SIDEREAE

Chapter 6

Sid smiled as she took out the new volume of a manga and a light novel, that Mathieu lend to her. He gave it to her when they were eating ramen at Sid's working place.

"I'm excited to read these!" She said before carefully placing them on her old bookshelf.

She plans to read it this coming weekend, hoping that she won't have to do a lot of homework. She went to her bed and hugged her pillow before leaning on the headboard.

Mom's husband will be coming home tomorrow, from his overseas business trip. I feel nervous just imagining myself meeting him. I don't know what to expect, will he get annoyed at me for intruding in his house?

"What are you thinking Dreamer?" Oneiroi asked as he take a glance at her.

He was playing with her phone while floating midair in an upside-down position.

"I'm wondering if my stepfather will kick me out of his house when he sees me."

"Why would he?"

"Because he probably hates me. . .you know. . . since I'm a daughter of his wife from her previous relationship. . . and I'm now living in his house."

Sid tightly hugged her pillow while burying half of her face in the pillow.

"You've seen it yourself, I'm not welcomed in this house." 

"You're overthinking too much," Oneiroi said while focusing on the racing game on Sidereae's phone.

"Ah, ah...Damn it!" He suddenly grumbled as his face turned sour when he lost the game.

"Why the hell is this so hard?"

"..."

"Anyway, it's better to stop overthinking Dreamer. You're just making things complicated by having unnecessary thoughts. . .just cross the bridge when you get there."

"Wow, thanks. It's such great advice!" Sidereae sarcastically said as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, of course, I'm a wise man after all," He proudly said, failing to notice the sarcasm in her voice.

* * *

Sidereae opened her eyes and saw a different surroundings. She was just talking with Oneiroi in his room earlier, but now she's in a different place. She must've fallen asleep without her knowledge and entered a different world through her dream, which explains her situation right now.

She noticed that she was kneeling on a hard and cold surface. She quickly roamed her eyes around to get more information about where she was. I saw four large pillars in the hall, with beings carved in them, that seemed to resemble an angel holding something.

The first angel was holding a long and beautiful sword. The second one has a silver shield with an intricate pattern engraved on the shield's surface. . .the the third angel was holding a golden trumpet and lastly. . . the fourth angel, has a golden harp in his hand. On the center of the four pillars, was a huge statue of an incredibly beautiful woman. She has wavy long hair adorned with beautiful crystals, and a dress, long enough to cover her feet.

I also noticed the fresh golden and white flowers lying beneath the statue. The ceiling above the statue was made of stained glass, making the light penetrate inside and making the statue radiate a holy atmosphere. I quickly realized that the statue in front of me, is a goddess and the place that she was in right now is the prayer hall.

CRREAAK~

The sound of the door opening behind me penetrates the solemn silence inside the prayer hall.

"Saintess Lucia, the High Priest is looking for you," A male voice softly spoke to her.

'Saintess? I'm a saintess?! No, no, no. . . I just told Mathieu last time that I'd rather be a demon lord than become a saintess. Damn it!'

I'm internally panicking because of this sudden situation. . . but I have no choice, but to act as the real holy maiden. I can't just abruptly say that "Hey, I am not the Saintess," because no one will believe me if I say that.

The worse case is, that the whole temple might think that the holy maiden was possessed by a demon and get purged immediately.

I also don't want to be branded as a fake one, since after reading too many novels I can confidently say that a guillotine will be awaiting me.

I still don't know what will happen to me if I die in this world. Well, I die in my world like my dad? I completely forgot to ask Oneiroi about this matter.

I carefully stand up from kneeling on the floor before turning my body to face the man.

"Please, lead the way."

We traversed the long hallway painted with white silver and gold. the pillars and floors were made of pale rose pink marble.

'Come to think of it, where is that jerk?'

He hasn't appeared yet since I got here. I wonder what role is he going to take this time and he appeared as a knight last time. Is he going to appear as a holy knight this time? Or maybe he's the high priest. . .well, it's no use thinking about it. That guy always appears and disappears whenever he pleases.

After walking a never-ending hallway, the priest finally stopped in front of a wooden door, which seems to be made out of oak and carved by an artisan with great attention to detail. The priest knocked.

"High Priest, I bought the saintess here."

"Alright, Come in." '

Hm? His voice sounds young. . .'

The priest opened the door for her, "Please enter. I'll be taking my leave now, your holiness."

"Yes, thank you. May the goddess bless you," I replied thanking him while nodding my head.

As soon as I entered my hands automatically clasped as I briefly lowered my head, "May the goddess Alsia be with you."

The words flowed naturally from my mouth as if it wasn't my first time saying this.

"May the goddess Alsia also be with you," The High priest replied.

I lifted my gaze and saw the High Priests sitting behind his wooded desk. I was shocked at his appearance. I thought that he would be an old man with long white hair and a beard. . . but my imagination was truly shattered.

Contrary to my expectations, the high priest looks young and probably in his mid-thirties. His appearance is truly admirably handsome. Long blonde hair, a clear face void of any wrinkles or blemishes. He also has a long and pointed nose that looks arrogant. His eyes were clear blue, like the morning sky. His whole demeanor gives off a soft yet strict and elegant vibe.

I always thought that high priests and popes are all wrinkly old men because that's how they are usually portrayed in novels or manga. Seeing the High Priest, made me wonder why he chose to serve the temple with an appearance like that. If he chose a different way of life, I'm sure that he'll be popular with the ladies both young and old.

"Please have a seat, Saintess," He said and I gave him a polite nod.

"I have heard that you have something to talk with me, High Priest."

"Mm, yes. Indeed.," He replied before leaving his current seat to move to the sofa opposite of me.

He took the glass pot that's been sitting on top of the table in front of us and poured the hot tea into the empty tea cups.

"Thank you," I said as he carefully pushed the tea in front of me.

"The temple received a letter from the Marquis of Kroiss. They're requesting for the Saintess's presence to aid the knights in subjugation," He took the cup to his mouth before continuing his words.

"It was reported that the patrols found a miasma from the marquisate forest, exactly a 2 weeks ago. The knights and the priests who are dispatched to the marquis's land managed to extinguish it. Unfortunately after three days, a large and thick miasma appeared again, causing almost a quarter of the forest to be dyed black. . .The knights and the priests tried to extinguish it once again but demons suddenly appeared killing half of the dispatched knights along with the two priests."

I quietly drank my tea as I listened to the High Priest's story. Hm. . .of course, it's no wonder that they need the Saintess. Since, she has the largest amount of divine power among everyone, which is useful in dealing with demons, miasma, and also healing.

They need to wipe out the source of miasma as soon as possible because that thing was responsible for bringing the demons to this land.

Plus, the thicker the miasma the faster it'll spread. Also, it'll summon several demons, whether it's weak or strong.

Thankfully, I had this body's knowledge giving me adequate information to understand all of this.

"That's why. . . they're requesting the Saintess's presence in subjugating the demons."

"Yes, I understand," I replied without thinking but after a few moments, it finally came down to me.

'W, w, wait! D-Demons!'