The Sleeping Color of Elysium (2)
The carriage wheels rattled over the uneven road, filling the air with noise as we left the forest behind and headed toward the rising sun. A full day had passed since I regained the ability to move, and now we were riding toward the Holy Kingdom of Elysium.
“…It’s a shame Shade-nim took the seat beside Demian-nim.”
“Weren’t you the ones who spent thirty minutes arguing over carriage seats? We would’ve left ages ago if not for that.”
I crossed my arms and shot a mildly irritated glance at the women sitting across from me. If they hadn’t been bickering over who got to sit next to the Hero, we would already be in the Holy Kingdom by now.
Saintess Raybi, Luna, Calliope, and Isabella all wore dissatisfied expressions as they looked at me occupying the seat beside Demian. Truthfully, I hadn’t wanted to sit next to another man either, but it was the only way we were leaving today.
“And Demian, the carriage isn’t that cramped. Are you deliberately pressing your shoulder against mine?”
The scent of roses and the constant presence beside me were distracting, so I asked the Hero to keep some distance. We had specifically chosen a carriage spacious enough for six people to sit facing each other. There was plenty of room—more than enough.
“Master, I’m wearing heavy armor. It’s only natural I take up more space than others. Woof.”
Demian smiled playfully, glancing between the women and me as if deliberately stirring trouble. Was he using me as bait to spark jealousy among them? Even during the seat dispute earlier, he had simply watched with an air of knowing the future.
“So, will you continue keeping the Holy Sword Einherjar? No matter how much you won it in a bet, you’re not the Hero.”
Saintess Raybi, with Hugin and Munin perched on her shoulders, directed her gaze toward my waist as she spoke. Though blind, the two crows served as her eyes.
“Wouldn’t it be more efficient if I kept it? After all, I’m the one who defeated the Blood Knight.”
“That’s right. It would be much better if Shade-nim used it instead of me.”
I replied while running my fingers along the hilt of the Holy Sword. I had tried returning it to Demian, but he had firmly refused. The Hero who knew the future—following his wishes probably wouldn’t lead to any losses.
“Even so, this Saintess Raybi cannot yet acknowledge Shade-nim as a comrade. A man with far too many secrets to be trusted.”
“You’re not wrong. I won’t deny it.”
I nodded at Raybi’s words. The others in the carriage also showed clear distrust toward me. No matter that I had saved their lives from the Blood Knight, accepting the leader of the underworld—known as the Empire’s Shadow—as an ally was bound to feel wrong. It was almost as if someone had orchestrated the scene; everyone except Demian had been unconscious, so they had only seen me after I collapsed.
“…By the way, none of you remember meeting me before? You must have seen me when you were children.”
I probed the Hero’s companions with a casual question, curious whether they had completely forgotten the past where I had saved them. Originally, I was the benefactor who freed Raybi from her cage, Luna’s tutor, Isabella’s swordsmanship instructor, and someone acknowledged by Calliope’s father.
“Hmm, no matter how much I think about it, I don’t recall ever meeting someone wearing a white mask in my life.”
“You’re a famous person to begin with. Maybe we crossed paths at a social gathering.”
“Th-that’s right. You have three fake identities, so even if we met as children, it’s likely we wouldn’t remember…”
“There’s no way I’d forget someone as strong as you. In the north, strength is law.”
Raybi, Isabella, Luna, and Calliope each answered with awkward expressions. They truly seemed to have no recollection.
‘Maybe the status window or Yuho erased their memories. Given what was said in the nightmare, that seems likely.’
I scratched my chin while studying their faces. This might be the result of twisting the original story’s plotline and removing the cause.
‘Ignorance is the most effective means of dealing with the infinite… I’m sure I saw a similar phrase in one of the books Yuho lent me, but the memory’s hazy.’
Whenever I tried to recall it, a sharp, unpleasant pain stabbed through my brain like needles, so I gave up thinking about it. I would find out soon enough. In the original work, each heroine’s past story appeared chapter by chapter, and after the Blood Knight arc—which served as the tutorial in Chapter 1—Chapter 2 focused on Saintess Raybi.
‘In the original, Raybi was experimented on in the Holy Kingdom and lived as a terminal patient who wouldn’t survive past twenty.’
Cardinal August. Because of that fat, narrow-eyed clergyman’s greed, countless lives had been lost in the original story. Raybi had been one of the victims, and due to the trauma of losing Yuho, I had no choice but to prioritize saving her.
‘…Maybe I should’ve just killed August back then.’
