Chapter 90

A miracle is defined as an act performed by God.

Clerics prove God's existence through miracles, received via sacred petitions.

However, often God performs miracles through the body and speech of a cleric.

Those chosen by God are then revered as saints.

Indeed, it was a miracle.

The lame stand up, water turns to wine, and people walk on water as if it were solid ground!

Many clerics tirelessly work to bring about these miracles. They throw themselves off cliffs, leap into pits of fire, and travel to plague-ridden regions...

Of course, God likely pays no mind to such reckless acts.

Yet clerics, in their desire for sainthood, commit these acts of madness.

Chosen by God!

What a prestigious title!

"Wizard Ian has awakened the dormant relic!"

"If this isn't a miracle, what is?"

Already brimming with a desire for sainthood, the clerics, like patients with saintly ADHD, couldn't remain calm when faced with an event resembling a miracle.

"Hmm. Is that all?"

"What?"

"Isn't this an overreaction to just an egg hatching? Perhaps it was simply time for it to hatch."

Debates ensue about what constitutes a miracle.

These men, typically found reading the Bible and eating, never back down on matters regarding the divine.

"Wizard Ian did not perform a miracle, brothers!"

"Takarion!"

At that moment, as the controversy over [Ian's Miracle] simmered, a storm named Takarion took center stage.

"Last night, I received a revelation from an angel in my dream."

"Oh!"

"The same angel's voice that I heard while writing the Gospel of Marcus!"

Takarion, when composing the Gospel of Marcus, included various absurd (but entertaining) elements.

For instance, there's a scene where Mark shoots a death beam from his finger.

Skeptical priests would ask, "How could you possibly know about events from the Golden Empire era?"

To which Takarion would automatically respond:

'An angel told me in a dream~'

Meaning, he was talking in his sleep.

However, it wasn't actual issue.

In this world, dragons fly and wizards hear the winds speak.

Surely a saint could shoot a death beam, right?

After all, when you insist it was true, it becomes so.

In this medieval fantasy world, where verifying the truth was impossible, even rumors are often accepted as truths.

"The Lord in heaven has told me! That egg was actually prepared just for me, Takarion!"

"Oh!"

Here, there are monks who would literally die for a word from Takarion.

So Takarion, as usual, began to insist his version of events was the truth.

The glory of a miracle would not be stolen by some unknown wizard!

"Did Takarion perform the miracle?!"

"Saint Takarion! Saint Takarion has appeared!"

"No. What is this..."

Just as they were about to set off, an absurd situation unfolded, leaving Ian dumbfounded.

The absurdity that the relic turned out to be merely an egg was bad enough.

Outside, clerics were heatedly debating whether Ian possessed the qualifications of a saint.

Yet Ian had no desire to become a saint.

Ian is a wizard, not a priest.

There would be no advantage to being called Saint Ian.

While there might be benefits, actively pursuing the title of saint was unnecessary.

Becoming a saint would only further entangle him with religious figures, a prospect both dubious and undesirable.

Ian preferred to focus on the present.

A fluffy, soft-feathered bird tumbled before his eyes.

"Do you know what this is?"

Belenka had summoned hunters to ascertain the identity of the bird.

However, the hunters unanimously declared they had never seen such a bird before.

"I'm not sure."

"Perhaps we'll know once it matures."

Hunters familiar with adult birds usually don't know much about chicks.

Ian was no expert on birds, so he was unsure of the bird's identity.

From the start, it was unclear what to call a bird born from a relic.

"[What species are you?]"

"Cheep, cheep!"

His attempt to communicate using Maronius language proved futile.

It was like asking a newborn, "What species are you?" and expecting the reply to be, "Yes! I am human!"

The principle was the same.

"Ian, are you going to keep this bird?"

Kira asked, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

She had wanted to raise the baby bird from the moment she saw it.

Since it was motherless, someone needed to take care of it.

However, Ian found the idea of raising the bird bothersome.

"No. I should return it to that Takarion guy. It came from his relic, right? Then he's its rightful owner."

"...True."

Kira nodded, clearly disappointed.

Even if Ian wanted to keep it, it was doubtful the monks would allow it.

The bird was born from Takarion's relic.

If the relic was lost, at least keep the bird.

The abbot would surely be unhappy if they lost both the relic and the bird to Ian.

"Wizard Ian! I have something to say, come out!"

The owner of this unrefined tone was predictably Takarion.

Ian sauntered out into the hallway where Takarion, pompously surrounded by a crowd of monks, waited.

"My bird! When are you going to give it back?"

Ian quickly caught on to what Takarion wanted.

Right after the bird hatched from the relic, Ian had taken the chick under his care.

Being a Level 3 Summoner, he was naturally skilled at handling animals.

Letting a chick that had struggled to be born die would be utterly futile.

Thus, everyone left Ian to it, knowing that if something went wrong with the bird, they could disclaim responsibility.

"Well, I was planning to return it soon," Ian responded nonchalantly, annoyed by Takarion.

He intended to give the bird back once it was in good condition.

