A Promise to Wait
With a soft buzz, the fly fluttered beside him. Wing. Wiiiiing!
Beelzebub, who had been strolling through the air in preparation for his leisurely return, smiled at the sound and replied, “You’re saying I should take my time coming back since it’s been so long? No. Absolutely not. I cannot leave Hell empty for too long.”
Wing. Iiiiing.
The fly buzzed even more insistently, but Beelzebub’s resolve remained firm. “Who would look after all of you if I were gone? Hell is a dangerous place, you know.”
The flies would melt in flames or be slaughtered by devils without his protection. That was why Beelzebub felt such concern, yet…
Wing.
“It’s not something a devil like me should say… Hehe, perhaps it isn’t. In any case, do not worry. At this point…”
I have rested enough.
Beelzebub dismissed their worries with those words. More importantly… this is rather troublesome.
He checked Satan’s location and scratched his small head. It seemed a little more time would be necessary. Considering the gap between that child and Satan, running into her right now would not be wise. With that thought, Beelzebub moved immediately.
Shuuk!
“…Surprising. I didn’t expect you to come to me directly.”
What appeared before him was none other than Satan, sitting in the forest and gnawing noisily on a monster’s arm. Her pale skin visible between the gaps of that goat mask. Beelzebub stared at it quietly and spoke.
“Shouldn’t you be heading back by now?”
“…You’re saying you’ll take me back?”
Satan was utterly dumbfounded by the casual remark. Was this senile devil still under the delusion that he was a god? She was no longer the weak deity who had once groveled at this man’s feet. Now she was…
“Do you even know who I am?”
She was a king who shared this Hell with that man. How long did he intend to treat her like an inferior being? It was arrogant. His words were so incredibly arrogant that… Satan’s head grew hot.
Crack!
The spear Satan swung in fury was caught effortlessly in Beelzebub’s slender hand.
Twitch! Twitch!
I-I can’t move it.
Satan tried to yank the spear free, but no matter how much strength she poured into her body, it only made her tremble. Beelzebub did not budge an inch. He remained completely still. How could such power come from that delicate frame…? Satan was thrown into confusion, while Beelzebub remained utterly calm.
He calmly mulled over the words Satan had spoken earlier.
“You’re asking if I know who you are? Of course I do. Hmm… Were you the god of music? My memory is a bit hazy, but you were quite the talented singer, weren’t you?”
T-this much…
Satan was shaken. Had the difference in power between them truly been this vast? She could not believe it. The attack just now had been with her full strength. Yet this monstrous being had caught it so lightly.
Shiver…
Her body trembled. Satan felt as if she had been thrown back into the past—the days when all she knew was playing instruments and singing, when she had been treated as nothing more than a plaything for the gods.
“Let’s go back, little one. We are still too early for the human world.”
When Beelzebub spoke in that gently chiding tone, Satan shook violently. The words filled her with unspeakable humiliation.
“…”
In the end, Satan let the strength drain from her body.
“…Understood.”
Even so, the fact that she had gritted her teeth and forced herself to speak politely was the last shred of pride Satan had left.
So that’s it… Even if it’s just for show, she was once the chief god.
Indeed, she had once been the chief deity of this continent. Her power must still be intact. But…
Next time, without fail.
Satan had no intention of giving up or falling into despair. On the contrary, a stubborn resolve ignited within her—to shove that arrogant face into the dirt. And so, inwardly, Satan ground her teeth. If her strength was still lacking, she simply needed to gather more. After all, that wretch spent his days fluttering about with flies in that filthy pit. Time was on her side.
Believing this, Satan decided to return with him for now. All while still hiding… a sharp blade within her bosom.
“So we’re leaving right away?”
Limia muttered with a disappointed expression after hearing Jenkinson’s words. It would have been nice if they could return together, but the place she needed to go and the direction Jenkinson was heading did not align.
“I’m afraid so. That is my duty, after all.”
Jenkinson gave a light nod and smiled as he spoke. Limia looked at him with an expression that said she wanted to grab hold of him and never let go.
“…It’s a shame.”
Even so, no matter how disappointed she felt, Limia could not bring herself to stop him. His strength had certainly been one of the reasons she had fallen for him… but if that were the only reason, she would not have fallen this deeply.
What had made her fall for him was the way he carried out what needed to be done, no matter the situation. That was why, even though his words left her feeling a little bitter, they also brought her a small measure of joy. The man she had come to love still looked exactly the same as before.
Watching her, Jenkinson smiled and asked, “Is it disappointing?”
“Well… yes, it is.”
