The atmosphere was awkward but I was still smiling.
And why wouldn't I? Seeing Franz's annoyed expression with occasional twitching of lips and silent curses, anyone who saw his exaggerated face would definitely laugh.
But I wasn't making fun of his loss and the teammates he has lost. Instead, it was just making fun of the expression he was making.
And he clearly understood this.
"Alright, stop laughing! It's getting annoying to watch."
Franz said walking ahead of me, he also had a smile on his face, his lips curling up and down.
"...Sure," I said with a smile.
Franz sighed hearing my answer.
Still, we were closer to Morgana's office, I had previously been roaming either inside the Temple or outside. The place Franz had found me was near the backyard of Temple, opposite in direction to the ceremony that just happened some time ago.
"Finally I am free from you..."
I could hear the relief in his voice, as we reached the wooden door at the end of the corridor.
He glanced at me and opened the door with a small clicking sound.
Click—
Inside Morgana the High–Priestess was still in her ceremonial outfit with a large stack of paper resting beside her. She didn't even look up to greet us, her hand continued to move and kept signing the papers one by one.
She looked.... tired, which was understandable. She had been killing creatures of beyond all night, even more than me. She also had to clear the dens of monsters one by one.
Then her hand stopped and she put the pen back on the table, even though she had signed and checked so many papers, the stack of paper had not lessened one bit.
It was... pitiful.
Morgana leaned back and sighed, finally looking at us.
"Oh... It's you two. "
'What a cheerful greeting...' I almost commented but kept myself in check this time.
"How are you doing Lady Morgana?"
I asked, sitting down at the chair in front of me.
She stared at me with a blank look and spoke softly.
"What does it look like?"
I felt silent at her words, then with an awkward laugh I said.
"...Great, I guess."
I could see her brows twitching but I don't think pointing it out will be a good idea.
"I will take my leave now."
Franz, saying that, escaped immediately.
Morgana looked at his figure running away and tilted her head.
"What happened to him?"
I smiled back and shook my head.
"Nothing— Nothing at all."
"I have called you to ask what happened to that guy we met on the roof and to tell you about your reward."
She said with a blank face as her head rested over her right hand.
Reward? I have expected some words of gratitude for my work— But who am I to say no?
"...You are not the only one getting rewards, we are giving rewards to all those with great contributions and a normal amount of money raised to other staff as well.— We made quite a bit of money from recovering everything at the gang bases."
So I am not the only one who went on a stealing spree— I mean recovery.
Morgana smiled and nodded before adding.
"While most of the money will go to city reconstruction and to compensate those who lost their family."
"I understand... It's good to hear you all have not forgotten about people."
I nodded in agreement, the city had suffered a lot, and every little help would surely count.
"Now, Asher tell me what happened to Victor."
Morgana's voice which had been emotionless all this time, finally cracked showing— Anger.
It looks like she was aware of Victor's work on Liber's team.
"So what happened was...."
I didn't hide anything and told her everything in great detail, from Victor's eccentric nature to the way he talked about the Lost Prince and the history of the Old World.
"Lost Prince... Is he the one truly behind all this?" She muttered calmly and looked down.
"That's my guess as well."
"We have captured some of the gang members after their interrogation is done, I will let you know as well."
Morgana didn't talk about Victor, as if she was purposely avoiding him. And I could feel why she was doing this.
She was enraged... Her way of speaking was different than usual as well. Instead of the regular emotionless tone, this one was slightly colder and more chilling to hear.
"Is there any way I can help?"
I asked hoping to get some more answers, but sadly Morgana shook her head.
"No... There isn't.You should rest— You have worked hard..." She paused and sighed before asking. "...Are there any questions you would like to ask? I will soon be busy but I should be able to answer some for now."
Questions, I had many of them. But which one should I ask now? I don't know when Morgan will be free to talk more so it was better to be prepared for weeks if not months delay.
Or so I thought— But coming to the Temple had shocked me so much that all my questions felt less useful.
It's better to ask about what happened before I came here.
"I have... many questions actually. But I know you are busy so I will ask only three questions for now. I hope you can answer the other questions later on."
Morgana nodded once and gestured for me to continue.
"My first question is about the prayer chant, especially the last two lines. A guy outside named Mathew gave me a small explanation that it was just a general practice but I think there should be something more to it than that..." I took a deep breath and leaned back on my chair, my hand tapping the chair arm. ".... Am I correct?"
Morgana's eyes grew sharp, and a hint of surprise flitted across her face before it was masked once again by her usual stoic expression. "Mathew did, did he?" She murmured to herself before nodding. "The last two lines are indeed more than a general practice. They as he must have said don't affect prayer to the goddess but rather by removing it work as a filter to help her."
"Help her, How so?"
Unable to hide my curiosity I asked eagerly.
Morgana nodded and clarified.
"By praying the first three lines you can have the Goddess's attention but it doesn't mean she will answer your prayer. We generally ask devotes to only use the first three lines outside to help her filter which prayer is important or not... So if we add the last two lines now she will give it more importance."
That explanation was much more complex than I had previously imagined.
So in conclusion by using Goddess' first three-line chant we can have her attention but that doesn't mean she will focus on us... But if we add the last two lines the probability of her listening to our request increases drastically since she will focus on our prayer.
But doesn't this feel... less divine? A god who was supposed to be omnipotent and omniscient, why would she need to do such a thing?