A newborn chick is like a baby just out of the delivery room. Shouldn't it dry off before being handed back to its mother?

But Takarion believed Ian was lying, simply because he was nervous.

'I can't let him monopolize the credit for hatching the relic!'

Takarion lacked social skills, having been raised in a monastery all his life.

As a child, he was ostracized, having no real friends, and after he began writing, he only received adulation from his fans.

Thus, Takarion didn't know how to interact with people.

"I, I hatched the relic! It's only natural you return it to me!"

Was this a rap?

Ian looked at the stuttering Takarion with a peculiar gaze, wondering if he might have fallen from an apple tree and hit his head as a child.

"You're saying you hatched the relic?"

"Yes!"

Takarion struck a triumphant pose as the surrounding monks erupted into enthusiastic applause.

"Typical Takarion!"

"The beloved of God!"

Takarion smirked internally, confident.

'Hehe. What are you going to do now, Ian!'

The first to strike in a fight often wins.

Since the medieval influencer Takarion had initiated the claim, "I was the one who hatched the relic!", he felt sure he had outmaneuvered Ian.

No matter what excuse Ian could make, it was a victory for Takarion.

'Really?'

Contrary to Takarion's expectations, Ian was secretly grinning inside.

Wow! I thought I had ruined the relic, but it turns out I hadn't! Lucky me!

Now that Takarion had publicly declared he hatched the relic, the monastery couldn't possibly blame Ian.

Takarion had been fretting over Ian stealing the glory, but that was just a typical religious mindset.

Ian, as a wizard, had no interest in miracles or anything of the sort.

So when Takarion showed interest, Ian quickly passed it off.

"Take the bird! I need to travel! Haha, I was wondering why it broke! It was your fault! Ha ha!"

"…?"

Takarion's expression turned awkward.

Saying it was his fault made it sound like he had done something wrong...

"I've kept it safe, so please take it."

Ian quickly returned to his room and came out with the baby bird.

The baby bird had inevitably become a headache for Ian.

After all, the relic wasn't his.

It was an item from the monastery, so whether it hatched a bird or a dinosaur, the rightful owner was the abbot.

Even though Ian was a wizard, there was no guarantee he could take something from the monastery and get away with it.

He wasn't particularly attached to it either.

"Kira! Hurry up and give the bird back!"

Ian called out cheerfully, relieved to be unburdened.

Kira, who had been petting the baby bird, looked slightly disappointed.

"You came to take Winnie back, right?"

"You've already named it?"

"Yeah... we have to give it back. Sob sob. Winnie, you have to be strong even at the monastery!"

Ian forcibly took the bird from Kira and handed it to Takarion.

"Here you go."

"Oh! Thank you!"

Takarion reached out for the bird, his heart beating with anticipation.

He believed that once he took it back, he would be celebrated as the monk who hatched the relic.

That was when it happened.

"Peep! Peep!"

"???"

As Takarion's hand approached, the baby bird cried out in a terribly sad and desperate sound.

No matter how much Takarion tried to calm it, it was futile.

"Why is the bird acting like this?"

"Indeed. It should be a divine creature hatched by Takarion according to God's will..."

The murmuring of the monks made Takarion break out in a cold sweat.

It was a crisis.

If the bird rejected him here, the situation would become laughably absurd!

"Come, nestle in my embrace!"

Takarion tried to force the bird to embrace him.

The more he tried, the more sorrowfully the chick cried.

"Peep! Peep!"

'...Is this right?'

Even Ian began to worry.

Could he end up breaking the bird's bones?

Unable to stand it any longer, Kira intervened.

"Come here! Mommy will hold you!"

Kira had unwittingly become a bird mom.

"No..."

Takarion tried to prevent Kira from taking the bird but...

As Kira's beautiful face came close, he froze.

The monk, an otaku, was not good with women...

'Saint Marcus...!'

Before he knew it, the bird was comfortably nestled in Kira's arms.

As Kira stroked it, the bird calmed down as if it had never cried.

"My goodness! Takarion was rejected by the divine creature!"

"Indeed! Ian was the true hatcher of the relic!"

"Saint Ian! The wizard beloved by God!"

Takarion was stunned, and Kira was distracted by the bird.

And Ian felt like his head was going to explode with all the noise from the monks...

... I need to travel! Damn it!

"My bird! Give it back!"

"No, damn it. If it doesn't want to go with you, what do you expect me to do?"

Handing over the bird felt like handing it over to die.

But not handing it over seemed like they would chase him to the ends of the earth.

Eventually, it was time for some lively negotiation.

"Ian. Can we go to the monastery?"

"That seems like the right choice."

Belenka and Kira voted to go to the monastery.

Since they couldn't just toss the bird and leave, the plan was to go there, hand it over, and then leave.

Ian asked the monks for their opinion, just in case.

"If we take the bird to the monastery—"

"That would be best!"

They didn't even pretend to refuse.

So, the toss failed.

Thus, Ian's next destination was decided: a medieval monastery.