The White Night of Seven Days and Nights - 2
The White Night of Seven Days and Nights arrived without any warning. There were no multicolored auroras rising in the sky. The voices of the gods did not shake the entire world. It was simply that the night which should have come did not. And with that, the continent trembled.
In the center of the Great Temple, Vera bowed his head to Vargo upon seeing all the apostles gathered there except for Abundance and Love, who had been dispatched externally for several years.
"I'm late."
"You've come."
Vargo's sunken gaze pierced through Vera very slowly, as if trying to read something from him. Vera met that gaze without flinching and spoke to Vargo.
"I'll be off, then."
"...Think you can handle it?"
"I know anything more would be a waste."
Their eyes clashed. The atmosphere sharpened more keenly than ever. The reason the conversation flowed straight into this without further words was because of what Vera had told Vargo three days prior.
A procession accompanied by holy knights. Someone who must be protected. A woman. And now the White Night of Seven Days and Nights had begun, so Vargo couldn't possibly not know who it was that Vera intended to protect.
No one asked how he knew. As Vera had anticipated, Vargo simply maintained his silence in the face of the situation, staring at Vera.
In one corner, Rohan, who had been gauging the mood, turned to the twins with a question.
"Twins. Why're those guys actin' like that? You two hear anything?"
"I'm sleepy. But the sun won't set. Can't sleep."
"I'm holding back on sleep."
"...Yeah, impressive."
Rohan's sigh leaked out briefly at the twins' off-topic responses, and then Trevo, who had been watching the situation from a step back, spoke up.
"Sir Vera, will you be alright alone?"
"You're not going yourself. And I'm taking Lord Norn, so I'm not alone."
"That's true, but..."
"Just guard the house properly."
Vera dismissed Trevo's words like that and turned back to Vargo.
"We'll head east right now."
"...Do so."
"Please station holy knights ahead near the Horden border. They'll likely be heavily pursued by the time they cross."
"...I'll see it done."
"Then I'll be off."
Vera said that, gave a short bow, turned, and left the Great Temple.
Heading to the temple's north exit, Vera returned to the hut he called home and began preparing. He set aside his holy armor since it was too conspicuous. He girded himself with a plain black sword devoid of ornamentation and hid the Rosario inside his clothes.
Once armed, Vera let out a small breath and steadied his pounding heart. Then, running through his thoughts once more, he reviewed the route in his mind.
'About four days.'
That much time would get him to his destination. He felt no anxiety that someone else might find the saint first. No group could locate her faster than the Holy Kingdom. Rohan possessed the power of Guidance. Through him, the Holy Kingdom could hear the gods' direct revelation of the saint's location.
That was why, in his previous life, the Holy Kingdom had found her first. And it was why Vera had awaited this day.
'Remeo Territory.'
A small rural fiefdom in the southeast of Horden. The saint, Rene, was there.
Squeeze—.
Unknowingly, strength entered the hand resting on his sword hilt. His eyes dropped, and a heavy breath escaped his lips.
'...Finally.'
I'm going to meet you. After one lifetime, and then four more years, I'm finally going to meet you.
Vera felt his insides grow sticky with the rising emotions, then snapped his eyes wide and shook them off.
'Indulging in sentiment later.'
That could wait until after he met her. Steeling his resolve, Vera wasted no time and flung open the hut door.
Beyond the open door, waiting for Vera, was Norn, who had already finished preparing.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
Vera glanced once at Norn's curt reply, then turned his gaze forward and stepped out. Strangely, his steps felt extraordinarily light.
The four days' journey to Remeo Territory. Vera walked with a heart full of buoyant anticipation. His mind filled with thoughts of Rene, leaving no room for anything else. It was more accurate to say the emotions he had suppressed all this time erupted all at once.
He had always chided himself that he could indulge later, after meeting her—that now was the time to prepare to receive her. But with the moment of meeting her finally here, even that proved impossible.
No matter how he tried to calm himself, his obstinate thoughts raced on excitedly.
'You...'
What kind of person is this fourteen-year-old you? Are you resenting the Lord God who took your light, as you said? Are you living in misery because of it? Are you the beauty who makes people fall in love at first sight, as you claimed? Or just an ordinary country girl? Your inner nature must be indescribably noble, but is the personality overlaying it prickly? Or lively? The you who walked steadfastly alone through the slums... can you not yet walk alone?
At the rising thoughts, a dazed look began to cloud Vera's eyes. It was a phenomenon that had occurred countless times over these four days. That expression, which seemed almost foolish at a glance, was one Norn had never seen Vera wear in the Holy Kingdom—not once.
And it was an expression evoked only by Rene. No matter how ruthlessly he steeled himself, no matter how he tried to bury himself in the muck. It was the expression that surfaced only through her, who thrust dazzling light upon him and made him endlessly frail.
"...Sir Vera?"
It was Norn's call as their destination came into view. But Vera didn't hear, walking on in a daze.
"Sir Vera?"
