Between the Temples

The Half-Elf in the market automatically made way for Roy, and everyone watched silently as he left.

Just as the Goddess of Freedom quietly left the Elf Continent, Half-Elf gradually drifted away from the Goddess of Freedom Temple, no one tried to stand up and stop them, or do anything else, as if they never belonged here in the first place.

Even though there was a time when the Priest of the Goddess of Freedom Temple helped countless residents of the Lower District.

Even during several gatherings last month, Roy was seen using a silver spoon to distribute holy water to the believers.

But all they could do now was stand silently in the crowd and watch Roy leave the Lower District under pressure from the three priests of the Moon God Temple...

No one would resist this, nor would anyone try to keep them.

Roy walked through the streets, a ball of holy light clenched in his hand, the light spreading outwards through the gaps between his fingers.

The light easily caught the eyes of the Half-Elf lining the streets, but it struggled to penetrate their already numb hearts.

Roy offered no explanation and turned to walk down the street.

Even when a Long Carriage passed by along the way, Roy didn't stop by the roadside. He suddenly realized that the Holy Grail theft had ultimately pointed to the Moon God Temple.

This is truly unexpected! If it weren't for this incident, the priests of the Moon God Temple would never have approached me. They disdain contact with any Half-Elf, including any Half-Elf elf.

Standing on the streets of the Lower District, you can see the roof of the Goddess of Freedom Temple, but it's quite a long walk from there.

That's how Roy came back, step by step.

Along the way, they encountered no further obstruction from the priests of the Moon God Temple.

Abbott, who was on duty at the gate, saw Roy walk in dejectedly and immediately poked his head out to ask, "Roy, why do you look so listless? Is something wrong at the courthouse?"

Roy didn't stop, replying weakly, "Everything's fine, Abbott. Where's High Priest Reed?"

Abbott immediately replied, "They are praying in the Main Hall."

Roy waved behind him, then walked past the Statue of Goddess of Freedom by the pool and headed towards the Main Hall steps.

As he climbed the steps and arrived at the entrance of the Goddess of Freedom Temple, Roy looked up at the statue at the temple entrance. His Your Excellency Mitchell, holding a scepter and Holy Prayer, was staring at Roy with utmost solemnity, which gave Roy a slight boost of spirits.

He pushed open the temple doors and walked in along the central passage.

High Priest Reed was kneeling in front of the Statue of Goddess of Freedom relief, silently praying to the Goddess, knowing full well that he would not receive any response, but this was High Priest Reed's daily morning and evening ritual.

Roy did not kneel down to pray with High Priest Reed, because he discovered that his Holy Light Power was not actually bestowed by the Goddess of Freedom, but rather something he had acquired himself from his surroundings, accumulated little by little, through the magical divine seed within his body.

In the last two days, he has faced another breakthrough.

Abbott and Jasper had both told him about their advancement experiences. The two Half-Elf would usually advance one level every six months or so, but he was about to become a fifth-level Novice Priest in just two months. Even when the Holy Radiance of the Statue of Goddess of Freedom shone Elf Continent, they had never experienced such a speed of advancement.

Roy would pray occasionally, but he would never pray to the Goddess of Freedom.

High Priest Reed silently recited all the prayers in his heart. When he opened his eyes, he realized that Roy had been waiting for him for quite some time.

He stood up from the ground, then slowly turned around and saw that Roy's face was full of confusion. He walked up to Roy, reached out and placed his hand on his head, and asked gently, "What's wrong, Roy? What's bothering you?"

Roy sat on the bench in the very front row...

The setting sun shone on the temple dome, causing the stained glass windows high above to reflect beautiful, colorful patterns of light inside the Main Hall.

Roy looked up, somewhat dejected, and said to High Priest Reed, "Teacher, there are some things I don't know whether I should say or not. Originally, I wanted to keep it a secret, investigate it quietly, and reveal it when I had enough evidence, but now things are getting worse..."

Priest Reid sat down beside Roy, put his arm around his shoulder, and comforted him:

"What kind of trouble have you encountered? Perhaps I can give you some advice. Don't worry, I'm definitely the kind of listener who doesn't like to talk too much."

Roy bit his lip, hesitated for a moment, and then looked up at High Priest Reed and said:

"Teacher, do you remember what you said to me when I first entered the Goddess of Freedom Temple?"

"..."

In fact, High Priest Reed had completely forgotten what he had said.

Roy continued:

"You told me, ' Roy, if you have enough free time, I'd like to ask you to help me investigate something. I think you've probably heard that the Holy Grail in front of the Holy Water Pool in the temple went missing a few days ago and hasn't been found yet. If you find any clues at the Elf Academy, you can tell me privately.'"

