I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 38: High Priestess Jillian (3)

The Holy King, Arthur Pendragon, was the one who built the human world alongside the Knights of the Round Table.

Thus, he was worthy of being called the King of Humanity but his reign was not long.

One day, he mysteriously vanished, leading an expeditionary force somewhere. Without its king, Camelot naturally crumbled and faded from the stage of history.

Since that day, there had been no King of Humanity.

Though five kingdoms and one empire were established, none among them— not even the emperor of the self-proclaimed strongest empire on the continent—dared to utter the title “King of Humanity.”

The chosen of the Goddess of the Lake.

A being who banished ignorance and fear with wisdom and courage, and built the human world.

That was the Sacred King.

That was the King of Humanity.

Thus, a title none dared to falsely claim.

Jillian exhaled sharply.

Her heart pounded as if it might burst at any moment, yet amid the overwhelming shock, she began to understand.

All the doubts she had harbored now seemed to be answered, as though a dam had been broken.

How could he have defeated the Kobold Prince and the massive trolls in succession?

Because he was the King of Humanity.

Why had Ruan pledged loyalty to him without seeking the church’s approval?

Because he was the King of Humanity.

How could he embody the divinity of the Goddess of the Lake?

Because he was the King of Humanity!

“Haah, haah…The Holy King. Yes, that’s right. The Holy King. So that’s what it was.”

Jillian muttered to herself with a shaky smile.

Though it was not a conscious effort, speaking the words aloud helped her understand—no, accept—the truth.

The Lord of Lothian is the King of Humanity.

After over five centuries, the King of Humanity had returned.

It was an exhilarating realization.

As the Goddess of the Lake led all human deities, the King of Humanity was a truly sacred existence, even to the High Priest of the Omphalos Order.

To think that such a sacred figure, the literal Sacred King, would appear before her and even engage in conversation—it was an honor beyond imagining.

Placing a hand on her chest to steady her racing heart, Jillian habitually prepared to offer a prayer of gratitude to Omphalos, but she stopped herself.

A sudden thought struck her like lightning.

“Wait, just a moment!”

The King of Humanity had returned.

And his return was accompanied by a certain legend.

The moment of the King of Humanity’s return.

The circumstances that necessitated the King of Humanity’s return.

“Um, excuse me! Then…does this mean the Age of the Ominous Stars has truly begun?”

With a face on the verge of tears, Jillian asked, and Rene responded, her expression somber yet resolute.

“Yes, that is correct.”

The Age of Ominous Stars was beginning.

The war that had erupted in Lothian and the Barony of Volano was only the beginning.

Jillian’s face turned deathly pale.

The scenes of the devastation she had witnessed in the village flashed through her mind like a nightmare.

“Urp!”

As Jillian gagged and staggered, Ruan, alarmed, reached out to steady her.

“Your Grace?”

“Haah…haah…”

Covering her mouth with both hands, Jillian glanced at Ruan, who was supporting her.

“I’m…I’m okay.”

Though she was far from okay, Jillian forced herself to say the words, trying to maintain composure.

The onset of the Age of Ominous Stars was undoubtedly terrifying, but at the same time, the King of Humanity had returned.

Jillian looked back at Yoo Seong.

Though his face betrayed some surprise at her series of unexpected reactions, his presence alone brought her great solace.

“Hoo… hoo… I’m sorry for showing such disgraceful behavior.”

“No, it’s all right. Would you… like some water?”

At Yoo Seong’s concerned question, Jillian, her face turning from pale to crimson, nodded with an expression that seemed on the verge of tears.

“Yes…please.”

“Rene.”

“Yes, Heir.”

Rene quickly poured water from a pitcher on a nearby desk and handed it to Jillian.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Feeling awkward drinking directly, Jillian turned slightly away and took a few gulps.

“Hoo…”

Even a single glass of water made her feel considerably better.

Yet, for some reason, she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that she had forgotten something important.

Something crucial.

In her shock over the King of Humanity and the Age of Ominous Stars, she had inadvertently overlooked something significant.

“Ah!”

Suddenly jolted, Jillian turned urgently to Ruan and shouted.

“Sir Ruan!”

“Yes, Your Grace?”

“I just received an oracle from Lord Omphalos!”

“What?”

Ruan asked, visibly startled.

An oracle, here? And from none other than Jillian, known for having weaker divine power than even a low-ranking priest?

Faced with Ruan’s astonished expression, Jillian bit her lip and quickly explained.

“No, it’s just… I was so shocked that I prayed to confirm if the King of Humanity had truly returned, and Lord Omphalos answered—wait, Sir Ruan, what’s with that look? I’m serious!”

“Um…I believe you.”

“No, really! It wasn’t a hallucination, a daydream, or a mishearing—it was a real oracle!”

Stomping her foot in frustration, Jillian shouted as though she were deeply wronged. Ruan looked at her with a troubled expression, while Rene, observing this, whispered softly to Yoo Seong.

