I Became the Villainess in an Anticlimactic Novel - Chapter 18

“Wow.”

I let out a natural gasp at the scenery of the place where Lecht had dropped me off.

“How wonderful.”

That was my first thought upon seeing the temple of the moon god. Seeing as it was known as an abandoned temple since no one took care of it, I thought it would look gloomy, like a haunted house. But that wasn’t the case at all. 

The surrounding mountains were all covered in shadows due to the dense forest, but as far as where the temple was located, a lot of light fell through the foliage of the trees.

Although we set off right after lunch, the moon was already up by the time we arrived since the sun had set rather early. Although it wasn’t a full moon yet, the amount of moonlight illuminating the ground was still ample. 

The temple, which had been flooded with moonlight peaking through the leaves, was shining brightly. It was as if stars had been scattered over the temple roof.

The vines that climbed up the wall seemed to make the temple more antique than messy. Perhaps because of the shape of the surrounding trees, the temple seemed safe, as if the mountains around it were warmly embracing it.

“Watch your feet as you enter.”

Lydia opened the door and entered first. The heavy door squeaked, as if it had been left unattended for a long time. It wasn’t an unpleasant noise either.

The interior had an antique elegance of its own. The dust floating in the air danced softly under the moonlight coming in through the window.

“The cleanliness of this place is rather poor since it hasn’t been maintained very well, so be careful not to get your clothes dirty.”

At Lydia’s words, the three priests kicked up a fuss to defend my clothes. Thanks to the cute priests who were worrying down to the most insignificant and trivial details, I was able to bravely walk up with a light heart to the altar where Lydia stood.

When I stepped up to the altar, I was able to see the temple from a slightly higher perspective. It was just as cool as I had expected.

“Then, shall we begin the process without delay?”

“Alright.”

Whether it was sightseeing or simply taking my own time. We had already delayed it for so long because of me, so I thought it would be better to conclude the procedure quickly.

“What should I do?”

The moment had now come for me to know whether the holy object they were talking about was the same as the defence cheat that I knew about.

“First, come here.”

I followed Lydia’s instructions. 

When I stood where she was talking from, I could see a clean bowl. Although it was rather old, it was clean and seemed to be very well kept, unlike the rest of the temple. As soon as I saw it, I could tell, ‘Oh, so that’s the holy object’.

As Lydia instructed, I lifted the bowl with both hands. As soon as my hand touched it, the bowl gave off a soft glow and began to fill up with something on its own.

“This is…?”

“It fills up automatically when being touched with the power of the moon god.”

Gosh, there were so many fascinating things. 

I took the bowl of water and walked further into the temple with Lydia guiding me. There were elaborate patterns carved into the floor. It didn’t seem like a pattern merely used as a decoration for the temple, but rather, it was large and profound, as if it contained some sort of meaning. 

Above all, what really stood out was the towering pillar that rose from the middle of the pattern. It was about the height and thickness of my waist, with the circular top hollowed out. It was a much gentler curve than the concave bowl I was holding onto currently.

“This is a ‘pillar’ which can be found in every temple. When a temple is built in a place within God’s reach, it’s the first thing that’s planted and carved, with the temple collapsing the moment it is destroyed.”

Lydia explained with a smile, as if it had been obvious to her that I’d been curious.

“How fascinating.”

“It’s because all temples are connected by the will of God.”

Will of God you say… What sort of god is the moon god?

“You just need to pour the water from the bowl in here.”

The place Lydia was referring to was the dip on top of the pillar. 

Splish—

As I poured the water in, Lydia took the bowl away from me and asked me to hold onto the pillar.

“Please imbue the energy slowly, and as warm as possible please.”

As warm as possible you say. If I had heard this sort of phrase a few days ago, I would have wondered what it meant. However, I could understand what Lydia meant since I had made this sort of light and that sort of light and so on in the process of making a bunch of lights for Linden.

I infused the pillar with energy that was Linden’s favorite color. The pillar began to glow with my power. The water that was contained at the top gradually started to be absorbed into the pillar. 

Then, a breathtakingly beautiful scene began to unfold.

“Wow…”

The stream of water where my light had fused together with it started to flow along the patterns engraved on the floor. As the water filled the circular patterns, the surrounding area near my feet began to get brighter and brighter. 

The pattern was much larger than I thought. Centered around me, it slowly filled the floor and started climbing up the walls and the pillars as well. By the time all the fine lines had been filled up, the whole temple was bathed in light that was melded with my power. 

It was beautiful in a different sense to the time when only moonlight would flood through my window. It was such a picturesque sight that when I turned my head, even the noisy trio had been stunned into silence. 

The thought that anyone would have believed in God if presented with this sort of scenery suddenly flashed through my head. 

It was at that moment.

Flash! 

A single beam of light suddenly burst from the pillar. It flew from the area above me and flashed, scattering before it reached the ceiling. The light, which seemed to disappear in all directions, quickly began to converge in one place again.

And with a gentle breeze, an object slowly appeared. It was floating in the air, so incredibly large that it was hard to believe that it came from such a thin pillar.

“A shield…?”

Its presence overwhelmed the surroundings much quicker than the faint outlines from earlier.

