Chapter 250 – Gathering (One)

Ray was momentarily stunned.

Because the Saintess who had removed her veil had hair as fiery red as flames.

“Veronica?”

“Veronica? Are you talking about that friend of yours you mentioned earlier?”

Pieta reacted to Ray’s unconsciously muttered words.

“I think I know. You mean the girl standing next to you at the cathedral entrance, right? I remember her because there was an incredibly warm-feeling Mana flowing through her body.”

“……”

Ray, who had been staring intently at the red hair, soon shook his head inwardly.

‘No, completely different.’

Red hair, like his own white hair, could be considered rare.

So he was momentarily startled by the color that vividly filled his vision, but upon closer look, it was completely different from Veronica’s red hair.

‘Pieta’s hair color is lighter.’

They were practically the same color, but to Ray’s eyes—extremely sensitive to color and having spent a long time with Veronica—the difference was clear.

He shifted his gaze slightly to look at Pieta’s face, focusing his mind to perceive.

Pieta had her eyes closed.

A straight nose, white skin, long eyelashes.

By conventional aesthetic standards, she could be said to have outstanding looks.

But still.

‘Not as much as Veronica.’

Though he didn’t realize it himself, it was a judgment tinged with personal sentiment.

Vroooom──!

Beyond the vehicle’s windshield, the small silhouette of Sector 28’s outskirts came into view.

Ray, who had been gazing at the gradually enlarging scenery, turned his gaze to the window beside him.

─────!

At the center of dozens of vehicles, a black limousine was speeding along, protected by an ironclad Escort.

The Saintess was riding there.

‘Pieta.’

The orphanage-born girl was clearly aware of her situation.

Not only the fact that she was a fake Saintess, but she had also sensed the uneasy atmosphere lingering among the Bishops and priests.

Well, with that level of intelligence and perceptiveness, she must have survived and risen even from a status belonging to the lowest stratum of the sector.

Despite possessing such a fatal physical weakness.

However, Pieta, with her quick perceptiveness, grasped reality and immediately adapted.

「I know that. That the Order people didn’t bring me here for benevolent purposes. What will happen to me once I go to the Main Office? Will I keep undergoing strange experiments? Will I be locked up somewhere and spend my whole life there?」

Contrary to the serious content, Pieta’s voice was utterly calm.

The emotion Ray read from Pieta in the Vessel was resignation.

「It doesn’t feel good, but there’s nothing I can do. What can a blind girl do alone? I’m just satisfied. That our Headmaster’s situation has improved.」

「It’s a bit disappointing, though. I’ve developed a desire to feel the Mana-drawn picture you drew and see the world for the first time. If even a copied drawing is this beautiful, I wonder just how beautiful the real world must be.」

Saying this, Pieta burst into a giggling laugh as if something was very amusing.

At the corners of her eyes, tiny teardrops had formed, so small one wouldn’t notice unless looking closely.

Those transparent drops rolled down her white cheeks.

Plop!

“……”

Ray snapped out of his thoughts at the small raindrop that hit the window.

Solite’s voice came from the driver’s seat.

“It seems it’s going to rain. Maybe it’s just my feeling, but lately the frequency of Black Rain seems to have increased.”

The sky, covered in Black Clouds, was hazy and gloomy.

Ray suddenly felt that the time he had looked up at the cloudless sky on the Sky Island seemed like a very long time ago.

‘Though the sky I saw then had such weak sunlight that it gave no feeling of blueness at all.’

The only blue sky Ray had seen was the sky from the primordial memory Blue had shown him.

The memory of the moment when the Rainbow that descended from the sky colored the world.

‘If the vanished Rainbow returns.’

Perhaps the sky could also regain its lost blueness.

He felt certain it would be so.

And to prepare for that time, he would need to be able to recognize the returned Rainbow.

‘If it returns, in the form of light exactly as in the memory? Or in the form of another race? There might also be a possibility it returns in the form of a plant or animal.’

The method for identifying the returned Rainbow was stored within the memory of the lake he had absorbed on the island.

However, the volume of memories was too vast, making it difficult to easily access them.

It was like a situation where, the moment you try to pull out a book, the entire bookshelf might collapse.

Vrrrrrr──

The Transport Corps, having entered the sector, slowed down and proceeded cautiously.

Under the control of what appeared to be Main Office priests, the main road was wide open without a single vehicle.

─The Saintess has arrived!

─A sun for our sky!

On both sides of the road, an enormous crowd had gathered, waving their hands and cheering.

“I’ve never seen this many people gathered. Isn’t this almost everyone in Sector 28…?”

Veronica said in a bewildered voice, looking at the crowd outside the window.

Ray was equally surprised.

Excitement, hope, thrill, joy,

Gratitude, anticipation, emotion, satisfaction, and also…

An indescribable multitude of emotions surged like flames wherever he turned his head.

The sum of those emotions could be said to be greater than any he had encountered since birth.

Solite spoke.

“It means that raising the Artificial Sun is that much of a historic event. If high-quality light can be secured, human living conditions will develop to an incomparable degree compared to now. That’s also why many large-scale business entities have long sponsored the Order.”

Indeed, banners and flags bearing various corporate logos could be seen among the crowd.

Humans who gained light would be able to expand their territory beyond the fence of the sector.

It was obvious that business expansion opportunities would increase proportionally.

Main Office vehicles appeared ahead on the road and guided the Transport Corps.

