Chapter 17 - CHAPTER 16

"Sit down Miss Eleanor"
"A-al-alright"

Still hesitating, Eli still sat to the seat prepared for her by a butler. She thought she'll just be questioned in one of the tents in the camp or something, but she didn't expect the marquis to call her in his mansion/ domain.

She was escorted by one of the marquis' knights into the mansion and was escorted by the butler into a room and was left alone there. She patiently waited while recalling the answers that she prepared for their questions that she's expecting.

The door opened. Marquis Perye came in, she then bowed to greet the marquis. Then the marquis told her to sit back. He sat in front of her and smiled.

"It's good to see you've recovered now Miss Eleanor", Eli smiled and nodded at him. "Yes, thank you for the concern", he then clapped his hand which startled her a little then proceeded to ask.

"So, I think you already know what I'm going to ask you today right? It's about how you were able to use that Holy Object", Eli nodded and proceeded to explain the answer that she'd created for this question of his. "Well, I don't really know anything marquis. Ever since I was a kid, I never had any abilities. I can't cast spells, I can't even create magic potions nor give blessings or have super strength or knowledge, I was just plain me. So I didn't expect that I know how to use a Holy Object, but that time, it's just that when I held it it's like I already know how to use it. I guess this is my ability?"

The marquis put his hand on his chin thinking about the answer the girl gave to him, while Eli on the other hand patted her back mentally.

'This should suffice for now!', she said to herself in her mind.

"Well then, how about a little extra examination?", the girl was left confused about what that man was saying but then everything became cleared when suddenly the door opened again, but this time, an unexpected person came in.

"This is priest Anette, she is one of the top priests of the Holy Temple, meaning she's one of the candidates for the position of the high priest", Eleanor's lilac eyes met the Anette's dark blue ones. She grew taller and is a bit taller than Eli now; her peach hair also became longer than before.

"She is Eleanor. I want you to please examine her a bit", Anette's eyes came to the Marquis' and with a stern voice, she asked, "You requested for a talented top priest as soon as possible and they sent me here because of how urgent it seems, but you want me to examine her. Why?"

Eleanor's hands unintentionally played with each other, showing how nervous she's become. She never thought that the marquis would call for a priest to check/ examine her, what's more, the one who came is someone she haven't seen for years. Someone in the same boat as Daniel is before.

"She stated that she never had any abilities before, but the other day, she used a Holy Object to save us from a monster attack. So…"

"So you want me to check on her to see if she's blessed by the goddess, or as much as possible, if she's a saintess", the marquis became speechless after Anette finished his sentence for him but then, he still nodded to her.

The priest came close to the girl. She then noticed how anxious she is. She didn't even notice it herself, but Eleanor is showing how anxious she is by fidgeting with her hands and especially the look on her face. She didn't expect this scenario after all.

But inside her head, are many ideas coming one after another, she may look anxious outside but she's calculating ideas and their pros and cons inside her head.

She held the girl's left hand and led her to the couch in the center of the room. With Eli's head down, Anette did an unexpected thing that left the marquis' mouth hang open.

She kneeled in the floor and held both of Eli's hands that are now stiff. She then looked at her face. "Hey", she whispered. Eleanor's eyes slowly came in contact with hers. "Long time no see", she smiled at the girl and patted her hands. Eli didn't know what say.

"I…."

"You don't need to say anything. Let's catch up with each other later, let's handle this first. Daniel informed me about you using a Holy Object the other day after finding out about the marquis' plan to call a priest to examine you and so I convinced them to send me. It's also a good thing that we priests have the privilege to ask a wizard to teleport us. Don't worry, whatever you plan to do, I'll help", Eleanor sighed and nodded.

The priest held her friend's hands and came close to her but without the marquis noticing, Eleanor whispered her plan to her. Anette smiled at her and closed her eyes. Her hands started glowing and after that. "So, how is it?", the marquis asked. Anette looked at him blankly. She then stood up and faced him properly. She was about to speak when Eli held her hand, stopping her. She looked back at the girl and gave her a reassuring smile.

"This girl is totally normal just like what you've said. She doesn't have any abilities at all", the marquis looked at her unconvinced. "Then how is it possible that she used a Holy Object?", he questioned. Anette looked at Eli and squeezed her hand that was holding hers.

"I didn't sense anything about her, she's also not a saintess, but I think she was able to use a Holy Object because of a special reason. She must've received a special privilege from the goddess", the marquis' eyes widen a bit but then he think to himself for a bit and nodded.

Eleanor thought so hard about it. The most reasonable answer she can give to him is that answer, it's not like she's lying, she just didn't elaborate everything but she DID received the goddess' privilege in some manner.

