Chapter 89 Holy Kingdom (1)
Holy Kingdom (1)
Beneath the warm, radiant sunlight, a cool mountain breeze was blowing. Fully bloomed white flowers swayed in the wind, each releasing their own fragrance.
A girl stood quietly observing this scene. Her jet-black hair cascaded down to her waist, and her shining black eyes sparkled.
The girl, Yurp, smiled as she gently touched a flower bud that had yet to fully bloom. The emaciated figure she once had was nowhere to be seen.
Her skeletal-thin appearance had vanished without a trace.
Though her skin remained pale, she looked far healthier than she had in the past.
Yurp happily basked in the warm sunlight as she watered the flowers.
Watching her was a man. His snow-white hair and black eyes contrasted sharply with the large scar running down the bridge of his nose.
His face looked like something straight out of a romantic fantasy novel.
Yurp, now accustomed to his gaze, hummed a tune as she focused solely on watering the flowers.
After a long silence between them, the man was the first to speak.
"You've improved a lot compared to before, Yurp."
"That's true, Brother Ka-il."
The man called Ka-il carefully set down the scabbard he had been wearing at his waist.
With a relieved smile, Ka-il continued the conversation.
"That person—Id, was it? I heard she helped you a great deal."
"Hehe. Yes. I received so much help from Lady Id in many ways."
The moment the name "Id" was mentioned, Yurp's face blossomed into a radiant smile. Ka-il could only marvel at how quickly her expression changed.
That kind of smile was something she had only ever shown to a man named Kal in the past. And even then, she hadn't smiled like that in a long time.
She had once been a girl drowning in deep sorrow every single day. But now, whether that sorrow had been resolved or not, her face was filled with serenity.
When Ka-il had first heard that Yurp would be participating in the subjugation expedition, he had opposed it with all his might.
He couldn't even imagine what might happen to her—someone like a younger sister to him—on such a battlefield.
Had the Pope not said that this expedition would be the turning point for Yurp, he would never have allowed her to go.
'His Holiness the Pope was right after all...'
Suddenly, Ka-il grew curious about this "Id" person who made Yurp so happy.
Just what kind of person could make Yurp light up like that just by hearing her name? He asked her in a quiet voice.
"What kind of person is this Id?"
"She's kind and gentle. And she also gave me advice when I needed it."
"I see."
Ka-il responded simply to Yurp's answer before slowly continuing his thoughts.
Come to think of it, he had heard that this Id person would be coming to the Holy Kingdom in a few days. And with an invitation personally written by the Pope, no less.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined the day would come when the Pope himself would extend an invitation to a foreigner.
Even Ka-il, who prided himself on having lived a long life in this world, found it astonishing.
Yurp set down the watering can. She plucked a weed that had sprouted beside the flowers and continued speaking.
"She'll be coming to the Holy Kingdom in a few days."
"Ah. So that's why you've been tending to the garden so diligently this past month."
No wonder she had been so absorbed in the garden lately.
Ka-il chuckled at her childlike eagerness, like a kid wanting to show off a toy they made to their parents.
"Yes. This is the garden I've been tending to since I was little."
He nodded in understanding at her words.
It seemed she wanted to show this benefactor the garden she had personally nurtured.
'Well, this place did burn down completely once.'
Over a decade ago, an accident had reduced this garden to complete devastation. Not a single blade of grass had been spared—everything had burned to ashes.
Yurp had played the biggest role in restoring the garden to its original state.
At a young age, she had studied plants and begun cultivating new flowers.
Even after she started fasting, she had never given up on this place. As if her own memories still lingered here.
That was why Ka-il had repeatedly urged her to stop fasting. Managing a garden in her condition was too much.
Of course, his words had fallen on deaf ears—she was stubborn like that.
But who would have thought that after returning from the subjugation expedition, she would change like this?
Naturally, Ka-il couldn't help but be curious about this Id person.
How had she managed to break through the stubbornness of this little mule and bring her back to life?
"You must really like Lady Id, Yurp."