Disappointment was disappointment, so Limia made no effort to hide it. Looking at her, Jenkinson apologized inwardly.
I’m sorry, Sera.
He knew. This choice was no different from declaring that he would forget her. But… what she had wished for, in the end, was for him to forget her and live happily.
[If I die, forget me and live happily.]
He knew. It was precisely because she was that kind of person that he had fallen for her. And so… Jenkinson finally found the courage to let her go.
Therefore, not as Jenkinson Beckett the priest, but as Jenkinson Abnaigel, he spoke to Limia.
“So I will ask you to wait for me.”
“Huh?”
Limia tilted her head, not understanding. Jenkinson lightly kissed the back of her hand and continued.
“In two years, once all my work is finished, I will tell you properly then.”
“…T-tell me what?”
Facing her expectant gaze, Jenkinson smiled and answered, “The words you’re thinking of right now.”
With that, Jenkinson laughed even more heartily at the still-confused Limia before returning to his identity as the priest Jenkinson Beckett.
“Let’s go. Dame Asa. And Alkai.”
With those final words, Jenkinson vanished. Limia remained standing there in a daze, staring down at the hand he had kissed.
Wasn’t that my left ring finger?
The moment she realized where he had placed his lips, Limia was stunned. She was not so innocent that she failed to understand its meaning.
“You wicked man.”
If he told her to wait like that, how could she not wait? What a truly naughty priest.
Even as she thought this, Limia spent a long time gazing at her hand with deep satisfaction. Really… asking her to wait was underhanded, but this was exactly the gift she had truly wanted.
“So we’re heading to Ogwen.”
Asa said as she boarded the train. Ogwen was a small city within the Rutel Duchy. Because monster attacks were frequent there, the railway had not been fully connected, meaning they would have to travel separately from the nearest station.
“Yes. Which means Dame Asa will have quite a lot of work ahead of her.”
“…Eh?”
Startled, Asa bit her tongue slightly as she answered. M-me? She didn’t say anything more, but her eyes clearly asked the question. Jenkinson smiled at her and said,
“Isn’t it the duty of a Holy Knight to protect a frail Inquisitor like myself?”
Frail…
Asa was dumbfounded. If the priest was calling himself frail, then what did that make everyone else? Scarecrows? The word “frail” did not suit that priest in the slightest.
“In any case, I will not be fighting this time. I intend to test your combat ability.”
“Understood.”
Combat ability… Well, that’s better than an investigation, at least.
Asa thought as she immediately began checking her weapons.
“I’ll show you what I can do.”
Yes, this was actually an opportunity. She would earn a passing grade here. Asa smiled with clear enthusiasm. However, that smile made Jenkinson uneasy. After all… her behavior up until now had not exactly inspired much confidence in him.
It’s dangerous. You should give up even now…
Hermann gave a faint smile as he looked at the phoenix that had followed him.
“This is the surest way.”
As he said, there was nothing more certain than this. However…
Still, the Church needs you…
Silvestina had said so, but Hermann did not seem to agree.
“Jenkinson is there. So it will be fine.”
Besides, Greg was here as well. Hermann was not worried. If he and Greg joined forces, he was confident they would not die even in Hell. And even if they did…
“I’ll inflict as much damage on them as possible, so rest easy.”
He intended to leave as many scars on those bastards as he could.
I’m not reassured at all! Stop talking about dying!
I’m sorry, Silvestina.
That was impossible. His comrades had died. By that woman’s hand. That was why he had walked the path of an Exorcist with the single-minded purpose of killing her. He had killed, killed, and killed again. Before he knew it, he had become an Archbishop, yet… Hermann had always craved the blood of devils. No matter how much blood he spilled, what they had taken from him would never return.
Yes, there was already a hole inside Hermann. No matter how hard he tried to fill it, the hole would not close, so… he had always struggled desperately to fill that void.
“There are things a man must do even if it kills him.”
And that hole would probably only be filled by killing that woman. Therefore, this was not a journey toward death. Rather, it was closer to a dying man flailing desperately in order to live.
So…
“I’m not coming back, Tina.”
With that answer, Hermann arbitrarily pushed the phoenix away with his mana.
“Is the conversation over?”
Greg, who had been listening silently from behind, asked lightly. Hermann nodded.
“Then shall we go? To Hell.”
“…Honestly.”
Well, even if he died, Jenkinson was there, so it should be fine, right? In the worst case, that boy Cabinson could temporarily take over. With those thoughts, Greg threw himself into the pit that led to Hell alongside Hermann. On the faces of the two men heading into Hell in human bodies, there was neither fear nor hesitation.