After the procedure, the imperial family returned to the palace with happy faces.
The Empress held her daughters tightly in her arms and kissed them without dignity throughout the journey, while the Emperor firmly held the two princesses’ hands.
Even after returning to the palace, the four remained inseparable as one unit.
“My beloved daughters. Beloved Ione. Alne.”
The two princesses smiled faintly at the Emperor’s unrestrained expression of love.
“I love hearing those words of love.”
“Please say them a lot to Ione, Father. She must have been very lonely.”
“I’ll say it a hundred, a thousand tis more. I love you, Ione. I love you.”
Ione quietly looked at her old father and then snuggled into his arms.
The very person who had ordered her to be tortured for 16 years.
But now that she had inherited Alne’s mories, she understood.
How much the Emperor had suffered during that ti.
And what it ant for the ruler of the empire to choose her over the empire.
Ione carefully nestled between her father and mother and acted spoiled in all the ways she couldn’t before.
“I want to eat dessert.”
“I’ll let you eat any dessert you want, all of them.”
“I want to walk barefoot around the garden.”
“As much as you want! You can walk around all the gardens in the imperial palace as much as you want!”
“Tell you love every day from now on.”
“I will do so, Ione. This father will grant you anything you want,” the Emperor said with tear-filled eyes, hugging Ione tightly.
Anything you want.
Ione silently looked at Alne at those words.
Alne’s expression reddened for a mont, then she nodded slightly.
Ione, having received permission from her other half, looked at her father with a happy face.
“Father. There’s sothing I really want.”
A casual speech that a princess should never use.
Although it seed undignified, the Emperor didn’t seem to mind.
“What is it, Ione? Tell anything.”
“A son-in-law. Can I choose?” Ione said that with an innocent, expressionless face.
And of course, the Emperor…
“Of course.”
…smiled and gave permission.
***
Ione and Alne left.
Now the two would live nobly as princesses and holy won from now on.
Rather, it was good.
Now I could quietly prepare to leave alone.
There was still so ti left while Tower Master Yorgen finished tuning my psychic amplifier.
The ti in between would be my last monts as a saint.
I healed those who ca sick and injured to accumulate good deeds to be forgiven by the Goddess.
As promised, Tower Master Yorgen visited in between tuning the amplifier, observed my healing acts by my side, and then left.
“How much longer do you think it will take, Tower Master?”
“I’ll try to do it sohow within 5 days. I’d like to do it faster for you, but this is such a delicate antique.”
5 days.
That was enough.
During those 5 days, I looked for a city to disappear to, a big city with little influence from the order but decent public safety.
Erpha no longer ca to see .
Why would she co see when she was practically rejected to her face?
My heart ached every ti I thought of her, but this was better.
She should hate so she wouldn’t miss after I disappear.
Now I think I could leave really lightly.
Lightly…
I was trying to leave, but.
“Saint! We’re here!”
“Saint! I missed you!!”
One morning.
The twin princesses suddenly ambushed .
Just the two of them, without His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress, with minimal guards.
“Your Highnesses. Are you well?”
Now that their selves had recovered, I should correct my speech that was like talking to puppies before.
When I carefully said that, Alne and Ione burst into laughter simultaneously.
The two quietly approached and snuggled into my arms at the sa ti.
“When it’s just us, call us by our nas.”
“What Your Highnesses? Na. Call us by our nas.”
The two looked up at .
Their expressions were full of mischief.
“Ione. Alne.”
I followed their request.
“I’m glad you’ve gotten better. I hope you’ll only have happy things from now on.”
The two snuggled into even more tightly at those words.
But I carefully pushed them away.
“I’m busy with work today. I don’t think I can be with you. You two must be busy too, why did you co here?”
At those words, Ione silently took out a bottle of alcohol from the bag she had prepared.
“Let’s have a birthday party! Saint!”
“We wanted you to celebrate our birthday, Saint.”
A birthday party? What does that an?
“The day you saved was our 19th birthday. I thought alcohol would be perfect for a birthday party that also serves as a coming-of-age ceremony. Don’t you think so, Saint?”
It was sothing to celebrate.
But I was soone who would disappear in 5 days.
What was the use of building such mories?
I didn’t intend to return as a saint ever again after I disappeared.
Sweet mories with people I’d never et again would only make my heart ache.
