Chapter 55
I Want to Be Helpful to You (10)
I arrived at Claude’s room without being able to decide how to approach him definitively.
Creeak.
Claude opened the door himself.
“Thank you.”
As I stepped inside and looked around, the rather small room came into view as expected.
There was something laid out on the desk, a single chair, and… a bed. Where’s the backpack?
Scanning the room, Claude quietly spoke as he closed the door.
“As you’ve probably guessed, I’ve officially become a priest.”
“I see. I’m glad to hear that.”
Turning my head, I spotted the backpack and priestly robes hanging on the wall.
Found it.
“Since it’s the pilgrimage season soon… Before setting out on the pilgrimage, the priests usually return to their hometowns to pay their respects. And this is my hometown, so I’ve come back for a short visit.”
I nodded, half-listening to Claude’s explanation.
I’ll just discreetly use magic to peek inside the backpack and see the seal, then decide how to proceed with Claude.
Claude is a precious family member from the orphanage, but my current family is also dear to me.
Just as I was about to reach for the backpack…
“Edith.”
Claude gently grabbed my hand and spun me around to face him.
“…Ah.”
In an instant, my vision whirled and our eyes met.
Claude smiled softly and leaned in to whisper.
“My story ends here.”
“…Pardon?”
“Now it’s your turn to share your story.”
Ah, so it wasn’t free information after all.
No wonder it seemed too easy to stall.
As I hesitated, Claude’s eyes instantly took on a pitiful look.
But unlike the contrived Terion, this gaze is genuinely pure.
“Do you dislike that?”
“…It’s not that.”
“I’m relieved to hear that. Then, tell me.”
He beamed and nodded. Then, glancing around, he casually suggested,
“There’s only one chair, so… Feel free to sit on the bed.”
“…Excuse me, then.”
Since I couldn’t avoid the questioning, I plopped down on the bed, glancing between the chair and the bed.
Claude pulled the chair over to the bed and sat down, not rushing me, just gazing at me steadily.
“……”
His gaze felt comforting, rather than persistent.
Perhaps it’s because he knows the me from before the cycles?
So, I spoke with a bit more candor.
“…Claude.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen each other.”
“Indeed, six years.”
“And I couldn’t even recall you right away.”
“That’s a bit heartbreaking to hear.”
“But why are you so glad to see me?”
I was curious about that.
The vague warmth and kindness directed towards me, similar to what the people of Crowell Castle give me—now that I know it’s due to brainwashing, it’s hard for me to accept this affection at face value.
No, if this is genuinely from his own volition…
Perhaps I can reassure myself that the sweet emotions from Crowell Castle aren’t entirely fabricated either.
So, with a slight tension, I looked at my friend, whom I was meeting for the first time in what feels like hundreds of years, even though it’s only been six years in this life.
In fact, I have never met him, not even once, among the hundreds of cycles I’ve gone through. Normally, even if I don’t interact with the temple, this would be highly unusual.
But seeing Claude’s gaze filled with pure delight, it doesn’t feel out of place, even if it’s just a coincidence.
“Of course.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Edith, it seems you’re unaware of this yourself. You’re the one who saved my life. Even after we parted ways, I’ve been pondering how I could be of help to you later on.”
“……”
“Of course, I’m glad to see you.”
“Really?”
“And since you looked troubled… I just thought I might be able to help in some way.”
This was so strange.
Why do people always think of me as a better person than I really am?
Is it because I’m overly self-deprecating, or is it due to the instability of my mind after going through hundreds of cycles? There’s no way for me to know, since no one else would be aware of what I don’t know myself.
So I paused for a moment to ponder.
…He wants to be helpful to me.
Is he the right person for me to share my current situation with?
Interpreting my silence, Claude added in a kind tone,
“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”
“……”
His outstretched hand lightly tapped my tightly clenched right hand.
“You know, when you get stressed, you ball your hand into a fist really tight?”
“…Ah.”
I slowly released the tension in my hand, unaware of that habit.
Holding my palm and gently turning it, Claude traced the nail marks on the soft skin of my inner hand with his fingertips, murmuring,
“Now that I’ve confirmed you’re still the same, that’s enough. People can easily be worn down by time, you know.”
His comforting words seemed to melt the knot in my heart, to the point where I almost felt like pouring out everything and leaning on him for a moment.
…But I shouldn’t delay any further.
I firmly closed my eyes, then slowly opened my mouth.
“…Claude, I’m sorry, but could you please bring me a glass of water?”
“Sure.”
Claude stood up without hesitation.
I kept my gaze on his retreating back until he fully exited the room, then immediately rose from the bed.
Thud.
I roughly tore open the backpack hanging on the wall.
“…Phew.”
Whatever is in here, I won’t be able to find peace of mind until I get the results of my suspicions about his identity.
As the backpack opened with a crunch, the same purple envelopes that Ella and Benjamin had mentioned spilled out.
“……”
My heart seemed to drop. Slowly bending down, I picked up one of the purple envelopes.
The seal…
“…Ah.”
The seal is different. The tension that had been tightly coiled relaxed with a deep exhale.
This is the official seal of the temple, completely different from the purple envelope I had taken from the desk.
Carefully peeling off the wax seal with a letter opener, I found it was a letter he had written to the other children at the orphanage.
“……”
I’m relieved. Ella and Benjamin must have been mistaken.
Right, Claude Gees, who is hardly a stranger, suddenly appearing—what reason would he have to brainwash Crowell Castle?
Even if he did have it, Claude Gees is just someone who got caught up in it, not a mastermind.
Filled with a deep sense of relief, I quickly resealed the envelope and gathered the scattered ones, putting them back in the backpack.
“…Phew.”
Then I turned to look at the door, but Claude still hadn’t returned.
Slowly moving over, I examined what was spread out on the desk. It was some kind of old book. Briefly flipping through the cover, I saw the rather silly title, “Is the Legendary Castle a Legend, or a Real Castle?”
Is this the kind of thing Claude is interested in?
With little expectation, I turned a few pages with my fingers. Contrary to the title, the content was quite substantial.
It talked about how the estate divided into an outer and inner castle doesn’t have much left, and Crowell Castle was included in this as well.
“…Crowell Castle is here.”
My fingers, which had been rapidly flipping through the pages, slowed down a bit.
The part about Crowell Castle was like this:
It’s a barren land that no one is interested in, but monsters keep flocking to it in cycles, so no one tries to reclaim it. As a result, the legendary castle was able to be preserved without needing reconstruction.
“……”
And on a certain page, my finger abruptly stopped.
“Some of the very old legendary castles are said to have deep wells. While there are only a few castles left in the Empire that still have wells, Crowell Castle is also considered one of the most promising candidates.”
…There might be a deep well?
If it’s a well that I’m completely unaware of, it’s probably been dry for a long time. And perhaps…
“The deepest part…”
🥀
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