Bonus chapter from sponsored chapter.
Have a nice week everyone~
Translator: Raizu
Editor: Shirayuki
Chapter 56 – The Child of Light
After concluding his visits to his acquainted aristocrats and merchant, Ares brought Sigurd along to a big church situated between the South and West Districts.
The one in charge of this particular church was Cecil, the youngest person to become a Bishop so far.
As the bishop presides over the priests a.s.signed to each church, excellent ability and track record are required to become one.
The bishop is responsible for leading the priests in their a.s.signed church and to help the surrounding people. Basically it"s a position with a strong jurisdiction in the church and thus can be considered as a high position within the church body.
On the other hand, Cecil is also an active member of the Holy Paladins and is quite popular among the citizens.
Pretty golden hair, white fair skin, a well-sculpted nose and above all, his gentle eyes would make many women swoon.
Holy Paladins refer to knights who subjugate monsters where not many people can see, and works under the radar in the slums or even the shadier sides of the city. Based on the Sacred Ground Sierra Hazard, just like the other holy knights, they would also be dispatched for armed intervention in other countries.
Cecil was in particular a holy knight with some commendable achievements.
He"s both an excellent swordsman and a master of the Holy Arts. Often dispatched to dangerous places, but always returning with a success in hand. That made him one of the church"s most trusted men.
Although his merits would"ve allowed him to be a high rank holy knight, he instead chose to become a bishop to be able to help the citizens of the capital
The reason why he"s so popular among the citizens…..was because of the fact that he didn"t discriminate between the rich and poor alike.
Nowadays, most churches won"t be willing to treat the injured or sick without a certain amount of offerings. Cecil was different in that he"ll help regardless of anything as long as he had time to spare. Moreover, even though the church teachings clearly despise the demi-humans, Cecil accepted and treated them without any hesitation.
Apparently several complaints were thrown from the central church, but Cecil didn"t give a d.a.m.n. He continued his usual conduct of helping others.
As for the central church…..they turned a blind eye due to his ability and popularity…..as well as because of『large amount of financial aid』.
That"s right. Cecil uses his personal wealth and send it to the central church for bribes. Because he originally belonged to a viscount clan, money wasn"t much of a problem for him.
But of course, his money alone won"t be enough.
[That"s why the Schwarzer clan and Balzac"s men are also raising some funds.]
Ares explained to Sigurd on their way to the church.
[Such a large sum of money should be spent in a more meaningful way.]
[But such a shame. All that has to go to the pocket of those rotten people…..]
[Well, it can"t be helped. We"re just lending it to them for now. We"ll take it back in due time.]
Ares pointed to the front after saying those ominous thing.
[Oh, we"ve arrived already. That"s the church where Cecil is working, probably the largest in the South district. Yup, a lot of people has gathered as per usual.]
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The temple where Cecil is working was crowded with people. Mostly poor people and demihumans.
The sick, the injured and the hungry…all gathered here to receive help.
[That"s a large number of people.]
Sigurd commented
[That"s because there are people from other districts as well. There is no other place that offers free healing after all….]
That said, Ares made his way through the crowd toward the church. There were several priests, including Cecil, helping the many poor people and demihumans who had gathered for help. These priests were those who are in tune with Cecil"s intention, thus are willing to help.
As Ares approached, Cecil raised his head and remarked in a surprised tone.
[Ah, Ares-sama. It"s been a long time.]
[Hi Cecil. I want to have a little talk with you, can you spare some time later? Oh, don"t mind me. Just concentrate on what you"re doing. Everyone is waiting for you. I"ll be hanging around here until then]
[Pardon me. Then please make yourself comfortable. I will be taking a break in about an hour, please wait until then.]
They both laughed at each other before Ares turned around.
[Come on Sigurd, let"s wait outside. We"ll be bothering other people if we stick around here]
That said, they met back about an hour later.
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[Pardon me for the wait, Ares-sama.]
With that, Cecil offered Ares and Sigurd some chairs to sit on.
Ares and Sigurd were currently at the back of the church in Cecil"s office.
[Is it really okay to talk now?]
[It"s my breaktime. So it"ll be alright for a while. Oh, have you had lunch yet? I"ll fix something up if you haven"t]
Cecil said so with a small smile.
[Ah, of course, don"t expect to get anything special here.]
