"I'm here to take Mein away."
That was the first thing Fang Zheng said after meeting the Chief Priestess.
No pleasantries, no introductions. He got straight to the point and demanded the girl.
"May I ask who you are...?"
"Mein's friend."
"Friend?"
The Chief Priestess was somewhat surprised by Fang Zheng's answer. Of course, he knew about Mein's situation, but in his view, she was merely a somewhat unusual commoner girl. No matter how he looked at it, she should not have been important enough to draw the attention of a Knight. Knights were part of the noble class, after all. Though the Chief Priestess had never heard Fang Zheng's name, he could tell from his bearing that this man's background was anything but simple.
However, the Chief Priestess was clearly not about to simply take the man at his word.
"My apologies, Sir Knight, but Mein attacked the Temple Master. That is an extremely serious crime. Under the current circumstances, we cannot simply allow her to leave..."
"Heh heh."
Fang Zheng chuckled upon hearing that. Before coming here, he had naturally asked Priestess about it and understood why the temple wanted to keep Mein. The supposed attack on the Temple Master was merely an excuse. In truth, the temple had taken a liking to Mein's powerful magic.
Followers affiliated with various gods, such as Priestess and Eris, possessed powers of their own. For example, Priestess's Divine Art came from the Earth Mother Goddess, while Eris's "Blessing" was granted by Loki. This temple, however, was different. Put simply, as an intermediary organization responsible for communication and coordination, this unnamed temple had no god watching over it. Thus, rather than priests, the clergy working here were more like Magi.
The people this temple gathered were also quite different from those gathered