The Saint’s chamber inside the Magic Tower temple.
The four won were silently watching .
Ione looked sowhat angry, Alne appeared cold.
Erpa’s eyes were filled with tears, and Kanya’s face said she had no idea what kind of expression she was supposed to be making.
And —I had my head bowed like a sinner.
“You were planning to die? You were going to have your soul destroyed?”
Erpa asked after a long silence, her voice still heavy with moisture. I nodded.
Erpa let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
“...So that’s why you kept pushing us away.”
“I’m sorry.”
At my apology, she stepped forward and hugged tightly without a word.
“I’m the one who should be sorry. I didn’t even understand what you were going through... and just kept pushing our feelings on you. I’m sorry. Truly.”
I gently patted Erpa’s back as she trembled.
Honestly.
Given the things they’d done to while I was still stuck in my spiral of life-or-death despair... this reaction made sense.
But still. It’s funny.
“You know... when I was in pain... the mories I had with you guys actually helped more than I expected.”
They really did help .
Given the way I am, I probably never would’ve accepted their feelings through normal ans.
And if that had been the case—
If I’d never known what it felt like to share warmth with soone in this world, never lay in a bed and have stupid little conversations—
I don’t think I would’ve made it this far.
“It might’ve started as sothing forced... but choosing to accept you all—that was still my decision. So you don’t have to cry. Okay?”
At my words, Erpa buried herself deeper into my chest.
I kept patting her back.
Seeing that, Ione and Alne ca over too.
“You did well, Amayel.”
“Just... don’t hide anything from us anymore. Tell us everything.”
“I will. I’m sorry for making you suffer all this ti.”
I hugged the two of them as well.
As we stood there, arms around each other—
Kanya, who had been left standing alone, suddenly rose with a tense expression.
“What about ?”
Her quiet question drew everyone’s attention in the room.
“Amayel. What about ?”
Kanya.
Thanks to Belia’s bombshell earlier, all of her feelings had already been laid bare to .
And honestly, I still hadn’t given her an answer.
I stood up.
“Kanya.”
“You already know how I feel. Lady Belia made sure of that, didn’t she? You know it all. So—what about , Amayel?”
I looked at her in silence.
So many thoughts were spinning in my head.
The coming war.
Asmodeus.
Hell.
And the Evil God.
Hell hadn’t even deployed Lucifer directly yet, and the Evil God still had many cards hidden up his sleeve—Belia had said as much.
There was no way those two would sit back and let retrieve and ascend the two remaining divine Thrones.
Thinking that way—it made sense to push her away.
Just like I’d pushed away Ione, Alne, and Erpa.
Kanya should be pushed away too.
Because if sothing really did happen to ...
Even if I didn’t want that kind of ending, if Lupiel’s prophecy did co true—
I didn’t want Kanya to be the one left in pain.
“Kanya. I’ll be honest. I’ve never thought of you as a woman.”
Her face froze at my words.
“There’s sothing I didn’t ntion back in the banquet hall. Lupiel once gave a secret prophecy. I think you all deserve to hear it.”
Since there was no more reason ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ to hide it, I slowly spoke the unforgettable prophecy Lupiel had once shared with .
“My fate is to die at the hands of those who love . I asked Lady Belia. I asked the Pantheon too—to help avoid that fate. But if—if there’s even the slightest chance it cos true...”
I still had no idea how or why the ones I love would end up killing .
But whatever the reason—
Even if I’d be the one to die and disappear, the ones left behind—the won I love—what would they do, left with that kind of mory?
“I don’t want you to experience that. I—”
I had only just said that much—
When Ione, Alne, and Erpa all suddenly stood up.
“Then what about you? Amayel—what about you?”
“You push everyone away, take all the burdens onto yourself, suffer through it alone—and then what? Break apart in the end?”
“And what are we supposed to do? Just stand there and watch?”
The three of them weren’t holding back anymore.
“The future isn’t set in stone! And what if you just misinterpreted the prophecy, Amayel?”
“It could an you’ll live a long and happy life with us and die of old age while having sex!”
“Yeah! It could be death-by-sex!”
“Prophecies change depending on how you interpret them! And even if the worst-case version does co true—if all the gods of the Pantheon band together, what can’t we do? We might even be able to save you!”
At their words, I had no choice but to lower my head.
“But what if it is true? What if a mont cos when you have to kill with your own hands? I might not love you—if I were still able to say that. But now... you’ve all beco too precious to . The thought of you having to live on, carrying a mory like that—!”
“We won’t let that happen. Ever.”
Erpa declared, her voice like she was coughing up blood.
“No matter what, we won’t let you die. We’ll never let it co to the point where we have to kill you. Even if I have to sacrifice my own soul—I won’t let that future happen.”
“We feel the sa, Amayel.”
“We won’t just stand by and watch that happen. Never.”
Then Kanya added her voice to theirs.
