The inn had the same basic menu no matter where you went.
As soon as the two sat down at the table, a stew was served alongside a few pieces of black bread.
Alex picked up his spoon while casually glancing at Yona.
Yona’s expression, while listening to the adventurers’ stories, was far from cheerful, and naturally, Alex’s face wasn’t looking too great either.
While the adventurers were spewing nonsense over their expensive meals, Yona and Alex couldn’t afford to think that lightly about it.
“Yona.”
“……”
“Yona, the stew is getting cold.”
Only after Alex urged her again did Yona snap back to reality, shooting him a glance before picking up her spoon.
Even then, her expression was anything but composed.
There was no doubt that the conversation among those adventurers had affected her in some way.
Drenching his bread in the stew, Alex kept stealing glances at Yona.
Yona’s pale face was devoid of any particular expression.
But there was an undertone of anxiety in her demeanor, subtle enough that only someone who had watched her closely for a long time, like Alex, would notice.
“Yona.”
“Yeah.”
“I know what you’re thinking, and it’s a no-go.”
“…What’s that?”
Yona picked up a piece of bread and soaked it in the broth.
She then poured a glass of milk from the pot and slid it over to Alex.
“That thing, the sanctum or whatever. The Sanctum of Receiving or whatnot. It has nothing to do with us. You got that?”
“I understand. I wasn’t thinking that.”
“Oh, sure you weren’t. After three years of hanging out with you, do you think I don’t know what’s on your mind?”
Alex took a big bite of his bread and washed it down with some milk.
Yona quietly watched him as he ate.
“…Okay, truth be told, I did think maybe we should check it out. After all, I—”
“Because you’re a priest. Right?”
Yona’s thought was abruptly cut off by Alex’s interjection, leaving her silent.
Despite interrupting her, Alex went back to spooning stew into his bowl.
He was right.
Yona had this stubbornness about being a priest in the most peculiar ways.
Whether it was peculiar or not—well, that was entirely up to Alex’s standards, but in comparison to his values, Yona’s insistence on being a priest was quite strong.
Even when she spouted strange things about being a guy and coming from another world, which led everyone to think she was a bit off in the head, it was still one of the reasons everyone liked Yona.
Despite everyone thinking of her as a weird woman for saying strange things about coming from another realm, they still liked Yona for that very reason.
Even though she was just a healer and not treated specially in the cathedral, she proudly identified herself as a priest and acted accordingly.
She didn’t let anyone suffer alone, cared for those in pain, and never overlooked the distressed.
No one disliked Yona, who, while offering the best mercy she could, insisted it was only natural for a priest to do so, claiming, “That’s how I was taught.”
So it was no wonder that even when Yona rambled on—seriously from her perspective—everyone just laughed it off.
With that, Alex felt certain that Yona was indeed thinking this way.
“Yeah. I’m a priest.”
“I knew it.”
Of course, he knew it.
Alex acted nonchalant on the outside, not revealing anything.
“But not right now. Not now. If you’re going now, I can’t go with you.”
Yona stared at Alex, knowing he wouldn’t say that without a reason.
There must be some kind of reason for Alex saying this.
Yona wanted to hear that reason.
“I’ve decided. I want to enjoy this festival with you. There are only two days left, so you can wait just a bit, right? After this festival ends, once we enjoy it, I’ll go with you.”
That was a reason Yona hadn’t even imagined.
Wanting to enjoy the festival with her—how could that be a reason?
“Is that really the reason?”
“Yeah. That’s the reason. Isn’t it a pretty good one?”
Alex wiped his plate, which had stew on it, clean with bread and shoved it into his mouth while staring at Yona.
His black eyes faced Yona without a hint of hesitation, as if he genuinely believed it.
Yona was speechless at Alex’s expression.
The festival—Yona didn’t dislike it. It wasn’t about like or dislike; she was just curious since she had never experienced a festival before.
“Fine, I get it. After the festival, once we enjoy it, let’s check out that sanctuary or whatever it is… that pond. I want to see what’s up with it. And then let’s go look for Kaiyak.”
“Since we’re going that way anyway.”
“Right. Since we’re going that way anyway.”
