Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 148: The Former High Priestess
Lucius returned to Musou Village as the sun set.
The moment he passed through the gate, frantic voices filled his ears. The village seemed different from usual.
When he had left, everything had been normal, but now, an unsettling atmosphere permeated the air.
—What happened?
Even though it was after sunset, the market was crowded with people, all carrying water jars.
“Hey, you! Move aside!”
“Whoa!”
Several people brushed past Lucius, pushing him aside as they headed toward a shop he happened to be passing.
“I’m buying all those plums! I saw them first!”
“You’ve already got some! I haven’t gotten even one yet!”
“The water’s gone bad; what else can I do?!”
It was late summer at the market. Apples, plums, pears, and grapes were on display.
It seemed the villagers were scrambling to get their hands on the fruit.
—Is this for some kind of festival?
Confused by the commotion, Lucius left the bustling market and returned to his house in the center of the village.
“Welcome back!”
“Welcome home, Lucius.”
As soon as he opened the door, two voices greeted him.
Looking into the living room, he saw Sai, a priestess candidate, and Priena, the iron-masked woman, seated together.
“Still studying?”
“That’s right. I borrowed a new book from Tyrus.”
Sai was at the age to study at the temple. Since it wasn’t ideal for her to stay holed up in her room all the time, Priena had taken on the role of her teacher some time ago.
They were studying subjects like arithmetic, literature, and history, in addition to topics related to the Noah faith. Nobles would typically learn social etiquette, martial arts, music, and art as well, but it was unclear if priestesses needed such education.
The Republic, like the Kingdom, lacked knowledge of the natural sciences compared to his previous life, likely because of the existence of magic and spell craft.
“Still, I’m surprised you’re teaching, Priena. Were you always good at studying?”
“Thank you for asking! Actually, I was top of my class in academics!”
Priena proudly raised her chin as though she had been waiting ages to say those words. Her smug expression made Lucius chuckle awkwardly.
“Ha.”
“You don’t believe me, do you, Lucius? Then you’re not getting this!”
Priena hugged a jar sitting in the kitchen. Inside, it looked like plums, apples, and pears had been soaked.
“What’s that?”
“It’s fruit water for the Water Thanksgiving Festival.”
“The Water Thanksgiving Festival?”
“Don’t you know? It’s one of the four annual events where families make fruit water to give thanks to Varuna, the Illusory Water God. Didn’t your mother, being from the south, ever make it?”
Thinking back, Lucius vaguely remembered his family making fruit water every year around this time.
“Now that you mention it, I think so.”
Sai hopped down from her chair and shyly approached Lucius.
“I-I made it together with Lady Priena. Would you like to try some, Lucius?”
Sai offered him an empty glass.
“Thank you.”
Lucius took the glass and poured some fruit water from the jar Priena handed him.
“Sai, is there any special way to drink this?”
“No, it’s just meant to be shared with family.”
“I see. Then let’s all drink it together—Priena and you, too.”
“Really? But I’m not family…”
“Of course you are. We live together, don’t we?”
“Y-Yes!”
Sai’s eyes sparkled with joy. Her innocent reaction reminded Lucius of his younger sister, Iris.
The three—no, four of them, including Sol the puppet—sat at the dining table. Although Sol, not being human, neither ate nor drank, She often accompanied them during such occasions.
This was a small event before preparing dinner.
“Alright, let’s drink.”
“Let’s drink!”
“Thank you for the drink.”
“……”
The three of them drank from their glasses. The fresh aroma of various fruits filled their mouths, and the subtle sweetness soothed their weary bodies. The flavour was distinct from juice made purely from fruit.
“How is it?”
Sai looked at him anxiously.
“It’s really good. Did your mother teach you how to make this?”
Sai shook her head.
“My mother isn’t around. I was told I was left at Varuna’s temple right after I was born.”
It seemed Sai was an orphan. Lucius hesitated, unsure how to respond.
“There are different types of priestess candidates. Some are orphans gathered from across the Republic, while others, like me, come from specific lineages.”
Priena explained, swirling her glass.
“I see.”
Come to think of it, it made sense. The Holy City alone couldn’t produce all the priestesses and Holy Warriors; they must be recruited from all over the Republic.
“I don’t mind. Becoming a priestess is an honor. Lady Elinao taught me how to make this fruit water.”