And this is where Anette will help her in her plan, "She's someone who was given privilege by the goddess, and I can testify to that as the priest who examined her"

Her plan is to make the people believe that she has no abilities but instead just received a privilege from the goddess. First, if the people find out that she has a unique ability, she'll be famous but that popularity will be like a new actress coming out to the showbiz world. That would be dangerous for her, because the royal palace might be able to find her, someone they've been trying to find, if her name became famous in public.

But, that doesn't mean she can't be popular.

She avoided that kind of popularity and instead decided to make herself popular in another way. Why does she need to have another kind of popularity? It is to be able to help her find the INTRUDER faster or at least bait her to be closer to her.

Her having the goddess' privilege in other people's eyes is like a popularity of a makeup artist of an actress/ star, and that famous actress/star will be Anette.

Anette Felicia, who is a top priest / candidate for the high priest position, is very popular, that people knows who she is just by the sound of her name. Even if people finds out about someone who was given privilege by the goddess, Eleanor's name or identity won't be found out because of one rule in the temple, plus, it is not really that famous for someone to be given a privilege by the goddess.

One of the old rules in the temple created centuries ago was about people who are given privilege by the goddess. These people's privileges defer from each other. There are people who can also read prophecies and some who have more blessings directly given to them by the goddess like having a long life which is a blessing for the health, and many more. So people who are given privilege by the goddess are not that rare.

The goddess gave a rule that the Holy Temple follow, about them. In order to look out for people who are greedy for power and might use them, the goddess made a rule that anyone who received a privilege from her should be protected by the temple by concealing their names and identities.

And thus Eleanor used this to her advantage. People won't know who she is but they will remember her as someone who the popular ANETTE examined, she'll be someone who'll be popular because of Anette, someone who'll only be known as someone who was examined by Anette herself.

Since the INTRUDER usually comes close to people and places connected to the original story, she won't miss any chances and investigate everything connected to everything, and so, if Eleanor becomes popular as someone connected to Anette, it's like bait for the INTRUDER to come near her. She'll be closer to the INTRUDER and can find her or information about her faster, but she won't need to sacrifice her identity being disclosed to the public at the same time.

"So I guess you already know what to do right? Explain the details to the people and tell them to disclose her identity as per rules of the temple and also, tell the people that I examined her myself so they won't doubt anything", the marquis nodded and excused himself.

He went out of the room but the two girls can still hear him command some of his people to announce what Anette just said to the people in the camp and people who witnessed it, so they can keep it a secret due to the rule of the temple regarding to this kind of matter.

"The temple's rules are important to the people of this kingdom. First, they won't dare disobey the law/ rules because people believes that in order to receive more blessings from the goddess, they'll heed to her orders and obey her laws. Another one, the Holy Temple have such a high authority despite having the weakest abilities because they have the backing of the royal family and because people are loyal to the goddess", Anette explained.

Eleanor sighed out of relief; with this she won't have problems about keeping the incident about her using a Holy Object a secret for quite a while.

She can't believe that just before she was just concentrating on how to avoid anything related to the storyline of the story for an extra like her to live her second life more comfortably, but now, she's purposely putting herself on the very edge of the spotlight in order to catch someone because of her morals in her first life.

In the novels about transmigration that she read before, she was always fascinated by how smart the characters that transmigrated are. They always come up with a smart idea and make wise decisions that can be more convenient for them. But she on the other hand, is still naive. She died at such a young age after all, she's just about to become a 2nd year college student, she still haven't experienced the harsh reality of life yet, so she was still lacking when it comes to survival skills.

But for Eli, she might look disappointing right now, making a lot of rash and reckless decisions, but this is all she can do for now. She's still learning and gaining experience she'd never had before, so she needs to do what she can for now.

Experience the harsh reality, be hurt, be disappointed, and experience helplessness, before she can actually be a responsible and flexible adult. She can't continue comparing herself to the characters that she'd read on the other novels before, she just needs to be herself, and slowly learn her lessons in life and experience everything on her own.

This is her second life after all, in order for her to live this life to the fullest, she needs to make mistakes, learn from them, and grow through them in her own pace.

"Eleanor….Eleanor….Eleanor…..Eli…..Eli", her thoughts were cut off when she felt a hand held her right shoulder. She looked up and saw Anette looking at her worriedly.

"I've been calling you for minutes now. Are you still worried about the…"

"No, I'm sorry", Anette's worried face changed into a shock one when for the first time in a while, she saw Eli's familiar smile again. "Thank you for your help Anette, and long time no see", the priest smiled back at her. "Yeah, it's been a long time"

























"This is my master…. I mean…my employer, miss Meridia Oscas, and well my trusted co-worker and a precious friend of mine as well, Rephienne", Anette smiled as they all greeted each other.

