“Are you pretending to be nice, Mr. Chairman?”

“I’m worried about you being all burnt up here and there.”

“You’re worried about me?”

“Yes. So how about washing up and changing clothes? There are quite a few holes in your clothes.”

Matian glanced at Chad’s pants.

“I don’t mind showing, Mr. Chairman. That’s also part of my charm.”

“It does seem that way when I look at that dwarf.”

Matian nodded towards Chad’s back.

One male dwarf who was gulping down port wine was giving a thumbs up while looking at Chad’s pants with holes.

“Haa, I should pluck out those damn eyeballs or something.”

Chad turned his steps towards the small bathroom set up in the corner of the airship, clearly expressing his displeasure.

It seems he was embarrassed because the hole happened to be around the thigh area.

“At this rate, shouldn’t we change the person in charge of the student of interest? It seems like bullying rather than helping.”

With an unfamiliar voice, the adjacent chair was pushed back with a scraping sound.

Aaron, the student council’s general affairs officer who had just arrived on the airship, naturally took the seat next to Rukna.

Small build befitting a gnome, pink hair and large black eyes, three small diamond tattoos engraved under the eyes.

If there was anything disappointing about this person with all the lovely features at first glance, it was that his expression was stiff.

‘Even with such an expression, he’s still extremely cute.’

When Rukna stared blankly at Aaron, he sighed and pulled out a handkerchief from his chest.

“Here.”

“Why this?”

“To wipe, your face.”

His tone was even more blunt than his expression.

“Th-Thank you.”

Rukna wiped the soot that Chad had left on her with the handkerchief she received.

The white cloth became dirty in an instant, making her feel embarrassed to return it like this.

“I’ll wash this and return it, Aaron.”

“No need. You keep it.”

“Then I feel too sorry…”

“Then just pay 10 rubes.”

Aaron held out his hand as if asking Rukna for money.

It was expensive for an ordinary handkerchief. It felt like being forced to buy the handkerchief.

Watching this, Bolton frowned and pointed at Aaron.

“Hey, you bought that for just 5 rubes at the market next to the square!”

“Ha. That stupid muscle guy is ruining all my business.”

…Seems like it was indeed forced selling.

“A man shouldn’t be so stingy about money. Even though Rukna drank all my lime juice, even though she chewed and swallowed all the precious ice, no matter how regretful, I didn’t ask for money because her face is cute!”

You should have asked, Bolton.

Rukna decided with a pale face that she would have to pay for the lime juice along with the handkerchief.

At that moment, Matian, who had been watching the entrance, quietly got up and headed somewhere.

‘What’s going on?’

He cut through the bustling hall and climbed the central stairs. A stranger who had just entered the lobby followed behind Matian.

The silver hair sticking out from under the brown hood was strangely familiar.

The two made contact in a corner of the second-floor railing, half-hidden by curtains.

The stranger looked around and then lowered the hood on his head.

For a very brief moment, silver short hair and neat features were visible outside the curtain.

‘That, that person!’

“Young Master Matian, is there a reason we’re meeting here?”

The High Priest who had lowered his hood calmly looked around.

He had to be careful in everything as it should not be revealed that he came here today.

“You were going to meet the Dwarf Elder anyway, Your Holiness. If you go straight down this corridor, you’ll reach the Elder’s room.”

“Then we should have met in a more secluded place. The lobby downstairs is bustling with cadets from the military academy. If someone recognizes me…!”

The High Priest peeked his head out from behind the curtain to survey the first-floor lobby, then suddenly hid his body under the railing.

‘Did I just make eye contact with Sister Rukna?’

It would be troublesome to face her now.

He had brought her soul to this world without proper explanation, so she might come at him trying to kill him if she saw him.

The High Priest firmly pressed both hands over his rapidly beating heart.

“Your Holiness? Are you alright?”

While saying that, Matian secretly took out a document he had brought and handed it to the High Priest.

“Is that a worried expression, Young Master? You’re smiling quite brightly.”

The High Priest, pouting his lips, snatched the document while still crouching.

“I naturally have a smiling face.”

“What nonsense to say to someone who’s seen you since you were sniveling. And mocking the High Priest will bring divine punishment.”

“Mocking?”

“Wasn’t the reason for choosing this place as our meeting spot to show me to someone?”

And it was certainly no coincidence that he happened to make eye contact with Rukna in this place.

“You’re very suspicious, Your Holiness.”

“If you were my flesh and blood, I would have personally purified that dark heart of yours. What a shame.”

