Volume 6 Chapter 1 The Holy Land Hailshtrul, The Undead, And Sin
The final destination for pilgrims visiting the temple is the holy land of Hailshtrul, located in the north of the kingdom.
It is said that the goddess Alexandria once descended there.
The journey to the holy land is not safe, and many give up their pilgrimage after being attacked by monsters.
The rituals performed by the temple priests have become meaningless because they know there is nothing in Hailshtrul.
"...Lord Ciel. What brings you all the way out here?"
The holy land of Hailshtrul is under the care of the Rest priest family.
However, it is far from their holy city of Ascalit, and very few people visit Hailshtrul.
"I want to see the stone tablet."
Ciel had come to the Hailshtrul temple, still feeling the festive spirit of the New Year.
The temple's manager, Priest Weevil, frowned slightly at the unexpected visit.
During this time of the New Year festival, the holy land of Hailshtrul is covered in snow.
It sits on a small hill, and the town at its base is also blanketed in white, with everyone quietly waiting inside their homes for the snow to melt.
Weevil is a plump, older man with some white in his hair. He has been protecting Hailshtrul for a long time, and in the past, it was just a small village.
The Hailshtrul family used to be the village head, but now he rules as the temple's manager.
This isn't Ciel's first visit to the Hailshtrul temple.
The barrier stone that protects the holy land and the town is inside the temple.
Ciel had come several times to recharge its magic and check on it.
But that was all.
Born with the blood of a gem person, Ciel tended to avoid thoughts of the god ancestor Theobart and the goddess Alexandria.
This land is blessed by them, yet being born here and treated as a monster──hunted and sold for high prices──made Ciel feel like an outsider.
As a gem person, Ciel felt like a half-breed, belonging nowhere.
There was no respect for the god ancestor or the goddess.
Ciel only visited the Hailshtrul temple to manage the barrier stone.
Once the task was done, Ciel would leave quickly.
Ciel knew that many people did not welcome their presence in this land.
Gem people are considered monsters.
They were created by the witch Sylphina, who tried to harm the goddess Alexandria.
Weevil's thick fingers sparkled with several large red gemstone rings.
They were beautiful and pure, but to Ciel, they looked like pieces of their father, a gem person.
For example, when noblewomen gather at the castle, they wear dazzling jewels, but to Ciel, they all seemed like pieces of gem people that had been cut.
Of course, some of the gems were mined from rocks.
But capturing and cutting gem people was much quicker than mining small gems.
Gem people are cut while still alive.
If the core, which is their heart, is broken, their gem bodies turn to sand and disappear.
Due to King Zeere's policy, capturing gem people has become a crime.
They have moved to Edelstein, where they stay together to protect themselves from humans.
However, that doesn't mean everything is fine.
Poachers still exist, and some are getting rich from it.
Ciel understands this but feels powerless to change it.
Even if some poachers are imprisoned, new ones will just appear.
If all humans were killed, gem people might find peace, but that's impossible. Ciel believes that the 'right' thing is to not kill or hurt anyone, so they could never do such a thing.
In the end, it seems like nothing can be done.
Ciel has lived thinking this way. There are limits to what can be done.
Maybe deep down, Ciel doesn't care about anything at all.
Except for one thing.
"That stone tablet... it's quite rude, isn't it? It's not like you're on a pilgrimage or anything. The tablet is a treasure left by Goddess Alexandria. It's something we must protect in this holy place. I can't just show it to anyone."
"Lord Weevil must like jewels... Recently, gems from the gem people hardly ever show up in the market. You might see them sometimes in the black market."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Nothing. I'm not trying to dig into where you got that. I was just wondering if you wanted it."
Ciel pulled out a single blue gem.
He waved it in front of Weevil, like dangling meat in front of a dog.
"This is a part of me. If a gem person dies, the gems made from their body just become regular stones. They lose their magical power. But I'm alive. This is pure magic stone. If you really want it, I might consider giving it to you, depending on your attitude."
"...The stone tablet, then. Please, take your time to look at it."
Weevil's eyes and attitude changed quickly.
His sharp gaze darted between the gem and Ciel's face, as if he was judging Ciel's worth.
This kind of look was familiar to Ciel. He didn't care about it anymore.
Ciel had always thought the gems that spilled from his hair and body were ugly.
If he cut his hair, the gems would fall out.
He had turned everything to ashes. Just thinking about leaving a piece of himself in this world made him feel heavy with sadness.
For the first time, he had given a piece to Lydia.
Just knowing that Lydia kept a part of him as a charm filled him with a sense of peace, as if the world had forgiven him.
That feeling was incredibly sweet for Ciel, who usually felt like everything was someone else's problem.
After handing the gem to the priest Weevil, Ciel followed him to the stone tablet.
He felt nothing. Yet, he sensed a slight nausea.
The hidden stone tablet in the Hailshtrul Temple was a cylindrical stone in the center of a white stone chamber.
The surface of the black stone had the name "Alexandria" carved into it.
"Can you leave me alone for a bit?"
"Sure, of course. Take your time. It's just a stone. It's nothing but a stone with some writing on it."
Weevil quickly left the stone chamber as Ciel asked.
In the quiet, empty chamber, Ciel took a deep breath.
Then, he placed his hand on the stone tablet.
He felt a faint trace of magic. It was just a stone with a name carved into it. But there had to be some meaning in its presence here.
He sensed something from the tablet, as if it wanted to say something.
When he focused his magic into his fingertips, red veins appeared on the black stone, pulsing as if it had a heartbeat.
"...What is this?"
Old letters began to glow.
Ciel followed the letters with his eyes.
"...The immortals are the people of the moon. They live on the white moon... the eternal ones."
──I'm sorry.
────I'm sorry.
──────I'm sorry, Sylphina.
I didn't understand anything.
The inscription left by Alexandria ended with words of apology.
"...So, what did they want?"
When he pulled his hand away from the tablet, the glowing red letters disappeared.
A wave of fatigue washed over him.
'I am, I am an immortal. I fell from the moon and was picked up by God Theobart.'
'I am a sinner.'
'I'm sorry. I'm sorry.'
'I'm sorry, Sylphina.'
'I hope that one day the curse of that poor person will be lifted.'
'My children will pay for my sins.'
"...I shouldn't get involved in this..."
When he looked down, he saw the gentle smile of a girl behind his eyelids.
There was a witch on the red moon.
The gem people were symbols of her and the goddess's sins.
"...I have to end this... before someone notices."
Before kind Lydia notices.
As Ciel tried to leave the stone chamber, a small, glowing creature appeared from behind the stone tablet.
Ciel picked up a small animal with fluffy ears that wrapped around its legs. It sparkled in emerald green.
"...You're still alive."
Ciel put the animal inside his robe, then made a magic circle appear at his feet and left the stone room.
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