The Alebians, who were expected to be a bit more clingy, surprisingly disappeared quietly.
Leaving behind a message to come to the Mage Tower tomorrow to look for the Alebians, she faded away.
Only after her figure vanished through the inn’s door did Yona realize she had forgotten to ask why the Alebians were here.
‘…I guess being a mage means hanging around the tower.’
If she started to doubt that, then there were way too many suspicious points about the Alebians.
For now, Yona decided to put that aside.
Rubbing her belly, Yona gazed at Alex absentmindedly.
The shiny bald head reflected the evening glow streaming through the shop’s window, sparkling bright as ever.
‘…What on earth is this guy’s deal?’
Come to think of it, Yona realized she had never really thought about Alex at all.
But that wasn’t strange for her.
Adventurers don’t usually spill the beans about their pasts, and if someone asks, the usual answer is just, “Why should I care about that?”
Yona didn’t particularly hide her past.
But her past was just that she grew up in a cathedral orphanage, became a healer, and crawled into the Adventurer’s Guild, and that she was formerly a guy from another world.
And by that alone, rumors had already spread that she was a bit off in the head.
Thus, Yona never bothered to ask Alex about his past either.
After all, he was just your average bald guy who learned how to shield bash somewhere along the line and has been rolling around since.
But she found out that wasn’t the case.
‘He looked like a Holy Knight.’
While she was thinking that, Alex was tearing a leftover piece of bread.
The bread, which had gone cold, wasn’t fluffy like it was when warm, but even cold bread has its charms.
Alex soaked the piece of bread in the stew broth and suddenly offered it to Yona.
“Here, the last piece of bread.”
Although her belly was full, it was a gesture of goodwill from him.
Yona turned her gaze toward Alex and smoothly moved her head.
“Ah—”
“…Wait.”
Yona’s movement to accept the bread from Alex’s hand abruptly halted.
Her head returned to its original position, and she eventually took the piece of bread from his hand.
“Hey, Baldy. We have some stuff to talk about, right?”
“…Uh, yeah.”
Alex nodded with a somewhat reluctant expression.
Actually, I thought Yona wasn’t saying much and that it would just slide by, but that turned out not to be the case.
“Let’s go to my room.”
“Okay.”
After leaving a few coins on the table, Yona and Alex stood up from their seats.
*
Yona’s room on the third floor was right next to Alex’s room.
With a bathtub, Yona’s room was one of only four on each floor, located at the very end on the outer part.
It had to be in a position where water could be easily filled and drained, so it couldn’t be helped.
“Brr, it’s cold.”
As Yona stepped through the door, a blast of cold air made her shiver.
Alex, who followed in after her, slightly frowned as well.
“Why do we even need a bathtub room? Aren’t we fine using the communal bath?”
“Do you really have no sense at times like this? With my arms like this, do you think I could wash well in a communal bath? Seriously?”
At Yona’s sharp words, Alex finally shut his mouth with a muffled “Oh.”
“Come, sit here.”
As Yona sat on the bed, she patted the space next to her.
But instead of sitting beside her, Alex dragged a somewhat decorative chair from the table and plopped down in front of her.
“…Dumbass.”
“Yeah.”
Alex slowly sorted through his thoughts in his head.
“Why did you hide it?”
“I’m actually a holy knight… Huh?”
He expected her to ask about his identity first, but the question of why he hid it caught him off guard.
In that moment, his neatly organized thoughts got all tangled up in a flash.
“No, I know you’re a holy knight. I can tell, being a priest myself. Can’t I recognize the divine energy? That aura you unleashed, it’s all divine. The thing that knights ignite when they get pumped up.”
That pale smoke rising through the gap of the helmet and visor—that was the very thing called true divine.
The same divine energy that shot up from Alex’s body as he stood against Vervaria.
Alex studied Yona’s face.
Though she usually had a somewhat fierce expression, there was still some familiarity from rolling around in the dirt together for years.
To Alex, it didn’t seem like Yona was particularly angry right now.
“Why did you hide it? I understand that you’re a holy knight, and I know for sure you can’t be of the same rank as me. But why did you keep it a secret and how long were you planning to fool me? That’s what I’m curious about.”
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Yona had that teasing expression on her face, making Alex awkwardly scratch the bridge of his nose to avoid her gaze.
“Uh, um.”
With Yona’s intense gaze on him, Alex quickly tried to think.
Should he confess now?
He didn’t rank up because he wanted to be with her.
If he leveled up, he wouldn’t be able to take quests with her, right?
All of it was because he wanted to be with her.
So it happened.
But at that moment, Alex’s gaze fell upon Yona’s left arm.
That left arm, hidden under the nun’s habit, became a new source of concern for Yona.