After resolving the problem with the marquis earlier, Eli came back to the camp with Anette. And as of right now, she is in the middle of introducing Meridia and Ren to her.

While greeting the 2, Anette's smile grew wider, "It's nice to meet the 2 of you. Thank you for taking care of Eleanor"

"Don't talk like that. You're acting like you're Eli's mother"

Anette's smiling face vanished into thin air in just a second as another person entered the tent. "Oh, if it isn't mr. Imperial Wizard", she monotonously said.

"And if it isn't miss popular", Daniel retorted as he came close to the group. Eli was a bit taken aback after seeing how these 2 acted, the last time the 3 of them were together, Anette and Daniel looks like they're getting along with each other.

But right now,

"Why are you here?"
"Duh, you called me asshole"
"And your help was appreciated but your work is done here, so shoo"
"You're not the one who's going to decide on that"

The two looked at each other like looking at something irritating. Meridia chuckled for a bit then patted Eli's head. "I'll be going out first. I have something to do. It was nice meeting you miss"

Anette's staring contest with Daniel was cut off and her smile came back as she bid goodbye to the alchemist. "It was also nice meeting you ma'am"

And with that Meridia went out of the tent. Eleanor noticed Ren who's on the other side of the room just watching them. She walked towards him and smiled before holding his hand and leading him to a chair and sitting beside him. "How about you two sit as well, hmm?"

Anette immediately sat on her other side making Daniel grimace and sit in front of them. "Thank you for calling her to help me when you found out what the marquis is planning, Daniel", the green-eyed boy smiled and nodded at Eleanor.

"So, how did it go?", Ren asked. "Well, it was settled just fine", Eleanor answered after sighing. "That marquis is really pushy, at first, he looks so kind after I heard that he helped in subduing the monsters, but when he found out that Eli used a Holy Object, he became so obsess about knowing if she has a special ability or if she is a saintess. Really, noble people really are…", this time, Ren's shock also became visible to Eleanor.

Well, Anette is a priest but the way she's speaking is a bit….rough and not priest-like. 'Now it's becoming more obvious how many years it's been since we last saw each other. Anette's gentle and friendly way of speaking changed…well, a bit. And Daniel, he and Anette now acts like a cat and dog, bickering with each other like earlier.

"But Eli, you being able to use a Holy Object is not really because you're given privilege by the goddess, right? I felt it when I checked your body earlier", the room went quiet with Anette's question. The 3 individuals all looked at her with questioning faces.

Daniel only knows about her unique ability but knows nothing about her using Holy Object. Ren doesn't know anything. And Anette doesn't know anything as well before, but after earlier, Eli thinks she found out about her unique ability. It is one of the priest's ability after all, being able to check on someone's aura to know their abilities.

"When I checked your aura, I can see how different your aura is. You're not a wizard nor an alchemist or a priest, yours is quite…different. Is that also why you can use a Holy Object?"

Eleanor looked at Anette and sighed. There's no point hiding it now.

"I…I first found out that I do things without casting any spells or using any potions or anything like how the priests are doing things when I was still little. The first one who found out about it was Daniel, since he was with me ever since we were little and are both living in the orphanage in Ciden (Western Region), I used it to help us escape when our town was raided by unknown mercenaries before", the 2 looked at Daniel.

But Daniel on the other hand just looked at Eleanor like waiting for her to finish everything. Not minding that Anette and Ren found out that he's from an orphanage since he's not hiding it.

"And well, after sending Dan in the academy for wizards, I continued training and developing it secretly all these years. But I also don't know how I was able to use a Holy Object. It was just that umm, when I touched it it's like I already know how to use it?"

Eli bit on her lower lip anxiously when no one said anything. The first part of the story was true, but when it comes to training she didn't and couldn't say that she was trained by the goddess, and on the last part about the Holy Object, she made up this answer because of course she can't say that she knows how to use that Holy Object because of where she lived on her first life.

"So, you being able to use a Holy Object must be a part of your 'unique' ability as well then", they all looked at Ren who's hand is on his chin, showing how hard he's been thinking. "Well, I can't see any other explanation about that than that", Daniel agreed. "And well, people who was granted/ given a privilege by the goddess have marks on their bodies so we can define them since only we priests can see those marks, but I don't think you have one on you so I guess that's the best explanation", Eleanor sighed in relief and leaned her head on Ren's shoulder.

'This is a bit tiring huh'