"Of course. Ah, just so you know—you'd better not get any ideas."
At Yurp's sudden remark, Ka-il couldn't help but chuckle.
"Hahaha. Now that's an amusing thing to say."
He responded in his usual tone, nothing more.
Yet Yurp's guarded gaze refused to fade.
Watching her entertain such an impossible notion only made him laugh harder.
"Lady Id already has someone, you know."
"Could you tell me who it is?"
At Ka-il's question, Yurp hesitated briefly before sharply turning her head away.
The blatant refusal drew a wry smile from him as he studied her.
"Hmm. So that's a no, then."
"Yes. It's not happening. That's her private life!"
"By that logic, isn't saying she has someone already an invasion of privacy?"
"Ah—th-that's... N-no, that's not..."
Yurp flustered, clearly having never considered that angle.
Amused, Ka-il stood and ruffled her hair.
"Just teasing. But you should be more careful from now on, alright?"
"...Understood."
With that, he picked up the scabbard he'd set down earlier and fastened it back at his side.
"I'll take my leave first, Yurp."
"Safe travels, Orabeoni."
Ka-il vanished toward some unknown destination in an instant. Watching his retreating figure disappear, Yurp set down her watering can.
Her gaze swept over the garden, now quiet once more.
Snow-white flowers swayed in the gentle breeze, each carrying the silent language of their fragrance.
This garden she'd nurtured since childhood.
'...Will Lady Id like it?'
She found herself desperately curious about how the woman would react upon seeing this scene.
§
Seated at the tea table in the garden's heart, I stared blankly at the blooming flowers.
After morning training and a bath, this had become my routine.
Truthfully, there wasn't much else to do. With Silpi still absent, I'd been limited to basic physical conditioning—agonizingly dull.
Eyes shut tight, I continued my thoughts.
'...I want to spar too.'
Bound by my master's strict orders to stick to light training for now, I'd been reduced to endless, tedious running.
Hmm...?
A sound made me reopen my eyes.
A wisp of blue wind slipped between the flowers. Before I knew it, I'd scrambled to my feet at the sight.
The wind coalesced beside me, taking the familiar form of a spirit.
The miniaturized spirit version of Abel—Silpi had appeared.
[Long time no see, Contractor.]
"Yeah! It's been a while!"
Excited, I grabbed him with both hands. Startled by my sudden move, Silpi flailed as I squished his cheeks.
[W-what are you doing?!]
He shook wildly in my grip, looking utterly horrified. The sight only made him cuter, drawing an involuntary laugh from me.
When it became clear he couldn't escape, Silpi finally glared at me.
Relenting, I released him. He rubbed his cheeks and pouted.
"I was just happy to see you."
[Hmph.]
"...Sorry."
[Whatever. I'm used to this treatment by now.]
Silpi grumbled about Silvana doing this to him often. I decided against mentioning how that only made me want to torment him more.
[Anyway, seems my strength's somewhat returned.]
"Was overexertion the issue?"
Silpi shook his head at my question.
[That's part of it, but if that were all, recovery wouldn't have taken this long.]
"There's another reason?"
[Yeah. Remember that red-haired monster we fought?]
"...Yeah."
I'd faced that man—Katra—with just a rapier. I'd even recklessly channeled Silpi's power, only to be utterly crushed.
How could I forget?
That chilling sensation of death before his fists...
I couldn't even pretend it had been fine.
[When we woke up, he was already defeated, right?]
"...Right, now that you mention it."
Thinking back, something had been off.
My last memory was dying to Katra—so why hadn't I regressed? More pressingly—how had he been defeated in the first place?
Too preoccupied then to notice, but now the inconsistencies piled up.
[You defeated him.]
"Eh? What do you mean?"
[To be precise—someone inside you defeated that monster in your stead.]
Someone inside me? What was he talking about?
Frowning at Silpi's words, I searched my memories—and several pieces clicked.
That voice echoing in my mind during the Subjugation Expedition, warning me against the monster's mental intrusion:
'Don't look.'
Had the owner of that voice... defeated Katra for me?