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Chapter 161: Class Change, Solaris Cleric! (2)

“Your Holiness, we should head back now.”

“... Alright.” With Kai’s help, Albert stood up, his face still deeply troubled. “May I ask how you’re feeling right now?”

“I just feel relieved.”

How could he not? He had weakened the Church of Muldine’s forces once again, and captured Morak, who seemed to hold a high position within the church.

“I see. As for me... I feel deeply embarrassed, angry, and frustrated with my own incompetence.” With a bitter expression, Albert ran his wrinkled hands over his face. “What do you plan to do now?”

“I will return to the church. I’ll root out all the corruption tied to the two cardinals and extract information from Morak about the Church of Muldine.”

“That’s the right thing to do. It surely is, but...” Albert weakly shook his head. “The world doesn’t run on just righteous thoughts. I don’t have the ability to identify all those allied with the two cardinals. And... even if I did, I don’t have the power to punish them.”

“...But you’re the high priest, aren’t you?”

“Only in name. This is the result of my indecision. The previous high priests possessed either powerful charisma or an immense benevolence that earned everyone’s respect and admiration... But honestly, I was just an ordinary believer. My strength was just in listening to others and empathizing with them. I believed that as long as I was righteous and treated others kindly, they would see my sincerity. However... reality isn’t like that.”

Albert’s words resonated with Kai.

If I do well, others will recognize it... The world doesn’t work that way.

Of course, there would be those who appreciated such sincerity, but most people didn’t.

Once you show even the slightest weakness, it’s over.

This was something Kai had learned in his twenty-two years of life. The world was not kind to those who were too good. And eventually, Kai made a compromise. He would only help those worth helping, those he felt drawn to.

After a brief moment of thought, Kai slowly said, “Your Holiness, people don’t change easily. Even you didn’t try to adapt to them. You believed that if you treated them kindly, they’d understand your intentions, and you stuck to that belief.”

“That’s true, but...”

“You are a kind person, Your Holiness. You have a warm heart. But, to put it bluntly, you’re too soft. Because you couldn’t cut out the infected parts, you’ve now reached the point where you’re risking losing the whole arm.”

“...You’re right. I have no excuse. To be honest, going through this ordeal has made me deeply question the past years. It’s been twelve years since I became high priest and over forty years since I became a cleric... I’ve begun to wonder what I’ve been chasing all this time.”

“You are not a bad person, Your Holiness. And there is a way to continue upholding your will.”

The lack of support within the church was the only real problem Albert faced at the moment.

But if I back him... things could change.

Though they had only met briefly, Kai’s experience told him that Albert had a pure soul, a man of integrity.

Soon, Albert came to a stop and looked at Kai with deep, hollow eyes. “Is there truly such a way? To live as a true cleric, eradicating corruption, protecting the weak, and showing love without any obstacles... Is that really possible?”

“Of course.” Kai nodded confidently. “I will help you.”

At Kai\'s response, Albert looked at him with a gentle smile, as if gazing at a beloved grandson.

"I am grateful for your intentions. You are indeed a strong man, I\'ve witnessed it with my own eyes. However, the battles that lie ahead won\'t be solved by one person\'s strength. It will be a fight where justification and support are far more important. The current state of the church... It\'s embarrassing to admit, but it’s no different from the corrupt politics of the nobility."

"Justification and support... If there is a good reason, it would be easier to rally support and gain the backing of the believers."

"That’s right. There’s little room for force in this..."

"Then what justification do those opposing you within the church claim?"

"Cardinals Bernard and Molion, who led the opposition, claimed that the downfall of the church was due to the incompetence of the high priest."

"Incompetence? It doesn’t seem that way."

"It\'s embarrassing to admit, but during my leadership, the church wasn’t very wealthy."

"Why?"

"Because I gave generously to the poor, the hungry, and those in unfortunate circumstances."

"But that’s not wrong. It’s exactly what a follower of the Solarian God, the god of mercy and virtue, should do..."

"But those in higher positions within the church didn’t see it that way."

"...In other words, they didn’t like that there wasn’t enough money to control."

"Haha..." Albert let out a weak laugh.

Hm, justification, huh...

After observing Albert’s pitiful expression, Kai smiled softly. "Your Holiness, do you know what Shimizu, Cherantia, and Patrick have in common?"

Albert’s body froze for a moment at Kai\'s sudden question. Then, he squinted and looked at Kai.

"...What are you getting at?"

"It seems you’ve been too preoccupied to notice." Kai released his grip on the high priest’s shoulder and stepped back, then stretched his arms out to the sides. "Do you notice anything about my attire?"

"...Are you talking about your cleric robe?" Albert tilted his head at Kai’s sudden question and examined Kai’s robe closely. "It seems to be made of a soft fabric I haven’t seen before. And the golden embroidery is luxurious... The sun emblazoned on your chest looks as if it might ignite at any moment..."

As Albert listed the features of Kai’s robe, his eyes widened.

"I-is that robe...?"

Seeing Albert’s shocked expression, Kai grinned mischievously and greeted once again, "I apologize for the late introduction. I am Kai, the fourth Solaris Cleric and the apostle serving as Helik’s envoy."

***

Fortunately, the carriage was parked at the entrance of the gorge, so the return journey wasn’t as daunting.

Since the paladin who had been acting as the driver died during the battle, Albert took the reins himself, and Morak and Bernard were loaded into the carriage like luggage.

Driven by Albert, the carriage passed through the gates of the fortress.

"The people seem to be in a disturbance," Kai said.

"Of course. Not only is it shocking to see the high priest driving a carriage, but..."

"They likely didn’t expect us to return alive."