High Priest Reed nodded in acknowledgment that he had indeed said those words at the time, when the Holy Grail had just been stolen and the three Priest were searching for Holy Grail everywhere.

Roy said somewhat ashamedly, "Teacher, actually I knew some things at the time, because I happened to pass by the temple gate that morning and I saw a Half-Elf secretly climb over the courtyard wall and fall headfirst into the rose bushes outside the courtyard."

"Actually, I wanted to find out privately whether he really got the Holy Grail."

"Later I discovered that this Half-Elf was named Pelius, and was a subordinate of Jefferson, the Dark Moon Elf..."

Roy recounted in detail the causes and consequences of the events, including Jefferson's death and the death of Pelius's sister.

The story is a bit convoluted. Later, it was mentioned that the Half-Elf classmates saw the figure of the Moon God Temple priest at the scene of Pelius's death...

High Priest Reed's expression grew increasingly solemn.

Roy then recounted what had happened that day. "That's the truth. Until today, when I asked the crew members in the courthouse if they had killed Pelius, they denied it. Instead, a priest from the Moon God Temple Pelius the Arbitration Committee was secretly watching me... Later, when I passed through the Lower District, three priests from the Moon God Temple suddenly appeared and tried to take me back."

Priest Reid lowered his gaze and asked Roy, "So what conclusion did you reach?"

"I think the whole story of the lost Holy Grail points to the Priest Sandike of the Moon God Temple," Roy said.

"Understood. I'll write to the High Priest right away and report everything that's happened here." High Priest Reed sighed softly before saying, "I think in the past the Moon God Temple might have been eager to cause us some trouble, but definitely not now..."

High Priest Reed's eyes brightened, and he put his arm around Roy's shoulder and whispered, "The Goddess of Freedom Temple is currently undergoing a large-scale evacuation from the Elf Continent, and no one wants to cause trouble at this time. I guess the Moon God Temple is the one that least wants trouble, so if we report the situation here to the Gorfito Headquarters, we will get a response soon."

Seeing that Roy's mood had not improved, High Priest Reed offered him further words of comfort:

"Roy, don't worry about safety Felix Mitchell received a personal promise from the Elf King, allowing our Priest from the Goddess of Freedom Temple to spread the Holy Light across the Elf Continent. No race is more willing to keep its promise than the Silver Moon Elf. The label of heretic will never be pinned on us."

He paused for a moment before speaking gently, "... Actually, you should have told us about all the things that happened to you sooner."

"Yes, teacher!"

After hearing High Priest Reed's explanation, Roy felt much relieved. He stood up abruptly and walked out of the main Main Hall without saying another word...

Seeing Roy's bright, spirited gaze and determined demeanor, High Priest Reed pressed on, asking, "Roy, where are you going?"

Roy had already quickly pushed open the Main Hall door and turned to High Priest Reed, saying, "Teacher, I plan to go to the dock Guard Squad!"

The Guard Squad of Castleton Harbour were once the most relaxed of all the Elven Guard.

Although fights occasionally break out at the port, they are quickly quelled by the arrival of the Elf Ranger...

Foreign ships at the dock rarely cause trouble.

Of course, if trouble is caused, it will be a big deal.

The Elf Ranger watched Roy lift the curtain and walk in from outside, saying with a helpless expression, "Why are you here again? Can't you just have a few days of peace and quiet?"

"I want to report Priest Sandike of the Moon God Temple. He and other priests arrested Novice Priest of the Goddess of Freedom Temple in the street without cause," Roy said to the Elf Ranger.

The Elf Ranger rolled his eyes at Roy and asked, "Who did that Priest Sandike capture?"

Roy, filled with righteous indignation, pounded his chest and shouted, "Me! He accused me of being a heretic in the street! As Novice Priest the Goddess of Freedom Temple, I do not accept such an accusation! He is trying to provoke a conflict between the Moon God Temple and the Goddess of Freedom Temple. I protest and condemn his actions!"

The Elf Ranger stared at Roy as if he were a monster, and said somewhat speechlessly, "Hey, Roy, you know this isn't the Elder Council. How could we possibly have the authority to interfere in the affairs of those priests at the Moon God Temple?"

Roy's expression was somewhat exaggerated as he slapped the reception desk repeatedly, saying without any politeness:

"But this is already a conflict between religions. Didn't you see that they tried to arrest me? The priests of the Moon God Temple wanted to take me directly back to the Moon God Temple even though I hadn't done anything wrong. And this morning, I was still present at the trial as a witness."

The Elf Ranger stared at Roy's mouth, wanting to cover it with his hand to quiet him down.

"Okay, I understand! I will report this to my supervisor."

The Elf Ranger responded with a helpless expression.