Thanks to Luan leaving his seat to take a brief walk, the temple was turned upside down. By the time Benya finally found him again, he was savoring a sweet sleep in the prayer room. Sleep without the Emperor's gaze on it was so very sweet…
But I have to do what I have to do.
Having napped until late afternoon, Luan finally headed for the purification chamber.
Thud. With a heavy sound, the enormous stone door closed. A perfect quiet, cut off from the world. The only thing filling that silence was the clear sound of flowing water.
Located deep in the temple's underground, the purification chamber was a forbidden zone only the imperial family and high priests could enter. The sanctuary where the god's power dwelled most densely would not open except for an appointed purpose.
Through a gap in the high, circular domed ceiling, a single ray of light poured down like a pillar. That holy light shone upon a massive water basin set in the center of the room.
From the mouths of twelve lion statues surrounding the walls, clear holy water flowed endlessly. The strange thing was that, even as the water kept pouring, the basin's water level never changed.
A place of eternal circulation that neither overflowed nor diminished. That was the purification chamber. It was a miracle of the god defying physical law, and a scene that proved this space was a dimension far removed from reality.
And into the middle of that mysterious water, Luan was slowly walking.
“Phew…”
He'd taken off all of the heavy ceremonial robes he'd been wearing and was clad in only a single thin linen gown. The thin water-soaked cloth clung to his lean body, baring his prominent collarbone and the thin line of his shoulders for all to see. His skin, white to the point of pallor, glinted translucent under the light pouring from the ceiling, and his moisture-laden platinum-blond hair streamed down his face, drawing out a peculiar forlornness. Droplets of water gathered at the tips of his long lashes sparkled like jewels.
Had anyone peeped at this sight, they wouldn't have dared so much as breathe. A precarious beauty that seemed it might crumble into light at any moment. A figure both holy and, at the same time, like a glass doll that would shatter at a touch.
But…
Water temperature optimal. Connection status good.
Inside that holy exterior, Luan's head was running in thoroughly business mode.
Divine-power concentration good, no connection-interference factors.
The marble floor was cold against his toes, but the instant the holy water touched him, that chill turned into a pleasant, refreshing coolness. The lapping ripples rose past his thighs, his waist, and up to his chest.
Shall I begin the report now?
He'd told the Emperor a load of nonsense about the purification rite, but his purpose in coming here wasn't simply physical purification or securing a vacation—though there was a little of that. By this point he'd judged that communication with the god who'd dispatched him to this world was necessary. Or rather, the reporting period had come around, you might say.
Can you hear me?
And the place where contact with the god was easiest was, without a doubt, the grand temple. Among them, in this most sacred of places, words weren't even needed.
Luan carefully released the divine power he'd kept suppressed inside his body. It was his first time, but perhaps because the body had the memory, doing it as the knowledge instructed let him send out the divine power without difficulty. A halo of white light rose like a heat shimmer above the water's surface and began to fill the space.
The whole space vibrated faintly.
Connection complete.
There was no mistaking the connection signal. Luan brought both hands demurely together in a praying posture—somehow it felt like he ought to—and spoke to the god.
I'm reporting the current situation. Today, I made contact with Aiden.
Luan organized his thoughts logically, as if drafting a proposal in his mind. The thoughts would become messages flying off to the god.
Per the guide—the original work I was given—I'm supposed to perform the villain role.
The god said he tried various things and they all failed, so I should choose the path of not failing.
But as the on-site manager, I've made the bold decision to change course. To prevent the bad ending of tormenting the target into ruin, I'll adopt a "favorability management" strategy of nurturing and protecting Aiden.
He paused for a moment. If I've stated the course, I should state the reasoning for the judgment.
Aiden is too kind. And the Emperor is a more capable pushover than expected.
The Emperor was treating him so gently he didn't even need a favorability-raising scheme. Gently enough to sit by and watch him while he behaved quite impudently, all because he had ability. Seeing the Emperor's milder-than-expected attitude and the state of Aiden he'd met today, this course seemed to be the right one after all.
