95 Handling Unexpected Event
The austere melodies resounding inside the grand cathedral and accompanying it was the singing voice of the priests, creating a harmonious and solemn atmosphere in the cathedral. It was telling everyone about the journey of the Saint after she received an oracle.
The austere melodies soon turned lighter and filled with hope, heralding the coming of spring. This tune was truly suitable for welcoming the spring season.
Once this song ended, our turn would come.
“Ha~h… I’m so nervous,” Muriel, clad in a yellow-colored one-piece dress that denoted her role as a shrine maiden, muttered as she looked at the situation in the grand cathedral.
Right now, the grand cathedral was overflowing with visitors. How did we know? It was because the moment we opened the gate of the cathedral, we were welcomed by a crowd of citizens that had filled the courtyard of the cathedral all the way to the front gate.
Yup, I had never expected to see this kind of crowd. The number literally exploded compared to last year for some unknown reason.
However, if my guess was right, the reason might be the rumor about Katrina being the Saint. Then again, though she had yet to receive an oracle, the person herself had a saint-like personality. So, the matter of her being the Saint should be correct.
Alas, despite the fact that it should be a state secret, no gate was tough enough to block human’s mouth. As such, that matter becomes a rumor that spreads in a blink of an eye. In short, the reason why so many people gathered right now was probably that they knew that Katrina, the rumored Saint, would be representing the Saint in the festival this year.
Still, though I understood their curiosity in wanting to see Katrina with their own eyes, I couldn’t help but feel very nervous when there were this many people coming to see us. However.
“It’ll be okay, Muriel. We just need to do it like how we did when we practiced. Moreover, I am also by your side here. Everything will be alright,” I said, smiling at Muriel as I grabbed her hand.
That’s right. I’m by your side, so there’s nothing to fear.
“Yeah, you’re right. Thank you, Theodore-sama,” Muriel said, returning my grip with a warm smile on her face.
Darn, she is so da*mn cute.
“Stop fooling around already. We’re about to start,” Simeon warned us, making me pout.
I was just showering Muriel with my love, not fooling around. Ha~h, it was regrettable, but looking at the stern face of everyone, I let go of Muriel’s hand and passed the flower basket to her.
“Do your best.”
“You too, Theodore-sama.”
Although I could tell that everyone was dumbfounded, they kept their act together like usual, making it seem as if the fact that they had forgotten about me until a while ago was only an illusion.
What a relief. It seemed I had somehow managed to make them remember me. Good.
Then we waited.
As the chorus wound down, the clear sound of the handbell repeatedly rang across the space. Clear and sonorous. Then, it stopped, followed by the sound of flute instrument resonating in the air.
It was our turn.
Muriel and the other chosen shrine maidens advanced through the passage, throwing petals from the flower basket to the air, causing the passage to be filled with the color of red, yellow, white, and pink petals dancing over the sky.
Katrina then walked through the rain of petals slowly, letting the petals to swirl across her body and hair.
In one version of the legend, the shrine maidens were the one who guide the Saint to the place of the God of Creation. So, what we were doing now was the reproduction of that legend.
Anyway, the female bishop who was representing the Mother Earth Goddess and the pope who was representing the Creation God had already been waiting for her in front of the altar of the Saint’s statue.
Both of them were of the elder generation and had a real sense of presence that was very impressive. As expected, the one who represented those two roles had to be a big shot.
Then, following Katrina was us in our capacity as the Six Gods. Each of us was holding the Saint Ornament in our hands.
I was walking at the end of the line while carrying Saint Tiara with me. Once we arrived in front of the altar, each of us moved to our respective position with me in front of Goldias’ statue.
After confirming that everyone was already in their respective position, the pope raised his hand and recite the oracle that was passed down since long time ago.
“O’ pure-hearted maiden, who unrestrainedly poured her love to everyone equally, touching many people’s hearts, allowing peace to settle upon everyone, and letting their hearts to burn with passion for life. With a heart as vast as the sky, brimming with vivacity, set forth as the Saint and purify all evil.”
“Yes. I heard and received.”
After the pope, who represented the Creation God, recited the oracle; Katrina, who represented the Saint, accepted it with solemnity.
