“Dehan! When did you arrive?”
Yuriel rose with a bright smile, as if asking when he had ever been gloomy. His neatly tied hair was slightly disheveled, but he paid it no mind, focusing only on Dehan before him.
“I just arrived. This place seemed strange, so I was exploring, and coincidentally, I found you, Reverend.”
Despite being just five years old, his speech was remarkably polite. Yuriel approached Dehan with a gentle smile.
“You felt it too… I’m glad.”
Yuriel clasped his hands together.
“Even if I tell the other priests… They won’t understand… If I say something’s strange about me…”
Dehan lightly patted Yuriel’s waist.
Though much smaller than 15-year-old Yuriel, Dehan’s demeanor was modest. Yuriel, keeping an eye on Dehan’s reactions, glanced around the surroundings.
“What did you sense…? I felt traces of curses…”
“I felt the same.”
Dehan stared into the void with his ocean-colored eyes, cooling the atmosphere.
Traces of demonic spirits, curses. Someone intentionally seemed to be trying to erase them.
If the traces of curses had remained untouched, there might not have been such suspicions. However, feeling someone’s influence, Yuriel couldn’t leave it unattended.
“It would be wise to report to the Vice-Commander.”
“Hmm… You think so too…?”
Despite his humble tone, Yuriel’s face brightened. Dehan nodded while gazing at him.
“Dehan is truly remarkable… I couldn’t have done that at your age…”
Dehan is a seedling for the position of Vice-Commander in the Northern Holy Temple.
Originally living in a western orphanage, two years ago, after the orphanage burned down during a bandit raid, he voluntarily joined the temple. He’s kept as a seedling because becoming a priest is too challenging for him.
‘At first, I didn’t know why Dehan came to the temple.’
Yuriel thought, tightly holding their joined hands.
‘Bandits were actually demons…’
Dehan, who lost friends like family to demons.
How sad and challenging must it be?
When Yuriel first heard this story, he wanted to be a source of strength for Dehan.
Fortunately, Dehan possessed a talent for divine power, allowing Yuriel to take care of him. Sometimes, Yuriel felt like Dehan was taking care of him in return… But in any case.
“I was forcibly awakened, so it’s not something the Vice-Commander should envy.”
“Oh, s-sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up…”
“No, it’s fine. Thanks to that experience, I am who I am now.”
Dehan responded with a gentle smile.
On the day he lost everyone to a group of demons disguised as bandits.
Dehan thought he would die without moving. Just like everyone else, he believed his breath would be cut off right here.
But it didn’t happen.
When he opened his eyes, it was morning.
When he opened his eyes, he was alone.
There wasn’t a scratch on his body.
When he was utterly bewildered, a divine voice echoed in his ears.
“My child.”
“Continue my will and annihilate all demon.”
He was chosen by the divine.
As a result, an immense amount of divine power flowed through his body, allowing him to protect himself.
‘If only you had given me strength a little earlier.’
Then he could have protected his friends.
Despite the regret, he couldn’t defy the divine will. Following the divine guidance, Dehan acted accordingly, seeking the outcome of his actions by entering the Northern Temple. All to be by the side of the rumored Daimon Margrave.
Dehan believed that this was just the beginning.
If the the Margrave truly was a demon, if there was a demon’s lair…
‘I must watch over.’
Cunning and treacherous demons.
They never act for the sake of humans.
To them, humans are nothing more than moving dolls, neither more nor less.
‘When I fully inherit the will of the divine.’
At that time, he would seek revenge against them.
Pouring out all his resentment and sorrow.
Dehan’s eyes flashed.
“Oh, a kid shouldn’t make such a scary expression…”
Startled, Yuriel, while making excuses, gently pressed Dehan’s temples.
Only then did Dehan relax his expression, taking a deep breath to focus.
“Traces of a revenant, the Daimon Margrave, perhaps?”
Yuriel held his breath for a moment before cautiously responding.
“If not, it must be the locals living here…”
Not only did they sense traces of a revenant, but now they felt the deliberate erasure of those traces.
It was natural to suspect either a member of the Margrave’s retinue or a resident of the Margrave’s territory.
But why?
Why did Dehan persistently believe that the Daimon Margrave was a demon?
His hand clenched into a tight fist.
“D-Dehan, I really don’t know…”
At that moment, Yuriel spoke hesitantly, and Dehan tilted his head slightly.
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“Whether it’s demons or humans… I just don’t understand. It’s just too scary and frightening…”
Indeed, he was terrified.
