The saints’ initiation ceremony is three days away.
Elaine packed her things into a sturdy leather bag she had bought at a store.
She was a little dissatisfied that L’Arch’s extra purchases had made her bag heavier than she’d expected, but it would make her early days at the temple easier.
‘It was really difficult in my previous life….Even if I tried not to think about it, those days from my previous life naturally passed through my mind.’
For a moment, everyone’s attention was focused on the fact that Elaine was a member of the Newt family.
But when they realized that Elaine was the “Newt stain,” they all looked at her with disdain.
In addition, the only support from the Newt Family was the entrance fee, so until she received the scholarship, she had to take notes on the back of a paper obtained from the priest’s office during each class.
Even that was possible because a priest who took pity on her collected pencils and scrap paper for her.
‘If something got on my saint’s uniform, I would smell bad the next day because I wore clothes that weren’t even completely dry. I only had one stocking, so I had to wash it and dry it every day.’
Fearing that her roommate would see her shabby underwear, she had to change her clothes when she wasn’t in her room, and her hair smelled bad because she washed her hair and face with plain water every day because she didn’t have soap.
It was no wonder that the other members of the Temple, who had brought soap, toilet paper, and even perfume, had left Elaine behind.
“huftt…..”
[Why are you sighing again?]
“Even though I know it won’t happen this time, I keep thinking about the initiation ceremony in my previous life.”
[What a fool! Have you forgotten that I am with you this time? Or are you ignoring me?]
“How can I ignore you?”
[If not, what are you afraid of? If anything goes wrong, I will sweep it all away.]
“But you said you can’t use your magical power inside the temple?”
[That’s what you were thinking, right? Don’t worry about it. Are you afraid that I won’t be able to protect you?]
Rabes snorted and flapped his wings.
Elaine was laughing at the childlike snort, but suddenly someone knocked on the door.
“Who is that?”
“it’s me.”
An unexpected voice was heard, and Rabes’s aura became sharper.
‘This situation feels somehow familiar.…?’
Elaine sighed and opened the door. L’Arch was standing outside the door as if it was natural.
“What’s the matter?”
“When a guest comes, you have to offer them a seat first, Elaine.”
“Do you have to sit down?”
“It would be a good idea to learn more etiquette.”
L’Arch naturally passed by Elaine and sat down on the small chair in her room.
The chair was a bit small for L’Arch, but he sat down gracefully, crossing his long legs, as if it had originally belonged to him.
“I thought I would be busy starting tomorrow, so I came to give it to you in advance.”
“What?”
Instead of answering, L’Arch took out a small box from his pocket and placed it on the table.
“A saint should have at least one of these things.”
Elaine looked back and forth between the box and L’Arch with suspicious eyes, and when L’Arch gave a gentle glance, she hesitantly opened the box.
Inside the luxurious velvet box was a silver rosary necklace.
“W-what is this?”
“You don’t even know after seeing it? It’s a rosary.”
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“As I said before, it’s good for a saint to have at least one.”
Elaine had a feeling that her conversation with L’Arch had been a little off since the last time.
Even though he knew what she was asking, she had the feeling that L’Arch was cleverly avoiding the answer.
Of course, most houses provided rosaries as preparations for the initiation ceremony. But receiving this as a personal gift was a little different.
“Did you buy it at the sacred item store you last stopped by on our way back from the shopping district?”
“It’s rude to ask such a question, Elaine.”
L’Arch was vague, but Elaine felt like she had heard an answer.
‘I wondered what L’Arch, who is not very religious, was looking so carefully at choosing something at a Sacred store.….’ ‘
‘It was a truly burdensome gift. It was clear that if Lorina found out about this, there would be another commotion.’
Giving a rosary ring or necklace to a person of the same age as a gift was an act that contained a deep and secret meaning, ‘Please think of me every time you pray.’
“Wouldn’t it be a good idea to give something like this as a gift to Lorina? I can receive a wooden rosary when I enter the temple anyway.”
“Lorina? Lorina, her family must have prepared something nice for her.”
“That’s not what I meant—!”
“By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wearing the ribbon I gave you.”
Elaine forgot what she wanted to say due to L’Arch’s sudden criticism.
