novelraw Chapter 162 : Chapter 162
Chapter 162 : Chapter 162
Chapter 162: Splash (2)
Harad tilted his head.
Ellen’s face was red. For some reason, her breathing was rough too.
‘Is she sick?’
That cannot be.
Her Innate Strength is far removed from minor illnesses like a cold.
“Are you hot? Well. It is getting close to spring.”
Even winter on the continent was lukewarm compared to the daily life of the North.
Spring would be in full bloom soon. Being born and raised in the North, it was plausible for Ellen to feel hot.
Furthermore, Harad was right next to her.
“Remove the blanket a bit. Take off your outer garment too.”
Ellen’s face was turning red in real-time.
Harad pulled at the blanket.
It did not come along. Ellen was gripping the blanket tightly. Harad let go before the blanket tore.
“I am not hot.”
“Your face is red.”
“……I am sleepy.”
Ellen abruptly pulled the blanket over herself.
Even with her head tucked in, she looked like a giant caterpillar.
“You should rest too, do not stay here.”
“I will rest here.”
“……I am saying this because I think I cannot endure it. Go quickly.”
She is that sleepy?
‘That cannot be true.’
Harad recalled her Innate Strength and denied it, but then nodded.
If the person herself says so, then it must be so, well.
Thinking about it, her mind had every reason to be tired.
It was because she had been so conscious of Enna and Hila. Wimar had a significantly large influence on Ellen.
“I told you to go.”
Ellen mumbled from inside the blanket.
Her voice sounded mushy, as if her pronunciation was crushed by saliva.
“I want to do that too, but I cannot right now.”
“Why.”
“This is a church.”
The situation was not over yet.
“It does not seem like they will attack, but just in case.”
Harad was still assuming the worst-case scenario.
“Where are the two?”
“I do not know, since they are Elves.”
They could be outside, or they could be eavesdropping.
“Ah. You can sleep.”
“How can I sleep when you say that.”
“You can sleep, really.”
“Forget it. No, I do not want to.”
Ellen immediately sat up.
“What should I do, or how?”
“There is nothing for you to do.”
“…….”
Unlike Ellen.
Harad did well even on his own.
Ellen felt slightly envious of the Elaine in the dream.
In the dream, Harad was more incompetent than Elaine.
There was a lot she could do for him.
“Is there really nothing?”
“No. Most likely.”
Whether persuading or threatening the Elf mother and daughter, that was Harad’s share.
“Still, I want to stay by your side. It is not your responsibility, but mine.”
“That is not true.”
Revealing his identity was Harad’s arbitrary decision.
“You did it because of me. So it is my responsibility.”
Ellen was adamant.
“Then let us make it our problem.”
Only then did Ellen nod.
“Our problem will likely not be the worst-case scenario.”
“Why do you think so?”
“You slept soundly.”
If they intended to attack, they would have done so when Ellen was asleep.
The fact that things were quiet until Ellen woke up was a good sign.
“Not even now. If they really intended to hunt the devil, they would have done it last night.”
“Yesterday?”
“Yes, yesterday. Enna Tegen likely realized I was a mage last night.”
Ellen’s eyes widened.
“How?”
“I used the quill pen. I shared a written conversation with Kunlutsban.”
“……This is the first I am hearing of this?”
“Because I am saying it for the first time.”
Ellen’s glare became murderous.
“So you intended to reveal your identity from the beginning?”
“In a way.”
“Why?”
“I told you, I just wanted to.”
“…….”
It was for Ellen.
“I did not do it blindly. As I said earlier, there were grounds.”
“What grounds.”
Ellen asked sullenly.
“As for the grounds for using the quill pen, hmm. First is you. Since you had such a grim face. Let us leave this out. It is not an objective ground.”
Ellen’s face turned red again.
“Enna Tegen is an Elf. That was the ground.”
“She is a priest.”
“But she is an Elf.”
Ellen tilted her head.
She had learned about other races through books.
And that was through books of the North, where one would never meet other races.
“In fact, an Elf’s piety is not that great. Doctrine and such are trivial.”
“Is that allowed?”