They had deliberately chosen a route that went through the entire sector to show the procession carrying the Artificial Sun to the public.

Because of this, it took the Transport Corps an hour to finally arrive at the Order’s Main Office.

“It’s huge…!”

Veronica exclaimed in admiration.

The Main Office grounds were truly vast.

The religious-style buildings positioned here and there evoked the image of a small village.

And at its center, a Cathedral dozens of meters high shone under the sunlight.

“That over there is the Training Hall. It looks just as it did in the old days. And that is the library storing all the scriptures used within the Main Office. And over there is…”

Solite introduced various places with a nostalgic look in his eyes.

The Main Office was where all the faith of the Order was born and grew, and including trainees and servants, the resident population reached about a thousand, he said.

Solite whispered to Ray, who was gazing toward the Training Hall.

“How is it?”

“…Most are 1st Circle Wizards, but I don’t see anyone with a Hybrid Ring.”

“That’s fortunate. It seems the Dawn Society hasn’t yet reached its hands into the Training Hall. However, the problem is the official priests.”

Official priests, who must reach the 2nd Circle and pass various tests to be appointed.

Effectively the Order’s frontline force, their daily routine, unless they have special missions, mostly takes place inside the Cathedral, he said.

“To my knowledge, the Main Office maintains about two hundred official priests. That’s a number similar to the Transport Corps, which is already about 90 percent Defectors. The key is how many Defectors are among the Main Office priests.”

Then, priests emerged from the Cathedral entrance and were seen approaching.

“Two stripes on the shoulder of the priest robes, they are official priests.”

“Four out of eight.”

“Half the personnel, a ratio that’s not the absolute worst. Though we’ll have to see once we go inside.”

Afterwards, the Saintess who disembarked from the limousine entered the Cathedral under the strict Escort of the Main Office priests.

The Bishops and priests belonging to the Transport Corps also followed behind to have an audience with the Pope.

Before leaving, Solite whispered.

“The enshrinement ceremony for the Artificial Sun is in two weeks. The Dawn Society probably won’t act immediately today either. First, I’ll go and gauge the internal atmosphere.”

Ray nodded in agreement.

Afterwards, guided by Main Office servants, they were able to unpack in the outsider accommodations.

“Veronica, can you look around the Main Office grounds and gauge the atmosphere? As an outsider, try not to be too conspicuous.”

“Got it!”

Parting from Veronica in front of the accommodations, Ray used Stealth Magic.

He wrapped wind around his feet and moved his steps as if leaping.

Instantly, the Cathedral drew near.

Thud─!

He passed right by it.

‘There’s something I need to handle first. Infiltrating the Main Office Cathedral comes after.’

Ray recalled the contents of a letter he carried.

「Receiving this invitation sufficiently proves that you are qualified to become a member of the Dawn Society. I sincerely congratulate you on joining the great mission of plotting His resurrection and dyeing the world indigo.」

It was the invitation that should have originally been received by Binjin from an envoy of the Indigo Dawn Society.

Ray recalled the next passage of the invitation.

「On the date indicated below, there will be a first gathering for new members. It will be a meaningful occasion to confirm each other’s faces and receive the great directive of the Dawn Society for the first time. Ensure you participate so as not to suffer any disadvantage.」

A gathering for new members.

And, that date and location were.

‘Today, at a designated building in the southern outskirts of Sector 28.’

The gathering starts at exactly 2 PM.

Exactly 30 minutes from now.

Fortunately, the Transport Corps had arrived in Sector 28 on the scheduled date, so it seemed they could just barely make the time.

To uncover the enemy’s plans, there was no method as certain as infiltrating enemy territory.

Tap tap tap!

In an instant, having exited the Main Office grounds, Ray used transformation Magic to change his hair and irises to black.

Releasing the Stealth Magic, he hailed a taxi and got in.

The driver, checking Ray’s appearance in the rearview mirror, activated the wipers and spoke.

“Well, it’s starting to rain a bit. But once the new sun rises, this kind of Black Rain weather will probably be gone forever. Truly a joyous time. So, what’s your destination, young sir?”

“Sector south outskirts, 82-3rd Street.”

“82-3rd, you say? Hmm, from what I remember, that’s an empty Abandoned Factory complex.”

A 10,000 Shilling silver coin fell into the coin exchange Vessel positioned in the front.

Clink!

Checking the amount, the driver opened his mouth in surprise, then collected himself and immediately shifted gears.

“Ahem, a model taxi driver’s duty is to take the customer wherever they wish without complaint.”

10,000 Shilling.

That was an amount one could earn only by gripping the steering wheel all day.

The taxi pushed through the city streets.

However, the crowd was so large that it couldn’t pick up proper speed.

“Can’t you go any faster?”

“Well, it seems the Order’s procession just ended. People are so intoxicated by the excitement they aren’t thinking of clearing out easily. But it’s a good occasion, so perhaps you could show a little patience…”

Clink!

“Consideration for pedestrians…”

Clink!

“Consideration…”

Clink! Clink! Clink!

“……”

The taxi driver, staring at the pile of silver coins in the Vessel, slammed the horn.

Hoooooooooonk───!!

He opened the window and shouted with a demonic face.

“What are you doing─! Everyone, move aside─! Do you want to die─! If the procession’s over, go home instead of hanging around─!”

Afterwards, the taxi began an angry dash along the cleared path.

In the distance, the Abandoned Factory complex came into view.