“Don’t feel regretful. Isn’t it thanks to not being your flesh and blood that I have the ability to obtain such things?”

Matian sneered at the High Priest’s athletic ability while nodding towards the envelope containing the scripture prophecy document.

The High Priest took a deep breath.

If it weren’t for this prophecy, he would have given that snake-like young master a long lecture, which was truly regrettable.

Swallowing his regretful feelings, the High Priest moved towards the Elder’s room, sticking as close to the wall as possible to avoid being seen from downstairs.

“What did you want to confirm by meeting me here?”

Matian slowly followed behind, frankly revealing his inner thoughts.

“I wanted to know about the relationship between Rukna Golden and Your Holiness. From your reaction, it seems you’re not complete strangers.”

And he instantly grasped that they weren’t on good terms either.

Matian seemed to suspect that Rukna Golden, with her strange divine power, had origins related to the temple.

That’s why he even recommended bringing Rukna Golden during the last summons.

Rukna, who was expected to just fill a spot, played the role of a dark horse splendidly, but the High Priest also began to see her differently because of that incident, which was troublesome.

“Did you know that Rukna Golden had divine power, Your Holiness?”

“Ah, yes, well.”

The High Priest didn’t bother lying to a question to which the answer was already known.

“Is that power authorized by the temple?”

“It’s still ambiguous… Why?”

“That power uniquely stabilizes demon fragments.”

“Ah. That makes sense. Her innate divine power must be excellent.”

“Innate divine power.”

Matian repeated the words the High Priest had uttered once more, then continued speaking with a crooked smile.

“Then it’s not the power of the holy sword, I see.”

At those words, the High Priest’s steps faltered as he walked along the wall.

Although he was particularly sensitive to divine power because of the demon fragment, he didn’t expect such good intuition.

“Wh-What are you saying? Why is the holy sword being mentioned here?”

“The suddenly disappeared holy sword, the temple turning a blind eye, public opinion being quieter than expected. And now Your Holiness’s flustered reaction. Everything points to one conclusion, doesn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

“The fact that the holy sword is in the hands of a safe person. Someone inconspicuous with a narrow social circle, who wouldn’t be suspected by others but capable enough to draw the holy sword.”

Matian said this with a smirk.

“I thought that was Rukna Golden. Although she may lack ability, the rest of the conditions fit quite well.”

Saying this, Matian reached the end of the corridor.

Large Dwarf Air Force soldiers were guarding the front of a huge room.

Unlike the dwarves on the first floor, they were fully dressed in military uniforms and were on guard in all directions with long guns.

“This is not a place for you to loiter around. Get lost right now!”

One soldier immediately spoke rudely, showing hostility.

“I am High Priest Nairon. I have an important appointment with Elder Pui, so could you please send word?”

“High Priest? A human, not an elf?”

Are humans originally born this unpleasant? The air force soldiers glanced at Matian and the High Priest while whispering among themselves.

One of them took out a communicator that looked like a hand axe from his pocket, finished talking with the Elder, and then verified Matian and the High Priest’s identities.

“Weapons are prohibited, so put down all weapons and raise your hands above your head.”

At those words, Matian placed all the weapons he was carrying on a makeshift table next to the entrance.

The table vibrated slightly each time he took out and put down his longsword and daggers, as the weight of the seemingly ordinary blades was considerable.

While cooperating with the body search, Matian continued the question he hadn’t finished earlier.

“Your Holiness, is Rukna Golden from the temple?”

“No.”

“How do you know each other?”

“We just fortunately crossed paths when I went to an unfamiliar place.”

“Who were Rukna’s birth parents before she was adopted?”

“Why are you prying into personal information like this, Young Master! Are you planning to marry Rukna Golden?”

The High Priest raised his voice like a cat bristling its fur.

Matian, who hadn’t changed his expression at all until now, finally showed signs of bewilderment.

“Marriage, you say. Between men… you mean?”

Matian was confused because it seemed like people around him had been throwing around such words recently.

Thanks to that, he found himself thinking that men looked pretty, or wanting to protect men, or wanting to touch men.

Of course, the latter two were his feelings alone, but Matian was attributing even those to having caught them from others.

Matian didn’t want his thoughts to deviate from the ‘normal’ line.

But he was curious why even the High Priest, who rarely spoke nonsense, was talking like this.

Perhaps the empire’s culture had become more open without him knowing?

Meanwhile, the High Priest was protesting against the Dwarf Air Force’s excessive body search.