper wisdom, patience, and virtue than others, and if your ancestors have served this person for generations... how would you think of them?”