The pope’s speech seemed to be implying the existence of the six attributes. Well, I wasn’t sure. Anyway, after the Saint received the oracle, it was the Six Gods’ turn. In other words, it was the guys’ turn to receive the order from the Mother Earth Goddess to save the Saint.
“O’ Chosen Six Gods, please send my blessing to the Saint.”
After the female bishop who represented the Mother Earth Goddess spoke, Simeon came forward first and knelt in front of her. He then raised the earrings on the palm of his hands toward her. The female bishop gave her blessing to the earrings.
This blessed earrings then was to be put on Katrina’s ears in her role as the Saint by Simeon’s own hand. Honestly, I’d be flustered if it were me, but Simeon managed to pull it off without hitch before returning in front of the statue of the Six Gods that was his ancestor.
Uhm, he indeed has the talent to be a player. But, he’s kinda annoying.
Next was Luke’s turn. He got his Saint’s Cane blessed then gave it to the Saint. After him, Rex came forward with his necklace. It took a bit of time, but the process wasn’t a big deal. Then, Vince’s turn came with his bracelet and lastly me with my tiara. After giving these to Katrina, Elliot’s turn came.
He came forward and complete the ceremony by inserting the ring into Katrina’s left ring finger.
“We offer true love from the bottom of our hearts to our Saint and gave her our promise to assist her.”
“We give our promise.” We repeated Elliot’s last words, the famous words of the Six Gods, in unison. Not only us, but Muriel and the other shrine maidens also repeated this sentence in unison.
The reason why we didn’t use the words carved on the Saint’s Ornaments was simply that— the meaning of those words were unknown until nine years ago. Furthermore, even after we understood the meaning of those ancient words, it was decided that we should use the more well-known traditional words from the story instead. After all, we couldn’t just change the words out of nowhere with unfamiliar words for the masses.
“I accept your promises and shall devote myself to purifying all evil,” Katrina, the Saint, said as she raised the cane in her hand.
At that moment.
I felt the ground shake and brilliant light came from the huge gate. The light came from the black lightning that kept striking the mountain far away.
Everyone immediately started to raise a ruckus.
“That black lightning… it came from the southern direction!”
“I saw it too…. It come from southwest and southeast!”
“The northeast too!”
“From northwest too! What in the world is happening here?!”
I saw Katrina’s face go pale as she chewed her lips. Her shoulders were trembling non-stop, but right after that, a pure white pillar of light rose up to the sky as if to oppose the black lightning.
“Look, it’s a white pillar!”
“It erased the black lightning!”
Another ruckus happened as six white pillars appeared. Seeing this sight, I breathe out in relief. Good, it seems the barrier is working properly.
“Be quiet! The barrier that has been strengthened by the Saint’s power will exorcise all evil. There’s nothing to be afraid of!” The pope spoke in a loud voice to control the situation.
That was right. This place had almost been turned into a noisy market after all that ruckus. Fortunately, thanks to the effort of the pope and the priests, everyone managed to calm down. They then sang praises to Katrina with the same fervor as before.
“IT’S SAINT-SAMA! SHE EXORCIZES THE EVIL!! SHE’S THE REAL DEAL!”
“ALL HAIL SAINT-SAMA!”
Yet, the praises didn’t make Katrina happy. Instead, she looked like the color was drained from her face. Her face was as pale as paper.
However, she still waved her hands toward the people, albeit with a stiff smile on her face. Seeing this, Elliot went to her side and held her shoulders. His action seemed to calm her down because, after being surprised in the beginning, she smiled gratefully.
Yup, let’s support her too. It couldn’t be helped. Thanks to that black lightning, I now had to play along with these adlibs. Fortunately, everyone seemed to feel the same way since Luke and the rest of the boys, along with Muriel and the girls, came to Katrina’s side.
And together, we waved our hands toward the masses, causing even more excitement within their ranks. It was only after we were done that we left in accordance with the schedule of the ceremony and rode the horse prepared for the parade.
We, the Six Gods, rode the horses while Katrina and the shrine maidens rode on the carriage. Still together, we headed toward the royal palace.
During the parade, the people were even more heated with their praise, praising Katrina as the Saint. However, Katrina herself didn’t seem to accept that fact though. Perhaps the overly zealous passion of the masses had an adverse effect on her?
Who knows, but… I felt that since she was the real Saint, she should have puffed her chest in pride.
