HPV 18

“It’s a grave that’s already been tainted once—of course the villagers will be uneasy. No one wants this grave here. Honestly, it’d be less stressful to just get rid of it. Why don’t we gather the villagers right now and take a vote?”

“Of course they’ll side with me! Do you think anyone here would doubt the sanctification of High Priest of Gaioh?”

“Oh? Aren’t you supposed to be hiding your status as High Priest?”

Yurichen clenched his teeth, momentarily at a loss for words. It was an unusually emotional reaction for him.

“If you just want the grave goods or some magical research materials, why not come clean about that filthy desire?”

Determined to follow the teachings of Gaioh, which forbid the living from disturbing the graves of the dead, Yurichen dragged out the harshest accusation he could muster.

“Wasn’t the reason you were imprisoned multiple times because of suspicions of necromancy?”

—

The villagers leaned more toward Penzey’s side.

Penzey had lied and claimed he was a gravekeeper, proposing to dig up the grave himself to locate the origin of the monster. In contrast, Yurichen couldn’t even reveal that he was a High Priest. On top of that, Penzey had the charisma to sway even the skeptics with his eloquence.

The Temple of Gaioh encourages the mourning and care of the deceased’s graves. And many in this village were followers of Gaioh. Even so, the fact that the villagers had accepted Penzey’s argument over his was a serious blow to Yurichen.

Without another word, Yurichen turned his back. The hem of his veil fluttered with a chill colder than winter.

Though they disagreed, they were still comrades working toward the same goal—and Yurichen was duty-bound to guide Penzey to the Black Dragon’s Nest. The party gathered and had dinner together as though nothing had happened.

Every dish on the inn’s menu was laid out on the table, just as I’d insisted. True to my role as the nuisance character, I overindulged with gusto—though I couldn’t eat much in the end and left the rest to Banwes.

Yurichen didn’t make a fuss about wanting a separate room from Penzey or anything petty like that. On the contrary, it was Penzey who snuck up and tried to stick with me.

“I’m so tired from today’s argument… I feel like I’d be energized just looking at your sleeping face, Ria…”

But then he suddenly looked behind me, grinned, and gave a dramatic, courtly bow before stepping back.

I turned around a beat late—and saw Banwes standing there, looking off in another direction. He’d probably been there the whole time, but still—what was that?

By the time the day ended, my eyelids felt like they were about to hit the floor.

But I didn’t collapse into bed. Forcing myself upright, I stepped out of the room.

The inn’s lanterns cast a warm yellow glow across the floor. I carefully descended the stairs so I wouldn’t trip.

If I went down to the inn’s basement at this hour, I could confirm whether the game’s story was progressing as it should.

The inn’s basement was a Gaioh shrine.

The innkeeper’s family were devout followers of Gaioh. Though Yurichen had to hide his identity, he seemed quietly pleased that the humble inn was built atop a sanctuary of his god.

Something important—critically so—was meant to happen in this chapel.

In the center of the room, I saw someone’s back. He had set his veil aside and was kneeling in prayer. Even in the dim light, his silken hair seemed to glow.

“…Why him and not me?”

A sacred figure, unapproachable and divine, whispered a confession too shameful to voice before others.

“O Sacred Sword… Henne.”

The sacred sword Henne, the relic that Paronai received.

The god Gaioh had named several champions to save the world—and gifted each of them a sacred relic meant to destroy the Black Dragon.

Yurichen had guided the relic himself. He believed without a doubt that it would take the form of a staff and come to rest in his hands. He thought his lifetime of unwavering faith, all twenty-nine years of it, had been in preparation for this moment.

But instead, the relic took the form of a sword—and chose Paronai.

For the first time in his life, Yurichen was beginning to doubt himself. He’d always had everything. He’d always believed in himself. Now, that pride was beginning to crack.

So in the end, Yurichen doesn’t hold fond feelings for any of his comrades.

Well, that’s how life is. Things don’t always go the way you want—just like how I never became a cult leader, or how I’d spent my whole life trying to escape and only managed it when I turned twenty.

There’s no one to blame. Yurichen would just have to work through his emotions on his own. Even if Paronai found out how Yurichen felt, there was nothing he could do about it.

In fact, since Paronai’s so kind, he’d just end up feeling guilty—and that might mess up his growth, which could ruin the next battle…

It was right then.

Someone suddenly grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth.

My scream was completely muffled. I panicked and looked up—and saw someone who absolutely should not have been here.

“Shh.”

In the darkness, Paronai’s jade-like irises gleamed. While holding me steady so I wouldn’t fall, his gaze remained fixed on the shrine.

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over my entire body. My heart sank. I froze on the spot.

“I was just curious where you were going, so I followed you…”

Paronai’s confused green eyes stayed fixed on Yuriecheon’s back.

Paronai had heard it. Yurichen’s prayer. Even the way he pronounced the name of the sword, Henne, was crystal clear.

He now knew that Yurichen had wanted the sacred sword he possessed.

This didn’t happen in the original story. And even if it did, it was supposed to happen way later.

Even the slightest change could shift the course of their relationship away from how it went in the game. What I’d feared had already come true.

This was a mistake. Because of me.

—

When I woke up in the morning, everyone but me had already started moving. Banwes was the only one still in the room, sitting on the bed with sunlight weighing down on his shoulders. The biggest victim of my laziness.

I went down to the inn’s dining room and found Penzey sitting alone at a table. When he saw me, he waved me over.

Then, seeing the beast-like figure that naturally followed behind me, he smirked.

“Hey, if you could peel off just a little bit of your buddy’s skin for me sometime, I’d pay you handsomely.”

I felt uncomfortable inside, of course, but I was the nasty, villain-type character, so I just leaned on the table and looked him in the face, throwing in a half-hearted reply.

“What’ll you give me?”

“Shall I pluck the stars from the sky? The moon reflected in the lake? Every delicacy the world has to offer?”

“I could go for that last one.”

As soon as I finished speaking, a server arrived with a mountain of bread topped with honey and a pot of creamy white meat soup. Penzey met my gaze and smiled lazily.

It occurred to me that maybe Penzey had figured out my waking time after just two days and ordered ahead for me.

Don’t ask Penzey if he’s eaten. Just eat. That’s how you stay a shameless character.

I grabbed a piece of bread and stuffed it into my mouth, and Penzey’s smile deepened.

Yesterday, when Yurichen brought up necromancy, Penzey didn’t bother to defend himself. Instead, he doubled down on his claim that the grave should be dug up.

“Pao agreed to help. At the very least, if something jumps out, he’ll help me deal with it.”

Right then, Paronai walked into the dining room and gave an awkward wave. As Penzey stood up to go prepare for the grave, Paronai took his seat like they were switching shifts. The chair thudded under his weight.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah.”

I picked out two more pieces of bread, poured myself just enough soup into a bowl, and set the rest on the next table over.

Paronai widened his eyes. He glanced sideways at Banwes, who was carefully standing nearby, eating without drawing attention.

Now that I thought about it, Penzey probably ordered food for Banwes, too, when he ordered mine.

Then he just slipped out, leaving Paronai behind to sigh over and over.

“Whether it’s back then or now, it’s always hard when comrades fight. Picking a side’s even harder.”

He was an academy-trained swordsman who’d been through plenty with people his age. Paronai was never really the type to be at the center of a fight—he was more often the one worrying at the sidelines or getting dragged in unwillingly.

But this time, he was the one who’d hurt Yurichen’s feelings. Even though it wasn’t even his fault. No wonder he was so troubled.

“Why are you telling me that?”

“…Because you’re here.”