“Why the heck are they coming here again?”
Yona was rolling around on the bed with a bored expression.
As soon as she arrived in the Church Region, she met Ceres, and she had hoped that it would mean things would wrap up a bit faster.
From Yona’s perspective, whether it was the hero and his party or not, she just wanted to quickly get rid of her tattoos and finish her own business.
“But I can’t say I didn’t have a bad feeling about it…”
As the expectations grew, so did the disappointment; Yona tried her best not to get her hopes up. She had confirmed that the tattoo on her right arm, which had already spread to her chest, could be removed, so she felt fine about that. But the one on her left arm was no ordinary tattoo.
It was a mark of a demon from the demon realm, a clear sign of Vervaria, who was supposedly quite the big shot.
To remove it, she’d probably have to either drive Vervaria away or kill him.
But could that even be possible? – She thought about it and felt negative.
Learning that the hero’s party was also coming here only soured Yona’s mood further.
For some reason, every time she saw Ludvik, it made her feel worse.
Hearing that he was a hero personally appointed by the divine made it even worse.
She wasn’t fond of what Priest Vigrind was doing either; nothing about their antics was to her liking.
So she was glad when they started moving separately, but the thought of running into them again made her feel frustrated.
“Why is it so hot?”
Yona finally sat up abruptly from the bed.
The Church Region was naturally carpeted with heat-retaining stones, so it should be cool in summer and warm in winter.
But right now, she was feeling way beyond warm—it was crazily hot.
It was hot enough that she felt she could fry an egg on herself even while just lying there, with sweat pouring off her.
“What the heck…?”
Eventually, she got off the bed and moved to the window.
When she cracked it open a bit, the cold wind came rushing in fiercely, and instead of feeling chilly, she surprisingly found it refreshing.
“Now that’s better…”
Speaking of which, Vervaria had been strangely silent. By now, she would expect him to be yammering something weird in her head, but since they entered the Church Region, he hadn’t said a peep. The silence was actually nice, so Yona decided not to call for Vervaria.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t exactly normal to hear someone else whispering in your head. Isn’t it stranger to find it odd when you don’t hear those voices?
Getting used to something is scary, and as Yona thought this, a chill ran down her spine, making her hug her arms and tremble.
“…Huh?”
Then Yona noticed an unusual warmth in her right hand—the heat was pouring out from her left arm.
Curious, she touched her left arm, feeling the heat radiating from her shoulder to her wrist.
“Aha.”
Since Berbaria was residing in her left arm.
This little rascal was quietly causing trouble here, rebelling against the sanctity of this Church Region. That’s why it was so hot!
‘Telling me to become a Saint and spouting nonsense, serves you right, you damn brat!’
Even after cursing, Berbaria’s voice didn’t come through. Thinking her deductions were correct, Yona let out a playful giggle. Even though the heat was coming from her own arm, she found joy in imagining Berbaria getting a taste of her own medicine.
*
There was news that the heroic party was coming from Kapatia Port to the Church Region, and Yona had business with Ceres, who in turn had business with the heroic party.
Because of that, Yona had no choice but to stay in the Church Region until Ceres finished her affairs—until the heroic party arrived and Ceres’ business was done.
“Sigh…”
Yona sighed deeply. Even as she watched Rubina playing with other kids in the meadows, she let out another long sigh.
Supposing the tattoo could be removed, she had heard from Alebians that it was because of that tattoo that she couldn’t return to being a man, but she couldn’t tell if it was because of her own curse or Berbaria. Even if she got purified by Ceres and removed the tattoo, Berbaria would likely remain, and even if she went to Eskara for treatment afterward, it wasn’t guaranteed to succeed.
‘…Above all, whether to undergo treatment or not…’
Honestly, it was true that Alex held significant importance to Yona. She couldn’t deny that. But to become a woman just because of him? That wouldn’t be fair to Alex either.
If she undergoes treatment, she would achieve one of the two goals she had been pursuing this whole time. And that would mean parting ways with Alex. Even if she returned to being a man, Alex would likely smile weakly and say it was for the best. That much was certain. But if she thought about whether that was truly Alex’s genuine feelings, it seemed unlikely.
“That won’t be the case, surely.”
