NOVGO.NET Chapter 446: That is not the tone you get to use in front of our God.
Chapter 446: That is not the tone you get to use in front of our God.
“What…?”
Tarevian stared at the couple in front of him in disbelief.
“…”
Kael and Lavinia kept their heads low and did not say anything. The rest of the Elders present in the room seemed taken aback as well, but none of them could say anything. There were more than fifteen people in the room, but even then, the room was dead silent.
Until…
“You…”
Until Aelindra, the Warden of Provisions, called out.
The woman stared at Kael with a desperate look on her face and—
“You said I wouldn’t have to worry about food again! You said we’d never go hungry! What do you mean the Divine Rations won’t appear!?”
She raised her voice.
“…I never promised anything. I told you this wasn’t permanent.”
Unlike how he would usually stay silent, this time, Kael answered.
“We need Faith Energy to produce the Divine Rations, and the people had just begun producing Faith Energy because of the sense of hope and positivity they all felt. However, because the production of Faith Energy was in its initial stages, it was not stable.
I warned you that even the slightest disruption could severely limit the amount of Faith Energy produced—and it happened.
Someone amongst the people broke the Faith.
There is not enough Faith Energy for Lavinia to produce the rations for the day.”
“Who was it? Who broke the Faith?”
Aelindra questioned directly.
“I do not know.”
Kael shook his head.
“How is it that you do not know?”
The Warden of Provisions narrowed her eyes.
There were the elderlies in the room, so she couldn’t talk about Kael’s ’eyes’ in front of them, but Kael understood what she wanted to say.
“I do not have enough Mana to keep my Magic active all the time. I have already explained it before.”
Kael stared at Aelindra, still not backing down.
But then—
“That is quite a comfortable excuse, don’t you think?”
Tarevian glared at Kael with narrowed eyes.
“What did you say…?”
Kael tilted his head as he slowly walked towards the Voice of Commonfolk in an intimidating manner. Tarevian flinched for a short moment, but he quickly collected himself and—
“You cannot produce Divine Rations because someone broke Faith on the same day you weren’t watching—quite a strong coincidence, don’t you think?”
“You do not need to talk in circles, Elder Tarevian. We can tell what you are trying to say.”
Lavinia answered, staring at Tarevian. The Voice of Commonfolk, however, shook his head.
“I am not talking in circles. I am simply trying to show how bogus your words sound.”
“I—”
Before Kael or Lavinia could even retort to Tarevian’s words—
“No!”
Elder Rasam, one of the ten elders who was in charge of distributing food today, stepped in front of Kael and Lavinia and faced Tarevian.
“That is not the tone you get to use in front of our God.”
He raised his voice, and for a moment, the entire room turned silent. Kael and Lavinia were somewhat surprised, Tarevian and Aelindra were the same—especially Tarevian. When he saw the look on Elder Rasam’s face, he could tell that there was no way he was going to listen to reason.
The fanaticism in his eyes was… shocking.
And the worst part?
It wasn’t just Elder Rasam— all the other Elders present in the room had the same look on their faces, prepared to defend their God no matter what it took.
But even then, Tarevian tried to reason.
“He is no—”
But—
“We wouldn’t even have the food if it wasn’t for him.”
Before Tarevian could even say anything, Rasam spoke.
“Yes, you blame Lord Kael as if you were the one who produced the Divine Rations and he stole it from you.
Do not forget, it was Lord Kael who came to us with the Divine Rations. He was the one who made it so that we, who have starved almost all our lives, learned what it feels like to fill our bellies to the fullest extent.”
Another Elder spoke up, stepping forward as he glared at Tarevian.
“Exactly! Lord Kael has no reason to lie to us! He wouldn’t have given us the Divine Rations if he were like how you are portraying him!”
Another Elder spoke, getting more and more nods from the rest.
Finally, Elder Rasam walked towards Tarevian and, with a direct glare,
“Lord Kael is generous, he is forgiving, just, and kind-hearted.
