79 . Maria (2)
“Let’s go to the capital?”
These were the first words the children uttered to me as I was reading a book leisurely in the living room after breakfast.
The words that came out reflexively were naturally mixed with bewilderment.
Embarrassed.
He hid his expression as much as possible, but he couldn’t even hide his trembling fingers.
At the same time, I felt that the time had come.
I couldn’t keep them locked up in this small town forever. Up until now, my personal past had sufficed with going to the nearby town, but now it’s not?
I understand.
Children also have big brains, and as their knowledge increases, they will want to know more about the world outside, not limited to this small town. Even if they were gods, it was impossible to know the details of the continent. Couldn’t humans know the details of the inside of the ant’s nest? It was natural for them to be curious about unknown territory.
Above all, I’ve felt those expectant eyes since long ago, but when the children looked at me with those eyes, I couldn’t possibly refuse.
Unable to endure the unspoken flames of the girls who only stared at my lips, I closed the book I was reading and came up with an answer.
“Okay, let’s go.”
It is true that I am reluctant to be honest.
But did they really know this and bring it up? No matter how much God is, he can’t know the story that I didn’t think about or say.
When I readily answered, the children widened their eyes and looked surprised.
“Really?!”
“Did I ever lie to you guys?”
Elia put her arms around me and kissed her cheek or lips lightly as she said thank you. A sweet scent hit her lips, and I hurriedly removed Elia in embarrassment.
Other children showed envious expressions, but I didn’t have enough time or stamina to accept all of their affection.
I got up from my seat and stretched out with an awkward expression, asking the children a question to change the topic.
“Then when shall we go?”
There were many transportation options to the capital. Unlike the nearby countryside, there were many guards on the way to the road, so the security was good, and the money was generous, so there was no reason for the coachmen to refuse.
When the children heard my question about when they would be leaving, they looked into each other’s eyes and then answered at the same time as if they had kissed beforehand.
“Today!”
●
Capital city Erethil
A space where solemn nobility sits down, an abbey that can be called the headquarters of the church and the heart of Erethil.
The service time for ordinary citizens had already ended, but only one person was kneeling in front of the statue of the goddess in the prayer room, holding her hands together and praying.
It was a scene where no noise is allowed, but the silence is broken by one person.
She forgets to knock, and a woman hurriedly opens the door and cautiously approaches the woman who is raising her prayers.
“Maria?”
Maria narrowed her eyes at the voice calling her and looked behind her with a smile on her lips.
“Yes, what happened?”
The woman who appeared to be a saintly apprentice opened her mouth slightly as she looked into Mary’s eyes.
“That… A guest has arrived….”
“A guest?”
There were not a few customers looking for him. If so, I couldn’t understand why this apprentice saintess was so nervous. What kind of guest did she come to call for herself while she was so nervous? Maria, unable to overcome her doubts, tilted her head to the side of her tilt.
Her question was soon resolved.
A red-haired man who suddenly appeared from behind the apprentice saintess casually stroked the saintess cheek or hair while speaking in a soft voice.
“Thank you for guiding me. Let’s have a drink together later.”
“What is this… Filthy!”
Contrary to what she said, her face was stained red. Although a little dirty, the man’s face had an attractive impression that touched the hearts of many women.
Seeing the face of the uninvited guest who stepped into her without her permission, Maria’s expression hardened for a moment, unlike her holy woman’s. But that was only for a moment, and Maria, with a wide smile on her face again, said her words calmly.
“Oh, that’s a big deal. I thought you’d come all the way here Isn’t that the first time since that day?”
Leon laughed at her Maria’s attitude and replied with a stern expression.
“Yes, this is the first time. In my heart, I want to kill them all right here and now.”
When she heard that she would kill everyone in a different voice than when she joked at her, her apprentice saintess trembled in shock and looked at Maria and Leon alternately.
Maria got up from her seat and gently patted her apprentice on the shoulder.
“It’s okay. Go out and do your work. He doesn’t even have the guts to do that.”
The apprentice saintess looked at her and left her room. With only the two of them left, Leon looked around her prayer room and opened her mouth in a sarcastic tone.
