SIDEREAE

Chapter 7

"What's the matter, Saintess? You look pale. Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, I'm alright. I'm just a little dizzy."

She quickly made an excuse and averted her eyes to avoid the High Priest's gaze.

"So, when will I go to the marquisate?" Sid anxiously asked.

"You will depart tomorrow morning. So make sure to take care of your health Saintess."

"Don't worry, the holy knights will accompany you. Since we're dealing with demons, we need to be extra careful," He reassuringly said after sensing her subtle anxiousness.

"I understand. I'll take my leave now."

"Mn."

Sid slightly lowered her head before leaving his office.

"Gaaaaahhhhhh!"

I internally screamed after leaving the office. My feet walk in haste, almost as if I'm running. I don't know where will I go, my feet lead me to a room that seems to be  Saintess's private chamber.

The solemness and gracefulness of this body vanished as I jumped on the bed and screamed on the pillow to prevent anyone from hearing me. I anxiously hit my fist on the bed and flailed my feet to release the nervousness and desperation that I had at this moment.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! How did I get myself into this situation? Damn it. . .how can I manage to face a demon? I don't even know how to control my divine powers!" I murmured as I bit my nails in panic.

My face crumpled. . .now that I desperately need that bastard Oneiroi, he won't even appear in front of me. He kept on appearing when I didn't want to see him, just to annoy me. Is he intentionally doing this? Is he testing me? Asih! I have no choice but to do this.

Oneiroi mentioned that I won't be able to return to Earth until I finished dreaming on this world. This means a Dreamer needs to fulfill a certain mission that serves as a payment for the dreamer's stay in this world. I forgot to ask what will happen if I failed to fulfill the task. Will I be able to stay here forever, or will I go back to reality with consequences?

I should've paid more attention earlier. I'm so careless about falling asleep right away. Forget about that! What important, at this moment, is to find out how I can activate this body's divine powers. Do I need to speak an incantation or recite a prayer just to activate it? Maybe it's just some sort of feeling? Should I try it?

Sidereae got off her bed to stand on the carpet. She fixed her posture and straightened her back before clearing her throat.

"Oh goddess of—Ah, wait. . . If I try to cast healing. . .what I need first is to find something to heal."

She roamed her eyes around the room to search for something that'll serve as her test subject. Thankfully, Sid found a plant sitting on top of the tiny table by the window. She walked toward it and inspected the plant to see if it has any form of damage. It took her a minute before finding an insect bite on the plant stem.

"Ahem, Ahem."

"Oh goddess of creation, I pray for you to grant this servant the power to heal," She said with her eyes closed and clasped hand.

'Uwaahh. . . This is so embarrassing!'

If Mathieu can see her right now, she's hundred percent sure that he'll be dying in laughter. Sid can't believe she's trying to do this. It's truly out of her character to act like this, but she has no choice because she feels like her life will be at stake if she won't able to use divine powers.

She opened her eyes after half a minute to see if there were changes with the plant.

"Ah, should I try casting it in simpler words?" She murmured when she saw that the plant's wound didn't change at all.

This time she didn't close her eyes and clasped her hand. She just put her hand over the plant before trying again.

"Grant me the power to heal!" She said with much more intensity in her voice. She waited with anticipation, but to her disappointment, nothing happened at all.

"Heal!"

"Heal wounds!"

"Cure wounds!"

"Heal! Heal! Heal!"

"Gaahhh!"

I screamed in frustration. Everything I tried didn't work at all. I slumped on the floor with a tired face, as I contemplated what to do next.

Should I just give up?

Maybe this body's divine powers will come out once I get into a critical situation. I closed my eyes and tried to search for information inside the Saintess memory.

I saw images passing through my mind as I concentrate to find anything related to divine powers from Saintess Lucia's memory. It didn't take me long before I finally found some useful information.

* * *

Tomorrow arrived with just a blink of an eye, and Sid felt drained after her venture on learning about her divine powers. The residents of the temple wake up early at the crack of dawn.

Sid had no choice but to rose up from the bed even if she was tired, and that's because of Saintess Lucia's body clock.

Sid did Lucia's usual morning routine, which consists of getting up from her bed, washing her face, and using the water from the basin to water the plant by her window. After that, she'll visit the sacred hall where the goddess statue resides, which she taught to be a prayer hall at first. She also put fresh flowers underneath the statue that she and the sisters of the temple picked from the garden.

