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Priest Marid, who was standing aside, flinched. It was because the words were so unexpected. Abbot Wilbert's expression also froze.
"Brother."
"This is not a matter of whether you like it or not. The Empire needs a hero right now."
Shouldn't it be the Church? Instead of asking that, Abbot Wilbert barely managed to move his lips to say something else.
"Strictly speaking, this is Iris's achievement. I cannot steal it."
Archbishop Victor frowned.
He remembered the dirty country girl who smelled of earth—a sight that made it impossible to imagine she was the legitimate daughter of House Achen.
"...Being the Duke of Achen is enough. Besides, is she not a married woman? She cannot be canonized as a Saintess."
"Since when did the Church discuss the marital status of a Saint? Even Saint Martha..."
"Her husband died. And Wilbert. This is already decided, so just follow along."
Archbishop Victor was stubborn. He seemed to believe that a demon appearing for the first time in a hundred years was an opportunity to raise the prestige of the Church of Eridrahan.
"I tell you once more, the Empire needs a hero right now. And that must be you. You, the brother of Victor and the Abbot of Wind Rock Monastery. Do you understand?"
There was no other way. Abbot Wilbert sighed.
* * *
It was already late at night. The wheat harvest was complete, so all the warehouse doors of the monastery were closed, and the priests would have fallen asleep long ago.
"Um, Abbot. Congratulations."
It was when they had closed the door of the guest room and stepped out. Priest Marid cautiously called out to Abbot Wilbert.
Priest Marid's face was a complex mix of emotions. It was likely a blend of joy that the Abbot he served would be canonized as a Saint, and worry regarding Rahan Norwich.
In the quiet monastery, Abbot Wilbert replied softly, mindful of whether anyone was eavesdropping.
"Watch your words, Marid. I am still nothing. Nothing has been decided."
"Ah, my apologies..."
Marid, quickly losing his spirit, silently followed behind Abbot Wilbert. He spoke again only when Abbot Wilbert opened the door to the Abbot's office.
"Abbot. Will Brother Rahan... be alright?"
Whether he had contracted with a demon or simply borrowed its power, they did not know. Regardless, those who associated with demons had always been enemies of the Church.
But why was it? Right now, Priest Marid's face was clouded with worry for Rahan.
It was likely because Eridrahan had made humans beings who love one another.
Abbot Wilbert felt relieved that his cherished disciple still held a heart of love, but at the same time, he felt pity.
"Brother Marid. You haven't forgotten that he has entered the Sanctuary, have you?"
At the unusually stern tone, Priest Marid flinched and finally nodded.
Abbot Wilbert patted him with a bittersweet smile.
"God always tests us. I will speak with Brother Rahan tomorrow."
"...Thank you."
Priest Marid headed back to his room with a gloomy face. Abbot Wilbert watched his retreating figure for a long while before entering his office.
Though he had acted composed in front of Priest Marid, Abbot Wilbert was equally conflicted.
Above all, the most bittersweet part was that he himself worried more for Iris than for Rahan.
Abbot Wilbert worried that, in his desire to help Iris Achen, he might have burdened her with an overwhelming disaster.
He also blamed himself.
Rahan Norwich, who had been denounced as the 'child of a demon' for many long years. If Abbot Wilbert were to ask him tomorrow if he had truly been with a demon, the man would undoubtedly be hurt.
Yet, the Abbot would likely ask Rahan anyway. Whether he had colluded with a demon. Solely out of the hope that his foster daughter would not be hurt.
Both Iris and Rahan were children of the same God. But Abbot Wilbert's scales were clearly tilted toward Iris.
'It is a shameful thing that I do not even have the heart to deny him...'
The Abbot traced the symbol of Eridrahan with his hand and blew out the candle.
Swoosh...
The sound of rain falling outside the window could be heard. The whistling sound of the wind was particularly fierce.
It seemed he would lose sleep tonight.
* * *
During the night, the newlyweds shared intimacy a couple more times. It only ended there because Iris regained her senses, reminding him that "we have to go cure the plague tomorrow."
However, neither of them could sleep properly. Aside from the stories they had caught up on, it was because of the heavy rain.
The rain fell so hard it felt as if the small cabin might be washed away, causing them to wake up repeatedly. Rahan even went out at dawn to check the roof once more.
Dong...
"Mmm."
If it weren't for the monastery bell echoing through the sound of the rain, they would have forgotten the time and overslept.
Iris was the first to wake. Everything was dim and cold because of the rain.
'I don't want to get up.'
She wriggled and turned over, burrowing into Rahan beside her.
In his sleep, Rahan groaned, "Mmm..." and pulled Iris into an embrace. Rahan's body temperature was always slightly higher than Iris's, and it was the same now.
His shirtless chest was so warm that she didn't feel the cold. Iris giggled softly.
"Heehee."
Something she had never thought of when she was an apprentice priest. She hadn't known that being lazy and wriggling in her husband's arms could be this happy.
Iris draped Rahan's arm over her shoulder and turned her body to press her back against his chest. It was as if Rahan were hugging her from behind.
The man, not yet fully awake, reached out and naturally began to fiddle with Iris's soft left breast.
It was a habit that had formed quickly since the two of them shared a narrow bed during their short honeymoon. Iris blushed and lightly slapped the back of the hand that was groping her.
"You can't."
"Mmm..."
The sleep-drunk man smiled and kissed the back of Iris's neck. She felt a ticklish sensation.
"I can't?"
"The Potato Blight relief with Priest Marid..."
"Right..."
At those words, Rahan tried to wriggle up, so Iris held onto him. Knowing he had struggled in the rain until dawn yesterday, she wanted him to sleep more.
"It's okay. Sleep a bit more."
"..."
"I'll just go to the well for a moment."
Saying so, she got up and kissed Rahan's cheek.
Although he had tried to wake, the aftermath of last night's struggle was great; at Iris's words, Rahan closed his flickering eyes again.
Iris chuckled.
'I should go up to the monastery first.'
The cabin where they stayed was on the only path leading down from the monastery anyway.
Regardless of everything, Iris had no intention of leaving Rahan behind. Rahan worried so much about her going alone that she didn't want to make him worry.
'The higher-ups will probably take a long time to prepare, so I'll just come back quickly on my way down and wake him up to leave.'
Since Rahan had almost only one set of clothes, he didn't need much preparation.
Iris put on her under-tunic, hesitated, and then layered a cotton surcoat over the crimson tunic she had bought previously.
The surcoat purchased at the Regular Market fit Iris perfectly. The merchant had bragged that the surcoat Iris liked had been worn by some lord's daughter, but Rahan had snapped, "What lord's daughter wears a surcoat made of cotton?"
He seemed quite displeased with the idea of buying her something someone else had worn.
But she liked it!
'And since it's raining today, it's better to layer up.'
Even if it was summer, it was cold when the rain fell this heavily. After slinging a small leather bag over her shoulder, Iris carefully opened the cabin door.
Fortunately, it seemed the rain had been more noise than substance, as it had subsided significantly since last night. The sky was still dark, but it didn't seem like it would soak her clothes completely.
It was then.
Plop. Something fell from the sky and landed in her bag. Looking down, it was a pink axolotl.
"Oh, you."
She remembered Rahan turning the whole house upside down to find that axolotl. Iris started to turn around to call Rahan, but changed her mind upon seeing the man still fast asleep.
"Do you want to come too?"
The axolotl flicked its tongue, and as if it understood Iris's words, it quickly dove into the bag. Iris laughed softly.
"Alright, let's go together."
If she had known that would be the last time, Iris would never have left the cabin that day.
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