Lydia quietly examined Jonah in front of her.
There’s a saying that those born with pink hair are loved by the Goddess of Love. Of course, it’s not officially acknowledged by the Temple….
Regardless of gender or race, they are said to possess beautiful appearances and strong sexual desires, which is how the rumor spread.
If that saying is true, then the boy in front of her must be the most cherished child of the Goddess of Love.
Even though his lustrous pink hair hadn’t been well-maintained, it shimmered. His skin was smooth without any special treatments.
His sharp features were remarkable, and although he occasionally had a cheeky charm that could captivate women, he also displayed an endearingly carefree demeanor most of the time.
To someone like Lydia, who had never been particularly interested in the opposite sex, Jonah was extremely attractive.
If he were to mature a bit more and groom himself, he would undoubtedly become a breathtaking beauty.
But Jonah’s greatest peculiarity wasn’t his appearance.
“Jonah, this is how you eat it.”
“Yes.”
Jonah continued to eat, awkwardly mimicking Lydia’s movements.
‘Something about this is strange.’
Although he didn’t seem to know the intricacies of etiquette or the proper order of eating, Jonah surprisingly handled the cutlery adeptly.
In reality, Jonah was just a “pork cutlet killer,” someone who had to slice up pork cutlets every three days back on Earth… but to Lydia, who was unaware of that fact, he appeared different.
He understood basic table manners, but was unfamiliar with expensive food, a trait usually found among priests who prize modesty.
It was a complete misinterpretation, but it felt significant to Lydia, who was beginning to suspect Jonah might be from the One Who Devours the Twilight.
One Who Devours the Twilight.
While all the other gods would bring ruin to the world with their foolishness, this being was a fervent believer in the Goddess of Love, loving everything wholly and consistently.
They believed without doubt that the Goddess of Love was the one true deity and should be the owner of all miracles in the world.
Thus, no matter how unethical their actions, they would carry them out without hesitation.
This included dissecting someone who had gained a miracle from a dead god in the Labyrinth to steal their power, and conducting human experiments to determine how far someone could go if they believed they were also loved by the Goddess.
And various studies targeting those with pink hair who received the Goddess’ favor.
Everything was seen as a way to repay the Goddess of Love’s love, so they had no hesitation or doubts.
Naturally, orthodox sects believing in the Goddess of Love fiercely opposed this, declaring the One Who Devours the Twilight a cult.
Many nations and adventurer guilds also categorized them as an extremely dangerous criminal organization, hunting them down wherever they were found.
They effectively made the entire world their enemy. The reason why the One Who Devours the Twilight still survived and spread their infamy was simple.
They had their base not on the surface but in the Labyrinth.
And Jonah was a child who had been abducted and raised in a branch of the One Who Devours the Twilight from a young age… or so Lydia thought.
Three years ago. Lydia hadn’t personally experienced the incident that led Ellie to retire as an adventurer. At that time, she had been lacking in skill and hadn’t been able to participate in the hunt.
But having heard from Ellie and done some research, she could deduce the general circumstances.
The branch that Ellie had accompanied high-ranking adventurers on their hunt. The experiments being conducted there were significant.
One was whether they could control monsters blessed by the God of Madness using pieces of the god’s remains.
And the other was… “Does the Goddess love even a child who knows nothing of love?”
The former was just another case of a madman being mad. However, the latter’s experiment was shocking enough to garner attention at the time.
They brought in a very young child who couldn’t remember being loved, and thoroughly indoctrinated them.
They would strip away their emotions, deny the warmth of others, and only drill praises for the Goddess into them.
Once a foundation was laid, they would begin the task of shattering even the smallest self-love.
In this process, they prohibited clothing, ordered self-harm, and if refused, were tortured—using all manners of methods to destroy their sense of shame as well as their protective instincts and break their spirit.
They needed to view themselves as valueless beings without any worth—never loved and unworthy of loving someone else.
Most either died or went insane during this process… but even those who managed to survive would inevitably transform into empty shells.
And what the One Who Devours the Twilight taught these children, who had been robbed of everything, was the art of slaughter.
If cherishing someone is love, then they believed the opposite must be killing someone.
The next step after interrogating the captured prisoners was to make the children made in this way kill each other, leaving only one survivor, and confirm if that child would receive the Goddess’s power….
Fortunately, the research never progressed that far. The hunting team, including Ellie, arrived just as the children were developing their battle skills.
‘Ellie-senpai is a fool but a good person. Even realizing she was disrupting the mission, she wouldn’t have been able to ignore it.’
Ellie pitied the children and wanted to rescue them to help them live normal lives.
But that was the problem. Aside from their coerced faith and battle skills, the children possessed nothing.
Watching the branch of the One Who Devours the Twilight get destroyed before their eyes, and the seemingly absolute zealots being killed, what would the children have thought?
The children felt a rising sense of crisis. Even though they knew it was forced and false, they believed they were about to lose the only faith allowed to them.
Thus, they designated Ellie… and the adventurers as enemies.
