The Sleeping Devil

Vol. 2 - Chapter 2 - Ritual of Baptism

"I, Sergio Beriard, bestowed with the blessing of air."

"I, Dior Zorad Beriard, bestowed with the blessing of fire."

"I, Didier Beriard, bestowed with the blessing of water."

Following the voices, light emanated from beneath their feet, connecting the lines one after another.

When the last person finished, the entire pattern emitted light.

The magic circle as a whole faintly floated above the ground.

As a signal, everyone's voices merged and resonated within the altar.

"To the gods dwelling in the heavens..."

"At this land of Beriard, we receive the grace of the gods through this ritual."

Sacred prayers with a clear resonance were recited, and the light of the magic circle intensified.

Though the exact meaning was unclear, the names of the gods were mentioned, suggesting that they were making some kind of request.

"Here arises Sheriel Beriard..."

"Bestowed from the heavens, by the rite of the six elemental gods, we bestow blessings upon her."

Snap! The light emitted a particularly strong glow, and finally, the pillar of light was supposed to descend.

...

It didn't come down.

...

...It didn't come down, huh?

Disbelief permeated the air, and everyone exchanged glances. The ashen-haired priest began to tremble, and Marcel, the vice chief of the Mage Guild, voiced his unease.

"The baptismal ritual has failed? That's ridiculous... It can't be true! Even with a magic deficiency, something like this shouldn't happen. The blessing...!"

Thud.

Turning towards the sound, they saw the ashen-haired priest collapsing with a pale face.

Perhaps he was feeling unwell even before the ritual began.

Through the gaps in his disheveled bangs, sunken eyes, dark circles, and haggard cheeks revealed a dreadful complexion.

The word "failure" crossed my mind, and a chilling sensation ran through my head.

The scenery in front of me remained unchanged. However, it suddenly lost its color as if a sepia filter had been applied.

Ah, so that's how it is. That's why I couldn't use magic, couldn't even learn sorcery.

I wasn't blessed by the gods.

I see... That's what it means, Sheriel.

"Hmm, well, there's nothing we can do, I suppose."

"It's a bit too amusing, isn't it? The baptismal ritual being a failure."

"Didier, be quiet. I'm tired. Let's go back and have some tea."

The tension in the air eased with a "hmph." Sheriel noticed the desperate attempt to suppress laughter from Didier and the nonchalant atmosphere of the Beriard family dispersing, and she immediately came to her senses.

No, no, no, there are more important things to say, right? Shouldn't we be concerned that the priest has collapsed? Oh, wait, these people are Beriards. No, this is not the time to accept such things.

Sheriel's thoughts raced.

"Um, hey, what about the priest... I mean, is this... Is everything okay?"

She couldn't find the right words to say, even though they should have come naturally to her.

In the midst of the confusion, Sheriel realized something.

Could it be that even in that dream, Father and Didier were behaving like this...?

Right now, I'm all like, "Yes, yes, Beriard, Beriard." But what would have happened if I hadn't been accepted by everyone?

A chill ran down her spine, and her heart raced.

And she cherished these four years.

"Sheriel, it's okay. If the gods don't bless you, I'll bless you. Even if you can't use magic, you're still my precious sister."

"Oh, Brother...!"

Didier gently stroked her head with a soft smile.

The affection seeped through, and her cold head regained warmth.

That's right, I knew that I couldn't use magic. But right now, I have my brother... my family.

"But seriously, it's the best, isn't it? ...Hehe! Sheriel has it... No, maybe she doesn't. Heh!"

"Brother!"

I want him to take back that emotional moment from earlier. What's gotten into him, seriously!

Didier burst into laughter, clutching his stomach, and Sheriel playfully punched him.

"What on earth is happening..."

Leaving Marcel, who was left alone, they invited him to the mansion and let the priest rest in one of the guest rooms.

Following Sergio's instructions to wait in the living room, Marcel arrived with him shortly after.

His size alone drew attention, but Marcel was also the vice chief of the Kingdom's Mage Guild.

Come to think of it, why would such an impressive person be here?

"Because we made a promise, right? Let's lend Sheriel just for a little while."

"It's because you said unnecessary things, isn't it? It was tough to stop the captain."

From their continued conversation, it seemed that my white hair had caught the attention of the captain of the Mage Guild.

In the end, it seemed that Marcel had come in place of the busy captain.

"Nice to meet you again, Miss Sheriel. I'm Marcel, the deputy chief of the Mage Guild. It's unfortunate that things turned out like this, but we'll try to investigate the cause, so don't lose heart!"

While exchanging cheerful greetings, Marcel, with a shaved head, couldn't help but be curious about my white hair, and his gaze wandered around.

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Marcel. Is it possible that this white hair is the cause?"

"I don't know! I don't know, so we need to investigate! Can I have a little bit of your hair, Sheriel? Just a little bit, that's all!"

His massive muscles approached as if saying, "I've been waiting for this." Why does a mage have such developed muscles?

"Marcel, you can't do that. I don't know what you would use it for if I gave it to you. Taking even a single strand of hair is strictly prohibited."

"Well, if I go back like this, the captain will kill me!"