"I can see your doubts but don't have them... According to what I know Goddess is busy with something important, so if we can lessen even a little bit of her burden we should gladly do it. According to Temple the use of the first three lines only started 500 years ago or something."
Hearing Morgana's words, I finally understood why such practice was ongoing right now. So before 500 years ago, people used to say all prayer lines.
Giving her a nod, I continued.
"I understand... This topic must be of a very high level. Thank you for telling me this."
Morgana nodded in acknowledgment and gestured for my next question.
"My next question is... What was that river of stars outside during the memorial ceremony? What was its purpose and... Um, why did it keep touching my face specifically?"
I asked too many questions in just a single question but that was not the embarrassing part, somehow by the end of the question room fell silent.
Morgana's face, which had been poker all this time, changed for the first time. Her lips quivered as she parted them to say something but then closed them.
She sighed and looked straight at me.
"Mn, Asher... have you ever gone out of your home before? River of Stars is an event that happens every year at least once, this time we did a small ceremony with Goddess permission earlier since so many innocents had died two nights before while hunting monsters."
This time it was my turn to be silent. I could see Morgana tried to be as polite as possible but in the end, this was common knowledge that sadly I was not aware of.
"Um, it's not like I don't go out, but rather I have amnesia, I only have three years' worth of memory... So I hope you can tell more "
I said with a sheepish smile trying to cover my ignorance.
Morgana's eyes widened in surprise before she nodded, understanding dawning on her face.
"Ah, I see... I apologize for assuming. The River of Stars is a phenomenon that occurs when Goddess shows her divine ability to answer most prayers at once... It's done on a very large scale all over the world but for today we prayed Goddess to do it on a smaller scale. It effectively increases a person's vitality and strength for a long period."
She coughed awkwardly before adding.
"...Can you tell what happened, and how it touched your face?"
"Ah, yes so what happened was that like everyone it came to embrace me but instead of leaving it stayed for...Um, quite some time and stared caressing my face and before leaving... it pinched them."
'Why am I getting embarrassed?!'
This talk is suddenly turning so weird and awkward. I shouldn't have asked this.
I sighed and looked at Morgana. Unlike my awkwardness she frowned and leaned toward me.
Her hand moved forward, making me lean back.
"What are you doing?" I asked as she touched my heart.
"Sorry, but you should check it." She said calmly before sitting back again.
'Check it?' I frowned and tucked my shirt to see my collarbone.
My eyes widened and I stood up immediately in panic.
Creak—!
The chair slid back with a hateful sound and fell behind. But I ignored all of that.
I have not noticed anything, but there was a difference that Morgana seemed to have noticed.
A white mark was carved over my heart, it was the shape of a star a little different from the one used by the Templar Knight's Emblem but almost similar. Its spikes were expanded over my Shoulder blades and collarbone.
It was done with such precision that it almost felt like it had always been there from birth. But it wasn't, someone had placed it upon me.
And the prime suspect was none other than Goddess Celestia herself.
"What's the meaning of this?"
I asked hurriedly, my voice louder than I hoped for.
Morgana kept her gaze on my heart— Where the mark resides. She had never seen this happen before, even the thought of a river of stars touching someone so affectionately was unheard of, but this mark was new.
If some priest saw it she was sure they would turn Asher into a divine avatar of some sort. This needs to be dealt with care, she concluded.
"I have never seen this or even heard of it before... But I can assure you, this shouldn't harm you in any way of sort..." Her words were of reassurance yet I could clearly see the disturbance in her demeanor.
She hesitated before adding. "...I will inform you about what's the meaning of this mark as soon as possible. Give me some time."
Her voice was firm, and she met my gaze, which was still filled with bewilderment and a hint of fear.
"I understand, I apologize for my rudeness." I gave a small bow before picking up the chair and placing it back in place.
"...It's alright, I understand."
Morgana sighed.
"Asher, I know you are curious, but you have to keep this to yourself for now. If the wrong people know about this, it could lead to unnecessary trouble."
I nodded
"I was already planning to."
I replied calmly, my hand still hovering over the mysterious mark.
Knock—
"Lady Morgana it's time—"
A voice called out from behind the door taking both of us by surprise.
"I will be there in two minutes." She answered.
Morgan turned her head to look at me and stood up from her seat.
"...Asher I will inform you about everything else later but as I said rest assured no harm should come because of the mark."
This time Morgana's voice was clear, and her red eyes looked at mine with untold confidence.
I was not sure what to say about this. But I could only trust her words.
"Yes... Well what's my reward, if you don't mind telling me?"
Morgana smiled as she went near the door.
"I am not aware of what exactly your reward is but I have been told it's being made especially for your need by Lord Undying himself."
In her tone I could feel a new emotion... pride, was it related to undying? What a peculiar yet ominous name.
"I am grateful but, who is Lord Undying?"
Instantly the excitement in Morgana's eyes vanished, she visibly frowned and said.
"Ah, yes you have amnesia correct, ask your friends or someone what's the story of lord undying. It's a popular tale many have heard of."
"Guess, I will need to..." I sighed before standing up.
"...Thank you for answering my questions," I said.
It was time to leave now. Instead of getting any visible results all I got was more questions instead, touching my chest I felt my heart beating... Was it from excitement? I don't know.
Soon, I will find everything, I reassured my beating heart. We have come so far, I thought while walking through the corridor.
Unknowingly I clenched my fist above my chest.
So a little longer... A little bit more time is worth waiting for if I can get my answers…