Chapter 143: Harvest (3)

Caterant Branch.

The day of the harvest festival.

The bishop stepped out of his office with a nervous heart.

Today was the first time he would preside over the harvest festival since he became a bishop.

He had been worried about how to please the Great One with a satisfactory festival.

What if the Great One was displeased with the offerings?

What if there was not enough bread for the believers?

He had prepared for the festival with much care, and he was confident that it would be a success.

“Besides, it seems like the angel has been quiet this time…”

He had been keeping an eye on Estasia’s movements for a few days, but she had not left the church.

Of course, he had not received the invitation he had hoped for, either.

But as long as he had checked all the potential risks, today’s event would go smoothly.

The bishop opened the door of the church building with high expectations.

As if they had been waiting for him, the church members greeted him as they decorated the place for the festival.

“Bishop, you’re here!”

“We’re almost done with the preparations for the festival.”

The church members also looked excited about the festival. They smiled at the corners of their mouths.

This festival was for both the Great One and the church.

Everyone could laugh and celebrate the autumn harvest.

The bishop nodded with a satisfied face as he looked at the church yard.

Then, he suddenly thought of Estasia and quietly asked one of the nearby church members.

“Where is the angel?”

“The angel is over there, drinking strawberry juice.”

The bishop’s eyes followed the church member’s finger.

As he said, Estasia was sitting on the chair he had set up, drinking strawberry juice.

Next to her, Aronia was plucking the stems off the strawberries from the fruit basket with a sullen face.

Fortunately, Estasia was behaving herself and eating strawberries.

The bishop tapped the back of a church member and signaled him to go inside.

“Finish what you were doing. You can enjoy yourself later.”

“Yes, bishop.”

After encouraging the church member, the bishop headed straight to Estasia.

Thump. Thump.

The bishop’s footsteps echoed in the noisy yard, and Estasia’s gaze moved to him.

Estasia waved her hand at the bishop as she drank her strawberry juice.

The bishop stopped right in front of Aronia, who was removing the strawberry stems, and looked at Estasia, who was lying quietly on the chair.

“Angel, did you sleep well?”

“Yes.”

“Hehe… You must be looking forward to this harvest festival.”

“Yes. I invited a lot of people to help.”

Estasia answered with an expression that seemed to ask for praise.

The bishop’s head was filled with many questions as he saw Estasia speaking proudly with her chest out.

He was sure he had not seen Estasia go outside recently.

She had just been cooped up in the chapel every day, spending time with Aronia.

But it was important to remember that Estasia was not the type to lie, even if he dismissed her words as false.

She was a clear angel, even though she caused a lot of trouble.

She was a being who lived completely apart from lies.

“Really? Who did you invite…”

The bishop’s face darkened in an instant as he asked Estasia.

Then, Estasia raised her finger and pointed at the sky.

The bishop’s eyes also followed Estasia’s finger and looked at the sky.

Flash.

Something was shining in the distant sky.

Estasia pointed at the light source with her finger and told the bishop.

“They’re coming down now.”

“Who’s coming…”

“The invited guests.”

As soon as Estasia finished speaking,

Something strange happened in the sky.

Crackle. Crackle.

Black lightning spread all over, and a thundercloud filled with lightning stopped above the church.

The bishop’s eyes naturally widened as he looked at the sky.

“What is this…”

Boom!

A loud thunderclap sounded, and lightning fell from the sky.

The lightning that fell to the ground left a clear mark right next to Estasia.

Screech–.

A faint smoke rose from the grass on the ground, and soon a man appeared from within it.

The man’s eyes, which had a restrained aura, were directed at the bishop.

“I am Evan Allemier, the second apostle. I heard that you invited me to this harvest festival.”

The man who landed on the ground reached out his hand and spoke to the bishop.

Apostle, Evan Allemier.

The bishop was startled by his identity and shook his hand with trembling fingers.

“A, apostle… Huh…”

What was an apostle?

They were the messengers of God who represented the heavenly affairs.

They were in a higher position than even the bishop.

But such a being suddenly appeared in front of the bishop.

And he said that the bishop had invited him.

The bishop was startled by the unexpected guest, but he tried to calm his heart and let go of his hand.

“Thank you for your invitation, bishop.”

“Y-you’re welcome. I hope you have a good time.”

The bishop tried to welcome him and ordered a church member to bring a chair quickly.

He couldn’t make an apostle appointed by God sit on the bare ground.

As the bishop greeted the apostle who came down from the sky, the church members behind him whispered loudly.

They revered the apostle as a worthy object.

“The bishop invited an apostle!”

“He brought God’s apostle to the harvest festival… He’s truly our bishop.”

The bishop clenched his teeth as he heard the church members praising him.

He thought there would be no trouble, but in the end, the angel caused a huge accident.

He was sure that he would have to watch the apostle’s mood and conduct the harvest festival for today.

