Leon and Eli lowered their heads in dejection as the High Priest gently knocked some sense of reality for them.
"I have long heard the works that you've been doing for the past few months, and I commend you for that. However, with young Eli training for her priestly powers, it give you a mile ahead of the enemies." The High Priest continued to explain to them.
At this point, he was not persuading them, but he was stating a fact.
Eli clenched her fist, mulling over the decision to give up the chance to watch Little Han grow for a better chance to protect him in the future.
"Do not worry, I'll be supporting you." Leon held Eli's tense hands and comforted her.
His mind had already decided to support Eli with her decision. What's the use of him staying by her side when he would just let her carry the burden of being a parent for Little Han?
While he had many plans on how he would be building this family of his, with the current situation that they were in, all those things would be fantasies. What's the use of the plan if they cannot even ensure that Little Han had a peaceful future?
Eli also understood this point. This is part of the risk she had to take and overcome.
Closing her eyes and heaving a deep breath, she looked at the High Priest and answered, "I understand, High Priest. I will subject myself to the temple's training."
The High Priest looked at the two with satisfaction. "Uhn! This Empire is fortunate to have people like the two of you."
"But I would ask the two of you again. As parents of Little Han, are you sure that you agree on this matter?" He looked at the two in an astute manner.
He wanted to hear from the two of them that the decision was something they both agreed upon.
Leon and Eli looked at each other, both understanding what their own decisions were - for Little Han.
They nodded with determination as they answered the High Priest with a resolute tone, "We agree on this matter, Revered High Priest!"
The High Priest gently stood from his seat and went towards his table where some files had been neatly arranged. He took these files and went back to where Eli and Leon were patiently watching.
The High Priest slowly sat down, his eyes never leaving the two, he placed the documents on the table and gently pushed it forward to the two. He gestured to them to take it as he continued to explain in a serious manner.
"Your training will start today, however I don't want you to think that I am inconsiderate. You are to divide your time to train secretly in the temple while fulfilling your duties as Eli the parent and Eli the inventor. Can you do that?" He asked Eli once again.
"Yes, High Priest. Eli responded without hesitation. She was a workaholic in her previous life. Utilizing her 24 hours each day to the many things she had to manage in the company was her specialty until the day she died.
Eli and Leon then took the documents that the High Priest gave. They were baffled by the contents of the documents.
"T-this… Is it a training regimen?" Eli's brows twitched as she realized why the form of the documents seemed to be so familiar to her.
The way that the document was structured was just like how Leon crafted her Summoner Training Regiment back then.
"Of course, I painstakingly crafted that for you! I'll give you half a month to complete this set." The High Priest declared childishly, he stroke his grey beard and held his chin up, feeling proud of himself.
"History of the temple, Accounts of the Guardians Descent, Memoirs of the High Courts, Proverbs and the Holy Scripture…" Eli mouthed the contents of the so called training regiment and realized that these were subjects related to the religious scripture of Prasinos.
This is not a training regiment! This is more like a course syllabus for theologians enrolling in a bible school!
Books books and more books! Eli felt like having a headache just thinking about how much reading she would do yet again.
Looking at Eli who was already getting dizzy from the contents of the document, the High Priest let out an awkward cough,
"Erm, it's not that I wanted to let you read more books than what you have been currently reading in the Farauld Magic Institute. It's just that these are fundamentals for you to know the nature of priestly magic.
These subjects all focused on the origin and nature of divine blessing which is completely different from any other protective spells made from mana. Once you understand this, you may now go with Leon whenever he goes for the investigation to train inside the temple."
"I see…" Although this would most likely overload her cognitive capacity, she had to still take on this challenge.
She was already mentally planning how to prepare the institute to get used to her imposing the four hour weekly duty in the research branch. She was also patting herself for making this arrangement in the Farauld Magic Institute in advance.
"Great! I look forward to seeing you back here after half a month!" The High Priest clapped his hands in excitement. "Now let's get to the next subject matter!"
The two were taken aback, there's another thing to discuss?
"Now, let's talk about the reason why you two must be married as early as possible." He continued.
Eli and Leon listened intently and heard the High Priest's words right after,
"Getting married is actually getting the Creator's permission to unite you as one. But people only thought that being one was only through flesh, meaning the act for the couples to you know… then have an offspring." The High Priest blushed at this point as he still finds it difficult to explain in his almost a hundred of living in Prasinos.
"However, there's something that people do not know about. It was not just a simple case of the union between a man and a woman when one of the involved parties possessed priestly abilities!" He exclaimed in excitement.
Leon and Eli became curious about this fact. They listened intently to what the High Priest would say, hoping that it would be something advantageous for their current situation.
"Upon marriage, the person with priestly abilities can cast stronger divine blessings to her partner and child! This will be strong enough to counter a life-threatening attack not only once but three times! What's more the caster would directly know how many times the divine blessing was used."
Hearing this sent shivers to Eli and Leon's spine. They know how powerful the divine blessings were in Randel's case. They also have assumed that the protection was only one time use.
Now hearing the effect of this marriage, the first thing that they thought of was not the benefit to themselves but to Little Han!
With Little Han entering the Imperial Family, who knows how many dangers would happen to him. Having the exponential upgrade of the divide blessing would be good!
"Hmm, want to get married now?" The High Priest asked teasingly.
"Ermmm…" The two blushed in embarrassment, still they were not yet ready to step into the next stage.
Seeing the conflicted face of the two, the High Priest let out a hearty laugh. "Alright alright, I am not saying that you marry now, but I am saying that you should marry as early as possible because you cannot afford to hide your situation longer than you think you can."
He turned serious as he warned in a cold manner, "Leon, having the two captives in here would also trigger the enemy from the other side. This would also let them be more agitated and adamant in bringing more chaos in the empire."
"I understand, Esteemed High Priest." Leon answered with a grave expression in his face.
"Now, that's all I want to say to the two of you. Three priorities you have right now, first the investigation, next the training and finally the marriage. With the two of you deciding to go through this, I advise you to sit and talk to each other carefully.
Your journey as parents will never be like the other parents out there. Nevertheless, these all does not stop you from being a good parent to your child. Please keep that in mind." The High Priest gave them these closing words.
"We understand, High Priest." Leon and Eli, acknowledged the High Priest's words.
The conversation with the High Priest caused a great impact on Leon and Eli's thinking as parents and as a couple.
They realized that there were some things they had to deeply look into, some sacrifices they had to take and some privileges they had to give up only to ensure the future of their son.
Although they did not realize, in these sacrifices and insights, they were also becoming a better person than they were before.