The reason why Ellie was stabbed in the back while fighting against the raging floor guardian was such.
If Jonah was one of those children, wouldn’t so much become clear?
The seamless taking of life, the apparent lack of value placed on his own body and pain, his strangely abundant knowledge, and the unusual way he spoke and acted that seemed out of sync with common sense….
And even his abnormal obsession with Ellie.
If Jonah were a thoroughly ruined child at the hands of the One Who Devours the Twilight, all those things that had never made sense would suddenly fall into place.
Of course, there were some practical difficulties.
For instance, location. Ellie’s last extermination operation took place on the sixth floor, which was considered the mid-layer of the Labyrinth.
Moreover, the branch of the One Who Devours the Twilight had been thrown into chaos due to the battle between the floor guardian and Ellie.
Even if he somehow survived that chaos, would it really be possible for him to escape outside the Labyrinth and find a safe zone?
…Normally, it would be close to impossible. However, it was said that most monsters on the sixth floor were targeting only the hunting team due to the manipulations of the One Who Devours the Twilight at that time.
If he could survive there by sheer luck… then surely the Labyrinth would recognize Jonah’s accomplishments and grant him corresponding rewards.
For example… speeds that couldn’t be found in any child of his age.
“Haah.”
Was it because her thoughts were becoming complicated? Lydia didn’t even enjoy her delicious meal and inadvertently let out a sigh.
Jonah, who had been discreetly eyeing Lydia’s plate, jumped in surprise and quickly pulled back his fork. Then, with a worried expression, he asked, “Lydia? Is there something bothering you?”
“Yeah. I got sad because Jonah was trying to steal my steak.”
“Steal? Please just say we’re sharing! Look, like this….”
“Giving me salad and taking the meat is an unfair trade.”
“Tsk.”
Such a brazen attitude. Jonah had been like this from the moment they first met.
When he intended to save her, he had taken the chance to escape on his own. Then he pretended like he knew nothing and just thanked her for rescuing him.
“…Jonah.”
“Yes?”
“When you defeated the Twin Dagger Clan Leader, why did you pretend not to notice?”
“Gulp!”
Did he not expect her to ask something like this? Coughing, Jonah hurriedly took a sip of water and then laughed as if it was absurd.
“What? You were picking at me because you were curious about that?”
“Answer me.”
“W-Well… it wasn’t that significant, really…”
Looking a bit embarrassed, Jonah averted his gaze and continued.
“I really like rescue narratives.”
“Rescue narrative?”
“Yeah. You know, the typical story where a girl… boy is kidnapped by a villain, and a hero comes in dramatically to save them. An intense first meeting. Emotions starting from pity and admiration that develop into love as they get to know each other… It’s a common cliché, but that just makes it more romantic, right?”
“…I don’t really get it. I haven’t read many books of that kind.”
“I’ll tell you about a few good ones later… Anyway, our first meeting felt like the introduction to a rescue narrative, so I just said something a kidnapped boy might say.”
“Rescue….”
Lydia pondered Jonah’s words. Could it be that Jonah sees Ellie not as a foe to his faith, but as a savior?
If Lydia had the ability to look into someone’s heart, she would have realized that Jonah was awkwardly recalling the negative comments about his previous life’s narrative, but unfortunately, Lydia lacked that ability.
‘Come to think of it, Ellie-senpai ultimately decided to trust Jonah.’
Regardless of who he truly was, she had declared that she wouldn’t doubt the unwavering kindness he showed her.
Suddenly, Lydia realized that she had been too obsessed with Jonah’s past.
‘What kind of person was Jonah in my own eyes?’
He tried to empathize with Ellie and Lydia’s feelings, made an effort to maintain his morality even in revenge, and somehow seemed to stare at her chest eagerly while urging for affection.
Of course, his hand manners were bad, he seemed a bit psychopathic, and he had a love for playing with women’s emotions…
‘No, that’s a huge problem.’
Even if Jonah’s past was what she thought it was, he had become a much better person. Perhaps in the distant future, he could become an even better person.
‘But I can’t just leave it like that.’
Jonah still needed someone to teach him proper common sense and ways of life.
And that would be her role as his guide.
“Jonah, once you finish eating, let’s go have dessert.”
“Huh? If that’s what Lydia wants, let’s go.”
“Let’s go shopping, too.”
“That’s perfect for digesting.”
Jonah nodded nonchalantly. Seeing that, Lydia wore a sly smile.
‘There’s still plenty of money Ellie-senpai gave me left. I can make a round at the nearby dessert shop, get some weapons tailored at the smithy, and just pay it all off as debt… yes. I can extend the period for his guidance.’
She realized a few months wouldn’t be enough to teach Jonah a normal life.
With determination to take responsibility for Jonah’s life (?), Lydia made up her mind.
Unaware of the tragedy brought forth by deep misunderstandings and a strong sense of responsibility, Jonah secretly switched plates with Lydia’s steak.
It was a growth period.
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