novelraw Chapter 73
Chapter 73
Ch.73 Let’s Cry Our Hearts Out—Just for Today
After arriving in Portland, we decided to look for a passenger ship starting tomorrow and booked a room at an inn.
While having dinner at a nearby restaurant, we heard shocking news.
It was…
“The Slave Liberation War… is over?”
The Hero Party—whom I’d completely forgotten about.
They hadn’t been able to find me because they’d been tied up in the Slave Liberation War.
But if the war was over…
Didn’t that mean those lunatics would start hunting me down again?
“Hans, are you okay?”
Selena asked, worry etched on her face—but that wasn’t what mattered right now.
Crap… this is bad. I need to run—right now!
But where?
And more importantly—where were they right now?
Panic seized me instantly.
“Hans! Are you alright? Why are you so restless all of a sudden?”
“I’m fine.”
If I wasn’t careful, I’d end up sliced into five pieces instead of four—any sane person would be fidgeting in my place.
“What does this have to do with the Slave Liberation War?”
Selena asked, eyes brimming with curiosity.
I scratched the back of my head.
“Huh? Nothing at all.”
“You’re always lying.”
She popped a piece of meat into her mouth with her fork, then eyed me suspiciously.
“Could it be…?”
“Hm? Could what be?”
Selena frowned.
“Are you acquainted with one of those women—the ‘Three Witches,’ right? The ones everyone says are stunningly beautiful and terrifyingly powerful?”
Here, the ‘Three Witches’ referred to Scarlet, Cecilia, and Mia.
I had no idea how the Hero Party from the Old Continent had become known as witches in the New Continent, but I waved my hands dismissively.
“What? How would I possibly know them?”
Selena, however, seemed convinced I knew at least one of them.
Truth was, I knew all three—and Leah too.
And they all deluded themselves into thinking they shared some special bond with me.
“Hmm… suspicious.”
She lightly kicked my shin under the table.
“You really don’t know them?”
“Of course not. How would I?”
I knew them far too well—but honestly, I wished I didn’t.
If I could turn back time, I’d hide my identity even more thoroughly.
“Tch. Fine. Let’s just eat.”
Even as we strolled down the street after dinner, my mind was fixed on one thing: securing passage on a ship first thing tomorrow.
“Hey, Hans—look over there!”
Selena pointed to a small candy shop.
Candy shops were fairly common here—comparable, perhaps, to Korean malatang or tanghulu stalls.
Selena, eyes sparkling with excitement, pushed open the shop door.
Ding.
The shop was tiny, yet shelves packed with every imaginable kind of candy—from floor to near-ceiling—immediately captured our attention.
“Welcome!”
A cheerful clerk in her mid-to-late twenties greeted us brightly.
“Looking for anything in particular?”
Selena beamed.
“Do you have peppermint and pumpkin candies?”
“Of course! Right this way.”
The clerk led us to a display case and scooped a few pieces from glass jars.
“Would you like to try some?”
She handed each of us a white peppermint candy.
“Oh? This is good!”
“Yeah, it is.”
Honestly, I’d never really paid attention to what peppermint candy tasted like—back home, it was just something piled up at barbecue restaurants.
But Selena’s joy was infectious, her expression as bright and innocent as a little girl’s.
“Do you have pumpkin candy too?”
“Absolutely.”
The clerk placed a tiny brown candy—about the size of a pinky fingernail—onto Selena’s palm.
“How about you, sir? Would you like some?”
I shook my head.
“No, thanks. I’m not really fond of sweets.”
The clerk looked slightly disappointed but turned to Selena.
“How’s it taste?”
“It’s delicious! Just like the ones I had when I was little.”
Aren’t all candies pretty much the same?
After sampling a few more, Selena bought several of each type.
“Want one?”
She grinned, offering me two red, round candies.
I popped one into my mouth.
“Huh? This is actually good.”
“Right? Slurp. Good thing we didn’t miss this place.”
Her cheeks puffed out adorably as she savored the candy, looking utterly satisfied.
“Yeah, for sure. But what flavor is this?”
“Supposedly cherry.”
True to her words, a cherry scent filled my mouth—but it tasted different from the cherry candies I remembered.
Modern candies tended to be bolder, but this one was lighter, more delicate.
And the cherry flavor itself felt… more natural.
Was this the mark of a true artisan?
The anxiety I’d felt earlier—thinking about Scarlet and the others—began to ease slightly.
Right. They don’t know where I am, and I don’t know where they are.
Nothing’s changed.
I’ll quietly leave the New Continent, and they’ll keep searching for me here.
“Yeah, exactly.”
Selena, overhearing my mutter, tilted her head.
“Hm? Exactly what?”
“Nothing important. Anyway, I should look into ship schedules tomorrow.”
She nodded.
“But after we find the treasure ship… where will you go?”
I answered casually.
“Oh, I guess it’s about time to head back to the Old Continent.”
