TGS - Chapter 99
Chapter 99: The Selection Ends
At the lakeside, a tall, thin man stepped forward. He rubbed the hidden scented balm between his fingers, his confidence soaring.
This balm had been given to him by his father. The man, not entirely trusting it, had secretly tested it twice, and the results were remarkable.
In other words, the outcome of this assessment was already decided. The final victor would undoubtedly be him!
The man faced the lake, an involuntary, self-satisfied smile appearing on his face. He then composed his expression and began to recite a poem in praise of the goddess.
As the first line left his lips, he brought his hands together in front of him and, in a blind spot hidden from the crowd's view, crushed the special balm, allowing its imperceptible scent to spread quickly.
The blue herons raised their slender necks one after another, twisting them from side to side as if searching for something. At first, it was only the flock near the shore, but soon even the herons closer to the center of the lake began to stir.
Seeing this, the man's voice grew louder, as if to attract the attention of more herons and, by doing so, conceal his own guilt.
Before long, these beautiful and highly symbolic birds finally found their direction. Flapping their wings or striding on their long legs, they began to approach the shore.
A few of them began to dance gracefully, but most simply drew near, showing no intention of dancing to the sound of his chanting. However, that didn't matter. As long as he attracted enough herons, it would be sufficient proof of his success.
The man continued his recitation, but the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily.
The onlookers murmured in amazement. Horst and the man's father exchanged a look of mutual understanding.
Behind Alyuin, Lotus quietly peeked out, her blue chalcedony eyes looking towards the leader of the blue herons in the lake.
The moment their eyes met, the largest and most beautiful of the water birds brightened. It spread its wings, looking as if it was about to start dancing—fortunately, the goddess stopped it in time.
Lotus shifted her gaze to the tall, thin man, raising an eyebrow slightly.
The heron leader used its not-so-brilliant brain to think for two seconds, and then it understood.
The next moment, the flock of birds erupted.
As the sacred animals symbolizing the Goddess of the Yilu River in the Solancian faith, blue herons were typically synonymous with elegance, gentleness, and friendliness. At this moment, however, they were as fierce as domesticated geese, opening their long beaks to peck at the man.
Don't be fooled by the fact that they were water birds; their combat prowess was not the least bit weak.
When necessary, their beaks could even pierce crocodile hide.
Sharp beaks pecked down mercilessly. The man, caught in this sudden turn of events, could no longer continue his recitation and cried out in a series of shrieks, "Someone! Help—"
His noble father was stunned for a moment, then cried out in a panic, "Guards, where are the guards? Hurry up and save him!"
After a flurry of activity, the tall, thin man was rescued from the birds' beaks. A physician who had rushed to the scene shook his head as he treated the wounds, clucking his tongue and remarking that the herons hadn't gone for the kill. Otherwise, the man would have been covered in bloody holes. To have escaped with just this was considered lucky.
The nobleman paced back and forth beside his son, asking through gritted teeth, "What's gotten into these birds? Why would they suddenly attack someone?"
High Priest Saige said grimly, "Mind your words, my lord."
Only then did the nobleman remember the symbolic meaning of the blue herons. His face turned pale, and he fell silent.
The High Priest of the River, unable to stand his pretense of ignorance, continued, "The blue herons are the goddess's messengers. Ahem... I am very curious as to why they reacted so violently to your son. Don't you find it strange, my lord?"
The nobleman took a deep breath and said dryly, "My son has never been very popular with animals, even as a child. It can't be helped."
He wanted to brush the matter aside.
The High Priest gave a scornful laugh and said no more.
The unexpected situation with the nobleman's son did not delay the selection process for the next two candidates.
The young woman who was fourth in line was affected. Her gaze towards the blue herons held a trace of fear, and her voice trembled slightly as she chanted the hymn of praise.
Despite this, a few blue herons still strolled over leisurely and danced before her with spread wings. When the woman's recitation ended, even though she knew she had no hope of winning, she still gave the flock a relaxed smile, no longer afraid.
Rhea was the last one.
Compared to the others, the petite young woman from a remote city had almost no advantages. Rhea looked timid and shy, easily making others doubt whether her voice was even loud enough for the herons in the lake to hear.
But when she began to sing, all such doubts vanished.
Her chanting voice was like a nightingale in the woods. "Sonorous" didn't seem quite accurate; onlookers preferred the word "lucid."
Lucid, melodious, and unwavering.
Anyone could hear the sincere faith contained within it, and the blue herons were no exception. They gathered at the shore, dancing to the rhythm of the poem.
The heron leader, however, remained unmoved. It was still craning its neck, searching for the figure of the goddess.
Lotus stood behind Alyuin, completely hidden from view.
The Princess chuckled at a volume only the two of them could hear. "I thought you would perform a miracle for her."
Rhea was last in line.
If Lotus had stepped out openly when it was her turn, all the blue herons in the lake, and perhaps even the fish, would have been drawn over. Such a scene could truly be called a miracle, and Rhea's victory would have been beyond doubt.
