The Price of a Wish
Yeomyeong gripped the slip of paper bearing the god's words so tightly it threatened to tear.
Retribution. Though the world is in this state due to our shortcomings, all things demand a price. If you pay the price, God shall grant your wish.
The moment a strange, burning desire kindled in the despairing man's eyes, the Saintess did not miss her cue. She whispered, "Then, Lord Yeomyeong. Are you ready to pay the price to God?"
The girl with ruby-red eyes extended her hand. Yeomyeong stared at her fingertips for a long moment. "..."
The promise to grant a wish in exchange for a price sounded less like a divine revelation and more like the whisper of a devil. Yeomyeong still could not be entirely certain. Of course, he no longer denied the existence of the church's god as he once had. Now that the President's secrets—and even the story of Shin Noin—had been laid bare, he had no choice but to acknowledge that some lofty, supreme entity existed. However, accepting this church's god as his own was a different matter entirely.
...I thought there was no god in this world. If a god were all-powerful and loved humanity, the world would not be in this wretched state. If they loved humanity but were not all-powerful, they were no god. If they were all-powerful but did not love humanity, they were not worthy of worship. Then which of these was the church's god? No matter how much they preached of retribution, could he truly worship the being who had ultimately brought down the old world?
Once started, his doubts spiraled endlessly. How immense was the price this god spoke of? Could he even afford to pay it? All of his hesitations remained. So did his fear. Just as the sword of the Association of Grudged People had failed, and the law of the Korean Association had failed, he worried that this path too would leave him with nothing but emptiness.
Yet, at the end of all his agonizing, Yeomyeong reached out with both hands and respectfully clasped the Saintess's hand. "...Of course, Saintess," he answered, his voice steady and firm.
A kneeling knight receiving his investiture. A resolute will radiated from him like a physical aura. "I shall offer this body of mine. I will pay a price sufficient to satisfy Him," the young man declared.
Doubts about the god? They had not vanished completely. In a corner of his heart, he still questioned whether even a god could restore this world to normal. But at the same time, he knew one thing for certain: doing nothing would change nothing.
He had tried to change the world with what he did best. Yet violence had changed nothing. Next, he had tried to revive the old traditions. But he realized that the law, too, was merely another form of violence. In fact, this time had been even worse. Laws and systems were domains Yeomyeong did not understand. He could neither keep anyone's madness in check nor even comprehend what was going wrong.
But even so. If he had known all these outcomes beforehand, and if he had chosen to do nothing... would the world be any better off now? Would order have established itself, bringing prosperity? No. He could say with absolute certainty that it would not. The world was already trapped in the deepest, darkest abyss. Was that not why he had stepped forward in the first place?
Even though I, too, am a flawed man... He knew his own weaknesses all too well. He knew he always chased after ideals, yet was constantly swayed by his emotions. Foolish. Stubborn. Ignorant. He had heard those words countless times already. He didn't even feel like arguing against them. Like everyone else his age, Yeomyeong had never set foot in a school. His decision to step down voluntarily during the Haninhae's vote had been partly due to those thoughts.
But if even someone like him did not act, the world will never change. Ever since he had heard Shin Noin's last words, Yeomyeong's driving principle had always been singular. Having resolved to establish order for the sake of vengeance, he would stake everything on the path that held the greatest promise.
Now, the warrior had found a new path. Whether this path was the right one or not, he would only know by walking it until he broke again. The moment his investiture was complete, the warrior stood up and took his first step. "Welcome, Lord Yeomyeong." With Seraphina's smile, a new believer was added to the church.
A short while later.
"I will hand over the final note to you as well. Since God wrote it specifically for you, it is only right that you keep it rather than me," Seraphina said, handing a slip of paper to Yeomyeong. It was the last of the three notes left on the table, the one they had not yet opened. Yeomyeong folded it carefully and tucked it into his breast pocket. He deliberately chose not to read its contents yet, confident that a better time to do so would present itself.
By the time they finished their conversation, Nisyona had woken up. "Mister, is your talk over?"
"...Yes. Thank you. Thanks to you, I think I know what I need to do now."
Or perhaps she had quietly waited for their conversation to end. Yeomyeong reached out and ruffled the young girl's hair. Watching them, Seraphina murmured, "Ah, now that I think about it, Lord Yeomyeong, you can speak both the language of this world and the common tongue. You will be able to converse with Nisyona from now on. It will also make teaching her the common tongue much easier."
The three of them chatted as they headed down the building's stairs. In that brief moment of respite, the warrior spoke the words he needed to say most. "Ah, and Saintess..."
"Yes?"
"I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for my past actions. Both for what I did to the church, and what I did to the women, including Nisyona. I was foolish. I am truly sorry."
It was a heartfelt apology, delivered as he looked up at Seraphina from the bottom of the stairs. Seraphina replied with a gentle smile, "It is quite alright. Your actions must have been part of God's will as well. None of our believers, myself included, hold any resentment. In the end, everything unfolds according to His grand design."