[No, it"s alright. I"m famished. Anything will do.]
With Ares" approval, Cecil gave some instructions through the speaking tube installed in the room.
[My guest also wants to eat. Can you add two more servings?]
Afterward, Cecil turned back to Ares.
[It"ll take some time. Well, now that we have time to spare, let"s get to the main topic. What is Ares-sama"s business to come here today…..?]
Ares immediately replied.
[The church"s recent movements.]
And then, he added one more thing.
[After that, I also want to meet Sirius.]
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In the middle of Ares and Cecil"s conversation, the door unexpectedly opened up.
When the three turned around to see who it was, a boy with long pretty blond hair with a tray in his hands entered.
[Cecil-nisama. I brought the lunch.]
[Oh Sirius. Thank you for bringing us the meals.]
Sirius smiled back at Cecil, but when he saw the other person in the room, he involuntarily blurted out.
[Ah! Ares-nisama! It"s been a while, hasn"t it!?]
[Yaa, Sirius. It"s been a while.]
The boy cheerily bounced toward Ares who, in turn, gently stroked his head.
[I"ve heard from Julius. Thanks for getting along with him.]
[Don"t mention it. Julius and Luther have been really good friends to me.]
Sirius giggled merrily.
The boy definitely looked like an ordinary boy of his age. But when Sigurd saw him….he froze when the boy looked back at him.
Sirius was one year younger than Ares" little brother Julius. He"s still a young boy. His straight long blond hair looks impressive as it is beautiful. Coupled with his statuesque white skin and delicate look, he could easily be mistaken for a girl.
However….
(What in the world is going on with this child??)
As a veteran of battles, Sigurd naturally could sense a person"s disposition fairly well. But this boy had something different. It"s not about battle prowess or magic power….it"s something that somewhat felt inhuman.
Simply speaking:
[Divine.]
Might be the best way to describe him.
(It"s like I"m seeing one of the G.o.ds depicted in the Great Church…..!!)
From Sigurd"s perspective, it"s as if a pair of wings had grown on Sirius" back.
After Sirius left……..Ares turned to Sigurd.
[Sigurd can feel it too, right?]
[…..I couldn"t even move. That boy has an air that won"t allow anyone else to interfere with him…. What in the world is he?]
Hearing Sigurd"s impression, Cecil replied.
[We call him the『Child of Light』. It"s possible that he is……a G.o.d reincarnated in this world.]
Sigurd was dumbfounded by that answer.
[…..it"s hard to belive…… something like that actually exist?]
[Seeing how I have the memories of three predecessors…. I don"t see how it"s impossible.]
Ares laughed while saying so.
[His power can no longer be considered Holy Art. The other day, he managed to『Restore』something『Completely Broken』into its『Previous Unbroken State』. That"s something only G.o.ds in the teaching could do.]
[His power is definitely belonged to no other kinds of art. Therefore…]
Cecil was the one who completed Ares" words.
[It must not be abused at all cost.]
[Luckily we were the first one to find him when he"s still staying in the orphanage. Otherwise he might end up being used as a false idol. We hid him here so that he can learn about many things and to wait for the perfect opportunity for him to make an appearance.]
In response to Ares" explanation, Sigurd asked.
[Perfect…..opportunity?]
[Sigurd. I also wish to reform the church. Not like the rotten church today, but into something that sees everyone as equal in receiving the teaching of the G.o.ds. To do that…..I"ll need his power.]
Ares smiled sheepishly and stuck out his tongue a little.
[I know I"m just trying to use him just like how the church would be if they found him first. But, I believe that he appeared on this age because the G.o.ds also want the present situation to change.]
He then added.
[By putting him as topmost figure of the church, I intend to completely reform the church. That"s why……I cannot afford to let his existence be known for now.]
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Ares then talked with Cecil regarding the church"s current situation.
[Bluntly speaking, it"s even more rotten than I expected. The aristocrats are the same.]
[There are many in the church body who are in cahoots with the aristocrats. Even the pope himself seems to have a close relationship with the Royal clan.]
[In that case we"ll have to be more careful. Thank you.]
After Ares said so, Cecil then said
[Ares-sama, and Sirius as well……the appearance of you two is a huge sign for this continent. A very big change will soon happen to the world…. I wish… I wish to see how you change this world.]
Hearing that, Ares let out a gentle smile.