23 – Aran, the City of Water (2)
“Oh, it’s so hot it’s killing me. “Don’t you know ‘in moderation’?”
“So, when you fight, are you going to tell the enemy to fight moderately?”
The name of the man who is complaining and blowing out the golden flame on his bangs is Cryle.
He looked pitifully at Julius, who fought him with gritted teeth even though it was a sparring match.
“I guess you just hate losing. “Don’t you remember how I punished Thalia for an entire day just because I lost to her at rock-paper-scissors?”
“… It wasn’t something we couldn’t live with, it was something we had fun with.”
“What? Was it an illusion performed by the devil that led you to play with fire, then burned and ate Thalia’s head, and got you beaten up by Emily?”
“And you! “You were caught doing something strange in front of Raynell’s statue in the basement of the church without Emily knowing!”
“If anyone hears it, they will misunderstand it. It is just a beautiful tribute to the beautiful Raynell.”
“Since when did skimpy pajamas become an offering for an angel? “You were just trying to make your dirty desires come true!”
What came back instead of an answer was a kick to the waist.
Julius quickly dodged the attack coming at him and then rushed towards Krail. The two men, who were not worthy of their age, wasted time throwing punches at each other without even noticing the passage of time.
.
.
.
“Ha, ha. “I decided to secretly go out on a date with Cecile at night. What is this?”
“You do it in moderation. Then, he said that on the day you have an accident, the saint will pull out your heart and roast it and eat it.”
Crail imitates the voice of Saint Erman with a serious expression.
When Julius saw him like that, he twisted his whole body and giggled.
“Pfft, don’t worry. We have a very healthy relationship. “In the first place, Cecile is a pure woman who doesn’t know anything about such things, hahahaha.”
Are you really serious?
Is she pure when she looks like she wants to eat Julius every time she sees him?
Love makes people so foolish.
While lamenting his friend’s foolishness, Cryle was smiling happily as he remembered the golden Raynell statue he had secretly hidden in his dorm.
Once upon a time, Saint Telmir said:
People get along with each other.
An angel residing in the heavens far away is looking at the two men, who are at the same level, with a subtle expression.
“Ermann, I think I was the wisest in choosing you.”
Unfortunately, 10 years later, it is a laughable story that Lionel is in a situation where she is being chased by Tapnel, saying that he has the least eyesight among the angels.
“Anyway, Cecil will hate it if you try to win unconditionally like that.”
“I don’t mind losing as many times as I can for Cecile. I just don’t want to lose to a bastard in the first place.”
“… If she tries to eat you, will she lose then too?”
Cryle asks Julius a question with a mysterious expression and flashing sharp eyes.
After swallowing for a moment, he scratched his short hair and spoke in passing.
“… Something like that, you have to win….”
“Huh? What?”
“Oh, I don’t know! I’m going on a date now. “You can just lie around in your room, hugging Raynell’s portrait.”
Julius quickly got up and kicked his friend’s stomach, then ran away, desperately trying to cover his open face.
Shouldn’t such an act be done carefully after marrying her with everyone’s blessing?
How dare you say such absurd things as eating someone?
“That Kryle guy, at some point he became an adult.”
He was acting like a fool like this, but the day finally came.
He gritted his teeth and eventually won.
Julius Tapnel, the greatest heresy interrogator in the Kingdom of Lyriam.
The word surrender does not exist in his dictionary.
Anyway, he really hated losing.
***
A dark night where the moon softly illuminates the world. Four people sitting together in front of a blazing bonfire.
From Noble mtl dot com
-Hey~
No, two people, a devil, and a unicorn are gathered together.
Emily shoved her carrot into the mouth of Francis, who was snooping and licking his tongue next to her. As if she couldn’t take it any longer, she got up from her seat and pointed at the devil in front of her.
“So? Be clear about how things work! “Do you want to take a bath in holy water?”
A silver-haired priestess who is fuming as if she has lost her mind.
Even in the midst of her uproar, her evil gaze never left her husband.
It feels like talking to a wall.
Emily, brushing her hair roughly, lowered her head and began to shake the inquisitor, who was merely poking her campfire with kindling.
“… Julius, just ask yourself honestly. “If things continue like this, we can’t solve anything anyway.”
Emily, who was shaking him with her hand on his shoulder, hurriedly pulled her hand away when she felt a tingling sensation in her own hand. A slight but bleeding wound.
-Caw
A black bird suddenly approaches her and shows off her beak menacingly.
Emily, who was looking at her teeth with a puzzled expression, swung a piece of Francis’ horn that she had kept in her back pocket and knocked off her beak, and her black bird turned into a black shadow, like an illusion of the devil. Flowed into his feet.
“… What is this supposed to do?”
“No matter how much she is like Julius’s mother, I cannot allow a woman.”
The devil, with a leisurely and alluring smile, gently crossed his legs and closed his eyes.
The smooth white legs beneath her slightly raised skirt caught her eye, and the priestess, who was staring blankly at the devilish figure, grabbed the back of her neck and fell down.
A nightmare of enjoying moonbathing under the beautiful moonlight.
Julius, who had been silent from the carriage, raised his head at the scene that was like a masterpiece.
“… Why did this suddenly happen?”
“Have you calmed down? “When your heart breaks, it breaks mine, child of Rom.”
The devil puts his hand on my chest with his eyes closed and whispers softly.
A place where there is only silence for a moment. When the sparks from the bonfire fell to the ground and died down, the devil spoke again.
“Cecil, the reason that poor child became one with me and survived perfectly was because of her ugly obsession with her husband.”