I'll lead these two to a happy ending. If I run favorability schemes on both sides, it looks like I can guarantee Luanisiel's right to survive and the divorce too.
That should be enough of a report. If this was already tried before and didn't work, I'll have to find another method.
If you don't like my approach, send down a bolt of lightning right now. Or else give me a clear signal of approval.
A tense silence flowed.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
It was then.
Kwaaaa—
The ray of light pouring from the ceiling grew strong as a waterfall. A white light intense enough that he couldn't open his eyes swallowed up the entire purification chamber. But it was a warm energy, like someone's embrace, not painful at all.
Affirmation. Relief. Pride.
The god's will was transmitted clearly. Roughly, it was a feeling of Yes, your thinking is right. Please, do it that way. I'm so glad you came. Intense support and encouragement. It was an unmistakable stamp of approval.
So the god really was frustrated too.
It was the instant a smile was about to spread across Luan's lips.
“Ugh…!”
Suddenly, something hot surged up from the pit of his stomach. It wasn't a simple wave of nausea. It was an agonizing pain, as if the dregs lodged deep in his organs and in every corner of his blood vessels were being torn out by force.
It was the change that came over Luan's body—which had had no occasion to discharge divine power during the five-odd years confined in the imperial palace—as it was finally being infused with divine power. As the god's approval came with a massive amount of pure divine power injected into his body, the toxins and impurities accumulated in his body all this while lost their place and churned violently. It was the process of the body being purified. Before that, the rot had to be emptied out first.
“Cough! Ugh, hwuk…!”
With a rather unpleasant sound, his mouth opened and a pitch-black clot of blood gushed out. Luan staggered and grabbed the edge of the basin.
Spatter. Splash.
Over the crystal-clear holy water, dark crimson—no, almost ink-like dead blood spread out. Instead of a fishy blood smell, a dreadful rotting stench reverberated. This was the bodily refuse that had wandered through his insides, unable to escape, during his confinement in the imperial palace.
“Heuk, huk… cough!”
It didn't end with one go. Luan folded over his stomach and vomited black blood again and again. It was the agony of his stomach twisting and his lungs being wrung out, yet paradoxically, his mind grew clearer and clearer. Like the refreshing rush of a clogged drain blasting open.
This is… a detox!
Luan thought, intuiting it. The after-service is fantastic. The stuffiness pressing on his chest vanished, and the bloodstream that had run cold all the way to his fingertips began to circulate hot.
The black blood he'd vomited turned into white foam the instant it touched the holy water, purified in an instant. The basin's water shone transparent once more. The filthy things disappeared, and only the clean remained.
“Haah… phew…”
Luan caught his ragged breath and wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth. For the first time, a red flush of blood returned to lips that had been pale to the point of pallor. His vision flashed bright. The hazy sight sharpened, and his body was light as a feather.
Refreshing.
It was like a new battery had been installed in a body whose battery life had been running out. The service here is solid.
Luan let out a soft laugh and dipped his body into the water again. If they could do this for me, they should've done it sooner. I was working while dragging around this heavy body. Now the sickliness that had lingered while he lived in listlessness was gone. The powerful divine power and the toughened body made him feel like he could do anything.
With this kind of condition, I won't get tired even doing paperwork all night with that emperor!
Luan clenched his fist underwater. Confidence welled up. Fear and the like he'd poured out along with the black blood. All that remained was to return to that hellish imperial nation, process the backlogged work, run favorability schemes on the Emperor, and reach a stable divorce ending.
He lingered a little longer in the water, pleasantly absorbing the remaining divine power. His lips tugged upward in spite of himself.
“Thank you. I'll work my hardest.”
Luan walked out of the basin with a refreshed expression. From his body cutting through the current, droplets of water poured down like jewels. The wet gown clung heavily around his body, but his footsteps alone were as light as if he were walking on clouds.
He swept back his wet hair and looked toward the purification chamber's exit. His eyes glittered with a mysterious purple, far deeper and more vivid than before.
“Now then, shall I go and get to work?”
Now that he was no longer a body like wet seaweed, since it had come to mind, it was time to start his networking.
