Chapter 6
The powerful outburst in the temple shocked not just Pelles and Seria, but every priest present—including the High Priest.
They all stared at Elias, jaws wide open.
“W-What are you glaring at?! Bow your heads now!”
But when Elias raised her hand, everyone instinctively lowered their eyes.
She swung her massive hammer through the air as she spoke.
“You kidnapped little children, treated them like dirt, and forced them into a fake divine show. If that doesn’t make you trash… Wait, I take that back—trash would be offended.”
Elias tilted her head thoughtfully, her expression cold.
“Maybe… waste? Or bugs? No, that’s not fair to bugs either.”
She mumbled for a moment, then shrugged like it didn’t matter.
“Anyway, you don’t deserve to be called human. I, the Saintess—no, this instructor—want to kill every last one of you.”
Her tone was calm, but her words sent chills down everyone’s spines.
At first, no one understood what she meant, but once they did, the priests all turned pale.
Pelles and Seria both reached out and grabbed her—her shoulder and hand.
“E-Elias, you can’t do that!”
“She’s right! You can’t just kill people…”
Elias gently brushed their hands away.
“I’m not actually planning to kill anyone.”
Everyone sighed in relief.
“There’s no point in dirtying my hands with the blood of those disgusting worms,” Elias muttered with a snort.
“So if you don’t want to die—then leave. And never come back. Got it? Get lost!”
At her command, the priests scrambled to their feet and began fleeing the temple.
But a few still lingered, their pride stopping them.
Elias scowled and added sharply,
“What? Still here? Want me to change my mind?”
She raised her hammer threateningly, and those remaining quickly bolted.
Even the High Priest, grumbling under his breath, finally left with a bitter face.
Once they were all gone, Elias lowered her hammer to the floor.
“E-Elias, what just happened?” Pelles approached with wide eyes.
“Yeah, how did all of this happen?” Seria added, equally confused.
Elias looked at them, then said in a quiet voice,
“Forget Malliant or whatever it’s called. I serve a new god now.”
“A new god?!”
Elias nodded.
“Someone gave me this power.”
Well… calling them a god might be a stretch, but still.
Lifting her hammer again, Elias continued,
“Anyway, Pelles, Seria—please go untie the other kidnapped kids. I’ve got something to do.”
“Something to do?”
Without answering, she turned and walked away with a mischievous smile.
—
While Pelles and Seria were busy freeing the boys who had been locked up, Elias arrived at the High Priest’s personal quarters—now abandoned.
“Whoa. This is crazy.”
She frowned as she looked around.
For a room in a temple, it was way too luxurious.
Famous paintings, sculptures, expensive furniture—it was all top-quality.
Even the desk, clearly used for “work,” was decorated with jewels.
“This is the peak of greed.”
Elias scoffed. Just thinking about it made her angry.
“Should’ve beaten him up more before letting him go.”
She probably went too easy on him.
Then again, the priests were already gone.
‘I thought about reporting them to the imperial guards…’
But with all the bribes the High Priest had paid, they’d probably get off with a slap on the wrist.
“Never mind.”
She had more important things to do.
Elias began searching the room.
Someone this greedy would definitely have hidden the temple’s wealth for himself.
‘He must’ve stashed away money.’
And there had to be a secret space around here somewhere.
‘If it’s not here, too bad…’
She searched every corner, inspecting anything that looked odd.
Eventually, while feeling under the desk, her small hand found something.
A small bump beneath the desk.
‘No way…’
She pressed it.
Click. The floor rumbled slightly beneath the desk.
She pulled away the carpet covering it and uncovered a hidden space just big enough for a person to enter.
“A secret room?”
Elias grinned innocently.
Without hesitation, she climbed in.
She walked down a set of stairs and reached a wooden door.
With a gentle pull, the door swung open easily.
Inside—
Piles of treasure.
—
“Yaaawn…”
I stretched and yawned.
Maybe I moved around too much yesterday. My body felt tired.
‘Or maybe I’m just still a kid, that’s why.’
As I wiggled around, Seria sat up in the bed next to mine and smiled.
“Eli, did you sleep well?”
She looked brighter than I’d ever seen her before.
I nodded and got out of bed.
Just yesterday, we had kicked out all the priests from the temple.
Now it was just me, Seria, Pelles, and the rescued boys—all sleeping comfortably in the former priests’ rooms.
‘We even took over the kitchen too.’
Those awful priests had been eating all the good stuff by themselves.
So last night, we feasted on fresh vegetables, meat, and more.
And I didn’t just stop at the High Priest’s secret room—I also had Pelles help me loot the temple warehouse.
There was almost as much treasure there as in the High Priest’s stash.
‘Heh. Gonna use it well.’
As I was thinking and chuckling, Seria came up to me.
“Eli, aren’t you hungry?”
“Let’s go to the dining hall. Pelles said he’d make us a nice breakfast!”
I didn’t know how good Pelles was at cooking, but I wouldn’t say no to food.
I nodded and took Seria’s hand as she offered it.
When we reached the dining hall, the boys were already gathered, chatting excitedly.
‘About ten of them, I guess.’
They looked much cleaner now, probably after a bath.
“Oh! It’s the Saintess!”
“Yay, Saintess!”
Even though they’d been through a lot, the kids smiled brightly.
Still… they keep calling me “Saintess.”
“I told you, I’m not a Saintess. Malliant Temple is gone, remember? No more ‘Saintess.’”
“But you helped us!”
“That’s what a Saintess does!”
Sigh. I gave up arguing.
Instead, I walked over to the table, which was overflowing with food.
‘Whoa. Pelles can really cook, huh?’
Salads mixed with fruits and vegetables, sandwiches, roasted chicken, stew—
everything looked amazing.
“Elias, you’re here!”
Pelles rolled out a cart of more food and smiled at me.
“Pelles, your cooking is amazing.”
I gave him a thumbs-up while munching on some vegetables.
He blushed.
“I only picked up some skills from watching others… I hope it suits your taste.”
“It’s delicious.”
Seriously, it was.
Sure, the only things I’d eaten in this world until now were dry bread and sandwiches, but still—this was real food.
“Eli, eat up!”
Seria placed some meat on my plate while I nibbled a sandwich.
“You too, Seria.”
I took a big bite of the meat.
Seria and Pelles looked at me like proud parents.
‘Ugh. Don’t stare like that… it’s embarrassing.’
Still, I had to endure their stares until the meal was over.
—
By noon, with the sun high in the sky—
“I don’t want to leave…”
“Me neither. But I miss my mom.”
“Yeah, I miss my family too.”
“I don’t have a family, but I’m just glad I can live in a safe place now.”
All of us—me, Seria, Pelles, and the boys—gathered in the garden outside the temple.
The kids were crying tears of joy, finally able to leave this awful temple.
I handed each of them a pouch.
“Here. Take this.”
“What is it?”
“Whoa! This is money!”
Yup. I gave them some of the cash we found in the temple.
‘It’s not all of it, but…’
It was enough to support them for at least 10 years—until they became adults.
“This is… this is so much…”
“Saintess, where did all this come from?”
“From the jerks who exploited you, of course. Now go, live your lives.”
I waved and turned away.
Pelles would handle the rest.
“Thank you, everyone. Please live happily from now on.”
Warm-hearted Pelles hugged each boy one by one, his eyes filled with tears.
In fact, last night—I had asked Pelles for one special favor.
To be continued
