“Saintess.”
Ares immediately bows his head and greets Lucia politely. Even though they were the same age and had a friendly relationship, they maintained a clear distance inside the cathedral.
“Ares, I’ve heard that you’re participating in the expedition this time.”
However, Ares, noticing that Lucia was speaking not as a saintess but as Lucia, awkwardly nodded.
“Yeah, since the other paladins and the bishops kept asking, I had no choice.”
Originally, Ares was quite skeptical about the expedition, but the pressure from above was too intense to ignore.
Upon hearing that, Lucia’s expression darkened further.
“That’s the problem. They’re so confident about this expedition’s success that they’re forcing you, the cathedral’s top power, into it.”
“What?”
The implication that they had high hopes for its success.
“You found Rin?”
A girl who had been hiding for three years without anyone catching a glimpse of her?
“Two weeks ago, there was an incident in Nirva. The entire city suddenly went dark.”
“Dark?”
Lucia continued to explain to Ares, who couldn’t fully grasp it.
“From 12:38 PM to 12:40 PM, suddenly the sun disappeared, and the whole city was engulfed in darkness.”
“And you think Rin did that? That sounds a bit far-fetched?”
“The important part is that there are people who claim to have seen someone with a face similar to Rin’s when that darkness fell.”
“Ha.”
It’s rare for anyone capable of stealing the light of a massive city like Nirva to exist on the continent. If someone had indeed seen a face resembling Rin’s, it was almost a certainty.
“But she was hiding in Nirva?”
Ares mulled over the city’s name. During the winter vacation of their third year at the academy, they’d all gone to Nirva via an eccentric’s warp.
Actually, it wasn’t Nirva, but a virtual space created by a sorcerer named Sharcarl.
“Do you know anything about it?”
At Lucia’s question, Ares nodded with certainty.
“One of my classmates, Hayun Len, lives in Nirva. I’m guessing she might be there.”
“Ah!”
Lucia clapped her hands in agreement. With Rin’s location partially identified, she cautiously suggested.
“Ares, I’m making a personal request. Please bring Rin back safely.”
“Bring her back, you say?”
“Yeah, the bishops and paladins seem to want to kill her to restore Batian’s status, but that’s pretty much witch hunting.”
“……”
“I think it’s problematic to punish a girl who hasn’t committed any crimes yet, just based on the possibility of her doing so. Management might be necessary, though.”
Since Rin and Lucia weren’t directly related, this wasn’t just as friends; it was really Lucia’s personal stance.
Ares thought it was actually a good thing. At least there was a powerful ally willing to support Rin even within the cathedral.
“Just bringing her back will do. As long as we avoid some foolish immediate execution and deliver her to the trial, I’ll find a way to save her.”
“Lucia.”
“Honestly, the one suffering the most in this world is probably her.”
“……”
“It’s not just me. I’ve already spoken with Jane, the Dragoness. She shares the same thoughts.”
The kingdom’s saintess collaborating with the dragonkin’s goddess would have a substantial impact, and their resolve to fight for their positions was evident.
“Thank you.”
Therefore, Ares expressed his gratitude to the saintess as Rin’s childhood friend.
“What I can do is just this. Ultimately, it’s you, Ares, who matters. I’ll leave it to you.”
As Lucia turned to head out the door, she suddenly turned her head slightly as if she had forgotten something.
“By the way, did you get those baby socks?”
“I got them. Arni loved them.”
“That’s a relief.”
BANG!
As Lucia left, Ares clenched his hand tightly. His fist, filled with unyielding belief and determination, trembled slightly.
“I’ll take over, Daniel.”
He vowed to protect all the things Daniel McLean had tried to safeguard.
“So, watch over me.”
Now, Ares swore that he would keep watch.
*
THUD!
“Ha, heh.”
The chess piece landed on the board, and the victory and defeat were clearly defined. Lightly rolling his eyes in a panic, wondering if there was somehow a next move, the goddess declared without mercy.
“Checkmate.”
