Mouth open, Maxi looked her guest up and down.
The woman was half a hand taller than her, with slender limbs and slightly upturned eyes and lips.
Memories of the young noblewoman of Livadon who had faced war at his side three years ago resurfaced in his mind.
“W-What are you doing in Osiriya?” Maxi asked, still shocked.
"I've been studying medicine at university since last year.
Selina is also here, training to become a hierarch."
Maxi couldn't stop staring.
“M-Medicine?”
"At first, I intended to follow your example and learn healing magic, but I discovered that I have no aptitude for it.
That's when I switched to herbs and medical treatment.
My family was vehemently against it, but even my father gave up when I cut my hair."
Idsilla pointed to her short locks with a mischievous smile.
"I managed to convince my father to use my dowry to buy back our lands and allow Elba to keep the money she received from fighting in the war for his wedding.
After that, I ended my engagement and came to Osiriya.
And I didn't come alone.
The clerics who were in the support unit with us are also studying here with funding from the monastery."
As if overcome with emotion, Idsilla abruptly stopped her lively conversation.
“I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you,” she said, her smile softening.
“You are a living legend, after all.”
Maxi's face flushed as she remembered the nightmare that was The Scarlet Lady.
His back broke out in a cold sweat.
“Y-You’re exaggerating… I’m not“”
"But it's the truth.
You should visit Levan if you get the chance.
His story was even made into a play there."
“U-One piece?”
Idsilla laughed when she saw Maxi's face pale in horror.
"It was performed as a charitable initiative to help the shelter there, but it unexpectedly became a huge success!
As soon as her story became famous, the jesters added to the play and even performed it during a royal banquet.
In Levan, her fame rivals that of her husband."
Maxi firmly resolved never to set foot in Levan again as long as he lived.
It was absurd that people had romanticized her to such an extent at their pleasure.
Noticing Maxi's tearful mortification, Idsilla tried to console her.
"Don't be so embarrassed.
I also make an appearance, you know.
I'm the villain who persuades you to go to the battlefield.
Elba was furious when he saw this in the royal palace, he called it a disgrace to our family."
“N-It’s not something to laugh at, Idsilla.”
"I for one don't see the problem.
After all, now I can live however I want thanks to this ruining my marriage prospects."
Smiling, Idsilla shrugged and pulled Maxi by the arm.
"But it doesn't matter.
Let's not waste time here.
We must find the others.
They were all sad that they couldn't say goodbye when you left."
For a moment, Maxi hesitated as she wondered if it was appropriate to leave her room when she could be summoned to meet the Pope at any moment.
Still, she couldn't send her friend away when they had just met again.
She made a decision and knocked on the adjacent door belonging to one of the senior mages.
Elena, the only senior female mage on the expedition, readily agreed to Maxi's excursion.
“You can,” Elena said with a wave.
"Only senior mages will have an audience with His Holiness.
We have been told that his poor health prevents him from meeting many people.
There has been much deliberation, but it has been decided that Master Calto, Master Anton, Master Albern and I will meet with him.
You are free to spend your time as you wish.
We will update you and the others after the meeting."
After that, Maxi followed Idsilla to the student dorms with a clear conscience.
The pale light of the winter sun shone down on them as the cold breeze ruffled their hair.
They arrived at a spacious hall filled with a hundred people gathered for lunch, and Maxi's eyes immediately fell on Selina and the clerics of Livadon.
The women rose from their seats as soon as they saw her, their faces lighting up with joy.
“I thought my eyes were deceiving me,” Selina said excitedly, leading Maxi to an empty seat.
"It's you, Lady Calypse!
I left when I heard there were wizards.
You can't imagine how surprised I was when I saw you."Maxi sat down with a perplexed smile.
“Me too… I didn’t expect to see you all here.”
“After the war, the female clerics who served in the support unit were allowed to learn divine magic,” Selina explained with a satisfied smile.
"So here we are, studying to become hierarchs.
The church is short of clerics capable of performing purifications to deal with the increase in monster numbers, so they're probably trying to fill that gap with female clerics.
You could say this has unexpectedly opened doors for us."
She sounded so smug that Maxi had to stifle a laugh.
“This… is wonderful.”
"And we have you to thank for that.
We wouldn't be here if Eth Lene had fallen that day."
The other women all agreed.
The admiration in his eyes settled like an uncomfortable weight on her shoulders, and Maxi looked worried.
Taking a sip of wine, she quickly changed the subject.
"I heard...
that the basilica is going to host a grand banquet.
You must be busy with the preparations."
Selina leaned closer to the table and whispered, "It's only the Orthodox clergy who are busy.
Strictly speaking, this is a political campaign disguised as a party.
At the moment, High Priest Garis, the candidate of the Orthodox Church, and High Priest Cassius, the candidate of the Reformed Church, are vying for the Pope's place.
The banquet planned for the Holy Feast Day was Father Garis' idea.