“… Obsession? “Cecil is that kind of woman…”
-Promise for me.
He tried to deny the words of the nightmare in the form of his wife, but the thought of Cecil’s will flashed through his mind and he closed his mouth.
“hehehehe, a small but clearly evil evil existed in that child’s heart. I weaved a beautiful dream based on that.
But that child, I cared about something I shouldn’t have cared about.
So my dream was ruined.
“… Layra.”
“Yes, Leila, your daughter and my daughter. She prioritized her children over her love for her husband, her ally in life. That’s why I woke up again.”
But rest assured. The child didn’t really die again. In the first place, we are now one being.
A devil who suddenly disappeared from his place. As if he had already come to Julius’ side, he put his mouth to Julius’ ear and whispered softly.
A demon whose captivating voice tickles the heart, and who calmly calls Layla his daughter.
After glancing at her lips for a moment, he turned her head and let out a deep sigh.
“Then what should I do to get back to Cecil?”
“I am still your wife, Cecil Lionelta. “It’s just that the way he speaks and what he does has changed a little.”
“… ….”
Feeling the anger of her husband glaring at her silently, she covered her mouth and laughed softly.
“I know what I want. My joy is to grant your wish. “Because she is my wife.”
“Don’t spin around and speak clearly. “What should I do to summon Cecil again?”
“There is no need to do anything special. “All you have to do is whisper love to me like before, that’s all.”
The devil, who was circling around Julius with his back slightly turned around like he was dancing, turned around and fell into his arms.
“The devil speaks only the truth. I’m not exactly the kind of evil witch who breaks up families and prevents mothers and children from meeting. “What happened now was something that could not be helped because Cecil Lionelta’s dream was still incomplete.”
I’m just sorry that my strength is weak, my love.
Even as he said that, the devil’s expression was just a gentle smile, as if he was enjoying this situation.
Looking at that, Julius couldn’t decide what decision he should make.
“It looks like you don’t even want to see me. Well, it’s done. “Anyway, Leila will come to us before the winter is over, so she must make our dream perfect before then.”
“… ….”
“Don’t think of it as difficult, think of it as a victory. Um…Yeah! It is a bet that I will defeat the devil with your true love. “If you think about it that way, you might feel a little more inclined to do it, right?”
Like an innocent child begging its friend to play, the devil raises her head towards Julius with her eyes sparkling.
Looking at his eyes, which were beginning to glow blue again, albeit faintly, he blurted out one word.
“… Victory.”
“Okay, so don’t be too upset. “Your sad expression is not very pleasant.”
The corners of Nightmare’s eyes lowered as if he was feeling a little bitter, and he clapped his hands loudly as if to brighten the mood.
The earth turned black, and soon the trees that were rooted on it were swallowed up whole.
-Uji string
Sounds like something breaking were heard several times, and the shadows that colored the ground gradually swelled and exploded with a funny popping sound.
“Let’s sleep here in privacy today, the two of us.”
A wooden hut, identical to the hut that once stood in the flower garden that Cecil created, stands far away as if it had been there from the beginning.
Julius continued to mutter the word ‘victory’ in a low voice.
Moonlight and starlight fall gently, illuminating the figures of the devil and the priest.
An energy like a snake with its mouth wide open was spread nearby, and after much deliberation, the priest slowly took a step forward.
“Okay. Victory, good. “It’s been a while since I really wanted to try it.”
“hehehehe. Yes, that is exactly the mindset. “Let’s fall into the abyss together in my arms.”
Julius roughly grabbed the hand of the devil who was gently stroking her husband’s cheek with a charming smile.
“… This is not a betrayal. “It’s just a demon-sacrifice ritual to get my wife back.”
“Wow, suddenly what?”
The interrogator holds the devil’s delicate waist while holding his hand.
The long, neatly tied blonde hair flutters, and our lips meet once again.
A passionate kiss, as if the blond young man who had fallen for Cecil’s temptation all those years ago has returned.
Emily, who barely managed to get out of bed, the divine beast who was chewing a carrot and kicking the priestess, and the high-ranking demon ‘Squishy Desire’ who was secretly watching this scene from the high sky, all seemed to be under the power of Raynell. I froze as if I had been attacked.
“Hmm, if it’s like this, it seems like it would be surprisingly simple to make that dream happen again.”
Julius ended the rather long kiss, looked down at the devil, and snorted.
The devil, his face blushing, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again,
His body trembled as if his legs were giving out and he hurried into the cabin.
-Click
A rather familiar sound rings out. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it just in case, but the door showed no sign of opening, and the embodiment of competitive spirit loosened his neck a few times and began knocking.
“The game is not over. “I will sleep next to you as you wish, so open the door.”
-Oh, today’s match ends here. As for the rest of the entertainment, I’ll start again tomorrow.
A demon who stutters and barely manages to speak in the hut.
After hearing that answer, Julius twitched the corner of his mouth as if he was a little amused, shook his head, and sat down in front of the bonfire again.
“… Julius, in the time I haven’t seen you, you’ve become something of a swallow.”
“… I just followed God’s will.
No, that would definitely be blasphemy.
The silver-haired priestess felt like her mind was going blank at the hidden side of her alley captain, whom she had raised as her own son.
She has become an adult now, Julius.
Looking at the priestess who truly understood the heart of her mother who married off her child, and at one of the divine beasts who gave her a respectful look with her eyes shining, the blonde inquisitor looked at her with a small smile. Burst out laughing.
-No, this is not it.
A small story about a trip to Aran in which the sweet music coming from the hut and the sound of a burning bonfire mix sweetly.