Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

The room was so lavishly decorated with flowers and plants that it resembled a garden. At the center, a round table was surrounded by people, regardless of age or gender, wearing identical clothing.

Their expressions were uniformly tense, and they stared intently at one spot.

At the center of the round table lay the remnants of something.

Among those silently observing, a frail and aged man finally lost his patience, striking the table with his fist.

“The, the, the Latima’s Chalice is broken! What on earth have you done, Your Holiness!”

At the exclamation of Odell, the Cardinal of the Latima Order, everyone’s gaze turned sharply to a corner.

The focus of their attention, Pope Begrian III, flinched at their scrutiny and hastily defended himself.

“P-please, calm down! It’s not my fault! I was cleaning very carefully, as I always do!”

“This man?! Calm down?! Did you just tell us to calm down?! Haven’t I repeatedly told you to lose some weight?!”

“No, why is that coming up now?!”

“Why, you ask?! Is there any holy relic that can withstand the weight of Your Holiness?! Did you crush it? Did you crush it by falling over?!”

“I swear, I didn’t do anything!”

Everyone seemed to agree with Cardinal Odell’s insinuation that something had clearly been crushed.

This only added to Pope Begrian III’s distress.

Unbelievable, did they think just because he gained some weight he no longer had any physical agility?

It was due to healthy living that he had gained that weight, and he exercised diligently.

He wanted to assert this, but sensing the formidable mood of the others, he chose to stay silent.

“What are we to do about this situation? It’s not just any chalice, it’s the Latima’s Chalice. The Latima’s Chalice!”

Initially, it was hard to believe.

However, once they had reassembled the fragments, it was undeniably the Latima’s Chalice.

Unlike the statue of the goddess in the prayer hall, the Latima’s Chalice was showcased at important events, known by all followers of the Latima Order.

Of all things, for it to break.

And it wasn’t just an ordinary artifact, it was a holy relic.

And now…

“This is why I opposed your election as Pope! I knew something like this would happen!”

“This man, really?! Hey, Odell! Is this still about me telling the late Pope about your advances on the goddess?!”

“What?! That wasn’t advances, it was love, you pig!”

“Pig?! You skeletal, bony wretch!”

“You rotten thing! You confessed to her too and got rejected!”

While the Latima Order did not strictly prohibit love or marriage, romantic relationships within the temple walls were limited.

The two had entered the order on the same day, ascended as apprentice priests, ordained priests, even became cardinals together, but love was a different matter.

Observing this bickering between the two men, Cardinal Bellium, who was in charge of the temple’s internal affairs, sighed deeply and spoke up.

“Please stop fighting. Why is it that every time you meet, you act like this?”

“But this bag of bones!”

“But this pig!”

With neither Begrian III nor Cardinal Odell showing any signs of backing down, Cardinal Bellium narrowed her eyes.

“Sit down and shut up.”

“I-I get it, please don’t be mad.”

“Ah, understood.”

Whether it was due to the doctrine of equality the order upheld or simply because Cardinal Bellium was terrifying, the two elderly men, who seemed ready to fight, quickly subdued and took their seats.

Everyone let out a deep sigh at the scene.

Where had the dignity of the order vanished to…

Despite this, cardinal Belliam gazed intently at the remnants of Latima’s Chalice placed at the center of the round table and spoke with a rather serious expression.

“Isn’t it somewhat strange?”

“Strange in what way?”

At Cardinal Belliam’s words, everyone turned their gaze to him.

“Latima’s Chalice is a holy relic. No matter how imposing His Holiness’s presence may be, it’s simply the body of an overweight old man.”

“What?! How dare you insult me so politely?!”

Begrian III shouted in anger, but nobody paid him any mind. Only Cardinal Odell gave a thumbs-up, attempting to unsettle Begrian III.

“Even if His Holiness accidentally hurled it to the ground or, in a fit of madness, stomped on Latima’s Chalice, it is not something that would easily break, is it?”

“Indeed…”

What do you mean, indeed?! There’s no one in the world who would fling it to the ground or stomp on it by accident! They clearly underestimated the Pope.

Feeling that he had to assert the Pope’s dignity with a clear statement, Begrian III tried to stand up, but seeing Cardinal Belliam watching him intently, he meekly clasped his hands.

“You all must have seen Latima’s Chalice. It is a holy relic directly sent by the goddess to the first saint. Could it be destroyed or damaged by human force?”

