NOVEL NEXT From Rude’s perspective, this whole situation didn’t quite feel real.
Suddenly, a celestial being appeared, declaring him a hero and delivering a message to defeat the evil coming their way.
He was granted a magical spear that was indeed a powerful weapon.
There really wasn’t any reason to doubt it, and even if he had become a hero, it wasn’t all that strange.
After all, he had proven his strength by becoming a gold-ranked adventurer after ten years.
It’s also reasonable that a hero could be born in Marlen, a place steeped in the legend of a lineage of celestial descendants.
“I really don’t want to deal with the hassle of going to Infula,” he muttered.
Rude’s party was taking a path completely different from Yona’s.
Sure, crossing the Insturia Mountains would be the fastest route, but it was far too dangerous.
Going alone wouldn’t be much of a problem, but taking the Priestess Vigrind with him posed some risks.
Moreover, since they were traveling to receive the hero and saint’s endorsement, they needed a decent-sized escort, making it wise to avoid land routes.
“So, we’re going by ship, huh?” he said.
“Yes,” Vigrind nodded at Rude.
Her delicate white finger glided across the map, retracing the route they would take.
“To the northernmost port of the Kingdom of Lukasia… through the Bitia Strait to the Sea of Flabus, then to the Sea of Alter… and dock at the Duchy of Kapatia.”
“Then it should be smooth sailing from there.”
“Exactly.”
Rude wasn’t familiar with the geography of this northern continent.
He had left all the route planning to Vigrind, who wasn’t exactly a geography expert herself and had even asked the cathedral’s pilgrim coordinator for directions.
Considering the number of people they had to move, the burdens they carried, and the dangers they had to avoid, this was the conclusion they reached.
“Though it takes a bit longer than going by land, considering the number of people we have, the ship is more stable. And if we think about crossing the Insturia Mountains by road, it won’t be that slow either.”
“Is that so? Then let’s go with that.”
Vigrind glanced at Rude, who nodded vigorously.
He was the man who became a hero, but there was something unsettling about talking to him.
Isn’t this person, often called the savior of humanity, the hero?
But is he really a man worthy of being called a savior?
“Are we departing tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
Priest Vigrind lightly nodded his head. He must be a hero, after all. The way he effortlessly dealt with that fearsome demon definitely proves he’s a hero.
“Then please rest well, Saint.”
“Wishing you a peaceful night as well, Hero.”
Rude bowed slightly and left the room. Only after confirming that Rude had completely closed the door did Vigrind let out a small sigh and sit on the Bed.
Was he happy? Not really.
It wasn’t so much happiness as it was a feeling of nothingness.
Since the Day of Judgment, he had become a priest, and compared to other priests of his cohort, his divine power was exceptional.
He stood out and quickly made a name for himself, noble and pure, and soon reached the position of purification priest.
“Huuh…”
And now, having reached the pinnacle of that priesthood—where male priests are called Popes and female priests are called Saints—Vigrind felt that it wasn’t all that joyous.
He got up from the Bed and removed his veil. He hung the veil on a hanger and loosened the waist tie of his priestly outfit, carefully folding it and placing it on the nightstand. He took care to hang the flowing priestly robe on a wooden hanger so it wouldn’t get wrinkled.
“I will take a bath.”
– Yes.
A soft voice could be heard from beyond the wooden door that separated the room. After receiving a revelation, he had moved rooms.
He had relocated from a tiny chamber to this independent suite that featured both a bathroom and a toilet.
He now had three attendants to attend to him, making him feel like a truly noble figure.
“I never expected to feel this way in a place like this.”
Eventually, he received notice that the bathwater was ready, and Vigrind entered the bathroom dressed in thin clothing.
Water gushed from the carved lion-head on the wall, filling the tub, and as the attendants lightly washed Vigrind before his bath, he slowly settled into the tub.
“Hero, Saint, Demon Lord…”
Nothing felt real.
Especially that last word, “Demon Lord.”
It felt so unreal that he questioned whether it was true.
“…And Yona.”
In fact, isn’t it the case that the hero treated Yona as the Saint?
Even when facing that demon, didn’t Vigrind try to take Yona along instead of himself?
– Crack…
Vigrind clenched his teeth.
As he tightly shut his eyes and bit down, a sharp pain surged through him.
Biting down, a sharp pain surged forth.
