Magic Chronicles : Fallen Race

3/4

In front of the Radiant Temple, Freya who had gone to seek help, was already mentally prepared to argue with the Elders.

After all, up until now, the Hero had not brought any benefits to the Temple. Instead, some of his actions might have caused misunderstandings among the Elders. The Elders originally did not approve of the Hero, so now wanting the Temple to stand up for him was definitely not a simple matter.

But there was no other way. No matter how strong a person was, it was difficult to go against a powerful organization.

Just as the subordinates of those noble and powerful figures had said.

They didn't need to compete with the Hero in terms of strength at all. Just by utilizing the public opinion resources at their disposal, they could easily ruin the Hero's reputation and make him the target of public criticism.

If, as in the hallucination, those interest groups of the powerful figures really labeled the Hero as "Unforgiven," guiding the ignorant masses to hate and loathe the Hero, it would be equivalent to pushing the Hero to the opposite side of humanity.

She, Freya, as the Saintess, absolutely could not let such a desperate future happen!

So the best solution at the moment was to have the Radiant Temple publicly announce the Hero's identity to the masses before those forces eyeing the Hero could make a move.

This way, as long as everyone was told about the future catastrophe, Freya believed that the humans of the world would unite and no longer fight among themselves. They would be able to work together with the Hero to prepare for the invasion of the foreign races.

With this belief, when Freya entered the temple, it was a bit unexpected. The Elders, who were usually difficult to see, were all standing at the entrance of the outer hall.

The six Elders were divided into two rows, one on the left and one on the right, standing respectfully.

Judging from their posture, it was as if they had hurriedly come out to welcome her upon discovering her arrival.

"Elder Nolan?"

This left Freya a bit dumbfounded. She cautiously asked the middle-aged woman at the forefront.

In the Saintess's impression, the Elder always had a stern face and sat high on the main seat. How could she be like now, even quickly running over to welcome her upon seeing her?

"Hurry, hurry, you're finally here, Freya. We missed you so much. Are you tired? Come in and sit down. We prepared some fruits for you."

"Yes, Freya, are you thirsty? We'll go get you some holy water."

"Freya, why are you wearing these commoner clothes? Did your previous Saintess outfit get damaged? Someone! Immediately prepare the best new sacred robe for the Saintess!"

"Come take a bath and change clothes first. I'll go prepare the water for you."

"Freya come closer, let me help you take off your boots."

The six Radiant Elders now didn't seem like Elders at all. They were more like Freya's six old nannies.

Enjoy new chapters from empire

They crowded around Freya, inquiring about her well-being. Those who didn't know might think some young lady had returned home.

Seeing one of the Elders even about to kneel down to personally take off her shoes, Freya was almost startled.

"Wait, wait a moment, Elders!"

The Saintess, who had come back to her senses, quickly stopped the overly enthusiastic Elders. She then stepped back and stared at them in confusion, her head full of questions.

"Is everyone... alright?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

You should know that the Elders used to command her with the attitude of elders. Things like serving tea and water were all done by her, the young Saintess, to serve the Elders. But how did it all get reversed as soon as she returned?

However, from what the Elders said next, Freya quickly grasped some clues.

"Freya, it must have been tough for you to escort the Hero on this journey."

"Yes, yes. The Council of Elders has decided to fully open the Temple's treasury to you to subsidize the expenses of you and the Hero."

"Not only that, the Council unanimously believes that leaving the holy water to you young people of the future is the right thing to do."

"So Freya, is your visit this time at the Hero's request?"

"Does the Hero have any demands?"

"We, we haven't done anything to displease the Hero, have we?"

The Elders who spoke last were all trembling with fear.

A few of them even tightened their legs, as if afraid of making a mistake and being punished by the Hero.

At this point, Freya finally understood completely.

The source of the Elders' 180-degree change in attitude towards her was here.

Did the Hero do something without me knowing?

Originally, Freya was going to ask the Radiant Temple to stand up for the Hero.

Now it seemed she had overthought it.

Her Hero had long considered these issues and had made arrangements in advance.

Although Reji's thoughtfulness put Freya's mind at ease...

She always felt that the Hero was deliberately "hiding" something from her.

Coupled with the increasingly frequent hallucinations recently.

Freya felt that deep in her heart, there seemed to be an illusory voice telling her that there was some secret she didn't know about.

A secret huh...

The Saintess clenched her fists tighter.

Actually, she hated this feeling.

That voice in her heart seemed to be taking advantage of her mentality, continuing to lure her to go to the basement of the Radiant Temple, to go before that statue of the Radiant Goddess.

There she would be able to learn more, the secrets behind the Hero.

This was indeed very tempting.

Freya looked at the basement corridor leading to the statue. The dark tunnel was like an abyss. As long as she stepped in, she could obtain the truth, but...

She took a deep breath.

In the end, she still chose to refuse.

But just as she was about to turn around and leave, an unexpected voice sounded from the side.

"Wait a moment, Freya."

"H-Hero-sama?"

Reji walked out from the darkness of the corridor. He had actually prepared himself to let Freya know the truth, but he didn't expect the Saintess to turn back.

Of course, Reji had also noticed Freya's recent abnormal behavior.

After all, the former Emperor had been in contact with the Philosopher's Stone the longest. Even though his authority was not as high as the rightful Hero, he was still somewhat influenced by it to some extent.

The Philosopher's Stone had rewound the world. Although the Emperor's consciousness was also erased, there would still be some remnants.

The frequent hallucinations and the guiding voice in the Saintess's heart might be the remnants of the Emperor at work.

Reji: "Why didn't you continue walking forward?"

"I'm afraid."

Freya shook her head.

Even if there was some so-called truth ahead, if this truth would make her waver in her faith in the Hero, Freya would rather be kept in the dark forever than become a Saintess who doubted her Hero.

Freya was afraid of becoming that kind of person.

After all. The whole world could doubt the Hero.

Only she could not.

This point had been unwavering for Freya from the moment she decided to say to Reji when they first met, "You're awake, Lord Hero."

"Lord Hero, let's go."

Freya turned around and wanted to leave, wanting to avoid it, but unfortunately, Reji took a step forward and grabbed her hand.

Their fingers intertwined.

Even though they were both silent at this moment, a lot had already been expressed in this silence.

The light of the Philosopher's Stone began to flicker on Reji's right hand.

This time, the light of memories not only enveloped Reji but also Freya.

But for the Saintess.

She alone would be afraid, would dread such a secret.

But at this very moment, with her hand tightly clasped with Reji's, her heart was filled with unprecedented courage and determination.