Sergio, who had caught the fish but refused to give it any bait, seemed like a cruel adult. But I am the bait.

"Is Father acquainted with Marcel, sir?"

"Yes, we used to meet quite often when I was in the Knights Order."

"Even so, your father was the captain of the Orausteria Knights Order, which is one of the top three knight orders in history."

Huh? The captain of a knight order? Father? Captain?

"Um, not the Beriard Knights Order, but Orausteria? The captain is the most important person in a knight order, right?"

"Yes, didn't I mention it?"

I didn't hear about it, though.

Marcel burst into loud laughter, and as usual, he playfully punched Sergio's shoulder.

The fact that the slender Sergio used to be a knight order captain and the muscular Marcel is the deputy chief of the Mage Guild is confusing my head.

"That being said, even as the deputy chief, don't you know the cause? Was there a problem with the magic circle? I'm not very interested in magic, so maybe I made a mistake somewhere."

"No, if there was even a single mistake, the circle wouldn't have been activated. Maybe it would have been better if the captain had come. I'm not really good at dealing with these kinds of things..."

The sound of the living room door clicking echoed. A feeble voice came through.

"Um, I'm sorry... I think it's my fault."

A pale-faced priest approached unsteadily, then collapsed in front of me, kneeling and pressing his head against the floor, starting to confess as if rubbing his head against it.

"I'm sorry... It's my fault. Maybe my magic power wasn't enough, or my faith was lacking, or my sins... Because of me, such a thing happened during Sheriel-sama's important ceremony! Because someone like me came, this happened..."

"Please calm down, Priest-san. It's okay, so please calm down."

I instinctively stopped the priest, who was crouching in fear, with his dilated pupils shaking and a sense of dread. Squatting down to meet his gaze, I locked eyes with the ashen-haired priest who raised his face.

I had thought his voice sounded young, but he might be younger than Didier just based on his haggard appearance.

"It's not your fault, Priest-san. But more importantly, are you eating properly? Are you getting enough rest?"

"No, um... I'm sorry..."

Tears welled up in his dark eyes in an instant, trembling with worry.

I made him cry. Did I sound like I was blaming him? Considering that Beriard already has a strong impression of being associated with demons, I should have been more careful with my wording.

"It's alright. Oh, by the way, would you like to have a meal? It's a bit different, but it's gentle on the body and easy to eat."

"Yeah, yeah, meals are the source of everything! If you eat meat, your energy, magical power, and muscles will grow!"

The ashen-haired priest trembled at Marcel's loud voice, making his body flinch, and he looked around in confusion, letting his withered skin absorb the tears.

"Shall we stand up? It's a bit early, but let's have breakfast together. Okay?"

As we moved to the dining hall, Dior and Didier arrived, followed by Hermes. Didier seemed a bit down, as if he had been trapped by Hermes in a separate room.

The dishes were brought out, and we all repeated Sergio's prayer.

For the ashen-haired priest, they prepared a stew and scrambled eggs with plenty of ingredients that seemed easy to digest, avoiding meat and oil.

"Priest-san, please eat whatever you feel you can. Even if it's just a little, please have something to eat."

Feeling uneasy about the lack of response, I lightly leaned over and peered at the priest's face, who had his eyes wide open, gazing at the plates one by one.

"May I... eat this?"

"Yes, of course. You came all this way just for me. Oh, if you prefer meat, please let me know."

As everyone started their meal, the priest hesitantly brought the stew to his mouth.

He chewed slowly as if confirming something, and once it seemed to have solidified, he immediately started devouring the stew with great enthusiasm.

That's a relief, it seems to suit his taste. He also ate things such as egg dishes and a salad of steamed chicken and warm vegetables without hesitation, even though they seemed unfamiliar.

Realizing that the others were taken aback, the priest abruptly stopped moving, and his face turned bright red as he started apologizing repeatedly.

"Hahaha! Good, good! Is Beriard's meal really that delicious? Such unusual dishes! Sergio, may I ask for another serving as well?"

"Yes, please go ahead. However, keep in mind that these dishes are meant for select individuals, so please don't complain, alright?"

Sergio gave instructions to the maid, and Marcel also began preparing dishes as much as possible to try out.

Hermes and Didier observed the priest as if contemplating something, while Dior briefly frowned as if displeased but quickly returned to enjoying her own meal.

"Please enjoy it without worry. If you like it, I would be happy too."

"I-I... I've never... had such delicious food before..."

The priest began shedding tears again, causing me to become flustered as well. The members of the Beriard family seemed to have lost interest in the priest, as they were all enjoying their meals in their own way.

"Thank you very much. I'm sure the cooks will be delighted as well."

Although the priest's enthusiasm had diminished, he continued to eat little by little. Perhaps there were fasting practices in the temple? Maybe it would have been better to offer a recovery meal...

"This milk soup-like thing is delicious! Is it made from the meat of magical beasts? It's tender and sweet! This vegetable is kind of subtle. Milk soup is the best!"

"That's a dish called stew made with vegetables and chicken."

"What! To think that roots and milk could create such a delicious dish! It's like alchemy!"

As Marcel voiced his question, feeling like I had heard it somewhere before, I subtly emphasized the vegetables while answering each of his inquiries.