“Master Patagamon, we’ve received a report from the Eleventh Unit. They say the divine spirits of Mejatoke Lake have either entered a deep sleep or vanished.”
“Thank you. Please have them return to the temple at once.”
“Master Patagamon, the Eighth Unit has sent an inquiry. Lately there have been rumors spreading through the borderlands that good omens have been sighted near the Ocean Temple, and they would like to know if they should investigate.”
“No. That is not something we need to look into right away. Have them join with the Second Unit in the Gahra Mountains as planned. A little too much time has passed, but tell them to ask around at the foot of the mountain range to see if anyone has witnessed any strange events and then to hire a person from the mountains who can guide them to the sacred ground.”
This was the Jan’Majar Temple. It was located in the country of Peza in the southeast of the continent, and it produced many renowned warrior monks. All who entered this temple received strict martial arts training. Jan’Majar Temple was unique for taking religious doctrine and its associated training and integrating it with martial arts.
They were currently in the General Affairs Division in the Denomination Affairs Building. The man sitting behind the desk in the middle of the room busily taking reports, giving orders, and working through never-ending paperwork was a monk named Patagamon, who was acting as the representative for the Chief of General Affairs.
The chief was quite old and was taking a long break due to his poor health, so Patagamon was effectively in charge of the division.
Most of the monks bustling about the temple were slender, but Patagamon had an imposing physique. His muscles stood out clearly under his shabby martial arts uniform. He had a thick neck and a shiny shaved head. His bushy eyebrows arched up toward the heavens. His eyes were slanted and emitted a powerful light reminiscent of a dragon. His voice was low but firm and clear.
Whether it came to combat, intellect, judgment, or carrying out the will of the sect founder, the most sensible young monks at the temple looked up to him as an example to follow.
A monk entered the room. He had a lanky build, hard facial features, and was probably slightly older than Patagamon.
“Mr. Patagamon, I still haven’t received a response from you.”
“Hello, Mr. Ragalat. My apologies. As you can see, I’m quite busy here. All monks capable of telepathy are currently spread throughout the continent, devoting themselves to their own missions. As I’ve told you before, as soon as anyone becomes available, I’ll comply with the additional dispatch you requested.”
“Mr. Patagamon. Monks who can perform telepathy are very valuable personnel to the entire temple. The General Affairs Division may be the core of the Denomination Affairs Building, but that does not mean you can hog them for yourself.”
“You seem to have the wrong idea. I am not hogging them for myself. I am training them. Every single year, whether this year, last year, or many years before that, the first selections of the temple’s new recruits always go to your Clerical Division and the Ceremonial Division. The other divisions pick after them, and the General Affairs Division accepts the remaining newcomers. During the education of our new recruits, some of them by chance become able to use telepathy. The methods of telepathy are not a secret within this temple. Feel free to train the new recruits in the Clerical Department.”
“Mr. Patagamon, you speak too harshly of my department. It takes time to learn what kind of talent a person possesses. We need to make effective use of the talent that has already been awoken.”
Ragalat spent a little while longer refusing to back down; then he eventually gave up and left the room.
“Master Patagamon. Master Ragalat was strangely persistent today.”
“Hmm. The other party may have raised their asking price. It’s probably not the Gorenza Empire this time but some other country or person of influence.”
“But still, monopolizing personnel was quite a thing to accuse you of. His department reaps all the benefits of taking in the sons of nobility and wealthy families, and then when we take in the children of poor people who no one wanted and train them to acquire the power of the sect, he sees them as property. He’s planning on turning them into commodities.”
Telepathic monks worked in pairs and could communicate with each other even from opposite ends of the continent. They couldn’t contact their partner at will, as they both needed to be in the telepathic state at the same time, but all they had to do was set times for communication in advance.
No one other than the monks of Jan’Majar Temple had ever possessed this ability. It was said to be bestowed by the special divine protection awarded to the temple.
Even possessing one pair of people with this ability would bring about immeasurable benefits in politics, military affairs, economics, and more. The various countries around the continent, especially the Gorenza Empire, paid extraordinary sums of money to request long-term dispatch of telepathic personnel. Because the temple would earn resentment if they refused these requests outright, they occasionally loaned monks for short periods of time. That way they could gain favor and build personal connections.
Client relations was usually the duty of the General Affairs Division, but ever since Ragalat assumed the position of Clerical Director, the Clerical Division had been managing every case of dispatching telepathic monks outside the temple on the logic that they should handle all matters that concerned use of the power of the sect.
However, because there wasn’t even one telepathic monk in the Clerical Division who could be entrusted with training monks, Ragalat had been frequently requesting personnel from the General Affairs Division, which possessed almost all the telepathic monks in the temple. However, because the General Affairs Division ranked higher than the Clerical Division in the hierarchy of the divisions, Ragalat could not order Patagamon to dispatch telepathic monks. All he could do was make requests. Aside from the locations where telepathic monks had already been dispatched, Patagamon had rejected almost all of Ragalat’s requests.
“Master Patagamon. I need to keep my voice down when telling you this, but Master Ragalat has been saying that if he becomes the abbot, he will remake it to serve the world.”
“So I’ve heard. He probably wants to leave two pairs of telepathic monks at the temple and lend the rest out for this purpose of serving the world. It’s foolish. He does not understand the original mission of this temple.”
Another monk then rushed into the room.
“Master Patagamon, I have grave news. Abbot Kau Lekan has passed away.”