By Zephyria 
Our steps towards Owen were incredibly light.
Everyone in our party felt that what we had to do next was no different from picking up and eating a wafer from a table. None of us thought we would be stopped at the Owen border.
We just needed to enter Owen, capture the black magician in the capital, briefly coordinate with Owen’s leadership, and then drag the captured culprit back to the Duchy of Widrow earlier than planned.
Since we were stopping by Owen anyway, it would be nice to eat some local food.
So, what’s happening now is truly baffling.
We were all nobles, each holding a noble title. We were not people who would be stopped by mere guards. No matter how many times we asked, the answer was the same. The guards would not let us into Owen.
Hugh Benson ran his fingers through his hair several times, letting out exasperated sighs of “Hmph, huh.” Before him, the pale-faced guards clutched their spears, which were less than toothpicks compared to us, as if they were lifelines, trembling.
“S-s-s-sorry. You-you-you cannot enter.”
“…Are you all collectively insane? It’s not like you can’t see this.”
“W-w-we can see.”
“You don’t not trust us, do you?”
“N-n-never! We trust you. We do. B-b-but still, you cannot.”
Hugh Benson raised his left wrist again, showing the Academy graduation token. It was proof of the Black Knights hanging from our waists, and everyone knew that among Shierun Academy graduates, those who wandered around the Dunmel Canyon area were usually Sword Masters or close to that level.
Even though it was a foreign country, the Kingdom of Owen had a friendly relationship with the Sierran Empire and usually interacted freely. Given that it bordered the Yuil Mountains, the Kingdom of Owen would have vanished from the map long ago without the aid of the Sierran Empire.
Hugh Benson lowered his sleeve in disbelief, covering the bracelet artifact again. He asked once more.
“Why can’t we? Or did Owen and Shierun start a war without me knowing?”
“No! It’s not, it’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“M-m-may we call our guard captain?”
“…Ha. As you wish.”
We waited there for a moment.
Soon, we saw someone running towards us with such urgency that he looked like he was about to tumble. He had run out so hastily that his hat was askew. The guard captain of Owen’s Fourth Gate, with a deeply troubled expression, bowed low. The anguish and torment etched on his face silenced our party.
“Uh, I’m sorry. May we escort you inside for a moment?”
The man, out of breath, gestured towards a tent set up outside the Owen border line. Benjamin, who had been quiet all this time, let out a hollow laugh.
This was my first time experiencing such treatment, so I was merely bewildered, but the children who had lived their entire lives in this land all clicked their tongues and couldn’t hide their displeasure.
Inside the tent, there was Shierun-style furniture, meticulously arranged to appear elegant.
But could a place with only carpets laid on the bare floor be called an interior? It was worse than a tent for the Summer Hunting Festival. The guard captain guided us, but none of us sat down.
Likewise, no one accepted the teacups offered with trembling hands.
Only Hugh Benson, having been guided to a sofa, plopped down in the middle.
The guard captain, tense as if he were being punished, continuously wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. There was no need to frighten someone unnecessarily. Just as my unease began to grow, Hugh Benson spoke.
“At least tell us why. Why is entry forbidden?”
“Well, we desperately want to let the knights in. But the Divine Revelation…”
“…What?”
“A Divine Revelation came down, a Divine Revelation.”
“…Huh?”
Everyone in our party looked at each other in confusion.
I had heard about Divine Revelations before. They said it was a hallucination caused by Mana, experienced by Clerics whose Upper Dantian had awakened. Of course, Professor Blanc Cooper, a theologian, would faint if he heard this, but I didn’t believe in people talking directly with gods.
Hugh Benson raised his right hand and beckoned with his index and middle fingers. It was a signal for everyone to sit comfortably, and we all took our seats. Only then could the guard captain begin to treat us as guests, gripping his sweat-soaked handkerchief and catching his breath.
Marianne, sitting upright without leaning back against the sofa, quickly asked,
“A Divine Revelation? What does that mean?”
“Well…”
It seemed Marianne was a more approachable person to talk to than Hugh Benson. The guard captain immediately straightened up and tried his best to explain in detail. He didn’t even have the presence of mind to wipe the sweat dripping from his forehead to his chin.
In Owen, disputes over interests between families were frequent. Therefore, there were many mercenaries, assassins, and people of uncertain status coming and going. Yet, they functioned as one nation. This was thanks to the Central Shrine of Owen and the Archbishop.
The Sierran Empire also had a Central Shrine, of course.
However, that magnificent and beautiful white building in the capital was merely a place for the faithful to visit and pray for good fortune.