Yona’s words made Alex nod in agreement.
Alex nodded his head.
Yona, like Alex, wiped the empty plate of stew with bread crumbs and stuffed it into her mouth.
It was delicious.
After finishing dinner and returning to the room, the sun was already sinking towards the horizon.
In the room that Yona returned to with Alex, she opened the closed window.
The chirping of an unknown bird could be heard from afar, and as if responding, another bird began to call out.
Meanwhile, from the chimneys lined in the residential area, not the shopping district, smoke was rising as if people were preparing dinner, alongside the sounds of children shouting from the alleyway.
The village, on the verge of a festival, had transformed into a massive festival ground itself.
Excitement, anticipation, joy, and elation coexisted, pulsing through the town where not a hint of darkness could be seen on anyone’s faces. Thanks to that, laughter echoed endlessly, while the voices and shouts from the taverns and restaurants created a nostalgic scene like dust layering the staircase.
“Alex.”
Yona, standing by the window and looking down at the scene, suddenly called out to Alex.
And from her expectations, without deviation—
“Yeah?”
Alex’s voice responded.
“I just wanted to call you.”
In fact, she didn’t have anything particular to say.
As Yona gazed out the window, darkness began to settle over the streets.
The long shadows cast down every alley were swallowed by the deepening twilight, their boundaries blurring until they merged into one mass of darkness.
The deep orange glow of the sunset gradually dulled before eventually fading into darkness.
Watching this, Yona stepped back and closed the window.
With the window shut, even the sunset light that had been spilling in vanished.
The room was instantly plunged into darkness.
When Alex lit a candle, the room finally brightened.
“I want to wash up.”
Yona said in a lackluster voice as she approached her bed and rummaged through her backpack.
Pulling out a washed pair of underwear—just one panty and a piece of cloth—Yona rolled them up and headed to the bathroom.
Alex merely watched her back without saying anything.
‘Though I did make a vow.’
It wasn’t until Yona entered the bathroom and locked the door that Alex lay back down on his bed.
The inn, built of timber, lacked any specific ceiling finish, exposing the wooden structure above, and as Alex gazed at the wooden beams, he fell deep into thought.
Currently, Alex’s dilemma revolved around that very thing.
Honestly, when looking at the tattoo itself, it wasn’t really a problem.
Looking at it on its own, it doesn’t seem to be much of a problem.
Just because Yona has a tattoo doesn’t mean she stops being Yona; she is more than enough as Yona.
It’s been a few years since I’ve left the Church Region under the golden decree.
And after wandering around, I encountered Yona, but I never expected to be completely captivated like this.
‘Looks like I have no choice but to go with the plan.’
I spent time in the Church Region, and also time as an adventurer.
In the meantime, I hardly had any experiences with women, and somehow it all led back to this dilemma.
I did make some plans.
But it might be too harsh for Yona.
‘…Will it be okay?’
It would surely be a huge shock for Yona.
If I proceed as planned, it will hit her pretty hard.
But I couldn’t think of a better way than that plan.
I thought about slowly developing a good relationship and taking things step by step, but that seems impossible too.
With my limited experience, trying to seduce Yona is way beyond my capabilities.
The line I threw at Yona, that must have been quite a bold move for me.
Every day I see a pretty face, and that face is Yona.
That line was a big deal for me to say, you know!
But then, after being laughed at so much by Yona, I now have no idea what to do next.
I don’t even know women’s hearts, much less women themselves.
So I have no clue where to start or how to begin.
I was pumped up with determination, and that was great.
But now I’m lost on where to start or what to do.
‘…There’s no further way to go.’
One problem I think Yona has is the delusion that she was originally a man.
Through this situation, I learned that it isn’t just a delusion—but that doesn’t prove she was really a man, does it?
It could just be some magic that randomly switches genders.
So I should probably start by making her aware that she’s a girl now, no matter her past—
Yona probably doesn’t dislike me, that’s for sure.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stuck around for nearly three years at all, so it must be true.
So this festival is definitely an opportunity.
I could hear the sound of water, indicating Yona must be starting to wash up.
With each splash, my worries only grew deeper.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