“Lady Elinao? Is she someone you know?”
“The former High Priestess. She was always kind to us priestess candidates.”
—That woman.
Lucius recalled seeing a woman being drawn into a magic circle as a lifeless body shortly after arriving in the Holy Domain.
“Everyone loved the fruit water Lady Elinao made, including me.”
Sai gazed at the fruit water with reverence.
“So… the rest is yours to drink, Sai. I’ll stick to well water.”
Lucius said, setting down his empty glass.
He walked to the kitchen, heading for the large ceramic jar of water stored in the earthen floor area, and took a sip.
“Ugh!”
Lucius immediately spat the water out, coughing and gagging.
—This water’s spoiled!
A foul stench lingered in his mouth, leaving him in an unpleasant mood. The water was tainted, teeming with bacteria.
“Oh no, so the well behind the apothecary is no good either. And I worked so hard to draw it yesterday.”
Priena said casually.
Lucius rinsed his mouth with water from another jar and wiped his lips.
“You could’ve warned me it was spoiled.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know. It’s been raining so little lately, right? The well water’s running low and getting murky. That’s why everyone’s extra enthusiastic about the Water Veneration Festival this year.”
Indeed, the frenzy Lucius witnessed in the marketplace now made sense. Although there were several wells in the village of Muso, it was common knowledge that the water supply had been dwindling over the past two weeks.
“We’ll have to dig a new well.”
Priena shook her head at Lucius’s suggestion.
“It wouldn’t help. No matter where you dig, it’ll be the same. Varuna, the Water Spirit, is the problem.”
“Varuna, the Water Spirit?”
Lucius recalled the supreme-class spirit he’d seen in the holy capital. The Noahites worshipped it as the divine Water Spirit Varuna.
According to their teachings, the world was governed by four principal deities, with Varna ruling over all water.
“Yeah. Apparently, they still haven’t found a contractor for Varuna—the next Grand Priestess. Everyone in the village is talking about it. Normally, a new Grand Priestess is chosen within a month, but it’s been two months now. It’s strange.”
Though playful in demeanor, Priena had a sharp mind. She possessed a strong will and a clear-eyed view of the world. Regardless of her personal faith, she wasn’t the type to take religious narratives at face value.
—Does the spirit really sustain the world?
As the thought crossed Lucius’s mind, his eyes caught sight of Sai, her expression darkened by the conversation.
“Sai? Is something wrong?”
“No… it’s nothing.”
Sai shook her head dramatically, though her resigned eyes betrayed her words. Seeing this, Priena gently patted her on the head.
“You don’t need to worry about any of this, Sai. You’re only eight years old! It’ll be at least ten years before you’re the Grand Priestess.”
Lucius couldn’t hide his surprise at Priena’s statement.
“Sai… will be the Grand Priestess?”
“Of course. There are hardly any priestess candidates with seven magic cores at her age. It’s practically guaranteed she’ll be the Grand Priestess one day.”
Lucius recalled the young woman he’d seen before—the previous Grand Priestess, who had given her life to summon Varuna’s powerful magic. A woman who should have lived much longer.
Grand Priestesses were tasked with summoning powerful beings, offering their lives in exchange.
“Is it true, Sai?”
“…Yes.”
Lucius crouched to meet Sai’s gaze, his eyes serious.
They’d only lived together for two months, but they had shared meals, gone shopping, and started each day with the sound of her and Priena’s singing. To him, she was more than just a housemate.
“I won’t deny your faith, Sai. That’s the truth. No one should dictate what you hold in your heart.”
Priena leaned forward, sensing an ominous preamble.
“Hold on, Lucius! Sai has her own—”
“Priena, be quiet for a moment. Sai, what do you want to do?”
“I… want to be a great priestess… That’s my duty.”
Lucius looked deeply into Sai’s eyes.
“That’s not what I mean. Spirits like Varuna have incredible power, enough to seem like gods. But that power shouldn’t be used just because someone else tells you to. It should be used for what’s truly important to you.”
He was speaking of how one chooses to live their life.
If Sai decided, after her own reflection, to contract with Varuna, he would respect her choice. But it should never be forced upon her.
“What’s truly important to me…?”
“That’s right. Not as a priestess candidate, but as Sai herself. Until you figure that out, you must not contract with Varuna. Absolutely not.”