In the Sierran Empire, the Emperor held a position several times higher than the High Priests. Most High Priests had a status similar to Wizards. Therefore, the Archbishop of the Sierran Central Shrine was treated similarly to an Archmage.
But in the Kingdom of Owen, the King and the Archbishop held comparable authority.
This was because the kingdom was situated next to the Yuil Mountains and the Dunmel Canyon. Facing immense nature and the threat of monsters right at their doorstep, the people of the kingdom, seeking someone to rely on, earnestly sought God. Owen’s people were generally much more devout religious followers than those of the Sierran Empire.
The explanation continued that something strange had recently happened in the Kingdom of Owen.
“All the priests across the country, while going about their daily lives, suddenly stopped in their tracks and repeated the same words. Three times! You can’t imagine how chilling and terrifying that experience was. I was even taking my son to the shrine because he wanted to become a cleric, and my son, who wasn’t even a priest yet, had his eyes glaze over…”
“…What did they say?”
“‘Do not trust the mark on your wrist.'”
“……What?”
The guard captain shed tears, or perhaps sweat, continuously. We were speechless.
“‘Do not trust the mark on your wrist. Do not trust the mark on your wrist. Do not trust the mark on your wrist.’ They said it exactly three times, and then everyone snapped back to their senses. There has never been a time when the Goddess expressed her will so clearly. Owen was in an uproar.”
“…And so?”
“People who wear marks on their wrists… aren’t there only graduates of Shierun Academy? That’s why we’ve been prohibiting entry for Academy graduates since that day. We don’t know what Divine Punishment might befall us, so everyone is terrified.”
We were speechless.
“Ugh, creepy,” Marianne shivered, rubbing her arms.
Weren’t most Divine Revelations vague and ambiguous, never leading to a single conclusion?
Even those who believed in the existence of gods often doubted the credibility of Divine Revelations. Those who received them were also human. The number of people who twisted Divine Revelations to their advantage was always significant. It was said that an incident where so many people simultaneously uttered the same words as if possessed had never happened before.
A Divine Revelation.
As everyone pondered, the guard captain pleaded again, wringing his hands.
“Seeing such a thing, how could I dare to disobey and resist? Not just me, but the guards over there saw it too. I am truly, truly sorry, but I cannot let you in. I believe other gates, not just this Fourth Gate, will be the same.”
“……”
“I’m sorry. But please spare my life. I’m so afraid the Goddess might suddenly strike me on the head that I can’t even drink water properly.”
Hugh Benson wiped his dry face and let out a sigh.
“Alright. We’ll turn back.”
“Thank you!”
As we were about to stand up, Marianne stopped abruptly and asked.
“When was the day the Divine Revelation occurred?”
“I remember it clearly. It was exactly 15 days ago. The last day of June, around eight in the morning.”
“It happened all over Owen?”
“Yes. Not just Bardiol, but fifty-eight cities were in chaos.”
Everyone stood up.
From afar, the guards bowed repeatedly towards our backs as we headed towards the plains. Was it a foolish delusion to see it as a plea for us never to return?
Once we were a good distance from the guards, Marianne stuck close to Hugh and chattered.
“Do you believe what he said?”
“If you don’t believe it?”
“That’s true, but… No, couldn’t the mark on the wrist be something else? It might not necessarily be about prohibiting Shierun Academy affiliates.”
Rubel, who had been silently blending in beside the party, suddenly spoke.
“…What if that black magician is from Shierun Academy?”
“…Gasp.”
“Ah, so they’re not blocking us, but the black magician?”
“What kind of suspicious things is he doing for God to be so horrified and issue a Divine Revelation?”
“But then again, if you think about it that way, it does make sense…”
It was now the second Monday of July. Fifteen days ago… was about three or four days before we unearthed the Wizard Bracer. Everyone was too stunned to speak. We walked along, lost in thought.
Is God truly trying to stop the black magician’s actions? Is this plain, where knights roam, a setup orchestrated by some great being, leaving only us? Will the knights who ascended the Yuil Mountains be alright? Does God remain in the Kingdom of Owen, but not in Shier?
I remembered a dream I once had, of being alone on a vast chessboard, running around desperately.
…How did I wake up from that dream?
Marianne’s clear and bright voice cut through my thoughts, waking me.
“Still, what does it matter if that black magician is someone we know or not? A mere subordinate can’t arbitrarily change the meeting place. I think we should find a way into Bardiol, the capital of Owen.”
“…And how?”
“We’ll have to think about that now!”
“Seriously.”
We walked south. We had to report what we had newly learned to Duke Widrow.