<Wasn’t this a strategy game? Chapter 91>

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t think what I’m doing will harm the Empire.”

Ibthan’s eyes subtly hardened.

In other words, it meant that making Asmun a prince was the path for the Empire.

At that moment, when the two were staring each other down without flinching—

“E-Eden! There you are!”

The library door swung open, and Rita rushed in, grabbing Eden by the shoulders.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“For me? Why?”

Eden asked with a puzzled expression, glancing at Ibthan. Despite being interrupted, Ibthan maintained a displeased look but waited for Rita to finish.

“The prophecy has arrived…!”

Both Eden and Ibthan’s expressions quickly turned to confusion upon hearing Rita’s trembling voice.

A prophecy?

After all, Eden was on edge thinking of how she was using Ibthan while dropping hints about prophecies during their conversation.

Besides, what does that have to do with me…?

“What kind of prophecy?”

“Well… the saint…”

That’s when Eden noticed Rita’s face had turned unusually pale.

And then—

BAM!

The large library door burst open with a loud bang as Sereman, the priests, and Asmun stormed in.

They rushed towards Eden and stopped right in front of her.

Eden looked at Asmun with a bewildered expression.

“Your Highness…?”

It was an absurd gathering to meet in the library, and Eden as well as Ibthan’s expressions had turned grim.

“……”

But Asmun wasn’t expecting to see an unfamiliar person either. As he caught sight of Eden next to Ibthan, his eyebrows slowly raised.

“Chancellor.”

Eden shot a glance at the priests, whose faces were beyond serious, and locked eyes with the calmest looking one, Sereman.

“Eden, the priest. The prophecy has arrived.”

At those words, Eden’s face grew even more perplexed. This was the same story Rita had just told her.

‘…So what am I supposed to do about it?’

Do they really go around announcing prophecies for every little thing in this temple?

“Oh… I see.”

“The prophecy states that the saint has been reincarnated in the Empire.”

Eden was still dazed, but Ibthan’s face turned to stone.

‘A saint…? What’s the deal with that…’

“Shall I convey the news to His Highness directly?”

As Sereman turned to Asmun, Eden’s face grew even more perplexed.

What’s going on here?

“Yes, I’ll inform him.”

However, Asmun stepped forward with a composed and polite demeanor.

‘What on earth is happening?’

“The one spoken of in the prophecy as the saint of Hesmor is…”

Asmun leisurely gazed at Eden.

“None other than you, Eden.”

Eden’s eyes nearly popped out in disbelief.

“Me…?”

Unable to contain himself, Ibthan stepped forward.

“Who received the prophecy? Is there a Holy Stone? Has the prophecy been fully interpreted?”

Sereman answered coldly in place of Asmun.

“This morning, the prophecy was delivered to Priest Roman, and we heard of His Highness coming to the temple to make an offering. After receiving the prophecy, His Highness mentioned that there is someone who meets the criteria of the stated saint.”

Asmun calmly replied.

“Yes, indeed, Eden meets those criteria.”

What the heck, what is this?

Eden’s face turned confounded as he looked at Asmun, but he wouldn’t meet Eden’s gaze.

If Roman is someone from Asmun’s side, then this has to be his scheme, yet she had heard nothing of this beforehand.

A saint! A saint!

“It must be verified!”

Unable to hold back, other priests erupted in complaints.

“Eden is just an apprentice priest! How can an apprentice priest…!”

“We must verify it immediately!”

“I can’t believe this! Surely it can’t be true!”

As the library turned chaotic, the librarian rushed out, looking pale.

“Y-You can’t do this here!”

‘What verification? What’s going on!’

Eden was left speechless, staring at Sereman.

After a moment of contemplation, Sereman solemnly declared.

“We will verify it immediately in the central garden.”

The group of priests, Asmun, and Ibthan all headed straight to the central garden.

The central garden was a large outdoor area located at the heart of the temple, the grandest and largest space within it.

“Your Highness? What’s going on? Huh? What saint?”

While heading to the garden, Eden stealthily walked close to Asmun and whispered her questions, but Asmun didn’t respond at all.

‘What the heck is going on!’

Upon arriving at the central garden, Eden could see a crowd gathering, already buzzing with rumors.

Priests, apprentice priests, and even devotees who had come to make offerings or pray were all packed into the vast garden.

“……”

With everyone staring at Eden with eyes full of curiosity, she felt even more flustered.

‘This is driving me nuts.’

Sereman began chanting some incantation to dispel the barrier in the garden and lifted a gem brought by his assistant.

Eden’s eyes widened as she recognized it.