Yeomyeong smiled in return. It was a rare smile, laced with a quiet confidence. "Thank you. However... I believe there is more I can do to show my sincerity."
"Hmm. Since you put it that way, you must have a specific method in mind?"
"Yes, Saintess. They say one must redeem their faults with achievements. Please, allow me to take responsibility for the wrongs I have committed." Yeomyeong bowed his head as he asked.
Seraphina temporarily withheld her answer, looking up at the sky instead. How did he interpret her silence? Yeomyeong spoke once more. "Saintess. There is currently a priest from the other world staying in the Haninhae's annex. She claims that you are a heretic serving a god of the other world... that is, Earth, and declared that she would capture you herself."
"What?"
"My acquisition of this language was a result of absorbing that woman's tongue. It seemed absolutely certain that she was connected to you in some way."
Seraphina's eyes widened at the unexpected news. She asked urgently, "D-did she happen to reveal her name or affiliation?"
"Yes. I heard it in the reception hall on the first day. She introduced herself as Miraj Oleus, the 13th Cardinal of the Order of Order."
In an instant, a memory flashed through Seraphina's mind. The authority of Chairperson Aurelia, which she had faced when executing Abbess Renatus. Aurelia knew of Seraphina's circumstances, at least to some extent. If a Cardinal of the Order of Order had appeared under such conditions and was searching for her—the possibilities connected into a single, clear picture.
"—Lord Yeomyeong? By any chance... when that Cardinal used her power, did anything unusual manifest?" Yeomyeong answered the Saintess's question, noting the sudden shift in her demeanor.
"...I did not witness it myself. But according to the Presi—no, Lee Seokin, he mentioned that when Miraj uses her power, a peculiar pupil often appears in her eyes. He said it looked like some kind of star."
"Ah. I see..." Hearing Yeomyeong's explanation, Seraphina gritted her teeth. Her suspicions were correct. The golden pentagram on a blue background that revealed itself when using their Authority. It was the signature mark proving membership in 'The Council'—the very group that had murdered her mentor.
Until now, she had only seen fragments of their Authority, or felt their presence indirectly through power lent to disciples. But not this time. Remote manipulation was impossible in another world with such low mana density. The Cardinal herself was undoubtedly staying at the Haninhae. Seraphina couldn't help but think, Has He already granted me a reward for recruiting this man?
It was the perfect opportunity. Another world where the Authority of Order could barely reach. A Cardinal of the Council who had ventured there all alone. Just in case, she checked the silver gaze of her god, and indeed, the Evil God was also pointing toward the Haninhae headquarters. The will of God. The will of Yeomyeong. The will of Seraphina herself. They were all aligned.
Having finally reached the first floor, Seraphina addressed the believers who, along with Merlin, had been standing by in case of a rampage by Yeomyeong. "Everyone, please welcome our new companion, who has been embraced by God."
Clack— The believers welcomed Yeomyeong with actions rather than words. They lowered the weapons gifted by the Evil God, which they had kept shouldered and aimed, and awaited their next orders. As everyone's eyes gathered upon her, the Saintess spoke. A single, simple sentence devoid of any flowery rhetoric. "We march." That was enough. The advance began.
Through the monitor, I watched Yeomyeong escorting the girl. It was a deeply satisfying sight. That alone would probably block ninety percent of any actual assassination threats. He could probably even deflect a bullet or two. In fact, he had saved Lee Seokin like that several times.
Lately, I'd been so terrified of getting suddenly assassinated that I could barely sleep at night. Now, I felt like I could finally get some decent rest. I hugged Wilson tight and let out a sigh of relief. "Phew... I'm glad the note seemed to work."
The note I had written for the girl was an insurance policy for a worst-case scenario. It was a talking point prepared to break the ice and ease the tension just in case Yeomyeong stubbornly insisted on fighting her. Choosing the right words had taken quite a bit of time. Since their conversation was conducted in a language I couldn't understand, I had to find sentences that would exert a steady, positive influence no matter when they were revealed.
Finding Shin Noin's last words in particular... that took a massive amount of time. Everyone just called him 'Shin Noin' instead of using his real name. In the end, my searches failed, and I had to manually rewind through Yeomyeong's past traces to find it. Still, it was worth the effort. Seeing how he changed his mind after being so disappointed.
Fortunately, the old man's last words did their job perfectly.
"It's not your fault. So don't let it bind you. Live the way you want to live."
The words whispered as the old man gripped Yeomyeong's hand, even as his entire body was being consumed by flames. The moment I heard those words, it clicked. I knew this would be enough to break Yeomyeong's stubborn obsession with the Haninhae.
...Of course, I had no way of knowing what role those last words actually played in their conversation. But either way, I decided to believe it went well because of me. It felt much better to think of it that way. "Alright, let's wrap this up. Let's chew up the Haninhae, bones and all!"
I sat in the observation chair and hugged Wilson. Using her two floppy arms like pom-poms, I stared at the screen. Beyond the central monitor of the observation room, Yeomyeong was drawing his sword in front of the President, who had transformed into a colossal monster.