“Because they are Elves.”
Elves.
The Church does not coerce that pure race.
“It is difficult to receive baptism and become a priest.”
Divine Power.
The power of that god is not given to just anyone.
The Church thoroughly selects those who will become priests.
“But it is easy for an Elf to receive baptism.”
“Why?”
“Because that is how Elves come over.”
What Elves are captivated by is not the god or the doctrine.
The Moon of the Sun, the Divine Power of the Sun God Luan. The Elves were captivated by that warmth.
“Giving the warmth called Divine Power, and obtaining the Elf. In short, it is a transaction.”
“Do Elves have that much value?”
“Because they are a race where devils are not born. In a symbolic sense, it is more than enough.”
From the Church’s perspective, other races received God’s grace.
“Also, Elves crave warmth. Embracing such Elves without conditions. For the Church of the Sun, there is nothing more gratifying than that.”
Does it not look benevolent to anyone?
It was perfect for image management.
Of course, for some priests, it would have been sincere missionary work.
“It has value in terms of martial power too. Since an Elf’s stealth is useful for hunting devils.”
“You said their piety is not great.”
“Most are like that. Since there is a minority wherever you go.”
There are certainly Elves who were captivated by warmth and then fell into faith.
Harad of the previous life had seen them personally.
“Elf priests influenced by doctrine do not stay in the church but wander around.”
“You mean Enna Tegen belongs to the majority.”
“Correct.”
Enna Tegen was a priest for whom Divine Power was more important than faith.
“It was as expected. Enna Tegen did not attack.”
“She might not have known about the quill pen.”
Harad shook his head.
The Church delivered the obituary of Wimar. There was no last wish there.
“I came to deliver Wimar’s last wish that even the Church does not know. It just so happens I have a secretive talent. Could she not peek or eavesdrop?”
Ellen abruptly shook her head.
There would not be many who could resist that.
“I am the same. Enna Tegen would have been the same too.”
It meant the grounds for using the quill pen were correct.
“The grounds for revealing my identity with my own lips. Enna Tegen peeked at me. She must have seen me use magic. Yet she let it pass.”
Did she just let it pass?
“A mage came. There is no way she did not tell her daughter who just returned.”
Daughter. At that word, Ellen’s face crumpled.
“But the daughter, Hila Tegen, hugged me all night. It means warmth is more important than the Church, devils, and such things.”
Hila Tegen considered the warmth given by a strange man more important than trivial faith.
“Enna Tegen also had a tempted face.”
“…….”
“Also, they called a mage a mage. Not calling me a devil. It must mean they do not care.”
Devil hunting is someone else’s business.
The Elf mother and daughter seemed to consider it as such.
Ellen nodded her head while keeping her face crumpled.
If Enna Tegen really saw Harad use the quill pen, Harad’s stated grounds were valid.
“What if they had not figured out you were a mage?”
What if they just dismissed Harad as a warm person?
Then the grounds Harad mentioned lose their value.
“No. I was definitely caught.”
Harad shook his head firmly.
“Hila Tegen checked the corpse of the mage you killed.”
And she said it.
That it was not warm.
“Before I revealed my identity.”
That was proof that Hila Tegen experienced a mage for the first time last night.
“She thought all mages would be warm. Because I, the first mage she saw, was like that.”
In the end, it means the most important thing to the mother and daughter is warmth.
“As long as warmth is given, it does not matter if it is the Church or a mage. At least Enna Tegen and Hila Tegen think so.”
Devils and those who are not devils.
The Church divides the world into black and white.
The world of the mother and daughter is gray.
Ellen nodded as if possessed.
Hearing it all, it seemed like the truth. Harad had a talent for mesmerizing people.
“So if they show hostility toward me, that would not be devil hunting, but revenge.”
Wimar’s revenge.
“My thoughts are like this.”
Harad spoke abruptly.
Ellen looked at him, but their eyes did not meet.
“What do you think?”
Harad was looking at the innocent empty air.
“……It is exactly as you say.”
An answer was heard from the empty air.
Although her form was not visible, it was Enna Tegen.