So I tried to refuse their request.
In the coldest and most disinterested tone possible.
“As I said, I’m busy today. I’d like you to return to the imperial palace. A birthday party would be much grander and better at the palace….”
No.
I saw Ione’s eyes.
An expression of sadness with tears half welling up.
I suddenly felt like I had beco an irredeemable piece of trash.
“No? Really?”
“We were so exhausted from the procedure, Saint.”
“It’s nothing grand, we just wanted to talk while drinking. Saint, it’s not a big deal, right? Just for a mont. We won’t keep you long.”
“Ione has never had a birthday party even once in 16 years. This is her first birthday party ever, Saint. Is it still not okay?”
The two princesses pressured very systematically, as if they had prepared a script.
Damn it.
This shouldn’t happen…
The words that she had never had a birthday party even once in 16 years weighed heavily on my mind.
Moreover, I knew well how lonely Ione was staying alone in the separate palace.
A child who had only been lonely and in pain all her life was asking to celebrate her birthday for the first ti.
Worry.
Anguish.
Wandering.
And finally, the words that ca out of my mouth were, “Just for today. Don’t co after today.”
The two’s faces imdiately brightened.
“Saint, we really like you so much!!”
“We’re so happy!”
Looking down at the two snuggling into my arms, I ended up smiling bitterly.
“If you had a party at the imperial palace, it could have been much bigger and grander. His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress would probably have held it very splendidly, right? I couldn’t even prepare gifts.”
At my words, Ione shook her head.
“Your very existence is a gift to . Moreover, as ti passes, Alne and I will have banquets to the point of being sick of them.”
“Ione is right. I want to have a small party with just the three of us too. It’s atmospheric and nice, isn’t it?”
Well.
What can I do?
I should do as the birthday girls want.
“Okay. Let’s do as you two want.”
And so the drinking party began.
Ione and Alne had co thoroughly prepared.
Simple snacks and even glasses were set up in an instant.
And the three of us started sipping high-quality alcohol with quite a high alcohol content.
“This alcohol is quite strong.”
“It feels like my throat is burning.”
“My head feels a bit dizzy too. Haha!”
Despite saying that, both Alne and Ione looked perfectly fine.
On the other hand, I was starting to feel tipsy, my face turning red.
I didn’t expect this from you two, but this alcohol is really damn strong.
“I want to know about the Saint.”
When the glasses had been emptied and refilled a few tis in the soft atmosphere.
Suddenly, Princess Alne asked in a soft and fluffy voice as if doing so ASMR.
Want to know about .
What is there to know about ?
I’m really nothing special.
“Jericho Amael. The incompetent youngest son of a prophet family who can’t prophesy. A lucky unfortunate guy who suddenly went to the slums one day to treat sick people and ended up here. That’s . Nothing more, nothing less.”
“I’m curious. Isn’t it hard for you to treat and help people? I think I wouldn’t want to do it because it’s hard,” Ione asked in a casual tone distinct from Alne’s.
Is it hard?
No.
It’s not hard.
Rather, it’s rewarding.
Seeing people get healed and be happy.
That’s not hard.
It’s only painful because I don’t know why the Goddess said she would send to hell.
“It’s not hard. It’s just hard having to be sowhere I don’t want to be.”
“Then where does the Saint want to be?”
This polite speech was Alne’s voice.
The two had the sa voice, but they could be distinguished by whether they used casual or polite speech.
By the way, where I want to be.
“A peaceful place.”
A place where I didn’t have to worry about going to hell.
A place where I didn’t have to worry about a future where those who bowed their heads in gratitude to would turn cruelly against the mont they realized my secret.
I wanted to be in such a place.
“Isn’t it peaceful here?”
“It’s not peaceful for .”
The bottle of alcohol was already quite empty.
I was feeling tipsy.
I could instantly remove the tipsiness with body modification, but I didn’t.
Alcohol entered my body after a long ti.
Conversation partners who calmly listen to my words.
And the depression of having to leave behind a woman who loved , whom I wanted to love too, soon.
Because of all those situations, I felt like my tense and resentful mind was being comforted.
“You still have sothing to do?”
“Yes, I have sothing to do, Ione. Sothing I must do.”
Quitting being a saint and running far, far away to live like a dead mouse.
That’s what I have to do, dear.