Little by little, drifting away, until eventually, they’d be gone forever. With a different healer sticking close to Alex, who usually traveled with Yona, they were laughing and chatting—“Today, the healing was just spot on!” “Really?” “Of course! You’re the best!” “Hehe! I’m definitely better than that other girl, right!?” “Absolutely!”
‘…What? Nonsense.’
Yona clenched her fist without realizing it. What kind of crazy thought was this? Just by looking into Alex’s eyes, she could tell exactly what he was up to. No one could treat Alex better than Yona could. It was ridiculous.
“No… that can’t be it. What am I thinking?”
At this rate, it definitely felt like jealousy. Yona vigorously shook her head to clear that thought away.
So if she decided not to undergo the procedure, she’d just go on living as a woman. With her smooth, fair skin free of tattoos, living as a beauty everyone would admire.
If that happened, Yona would lose both of her dreams, not because she didn’t return to being a man, but because she deliberately chose to stay a woman. Naturally, she wouldn’t be able to return to her original world either.
‘Still, I could probably hang out with Alex like this, right?’
That seemed likely. Alex would still travel with her, just like always. Together, no matter what. Eventually, they’d end up sharing a room on quests… and then…
‘…Wait, does that mean that guy has groped my chest multiple times?’
Yona suddenly thought of that. The “breast groping coupon,” with its slightly embarrassing name in Yona’s mind, only seemed to have been given once, but how many times had he actually used it? Once with a troll, and then the next time…
‘But doesn’t that count as void? I let him touch it directly.’
Thinking about it, that was true. Before undergoing the male regression procedure, Alex had seemed upset, so Yona had let him use the coupon, but strictly speaking, it wasn’t like Alex had insisted—she had taken his hand herself and let him grope her!
‘So then… it’s void.’
That meant she still had one coupon left.
If she didn’t return to being a man, it meant Alex had one coupon left.
And if he decided to use that coupon—well, maybe Alex…
“Whoa!”
Yona noticed Rubina stumbling. Playing and running around with the kids, Rubina must have tripped on a rock, and Yona found herself sprinting toward her without even thinking about it.
Suddenly, I was dashing toward Rubina.
“Rubina!”
As I quickly lifted her up, her dress was covered in dirt. Soon, I noticed a bright red stain seeping from her knee.
Rubina bit her lip tightly, trying not to cry, but tears were pooling in her eyes. Just when I thought she was doing great at holding back the tears, I crouched down to wipe her eyes with my nun’s robe when a boy timidly approached me.
“Um, um…”
“Yeah?”
As I turned my gaze to the boy, he flinched at my golden eyes and then immediately looked down.
“I’m sorry…”
“Huh? For what?”
I genuinely didn’t know why he was apologizing. From what I saw, Rubina had tripped while running around all by herself, so I couldn’t figure out why this kid was saying sorry.
“I was it, the seeker… and while I was chasing, Rubina tripped because of me…”
“Oh, I see.”
Looks like he thought Rubina fell because of his mistake. Yeah, that could happen. It wouldn’t make sense to scold him for that. So I let out a little grunt and stood up, giving the boy a gentle pat on the head.
“Rubina fell while running all on her own, so it’s fine that you didn’t say sorry. But it was nice to see you wanting to apologize because you thought it was your fault. You’re such a man, huh?”
I smiled sweetly.
Then the boy peeked up at my face and his cheeks flushed bright red.
“Rubina, you really fell by yourself, right? He didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Yep, Tony didn’t do anything wrong.”
“See? Rubina says it’s okay, so there’s no need for you to feel down about it. Got it?”
“Y-Yes…”
Tony’s voice was small, but he still managed to answer clearly.
Seeing that, I felt quite pleased and smiled.
“Alright, go on and play again. It’s okay. Kids can have those little accidents.”
“Okay, big sis! Let’s go, Tony!”
“Uh, uh-oh.”
Tony grabbed Rubina’s outstretched hand and they both dashed off.
Watching the two, I wore a satisfied smile.
I could’ve healed the scrape on Rubina’s knee, but I chose not to.
As they grow up, kids will get scrapes like that, and once the scab forms and new skin grows over it, the scab will eventually fall off.
In life, you’re bound to get hurt sometimes.
They also need to learn how to overcome those wounds themselves.
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