A holy relic. The weight of its name is extraordinary. If mana is an inherently occurring strength, holy energy is an imprint of transcendent force.

It signifies the Goddess’s intent, temporarily manifesting holy energy through human belief, under divine permission. Such holy energy imbues the holy relics wholly with the Goddess’s power, making it something beyond human capability.

“Such a holy relic has been broken. Moreover, it is as though…”

“Yes, it appears to be an empty shell.”

As if completing Cardinal Belliam’s thought, a small but clear voice echoed.

The people gathered here, irrespective of age or gender, were mostly middle-aged or older, since only those with a rank of cardinal or higher from the Latima Order were summoned.

However, among them was a particularly remarkable young girl. Her grass-like green hair was mysterious, and her pale pink eyes were like flowers.

Her appearance seemed to symbolize the flower and leaves of the Latima Order in human form.

No one dared to shout at her, saying, “How bold! Who do you think you are to interrupt adult conversations!”

“Saintess Rachel, do you have any insights into this matter?”

Cardinal Belliam asked the girl with a serious expression. Once one is inducted into the order, they abandon their family name, retaining only their first name. Hence, she had no surname.

However, the newly acquired title served in its place—Rachel, the saintess of the Latima Order.

Cardinal Belliam’s tone was exceptionally respectful, addressing her not as a grandfather to a granddaughter but as someone of a higher rank.

“A Latima’s Chalice deprived of holy energy is nothing more than an empty husk. After it’s served its purpose, it crumbles and returns to nature, as per the natural order.”

And Rachel responded as if such courtesy was completely ordinary.

“So, indeed the holy energy has vanished, that is what you’re suggesting.”

“Yes, not even a trace remains.”

“Hmm…”

It was an answer they had somewhat anticipated. However, for that reason, it was all the more grave.

Even Cardinal Bellium, Cardinal Odell, and Pope Begrien III had their expressions hardened.

The holy energy had vanished from the holy relic.

Its meaning was singular.

“Could it be that the Goddess Latima has withdrawn her holy energy to punish us?”

At someone’s words, everyone’s complexion paled.

The disappearance of holy energy from the relic meant that the favor of the deity who bestowed it had vanished.

The implication was…

“Has the Goddess abandoned us? Could it really be…?”

“No. The Goddess still loves and cherishes us.”

If the Pope had spoken, it would have been met with sarcastic laughter.

But it was a statement from the Saintess.

The Pope merely guided and represented the believers, but he was not the ‘divine’ spokesperson.

The divine spokesperson was the Saint or the Saintess of the Order.

When the current Saintess of the Latima Order denied it, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Unlike the others, Cardinal Bellium found it rather strange and asked Rachel.

“Then why did the Goddess suddenly withdraw the holy energy from the Latima’s Chalice?”

“No, it wasn’t withdrawn…”

Suddenly, the Saintess’s eyes changed.

And from her body, pink holy energy spread along with the scents of flowers and grass.

Realizing what it was, everyone hurriedly rose from their seats and knelt on the floor.

A revelation from the Goddess Latima.

That was exactly what it was.

“To those who care for and cherish my children… Once again, a new chalice…”

A new chalice?

At those words, everyone raised their heads.

By then, the pink brilliance emitted by Rachel’s holy energy had already calmed.

However, the fragrance of flowers and grass that filled the room contained a divine aura unlike anything ever experienced before.

No matter how many believers prayed or how many people simultaneously emitted holy energy, such an intense fragrance did not appear.

It signified that the Goddess had descended briefly, borrowing the body of the Saintess.

But such emotion was short-lived.

“What… What is this… Do you mean that a new Latima’s Chalice has been created and bestowed upon the world?!”

“Indeed, the new holy energy is said to be contained in a new chalice.”

“Ha ha, who in the world…”

Who was this esteemed person that caused Goddess Latima to withdraw the existing relic and bestow a new chalice?

The Pope and the Cardinals were intrigued by the emergence of this new honored individual within the Order.

“Whatever the case, the birth of a new Latima’s Chalice is evident. A devout follower must have been born, one so cherished by the Goddess that she personally withdrew the existing chalice and bestowed a new one.”

“We must find them. We must find them and bring them into the Order.”

A new holy relic.

It was filled with divine love surpassing the existing relic.

While everyone was excited, Rachel quietly turned her head to look elsewhere.

‘To the west…’

The main branch of the Latima Order was in the southeast of the continent. And the place she gazed upon was to the west.

A rugged land surrounded by high mountains and perilous forests.