Lotus paused, not responding immediately.
Alyuin's golden eyes lowered slightly, her dark lashes casting a shadow beneath them. Her tone grew even softer. "Did you really consider it?"
"No. Rhea can win the herons' approval on her own. She doesn't need a so-called miracle."
Alyuin murmured noncommittally, "Is that so..."
She recalled the blue heron that had once brought her a flower, and her lips pressed together.
"It's not like that." As if knowing what she was thinking, Lotus sighed softly. "The 'miracles' I performed for you weren't just because you needed them. More importantly, it was because I wanted to do them."
Even without the heron delivering the snowtu flower, without the performance of the shoaling giant fish, the Princess could still have obtained everything in her own way.
Lotus was certain of this.
Alyuin was silent for a moment, then smiled. "I understand."
Amidst the devout recitation, the blue herons raised their necks and let out low calls, as if adding a background harmony.
The Princess gazed at these elegant creatures with a somewhat nostalgic expression.
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen Miss Messenger in a long time."
Lotus: "...Mm."
"I wonder how she's doing. Lotus, is Miss Messenger still delivering messages for you in the Kingdom of the Gods?"
"Yes. She is my loyal messenger." Lotus praised herself, though it went against her conscience.
Just then, Rhea's recitation was also coming to an end.
The flock of blue herons seemed to understand when the poem would end, and in coordination with her softening voice, they brought their dance to a close.
Rhea stood there, lost in thought for a moment, before bowing to the herons. Then she turned and bowed to the audience.
She looked up and smiled shyly.
A temple was not a suitable place for applause and cheers, so there was no clapping, but the gazes most people directed at Rhea were clearly filled with approval.
The result of the assessment was clear at a glance. The blue herons had given her the most enthusiastic response, which meant Rhea was the final victor.
In the future, she would study alongside the current High Priest until Saige passed away from illness, at which point she would naturally succeed him and become the leader of the River Goddess's priestly faction.
Horst, who was supposed to announce the final result, wore a solemn expression and said nothing.
The advisor beside him glanced at the king's expression, braced himself, and stepped forward to say, "The assessment is over. As everyone here has seen, we have two evenly matched candidates."
The crowd suddenly fell silent.
Two? Where did two come from?
The advisor gave a dry laugh. "Balun, and Rhea. Both of these young people have earned the favor of the blue herons. Perhaps the Goddess Lotus means that she cannot choose between them and must leave the decision to the people of the mortal world."
Lotus: "..."
—Favor.
At first, these words sounded utterly absurd. Balun—the nobleman's son who had been pecked all over by the herons and whose wounds were still not fully treated—how could that possibly be considered the goddess's approval?
However, from a traditional standpoint, Balun had indeed drawn nearly all the herons in the lake toward him. Although fewer herons had danced, the sheer number was more than enough to compensate for that shortcoming.
As for the herons' attack... there had never been a case in the kingdom's history of a flock of blue herons attacking a candidate. The people who had established the rules for the assessment had probably never considered such a possibility.
Horst did not state his position, merely observing the crowd's reaction.
Among those present, not many were rigid traditionalists. A good number of people cast doubtful and disapproving glances at the nobleman, clearly assuming this was all his scheme.
Someone even whispered, "There's no need, really. Balun is already so injured—"
The nobleman had grievances he couldn't voice and could only sneak glances at Horst out of the corner of his eye.
Alyuin crossed her arms and said leisurely, "I, for one, have a suggestion."
"What does Your Highness propose?"
"Since this gentleman believes the two of them are evenly matched, let's just add another round of assessment for the pair." The corner of the Princess's eye lifted as she shot a sidelong glance at the terrified Balun. "Let the messengers of the Goddess Lotus continue to serve as judges. Then we can see whether the goddess's favor is meant to make him the High Priest, or to send his soul to the Kingdom of the Gods."
The nobleman's expression grew even more tense.
Balun, who was still having his wounds bandaged, was also aghast. The memory of being attacked by the herons would be seared into his mind for the rest of his life; he absolutely did not want to experience it again.
Besides, these herons could really peck a person to death!
For a moment, no one by the lake spoke. The only sound was the rising and falling low calls of the blue herons.
A young blue heron, clearly not yet fully grown, curiously approached, wanting to see what charade this group of humans was playing at and whether they had any food for it.
The heron leader kicked a leg, pushing its young kinsman back. Its round, black, bean-like eyes were still searching for any trace of the goddess.
She was here just a moment ago. How could she have vanished right after conveying her will?
After a long pause, Horst shook his head and said, "Listen to yourself. Such words are far too rigid and lack fairness."
This mild rebuke was directed at his advisor.
The advisor immediately bowed his head. "It was I who was not thorough in my considerations, Your Majesty."
Horst faced the crowd and announced in a clear voice, "The next High Priestess of the River Goddess is here. Welcome to Akhet, Rhea."
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