“Somehow, I feel like I understand how the High Priestess feels.”

“Yes…I see.”

Responding awkwardly, Yoo Seong turned his gaze back to Jillian.

Ruan, now serious, faced Jillian, who was teary-eyed and indignant.

“Understood. Your Grace, what did Lord Omphalos say?”

Ruan’s tone was no longer placating but sincere, prompting Jillian to wipe away her tears and respond solemnly.

“‘Yes,’ was His answer.”

A single word.

But it was enough.

The steadfast Omphalos had affirmed that the man before them was indeed the King of Humanity.

Ruan’s face lit up with joy as he turned to Yoo Seong, and Rene also beamed, shrugging her shoulders in delight.

Jillian, too, looked at Yoo Seong.

Whether due to her flushed face, the oracle, or both, her entire body felt hot, as though feverish.

Because of this, Jillian couldn’t simply rejoice over the fact that she had received an oracle—a rare occurrence for her, given her weak affinity for divine magic.

Her mind was too overwhelmed for that.

Eventually, Jillian, looking as though she might cry again, turned to Yoo Seong and spoke.

“Your Majesty the Holy King, I deeply apologize.”

“Huh?”

“I…I can’t hold on any longer.”

With those words, Jillian closed her eyes and collapsed on the spot.

“High Priestess Jillian?!”

Alarmed, Yoo Seong rushed down from the platform to her side, followed closely by Ruan.

“What’s going on?”

Rene, flustered, asked, and Ruan, after checking Jillian’s breath, let out a wry laugh.

“She appears to have fainted.”

Unable to endure the current situation, she had passed out.

It was a perplexing yet oddly fitting reaction for Jillian.

As Yoo Seong wiped the sweat from his forehead, he turned to Ruan and asked.

“So, Sir Ruan, what kind of person is High Priestess Jillian?”

“As you can see, she’s a good person. But her divine power is rather weak for a High Priestess.”

“Ah, that explains it.”

Why did such a farce occur over the oracle? It seems it was originally given to someone distant from divine power.

‘I think I understand why Ruan reacted that way when introducing Jillian for the first time.’

The reason Ruan worried that Jillian might not see the divine power within the golden sacred flame.

Yoo Seong initially thought it was because Jillian was a fallen priest, but that wasn’t the case. It was simply that her divine power was weak.

“Wait a second. Then how did he rise to the rank of High Priestess?”

Jillian wasn’t just any High Priestess.

Considering the position, she was far too young—almost childlike in age.

If she wasn’t promoted quickly due to strong divine power, then how on earth did she become a High Priestess with weak divine power?

“I don’t know about that either.”

Although it had seemed odd, Ruan hadn’t bothered to inquire with the main temple.

This was partly because Ruan himself was an upright Paladin, but also because there had never been an issue with Jillian’s character or the way she handled her duties.

“More importantly, my lord, for High Priestess Jillian to receive the oracle directly from Omphalos himself…Truly, you are remarkable, my lord.”

Ruan beamed brightly, as though his faith had been validated.

Ruan was so handsome that the sight was pleasing, but that only made Yoo Seong feel more burdened. Smiling awkwardly, he turned to René.

“René, could I ask you to look after High Priestess Jillian?”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

René smiled gently, then used magic to lift High Priestess Jillian’s body into the air. She bowed to Yoo Seong and Ruan before leaving the office.

“Ruan, you should also go and rest for now.”

“Yes, I will.”

After Ruan withdrew with a joyful expression, Yoo Seong was left alone in the room.

“Hah.”

Collapsing into the lord’s chair, Yoo Seong let out a long breath, then chuckled softly.

The situation suddenly struck him as amusing.

“High Priestess Jillian.”

Although the individual was completely different from what he had expected, wasn’t this a good resolution overall?

Laughing quietly again, Yoo Seong stretched out.

The next afternoon.

Perhaps due to accumulated exhaustion, Jillian woke up after a full day’s rest. After changing into a clean ceremonial robe, she stood before Yoo Seong.

“Once again, I greet you. I am Jillian Ynatri, who serves Omphalos.”

Thanks to a full day’s rest and proper grooming, Jillian’s beauty was even more striking than the day before.

If René, despite her personality, had a sultry beauty, Jillian had a gentle yet pure elegance that perfectly matched her character.

After offering another polite bow, Jillian spoke.

“Since Omphalos has directly commanded it, I will also serve you, Lord Yoo Seong.”

In truth, even though Yoo Seong was the heir to the Holy King, there was no reason for Jillian to pledge loyalty to him like Ruan did or to serve him as her lord.

Considering Jillian’s usual personality, she would likely have paid her respects and quietly stepped back.

But this time was different.

As Jillian herself mentioned, it was because of Omphalos’ oracle.