“That…It doesn’t suit me either…”
“Whether it suits you or not, there is the sincerity of the person who gave it to you, and you shouldn’t ignore it.”
Lark’s high-pressure gaze slowly looked down the top of Elaine’s head.
“But if I did that—-”
“Elaine Newt. Do you think I brought this up to get you to answer back?”
L’Arch’s eyes and voice were different from usual.
Aside from the disappearance of her feelings for L’Arch, Elaine began to feel again the fear she felt for L’Arch in her previous life.
When Elaine tried to say something, L’Arch looked down at her with beast-like eyes and silenced her.
L’Arch seemed to pull hard on the invisible leash that had been tied since Elaine was born.
“And that ribbon, it will suit you.”
The voice was much calmer than before, but there was still a hint of force in it, disguised as kindness.
Elaine’s hands trembled unconsciously and she swallowed dry saliva.
This time, it was Rabes who saved Elaine.
[I didn’t like that guy from the beginning.]
Rabes growled as if gnashing his teeth and swishing his tail. And at the same time, someone outside began looking for Lark.
“L’Arch! L’Arch, where are you?”
Only then did L’Arch’s energy towards Elaine disappear.
He looked at the door with a rather upset look on his face and eventually stood up.
“Anyway, prepare well for entering the temple. Make sure you don’t forget anything.”
“….”
All Elaine could do was nod, clenching her cold sweaty hands.
Even after L’Arch left the room, Elaine stood there for a long time, breathing heavily.
[hey. Hey, Elaine!]
Elaine, who didn’t even move at the sound of Rabes calling her, slumped down on the spot and muttered in a vain voice.
“Why am I still stuck on that guy…?”
Although Elaine’s body was seventeen, her mind was twenty-six. Still, the fact that she was scared by L’Arch, who was much younger than her in her previous life, and that Rabes had watched it all, was so embarrassing that it brought her to tears.
[hey.]
“I am pathetic in your eyes, right? Why am I so weak? Why doesn’t anything get better in my second life?”
Elaine’s eyes and the tip of her nose reddened as the words left her mouth.
‘I never wanted to live a life controlled by others again. So I wanted to become stronger. And I thought things had changed a little bit.’
However, due to what happened just now, Elaine only confirmed that L’Arch had only been watching her.
[Hey, Elaine.]
“I feel so helpless that I feel so pathetic. What if I keep living like a fool again?”
[That doesn’t happen. Look at me, Elaine.]
Rabes, who was restless, flew up in front of Elaine. Then he soothed Elaine by delicately moving his tail, stroking Elaine’s hair, and wiping her wet eyes.
[It is not easy for a prey to overcome the instinctive fear of a predator. It’s not your fault.]
“Me and L’Arch are the same human beings. It’s strange to think of him like a predator.”
[You don’t understand. Just because you’re all human doesn’t mean there’s no relationship between prey and predator. No, rather, there is a food chain in the human world that is more intense than anywhere else in nature.]
Elaine sniffled but calmed down a little at the warm and friendly voice of Rabes.
[In your past life, your life depended on that guy, right? It’s natural for someone who can manipulate you at any time to feel like a predator.]
“Yeah, that’s true, but…”
[You have done well so far. Actually, when you first said you weren’t going to kill those people, I was worried that you would be taken advantage of again in this life, but you protected yourself well even though you left them alive.]
Rabes’s magic enveloped Elaine warmly and gently. Elaine felt soothed and comforted by it.
“Don’t you think I’m stupid?”
[uh…you seem a little stupid. But truly great humans are always a little stupid. Though I’m still not sure if you’ll ever be a great human.]
Rabes’ tail playfully tapped Elaine’s shoulder. It felt like someone was patting her shoulder, so Elaine couldn’t help but smile.
“Thank you, Rabes. I will do my best.”
[Don’t try too hard. Then you get tired quickly. You are already doing well, and that is enough.]
Elaine smiled brightly and hugged Rabes in response to the consolation she had always wanted to hear.
‘This kind of dragon can’t be an evil dragon. Thank you, Rabes.’
It was the moment when the formula ‘Rabes = good dragon’ was fully established in Elaine’s mind.
* * *
Gods, he’s so creepy…