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The next day, I manage to complete my roof repair job for the day just before sunset. It has been a really hectic day.

Most of the roof tiles in the wine cellar were cracked, so it took more time than I expected. The work was tough. It’s like I was stuck in a nightmare, that no matter how much I repaired the roof tiles, the roof wouldn’t ever be fully repaired.

But I’ll be working with Lian tomorrow. I definitely don’t want to have this work carry over to the next day, so I used all my energy and worked hard. Eventually, I somehow managed to finish it. What a relief. Seriously.

After completing the repair job and cleaning up, I search for the owner of the brewery and report that the repairs are done and that I’m going home.

Alongside words of gratitude, he gives me ten bottles of beer and an envelope filled with my payment.

But what I’ve done is only a temporary repair before the actual repair. I tell him that, but he laughs and slaps my back, saying, “It’s courtesy to accept what people give you as thanks, okay!”

Since I agree with his words, I decide to gratefully accept them.

The beer in this brewery tastes refreshing and delicious. The Cheddars will surely be very delighted once I bring these home. Both of them love alcohol.

By the time I leave the brewery, it’s already dark.

I wonder if everyone has gone home. I see no one around me.

It’s also too quiet.

The horse gallops along the silent road. I try to rush a little bit. After all, both the horse and I are really hungry.

As I rush down the road, I can see the church at the base of the hill’s gentle slope. A warm orange light is shining out of the church window.

I gently pull the reins to slow down the horse.

Lian… Has he returned to the mansion?

…No, of course he already went home. It’s already late.

I tug at the reins harder and stop the horse… and let out a sigh. Lately, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t even had a chance to touch or even talk with Lian.

Lian is probably busy this spring too. He often travels to other villages and towns, sometimes even to the royal capital. He seems to have some businesses and purchases to deal with. I’ve been very busy as well, so… if the timing is right, I can only meet him in the morning once a week.

Other than that, we meet only on Wednesday afternoons, which is the time we train weekly together, and on Saturdays and Sundays, which are the days where I take on my job as his escort.

I… I feel a little jealous of Efa and Schwede.

Since they live in the church, they have more chances to meet Lian than I do. When I think of those two people, they remind me about what happened one night last year. I exhale a second sigh.

That happened in the middle of last year… I think?

People have been bringing orphans to the church at shorter intervals than before. There are more kids coming in than there are leaving… Until finally, the orphanage has reached full capacity.

Seeing Marie’s small figure run around without any rest, Lian and I believe that the situation will only continue to worsen unless we do something. So we persistently persuaded her to inform the Fortuna Church about the orphanage’s current situation and request for aid to arrive as soon as possible.

It’s good that she’s doing her best, but the worst thing that can happen to her is collapsing after working herself to the bone.

Marie may be an energetic elderly, but at the end of the day, she’s still an elderly. She shouldn’t overdo it.

Then a month after Marie finally accepted our continuous persuasion and sent a letter to the Fortuna Church, during which we are nearing the end of the year, the ones the church dispatched are… Efa and Schwede.

Efa is an apprentice nun. She has the same hair, eye, and skin color as me. She’s probably… No, I’m sure of it. Efa and I have the same origin.

I haven’t confirmed it. I don’t even know of any way to confirm it. But somehow… I know it from my gut feeling. That the girl in front of me is a “friend.”

Efa seems to feel the same way as I do.

Well, it doesn’t matter. But I wonder whether she can answer the questions that have been troubling my mind a little bit until now. So I ask her… For people of color like us… Is there a place or country that we can call our “home”?

And her answer is…

There’s probably none anymore.

Since I expected it, I’m not very surprised by her reply.

According to the story that Efa heard from her great-grandparents, their country existed a long, long time ago before Efa’s grandparents were born. But one day, a tremendously horrifying and devastating disaster hit the entire country, and everything, even the entire land, sank to the bottom of the sea.

When she mentions this, something suddenly comes to mind.

A long time ago, I read a book that I borrowed from the library about a magical kingdom that sank to the depths of the sea.

Maybe… it’s about that?

The book attempts to unravel the truth behind a mystery based on the few clues the writer had found. It is written like an adventure novel, and the story is quite interesting and filled with drama. Occasionally, it talks about encounters with monsters that the writer has never seen, as well as ventures into mysterious sites.

That kingdom is governed by people blessed by God. The citizens live alongside spirits, who now rarely appear in public view, and flowers bloom all year round. It’s a rich and wonderful country that is, just like a heavenly paradise.

A utopian country where everyone can be happy.

But the story is written in past tense.

Like many stories narrating the rise and fall of a country, a few generations later, the king is cajoled by another king of an ambitious nation… From then on, the paradisiacal kingdom started to crumble.

Some old literature also states that the horrific disaster that swallowed the kingdom is a manifestation of heaven’s wrath and grief. I remember reading a book saying that.

…Well, both of us don’t really feel anything toward such an ancient story. In short, all I know is that we rootless wanderers are scattered all over the world and have somehow managed to survive.

It also seems that Efa’s parents died due to an epidemic around two years ago.

So…

I can see why she became attached to Lian so quickly.

Just by staying by his side, anyone can notice that Lian is very kind and warm in nature, probably because he holds too much parental affection.

No matter who they are, Lian will gently hug anyone who’s crying, even if they are naughty brats. If someone stretches their hand toward him, he will grasp their hand with a troubled face and a helpless smile.

Then until they stop crying and calm down, he will continue to stay beside them, stroking them with his warm hands.

To anyone. Anyone.

…For some reason, I now feel a bit sad and gloomy, but I pretend not to notice it.

Well, that’s good too. Efa seems to be struggling in many ways after all. Lian can also sense it, so he treats her like a kid that needs to be spoiled.

I can understand that.

What I don’t understand is…

…That cathedral knight who has introduced himself as Schwede Scherzer.

Although he tells me that he’s an apprentice knight with no rank, I’m not blind to the delicate craftsmanship on the handle. It’s too good to be the sword of an apprentice knight.

Though, I’ve never heard of a cathedral knight being dispatched just to help a church. It’s just too absurd.

This village is incredibly peaceful. Demons rarely appear here.

But when I try to sound him out since there’s no way he came just to help Marie, he says, “I was also dispatched to investigate the situation around this area. I’m sure you know that beyond the west forest, the large river, the mountains, the valleys, and the wilderness lies two big restless nations.”

Well, he’s right…

Apparently, the two countries have recently established a temporary truce due to the continuous conflicts between them and the exhaustion of their military power. I heard this from my fellow senior escorts during the New Year.

But is that really all?

I’ve once seen Lian and that knight talking alone before.

At that time, Lian… looked confused. He had a worried frown on his face. He looked slightly nervous as well.

I don’t know what they were talking about.

But for some reason, as I watched them… my heart pounds violently, and a sense of foreboding arises within me, along with an unspeakable panic. It’s like my blood has run cold.

Even I can’t explain it, but…

When he pressed his forehead against the back of Lian’s hand, I couldn’t stand it. It looked like he was pledging allegiance to him.

A thought whispers into my mind, “As I thought, he has such intentions.”

I desperately suppress the urge to loudly yell at him not to touch Lian and hurriedly pull Lian away from him.

I want to tell Lian that he shouldn’t get close to that knight, but… I don’t even know the reason why he can’t stay too far away from him, and I’m sure I won’t be able to explain it well either.

So every time I find them together, I do my best to pull them apart.

Even I realize that I’m being too narrow-minded—I mean, that I’m worrying too much.

When I look up, the night sky with its crescent moon and a myriad of stars fill my sight.

After I heave a sigh for one last time, I pull the reins and signal the horse to move.