Episode 17
Maybe it was because I had been so busy ever since I fell into the world of this book, but this was the first time I had looked up at the night sky like this.
‘It’s beautiful.’
As I gazed at the countless stars scattered across the sky, it finally sank in—I really was in another world.
Back in the place I used to live, I could never see a night sky like this.
‘The stars shining in nature like this… they’re truly beautiful.’
It looked like the dark sky had been embedded with an uncountable number of jewels.
And then, a voice called out to me.
“Saintess? What are you doing out here?”
So lost in stargazing, I hadn’t even noticed someone approaching me.
Just as I was about to stand up in surprise, a face suddenly appeared right in front of me.
It was Teron. This guy—he’s not asleep yet.
“Saintess?”
As I simply glared at him, he called out to me again. I let out a quiet sigh and replied.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came out.”
Only then did Teron’s face disappear from view. A rustling sound followed beside me, and I saw him lie down next to me.
“There are so many stars.”
He spoke lightly, admiringly.
“Yeah.”
I gave a half-hearted reply and turned my gaze back to the stars, but then he continued.
“…I’ll have to leave this place someday, but I’ll still come back often.”
I turned to look at him, startled by the sudden words. Teron also turned his head to look at me.
Seeing the seriousness on his face, a mischievous impulse welled up inside me. So, I spoke coldly.
“You don’t need to come that often.”
I deliberately drew a line with formal speech. Teron let out a small chuckle.
“No, I will come often. To help you and Brother Pelles.”
Oh, really?
“Brother Teron. The Lilith Temple may seem small now, but it will steadily grow. By the time you visit again, there probably won’t be much left for you to help with.”
Right now, before the temple officially opens, it’s the busiest. Once it’s open, more priests will join, so things will be easier.
“…I suppose that’s true.”
Teron nodded as if just realizing it.
“Then I’ll—”
Just as he was about to say more, he flinched, then suddenly reached out and covered my mouth.
What the heck is he doing?
Then he slowly lifted his upper body and brought his finger to my lips—gesturing for me to be quiet.
I stayed still, doing as he asked. Teron turned his gaze toward the temple’s outer wall and whispered.
“I think… we have an intruder.”
An intruder is an intruder—what does he mean, ‘I think’? Just as I was thinking that—
Rustle—
I, too, heard the faint sound of rustling outside the temple. Whoever it was, they were trying their best to hide their presence, but I could still hear it.
I gestured for Teron to remove his hand. As soon as he did, I quietly sat up and grabbed the necklace I was wearing.
I felt a small object attached to it.
It was a weapon I’d enchanted with Lady Lilith’s divine power as an experiment. A pork cutlet mallet, of all things.
Using her power, I had shrunk the mallet and turned it into a necklace for emergency use in combat.
I quickly removed the tiny mallet from the necklace and held it in my hand, pouring divine energy into it.
The pork cutlet mallet instantly expanded to a usable size. As I held it firmly in my hand, Teron approached, surprised.
He moved in front of me silently and whispered,
“I’ll handle it.”
There’s no way. No matter how you look at it, Teron was weaker than me. What gave him the confidence to think he could handle an intruder?
‘He’s seen my power before, hasn’t he?’
Oh. Maybe he didn’t witness it properly.
Then Teron pulled out a sword from his waist. Come to think of it, he’d had a sword at his side ever since I first met him.
‘He’s only seven… Has he already been trained in swordsmanship?’
Even more shocking, it was a real blade that shimmered under the moonlight.
‘Damn those Piert bastards…’
Giving a real sword to a child that young? Still, I couldn’t tell him to put it away now, so I just nodded vaguely.
Together, we moved toward the outer wall as quietly as possible.
The temple wall wasn’t very high—about the height of an adult man. Still, it was hard for us, mere children, to get a clear view of the intruder from inside.
‘Opening the main gate would be the dumbest thing we could do.’
Of course, if the intruders came too close, Lady Lilith’s divine protection would deal with them.
Still, I wanted to identify who they were. I studied the wall.
‘I could jump up there easily, but Teron probably can’t.’
Even if he’d trained with a sword, I didn’t know if he had the physical strength to match. I was just about to leap up when—
Whoosh—
Teron climbed the wall with surprising speed. Impressive. His movement was silent and swift—like a cat.
I followed and climbed up beside him. Teron’s eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed.
I ignored him and looked toward where I sensed the presence. The spot we were perched on was hidden in the shadows of a large tree, so the intruders likely couldn’t see us. That gave us an advantage.
‘There they are.’
About ten meters away, a group of people was hiding in the bushes near the trees.
‘I thought it might be some thugs from the slums or low-level scum…’
But I was wrong.
The intruders at the temple were the same people I’d seen in the town square when we went to promote the Lilith religion.
In other words, they were from the Piert family. There were five of them—clearly knights from the Piert household.
“Damn…”
I heard Teron curse quietly. He must’ve realized who they were too.
No matter how much of a male lead he was in this world, a seven-year-old child couldn’t possibly take on five trained knights.
“Want me to handle it?”
The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. He looked troubled, so I offered without thinking. But I regretted it immediately.
A thin ray of moonlight streamed through the trees, just enough for me to see Teron’s eyes tremble.
But soon, he smiled faintly and answered.
“No.”
“So you’re going to take care of them?”
Instead of answering, Teron suddenly reached out and grabbed my hand—then pressed his lips gently to the back of it.
I froze.
Wait, what? Did a seven-year-old just kiss me?
“…I suppose…”
Just as I was going blank, Teron spoke softly with slightly sorrowful eyes.
“I should go now. Thank you for everything, Saintess.”
Bathed in a beam of moonlight, Teron looked terribly sad. But in his resolute eyes, I could see a glimpse of the original Teron from the book.
“I’ll come again. So, let’s meet then.”
With a gentle smile, he jumped down from the wall.
Deliberately loud—loud enough for the intruders to hear.
Thud, thud, thud—
And just like that, the knights from the Piert family revealed themselves and ran after him down the hill.
I stayed on the wall, hiding my presence, and watched until Teron disappeared from view.
“‘Again,’ he says…”
Will there really be a next time? This might’ve been our last meeting.
So, in my heart, I whispered a final farewell to Teron.
‘I hope you find happiness, Teron.’
—
The next morning
After Teron left, I yawned widely as I entered the dining hall. I’d gone to sleep late, so I was still tired.
“Thanks, Pelles.”
As soon as I sat down, I thanked Pelles for the warm soup placed in front of me.
“Did you sleep well, Elly?”
“Mhm. What about Seria?”
“Me? Same as always.”
As we chatted lightly and ate our soup, Pelles spoke while taking his seat with his own portion.
“Brother Teron isn’t here today. Do you think he overslept?”
At that, I replied calmly.
“He left.”
“What? Brother Teron left?”
“Yes.”
Pelles looked genuinely surprised—but Seria’s reaction was different. She was surprised too, for a moment.
“That’s true, Elly?”
“Yeah.”
But soon, Seria’s expression brightened.
To be continued