Hum— Hum—

It vibrated gently, as if it were speaking to me.

“It’s a holy relic that has been passed down for 100 years. It has the ability to identify and confirm powers anywhere, as long as it’s a temple of the moon god.”

Lydia’s resounding voice was mixed with the resonating sound of the holy relic. 

“Unlike how anyone who has been confirmed to possess the divine power of the moon god, there is only one person in this world who can truly embrace and bear this.”

I could tell who it was, even without asking.

“It’s been said that this piece of armor has been reserved for the next saintess by Lunar.”

Lydia’s words confirmed my thoughts.

“It’s something that belongs to the saintess, that’s what I think.”

“…”

“Will you be able to turn my hope into faith?”

I proved myself as a saintess through that, and in a pretty way as well. I pulled my hand off the pillar, took a few steps back and raised my head. 

It was so I could fit the whole shield into my line of sight. Although it was silver, it didn’t feel particularly holy. Although the energy it exuded was rather overwhelming, I could also sense its feelings.

‘I can sense… its feelings.”

No matter how divine a holy relic was, it was still awkward for me to be able to feel the emotions of objects. However, the emotion I had felt in that object was definitely ‘deep affection’.

I didn’t mean that objects normally showed affection for me though. It was just that I could feel the love and affection that was put into that object when it was created. It felt as if it had been made, stitch by stitch, while thinking about the person who would use it.

Was it because of the elaborate designs on it? Was it because of its pretty appearance? Was it because of its mystical color? Did Lunar put their whole heart into it, just because it was a holy relic?

‘What was the person who made you thinking when they were making you?’

It was said to have been passed down for 100 years as an object that Lunar had left for the next saintess. That’s how long both Lunar, as well as Lunarisms, had been waiting for the next saintess, right?

I reached for it with a smile. My palms turned upwards. As if it were to hold my hand.

“I don’t know if I’m worthy enough.”

Will I be able to meet their expectations? Will the self-centered me, who hadn’t thought at all of protecting the citizens of the empire and had merely thought of hurriedly fleeing on my own at the sound of war breaking out, will I really be able to be the Saintess?

“Although I’m not sure, I’ll try to bear the responsibilities of a saintess.”

The love and affection you have in me. The hope of the Lunar religion. The expectations of the believers. Even though I’m worried about what will happen if I only bring disappointment, and how I’m scared of the fact that they may not like me when they meet me in person.

“Will you give me courage?”

I spoke to the holy relic with a sincere heart.

“Be with me.”

The shield, which only had an outline, gradually filled with light and soon began to glow to the point where it was dazzling.

Hum— Hum— Hum—

The entire atmosphere resonated with the shield, its amplitude of vibration awakening my soul. I let go of my power and submitted myself to my senses. 

My divine power, which began to scatter all throughout my skin, became one with the vibration of the shield and filled the air. As the temple slowly raised its sleeping head, something lurking silently within my soul poked its head out. 

A gentle breeze from somewhere blew in with a whoosh— and wrapped around me and the shield in unison. A gust of wind that was too soft to be called a whirlwind tickled me.

The shield, which had discovered a clear model, gradually became smaller and smaller before falling into the palm of my hand. Like the dissolving of a melting snowflake, the shield seeped into my body and climbed up my arm before settling within my solar plexus. 

The light of the shield, which had been humming to the beat of my heart, gradually faded away. At the same time, the rays of light which had spread all throughout the temple also faded away. The temple became silent, as if the one who had shown such a phenomenal appearance hadn’t been them. 

It returned to being a temple densely filled with dust. I was the only one who had changed. A new resolution. A confirmed identity. A genuine power that had been embraced.

“Congratulations.”

Lydia was the first to welcome me back. She placed her hand on her chest, bowed her head, and knelt down on one knee to greet me. The hyperactive three priests also did the same. They saluted me with a serious look that was incongruent to their usual expressions.

“Saintess.”

Although I had heard that same word a number of times already, it now reminded me of those past memories.

“You may feel frustrated since there will be a lot of things I don’t know. You may also be unsatisfied since I may not measure up to how long you have waited. However, I will try my best to meet your expectations.”

I spoke frankly.

“So please take care of me.”

“The honour is mine, Saintess. I will assist you with all my might.”

I laughed awkwardly at Lydia’s excessively respectful words. It still felt a little awkward to be treated as such a high-ranking and divine person. But I’d get used to it someday, right?

However, even if that’s the case, I didn’t want to feel distant from them. At that thought, I naturally thought of Lecht. I suddenly thought that we’d become distant for no reason, since a faithful believer like Lecht might be too busy revering me instead.

I turned my head quickly.

“Then, Lecht is now my escort kni…!”

My playful words were swallowed back inside. It was because of the large pair of arms that had embraced me the moment I turned around. It was the scent I had kept smelling ever since I came here, and a scent that I really liked, so I could automatically tell who it was without even checking.

In the first place, there was only one person here who was able to engulf me in such a large embrace.

“Lecht…?”

Although he had a tight grip on me, as if he were trying to hold onto a small bluebird trying to fly away, the force he exerted was cautious, as if he were anxious not to hurt me.

“As I expected, it really is you.”

His voice was more serious than usual.