Sai’s eyes seemed to drift, as though searching her memories.
“…Eri…Nao-sama.”
“The former Grand Priestess? What about her?”
“I think… Erinao-sama said the same thing… Wait, what? But then she told me to forget it right away.”
“I see. So the late Grand Priestess…”
Perhaps the former Grand Priestess, Erinao, had treated Sai as a person, not just a priestess candidate.
“Yes… She would invite me for lunch or tea, read me picture books, play with dolls, and even sleep beside me sometimes. She talked about… so many things with me…”
Sai’s eyes brimmed with faint tears.
“You’re sad, aren’t you? Because Erinao-san passed away.”
Sai may have felt a bond akin to that with a mother. It wasn’t surprising for a child, abandoned at such a young age, to see someone who had shown them love as a maternal figure.
And that motherly figure had died just two months ago.
An eight-year-old child, living in uncertainty, had hidden her grief all this time, enduring silently.
But now, in a fleeting moment, her resilience had reached its limit.
Suddenly, Sai shook her head desperately, hurriedly wiping away her tears with her sleeve.
“I-I’m not sad! E-Erinao-sama became one with Varna-sama! She didn’t… s-she didn’t disappear…”
Even as she wiped her tears, they continued to fall.
“This isn’t… it’s not… ugh… I-I’m not sad!”
In the Noah faith, a contractor was considered a vessel of the divine. Their death was not seen as an end but as a return to their true form, united with the spirit they served.
Sai, wholeheartedly believing this doctrine, likely felt that grieving was forbidden.
Desperately trying to show she wasn’t crying, Sai forced a smile, her gaze pleading as she looked at Lucius and Priena, as if afraid they might abandon her.
“Sai, it’s okay to cry. No one here will blame you.”
“Huh?”
Sai looked up, her expression one of surprise. Priena, her face unreadable like a mask, crouched and gently embraced her.
“Sai. It’s alright. I understand. I truly understand.”
“Ugh… uwaaahhh… ahhh!”
Clinging to Priena, Sai began to cry. She pressed her shut eyes against Priena’s shoulder as though trying to stop the tears, to suppress her emotions.
But the truth of death couldn’t be undone.
Even if the belief about returning to Varuna’s original form was true, the person who had made the fruit water, read her books, and cared for her was undeniably gone from this world.
Quietly, Lucius rose to his feet.
“…Wait here a moment. I’ll make your favorite egg dish.”
As he stepped into the kitchen, there came a knock at the door.
Priena held Sai close, keeping her back turned to the door, likely shielding Sai’s crying face from view.
“Yes?”
Lucius quickly opened the door. Standing there were Anushka, a former priestess, and her son, Tyrus.
“I brought some fruit water to share. Here you go.”
Anushka handed him a small bottle filled with the fruit water.
“I helped make it too!”
Tyrus grinned proudly.
“Thank you, Anushka, Tyrus. Sai and Priena made some for us as well. Later, I’ll fill this bottle and bring some over as a return gift.”
Lucius shook the small bottle of fruit water he had just received.
“Oh, Sai? What’s wrong?”
Tyrus peered curiously into the room, his eyes drawn to Priena kneeling on the floor, still embracing Sai.
“It’s nothing. By the way, where’s Pallavis? Isn’t he with you?”
“I don’t know. He’s not celebrating the Water Offering Festival with us because we’re not family, right? Lucius, you don’t need to give him any fruit water either!”
Tyrus pouted sulkily.
“Tyrus, you shouldn’t say that.”
“But it’s true, isn’t it? He’s not here!”
Before the argument could escalate further, Lucius stepped in to mediate.
“So, does Pallavis have something he’s busy with?”
“He’s been called to an important meeting.”
Anushka replied.
“I see. Tyrus, Pallavis has his own obligations. He’s the village chief, after all.”
Lucius gently calmed the sulking Tyrus.
But then—
What is this?
A sudden, eerie sensation struck him. Without hesitation, Lucius grabbed Anushka and Tyrus by their arms and pulled them inside the house.
“H-Hey, what’s going on?!”
“Lucius, what’s wrong?”
As soon as he got them safely inside, the sound of countless footsteps echoed around the house.
“…We’re surrounded.”
Lucius muttered grimly.