But that doesn’t mean you can disrespect him, at least not in front of us.
Learn to be grateful when someone offers you something. Do not think that receiving his help was your right.
You are not entitled to the food Lord Kael makes, especially not when you dare to talk to your benefactor in that tone.”
He spoke in a strict tone, like a father correcting his child.
“…”
Tarevian turned silent. He did not know what to say in this situation. The fanaticism in the elders’ eyes was quite clear but…
His words weren’t wrong either.
They weren’t entitled to Kael’s help. The Divine Rations were something he produced independently, without anyone’s help. Acting in such a manner just because he couldn’t produce the Rations was… out of line.
“…I apologize for acting the way I did. I was not thinking straight.”
Tarevian turned towards Kael and lowered his head, admitting his mistake—an action that surprised Kael, especially when his recent exchange with Draksis went… differently.
’Is it because he doesn’t want the elders to spread this matter and ruin his image?’
Kael wondered in his head, momentarily looking at the Elders. Of course, he knew there was no point in thinking about all this. He just shook his head and—
“Your doubts weren’t baseless either. Everything is, in fact, too coincidental.”
He answered humbly.
And soon, he shifted the topic.
“Also, this isn’t the time to think about all this. It is time for lunch, we need to prepare that.”
“How are we going to prepare lunch without the Divine Rations…?”
Aelindra questioned with a frown.
“The Open Kitchen will not open today.”
Lavinia answered directly.
“But this does not mean the Elderlies will be left hungry. The Elders gave their Rations to us, so they are our responsibility.
So today, the open kitchen will only be for the Elders who have given their share of rations to us.”
The Mage announced, and with a wave of her hand, a part of the Rations the Elders gave her appeared in front of her.
“…Does this mean we will be cooking… this?”
Elder Rasam questioned, staring at the Rations with an unsatisfied look on his face. Compared to the Divine Rations, these were basically… tasteless.
Honestly, he would rather stay hungry for the day than eat this, and it was clear that the rest of the Elders thought the same.
But—
“Yes. I cannot let you stay hungry; you need to eat in order to be healthy.”
Kael stared at the Elders, and the Elders…
They obviously could not go against the words of their God, so even though they were unwilling…
“As you command, Lord Kael.”
They bowed their heads and began preparations.
Just like that, the Elders left the room with the Rations, and when there were only Kael, Lavinia, Aelindra, and Tarevian left in the room, an awkward silence fell over the place.
Kael thought that Tarevian might start an argument again, and the Voice of Commonfolk felt guilty.
But then—
“Lord Kael…”
Aelindra called out.
“Does this mean you can no longer produce the Divine Rations?”
She questioned in an unsure, somewhat panicked tone.
“No, everything should return to normal by tomorrow.”
Kael answered.
However, before Aelindra could even celebrate—
“But keep in mind, Faith Energy is delicate.”
Lavinia began.
“We need Faith Energy to make Divine Rations, but someone broke the flow of that Faith Energy by going against the rules that were established before.
While we will have enough Faith Energy to make Divine Rations for breakfast tomorrow, if the matter of dwindling Faith is not solved, the Faith Energy I gather will be severely affected. Even producing Divine Rations once a week might be a challenge.”
“So… what do we do…?”
Tarevian questioned in an uncertain tone.
“We need to find who broke the Faith.”
Lavinia answered directly.
“Kael has already activated his Magic, but to make the process faster, it is better that we announce what happened and why the Divine Rations couldn’t be produced—or better, ask for the culprit to step forward on his own. That way, he might panic and give himself away.
And who knows?
He might even come out on his own, seeking forgiveness.”
The Mage spoke. She momentarily turned towards Kael, as if showing that her and Kael’s opinion was the same in this matter.
“This might even be just an honest mistake, who knows? Someone might have wasted the food or stored it inside a Sanctuary just to see what happens out of pure curiosity.
If that is the case, we simply need to catch him and clear the matter.”
“I… I will do as you say.”
Aelindra nodded with a determined look on her face.
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