At my question, perhaps because young Deadrian was convinced they would leave the temple, their rigid face momentarily softened then quickly stiffened.
“……I don’t know why you’re suddenly asking such a question, but I have no occasion to leave.”
It was fleeting, but wariness passed through their blue eyes. It was natural since a person they met for the first time today because of a Divine Oracle was saying something like grasping at clouds before parting.
With one hand gesture, I completely removed the barrier, adjusted young Ruvlian in my arms, and bent my knees. It was because of the child who had been holding their head up so stiffly it would hurt their neck. If God had been nearby, they would have checked my soul first, saying I was being uncharacteristically kind.
As the distance between our faces closed, young Deadrian unconsciously pulled their neck back. While meeting the child’s eyes, I began speaking. As lightly as possible, as if I just wanted to tell them.
“My close friend was a priest, and they really hated the temple.”
I recalled Deadrian who tore apart the tightly closed priest’s robes saying they hated them and wore light clothing. I recalled Deadrian who once wandered the forest barefoot without shoes, got wounds on their feet, yet quickly healed and smiled. They reminded me of a bird flying freely in the sky.
“They eventually left the temple and traveled with me, and were tremendously happy. They abhorred the temple’s regulations very much. They said they liked being free and even thought about leaving the temple entirely.”
“……”
“They had excellent Divine Power like you. They were picked as the next Pope.”
I learned about things like nobility and power structures from Montrio and Deadrian. So there was no way I could forget that they had been mentioned as the next Pope, that they had even received overwhelming support with the most abundant Divine Power in history.
I spoke as if whispering to young Deadrian, who pursed their lips in a line and hardened their expression even more.
“I hope you can live like that too. Not bound by regulations, freely. However you want to.”
“Why are you saying such things to me?”
Because you’re my close friend. I buried the truthful inner feelings I couldn’t speak below.
Wariness and desperation. Looking at the blue eyes turbid with emotions that couldn’t harmonize, I raised the corners of my mouth faintly. Except for smiling just once recently, I’d rarely smiled, so my rising lips felt awkward.
“Because you resemble the close friend I mentioned.”
“I don’t like pity.”
Young Deadrian’s face, who spoke bluntly, crumpled sharply. I kindly corrected the child.
“It’s not pity.”
This is affection. At the same time, it’s also a word of thanks conveyed to a close friend I’ll never see again, who let me experience various things.
My voice still had no variation in pitch, so it might sound indifferent. However, the child seemed to feel something from my words that it wasn’t pity. The sharply raised thorns became round. I decided to leak the future just a tiny bit for the last time.
This was a thing of the past. So leaking the future was dangerous, but my comrade Deadrian must have heard my affirmation in childhood.
To me, who is selfish and only takes care of my people.
Otherwise, the future might twist slightly, but I could be confident it was right. There was no way Deadrian would have given me thanks saying it was thanks to me for no reason after we became close. I wondered what ambiguous words those were at the time, but now I understand. Looking back at what happened, I believe it even more.
As a mere human, not God, I spoke an affirmation close to prophecy. In a voice still without highs and lows, that could be felt as hollow.
“You will become like my close friend. You’ll have comrades too, and you’ll travel.”
“……”
“Also, you’ll taste freedom. Of course you’ll face hardships, but in the end you’ll be happy.”
Will they be happy? Actually, I don’t know about the last words. After the subjugation ended, I immediately returned to the original world. That was just my wish. Since they worked hard as the Hero’s companion, I hoped they would travel comfortably and enjoy freedom happily.
Changing Demon King subjugation to travel felt like becoming a fraud. However, it couldn’t be helped since leaking a perfect future was dangerous. Vagueness that concealed things appropriately like a Divine Oracle was best.
Having said everything I wanted to say, I straightened my bent knees. The height difference widened in an instant, and the eye levels became different. After glancing at Ruvlian who somehow had a displeased face, I touched the door without a handle. While capturing in my eyes the scene of the door opening by itself, I turned my head slightly.
“Cause some trouble and try everything you want to do. And thank you for guiding us.”
“Wait……!”
It seemed they wanted to say more, but we had already entered the place to receive the Divine Oracle as if being sucked in with a white flash. I thought they’d manage well since I’d said everything I wanted to say. It was none other than Deadrian with a quick brain.
I withdrew my attention from the child and looked closely at the place before my eyes. Grooves about 30cm long were carved in a line on both floors, and clear, transparent water was contained within them. Around the grooves carved in a line, an unrecognizable language sparkled in gold. Where the line of grooves stopped, there were about three steps, and above them, two statues embodying God were positioned symmetrically based on a shallowly raised circular area. In front of the circularly raised area, there existed a white tombstone with nothing written on it.