As he thought that and sighed, he saw a huge shadow falling from the sky.

“W-what is that…”

The bishop looked at the sky, still not fully calm, and saw the huge shadow of a dragon flap its wings.

That was clearly a dragon.

The bishop’s mouth gaped open as he faced the dragon.

And then, the dragon changed its direction and started to fall to the ground.

-Krrrrrrrrr.

The huge body of the dragon was flying to the ground.

It was a monstrous size that could be seen at a glance.

If he collided with the falling dragon, his bones would crumble and he would meet his fate.

The bishop raised his arms and tried to protect his face desperately as he saw the falling dragon.

“…!”

“Good job, Alpha.”

But what he heard in his ears as he raised his arms was a gentle voice of a girl.

Swoosh.

The dragon that pierced the ground turned into a shadow and disappeared, leaving only a girl in a black cloak behind.

The girl who appeared from within was familiar to the bishop.

The first apostle. Eutenia Hyrost.

She appeared in front of the bishop.

“It’s been a while. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Huh…!”

The bishop was shocked to see Eutenia.

But his hand was politely accepting Eutenia’s handshake.

He shook Eutenia’s hand with trembling fingers.

He had not invited anyone, but already two apostles had come.

Eutenia saw the startled bishop and asked him.

“Are you surprised?”

“A-a little. The dragon was so huge…”

“It’s a grace from Him.”

“He is truly great. Please take a seat.”

The bishop tried to calm his startled heart and gestured to another church member next to him.

He meant to bring a chair for Eutenia quickly.

A church member ran into the church quickly to get a chair.

As he saw the church member going to get a chair, the church members who were preparing for the event looked at the bishop with admiration.

“Our bishop… He invited two apostles.”

“This harvest festival is quite meaningful.”

The bishop felt that his robe was somehow very damp on his back.

He calmed his trembling heart and looked at Estasia, who was eating strawberries.

Thanks to the angel who left an unexpected invitation, he had to host two guests and conduct the harvest festival.

It was practically impossible to enjoy the harvest festival comfortably.

“W-well… It’s an honor to have two apostles…”

“Undead! Undead are coming!”

Just as the bishop was about to greet Evan and Eutenia, who he had seated.

A church member pointed at the forest and shouted.

The bishop frowned and looked at the forest.

There must have been a dark mage hiding nearby.

How dare they send undead on such an auspicious day.

If the apostles hadn’t come here, he would have driven them away with lightning.

“How dare you! Who released the undead near the church!”

The bishop yelled as he turned his eyes to where the undead were.

He thought they would be just a bunch of skeletons.

But something was wrong.

There were no skeletons, only a huge phantom horse floating in the sky.

And on top of the phantom horse, there was an undead wearing a robe upside down.

He had a dreadful aura, clearly one of the top-tier undead.

-“Sorry to interrupt. I heard you invited me.”

Thud.

The undead who stopped the phantom horse in front of the bishop dropped to the ground.

And then he greeted the bishop right away.

The undead greeted him calmly, and the bishop asked him with a doubtful mind.

“Wh-who are you…”

-“I am Arcrosis, the king of the dead. I serve the Great One.”

“Huh… Huhhhhh…!”

The bishop felt like he was going to die when he heard Arcrosis’s identity.

His heart was pounding in his chest, which he held with his hand.

He had heard that he invited someone, but he had no idea who it was.

And he had just yelled at the king of the dead in front of him.

As the bishop held his chest with a pale face, the church members behind him clapped and cheered.

“The bishop made even the devil submit!”

“By the grace of the Great One, he made even the devil see the light of faith!”

“Our bishop is amazing! There’s nothing he can’t do!”

“I, Alfred, am deeply moved by your faith, bishop!”

They all exclaimed at the bishop’s action of inviting the devil.

And Alfred, as if he had gone mad, was spouting nonsense in a loud voice.

The bishop felt dizzy as he faced the parade of guests who came one after another.

His heart was not calming down at all.

As he shivered from the pressure on his chest, Eutenia’s voice reached his ears.

“Ah… Daniel said he couldn’t make it, so there will be three more coming.”

“What?”

The bishop thought he had heard wrong.

Three more apostles?

He couldn’t understand it no matter how he thought about it.

But Eutenia told him the truth again in a clear tone, as if to wake him up from reality.

“The other apostles said they would bring gifts.”

“Ah…”

Five apostles. One monster.

And two angels eating fruit.

The bishop felt a headache as he hosted eight guests for the festival.

How did this happen?

The harvest festival he had planned was supposed to be a family-like celebration among the church members.

“Ahhh… Great One.”

He saw that reality had grown far away from his expected harvest festival.

Now he had to conduct the festival while watching eight people’s faces.

He uttered God’s name as he sighed and looked at the sky.

Evan, who was watching him from behind, chimed in.

“Hmm… The bishop has a deep faith.”

“Yes. I’m glad I invited them. They look happy.”