Yurian was walking briskly down the hallway.
His face was more tense than ever before.
His mood, which hadn’t been too bad that morning, had soured drastically after running into Arthur and Calvin.
– Lady Shekina says she’s going to retrieve the Black Spinel. Have you heard anything about it?
The Black Spinel.
When the demons first descended to the human realm, their priority had been to find the Black Spinel. But they had failed. No matter where they looked, they couldn’t locate it. Eventually, they had all but given up.
And now, Shekina was saying she would retrieve it.
How does Shekina know all of this?
No, that’s not the issue. How long does Shekina plan to do everything on her own?
Shekina had tried to handle Lucifer, black magic, and even the matters of the capital—all by herself. She had gotten hurt in the process, yet here she was, trying to take on more.
And she’s the youngest among us.
This realization pained Yurian deeply.
‘I need to speak to her properly this time.’
He would tell her to trust them, to rely on them.
With this resolve, he quickened his pace. As he turned a corner, two familiar children came into view.
The twins.
“Oh, brother?”
Pardes and Merdes widened their eyes and approached Yurian.
“Where are you going?”
“Are you headed in the same direction as us?”
Yurian followed their gaze down the hallway. It led to Shekina’s room.
“You’re going to see Shekina too?”
“Yeah, we heard she’s up to something weird again.”
“The Black Spinel?”
“Oh, that!”
Pardes frowned deeply and stomped his foot.
“What’s wrong with her? Didn’t I tell her to share things with us if she was planning something?”
“Right? Why does she keep getting herself hurt doing these things? It’s not like it benefits us anyway.”
The twins grumbled in unison.
“This time, we’re going to give her a piece of our minds.”
“So that she understands the seriousness of the situation.”
Watching them, a smile spread across Yurian’s face.
“As expected of my brothers. You two really understand me.”
If he went to confront Shekina alone, he might lose the upper hand, but with the twins accompanying him, he felt reassured. If he faltered, one of the twins could step in for him.
“Let’s not back down to Shekina.”
“Yeah.”
“This time, for sure!”
With resolute expressions, as if heading into battle, they crossed the hallway.
And then they threw open Shekina’s door.
“…Hmm?”
As soon as they did, a sharp shout pierced their ears.
“What kind of priest talks about harming someone like that?! Are you kidding me?!”
Shekina was stomping on the floor angrily, yelling at Dehan.
“If I hear you say that again, I’ll make sure you regret it so much you’ll cry your eyes out!”
Uh…
She looks really mad…
Maybe we should just leave…
“Yurian!”
At that moment, Dehan, who had been hanging his head low, suddenly perked up and called out.
No, why are you calling me? We’re not even that close!
“Huh?”
Shekina, noticing Yurian and the twins’ presence, turned her head slowly toward them.
Her eyes glinted sharply, and the trio gulped nervously.
“What. What is it. Why are you here.”
“Well…”
Yurian quietly shifted his gaze to the twins beside him.
They were wearing the same expression as he was.
And so, without anyone deciding who would speak first, they all blurted out together:
“We just wanted to wish you luck on retrieving the Black Spinel.”
“Good luck! You’ve got this!”
“Go, Shekina! Fighting!”
Their resolve crumbled in an instant.
***
“Is he even in his right mind? Seriously.”
Shekina let out a deep sigh as she mumbled, watching Dehan leave.
Then, she recalled what Dehan had said.
– There’s a priest who used to torment Yuriel.
– I need to deal with him myself.
Dehan Agato was a hero.
A hero driven by goodwill, living and dying by it, unable to stand idly when faced with malice. He was the kind of hot-tempered hero who rushed in without thinking.
But now… what is this?
– They’re bad people anyway. Isn’t it fine if I take care of them?
It’s not fine! Not fine at all!
That’s not the kind of character you are!
Good grief.
Shekina rubbed the back of her stiff neck and muttered.
“Everything has changed so much, I don’t even know what’s what anymore.”
She could no longer act based on the game’s storyline. After all, even Dehan, the main character, had changed drastically. And Shekina herself was practically an anomaly at this point.
‘I was supposed to raise the final boss and have him kill Dehan. That was the plan.’
Looking back now, it seemed impossible.
‘I should just focus on taking down Lucifer.’
Speaking of which, he had been strangely quiet lately.
‘Is he plotting something?’
It was in his nature to do so, and it made her uneasy.
But as mentioned earlier, there wasn’t much Shekina could do right now.
Even though she had the ability to summon creatures and create portals to the demon realm, she was still a three-year-old child.
So, for now, she had no choice but to sit back and wait. She hoped Lucart would handle things properly and reassured herself that this wasn’t the time for Lucifer to act.
“I wish I could grow up faster.”
When would she finally age?
Haaaa.
Shekina sighed again but didn’t let herself feel too discouraged.
Age was a relative concept, after all. As long as time passed, she’d eventually become an adult.
Instead of fretting over a future that hadn’t arrived yet, it was better to focus on the present.
With that thought, Shekina began reviewing her plans for the next day.
The first elder, Nord, had created a portal leading to the merfolk’s sanctuary.
Shekina only needed to take Dehan and Yuriel along and comfortably let the portal carry them. Once they arrived, they would meet the merfolk, introduce Dehan and Yuriel, and while the two were being warmly received, Shekina could sneak away to explore the mine where the Spinel was located.
Then, Yuriel could subtly bring up the topic of the Spinel.
‘Perfect.’
It was a flawless plan.
Of course, there was the possibility that the merfolk might refuse to hand over the Spinel…
‘But I’ve already prepared for that too.’
Shekina sincerely hoped such an unfortunate event wouldn’t occur.
And by ‘unfortunate,’ she meant for the merfolk, not herself.
She hoped they wouldn’t make a choice that would lead to their misfortune.
Heh heh heh.
Shekina let out a sinister laugh, her shoulders shaking with amusement.
Then, she suddenly remembered Yurian’s parting words.
– Don’t overdo things on your own.
– We’re here too.
Hmm…
Shekina flopped onto her bed, rolling her eyes thoughtfully.
She understood their concerns.
They were worried that something like the incident where Shekina got hurt might happen again.
But Shekina wanted to argue. If not her, then who? If she didn’t push herself, who else could? They didn’t know anything—they were just extras. If it meant saving them, she would die trying.
Not that she could actually say such dramatic things out loud, so she took out her frustrations on Dehan instead.
‘I want to ask for help too.’
But what could she do when things never went as planned? There wasn’t even anyone around who seemed capable of helping.
“Haaa. This is my fate.”
She shook her head and muttered jokingly.
At that moment—
“W-wait, my lord! You can’t just barge in without knocking…!”
BANG!
Arthur’s desperate shout was followed by the sound of the door slamming open with force. Instinctively sitting upright, Shekina widened her eyes at the sight.
It was none other than the Demon King, Lucart.
“Boss?”
What’s going on?
Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be back for a while?
Then why are you here?
Shekina tilted her head in confusion.
“Why are you here, boss? Did something happen?”
Lucart didn’t answer. Instead, he strode forward and stopped in front of Shekina.
“You.”
He stared at her intently.
“Are you planning to leave tomorrow?”
What is he talking about? Shekina was taken aback, unsure of what he meant. Then Arthur, trailing behind Lucart, mouthed silently: ‘B-l-a-c-k S-p-i-n-e-l.’
Understanding the situation, Shekina nodded.
“Uh… yes. I plan to. The sooner, the better.”
“Is that so?”
Lucart’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Then I’ll go with you.”
…What?
“This is something an adult should handle.”
Excuse me.
If you come along, the merfolk are going to flee…