I suppressed my anger while touching the dagger hidden in my robes. Even for me, assassinating a cardinal who outranked a grand duke would have been difficult. Saving the Saintess candidate Raybi and assassinating the cardinal in the middle of the Holy Kingdom of Elysium? And at an age before I had even properly established the thief guild? It was impossible. It would have been the same as telling me to die or be eternally hunted by the Empire. Right after the war ended, I had worked harder than anyone to see the original story through to the end and save them all.
“So, is it true that the remains of the First Saint are beneath the Holy Kingdom, Raybi? This guy could be spouting nonsense.”
“…It is not nonsense.”
Raybi dismissed Calliope’s playful question. Her face had gone deathly pale, as if recalling the experiments she had endured in the Holy Kingdom. After all, what had been done to her was connected to the resurrection of the First Saint.
“If it’s hard to say, should I explain it in simpler terms instead? You don’t look well.”
“No, this must be my mission. After all, humans are meant to bear their shadows and walk toward the light.”
After taking a deep breath, Raybi recited the words left by the divine, showing her resolve to explain.
“The sacred relic that emits its own light—called a holy artifact in the Holy Kingdom—is… yes, as Shade-nim said, it is most likely the remains of the First Saint.”
The crow on Saintess Raybi’s shoulder let out an eerie cry. Though “remains” was a refined term, it was ultimately a corpse.
“In truth, I am nothing more than a vessel meant to replace the First Saint.”
“What? What do you mean by that? A vessel? Like an object…”
“…It is exactly as it sounds. While Heroes have continued to appear across generations, chosen by the Holy Sword, no one has heard the voice of the celestial god since the First Saint.”
I calmly explained the setting from the original game so everyone could hear. The battle between the Demon King and the Hero had occurred multiple times in the past, including this generation. That was why even the scene I witnessed in the nightmare had felt familiar.
“Then what, does that mean the Holy Kingdom has been lying? Or that Raybi isn’t actually the Saintess?”
“She is the officially recognized Saintess acknowledged by the Papacy, but whether I am truly qualified… even I do not know.”
Yet no successor to the Saintess had appeared since the First. No one possessed the immense divine power needed to declare a sanctuary or the unique constitution that allowed them to hear the celestial god’s voice. Such chosen ones had not existed since the First Saint.
“I cannot hear the voice of the celestial god Aurea at all. In fact, I’m not even sure if I truly believe in the gods.”
Saintess Raybi spoke while shrinking into herself. All previous Saintesses, including her, had been treated as mere substitutes for the First, so her reaction was understandable.
“How would a vessel know the potter’s heart? We are not gods—we are all just ordinary humans trying to live our lives. Whether Hero or Saintess.”
I gently quoted a passage from scripture to comfort her. Yuho, who had been a literature girl, had often shared beautiful lines she read, so I knew this one. She had even asked me—a mere thief—to save the Hero Demian.
“That is sophistry. Both the Hero and the Saintess are special beings chosen by the Lord God and the Celestial God.”
“I’m stronger than all of you. Isn’t denying the living proof right in front of you the real sophistry?”
“……”
Upon hearing my words, Raybi gripped her Saintess robes tightly, her knuckles whitening. Though her outfit exposed much skin, the mysterious aura she exuded prevented any lewd thoughts.
“Besides, I don’t even believe in gods. Yet I still copied and used divine power.”
My voice grew slightly bitter as I recalled Yuho’s heart condition. The moment I had prayed for a god to bring her back flashed through my mind.
“They say God doesn’t play dice… but I was dealt a harsh blow after believing that.”
Her heart surgery had only a fifty percent success rate. She had gone onto the operating table in secret to extend a life already beyond its limit—and died because of it. If I hadn’t suggested that trip to Jeju Island, we might have had at least a few more days together.
“In the end, God probably prefers those who carve their own fate without begging. Just like you, Raybi.”
“Your words are quite harsh. If you had said such blasphemy in the Holy Kingdom of Elysium, you would have been arrested immediately for sacrilege.”
Raybi chuckled and scolded me, as if she found my words unreliable, yet her tone had softened noticeably.
Your words have slightly eased Saintess Raybi’s heart. Affinity increased by 5%.
Raybi’s Affinity: -85%
“…Shade-nim, we’ll be arriving soon. Wouldn’t it be better to save unnecessary chatter for later?”
I immediately felt Demian’s gaze from beside me. He spoke in a cold voice, as if warning me not to flirt with a woman he had already claimed. Was this why he wanted me to sit next to him? The cold metal of his armor kept brushing against me, sending chills down my spine.
──Screeech, rattle.
Thus, we arrived at the Holy Kingdom of Elysium—a place so brightly lit it seemed as though the sun never set.