Episode 13
After climbing the hill tirelessly again and again, the temple finally came into view.
‘Finally here… hmm?’
But someone was standing in front of the temple’s main gate.
“Elly!”
It was Seria, who should have been resting alone. As soon as she saw me, she rushed over.
“Seria.”
“Elly, did you have a good trip?”
Worried about my first outing, Seria immediately hugged me tightly. Then, she began examining me all over.
“You’re not hurt anywhere, right? Hm?”
She checked me so thoroughly, as if she had to be absolutely sure I was okay. Only after I nodded to say I was fine did she finally let go.
“Thank goodness. I was really worried.”
“I’m here too, Saintess Seria.”
Pelles spoke with a hint of disappointment. Seria flinched in surprise.
“Ah, Pelles-nim! Did you return safely too?”
“Yes, I did.”
“S-sorry. I was just so worried about Elly…”
“It’s alright.”
As Seria talked with Pelles, she suddenly glanced beside me. For a moment, her expression hardened slightly.
“And this child is?”
“Oh, I met him by chance in the Forest of Hearts. He said he had nowhere to go, so I told him he could stay at the temple for a while. You don’t mind, do you?”
“U-uh, if that’s what Elly decided…”
Seria said this but quickly stuck close to my side.
Seria and Teron stared at each other over my shoulders. But Teron’s expression seemed colder than before.
‘What’s with him? He was smiling so brightly earlier.’
Seria, too, acted a little more distant than usual.
As silence fell between them, Teron was the first to break it. He held out his hand politely.
“I’m Teron.”
“Oh… I’m Seria.”
Seria awkwardly reached out and took his hand. For some reason, neither of them looked particularly happy to greet each other.
Still, they were both unusually polite for children. Seria was technically a saintess, and Theron was from a noble family.
‘But still… why does this handshake feel like a battle of nerves?’
It felt like electricity was crackling between them as they stared each other down, tightening their grips.
Then, as if on cue, their hands quickly separated. They turned their heads away from each other, almost in disdain.
‘Ah, is that what this is?’
As the protagonists of this world, maybe they fell for each other at first sight. Maybe they were just tense and acting weird because of it. Yeah… that’s probably it.
Sadly, I didn’t yet realize that this was only my misinterpretation.
—
“You’ll be using this room.”
Elias spoke flatly and opened the door. Theron followed behind quietly, observing the surroundings.
The room Elias showed him had previously been a shared room used by the temple priests. It was a decently sized, tidy space with four single beds.
Elias frowned slightly as he watched Teron scan the interior.
Since Pelles was preparing dinner and Seria was helping, Elias had no choice but to guide Theron himself.
‘I wanted to rest, but how annoying.’
Still, Elias did his duty.
The room assigned to Teron had already been cleaned in preparation for future temple initiates.
“You can pick whichever bed you want—just use one. Cleaning more than one is a pain.”
Elias said with a slight frown. But his intimidating look wasn’t scary at all—in fact, it was kind of cute. Teron responded with a small smile.
“Alright, I’ll just use one.”
Seeing Teron’s smile made Elias wonder.
‘Why does he smile like that?’
Knowing this boy would one day leave the temple with Seria made Elias feel a little uneasy.
So he added, in a slightly blunt tone,
“And I know you noble brats don’t really have nowhere to go. Just stay quietly for a bit and then head back.”
Having read the original story in his past life, Elias knew all about Teron’s background as the heir of the Duke of Pierd. But that didn’t mean he could let him stay here.
‘That kid has to return to his rightful place and grow into the protagonist of this world.’
For a moment, Teron’s eyes looked a little sad.
“Alright… I understand.”
His weak reply made Elias pause. Just before turning away, he added,
“I don’t know what circumstances you’re dealing with, but let me tell you one thing.”
Elias paused before continuing.
“You… will overcome it. I did too—rose up from a crappy place all on my own.”
Teron’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at those words. But Elias didn’t pay it much mind and turned to leave.
“I’ll call you when it’s time for dinner. Get some rest.”
Just as Elias was about to touch the door handle, Theron grabbed his robe.
“W-wait, Saintess…”
“What is it?”
Elias turned his head.
“Did you… also go through hard times?”
At Teron’s question, Elias let out a low breath. Then, he gently pulled Teron’s hand off his robe and replied.
“Of course. Didn’t you hear earlier? This temple originally belonged to another god—not Lady Lilith.”
“Oh… I heard.”
“Seria and I were both forced to live as saintesses in this temple. We had to be the center of attention while living in a dungeon-like prison, eating hard bread, unable to bathe properly… It was a miserable existence. And yet, we still had to smile for the people.”
Elias explained it all without changing expression. Theron remained silent throughout.
Looking at his expression, Elias sighed quietly.
‘Why does he look even sadder than I feel?’
Tears welled up in Teron’s red eyes. Seeing that, Elias continued more lightly.
“Well, that’s all in the past now. I met Lady Lilith and got my freedom back. So don’t make that face.”
“Just like Lady Lilith appeared as a salvation for me, someone—or something—might do the same for you.”
Elias looked at Teron for a moment.
‘Unlike me, this boy will escape that hell on his own someday.’
It happened in the original story too, so it was entirely possible.
“Anyway, while you’re staying here, just relax. At least in this place, you can let go of everything.”
With that, Elias turned the doorknob.
“See you at dinner.”
Creak. The door closed. Elias was gone, but Teron’s gaze stayed fixed on the spot where he had stood.
Staring at that place for a long moment, Theron finally smiled faintly.
And with a slightly flushed face, he continued looking at the door where Elias had just stood.
—
After showing Teron to his room, I returned to mine and washed up right away. I changed into clean clothes and offered a prayer to Lady Lilith.
I told her all about my day in detail, and she seemed delighted to hear it.
I could almost still hear her cheerful laughter ringing in my ears.
Anyway, after I finished praying, it was already time for dinner, so I hurried to the dining room.
‘I’m starving… so hungry.’
Maybe it was because today’s outing was longer than expected, or because healing James drained my energy.
Whatever the reason, I was hungrier than usual. As I rushed toward the dining room, the delicious smell wafted down the hallway.
‘That smell—it’s definitely meat!’
I entered the dining room, excited. There sat Pelles, Seria, and Theron around the long table.
“Elly, over here!”
Seria waved me over, pointing to the seat next to her. But… I sat beside Pelles instead.
Seria and Teron were already sitting together, and Pelles’ side was closer to the meat. So Teron ended up sitting directly across from me. Seria looked a little downcast, but in my starved state, food was all that mattered.
The table was filled with an amazing feast—meats, bread, soup, salad, drinks. After scanning it all, I raised my thumb toward Pelles.
“Pelles-nim, you’re the best…”
“Haha, thank you. I thought you might be hungry after your trip, so I prepared something special.”
“As expected of you, Pelles-nim! I knew I could count on you!”
I praised him enthusiastically and reached for the salad. I could feel Seria and Teron’s eyes on me, but I ignored them and got immersed in the salad.
“Mmm… so good.”
Why is even the salad so delicious? I wondered as I considered what to eat next.
Suddenly, two plates were held out to me—one with chicken, the other with pork. One from Seria, the other from Teron.
What… is going on?
To be continued.