Why would Omphalos go so far as to respond to Jillian’s prayer with an oracle?

Even putting aside Omphalos’ intent, ignoring an oracle would be unimaginable for a priest of Omphalos.

‘High Priestess Jillian.’

According to information Yoo Seong gathered again through Ruan, Jillian was quite a capable individual.

Though her divine power was weak, rendering her ineffective in holy magic, she possessed extraordinary talents in other areas.

‘High Priestess Jillian excels in architecture, hydraulics, and decoding ancient texts.’

From a ruler’s perspective, Ruan’s words were an understatement.

Jillian also showed talent in drawing and writing; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she excelled in all desk-bound tasks.

‘She seems like she’d be great at administrative work, too.’

If Iserina’s governance skills were rated at 80 out of 100, Jillian’s would be in the high 90s, close to a perfect 100.

In terms of historical analogies, she might compare to Zhuge Liang as opposed to a slightly less skilled Guan Yu.

‘René excels in magic and Jillian in administration.’

Yoo Seong felt a satisfied smile naturally forming as he regarded Jillian, a true jack-of-all-trades in the field of internal affairs.

But at that moment, René, seated beside Yoo Seong, asked Jillian with a hopeful expression.

“High Priestess Jillian, is it possible to contact the main temple of the Omphalos Order?”

Now that Yoo Seong’s divinity had been revealed to sway clergy, they wondered if they could leverage this to secure support from the entire Omphalos Order.

Even just reporting that Jillian had received an oracle from Omphalos would likely have a significant effect.

However, contrary to René’s expectations, Jillian’s face fell as she replied.

“Well…It’s possible, but I doubt the main temple would believe me.”

“What? Oh, I see.”

René, about to question further, stopped herself when Jillian’s expression became even more despondent.

‘It makes sense. It’d be strange for anyone to believe a High Priest with divine power weaker than an ordinary priest claiming to have received an oracle and calling a borderland lord the Holy King.’

Moreover, the main temple of the Omphalos Order wasn’t even in the Kingdom of Silatein but within the Empire, meaning it would take ages for any news to reach them.

After all, Yoo Seong himself had yet to receive a reply from the royal family regarding his lordship succession.

Thus, Yoo Seong spoke in a gentle tone to comfort Jillian.

“It’s all right. Just having you join us, High Priestess Jillian, feels like gaining a thousand troops. Thank you so much.”

Jillian’s expression softened slightly at Yoo Seong’s words.

She seemed to be another person, like René, who couldn’t hide her emotions.

“I will stay in Lotion, just like Sir Ruan.”

“Can I entrust you with overseeing the repair of the city walls?”

“Yes, I will do my best.”

Given her expertise, Jillian responded with confidence.

‘I guess I can cancel my request to Iserina to find an architect.’

Yoo Seong smiled and once again welcomed Jillian into the fold.

Time flew by.

Fifteen days after Jillian joined them, Lothian underwent significant changes.

First was the repair of the city walls.

With Jillian’s involvement, the pace of the restoration was almost miraculous.

Not only did she repair the walls, but she also fortified them further.

Somehow, she managed to build sturdier walls than before and even began digging a moat.

With an influx of refugees from Baron Volano’s territory and nearby areas, there was no shortage of manpower, allowing the construction to proceed swiftly.

Sir Simon also succeeded in a large-scale operation to recover materials.

Despite the grim task of gathering supplies and resources from a territory littered with corpses, the pace was exceptionally fast, thanks to a special strategy.

“All recovered supplies are yours to keep.”

For refugees who had lost their homes and possessions, this was an incredibly attractive proposal.

It also appealed to conscripts who still had families and homes.

“While it’s good that the recovery is fast, is this really all right?” Sir Simon questioned.

His concern was reasonable.

While feeding the refugees was good, refilling Lothian’s quickly depleting storehouses after two battles was equally critical.

But Jillian, the strategist behind this plan, quickly addressed Simon’s concerns.

“Well… taxes… You’ll collect them, right?”

Simon was astounded by Jillian’s suggestion to take a fair share as taxes from what the refugees gathered. Yoo Seong was equally impressed.

While Jillian and Simon took the lead, Ruan toured the northern villages of Baron Volano’s territory with his battle priest unit.

The primary goal was to recover supplies and assets from the now-abandoned monasteries, but there was another purpose: keeping an eye on Count Carian.

Count Carian, who had absorbed the refugees from the monastery Jillian once managed, began sending troops into Baron Volano’s territory under the pretext of humanitarian aid.

Yoo Seong had no intention of antagonizing Count Carian, but he also wasn’t about to let him take Baron Volano’s resources for free.

By invoking Lady Iserina’s rightful claim to Baron Volano’s territory and Ruan’s visible presence with his troops, Count Carian hesitated to move his forces southward.

Then, another fifteen days passed.

Nearly a month after the battle with the trolls, ominous winds began to blow again from the south.