No doubt he plans to win the support of the influential nobles of the Seven Kingdoms you invited.”
Being a member of the Reformed Church herself, she was clearly not satisfied with this.
She frowned and sighed.
"I don't understand why His Holiness allowed this.
I believed he had chosen Father Cassius as his successor."
Maxi tried to remember the brief exchange between Kuahel Leon and the elderly Father Lugias.
The papal conclave could have had something to do with the sudden partnership between the church and the Tower of the Magi.
If it was discovered that dark wizards were behind the war three years ago, it would affect the influence of the Reformed Church, leaving room for the orthodox faction to regain control once again.
The Mage Tower would want to prevent this from happening at all costs.
“Which leads me to ask… do you think the Wizards’ Tower sent you here to offer their support to Father Cassius?”
Maxi snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look at Selina.
“I was wondering,” Selina continued, “if Father Cassius was trying to get the support of the Wizards' Tower, just as Father Garis is trying to get the nobles on his side.”
“I-I only recently became an official mage… so I’m afraid I don’t have access to that information.”
Although Maxi tried to deflect with an ambiguous smile, she silently agreed.
If the existence of dark wizards became known, the papacy would likely go to the Orthodox Church.
And if the worst were to happen, Calto's warning about the return of persecution of mages could come true.
Maxi shrugged.
A heavy fear settled in his heart at the thought that he could have become involved in something much more serious than he expected.
“Do you all… support Father Cassius as the next pope?”
"Of course!
The idea of Father Garis becoming pope terrifies me," exclaimed Idsilla.
"I'm sure you'll understand what I mean if you ever meet him.
Father Garis is a monster carved from the ice and steel of the north.
He would begin a reign of terror if he became pope.
In his eyes, adherents of the Reformed Church like us are all heretics."
“Lady Idsilla!” Selina said, shocked.
She looked around to make sure no one was listening.
"Please watch your tongue.
Whatever the case, he is still a holy minister of God.
You could be punished for blasphemy for what you just said."
Idsilla snorted.
“Why be afraid when the worst he could do is confine me to a solitary cell for a day?”
Maxi shook his head in disbelief.
“I see… you still have little respect for the rules, Idsilla.”
"As you know, people don't change that easily.
Even my family gave up on me," Idsilla joked.
Selina looked at her in disbelief before sighing at the ceiling.
Soon, the clergywomen got up to attend their afternoon classes.
Because the novices' schedules were busy from morning until night, it was difficult to make time for much else.When the women left after exchanging reluctant goodbyes, Maxi went out into the garden with Idsilla.
They talked while strolling through a secluded pavilion.
Idsilla told Maxi about her brother and Alyssa's beautiful wedding ceremony, and Maxi related an exaggerated version of her strange experiences in the Wizards' Tower.
After listening to her story with bright eyes, Idsilla asked cautiously, “And your husband… is he okay?”
Maxi froze in the middle of his happy memories.
Realizing she made a mistake, Idsilla bit her lip.
A moment of awkward silence passed, and she fiddled with her hair before quickly adding, "I've been worried about you since Eth Lene.
When they brought you in injured that day, your husband..."
Unable to find the right words, Idsilla stopped herself.
She swallowed hard and seemed to struggle to finish her sentence.
"Sir Riftan...
it felt as if the world had ended.
I've never seen such despair.
If something terrible had happened to you at that moment...
he probably would have“"
Idsilla had a dark gaze fixed on the flowerbed at her feet.
She abruptly stopped talking and began waving her hands in embarrassment.
"Oh, forgive me.
I let my mouth slip away again.
It's just… when I heard that you had left Anatol, I was afraid that these events had affected your relationship."
“N-That’s not why I left,” Maxi quickly reassured her.
“There were circumstances… that forced me to leave.”
Idsilla was about to say something, but stopped when she saw Maxi's pale face.
A cold breeze passed by.
She looked at the dry branches before whispering in a choked voice, "As Selina said before, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, Lady Calypse.
I wanted to tell you how grateful I am."
Maxi was about to dismiss the feeling out of habit when she realized her friend was right.
Not only had she saved Idsilla's life, but also those of many others.
She stayed quiet as the truth shook her to the core.
After silently meeting Idsilla's solemn gaze, Maxi nodded.
The expedition team remained at the basilica for two days to prepare for the journey.
They would be venturing into the most dangerous place in the Western Continent.
As such, their knight escorts doubled, and they ended up with eight carts loaded with provisions, tents, horse feed, weapons, and other necessary equipment.
Their travel plans would take them north through Balto.
The weather would likely get colder the further they went, which also meant a higher probability of certain monsters.
To prepare for this and their extended stay in the wild, the wizards packed all the herbs and firestones they could find.
Some even bought cold-proof clothing, such as long boots made from wool and fur.
Once the preparations were completed, the expedition team gathered at the entrance of the basilica.