A Secret I Can't Share
I actually have a secret.
"Mmm······." With a face now relaxed, Yulia fell back asleep. Even after I pulled the blanket over her, she curled up like a small animal seeking warmth, perhaps still feeling the chill. It was cuter than any side of her I'd seen before.
I placed my hand on her forehead as she lay there with an expression of greatly eased pain, then could only tilt my head in bewilderment.
"That's strange. What could be causing her pain?"
The moment I arrived, Yulia's condition looked so terrible that I'd first used my power to dull her suffering. Yet I still couldn't identify why she was in pain. I'd expected it wouldn't be an ordinary illness since even the Saintess couldn't heal it, but for it to be something even I couldn't recognize... was that even possible? The thought crossed my mind.
Even if it were a curse channeled through the gods, I should have been able to detect it easily. That made it all the more puzzling. It felt like there was some variable I wasn't aware of······.
While I sat beside the sleeping Yulia, lost in these thoughts, it happened.
- Tap, tap tap tap tap!
Multiple sets of footsteps echoed from outside the hospital room at once. It seemed the clergy who had left earlier were returning. Since there was nothing more I could do by staying at her side like this, I decided to leave for now.
- Riiip···!
I tore through the air and threw myself into the rift.
The next day.
As soon as classes ended, I went straight to find Arie.
"Boss. Do you have a moment?"
"···Hehe, is this another date request?"
"More nonsense—... Well, sure, let's go with that."
"Eh···?"
See? She acts all flustered and speechless the moment I play along. Why does she keep provoking me then?
I grabbed the arm of the wide-eyed, gaping Arie and headed to the same park bench as yesterday.
"Th-this place···. There are too many people walking by, it's not really···."
"Boss."
"···Yes···."
Arie lowered her head with an oddly shy expression. I decided it was time to reveal my shocking secret to her.
"I actually have a secret."
"Hm, hmm···. As much as I'd like to, I'm the Saintess and you're my assistant, so···."
"It's something I've never told anyone. It has to do with my special ability."
"······."
I'd said it with some resolve, but her reaction was ice cold. Arie stared at me with an expression that practically screamed, Let's hear what nonsense he's spouting this time. A chilling aura leaked from her. I leaned back slightly to avoid it, then laughed awkwardly.
"Haha, if you're wondering why I never mentioned it before, I have no excuse... but please, just hear me out this once."
"···Haa···. Fine, I understand. Hurry up and sit beside me, Assistant···."
Arie let out a small sigh, then patted the spot next to her, urging me to sit. I glanced around cautiously before carefully taking the seat beside her.
An awkward silence settled over us for a moment. Normally, Arie would have impatiently told me to stop stalling and spit it out. But today she was unusually quiet. If it had been Elisha sitting next to her instead of me, I wouldn't have paid it any mind. But with my quick wits, I immediately understood.
"Boss."
"···Yes."
"Are you still very troubled about Yulia's situation?"
"······As expected, I can't hide anything from your eyes, Assistant."
Why does her perceptiveness only sharpen at the most unnecessary moments···? Arie's small complaint carried a faint tremor in her voice. The feelings she'd kept so tightly locked away had surfaced with a single sentence from me.
She'd pretended not to be troubled, pretended not to worry, pretended everything was fine. She'd even deceived herself, acting as if nothing was wrong. But deep down, her heart had always been filled with thoughts of Yulia.
Even so, because of the words Yulia left behind—urging her to focus on her Academy life—she was forcing herself to act fine to an almost obsessive degree. To me, it looked incredibly pitiful.
That's why I had no choice but to help her.
"Last night, I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking about you, Boss."
"···You were thinking about me at night, Assistant···?"
"Yes. I kept wondering if there was anything I could do to help."
"······Hmph!"
Arie turned her head away with a pout, still clearly troubled. For her sake, I made a big decision.
"The truth is, I have considerable expertise in healing."
"······?"
"I studied it briefly in the past, so I have a decent amount of knowledge."
"······."
Another lie···. From now on, I'd be building a new concept.
"···Is that really true···?"