It was a tattoo, a sign that something had possessed her—whether it was Vervaria or a mere fragment, who could tell.
She must be feeling confused because of it.
Even if she acted as if nothing were wrong, who could say if she truly felt that way?
Was there really a need for such a confession at such a moment? It didn’t seem so.
And at the very least, she wanted to confess in a more romantic setting, and besides, if she confessed now, it didn’t seem like Yona would accept it anyway.
For Yona, who had come to the Mage Community with the single-minded thought of returning to being a man, confessing now would be a total failure.
No matter how inexperienced Alex was with love, he clearly understood that this was not the right time for a confession.
“Why aren’t you speaking?”
Yona’s golden eyes were piercing into Alex.
“I… actually didn’t want to say anything. I wanted to keep it a secret. Everyone has a past they’d like to hide, right?”
That was Alex’s answer after a long silence.
And Yona was stunned to hear that.
*
If you asked if she was angry, it was a no.
If you asked her if she felt hurt, it was still a no.
Surprisingly, Yona was calm.
Normally, she would have definitely created a scene, scratching at him with questions like, “Why have you been lying to me this whole time?” or “Was it fun pretending to be on the same level while deceiving me?”
But Yona didn’t feel that way now.
No, to be precise, she wanted to say those things but couldn’t find the words.
Whenever her emotions surged, it was as if Alex felt it and stood right there in front of her.
Alex had been the one to block her path when she was almost overwhelmed by Vervaria.
He had stood firm like a mountain, protecting her.
With the determination of someone reciting invocations, he seemed ready to strike down Vervaria.
And then—
‘…No, I shouldn’t be thinking about this right now.’
When Vervaria unleashed its poison breath, Alex had plunged his shield into the ground and pulled Yona into an embrace.
It seemed impossible, but she felt like she could still sense his warmth.
Memories slowly emerged one by one.
‘This is why I can’t get angry.’
Yona quietly stared at Alex.
He was sitting there, hands clasped together, nervously fidgeting with his fingers.
He was as big as a mountain, yet at times like this, he resembled a puppy.
He realized he had done something wrong, so he couldn’t even look Yona in the eye.
Having blurted it out, he now seemed unable to handle the aftermath, avoiding her gaze.
Yona couldn’t even bear to look at him.
How could she possibly get angry after seeing that?
How could she be mad asking why he deceived her?
What could she say about how long he planned to keep lying?
Could she mock him by asking if it was fun to deceive her?
‘…It can’t be.’
Yona smirked bitterly to herself.
Three years, such a long time.
To be precise, two and a half years, now crossing two years and seven months.
Haven’t they spent all that time together?
Crossing the line of life and death for that long…
‘Wait a second.’
“Hey, Alex.”
“Huh?”
Yona felt something was off.
“If you were a holy knight, then why can’t you use divine power now? This is something I need to know. You can’t hide this too.”
Those questions lingered.
Why couldn’t Alex, who had been a holy knight, use divine power normally?
Furthermore, why hadn’t Yona felt even a hint of divine power from Alex?
And how on earth did he get knocked down so easily by that Dullahan?
“…It’s a bit complicated. My divine power is under a restriction, so I can’t use it. I can only use pure physical strength.”
“Restriction?”
It’s rare for divine powers to be restricted in the Church of the Celestial God.
Unless something major went wrong, it’s unusual to end up facing a restriction.
Like if someone committed apostasy, or protected a heretic… those are the two things that come to mind right now.
“It’s not apostasy. That’s really not it. So Yona, your position as a priestess isn’t in danger. It’s just something personal… that happened.”
Yona narrowed her eyes.
Alex glanced at Yona but quickly looked down as soon as their eyes met.
“…I’d rather not say right now. But I promise I’ll tell you the truth. Just understand a bit, okay?”
Alex looked almost like a drenched puppy at that moment.
Yona couldn’t help but think that.
She had insisted that this was something she had to know, that he shouldn’t hide this from her.
But seeing Alex like this made those thoughts melt away like snow.
And as for Alex, the holy knight, who accepted the demon Yona—
– …I am on your side, no matter what. Even if you become something other than human, I will always be on your side.
How could she ever forget those words?
“…You have to tell me later. You’re not hiding anything else, right?”
“Nothing. Really, nothing.”
Yona crossed her arms while sitting.
Alex’s gaze briefly drifted to her chest and quickly darted back down.
“…Do you trust me?”
“Yeah, you can trust me. Really.”
Yona nodded slowly.
Internally, she let out a long sigh.
But what could she do?
Since Alex said so, she had no choice but to believe him.
“…Don’t deceive me, it hurts my heart.”
Yona mumbled without even realizing what she was saying.
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