‘That’s a weapon…!’

Bringing a wicked weapon into the holy temple, no less, and it was the Chancellor himself doing it!

With the circumstances beyond her imagination, Eden’s heart raced even faster.

“Priest Roman. Please share the prophecy you received.”

As Sereman requested, Roman bowed his head slightly and stepped forward. He raised his hands, and a massive Holy Stone shone above them.

Eden’s eyes bulged.

There’s no way this is an actual prophecy, no way…

“It’s a Holy Stone!”

“The prophecy has really been delivered…!”

“Oh my, Hamun!”

With the Holy Stone’s appearance, the crowd buzzed with excitement, spouting words of admiration and disbelief.

Roman waited for the excitement to settle down, and when silence returned, he slowly began to speak.

“The prophecy states…”

Everyone held their breath and listened intently.

“There shall be a reincarnation of a saint to save the Empire; one who has inherited the powers of the great saint Haila, and through their fingertips, the Empire shall find salvation.”

Eden frowned.

‘One who has inherited the powers of the great saint Haila shall save the Empire?’

But this sounds like a typical prophecy. One that has nothing to do with her.

However, at those words, Ibthan, who had been frowning the whole time, seemed to have grasped something and turned to Eden with a shocked expression.

“The bearer of that divine power is already one chosen by the gods.”

Eden could also understand this. Being one chosen by the gods means someone who serves the gods, namely a priest. Though she was only an apprentice priest, she also classified as a priest in this context.

Yet that alone wasn’t enough to pinpoint her.

What on earth is Asmun thinking?

“You’re saying you meet those conditions.”

“Yes, of course.”

When Sereman inquired, Asmun responded skillfully. He slowly turned to Eden with a rare smile that was almost gentle.

“Eden possesses the ability to annihilate monsters with her fingertips.”

DING—.

The moment his words ended, a loud smack echoed in Eden’s ear, like someone getting whacked on the back of the head. Ibthan was frozen, unable to take his eyes off Eden.

‘Your Highness, what on earth is going on…?’

Eden conveyed her stunned thoughts through her eyes, but Asmun merely smiled, seeming not to hear her at all.

The crowd let out a collective gasp of astonishment, echoing around them.

Eden, still shocked, hurriedly denied it.

“N-No, that can’t be right!”

However, Asmun mercilessly snatched the weapon from Sereman’s hand and tossed it to the ground.

“Gasp!”

“Everyone, step back!”

Moments later, the weapon shattered, and out popped a less threatening-looking monster. Instantly, information about the monster filled Eden’s mind.

To her dismay, this monster was of a low grade. However, the sight of it, resembling a centipede, sent chills down Eden’s spine.

The monster seemed to be in a deep slumber and did not move at all, yet it was disgusting.

Touch that thing?

“I-I can’t do that. I think your Highness has misunderstood something.”

“Just try touching it. If it’s my mistake, it won’t disappear.”

“No way!”

Asmun sighed lightly as if he had anticipated that answer and turned to the side.

Just then, Ropel, who had been watching over the situation, dashed in and grabbed the sleeping monster, bringing it closer to Eden.

“Gasp…!”

“I’m so sorry, Priest.”

Ropel apologized quietly, looking rather guilty.

Asmun approached Eden, took her hand, and placed it right on the monster’s thick hide.

“Ahh!”

“It’s alright. It’ll be over soon.”

And then, as tingles of electricity raced through her body—

“Guhhhh.”

“Oh my, Hamun…!”

As before, a blinding light flashed, and in an instant, the monster became dust shining like sunlight. It was a clean and complete annihilation.

A suffocating silence enveloped the grand garden.

Sereman, Ibthan, Rita, all stood frozen, staring at Eden.

“The saint has returned…!”

When someone shouted, gasps resounded in succession throughout the garden.

Asmun looked at Eden with a satisfied expression.

After that, Eden had to go through several more verifications, and once it was confirmed that she truly possessed the ability to annihilate monsters, the Empire was thrown into chaos.

The return of the saint was something everyone had eagerly anticipated, but since the great saint Haila had sealed the Demon King, no one who qualified as a saint had emerged in the past two hundred years.

Two special abilities had been bestowed upon the great saint Haila, who saved the Empire from the Demon King.

“One is the ability to resurrect the dead.”

Eden recalled Asmun’s leisurely voice.

“The other is the divine power to annihilate monsters with her fingertips.”

It was then that Eden understood why Jepar had that expression when the monster touched her and why Asmun had instructed her not to tell anyone about her abilities.

But why Asmun made her into a saint without even telling her was something she could hardly comprehend.