Catastrophe
We walked, and walked again.
It was summer, after all… It was unusually hot and stifling.
…Are you not hot, oppa?
I glanced sideways. Oppa looked worse than a melting ice sculpture in the middle of summer.
“…Oppa, are you okay?”
Well, since I’m the Saintess… I guess that’s why I could endure the heat, but Oppa couldn’t.
“Let’s rest… and go, Ena…”
“Yeah… let’s rest a bit.”
We leaned against a tree together with Oppa.
They wouldn’t come chasing us right now while we’re resting like this. They’d come from far away too.
I often see Oppa looking depressed, but I rarely see him like this, weak… It makes my heart ache.
Since we left the village almost running, we have plenty of money but no decent food to eat. What do we do?
…Ah, right.
The caramel apple I had tucked away in the bag earlier came to mind. I had snatched it from Oppa to eat. If he looks like that, with a sad puppy face… I feel bad eating it. Annoying.
“Here.”
“I-I'm fine. You eat it. Resting will make you feel better…”
“You’re being stubborn again, ugh… It’s not like a child. Eat when I give it to you. If not, I’ll force-feed you?”
Oppa flinched, then carefully took the caramel apple.
…Do you hate me feeding you that much? Shouldn’t you be rewarded for it?
The innkeeper had said something about recovery earlier… It must be some kind of magical item.
The apple was coated thickly with caramel, its fresh, sweet scent tickling my nose. The urge to bite into it and swallow immediately was strangely restless inside my body.
Oppa must have been thinking the same, as he was eating the apple with great enthusiasm.
…Is it that delicious? I should have one bite too.
That evening, we lit a small bonfire in a cave and went to sleep.
Thanks to the caramel apple from earlier, I feel incredibly energetic all day. It’s way past bedtime… but my eyes are wide open, so I can’t sleep.
Is it some kind of stimulant? I heard there’s a mysterious bean in the Western regions that drives away sleep… was it called coffee?
I turned my body to the opposite side, and Ena was staring at me intently.
…She’s not sleeping either.
“…Oppa, why aren’t you sleeping? Good children should sleep early. Then Oppa will grow tall, right?”
“I’m taller than you even if I don’t sleep now, so it’s fine.”
Ow… ouch… Ena suddenly kicked my shin with her foot.
When did my sister become so violent… I must have raised her wrong.
After being beaten by Ena for a while, Ena, who had calmed down, spoke first.
“…If we run far, very far away… if we run to a place where no one exists, then what will we do?”
…Honestly, I never thought about it once.
Up until now, just living day by day was important, I never thought about anything else. I didn’t have the money for it either.
Since I was hesitating, Ena continued her monologue.
“I actually wanted to live normally. Like other kids my age, I wanted to play around, visit the academy… not necessarily the kind where noble kids go. Just… normally.”
“When I first met Oppa, I was honest about that. But… as we lived together. I felt too guilty towards Oppa… and I was stuck at home, while Oppa suffered alone smelling garbage…”
“So, my dreams changed. I want to… when I go far away, build a small farm. Raise a lot of chicks, a couple of puppies, baby pigs. And in one corner of the farm, I want to plant a lot of orange trees. Plant a lot, a lot… surround the orange trees like a castle, so no one can find us even if they come looking.”
Yeah, Ena can’t stand oranges.
“You shouldn’t like only one fruit too much. If you keep being picky, you won’t become a pretty girl.”
Ena answered with a giggle.
“What, you like it the most. I saw everything. Every time I found oranges in food trash and picked them, I washed them clean and took care of them. Somehow, only when the real bad ones came, Oppa ate them alone… the rest I gave to you.”
“I actually don’t like the ones I don’t like much… but I forced myself to eat them diligently because of Oppa. Did you know?”
I really didn’t know. Every time I gave them to him, he ate them with all his might…
Even though I liked them, I always gave them up.
“Th-that… be good to me… Zzz…”
Ena kept making sounds, then fell into sweet sleep.
It was already too late to be awake.
…I hope it stays like this in the future, that no one finds us— I went to sleep facing Ena.
…Something, something is off.
Oppa is… off.
We’ve been running from ‘that village’ for three days,
Oppa’s condition was good on the first day… but as days passed, it got increasingly worse.
He walks a little and gets tired so easily, collapses suddenly.
Oppa says “I’m fine,” but from my perspective, his face doesn’t look fine at all.
…Scary, is there some unknown disease that suddenly appeared?
Leaving me alone… afraid Oppa will abandon me. Forever, run too far.
Eventually, I decided to strip Oppa’s upper clothes. If there’s a problem, something will show on the surface.
“E-Ena… wait, wait a sec…”
“Stop being dramatic. …I’m not trying to do anything weird.”
Oppa frowned in pain even as I removed his clothes,
…After removing the clothes, the black, swollen veins on his chest were clearly visible.
Why, why like this.
What is this… what is this?