“Is it good to sell? All the other comrades I fought with became idiots, died, or became playthings for strange bitches. After all, the saintess who represents the abbey is different from the street people like us, isn’t it? The treatment is very good.”
Maria let out a short sigh as if it was pitiful, and answered while looking straight into Leon’s eyes.
“My destiny is something I pioneered through hard work. Your miserable fate too… Isn’t that the path you chose for yourself? It’s a little pathetic to come now and blame it on me.”
Unlike when she was in the middle of her travels, she was in a state of thorns in her words. Leon shrugged her shoulders and showed a nonchalant attitude towards Maria’s change.
“That pretentious attitude is still there. How do you live while hiding it from others?”
Maria didn’t hesitate to answer Leon’s question, and she got right to the point.
“So? Why did you come all the way here? Everyone else is dead, so you want to kill me as a road companion?”
“Well, if you willingly offer up your head, I will gladly take it.”
Maria was not at all weighed down by Leon’s menacing attitude, and she was quietly swallowing him.
She moved closer to Leon and stood right in front of him, Maria said in a voice full of strength.
“This is a sacred place, a place where violence is forbidden under the protection of the goddesses.”
“A sacred place? A guy who isn’t suitable for that is praying. Besides what? Is violence forbidden under the protection of the goddesses?”
Leon let out a laugh as if it were absurd. The laughter that started as a laugh soon became a roar mixed with madness and resounded in the prayer room.
Even Maria, who had maintained her calm demeanor until then, was taken aback by Leon’s maddening laughter and she stepped back slightly.
Leon, who had been laughing for a long time, shook his shoulders and let out a sneer.
“You… Have you ever seen the true nature of the goddesses you believe in while praying like that? No, do you know how bloodthirsty those bitches are? But what will they think when they see you doing this?”
“What is that… You talk as if you actually saw them.”
“Yes, I have actually seen it. And there were times when I almost died from being attacked by them.”
“The jokes have increased a lot. Well, let’s stop talking about trifles here.”
Maria took Leon’s knife from her waist and brought it to her throat before she knew it.
“Is this what you want? If you want blood, you should. That’s your job, right? The idea of killing people and being mistaken for saving people.”
“Well, as you said, either you or me… A filthy existence that cannot be forgiven each other. Even if both are judged here… That would be a good ending.”
Leon closed his eyes tightly and spat on the floor with a cheep, then stepped on it with his mud-stained shoes. The marble floor, which had been shining white, became dirty in an instant, and Leon snatched the sword from Maria’s hand as if it had lost steam and put it back into his waistband.
“The reason I won’t kill you is because the time has not yet come.”
Maria asked a question about Leon’s back as he turned around and was about to leave.
“Do you hate the church? Or a continent? Or am I? You have no right to be angry with anyone. You just need someone to vent your anger on, don’t you?”
Leon stopped, looked up at the sky, let out a long sigh, and spoke softly.
“Are you sure you can’t cheat on your family?”
Maria, whose expression had hardly changed until now, wrinkled her face in an annoyed look for the first time and spoke in a rather stern voice.
“Can you stop calling me family? I’m sick and tired of the past playing with you, and I want to erase it from my head.”
“Okay, then the uninvited guest will have to leave here. Oh, sooner or later a present will come to you.”
With those words, Leon left her room, and Maria muttered to herself in the empty room.
“Yes. I look forward to that.”
After Leon left, Maria returned to her seat in front of her goddess statue as if nothing had happened and began to offer her prayers.
Unlike when she maintained her silence and prayed her prayers with her heart, Mary muttered her prayers out of her mouth. The sight of her raising her prayers made her feel desperate, unlike before.
“Goddess Almighty… Please look down on us lowly.”
Her clenched fists dripped blood as her fingernails dug into them, and the flowing blood stained the white marble floor red.
“For those who spend their whole lives raging, fighting all their lives, and taking the lives of others all their lives, I hope for the moment when the violence that all life bears will come to an end… In her moment of rest, if she needs a sacrifice, with that sword, with that arm, take my heart, and purify the burning world with my blood. May the tender love of the Goddess dwell in all life….”
.
Maria’s earnest prayers were scattered in vain in front of the statue of the Goddess with her benevolent expression on her face.