“Come down.”
The door opened by itself.
“I wish to have a conversation.”
Harad felt proud.
‘As expected.’
I am different from that foolish Elaine.
* * *
Harad and Ellen sat facing the mother and daughter.
At that moment, Enna abruptly stuck a dagger into the table.
Hila, who was gauging her mood, followed suit.
It seemed to mean they would not attack until the conversation was over.
“Is this not complacent? We could attack first.”
“If you intended to, you would have done so long ago.”
Enna spoke like Harad.
“We would lose anyway.”
She spoke while looking at Ellen.
If this side attacked, that Elf mother and daughter had no chance of winning.
“If the result is the same either way, it would be correct to satisfy curiosity.”
“That is valid.”
“Even so, I have no intention of giving up.”
Even if it meant dying if things went wrong, she would fight.
Enna said so. And that justification would be revenge.
“We have no intention of fighting.”
Ellen, who was listening quietly, spoke.
“That is a matter we must decide.”
Enna was firm.
She was indeed worthy of Wimar’s bloodline.
“He was neither a splendid grandfather nor great-grandfather. He was a person who looked at the sky, not the side.”
Enna spoke while stroking Hila’s back.
The two lived in Alfenor. On the other hand, Wimar’s residence was the Premont Main Temple.
‘He did not visit often either.’
From Enna and Hila’s perspective, he was a cold-hearted grandfather.
“But he was a splendid husband to my grandmother. And a splendid father to my mother.”
“That is more than enough reason for revenge.”
Still, it seemed he did not live completely recklessly.
“Right. Where should I start speaking?”
“From the beginning, in detail.”
It was a bothersome task.
Harad preferred clear facts over reciting trivial personal stories.
“I met Wimar at the Premont Main Temple.”
But Harad had to speak in detail.
That way, Ellen would not regret it.
* * *
Harad voiced every moment with Wimar.
The expressions of Enna and Hila were complex and subtle.
There are no cases where a mage hides their identity and hangs out with a priest.
At least as far as the regressed Harad knew.
What benefit would there be.
But Harad hung out with him.
“I wish to ask the reason.”
Enna seemed curious about that reason.
“It was for this friend’s experience.”
Priest Seria was close to an exception.
Harad wanted Ellen to experience the Church.
“The Church and mages cannot associate. I wanted her to feel that fact personally. If we passed over it without doing so, eventually, lingering affection would arise.”
Looking back, the time with Wimar was quite short.
For Ellen, it was a significantly huge stimulus.
Ellen had kept Priest Seria as a friend, and while seeming to abandon the shred of expectation for the Church, she could not abandon it completely.
“I was spectacularly wrong. Wimar was a splendid priest, but a foolish old man.”
Wimar was a priest who trampled on that expectation while simultaneously blowing wind into it.
“That is why Wimar died.”
Hearing Wimar’s end, the great-granddaughter Hila sighed.
The granddaughter Enna stared intently at Harad before asking.
“Are you a mage who bewitches the intellect?”
Next to him, Ellen nodded slightly.
Harad had a talent for mesmerizing her.
‘Wait.’
Ellen frowned while agreeing.
‘Bewitch?’
Isn’t that a question only a bewitched person can ask?
“Unfortunately, a mage’s Origin is only one. Fire has no such talent.”
Harad spoke while creating a flame.
Hila and Enna’s eyes became dazed for a moment.
“Wimar is not an Elf.”
Seeing that expression, Harad laughed softly.
Fire bewitches Elves.
Didn’t the Church say so?
The origin of the fire is not that important to Elves.
‘Elves are like Asuras.’
Precisely, they were the Moon Tower.
Without fire, Origins related to the moon die.
The mage who is that vessel becomes a monster.
Harad thought the Elf mother and daughter in front of him resembled them.
‘But Elves do not become monsters without fire.’
It is because Elves want the fire, not that the Origin wants the fire.
Origins are not born in Elves.
But perhaps their obsession with fire is not inferior to the Moon Tower.
It was a simple feeling. He could not make a hasty conclusion.
Harad had never met a proper Moon Tower member.
