Meanwhile, while Lucifer was causing a commotion, Shekina was…
“Are you out of your mind, Shekina?”
“Why did you do something so reckless and dangerous? What were you thinking? Do you have a grudge against the world? Do you want to leave this world that badly?”
“Ah! Brother! Why are you talking like that? Words can become reality! Take it back your words quickly!”
“Uh, uh? Yeah, okay! I’ll take it back my words!”
She was surrounded by the twins and having a hard time.
Ah… Please, just leave me alone…
Shekina raised her head to the sky, wondering why she was being put through such trials and pounded her chest. Then suddenly, something came to mind.
‘Hey, system.’
It was about the reward she hadn’t yet received for completing the side quest, <Infiltrate the Vatican!>.
‘Give me my reward. I completed the quest. I found the source of the energy or whatever!’
Ring!
[SYSTEM]
Tsk. This is why I dislike sharp humans.
‘Stop talking nonsense and hand it over.’
[SYSTEM]
Blessings to you, whose language gets more and more foul by the day! How do you manage to shock me every single time? It’s hard to find someone this crazy, yet somehow, I ended up with you!
‘Stop babbling and just give it to me. The reward.’
Ring!
[SYSTEM]
Side quest <Infiltrate the Vatican!> success!
You have uncovered the ominous energy lurking in the Vatican. It turns out to be traces of black magic! What will happen if the world finds out that the Vatican is linked to black magic? Let’s consider this matter carefully.
Reward: Evidence of the Pope’s suspicious traces.
‘Oh…’
Shekina could feel her hands getting heavy. The reward, described as ‘evidence,’ seemed to be a paper-like object.
I’ll read this later. I wonder what kind of interesting content it holds. I’m so excited, hehe.
“Shekina? Are you listening to us?”
“Are you really listening? You shouldn’t be grinning so wickedly if you are.”
“…Was it that obvious?”
“Yeah! Very much!”
Shekina adjusted her expression and shrugged her shoulders.
“Okay, I got it. I’ll be careful. But I honestly didn’t think it would be that dangerous.”
Pardes narrowed his eyes.
“You didn’t think it would be dangerous? You’re meeting a madman; of course it’s dangerous.”
He crouched down in front of Shekina and looked up at her.
“I wish you’d be a bit more careful.”
“Yeah! You should value your life!”
“I know, I know. My life is really precious. I’m not going to die. I absolutely won’t die.”
“Don’t lie!”
Pardes glared at her, making a hissing noise.
“I know you’re thinking something weird.”
“…Huh?”
Shekina, feeling a little guilty, tilted her head in confusion.
“Weird thoughts… like what?”
“The thought of sacrificing yourself to resolve this issue.”
Pardes grabbed Shekina’s cold hand tightly.
He had already overheard the conversation between Lucart and Shekina.
– It was the first precious existence I had. I want to make it happy. I want to ensure it’s not hurt.
– I don’t want to live alone anymore.
Having witnessed Shekina’s indifferent attitude toward her own death, Pardes no longer wanted to leave her alone.
“We don’t want something to be achieved at the cost of you getting hurt.”
“Exactly. If you get hurt, we get hurt together, and if you die, we die together… but we don’t want you to die!”
Leaving the still immature Merdes behind, Shekina locked eyes with Pardes.
His eyes held nothing but genuine sincerity. It was as if he truly cared for Shekina.
Shekina swallowed nervously as she felt her lips dry up.
“Why?”
She cautiously asked.
“Even if everything gets solved by me dying, is that really not okay? Why?”
“Because you’re important to us!”
Pardes answered without hesitation.
“You are as important to us as we are to you. You can’t even begin to imagine how much you mean to me. So, please take care of yourself. Don’t do things alone. We’re here with you.”
“……….”
“If you were gone, I’d be truly sad. I’d lose the meaning to keep going. You’re that precious to me…”
Shekina instinctively looked away from Pardes’ gaze.
She had never heard anything like this before. No, she had never received someone’s heartfelt feelings so directly.
At first, she was suspicious. Could this be real? Was it sincere? Were these words meant just to comfort or use her?
But then, she accepted it. Not only because of the sincerity in Pardes’ eyes but also because of the memories of how they had treated her in the past.
– Shekina! Come here!
– Aww, how cute. Why is Shekina so adorable?
– Ugh, stop hogging her all to yourself!
Shekina took a deep breath.
Maybe the one who hadn’t truly realized their value was me. Maybe I was the only one trapped in misery.
Shekina gave a bitter smile and nodded.
“Yeah… okay. I get it.”
She scratched her cheek awkwardly and mumbled.
“I’ll be more careful too.”
“Yes! Great! It’s a promise!”
“Yeah, yeah. So now, could you all please leave? I want to be alone for a bit.”
Thinking her attitude hadn’t changed, Pardes slowly stood up. He also thought that maybe it was okay to leave Shekina alone for a while.
However,
“That… doesn’t seem possible.”
Merdes, who had been quiet the whole time, raised his hand with a smirk.
In his hand was a recording sphere.
The sphere displayed a video of Yurian, Didi, and Nisha.
[Shekina! You’re hurt, aren’t you?]
[Hey! Who told you to go around getting hurt like that? Are you crazy?]
[No matter where you go, you cause trouble. You’re out of your mind.]
They mimicked the twins’ earlier antics perfectly.
Shekina couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Ah, this is quite nice.
***
Lucart shrugged his shoulders, feeling the wind mixed with snowflakes fill his lungs.
Just a moment ago, he had been in the capital, but now, he stood in the northern snow mountains.
And he continued to slash through monsters. One, two… eight.
“Graaagh!”
Even as the monsters’ blood soaked him again and again, he didn’t stop. It was as if he had no choice but to continue forward, as if something was driving him. He moved forward endlessly, almost as if possessed.
His mind was filled with thoughts of Shekina.
Even as he slashed monsters, even as he pressed onward, Shekina’s words lingered in his mind.
– I think even if I had died there, there wouldn’t have been anything you could do about it. It was my choice to go there, and it’s not something you should take responsibility for.
“Hmph.”
Lucart placed his greatsword down with a thud, wiping the blood-soaked hair from his forehead and frowning.
His chest felt tight. It was an odd feeling—both anger and a strange numbness.
He couldn’t quite understand the source of this emotion, and since he didn’t know how to resolve it, he picked up his sword once more.
And so, he kept slashing monsters again and again.
It was easier this way. He only needed to deal with what was right in front of him. No more thinking. Lucart gritted his teeth.
At that moment, there was a clicking sound, and a message echoed in his ear. It was from the communication device he had linked with Arthur before heading north.
Thud!
Lucart dropped his sword again, rotating his wrist as he touched his ear. Arthur’s voice immediately came through.
[My Lord! Are you there? Are you alive?]
“…Do you wish I were dead?”
[Earlier, yes. But not now, so I was a bit worried.]
What a madman.
Lucart thought Arthur was the most insane one among the demons and listened again.
“What is it?”
[Well, we were planning to return to the north, but we encountered a bit of a problem.]
“A problem?”
[Yes.]
Arthur continued without delay.
[The imperial family is searching for Lady Shekina.]
“……….”
Crack!
A fissure appeared on the hilt of the greatsword Lucart was holding.