She stopped walking and turned to face me.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Why?”
She seemed like she wanted to say something serious—but with one cheek still puffed out from candy, it was hard not to smile.
“What? Why are you laughing?”
“It’s just… you look cute like that.”
Selena puffed out both cheeks in protest.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She raised a tiny fist as if to swing it, and I quickly interjected.
“Anyway—you had something to say, right?”
“Oh! Right.” She paused, then asked, “Hans… what do you think of the Church of Death?”
“The Church of Death?”
A secret cult trying to resurrect the King of the Dead.
Their leader was Davinus.
Knowing how brutal they were, my expression darkened instantly.
“They’re the worst.”
“R-really?”
They sought to bring back the King of the Dead and drag the entire world into oblivion.
Having witnessed firsthand the atrocities committed by their fanatics, there was no way I could view them favorably.
“Yeah. But why do you ask about them?”
Selena lowered her head.
“It’s nothing.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
She lifted her head slightly and offered a small smile.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just curious. Come on—let’s get back to the inn. My legs hurt.”
For someone who claimed it was ‘just curiosity,’ her reaction felt oddly tense.
Women—truly impossible to understand sometimes.
***
Davinus held the violet orb he’d obtained from the monastery and prayed fervently.
“O King, grant me the sound of your voice.”
Hundreds—thousands—of prayers.
Inside a moving carriage, he obeyed the divine command given only to the most faithful servant: to awaken the King of the Dead.
After days of fasting and desperate prayer, Davinus finally received an answer— a voice echoing in response to his devotion.
[Who are you? Who dares awaken me with such fervor?]
“Your Majesty, I am Davinus, humble servant of our God.”
[Our God, you say? Do you even know whom I serve?]
“Of course. You serve Lord Roy, Your Majesty.”
[Then… the time has come?]
“Yes. The time foretold in prophecy has arrived.”
At his words, the orb trembled.
Was it moved?
After a brief stillness, the voice returned—filled with elation.
[Then where is my body?]
“She will arrive soon.”
[My vessel… is female?]
“Yes. Chosen personally by our God.”
Davinus believed the one bearing the divine gift of regression was the perfect vessel for the legendary king.
[Tch. A woman’s form is frail—but if our God has chosen it, there must be a purpose. I shall obey.]
“I am honored by Your words.”
An image of a black-haired woman flashed through Davinus’s mind.
The time had come to summon her.
The moment prophesied by their God.
[Hasten my resurrection. I shall sever the neck of My celestial adversary and cast him into hell.]
***
Back at the inn, Selena lay alone in her room.
For the first time in a while, she was by herself in bed.
The evening’s conversation replayed in her mind.
—The Church of Death?
—They’re the worst.
Hans’s deeply troubled expression—like he’d seen something he shouldn’t have—pierced her heart.
‘What should I do?’
Lately, the closer she grew to Hans, the more she found herself falling for him.
For a merchant, he was unusually pure-hearted; for the world’s richest man, astonishingly humble.
His constant efforts to care for her made her heart flutter.
And his exceptional abilities only drew her in further.
He never left her side and openly showed his affection—making her feel just a little smug.
As someone who’d once believed she could manipulate the prophesied figure and shatter the prophecy itself, Hans’s words and expression unsettled her deeply.
‘Do I really… have to kill him? Or… can I even do it?’
Since reuniting with Hans, she’d tried multiple times to take his life—direct attacks, ambushes, even poison—but all had failed.
And the more their relationship deepened, the weaker her resolve became.
Truthfully, she didn’t want to kill him—if she could help it.
‘But now… I really must. Soon, Cardinal Davinus will resurrect Him.’
Selena didn’t know exactly when the prophecy would begin.
But she knew that once the Demon King fell, events would unfold as foretold.
A single tear rolled down her crimson eyes.
Huh… huk…
She’d already given her heart to Hans.
But she couldn’t betray the God who’d saved her life.
Her God had promised eternal life beyond death—a paradise without discrimination or suffering, only everlasting joy.
Her mission was clear:
Resurrect her God, destroy the false deities, and become the beacon of hope for all humanity.
And Hans—standing in the way of that destiny—could not be spared.
Part of her wanted to scream at him:
‘You’re wrong! You’ve been brainwashed by those evil gods!’
‘Should I… just talk to him?’
But she couldn’t.
She didn’t have the courage to face the betrayed, furious gaze of the man who’d always been so endlessly kind to her.
Not yet.
After all, despite her high rank in the organization, she was still only twenty—still young.
“Hic… sob…”
“Fine… Just for today… I’ll cry my hearts out.”
She let her tears flow, releasing the weight of her stifled emotions.
“And then… I’ll kill him for sure—and take all the divine power he’s gathered.”
For the sake of the world, humanity, and her God.
Selena, burdened with the duty to set the world right, steeled her resolve once more.
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