Chapter 9
The Empire did not have a special religion. Instead, they worshiped the elements that make up all things and their spirits, building spirit temples in the capital and various regions.
All things are born from the organic combination and development of the elements. The same goes for all phenomena. If there were no spirits of the elements, humans would not have existed either. Edelheim was also a temple that originated from such beliefs.
Roil walked along, paired with Adrian, listening to Laondelp’s explanation.
“A temple tour… It’s kind of like a school trip, isn’t it?”
Normally, a pilgrimage is done indoors, but sometimes it is disguised as a picnic or an outing. Since today was the first day, it was particularly special, with the Crown Prince participating and leading the tour of the spirit temple.
To avoid drawing attention, Laondelp had his attendants step back a bit, and instructed the children to speak comfortably to him outside.
As they entered the gates of Edelheim, a spirit priest in a sky-blue robe shouted and ran towards them.
“Jeeern…!”
Laondelp, having anticipated what the priest might shout, gestured to silence him with a quick hand. The priest, looking as though he had nearly bitten his tongue, quickly closed his mouth and sprinted the remaining distance.
However, despite his effort to rush over, Laondelp signaled for the priest to step back. The priest, after a brief glance, retreated, and Laondelp began to guide the children directly.
Edelheim was a spirit temple made up of five white buildings. Four of the white marble buildings formed a square around an open space, and the remaining one stood behind them.
The four buildings grouped together were dedicated to the spirits of water, fire, earth, and wind, and were painted with colored bands in blue, red, yellow, and green at the roof. The building at the back was a space for the spirit priests, where they trained.
Roil had expected Edelheim to be large since it was a temple in the capital, but it was smaller than he had imagined.
“Each of the buildings in Edelheim is called a ‘Watt.’ The Water Watt, the Fire Watt, the Earth Watt, and the Wind Watt.”
As they entered the building with the blue band, the group felt a lightness on their shoulders. Erica, in place, bounced lightly, and Serel also felt something heavy lift from her body, making her shrug her shoulders in relief.
“Do you feel the coolness above your head?” Laondelp asked with a smile as he watched the children.
“The energy of the spirits is strongest here. If you stay for a while, your body feels refreshed,” he explained.
“Is it because this is the Water Spirit’s place? Water spirits have healing powers, right?” Erica asked, trying to show off her knowledge.
“Yes, there’s a healing power throughout all of Edelheim, but the Water Watt is especially effective,” Laondelp answered.
Ellen, who had been listening attentively, looked around and asked, “Then, don’t sick people flock here? It seems surprisingly quiet for a place with healing power.”
“The hours for healing the sick are set to the morning. Otherwise, this place would turn into a clinic, not a temple,” Laondelp explained.
At the center of the Water Watt, a large jar floated in mid-air without any fixed support. The jar was tilted at a 45-degree angle, and water constantly poured out of it, vanishing as it fell and seemed to be absorbed by the air.
The children, amazed by the jar, reached their hands between the falling streams of water and waved them around. Despite their hands being in the water, oddly, they didn’t get wet.
Even Roil, who had been calm until then, slipped his hand in and gasped in surprise.
“Does His Highness the Crown Prince often come here?” Adrian asked softly, not joining in the water play but observing from the side.
“On days when there are no lessons, he comes occasionally. But since those days are rare, he rarely has a chance to visit,” Laondelp said, smiling as if regretting the rare opportunity.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince!” A shout came from the distance. Turning around, three people in sky-blue robes were running toward them.
“Your Highness, we greet you!”
The three of them, having run out of breath, bowed deeply. Laondelp greeted them and introduced them to the children.
“These are High Spirit Priest Josephine, and Spirit Priests Leti and Tyson.”
The children’s eyes sparkled as they looked at them, especially Erica, whose eyes gleamed like fire.
“These are Adrian Spencer, Roilette Karzel, Erica Nott, Santiuk Dumfrey, Serel Bruvon, and Elenoa Quinter.”
“Nice to meet you,” High Priestess Josephine said with a warm smile, giving a slight bow.
She then asked Laondelp for a private conversation.
“Your Highness, there is something urgent I must discuss.”
Laondelp gestured for the children to wait and followed the priests into the Watt.
The children, left behind, gathered around the jar once they could no longer see Laondelp and the priests. Their voices poured out in excitement.
“Spirit Priests are so cool, right?”
“Yeah. Did you see their robes?”
“They’re different from wizard robes, right?”
“They look even cooler than wizard robes!”
“I’m going to become a Spirit Priest!”
Erica clenched her fist and shouted, causing the others to focus their attention on her.
“Erica, you can’t just become a Spirit Priest. It’s something you’re born with,” Serel calmly explained.
Before Erica could respond, Santiuk erupted.
“What do you mean? Erica is from the Nott Duke family. There’s no way she can’t become one! Why are you saying that?”
“Well, that’s true, but why are you getting involved?” Erica snapped back.
“Roil, what do you think?” Erica suddenly asked, and Roil, who had been absent-mindedly watching, was caught off guard.
“Huh? Uh, I think so too,” he answered awkwardly.
“Really?”
Erica’s face lit up with a smile. On the other hand, Santiuk pouted and shot a glare at Roil.
Ellen, watching the three, tried to change the topic.
“Erica, Spirit Priests are cool, but isn’t being a wizard also cool? Wizards need to sense mana too, right?”
“That’s fine too, but… Ellen, don’t you think it’s a bit strange to talk about wizards here in Edelheim?”
“Huh? Why?”
Ellen was taken aback by Erica’s unexpected response and blinked her eyes in confusion. Had she made a mistake?
“Magic goes against the power of spirits,” Erica said, clearly.
“What?” All the children turned their eyes on Erica.
Erica, enjoying the attention, continued, “The spirits are the power that makes all things exist. Especially life is deeply connected to the Water Spirit.”
Ellen, intrigued by the new concept that wasn’t quite evolution or creationism, listened closely.
“Anyway, nature should be left to flow on its own. But magic manipulates nature with mana to change it into something humans want. Isn’t that against the spirits?”
It was an argument that sounded plausible, yet questionable. Ellen tilted her head.
“Spirits… magic… is all of this really possible?”
Ellen muttered softly. It all sounded like something out of a fantasy novel, and it still didn’t feel quite real to her.
‘I should ask the teacher about this when I visit the Quinter estate.’
Roil, standing next to Ellen, also seemed lost in thought.
“Magic… I wonder if I came here because of magic. If it was magic, who did it, and why? Does the mansion have any books on magic? I need to learn to read quickly, or I won’t be able to figure it out.”
Just as Roil’s thoughts were spiraling, he heard Erica’s voice.
“Roil?” Erica waved her hand in front of his face. He blinked and quickly refocused.
When Laondelp returned, the children continued their tour of Edelheim. After visiting the Wind Watt, it seemed like it was time to head back, but Laondelp suggested a short excursion.
“It’s getting close to dinner time, but a short and light trip could be nice.”
The children looked at each other excitedly.
Laondelp called over one of the knights who had been escorting them in civilian clothes. After giving him an order, the knight mounted a carriage, and the children boarded another.
The carriage stopped shortly after, near the edge of the forest outside the capital, not far from Edelheim.
“AAAAH! Help, AAH!”
A woman’s scream echoed from deeper in the forest shortly after they entered.
While the others hesitated, Ellen and Roil immediately ran toward the sound.
“Ellen! Karzel!” Laondelp called, but they did not stop.
He quickly signaled two of the escort knights to follow them, and the rest followed as well.
In the sudden chaos, Laondelp accidentally shouted, “Ellen!” but no one noticed.
