Vol 2: Chapter 35
* Eva Sillys *
After following the small path through the forest, they came to a huge temple without a roof.
Eva and the rest of the children were led there by the Rabbit priest. In front of them, there was a staircase of 5 fleets high. Stone pillars were lined up behind the stairs, 20 meters apart from each other. The stone pillars did not support a roof, only the extensive blue sky.
The ground Eva walked on shifted from soil to the feel of stone. Each one was a large stone pavement made from cutting a huge boulder. Between the stone pillars, there were stone statues of the Holy Kings, starting from the first Holy King.
Eva heard a small applause. Beyond the stone pillars, she saw nobles sitting side by side in the chairs arranged for them. The parents of the children participating today were also there, but they dressed up like nobles usually do.
There were too many nobles in the crowd to find Earl Sillys, but Eva felt certain that he was somewhere there.
This whole thing doesn’t feel real, Eva thought to herself. The smooth stone ground reflected the blue sky. She felt like she was walking in the air.
There was another staircase ahead. And at the landing of the stairs, there was a chair on which the Holy King sat.
And when she looked up at the very top, she saw a gray altar.
(That is the First Altar!)
It looked just like an ordinary stone stand. However, around it, evenly spaced rods with jewels that seem to contain magic were set on the floor, and smoke-like blue mana surrounds the altar. Occasionally you can see a small light shining from the altar. That is exactly the light that gives birth to a skill orb, but Eva couldn’t really tell by looking from below.
「Eh, everyone, please stop here.」
Eva and others stopped as told by El.
The children felt tense, being looked from above by the Holy King, and watched by many nobles.
El and the priests bowed away from the spot.
「-Since ancient times, it has been decided that when God bestows a skill orb to a subject who reached adulthood it will be a “clear day”.」
The Holy King stood up from his chair. He wore the same blue cloak as El and held a golden staff that was as tall as himself.
「In accordance with the ancient times, I grant you God’s blessing.” And the Holy King swung his staff.”First of all, let’s make sure that you are a “pure person” who can accept the skill orb.」
Eva noticed that the ground at her feet gave off a slight light.「Eh, eh, what is this!?」
The floor where a beastman girl stood was red, as if it were smeared with blood. As she let out a small scream, the priests soon came and took the girl away.
「N-No! What is this!?」
「Y-Your Majesty! My daughter suffered a serious illness shortly after birth, and at that time, she was only temporarily given a skill of [Immunity Enhancement]! It was removed as soon as she was cured!」
It was the girl’s father who raised his voice. Both him and his wife’s faces were pale.
「Silence.」
When the Holy King silenced the man, priests came and took them out of the temple, too.
Eva didn’t know that there was such a strict check. She only remembers her father saying, “A skill orbs is only given after the award ceremony. It’s absolute.”
The footprints of the beastman girl walking away remained as if they were smeared with blood. It gave a creepy feeling to the children.
「…A skill is originally given to a person only once. Don’t forget this.」
The Holy King’s word seemed to be squeezed out from the bottom of his heart. The pale children nodded in response.
(That’s strange…)
For Eva, it only gave rise to a “question”.
It is given to a person only once? Then why does the Holy King’s Knights Order inherit the rare skill of [Holy Sword Technique] from generation to generation? Why do 5 of the 6 Great Duke Houses keep skill orbs as important as heirloom?
(It is nothing more than a public stance, but… it feels like His Majesty is talking about his true opinions.)
As the Holy King mentioned earlier, “pure person”–there may be a way to confirm if someone has never used a skill orb.
(Why? Is there a special reason that it has to be a “pure person”? But I have never heard of anything like that regarding today’s ritual…)
When she glanced sideways, Mira was also frowning. She also probably didn’t know that this would happen. It would seem that Mira does not know about it either.
(Father…)
Eva searched for her father, but she still couldn’t find him. Maybe he is not here, she thought.
(…Reiji.)
Wanting to get rid of her anxiety, she called the name of her strange escort that she could always rely on – unconsciously reaching for the bracelet on her left hand.
(–Eh?)
She noticed that a jewel that was supposed to be there was missing.
(Why…!?)
Looking at it, all five jewels had turned blue—that is, it was an indication that it could no longer absorb mana.
Her heart started racing. It was a mistake to think that she got back in good health after sleeping for just a short while. The bracelet was damaged because it exceeded the limit, and the amount of mana in her body was restored.
「…What’s wrong, Miss Eva?」
「!」
Louis peered into her anxiety-filled face, and met Eva’s eyes head-on. Uncontrolled, special eyes.
At that time, an applause broke out. It was probably because the Holy King announced that he would start awarding the gems.
「L, Louis-sama…」
「Miss Eva, don’t worry about a thing.」
He turned his head, and at the end of his line of sight was the Holy King.
「First of all, Holy Prince Kluvshrat, I will grant you a skill orb.」
「Yes.」
Kluvshrat replied with a clear voice. His voice hadn’t deepened yet. Not only the girls but also the boys blushed looking at his cute appearance that looked like a girl.
However, only the Holy King had a sour face. The nobles started to rustle because the Holy King paused for a long time.
「…This time, what is bestowed on Holy Prince Kluvshrat… will be the 8-star skill orb that appeared this year.」
Those shocking words gave rise to a great noise, and some nobles even exclaimed,”WHAT!?”
An 8-star skill orb was unheard of. The nobles knew about skill orbs with 9-stars or more which could not be used by the people in this world, but the highest they’ve known is a 7-star. Moreover, the 7-star was lost in a war, and 6-stars should be the greatest existing skill orbs.
「…………」
The Holy King just stared at Kluvshrat, without paying attention to the screams. Kluvshrat himself probably didn’t expect to be endowed with such a skill — he was bewildered, and looked back at his father, the Holy King.
「Please wait, Holy King.」
However, there was a person who raised his hand.
「Isn’t there something wrong about being able to receive the 8-star skill orb of unparalleled rarity just because of bloodline? Considering the nature of the skill orb, and if the talent matches, wouldn’t it be better to give someone else a chance, too?」
With fiery eyes–with eyes burning with desire, Louis spoke up to the Holy King.