Cassion was of the Moon Tower, but his Origin was not related to the moon. It was a tiny dot.
“He went without regrets. Is that what you said he said?”
Enna closed her eyes and spoke.
Wimar did not regret not killing Harad and instead dying at his hands.
“He is a cold-hearted person to the end.”
Soon, Enna smiled bitterly.
Her slightly opened eyes turned to the dagger stuck in the table. Her hand did not move.
“I have no face to see Grandmother and Mother.”
Enna gave up on revenge.
If she pulled out the dagger here, regrets would be created for the dead Wimar.
“I will not tell the Church. Go, quietly.”
Enna seemed intended to overlook this meeting.
Ellen had a face that felt relieved yet sorry.
“Ellen, do not make such a face. You have no right to.”
It was true.
Whatever the story, the perpetrator was the perpetrator.
“So you must follow my grandfather’s last wish.”
Ellen, who had dropped her head low, raised it again.
“Someday, bring someone who has been proselytized. And go to Grandfather’s tombstone together. Then, I think I can forgive you.”
Prove that Wimar’s choice was correct.
Enna was telling her the method to atone.
Ellen’s face brightened slightly.
She spoke as if making a vow.
“I will definitely bring them. It will not take long.”
“It is fine if it takes long, so bring someone certain.”
An Elf’s lifespan is long.
Ellen clenched her fist tight.
At that moment, Harad pointed at Hila.
“Does that child count?”
The immature Hila still had a bewitched face.
If Harad coaxed her just a little, she looked ready to come over right away.
“……We are excluded.”
Not 'she', but 'we'.
Harad laughed softly.
“I will exclude Elves too. That would be my proselytizing.”
“…….”
Enna did not deny it.
What on earth is the Origin that they go to such lengths?
‘It seems not only the Church would be tempted.’
Elves were subjects that the Otherworld would inevitably be curious about.
Especially the Red Tower or the Moon Tower.
Harad was the same.
He became curious about the race called Elves.
If conditions were sufficient, he wanted to take them and live together to find out.
‘If I seduce them, I think they will really come over.’
Crazy for fire.
The bigger and stronger the fire, the more so.
If he showed them Projection, Enna and Hila might chase him all the way to the North with mesmerized eyes.
Harad tried hard to hold back.
If he did that, Ellen would lose the method to atone.
Ellen wanted to atone to Enna with her own strength.
He cannot interfere now. He came to this point to prevent her regret in the first place.
“Harad.”
At that moment, Enna called Harad.
“I respect your choice.”
Because that is respecting Wimar.
“And I resent you.”
“I understand.”
“I will not tell the Church, but I will tell my family.”
“Do so.”
Harad nodded.
‘Family.’
Wimar only talked about Enna and Hila. Granddaughter and great-granddaughter.
It must mean his wife and daughter were already dead.
The family Enna speaks of must be them.
The grandmother and mother she said she had no face to see.
‘A priest is a priest.’
Enna seemed to believe in the afterlife.
She must mean she will go to her grandmother and mother’s graves and tell them.
“I respect Grandfather’s choice, but Grandmother and Mother will not. Someday, they will seek you out.”
“……?”
“You must not kill even them.”
That is Harad’s method of atonement, Enna was saying.
So Harad tilted his head.
The idea of them seeking him out, well, she is a priest, so let’s leave it at that.
“How can I kill the deceased?”
“Pardon?”
Then Enna tilted her head.
“Are they not deceased?”
Enna’s face hardened stiffly.
Harad hurriedly added.
“Wimar said so.”
“What the……. Still not coming to his senses…….”
Enna sighed repeatedly.
Come to think of it.
Wimar never said his wife and daughter died.
Harad just guessed so.
Since he never brought them up at all.
“Grandmother and Mother are very hale and hearty.”
“There were no words like that.”
“If he had a conscience, he would do that. Since Grandfather ran away in the night.”
Ellen had a dumbfounded face.
Harad felt similar.
“Why?”
“……Please protect the prestige of the deceased.”
He did not know what it was.
But Wimar’s image shattered into pieces for the time being.