Chapter 154: Ch 153: The Gift - Part 1

"Tsk, that fool got caught. I told him that I would drop him the second he became a liability to me. Did he think I was joking around?"

Chairwoman Lumi Lena sighed as she looked at her crystal ball. Unfortunately, she could not see anything since her connection to her doll familiar had been cut off.

The last thing she had seen had been the Saintess.

It was not hard to put two and two together and realize that the Saintess was behind what happened.

"To think that the Saintess had grown this much already...Is that even possible? Facing her at that moment sent chills down my spine. I wonder if the pressure would have been even greater had I gone there in person?"

She questioned before shaking her head.

Chairwoman Lumi Lena did not know how or why the Saintess felt like such a threat, but it was not important to her overall goal at the moment.

What did matter was what she needed to do next.

"Grand Master Kael will likely get rid of Cardinal Flux soon. And once he does, he will start looking more closely into his affairs. I should make sure to cut him off before that happens."

The Chairwoman had taken a lot of countermeasures against the Cardinal, and it was finally time for them to pay off.

"I am sure my ’gift’ will reach the temple soon. What a pity! You were such a good pawn to me, Cardinal Flux. Unfortunately, this is the end for you."

__________

"Grand Master Kael, the Saintess is calling for you. I am here to escort you to her."

The guard looked annoyed that he had to fetch someone while everyone else got to guard the Saintess. But he controlled his expression and tried to remain neutral.

However, none of his hostility escaped Kael.

Kael decided to let it slide because he did not want to cause a scene. But Leon was not the same as him.

"What’s with that half-assed way of speaking? Do you not even know how to speak properly?"

Leon’s words triggered the guard, and he almost reached out to strike him. But a glare from Kael stopped the guard in his tracks, and he coughed.

"Both the Saintess and the Cardinal have overlooked your flaws, so I will do the same this time. However, it would be best if you refrained from making such rude remarks in the future."

The guard pretended as though he was a patient man dealing with a child as he disregarded Leon’s words.

But he was not fooling anyone with his barely hidden anger.

Kael had a feeling that a fight could break out if he did not stop the two, so he forced his way between them and decided to question the guard.

"Did Seraphina say why she wanted to meet us?"

Kael asked, causing the guard to scoff in agitation.

"How would I know? And I don’t care either. She could be calling you all here just to have you die for all I care. Just come along quietly-"

"Tsk, do you see what bastards the temple people are, Neil? Don’t you feel lucky you left them and came to us?"

Leon changed the target of his words from the guard to the new hero, who had all but been forgotten at this point.

Neil flinched as soon as he was addressed, and the guard glared at both Leon and Neil before softening his gaze and biting his lip.

Even the guard knew he had made a mistake by speaking carelessly, and he decided to offer a half-hearted apology.

"I apologize for my words. I lost my cool for a minute. Please do not take my words as those of the temple. Human mistakes happen."

There was no sincerity behind that apology, and the guard did not mean a single thing he said.

Kael felt like he had more than a few words to say to the guard about his behavior, but none of them sounded appropriate to say in front of the kids.

’You got lucky that I have kids with me. Otherwise, I would have loved to have a ’talk’ with you.’

"Ehm, let’s hurry and leave now."

The guard did not know how lucky he had just been because of the circumstances, and they headed toward the Saintess’s guest room.

They reached the room, and the guard opened the door, allowing them to enter.

And as soon as they did, Cardinal Flux turned to address Seraphina.

"Saintess, Grand Master Kael is here. Isn’t there something you wish to tell him?"

Cardinal Flux looked far too happy for this to be a normal occasion. Just what had he done to make himself look like that?

Seraphina, on the other hand, had a neutral expression on her face. It was almost impossible to read her, but that did not make Kael nervous.

For some reason, he was able to tell that Seraphina was on his side.

"Teacher, I feel fine now. Cardinal Flux has also assured me that I have full authority over the temple and that he will obey my will as well."

Somehow, Seraphina’s words sounded ominous, as though they were building up to something. The Cardinal looked more and more pleased by the second, making Kael feel like everything was going according to his plan.

So why was Kael not worried?

The answer was simple—because he trusted Seraphina to make the right decision. And she did not prove him wrong.

"Teacher, I have accomplished everything that I needed to do here. I am now the head of this temple branch, and I can control it from wherever I am. That’s why, let’s return home now."

No one moved after Seraphina’s declaration. They had all expected her to tell Kael off and announce that she wanted to stay at the temple.

"S-Saintess, what are you saying? Didn’t we agree that you would take over the temple? Then you need to stay here to do that, right? A-And what about your stress? Your condition could get worse-"

"Ah, that? I am pretty sure being in the temple caused me stress and made me faint. I will be fine once I head back home. Unless, you want to tell me I don’t even know my own body?"