Calling again. But Vera still didn't hear. Another thought had filled his mind—about himself. Despite his ceaseless efforts, he was still lacking. He had resolved to acknowledge that lack and carry it as his burden. But now worry arose that she might not welcome such shortcomings, filling his thoughts.
Would she see this lack as ugliness? Would the still-young her fail to accept him, who remained a fiend?
Stumble.
His body jerked at the thought, drawing Norn's gaze that twisted his expression even stranger.
"Who're you folks?"
The question came from a middle-aged man herding cattle at the village entrance. Snapping to at the voice, Vera looked up at him. Graying hair. A kindly face, with thick forearms exposed under sleeves rolled up against the rising heat. He was unmistakably a man of this farming village.
Vera composed his expression and asked,
"Does a girl named Rene live in this village?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Cob's daughter. Lives in that house over there with the red roof."
Vera's gaze followed the man's pointing finger. Sure enough, far off stood a house with a prominent red roof. Seeing it, he felt thoughts overflowing again, clenched his fist to shake them off, and replied,
"...Thanks for telling me."
"Take care."
The middle-aged man responded to Vera's words like that, then drove his cattle onward and left. Vera turned from the departing man and stared at the distant red-roofed house, his lips moving silently.
"May I go alone?"
"Yes, I'll wait here."
"Thank you."
Vera gave a small bow of thanks for Norn's consideration, then set off. The moment he did, he felt the steps that had been light since departure grow heavy.
Arriving before the house after dragging his leaden steps, Vera felt as if he could move no further. Just before reaching here, the thought resurfaced: that Rene might reject him, that the light which had once shone upon him might no longer do so.
He had to knock on this door, go to receive her now. Yet his feet wouldn't move, and he stood frozen for a long while. Then—
Thud.
A sound intruded into the space. A dull noise like something colliding.
Thud.
Vera raised his head toward the source. Thud. ...His thoughts froze solid. Thud. There was a girl walking, tapping the ground with a cane. A young girl just beginning to show feminine grace, her baby fat not yet gone. Thud. Her steps were clumsy beyond measure. Each one, taken with utmost care lest she topple, felt precarious. Thud. Yet her appearance so thoroughly imprinted one concept in his mind that such clumsiness faded from notice. Beauty. As if beauty itself had been shaped into human form. Not the beauty one gazes upon with reason. But something more essential—the very concept of beauty that constituted her. Thud. Snow-white hair like the first snowfall of winter cascaded in waves. Her blue pupils, revealed beneath eyes staring into emptiness, held no movement, yet evoked the thought that their stillness was captured in eternal shine. Yes, that was how to describe it. Beneath the bright sun, her eyes worked a magic that entranced. Thud. It was Rene. He knew at once. It couldn't be anyone else. Her appearance was different, her stature too, and he hadn't even heard her voice. Thud. But the oath engraved in his soul burned more fiercely than ever, proclaiming her. Thud. Stumble—. As she drew near, his feet unwittingly stepped back. The rustle of grass underfoot followed. "Who's there?" What followed was a clear, resonant timbre. Vera's body stiffened taut at the voice. "...Is someone there?" His mouth clamped shut. His gaze endlessly chased her silhouette. Vera thought: She had spoken truly. The beauty she boasted of was truly breathtaking. Yet amid those thoughts, he realized one thing she had said was wrong. Those who saw her likely felt not love, but awe. Even Vera, who had wandered countless places across the continent meeting every race, had never beheld such beauty as Rene's. It was that kind of beauty. So, lost in dazed thoughts— "...No one?" Rene's brow furrowed slightly. "That's strange..." She tilted her head sideways. At that, Vera murmured in a tone tinged with daze, "...I'm here." "Eek!" Rene's body jolted. A scream-like sound leaked from her lips. Her face filled with fluster. Then, turning her head slightly away from Vera's position, she asked, "Wh-who is it?" A question asking who he was. Vera opened his mouth to answer, then paused upon sudden realization. Looking back, in his previous life, he had never told her his name. This was the moment to reveal it to her for the first time. After one lifetime and four more years, he could finally tell her his name. At the thought, Vera felt his chest tighten unprecedentedly. It wasn't unpleasant. Though his throat choked as if twisted, it was far from unpleasant—a pleasant suffocation, the phrase came unbidden. His lips moved. Amid the sensation of emotions overwhelming him, he finally uttered a word. "Vera..." But it cut off before finishing. He had to speak, but his chest swelled too full, making it hard. Taking a deep breath, he moved his lips again and continued. "I'm Vera." It was lacking. That single phrase didn't ease the tightness. A whirlwind of sentences swirled in his mind. Words he had gathered over four years. Things he desperately wanted to say upon reunion. This time, I'm here to fetch you. I've come a long way to meet you. I've come to fulfill the oath of a lifetime. So now, you need fear nothing... Prepared words like that, yet they all felt wrong. Flustered, his lips trembled endlessly, unsure how or what to say to satisfy. Taking a pose she couldn't see, he finally managed, "...I've come to escort you." Such an awkward line.