“The witch with four arms. Her na was Erpha, right? Is she the Saint’s lover? I saw through Ione’s mories that you were kissing each other.”
Was it because they’re 19-year-old girls? A love story fitting their age ca up.
At Alne’s words, I had to smile bitterly.
“No, Erpha and I are not lovers.”
“If you’re not lovers, why did you kiss?” Ione asked with a slightly emotional tone.
Why did I kiss?
“Because I’m a cowardly weakling.”
“The Saint is not a coward!”
A festival of polite and casual speech.
Alne exclaims, flaring up like that.
But you’re wrong.
Alne.
I’m more of a coward than anyone else in this world.
“No, Alne. I’m a coward. I’m such a coward that I can’t accept the feelings of a woman I like and try to leave after ambiguously playing with her heart.”
I liked Erpha.
I wanted to stay happily with her for a long, long ti.
But I was in a position where I couldn’t do that.
Because if she stayed with , she’d eventually et an unhappy ending.
“I have to leave soon.”
Was it because of the alcohol?
Or was it because for the first ti since coming here, soone appeared who listened to my story so seriously?
The story inside flowed out.
“I have to leave here and go far, far away. But how could I accept Erpha’s feelings? How much would she suffer being left alone? So I had to push her away, but I didn’t want to hurt her. So… So I kissed her. I hoped she wouldn’t be hurt. It’s contradictory, isn’t it?”
It was contradictory.
Even I thought it was a foolish contradiction that made sigh.
If I really didn’t want her to get hurt, I shouldn’t have kissed her in the first place.
I should have acted coldly and cruelly to make her heart turn away.
But I couldn’t do that.
I was truly an indecisive fool.
“I see.”
“So that’s how it was.”
I smiled bitterly at their words.
“I’m trash. Indecisive and weak trash. I’m a man who doesn’t deserve to be by Erpha’s side.”
Tears welled up suddenly.
The two princesses approached and hugged tightly.
They patted just like I did for Ione.
“You have to leave to face the evil remaining in this world, right? As a foreseer, you must have seen the world’s misfortunes in advance.”
“You can rest for a while, Saint. You must be scared because you have to leave to deal with evil god worshippers and demons. I understand. You can sleep comfortably now.”
I wasn’t leaving to deal with evil god worshippers and demons.
I was going into hiding to avoid going to hell.
Ah…
My tongue was twisted and words weren’t coming out well.
Moreover, being comforted made feel like all the emotions inside were bursting out at once.
Before I knew it, I was crying in their arms.
The feeling of fearing going to hell.
The fear of being killed by people.
Being in human arms makes feel a little better.
After crying for a long ti.
The combo of alcohol on top of the first comfort I had received since reincarnating made all the emotions stored inside pour out, and then extre fatigue washes over .
“Co here, Saint.”
“We’ll help you.”
The two’s hands pull and lead to the bed.
“Don’t worry, Saint.”
“You helped us, so we’ll. Help you too, Saint.”
“You can leave anyti. Go and do what you need to do as a saint.”
“Don’t worry about Miss Erpha’s problem either. We’ll solve it for you.”
I didn’t understand well what they were saying.
My mind, hazy from alcohol, was just saying that this whole situation felt warm and comfortable.
The voices of the two princesses co from above like a dream.
“We love you, Saint.”
“And I’m sorry, Saint. We ca with a plan to deliberately make you drink today. Dullaneer’s stigmata. It’s convenient. We could use the miracle that removes the effects of alcohol, so we kept using it on Alne and .”
“We felt like you would never accept our feelings unless we did sothing like this.”
“I’m sorry. But this is the Saint’s fault too.”
“It’s the Saint’s fault for taking all our hearts and saying you’ll leave. It’s all the Saint’s fault.”
Sothing soft, warm, and happy started to be felt all over my body.
I’m sleepy.
They must have covered with a blanket?
“Wait, Ione. If you put it in suddenly like that… Ah…♥ Uh♥”
“Since the sensations are shared, it feels like doing it with two Saints. How interesting.”
I’m too tired.
I’ve been through too much ntal suffering.
Goddess.
I’ve really worked hard treating people all this ti, haven’t I?
And now I’m trying to quit being a saint and live quietly in hiding.
So just for a mont.
Can I sleep for just a mont?
With that thought last.
My vision turned dark as if the film had been cut.
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