“M-Marquis?”

I blinked in shock, and he gave me a gentle smile.

“Have you forgotten?”

Abraham spoke in honorifics, perfectly formal in every way.

“Sinesse has always been the most loyal vassal of the Temple.”

...Wait. I’m the High Priest?

Up to this point, all I had thought about was destroying the Temple and surviving. The idea of becoming the High Priest had never even crossed my mind.

I was prepared to die for that goal, after all. I’d never once considered that I might end up in that position.

And if anyone was to take it, I thought it would be Yuta...

“When we met and lived together at the Marquisate, I had a premonition of the birth of a new High Priest,”

Abraham said softly.

“That is why I departed for Arhad immediately.”

It was then, as I blankly stared at Abraham, that—

“You’re right.”

Yuta slowly stood up, smiling faintly.

“The Temple has always appointed the one with the strongest divine power as High Priest.”

Yuta gracefully bowed next to Abraham.

“You possess greater divine power than I do. Naturally, the High Priest’s seat should be yours.”

This... Is this really happening?

As I blinked in disbelief, Zahid stepped forward beside them.

“The Dyfenril Duchy pays its respects to the new High Priest.”

His movements were low, concise, and dignified.

Two rings still adorned his ring finger.

He had slipped one onto my finger in the world of unconsciousness, but it seemed that never carried over into reality.

As I stared blankly at those rings, Ray and Linna stepped forward, forming a circle beside him.

“The Lavendal Duchy pays its respects to the new High Priest.”

“The Idra Duchy pays its respects to the new High Priest.”

The four Divine Beasts stood peacefully at my feet.

Even Theo, who had been still, now stepped forward with a formal bow.

“I may only be a teaching assistant, but as a representative of the Academy, I greet the new High Priest. I hope you will continue to support the advancement of scholarship.”

“Ah...”

I lifted my head and looked out over the devastated landscape of Arhad.

The ground, torn up by water and earth, was littered with collapsed Holy Knights and priests.

Among them, those with minor injuries and enough awareness began slowly rising, then bowing low.

“We greet the new High Priest!”

“We pledge our loyalty to the new High Priest!”

It seemed Aietar had diligently trained his underlings to be opportunists.

Aietar was dead, and with all the high noble houses bowing their heads, what else could these people do?

And behind Abraham—shockingly—I saw Grandpa and Shulva.

Shulva was whispering to Grandpa, not even bothering to be discreet.

“Hmph. That sort of thing seems reserved for noble houses with ancient bloodlines. Looks like Noart doesn’t belong here.”

I blinked and looked at Grandpa.

With Sinesse and the four ducal houses kneeling, Grandpa didn’t even dare to imagine joining them.

He’d always carried himself with that vulgar, imperious air—but in this moment, he looked oddly deflated.

Glancing around sheepishly, Grandpa awkwardly hid a massive axe behind a tree.

It didn’t even look expensive—just big. Probably something he didn’t even buy properly.

The sight of him trying to hide that axe... for some reason, looked truly pitiful.

Julian, too, didn’t dare step forward. He was glaring at Shulva, feigning disinterest.

“If you beat me up here, I swear to god I’ll never forgive you. I believe in your ability to read the room.”

Of course, Shulva was using this moment to full advantage.

“Surely, you wouldn’t desecrate this holy scene with violence, would you?”

“...”

Watching it all, my chest started to ache.

‘...They’re all afraid the Noart name will drag me down...’

Realistically, I couldn’t replace every Holy Knight and priest.

I had to carefully sort through those who had simply followed orders from above and retain them.

And in that process, Grandpa and Julian were keeping quiet, afraid my origins would become a problem.

“Grandpa!”

So I deliberately raised my voice.

“This place is completely wrecked... You’ll be covering the restoration costs, right?”

Grandpa flinched in surprise.

I grinned and added,

“It’s pretty nice being born the granddaughter ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) of a rich noble house... You’ll buy me a super fancy new High Priest outfit too, right? With lots of jewels, of course.”

Grandpa’s eyes widened.

After staring blankly for a moment, his mouth split into a wide grin as he nodded eagerly.

“Of course! Absolutely!”

He stomped his feet with excitement and shouted.

“I’ll dump a mountain of donations into the Temple! Wahahaha!”

Just a few hours ago, he’d been grinding his teeth at the Temple, but clearly that no longer mattered.

“High Priest robes? I’ll scrape together every last jewel I’ve got and make the finest damn outfit there is! Hahaha!”

As expected, Grandpa looked happiest when throwing money around.

I quietly smiled and turned to Julian.

“Brother.”

Julian was glaring daggers at Shulva, but the moment I spoke, he turned and smiled at me.

“Yes, RosieRosie?”

His narrow eyes instantly softened.

“What is it? Does my RosieRosie want anything? I’ll give you anything—anything at all! You know your brother’s rich too, right? Hm?”

“I don’t need money. I’ll grant your childhood dream instead.”

I looked at him and said,

“You always said your dream was to be the Holy Knights’ Commander.”

Julian’s slitted eyes went wide.

“I know how skilled you are. So how about using that strength to build a better world?”

Still blinking in stunned silence, he hurriedly spoke.

“RosieRosie... I’d be honored, but before I’m officially appointed... could I just deal with two people real quick?”

His voice was very urgent.

“A Holy Knight Commander shouldn’t go around killing people without due process...”

“No. You can’t.”

I shook my head firmly.

“Even though it was Yuta oppa’s fault for yelling that you have a heart-shaped birthmark on your butt, that’s still not a reason to kill him.”

Yuta nodded enthusiastically, deeply moved.

And since I could guess who the other target was, I quickly added,

“And Shulva is off limits too. Shulva...”

I smiled and held out my hand to her.

“Why don’t you leave Zahid and come to me?”

I had wanted Shulva’s talents ever since my regression. But I wasn’t in a position to claim her, so I passed her on to Zahid.

But now... it was finally time for me to hire her.

“There’s a whole wreck of an organization waiting for you, and we desperately need someone to handle the transition.”

At my words, Shulva adjusted her glasses with her usual serious expression.

In truth, execution mattered more than titles. Even if I’d been asked to become High Priest by these nobles and leftover Temple members...

The organization had been rotting from the inside for ages. I didn’t even know where to begin fixing it.

This was just a change of leadership by the rules—nothing more.

And there was only one person in the world cursed enough to be fired up by such a hopeless mess.

Now that Zahid could fully focus on the Dyfenril Duchy’s affairs, keeping Shulva there would just be a waste of talent.

“Huuuhhh...”

Shulva’s eyes gleamed with resolve.

“I’ve always had terrible luck with friends, but excellent luck with jobs.”

Zahid also nodded, as if giving his blessing for the transfer.

I let out a quiet laugh and a deep breath of relief.