95 Handling Unexpected Event
The austere melodies resounding inside the grand cathedral and accompanying it was the singing voice of the priests, creating a harmonious and solemn atmosphere in the cathedral. It was telling everyone about the journey of the Saint after she received an oracle.
The austere melodies soon turned lighter and filled with hope, heralding the coming of spring. This tune was truly suitable for welcoming the spring season.
Once this song ended, our turn would come.
“Ha~h… I’m so nervous,” Muriel, clad in a yellow-colored one-piece dress that denoted her role as a shrine maiden, muttered as she looked at the situation in the grand cathedral.
Right now, the grand cathedral was overflowing with visitors. How did we know? It was because the moment we opened the gate of the cathedral, we were welcomed by a crowd of citizens that had filled the courtyard of the cathedral all the way to the front gate.
Yup, I had never expected to see this kind of crowd. The number literally exploded compared to last year for some unknown reason.
However, if my guess was right, the reason might be the rumor about Katrina being the Saint. Then again, though she had yet to receive an oracle, the person herself had a saint-like personality. So, the matter of her being the Saint should be correct.
Alas, despite the fact that it should be a state secret, no gate was tough enough to block human’s mouth. As such, that matter becomes a rumor that spreads in a blink of an eye. In short, the reason why so many people gathered right now was probably that they knew that Katrina, the rumored Saint, would be representing the Saint in the festival this year.
Still, though I understood their curiosity in wanting to see Katrina with their own eyes, I couldn’t help but feel very nervous when there were this many people coming to see us. However.
“It’ll be okay, Muriel. We just need to do it like how we did when we practiced. Moreover, I am also by your side here. Everything will be alright,” I said, smiling at Muriel as I grabbed her hand.
That’s right. I’m by your side, so there’s nothing to fear.
“Yeah, you’re right. Thank you, Theodore-sama,” Muriel said, returning my grip with a warm smile on her face.
Darn, she is so da*mn cute.
“Stop fooling around already. We’re about to start,” Simeon warned us, making me pout.
I was just showering Muriel with my love, not fooling around. Ha~h, it was regrettable, but looking at the stern face of everyone, I let go of Muriel’s hand and passed the flower basket to her.
“Do your best.”
“You too, Theodore-sama.”
Although I could tell that everyone was dumbfounded, they kept their act together like usual, making it seem as if the fact that they had forgotten about me until a while ago was only an illusion.
What a relief. It seemed I had somehow managed to make them remember me. Good.
Then we waited.
As the chorus wound down, the clear sound of the handbell repeatedly rang across the space. Clear and sonorous. Then, it stopped, followed by the sound of flute instrument resonating in the air.
It was our turn.
Muriel and the other chosen shrine maidens advanced through the passage, throwing petals from the flower basket to the air, causing the passage to be filled with the color of red, yellow, white, and pink petals dancing over the sky.
Katrina then walked through the rain of petals slowly, letting the petals to swirl across her body and hair.
In one version of the legend, the shrine maidens were the one who guide the Saint to the place of the God of Creation. So, what we were doing now was the reproduction of that legend.
Anyway, the female bishop who was representing the Mother Earth Goddess and the pope who was representing the Creation God had already been waiting for her in front of the altar of the Saint’s statue.
Both of them were of the elder generation and had a real sense of presence that was very impressive. As expected, the one who represented those two roles had to be a big shot.
Then, following Katrina was us in our capacity as the Six Gods. Each of us was holding the Saint Ornament in our hands.
I was walking at the end of the line while carrying Saint Tiara with me. Once we arrived in front of the altar, each of us moved to our respective position with me in front of Goldias’ statue.
After confirming that everyone was already in their respective position, the pope raised his hand and recite the oracle that was passed down since long time ago.
“O’ pure-hearted maiden, who unrestrainedly poured her love to everyone equally, touching many people’s hearts, allowing peace to settle upon everyone, and letting their hearts to burn with passion for life. With a heart as vast as the sky, brimming with vivacity, set forth as the Saint and purify all evil.”
“Yes. I heard and received.”
After the pope, who represented the Creation God, recited the oracle; Katrina, who represented the Saint, accepted it with solemnity.
