"Excuse me. Is the priest of this temple here?"
Lucan was sitting on the chair, having tea and reading his favorite book. He was in a good mood, but a voice interrupted him.
He looked at the door and saw an elderly gentleman in a black coat standing there.
Lucan remained seated, with no intention of getting up. He pointed to the chair in front of him, "Sit there. I'm not going to greet you."
"You don't want to be a priest anymore?" the elderly gentleman said. He shook his head and sat down.
"Nah, it's too much work. Now I want to retire."
"Okay, you can, but let me see the Saintess. Where is she?"
"Don't be impatient. First, tell me, why did you come here? I thought that old fool would come," Lucan said.
"It's good that fool didn't come. Otherwise, you'd be in a lot of trouble."
"That old fool is greedy. Give him some money, and he'll do whatever I want. Compared to him, you're more troublesome."
"You have money?"
"Yeah, I earn a lot of money and stole some from the house. And then there was someone gave me too much," Lucan proudly showed his wealth.
"Hm..." The elderly gentleman looked behind Lucan, not paying attention to him. He was looking at Maris, who had just come out with a broom.
"Priest?"
Lucan heard Maris's voice. He turned and saw her. "Mari, you can clean another place, and don't worry about bringing tea to the guest. He doesn't need someone serving him."
"Um... Okay."
Then Maris went away.
"That was the Saintess just now, wasn't it? Indeed, a woman of radiant beauty," the elderly gentleman said, his voice quite excited with shining eyes.
"Pervert, look at your age and identity."
"Lucan, stop this and let's talk seriously. Tell me about her. You know how important the Saintess is to the temple."
"Okay, old pervert. She is fifteen years old, named Maris, and has been in my care at this temple for the past five years."
"Oh? For five years? And is she taking care of you, or are you taking care of her?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, all the other priests would fry you alive if they heard you used the Saintess to clean the temple. And from what I know about you, then Saintess is probably doing all your housework and chores."
"So what? It's not like I told her to do all of this. She wanted to do it, so I let her."
"Don't think me a fool. Forget it. I don't want to argue with you."
"Like I want to."
After some silence.
"Let's do the necessary work." The elderly gentleman took out a white crystal and placed it on the table.
"I, Erokoit Kannon, the Archpriest, commend Priest Lucan Ironfist for discovering and protecting the Saintess. The Great Temple will formally reward you in due time."
"Thank you very much."
"However, there is something we must clarify first." The Archpriest looked at Lucan and asked, "Are you truly a faithful servant of God, or are you a great sinner who uses the Saintess's power for your own gain? We need to ascertain that."
"..."
"Priest Lucan Ironfist, why did you not report to the Great Temple that you had the Saintess in your care for five years?"
"Depending on your response, we may need to detain you. Can you provide a satisfactory explanation?"
"Of course," Lucan looked at Erokoit. He had to admit, this guy had good voice control. Even though his face was expressionless, his voice contained anger, and a suspicious with a hint of threat.
"I did not report it because I wanted the Saintess to grow up peacefully and healthily. For the past five years, I have provided her with ample food, education, and training in holy arts," Lucan said.
"So, you claim it was for the Saintess's sake. However, isn't the education of a Saintess supposed to be conducted at the Great Temple? What right did you, a mere priest of a provincial temple, have to decide her education?"
"May I counter with a question? Do you truly believe that the Saintess would grow up healthily if taken to the Great Temple?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"The previous Saintess was from a duke's family, as were those before her, all of noble birth. What do you think would happen if a Saintess of common birth appeared? Can you guarantee that the priests of the Great Temple wouldn't oppress her under the guise of education?"
"..."
"If she were adopted by a noble family before entering the Great Temple, she wouldn't be mistreated," Erokoit didn't want to defend those noble at temple but he had to do it for show.
"Even then, there's no guarantee. People obsessed with power can do foolish things. You must have witnessed that yourself."
"..."
"I, Lucan Ironfist, swear by the Goddess. 'I have not harmed the Saintess Maris. I have no intention of using her; I only prioritized her protection.'"
"...!"
Erokoit turned off the crystal. "If you were going to swear, then why not do it earlier? Anyway, now I have this to show others, so don't worry, no one will trouble you for keeping the Saintess."
"Do you think I care?"
Erokoit sighed, "Whatever. The carriage will come in two days to take the Saintess. Be prepared."
"Yeah, you don't have to worry about that."
"Okay, then I'm leaving for now," Erokoit said. He got up and inspected the temple for hours before he left.
He found that the temple had more holy energy than the Great Temple. He felt that Lucan truly got lucky.