“……”
The proclamation of victory. The goddess’s mouth curved into a grin from the thrill of winning. He didn’t want to admit it, but there was no helping it.
“Okay, I lost.”
This guy really plays chess like a seasoned pro.
If someone as clueless as me felt the wall, it definitely meant she’s a high-level player.
“Ugh, this is boring! Boring! Daniel McLean!”
“……”
“How could you be so bad at this? Look here. You moved your knight like this.”
And the post-game analysis was flawless.
As if she were rewinding to recall every single move we had made, she moved the chess pieces backward.
Watching the goddess, who was getting all giddy, I was starting to think losing wasn’t that bad.
“Is that even a reasonable move? You’re really pathetic.”
“You moved your queen in the worst way! Don’t you know how important a queen is?”
“Read the game? If you think about it, it’s easy, so why can’t you do that?”
“……”
The stakes were raised. After winning once, her confidence soared, and she became all cocky, chuckling away without a care for sportsmanship.
“How could someone so smart lose to me on the continent?”
“Ugh!”
As I tried to pull her down from her high horse by bringing up the past, she hesitated before spilling her excuses.
“I couldn’t help that! Who knew a guy like you would pop up? It’s like a king suddenly moving like a queen in chess!”
“Yeah, yeah. Sure, you did.”
“Ugh!”
With her fists clenched, the goddess started setting up chess pieces again.
“Let’s play another game!”
“Not interested. I know I’ll lose, so why bother?”
“But it’s fun!”
“It’s not fun.”
Waking up from my bed, I headed straight for the torture devices in the corner of the room. They were meant for binding people and hanging them, but I was using them for pull-ups nowadays.
Having shrunk in size, once I got up there, I rarely came back down.
“Ah! Let’s play!”
not a kid.
She seemed so excited about wanting to keep playing since she found her winning streak. But seeing her pout with a face that looked around thirty was quite the sight.
“How about you join me for some exercise? We can clean up afterward.”
“Ugh, I don’t want to exercise.”
Immediately, the goddess flopped down on the bed. Not surprised, I ignored her and just started doing pull-ups.
Before long, she had come over and crossed her arms.
“Hurry up. I’m going to do mine next.”
“It’ll take me a while.”
“That’s fine! Just do it! I can’t do pull-ups without you holding me up!”
I couldn’t help but snicker. Just a moment ago, I thought her childish behavior was embarrassing considering her appearance, but now she seemed adorable.
“How many are you doing?”
While I continued my pull-ups, I heard her muttering behind me. Suddenly, a circular distortion appeared next to the goddess.
I paused in surprise, but she made a dismissive gesture and opened her mouth nonchalantly.
“What’s going on?”
I thought something was coming through the distortion, but it wasn’t. It looked similar to the time I communicated with the goddess of time, but this time, the face popping out belonged to the god of life.
He frowned at the goddess of death, questioning her.
“What’s with that outfit?”
“What about it?”
The god of life seemed displeased with the goddess in her black workout clothes, but the goddess shrugged it off with indifference.
“It’s comfortable. I’ve been working out hard lately.”
“Hardly…”
Before I knew it, the goddess reached out and covered my mouth. Since my face wasn’t visible on the screen, the god of life looked puzzled before sighing and speaking.
“I heard Daniel McLean is by your side.”
“Ah, yeah. We’re together.”
So time filled him in?
“I have one piece of advice. Hold onto Daniel McLean tightly.”
“……Huh?”
The god of life wore a stern and cold expression as if delivering a command.
“Time is attempting to resurrect Daniel McLean alongside others on the continent.”
“……!”
Neither the goddess of death nor myself could believe it. Trying to resurrect him? Is that even possible?
“It is indeed possible. An elf named Eris happens to possess a fragment of Daniel McLean.”
“So that’s why he looked like a 10-year-old.”
Upon hearing that, the goddess of death seemed to understand, nodding.
“I’ve provided information on the possibility and method of resurrecting Daniel McLean. So from now on, listen closely to what I say…”
The god of life paused for a moment, maintaining a stiff expression.
“Stop his resurrection.”