The pope’s speech seemed to be implying the existence of the six attributes. Well, I wasn’t sure. Anyway, after the Saint received the oracle, it was the Six Gods’ turn. In other words, it was the guys’ turn to receive the order from the Mother Earth Goddess to save the Saint.
“O’ Chosen Six Gods, please send my blessing to the Saint.”
After the female bishop who represented the Mother Earth Goddess spoke, Simeon came forward first and knelt in front of her. He then raised the earrings on the palm of his hands toward her. The female bishop gave her blessing to the earrings.
This blessed earrings then was to be put on Katrina’s ears in her role as the Saint by Simeon’s own hand. Honestly, I’d be flustered if it were me, but Simeon managed to pull it off without hitch before returning in front of the statue of the Six Gods that was his ancestor.
Uhm, he indeed has the talent to be a player. But, he’s kinda annoying.
Next was Luke’s turn. He got his Saint’s Cane blessed then gave it to the Saint. After him, Rex came forward with his necklace. It took a bit of time, but the process wasn’t a big deal. Then, Vince’s turn came with his bracelet and lastly me with my tiara. After giving these to Katrina, Elliot’s turn came.
He came forward and complete the ceremony by inserting the ring into Katrina’s left ring finger.
“We offer true love from the bottom of our hearts to our Saint and gave her our promise to assist her.”
“We give our promise.” We repeated Elliot’s last words, the famous words of the Six Gods, in unison. Not only us, but Muriel and the other shrine maidens also repeated this sentence in unison.
The reason why we didn’t use the words carved on the Saint’s Ornaments was simply that— the meaning of those words were unknown until nine years ago. Furthermore, even after we understood the meaning of those ancient words, it was decided that we should use the more well-known traditional words from the story instead. After all, we couldn’t just change the words out of nowhere with unfamiliar words for the masses.
“I accept your promises and shall devote myself to purifying all evil,” Katrina, the Saint, said as she raised the cane in her hand.
At that moment.
I felt the ground shake and brilliant light came from the huge gate. The light came from the black lightning that kept striking the mountain far away.
Everyone immediately started to raise a ruckus.
“That black lightning… it came from the southern direction!”
“I saw it too…. It come from southwest and southeast!”
“The northeast too!”
“From northwest too! What in the world is happening here?!”
I saw Katrina’s face go pale as she chewed her lips. Her shoulders were trembling non-stop, but right after that, a pure white pillar of light rose up to the sky as if to oppose the black lightning.
“Look, it’s a white pillar!”
“It erased the black lightning!”
Another ruckus happened as six white pillars appeared. Seeing this sight, I breathe out in relief. Good, it seems the barrier is working properly.
“Be quiet! The barrier that has been strengthened by the Saint’s power will exorcise all evil. There’s nothing to be afraid of!” The pope spoke in a loud voice to control the situation.
That was right. This place had almost been turned into a noisy market after all that ruckus. Fortunately, thanks to the effort of the pope and the priests, everyone managed to calm down. They then sang praises to Katrina with the same fervor as before.
“IT’S SAINT-SAMA! SHE EXORCIZES THE EVIL!! SHE’S THE REAL DEAL!”
“ALL HAIL SAINT-SAMA!”
Yet, the praises didn’t make Katrina happy. Instead, she looked like the color was drained from her face. Her face was as pale as paper.
However, she still waved her hands toward the people, albeit with a stiff smile on her face. Seeing this, Elliot went to her side and held her shoulders. His action seemed to calm her down because, after being surprised in the beginning, she smiled gratefully.
Yup, let’s support her too. It couldn’t be helped. Thanks to that black lightning, I now had to play along with these adlibs. Fortunately, everyone seemed to feel the same way since Luke and the rest of the boys, along with Muriel and the girls, came to Katrina’s side.
And together, we waved our hands toward the masses, causing even more excitement within their ranks. It was only after we were done that we left in accordance with the schedule of the ceremony and rode the horse prepared for the parade.
We, the Six Gods, rode the horses while Katrina and the shrine maidens rode on the carriage. Still together, we headed toward the royal palace.
During the parade, the people were even more heated with their praise, praising Katrina as the Saint. However, Katrina herself didn’t seem to accept that fact though. Perhaps the overly zealous passion of the masses had an adverse effect on her?
Who knows, but… I felt that since she was the real Saint, she should have puffed her chest in pride.