Arie asked with a doubtful look. Since I'd brought it up so suddenly, it was hard for her to believe. But the moment her trembling eyes met mine··· I could tell she was desperate enough to grasp at any straw.
"···They contacted me from the Holy Kingdom earlier today."
"Is that so?"
"They said Yulia's condition improved briefly last night, but she's back to how she was before."
Well, dulling the pain was only temporary, so it couldn't be helped···. Unless I stayed by her side forever to look after her, the pain would inevitably return. So for Yulia's sake, I had to cure her no matter what···.
"I'm worried too. I thought I had a pretty good relationship with Yulia."
"Hehe···. Thank you for thinking that way. Though··· I'm not sure if Yulia feels the same."
Our relationship is a bit ambiguous, after all.
"With that in mind, would it be alright if I examined Yulia's condition myself?"
"You, Assistant···?"
"Yes. You never know—I might be able to examine her body and figure out what the illness is···."
"···That's certainly an appealing offer."
Got her. The moment Arie struck a contemplative pose, I was certain she'd taken the bait. It was rare for someone as suspicious as her to be this receptive. Now if I just chose my words carefully, I could legally examine every inch of Yulia······.
"Assistant, just to be sure, I'm asking···."
"Go ahead."
"You don't have any ulterior motives toward Yulia, right?"
"······."
Probably not···?
In the end, I was granted permission to examine Yulia. Fortunately, she believed me when I answered that I had no ulterior motives regarding that last question. It helped that Arie had come to trust me through our accumulated friendship, but the biggest reason was obviously her desperation. No matter how much she trusted me, Arie wasn't soft enough to leave her only blood relative unguarded. That kind of thing was only possible for someone like Hestia, whose wariness dropped dramatically once she grew close to you···.
Regardless, the fact that I'd have to attend classes at the Academy for the time being remained unchanged. According to Arie··· there were various reasons—how would I even get to the Holy Kingdom, I wasn't seriously thinking of transporting a patient, and so on—that led her to half-force me into using the warp gate directly connected to the Holy Kingdom.
I hadn't even considered that far···. As long as I had Arie's permission, I'd planned to head straight to the Holy Kingdom. Why bother with something as annoying as a warp gate? One snap and I'd be there···. Well, since I was technically just an ordinary student for now, I decided to follow Arie's instructions.
It would take some time for a non-cleric like me to get approval to use the warp gate, but in any case, to accurately identify Yulia's illness, I'd have to wait until her symptoms worsened anyway···.
Even with all the useless information crammed in my head, there was nothing about the disease afflicting Yulia. There were similar symptoms, but when viewed through the eyes of a Transcendent, her condition was something entirely different. It was closer to a curse than an illness.
If it really was a curse rather than a disease, I might be able to find the answer surprisingly quickly.
I looked up at the night sky, which had already grown dark. Deep darkness and densely packed stars···.
···Yes, it was about time the influence of the Outer Gods reached the Church as well. Soon, Arie would face clergymen who had betrayed the Holy Kingdom and contracted with the Outer Gods. The countless and varied curses flowing from them···. If whatever was tormenting Yulia's body was one of those curses, it was possible even I wouldn't know it. After all, I wasn't a perfect being who knew every piece of knowledge···.
The problem was that even if I somehow lifted Yulia's curse, it would be meaningless if I didn't catch the one who cast it. She might be fine for a while, but Yulia would be cursed again. Even if I lifted it once more, the curse would keep attaching itself to her body, and the cycle of pain would only repeat.
In my heart, I'd love to catch those bugs and kill them myself···. Unfortunately, they already had a prior claim on them.
The regressor, Elisha. The woman who would repel the Outer Gods' reach toward the Holy Kingdom and become the Church's savior···. As a supporting character, I had to stay put until she personally cleaned up the Holy Kingdom. It was bothersome, but it couldn't be helped. I couldn't interfere with Elisha's growth···.
I suppose I'll have to give her the cross necklace soon.
As I was laying out my future plans, a slightly ominous thought occurred to me.
Why was it···? It felt like I was gradually being drawn into the center of the events that would unfold in the Holy Kingdom···? Surely not, right?