The Priest and the King 01 The King's Favor

Just the fact that the hair is iridescent alone is of such value.

I don't know when it started, such a legend has been circulating in this land.

"If the person with the rainbow color becomes a king, he will receive the infinite gift of the Heavenly Emperor Hongni God."

But historical facts have proved that it is not just a legend.

3000 years ago, led by the king who revitalized the luxury country, the reign of the king with rainbow colors was a prosperous era of abundant crops, prosperity of the country, and peace of mind.

Of course, the princess is equally important.After all, the princess is the other half of the king.But—and thus a major problem arises.

In order to give birth to children with iridescent colors, the royal family will deliberately choose women with very light hair color or eye color as spouses.But when the eldest son of the former king, King Luo Gang, was born, he had black hair and black eyes like the common people.

Leaving aside that the hair and pupils do not have the noble iridescent color like Sae Sae, basically as long as you are a royal family, you will not have such characteristics as black.

...And because of this, the former king had complicated emotions towards Rainbow...

Chastity was questioned, and the princess committed suicide.

Although in anyone's eyes, King Luo Gang was carved out of the same mold as the previous king.

Driven by sadness, Sae Sha thought to herself.

...the reason why the king...has repeatedly summoned me is not as good as everyone imagined.It's actually because the king hates me... hates my hair and my eyes...

Sae Sa was not born in the royal family, nor did she have noble blood.

He was born in a poor village on the border, the son of a poor guard.

After leaving the prayer hall, Sae Sha continued to think deeply while walking on the promenade.

If the hair color and eye color weren't born like this, the king wouldn't be so alienated from me, right?

If this is the case, then I will not be appointed as a priest, but I can also become a guard according to my wish, and I will stay by the king's side for the rest of my life to serve him...?

The headquarters of the Hongni Sect? The Great Temple is built on the top of Lihuang Mountain, the spiritual peak in the north of the Kucailuo Kingdom.

Back in the personal room on the top floor of the temple, Sae Sha began to prepare to go out with a heavy heart.

I always feel like something is pressing on my chest.

Every time I was summoned by the king, my heart would be so heavy.

The joy of being able to see the majesty of the king, and the pain that surpassed the joy surged in his chest.

What a cruel person——

I obviously admire you so much, but you always play around with me.

What's more, I also received news that you are about to get married today... Can I really go to the king in peace?

Outside the window came the sound of flapping wings of the flying dragons, as if they were urging.

Sasuke sighed.

If you are late, the king will be mad with anger.The dragon knights also understood this, so they all wanted to bring Sae Sha to the palace as soon as possible.

After all, the royal palace is quite far from the Great Temple.

It would take five hours to travel from the shrine to the royal palace at the center of the country, even riding the flying dragons of the King's Knights, which boasted their speed.If it is an ordinary dragon running on the ground, it will take several days.

The dragon knights who have to go back and forth this distance every time must feel very tired.Not only that, the king summoned four or five times a month at least, and sometimes even for several days in a row.

I... it's okay.Whether it is being hated by the king or being harsh, there are reasons for that, so as long as I can see the face of the king, I am very satisfied, and I can bear other punishments no matter how severe they are.However, only causing trouble to others is the last thing I want to see.

Sasuke shook her head lightly.

Sighing is useless.If you don't hurry up, you will cause more trouble for everyone.

He regained his spirits and stood in front of the closet.

I thought about it—since I'm going to ride a flying dragon later, I'd better choose clothes with a hem higher than my ankles.

That being said, everything is pretty much the same.

The clothes given to Sae Sae were all so gorgeous and sparkling that they looked like bridal gowns.

Other priests have to sew their own clothes by themselves in order to practice, but Saesha is different.All his clothes were sewn by the royal tailor of the palace.

However, there is another biggest feature of Sae Sha's clothes - they are all in iridescent colors.

Not only priest clothes, but also casual clothes and underwear.

Sae Sha feels depressed every time she puts on clothes.

Because the production process of rainbow fabric is quite time-consuming and laborious.

First of all, it is necessary to dye seven colors with plants and trees, and then twist them into extremely thin silk threads that are almost invisible to the naked eye and only a fraction of the thickness of a hair.These seven silk threads are then carefully rubbed together with the cocoons of precious iridescent worms that only grow deep in the ground under the snow, and then the rainbow silk that shines in seven colors can be made.

It takes a lot of work to make the rainbow silk, but it takes three months to weave the cloth, and another month to sew the clothes.

Of course, Sae asked many times, saying that she also imagined that other priests would sew ordinary black priest uniforms by herself.