“…Oppa, what is this?”
“I-I'm sorry… I’m worried… I couldn’t say… it started from yesterday morning… strangely, when you’re next to me… it seems to get worse… just, a misunderstanding, I guess…”
…This doesn’t make sense. It gets worse when I’m next to him.
The aide said the same. That I’m the ‘Saintess’. There’s no way something like this happens next to the Saintess, right?
“It’s okay now, Oppa… I’ll save you.”
No more hesitation—I placed my hand on Oppa’s chest,
Feeling like sending the power inside my body slowly, I poured out my strength.
“Kuk, kuhek… u… uuep… u, uek… uwuek…”
“Thank goodness, Oppa. The bad energy is coming out…”
I thought the ‘bad something’ that was strangling Oppa’s body would come out… but
Oppa was lying under me, vomiting black blood clumps. The black veins on his still chest, as if mocking me, began to spread throughout his body.
Startled, I pulled my hand away.
Really, truly… because of me, because of me, what did I do wrong… that this happened.
…Is it right that I’m next to Oppa, that this is happening?
“I’m sorry… sorry, sorry… O, Oppa… it hurts, don’t hurt… sorry…”
I tried to gently hug Oppa, but I hesitated.
Because of me, he’ll hurt more. So, like a plague… I just stood there crying.
He’s in pain because of me, it’s getting worse because of me… I can’t do anything.
“It’s not… your fault…”
“…Oppa? Oppa? Snap out of it! Why, why are you like this… snap out of it… Oppa…”
Oppa struggled to say it wasn’t my fault, then closed his eyes.
Still, weakly telling me that this man’s heartbeat and pulse are alive—
That pulse fading, it drives me crazy.
This man,
Our Oppa,
Is dying. I feel it.
“Ah… ah… O, Oppa… don’t go… what will I do if you leave me alone…”
From afar, the sound of hooves came.
One, two, three… countless sounds.
With a messed-up face, in front of Oppa, sitting hesitantly—
That damn X appeared again.
“…What a sight. Future Saintess. If only you had listened to us earlier…”
“It’s your fault.”
“…What?”
“There’s a bit of a misunderstanding, Future Saintess. Ah, my introduction was late. I am… Cardinal Heath, who protects the Goddess’s arrangement in the Church. This is my aide, Miss Cheryl.”
“What’s in this man’s body now is the curse scattered by the ‘Beast’s subordinate’ that you ignored so coldly a few days ago, pushing back the Eastern Front.”
…A curse?
“It was originally a curse that takes time to activate… ah, exactly, it’s also your fault, Saintess. Unrefined ‘dirty holy power’ is a perfect catalyst to strengthen curses like this.”
“Shut up, nonsense…”
Even as I said it, I was shaken.
Really, because of me, Oppa became like this? Because of me… because I’m next to him?
“There is only one way. Discard everything in the secular world—perform a formal ‘ritual’ in the Goddess’s holy seat, and awaken as a perfect Saintess. When the Goddess’s authority descends—that pitiful curse will melt away like snow. That will be the Goddess’s first blessing to you, the Saintess.”
“…Lies. There must be another way…”
“The curse vines wrapped around the man will cover his entire body—at most two days. Even if you hit hard, three days. Can you find another way within that time? In a place with no temple, no knights, no people? …Just you? No, exactly—before becoming Saintess, you’re just a ‘vagrant kid’. Even if time passes, it won’t be resolved.”
It was really easy. This Saintess is really naive, good for me.
…Yeah, you shouldn’t casually accept things given by others. As a Saintess, you have to be careful with your conduct. There’ll be a lot to teach when she ascends…
“Well, yes. …If you have a hobby of watching a man slowly die, I won’t stop you…”
Suddenly—the sky began to turn pitch black.
Great power gathered around the Saintess, and the Saintess stood up—glanced sideways.
“…So this was it. Yeah, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. That’s right.”
The Saintess’s eyes were eerily empty, as if all had been sucked out. Like a person who has lost everything.
…I didn’t intend to push this far, I have to modify the plan…
“If you come to the temple and become Saintess, everything will be resolved…”
“That kind of thing is no longer needed. After killing Oppa… what will I resolve now?”
The faces of Cheryl standing next to her and the many knights gathered here turned pale.
They had reason to. Pitch black sky, thunderous lightning, red lightning flashing between the clouds.
…This is the sign of the Divine Punishment that the Goddess is about to send to destroy the human world.
At that moment, a stupid knight stepped forward first.
He didn’t know this was the sign of Divine Punishment…
“You evil witch! Finally showing your true colors! Pretending to be the Saintess and deceiving us all this time…”
That was the last words of the stupid knight.
A huge red lightning struck the knight’s whole body—the next moment, not even ashes remained, his form disappeared.
The Saintess said in a flat voice.
“Now, there’s no need to look for the Saintess.”
“Anyone who comes looking for me—I’ll kill them all right here.”