The carriage continued onward toward the church’s main grounds.

High-position clerics who had been alerted of their arrival greeted them at the entrance, their faces filled with confusion.

"Y-Your Holiness, w-what happened? Where are the others who left with you...?"

"And who is this young man next to you...?"

"I’ll explain later, I’m tired. For now, take the two men in the carriage, gag them, and lock them in the holy prison," Albert responded briefly and then led Kai into the inner church.

Dozens of eyes followed them, and Albert accepted the stares with a calm expression.

As expected of the high priest. He calls himself indecisive, but he’s someone who’s survived in this political arena for over a decade.

To be able to maintain such a composed demeanor amidst the endless scrutiny and suspicion—Kai nodded in admiration and attempted to mimic him.

"Kai, we’re going to head to the sanctuary."

"Pardon? But didn’t we already pass the sanctuary..." Kai murmured, glancing back at the sanctuary they passed.

But Albert shook his head. "The place we’re going to is a more special sanctuary. I believe you will find what you’ve been seeking there."

"What I’ve been seeking...?"

Kai’s gaze grew calm. There was only one thing he desired from the Solarian Church’s main church at the moment.

The complete awakening of this half-formed class.

In short, the place they were heading to now was where that could happen.

Finally...

He had no major complaints about his half-completed class. As a Solaris Cleric, the mere presence of the Benevolence stat allowed him to easily overpower skill compatibilities and power.

But still, being a half-completed class is a bit...

It was true that there had always been a slight discomfort in his mind, but that feeling would end today.

As Kai mentally prepared himself, a group of people hurried toward them from the opposite corridor.

Loud enough only for Albert to hear, Kai quietly asked, “Your Holiness, who are they?”

“They are supporters of Bernard and Molion, those who stand in opposition to me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Kai noticed that the attire of the high-position clerics were clearly different from that of ordinary clerics.

Anyone would think they were kings, not clerics.

There were always people like that. Those who overdid it with tattoos on their bodies or covered their cars in excessive stickers. A few could look impressive, but once it exceeded ten, it started to make others judge.

The way these high-position clerics dressed was exactly like that, with their colorful scarves and fabrics draped over their white cleric robes to the flashy jewels hanging from their hands and necks.

“...I didn’t believe that talk about your incompetence, but seeing this, I think I kind of get it now.”

“Haha... I have no excuse to offer you,” murmured Albert in embarrassment.

As the high-position clerics approached him, one of them said, “Your Holiness, what in the world has happened? Where are the cardinals and the church’s paladins...?”

“Sigh. I am tired, we will discuss this later,” Albert replied.

“I’m afraid that’s not acceptable. We must hear why the cardinals and the paladins have not returned with you immediately.”

It was clear they had no intention of obeying the high priest\'s command.

Receiving such disrespect in front of Kai made Albert’s ears turn red with shame. “I told you, I am tired. I will explain everything tomorrow morning when all the high-position clerics and bishops have gathered.”

Hearing the slight anger in the high priest’s voice, the high-position clerics and bishops exchanged glances. Eventually, they decided to step back for now. However, they had one last issue to address.

“Understood. Then rest well for today. But... isn’t Your Holiness’s chamber in the opposite direction?”

“I intend to visit the statue with this young man.”

“Even in these circumstances, your faith in seeking Helik is admirable, Your Holiness. However, this young man has no right to look at the sacred statue, does he?”

“The right to look at the statue, you say... Let me ask you this. Who decides such rights?”

“Well, many of the bishops and high-position clerics...”

“Yes, to put it bluntly, you all decided that.”

“...If you put it that way, we have nothing more to say.”

“Exactly. As it should be, no?”

With the solid backing of a Solaris Cleric, Albert spoke without hesitation.

The bishops and high-position clerics were visibly taken aback by this newfound confidence from the high priest, something they had never seen before.

“Y-Your Holiness, what has happened?”

“I already told you, I will explain everything tomorrow morning. Now, please step aside.”

With the weight of his years behind his commanding voice, Albert dismissed them and led Kai forward.

“Your Holiness, that was impressive.”

“I wouldn’t have had the courage to speak so boldly if you weren’t with me.”

“Please continue to act with such confidence. It suits you well.”

“Haha, thank you for saying so.”

Soon, the two arrived at the garden inside the main church. It was filled with beautiful flowers and plants that Kai didn’t know the names of, and in the center stood a majestic statue of Helik, the Solarian God.

“I had no idea there was such a garden within the main church.”

"This statue is said to have been crafted by a sculptor who received a revelation from Helik. It is believed that praying before this statue allows one to hear the words of the Solarian God."

"So all the past apostles must have prayed here as well.”

"That’s right. According to records, their faith was so deep that they would immerse themselves in prayer for at least half a day."

"A whole day, huh..."

Of course, Kai had no intention of praying for that long.

"Well then, I’ll leave you to it. I pray that you obtain what you seek."

"Thank you. I’ll find you once I’m done."

After the garden doors closed, Kai slowly knelt on one knee with the statue before him.

"Now... what was that prayer again?"

The prayer he memorized during his class change had long been forgotten. In the end, Kai searched through community forums for the prayer and began to recite it slowly.

Then, after a few moments...

Ding!

[The Solarian God Helik wishes to speak with you.]

[You are invited to visit the Celestial Garden. Will you accept?]

[Yes / No]

"A conversation... Looks like this won’t be a quick class change after all.”

Although it was an unexpected message, Kai remained calm and nodded.

"Yes."

The moment Kai finished his response and blinked, the Celestial Garden, which he had visited during his first class change to Solaris Cleric, revealed itself once again before him.