As expected, there was a reason for the sense of déjà vu. This was the place where I first met God.
I thought if I climbed the stairs and went to the circularly raised place, God would appear. Though it was a different God, when I was selected as a Hero and first met God in a dream, God was in that place.
“Ruvlian.”
While moving my fingers habitually, I turned to look at Ruvlian to tell him to go there. His expression wasn’t very good. He looked dissatisfied when speaking to young Deadrian too, so I don’t know what bothers him so much.
Honestly, I wanted to ask what point he didn’t like. However, the question of whether it’s okay to ask always naturally follows. That’s because we had a scheduled parting.
Both when subjugating the Demon King and now. The scheduled parting was unchangingly lingering by our side. Since we weren’t born in the same world, ‘together’ was impossible.
If Ruvlian heard this, he’d gently act cute and say we’d live together forever, but the rules of the world didn’t allow that. Even if he received God’s blessing and protection, once the balance was disrupted, it was the end. Moreover, since God also said that suppressing desires then releasing them all at once makes you become the Demon King, there were many restrictions if it wasn’t one’s own world.
“Sihyeon, won’t you ask?”
As if noticing me being evasive, Ruvlian spoke in a sulky tone. Having opened the door to conversation, he clearly expresses his intention for me to hurry and ask.
I agonized. Whether to play innocent, or be dragged along by the pull as always. If someone saw my behavior, they would certainly be frustrated. We know each other’s hearts, but for the single reason of scheduled parting, we’re playing ostrich.
As my answer was delayed, Ruvlian took one of my hands and rubbed his lips on my palm. The sensation of soft, yielding lips was too vivid, making my face flush hot. A light kiss on the palm was nothing. However, it wasn’t this kind of sticky contact.
When I tried to pull my hand away sharply, it wouldn’t come out. Rather, after the soft sensation, a tongue with hot temperature warmly licked up my palm then made sucking sounds as it sucked up the skin. Beneath the playfully curved eyes visible through my fingers, clear pupils were full of desire.
“Won’t you answer me?”
Because his lips were touching my palm, hot breath was wholly conveyed. I could instinctively know that if I didn’t answer, he would continue such acts.
“I will, so let go first.”
“Okay.”
Smack. Ruvlian, who pressed his lips audibly then released them, let go of my hand. Perhaps because it was my palm, no red mark remained. That was fortunate.
The problem was the saliva. Normally I would have used Clean magic, but this was inside the temple. I couldn’t use magic. The water there was probably holy water, so it was awkward to wipe.
“I won’t do anything. Please give me your hand again for a moment.”
After looking at Ruvlian with distrustful eyes, I held out my hand. Then Ruvlian took out a handkerchief from his inner pocket and gently wiped my palm. Because it was a touch as if handling something very precious, I bit my lips tightly.
“Do you like young children?”
Ruvlian, who had finished wiping and let go of my hand, asked. It was an extension of the question about why I smiled at young Deadrian earlier.
“I don’t particularly like them.”
“……Really?”
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. I took care of you because it’s you guys. When I was a Hero, did you see me playing with or taking care of other kids?”
I firmly hammered the point to the suspicious Ruvlian. During my Hero days, I had pitied children in the marketplace but never held them like this or directly said things similar to prophecy. Ruvlian, who never left my side, would know best.
“No. I didn’t see it.”
“There’s no big reason for smiling either. I just felt like I should.”
There wasn’t a particularly big reason. The words ‘just because’ really suited it best. Ruvlian seemed to realize I wasn’t lying and nodded.
“Let’s go there now. What on earth are we doing in a place for receiving Divine Oracles……”
If God was watching us, there would be nothing to say even if they didn’t appear under the crime of defiling a sacred place. At the sudden lip rubbing, strength had left the arm holding the child. I adjusted the child in my arms again and moved my steps toward the stairs.
Ruvlian also followed me. As we climbed the white stairs and stepped onto the round circle at the same time, Ruvlian lightly kissed my cheek and whispered.
“Next time, you have to smile at me.”
Without even time to react to that, a low, deeply resonant voice came.
“Outsiders. I’m not interested in others’ romance, so express affection elsewhere. At least you’re fortunate not to have done anything excessive. Everything that happens here is heard by me.”
“In short, you’re saying it’s fortunate we didn’t strip naked!”
Then even a cheerful voice followed.