“Please. Lean on us too, Amayel. How long are you going to carry everything by yourself? If we’re together, we might think of solutions that didn’t even exist before. Believing in hope is the only way we can survive. If you keep living like the prophecy is all there is—without hope... you’ll break. You’ll absolutely break.”
Kanya stepped forward and firmly took my hand.
“Let’s face it together. I’m not weak. Whatever enemy cos your way—I can hold my own. I’ll make sure you don’t collapse. Let’s prove that the prophecy—and the god of the future—were wrong.”
Kanya forced a smile.
This girl—younger than , and who had suffered through things far worse than I had—was trying her best to comfort .
And sohow, that comfort actually reached .
I lowered my head.
“I just want you to be happy, Kanya. You’ve been through too much pain and suffering. You spent your whole life as one of the Demon Lord of Sloth’s collectibles—tortured endlessly. Even if it’s not , I’m sure there’s a man out there who could love you. But if you stay with , danger is guaranteed. A peaceful, quiet life might never co.”
“It has to be you. Always. This is my choice. I’ll never live with another man. You might reject —that’s your right. But if you do, then I’ll just stay single and live with my sword.”
“You’re really okay with ? You won’t regret it?”
“Never.”
At Kanya’s firm reply, I turned my head.
Erpa, Ione, and Alne were watching with bitter smiles.
“...I want to make Kanya happy. Is it okay if I do?”
I said it with an apologetic expression, and the three won let out a sigh.
“We were the ones who forced things in the beginning anyway. Our whole relationship with you started off half-forced. If Amayel brings in soone else, we don’t really have the right to stop it.”
That was Erpa.
“I was saved by you, Amayel. So who am I to say another woman, saved just the sa, isn’t allowed to love you?”
That was Alne.
Ione didn’t say anything at first—she just walked over and gently hugged Kanya.
“I went through a ti when my life was nothing but pain, cursed by the Evil God. Kanya’s just like . I... I want her to be happy too, Amayel.”
The three won had given their blessing.
Sohow, things had turned out like this again.
After giving their consent, Erpa, Ione, and Alne quietly stepped aside and gently patted my back, telling to go to Kanya.
I approached her.
“We might not even get the ti for a proper wedding.”
“When everything quiets down, we can do it then.”
“I might end up hurting you again. A lot.”
“I can handle it.”
“You’re such an idiot.”
At my words, Kanya carefully opened her arms.
I pulled her into an embrace.
“Says the guy hugging .”
She gently took my face in both hands and pulled toward her.
I didn’t resist.
The height difference wasn’t much—Kanya simply stood on her toes.
It was a shy, clumsy first kiss.
“I love you, Amayel.”
Her trembling voice filled the air.
This ti, I cupped her cheek and kissed her back.
“I’ll make you happy, Kanya. I’ll do everything I can so you’ll never have to be sad again.”
I said it with everything I had.
Kanya buried her face in my chest and gave a small nod.
I stroked her hair, then looked over at Ione, Alne, and Erpa.
“Take good care of Kanya for . She doesn’t know much yet, so she’s going to need all three of you. She’s never even had a proper al before.”
At those words, the complicated looks on the three won’s faces shifted.
“...She’s never had a proper al?”
“I explained it briefly during the banquet. She spent her entire life as one of the Demon Lord of Sloth’s belongings. She’s never had real food. While we were climbing the Rock Mountains, I’d describe all the food I’d eaten in the past to her.”
At my words, Kanya lowered her head in embarrassnt—but even that small gesture seed to break the other three’s hearts.
“It is alti, now that you ntion it. Should we all go out for dinner together?”
“Kanya, what kind of food do you like? Say anything. There’s no restaurant in the capital we can’t get into.”
“We’ll get you any dessert you want too.”
The four won quickly bonded into one unit.
“I’ll co too—”
“Stay here, Amayel. Tonight, we just want girl ti.”
“Yeah. Just for tonight, let us have this.”
It was a firm rejection.
I could only nod and step back.
“Amayel.”
Kanya, tucked between Ione, Alne, and Erpa as they were leaving the room, glanced back at .
She gave a soft, beaming smile.
“Thank you.”
I waved back at her.
“Have fun. Girls' nights out can be a lot of fun.”
The won left the room.
They were just talking about how they couldn’t live without a mont ago, and now they were kicking out.
It stung a little.
But still... I figured it was important they had so ti to themselves, too.
****
That evening.
“Kanya.”
“Yeah?”
“Did you have fun?”
“I did.”
“You ate a lot of snacks and good food?”
“Mm-hmm. Next ti, you co with us.”
“Sure. You went shopping too, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What’d you buy?”
“Lingerie.”
“...Sorry, what?”
“They bought it for to use tonight. You’re my deal of the day, Amayel.”
“...”
“I’ll show you.”
Kanya’s eyes glead in a strangely glistening way as she began undressing.
Only then did I finally understand—
Why they insisted on going out without .
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