"Even if I give up fighting against the fate that I must eventually become the Holy Rainbow Messenger, but I am still just a priest, and I was allowed to enter the temple before I passed the exam. Logically speaking, I should start from the lowest level of priests, so please let yourself Do some manual work." Even though he repeatedly applied to the king and the elders of the temple, he was not accepted because he had rainbow hair and rainbow pupils.

Bitter memories of regret come to life.

...If you know that the rainbow fabric is such a complicated thing...

If I had known the true meaning of the color "rainbow" earlier, no matter how many times the king said that I would be given the rainbow color, I would never accept it.

Saesa had no formal education as a child, so she did not know these things.

"The rainbow color is the mark of the child of God. Once a child with the rainbow color characteristic appears on the body, it must be reported immediately."

This order promulgated by the kingdom can be said to be as old as the history of the country.

Whether it's hair or pupils, as long as there is a "rainbow color" on one part of the body, the child is not considered an individual, but a national treasure.They will be brought to the royal palace to receive the top education, and then they will be appointed to important positions... This is the policy of this kingdom.The chances of common people with black hair and black pupils giving birth to "children of the rainbow" are very small, but it is not unheard of in history.

Sae Sha's parents were quite afraid of being separated from their own flesh and blood.

Although they will have to let go someday, they want to spend as much time together as possible, so they retreat to the forest away from the crowd.This is what Sae Sha heard from her parents after she became sensible.

But—the people who were brought up in that way are not only Sae Sha, but also the education received by the prince Luo Gang of this country has not received any religious baptism at all.

While tidying up her clothes quickly, Sae Sha was also thinking about the past.

...That being said... when we first met, King Luo Gang was very gentle to me...

The frail and sickly mother lost her life due to the harsh life in the dense forest, and passed away when she was seven years old.And her strong father also died in battle when Saesha was nine years old, and Saesa was also adopted by the palace at the same time.

The king, who has no siblings, loves Saesa, who is similar in age, as a younger brother.

He ordered the construction of a beautiful palace, and planted flowers from Sasa's hometown in the garden, and came to see Sasa every day.

It was also during that period that Sae Sha received the forbidden color Rainbow Color.

During the harvest festival feast of a certain year, the king said that he would give Sasa as a gift something that no one else had.

At the beginning, he said that he would give him the silver color, and said that the color was perfect for Sae Sae who was by his side.

The important ministers looked embarrassed.

"...Let us advise, king. Silver is the color that symbolizes the queen, and cannot be given to others."

Sae who was next to her heard it and desperately tried to stop it.He hastily stated that he didn't need anything, and the king's kindness just now made him deeply honored... But even if he wanted to interrupt, the impatient king couldn't listen to other people's words at all.

"In that case!"

Luo Gang, who was still a boy, stood up from the throne and asked loudly.

"Anyone who can answer it, please answer it right away! What are the forbidden colors besides silver!"

Then, a strong man with several scars on his face walked out from the last seat.

The man's name was Yong Jun, and he was the swordsmanship instructor of King Luo Gang at that time.He knelt before the king and spoke in a sophisticated and elegant voice.

"Other than that, there's only one—and that's iridescent."

The audience was silent.

For a split second it looked like everyone stood still.

But Luo Gang immediately made a decision.

"Then give that color! You answered well, Yongkyun! The iridescent color is indeed more suitable for Sae Sae!"

Sae Sha still can't forget the wonderful look on the serious military officer's face after hearing the king's answer.

It looks like pain, but from another angle, it looks like an expression of joy.

"But... is this okay? Of course, my subjects are very happy that Lord Saesha can become the child of the rainbow. After all, it will maintain the important development of talents in the future. However, this is a formal occasion where foreign guests are also present. Once the king An order, can it be taken back as an order?"

The tone of remonstrance in a low voice made the impatient king stomp his feet and roar.

"I know, you annoying guy! Even if you are a loyal minister of my father's generation, I will not forgive you if you dare to speak out! ——Originally, silver is the most suitable color for Sae. But since it doesn't work, I have to use rainbow color!"

The knock on the door came to my ears.

"Excuse me, are you ready?"

Sasuke hastened to speed up.After tidying up the hem of the clothes, attach the decorative bow to the waist.

Finally, put on a mask that covers the upper half of your face.

The bow is a rainbow in the sky, the symbol of the Son of the Emperor of Heaven.As for the person who is about to become the Holy Rainbow Messenger, no matter what happens, no one can let anyone see his expression, so once he leaves the temple, he must wear a mask.

"...Okay, I kept you guys waiting for a long time."

As soon as you open the door, you will see the high-level gods of the temple headed by the elders.