Imagining unseen demons, fighting imaginary monsters, risking his life for it—all of it was frightening.
Yuriel was sweating coldly.
“Sounds foolish, right? I shouldn’t say these things in front of you, who’s much younger than me…”
Dehan frowned slightly as he looked at Yuriel, who was faintly smiling.
Yuriel is a high-ranking clergyman.
Becoming a high-ranking clergyman at the age of 10, he occupied the position through innate divine power and relentless effort.
If he were a bit older, he might have aimed for the position of a bishop. Yurial was that remarkable.
But why these worries now?
If I had the divine power and strength like Yuriel, wouldn’t things be different? Dehan chewed on his lips.
“No.”
Let’s not entertain childish thoughts.
There’s no use being jealous of Yuriel.
Dehan responded calmly,
“I’ve thought of myself as dead for the past two years. That’s why I’m fearless. If there’s nothing to fear.”
“D-Dehan…”
“But you, as a clergyman, it’s only natural to be afraid. Don’t be embarrassed.”
“……”
Yuriel’s cheek reddened slightly. Tucking his platinum hair behind his ear, he smiled again.
“Getting comfort from a child…”
Trying to assert his seniority, he firmly grasped Dehan’s hair and smiled.
“How about dinner together? At the Margrave’s residence.”
Normally, as a novice, Dehan couldn’t go there.
The invitation was for the clergyman alone.
However, if Yuriel was taking him, it was acceptable.
Curious to see a member of the Margravet’s family, Dehan nodded.
“Yes, I’d like that.”
Yuriel’s face brightened.
“Uh, sure! H-Hold my hand!”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go!”
Yuriel tightly held Dehan’s hand as they left the alley, while Dehan kept looking back, feeling the lingering traces of the supernatural.
Hoping that this time, they might discover the presence of demons.
***
When asked what the clergymen who hadn’t returned to the temple were doing, Arthur responded,
“They’re in a fight.”
Though I wanted to question what that meant, I couldn’t.
How did he know I had awakened? Probably because Lyat had someone call me.
‘Ghost, or whatever.’
Muttering, I couldn’t refuse his command.
I had to face the consequences of secretly leaving the demon lord’s castle, express my gratitude, and subtly inquire about the demon lord. So, following the proper etiquette, I knocked on Lyat’s office door.
“Lyat… No, Uncle. I’m here.”
“Come in.”
The door creaked open slightly, and I slipped inside Lyat’s office.
Lyat, wearing regular glasses instead of his usual sunglasses, looked over a mountain of documents. Today, his white hair seemed even more tousled. I wondered if it was due to the stress of the paperwork.
“Did you sleep well?”
After a while, still engrossed in the paperwork, Lyat asked.
“Yeah, I slept for a while. Slept well.”
“Quite an achievement.”
Lyat chuckled at my odd response.
“You know I’m going to scold you, right?”
“Uh… Yeah.”
I fidgeted with my hands, trying to gauge Lyat’s mood.
Should I start by thanking him?
So, I rushed over to the desk where Lyat was sitting.
After a deep breath, I spoke.
“But before the scolding, let me say this. Thank you, Uncle.”
“What?”
“If I don’t call you Uncle, it might seem disrespectful in front of the demon lord. Thank you, really.”
Lyat’s gaze finally lifted from the documents. He stared at me in silence.
“You’ve misunderstood. The demon lord isn’t that merciless. You would’ve survived even if I didn’t go.”
“I thought I was really dead back then.”
“That’s because you resisted.”
My eyes widened.
“At that time, weren’t you trying to experience the demon lord’s aura?”
I did.
Reflecting the demon lord’s traces in Merdes’s eyes, I had tried desperately to endure.
I had to survive.
“Hmm, did I?”
Lyat chuckled again.
“That was the problem. If you had fainted like Merdes did with your eyes open, it would’ve been better. The demon lord cares enough to show that much consideration.”
“Oh, so my actions to survive were actually a decision for the demon lord to kill me?”
“That’s right.”
“Do that from now on. Whew, that was close.”
I deliberately wiped my forehead as if I were sweating, and Lyat’s face also relaxed.
“Even so, the demon lord said I was funny. Just that is a success for me.”
“…….”
However, as soon as I spoke, Lyat’s expression hardened once again.
“Sigh… yes, that’s the problem.”
He twirled the pen, then lifted the pen tip toward me.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“Today, you might really die.”
Thankyou for coming to this sites and read my translation, enjoy! Sorry if theres still have any mistake on the translation. See you on the next update!
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