After having a quick prayer in the sacred hall. . .she then now proceeded to the service hall and attend the morning mass, which is led by the High Priest Asmon. When the morning mass is done, it is now time for them to move to the dining hall and have a modest breakfast, which is composed of mainly bread and vegetables, along with either milk or tea and water.

The preparation for their departure was all set, and Saintess Lucia was now standing in front of the carriage door.

"Please go inside, your holiness."

The leader of the holy knights said, as he opened the door for her and held out his hand to help her climb the carriage.

"Thank you, Sir Arthur," She replied and smiled gratefully at him, before accepting his hand.

She carefully entered the carriage and comfortably took her seat inside. Right after she settled down, a priest followed after her and sat on the opposite chair facing her. High priest Asmon, attached a priest to her to assist her during her stay on the Marquisate along with the 10 holy knights to protect her and join the subjugation.

"Well be departing now," Sir Arthur said, informing them.

After 2 hours of traveling, they finally arrived at the capital, and they're now heading towards the gate. The priest explained to her earlier that they'll be entering the gate to quickly arrive at the Marquis Kroiss's territory.

"Oh!" Sid gasps at the sight of the capital's lively district.

There are a lot of colorful buildings and people walking by the streets. There are also children playing gleefully on the sides. She can't help but smile while watching outside as her carriage passed by.

"We'll be entering the gate now, Saintess," The priest informed her after arriving at the gate's location.

Sid's heart is beating like crazy because of the feeling of excitement and nervousness. It's going to be her first time crossing the gate, which is probably one of her dreams. It was always mentioned in the manga and novels that she read, and also in the anime that she usually watches.

Sid closes her eyes as they proceed to enter the gate. A cold and weird, dizzying feeling envelops her entire body.

"We've arrived—!"

"Urk!"

"Saintess are you—"

Sid suddenly threw up on the carriage floor, and thick beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

"Saintess!"

The priest was startled because of her sudden condition. The Holy Knights who heard the loud voice of the priest halted their movement.

Sir Arthur knocked on the carriage door, "Is everything alright?"

"No, the Saintess suddenly felt ill. We should take a moment to have a break. Let's move once the Saintess felt better."

"Saintess, let's get you out of the carriage. Can you get up?" The priest asked, but all she could do was shake her head.

"Sir Arthur, would you mind helping her holiness?"

"I don't mind... please excuse me."

Sir Arthur entered the carriage and before carefully lifting her. One of the Holy Knights quickly prepared a chair for her to seat on.

"T, thank you," She said when Sir Arthur put her down.

The priest, who followed them behind, handed her a water bottle, before returning to the carriage to clean the inside.

'What the hell is this? Ugh...this is absolute worse! I felt like I was riding a roller coaster, being tossed and turned around vigorously.'

Sid was cursing badly inside her mind. Some of the novels that she read didn't lie. Crossing a gate felt like shit!

'Ugh. I feel like my insides were scrambled around. I'm dying!'

"Careful!" Sir Arthur exclaimed as he suddenly grabbed her shoulders to straighten her.

'I can't even maintain my balance. If it wasn't for him, my face would've landed on the coarse ground... This sucks!'

After 15 minutes of resting, Sid decided that it was now alright to continue moving. The whole group decided to travel a little slower in consideration of her, which she appreciated.

They met the knights who were sent by the Marquis to fetch them midway. They were supposed to wait for them at the gate's entrance, but they didn't anticipate that they would be arriving early. The ride towards the Marquis state goes smoothly, thanks to the knights leading them on the shorter route.

"Welcome, Your Holiness. Thank you for agreeing to our request for the subjugation," The Marquis said, they welcome them after their arrival.

He was waiting for them at his mansion's doorstep after receiving a notice from the messenger, that they'll be arriving any minute.

"It's my pleasure to help, Marquis," Saintess Lucia replied with a soft voice and smiled at him with grace.

The servants who saw her halted momentarily, their eyes widened, and their cheeks reddened after witnessing her smile.

Of course. . .who wouldn't be stunned at her sight? Saintess Lucia has a beautiful and innocent face. Her movement is full of grace, well, aside from her blunder earlier. She's also known for her benevolence towards the people.

"Ahem. Please, let me guide you inside."

The Marquis personally guided her to the room which was prepared for her.

"Please rest here comfortably. I'll ask the maid to send you a refreshment for you to enjoy... Well, talk about the subjugation later."

"Thank you, Marquis."

Marquis Kroiss nodded before leaving the room. Sid sat on the sofa and leaned back. She covered her face with her hands before sighing loudly.

"Ah, I don't know if I can pull this out! Oneiroi, you damn bastard... where the heck are you?"