Calvin silently stared at Yuriel sitting across from him.
Yuriel, as befitting a revered priest, exuded holiness with just his silent presence.
His platinum blond hair tied in a half ponytail, sparkling yellow eyes, and the way he quietly breathed, all made him stunningly beautiful.
However,
‘Filthy. Filthy. Filthy.’
Calvin kept murmuring incessantly.
Despite wearing a mask covering his nose and mouth, being in such a small room with others felt like filth was seeping through the mask. His whole body shuddered.
‘I have to endure. I have to.’
He tried to endure the thought of not disrespecting Lucart.
‘I want to leave. It’s filthy. I want to go. It’s filthy.’
However, his severe mysophobia didn’t subside easily. Calvin clenched his fists tightly and shut his eyes.
“…Ah.”
Then, Yuriel’s lips, which had been sealed shut, parted.
“Do you happen to have a cat?”
Calvin’s eyes widened.
Yuriel blushed slightly and clasped his hands together.
“There are cats being raised in the Northern Temple as well. Initially, there was only one, but now there are six. Two of them are expecting kittens. When spring comes, they will… Oh, I’m sorry… I-I didn’t mean to talk about this… I apologize…”
Calvin noticed that Yuriel only stutters when talking about cats.
No, wait.
That wasn’t particularly important. What mattered was that this priest also liked cats, just like him.
“How many kittens are there?”
“W-Well, I’m not sure, but there might be over ten…”
“Then, will you bring those kittens to our temple in the estate?”
Calvin asked with a twinkle in his eye.
“Would that be okay…? I-I would like that too.”
Calvin couldn’t help but smile broadly at Yuriel’s shy response.
Cats plus cats plus cats.
Just imagining it brought joy. How cute and lovely would those kittens be? What color would Jelly be? How would their fur feel? His heart raced with excitement.
Just moments ago, he wanted to flee this place because it felt dirty, but now, it was the opposite. This space seemed incredibly beautiful. Calvin bowed his head in gratitude.
“Calvin Murwara, I apologize for the late greeting.”
“Ah, Yuriel, A- Agatho….”
Yuriel looked slightly puzzled at Calvin’s sudden change but soon smiled as the atmosphere became more comfortable.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes!”
“You’re about to leave now.”
“Yes, yes!”
“The reason for not escorting you to the temple is that I was concerned it might inconvenience you. Please don’t be upset.”
“Oh, n-no! I-I didn’t feel that way at all!”
Yuriel extended his hand reassuringly.
“You were looking for the temple grounds.”
Calvin pushed the documents he had brought onto the table towards Yuriel.
“We’ve selected a few candidates.”
“Th-This is…”
“Personally, I recommend the third candidate. It’s closer to the residential area, making it more convenient to gather worshippers.”
This priest needed to be swayed. He needed to betray his faith.
Having given the whip, it was now time to offer the carrot.
“It was the Margrave’s command.”
So Calvin spoke in a softer tone than ever before, noticing a slight tremor in Yuriel’s eyes.
“Th-thank you…”
Watching Yuriel accept the carrot, Calvin continued.
“Please forgive the one who was rude.”
“Y-yes?”
If the one who was rude referred to the attacker, then Arthur must be the one. Yuriel’s ear, shaped like a bay laurel leaf, perked up.
“He’s… um, not in his right mind. He’s ill.”
“…Ah!”
It was Arthur who had become mentally ill. Calvin knew. Regardless, since Arthur was the one who caused the accident, Calvin had to keep quiet no matter what he did. Calvin chuckled.
“Normally, he would never do such a thing. It’s just that he was particularly delirious that day.”
“I-I see!”
“Yes. I’ll make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
With those courteous words, Yuriel felt a sense of calm for the first time since that day in the Canyon.
He had been anxious and restless all along, even resenting the Pope and doubting God enough to be in pain.
Suddenly feeling so at ease… Was it thanks to their kindness?
Was it because of their hospitality?
– It was me who saved your lives.
Suddenly recalling those words, Yuriel grinned wryly and clasped his hands together.
“I-I’ll be careful too. A-and I’ll apologize again for threatening your ward.”
That should be enough to shake things up.
With nothing more to say, it was okay to leave now.
But Calvin didn’t want to get up right now. He was forgetting about the dirtiness, right now.
“By the way, what pattern are the cats?”
He wanted to talk a little more about cats.
This was all for fostering camaraderie.
It’s definitely not about satisfying my selfish desires.
***
“I-I’m sorry! I apologize!”
“I’m so sorry!”
The awakened humans were kneeling, pounding their heads vigorously on the ground.
The twins and Dehan were slightly frightened by the bizarre sight, but Shekina, who was watching closely nearby, seemed unfazed.
“Well, we know you didn’t mean any harm. So why did you want to take him away?”
“That’s what the Captain ordered!”
“The Captain ran away earlier! We don’t know! We just did as we were told!”
“Hahhh…”
Shekina clenched the spear, pressing it against her eyebrow bone.
“Wouldn’t it be fine to lose sight in one eye?”
“Aaah!”
“Let’s try taking out one. See how you like it.”
“Wait, please!”
That kid was really up to something. Wasn’t there someone crying because their hand was pierced? He didn’t want to end up like that.
“I-I understand! I know!”
So, he blurted out the words he had picked up over his shoulder.
“T-That guy…!”
“He says he’s the former head of the Assassins Guild.”
Suddenly, Han, who had awakened, interjected.
“Yawn. I had a good sleep.”
Stretching with a long yawn, Han glanced around before fixing his gaze on the twins.
“Why do you look like that? Did you fight?”
The twins chuckled and shrugged.
“We fought!”
“We protected you.”
“Huh?”
Han let out a disbelieving laugh.
“These kids think they know it all. If something happens, they’ll just run off and call the guards instead of dealing with it themselves.”
“Aah! Don’t touch my head!”
Despite saying that, there was a faint smile of satisfaction on his face.
Shekina narrowed her eyes slightly as she silently watched Han’s reaction.
“Well, whatever.”
Han roughly grasped the situation.
The guys who were trying to drag him away.
And these kids intervened.
The kids probably wanted to torture those guys to get information.
So,
“Hey, kid. Shouldn’t you hand these guys over to thi big brother? It’d be better if I handles it.”
It was his job to handle it. Such gruesome scenes should never be shown to children.
Shekina stared pointedly at Han as he said those words.
Somehow, that gaze felt very unfamiliar and eerie to Han, who slightly faltered.
Not because he was afraid of the spear the kid was holding. Really.
“You…”
At that moment, Shekina’s mouth slowly opened.
Han swallowed nervously. He wondered what the kid was about to say.
“Isn’t it a bit too much to call you ‘big brother’ considering the age difference?”