‘You always… always treat me like this…’
The divine power wasn’t that impressive.
If we’re talking purely about divine power, it didn’t even come close to Vigrind’s.
Even in terms of application, Vigrind was much superior to Yona.
Yet, Yona always had a crowd around her.
She smiled, was lively, and got along well with those around her.
If Vigrind was seen as a flower that was elegant but had thorns,
Yona was viewed as beautiful, exquisite, and even fragrant, blooming in a roadside flowerbed, welcoming anyone’s touch.
Sister Aege even said that if Yona became a priest, the cathedral would feel more friendly to the people.
—Though I did overhear it.
But Yona became a healer, and Vigrind became a priest, eventually becoming a saint.
A being that any congregation member should look up to and revere, the saint.
And even the hero, who was supposed to be the closest to that saint, seemed lost in thoughts of Yona.
‘That annoying girl…’
I couldn’t forget Yona’s face when she just laughed off even the moment she became a healer.
When they were separated into priest and healer, I couldn’t forget the way Yona said healer was a good job, utterly free of jealousy.
I cupped my hands and scooped up some water.
No matter how tightly I pressed my palms together, water trickled through the gaps.
The dripping water fell into the tub, sending ripples radiating out.
Round and round.
The ripples grew bigger and spread out.
“What a bad girl.”
…Yeah, you’re the bad one.
Showing up suddenly, shining brighter than me—
“I really hate you…”
*
“Pouh!”
“Did you catch a cold?”
“Cold, my ass…”
Yona said this while pulling her chair closer to the campfire.
Alex threw in a couple more logs in front of Yona, stood up, and poured water from the canteen over the fire.
“You’re used to this kind of camping, right?”
“Yeah. I’m used to it.”
Yona sniffled and nodded at Kaiyak.
It was the first night.
The first night heading from Evian to the Mage Community.
Alex cleaned the two rabbits they had caught, and Yona skewered them over the fire.
Kaiyak ground some rock salt to season them.
The rabbit roast they made was surprisingly tasty.
“But what was that rock? It tasted way better than just grilled meat. I was a bit surprised.”
Wiping her nose with a piece of cloth Alex handed her, Yona asked Kaiyak.
Yona wiped her nose with a piece of cloth and asked Kaiyak.
“I remember that I bought it at Henson’s General Store. I saw you rubbing it all over the place.”
“It’s called rock salt. Think of it as salt stones. Just a little bit adds flavor when cooking meat.”
“Oh, so that’s rock salt?”
Yona recalled from memory.
Of course, it didn’t look exactly like that stone shape, but she knew that rock salt existed.
“Just seasoning it changed the taste so much.”
“Well, I don’t usually carry things like that around.”
Is this what it takes to be a silver-grade adventurer?
Yona suddenly thought Kaiyak was impressive.
“This.”
“Uh, yeah.”
A light steam was wafting from the wooden cup Alex handed over.
It wasn’t very hot, but warm enough—perfect for sipping.
“Ah, this is nice.”
“It’s still chilly at night.”
Alex answered while pouring water into his cup and drinking.
Kaiyak refused, saying he was fine with that.
“There will be a village tomorrow.”
“A village?”
“Yeah. It’s at the edge of the Lukasia Mountains. This is a good place for hunting. There’s quite a bit of wildlife.”
“Oh…”
“It’ll be a long journey. When there’s a village, we should rest for a day each time to conserve our strength. Once we enter the Insturia Mountains, there won’t be any villages, so we need to manage our stamina well. Got it, Alex?”
“…Why Alex?”
Kaiyak suddenly asking Alex something when Yona should have stamina issues was puzzling.
Plus, Alex nodded as if he understood.
“If Yona gets worn out, you have to carry her, right?”
“I’m not gonna wear out!”
“Well, we don’t know about that.”
The campfire danced and flickered.
Sparks flew aimlessly, and in the distance, a beast howled long and loud.
“You’re going to go to the community first, right?”
“That’s the plan.”
Yona finished her warm drink and set her cup down.
She waved her hand to Alex who was about to refill her cup, signaling that she was good. Then she spoke to Kaiyak.
“Whatever it is, the community is the priority. From there, I either go back to my original world or return as a man, one of the two.”
At her words, Kaiyak sighed deeply.
“Alex, you’re going to have a lot of work ahead of you.”
Kaiyak chuckled.