That's Just How the World Works
Late into the night, Yurian stayed awake, gazing out the window at the stars strewn across the sky. He was not normally one to toss and turn, but the sight he had witnessed not long ago remained so vivid that sleep eluded him entirely.
The overwhelming awe of that moment kept resurfacing, driving away any lingering drowsiness.
Was the director a man of the Holy Temple?
He had never imagined such a thing. Every person Yurian knew from the temple was pious, gentle, and utterly devoted. To put it simply, they possessed an exalted grace—far outshining the haughty aristocrats who prided themselves on noble blood.
It's hard to believe.
Objectively speaking, Harte was far from a bad person. If anything, Yurian considered him remarkably kind. Yet he was undeniably flippant. To put it bluntly, he had an unrefined swagger about him. His manner of speech was frivolous, his demeanor light-years away from aristocratic decorum. He seemed every bit the commoner plucked off the street.
That was why endless doubts nagged at me when Court Count Arwell first entrusted me to this place.
Yet the Count's discerning eye truly was extraordinary. No ordinary soul could have ever guessed Harte harbored such power.
Yurian recalled the brilliant golden radiance seared into his memory.
That was divine power, without a shadow of a doubt.
A miraculous force wielded only by the chosen few bestowed with God's true name—a Baptismal Name. That was genuine divine authority.
Because the Holy Temple was notoriously insular, not even the Imperial Court knew precisely how many Bearers of the Baptismal Name existed. At best, they could only guess that the number was few enough to count on one hand. The Saintess was the only bearer ever made known to the public, which said everything.
Which only deepened the mystery.
There is no way the temple would ever leave someone like the director unattended...
One thing was certain: Harte kept his divine power an absolute secret. It was likely the bare minimum safeguard to avoid catching the temple's eye. And that he had revealed that closely guarded line to Yurian meant...
In an emergency, he is willing to cross that line to protect us... It wouldn't be a stretch to see it that way.
The previous night, seven hunters had been present when Harte unleashed that power. Had even one of them regained consciousness by chance, his identity would have been irrevocably exposed. Yet Harte had cast aside all hesitation. Yurian found himself deeply moved by such resolve.
I have known him for only a short time, and the girl was a complete stranger. In the end, that was all we were to him. The director had no duty or obligation to make sacrifices for our sake.
...Perhaps despite his irreverent exterior, at his core he truly was a servant of God. Regardless of the reason, it had been more than enough to make Yurian see the man named Harte in a whole new light.
"...Far better than my own father."
The bitter realization settled over him anew. Had he grown up beside someone like Harte from the start, perhaps the person he was today might have turned out a little different. Yurian could never forgive the reigning Emperor who had stood by and let his mother die. A creature like that did not deserve to be called a father.
"How foolish of me..."
With the night growing late, his thoughts seemed to wander wherever they pleased. Shaking free of his reverie to prepare for tomorrow, Yurian lay back down in bed. The thick duvet wrapped around him in quiet warmth.
A week had passed since they rescued the girl. Sunlight filtered languidly through the glass panes of the window on a peaceful morning.
The girl, who had shown not the slightest sign of waking, suddenly opened her eyes as if snapping out of a trance.
"Director! The child has awakened!"
Yurian, who had been keeping watch at her bedside, came sprinting toward me with the news. Tossing aside the groceries I had been organizing, I bolted after him down the narrow hallway.
Click, bang!
I flung the wooden door wide open. Sitting up in the bed tucked inside the small room was the little girl.
Her unruly pink hair stuck out in messy tufts, and her wide blue eyes stared blankly into empty space, drowsy and distant, as if she had yet to shake off the lingering traces of a long dream.
I rapped my knuckles gently against the doorframe, offering a belated knock. Only then did the girl turn her gaze toward us.
"Ah..."
In an instant, her raspy whisper warped into a shrill gasp.
"Ah, ah...!"
Thud!
She scrambled backward in sheer panic. But the solid wall blocked her retreat, leaving her nowhere to run. When she finally found her voice, it was only to push us away.
"Stay away...! No, please run... Please... Please...!"
I figured it would be something like this, but still...
It was heartbreaking to see her reject human contact with every fiber of her being, even when there was no longer any need to.
I took a cautious step forward, softening my tone to reassure her. "It's all right now."
"No, it isn't! It's not all right! You don't know anything..."
"Pull yourself together and look at me. Do you still want to hurt someone?"
"..."
Blinking her wide, round eyes, the girl slowly locked gazes with me. Bit by bit, astonishment flooded her expression until tears, clear as morning dew, began tumbling down her cheeks.
"I feel... nothing..."
"See?"
"Nothing at all... Not even a little... Even looking at a person..."
"Yep. You're completely fine."
Her relief at tasting tranquility for the very first time was fleeting. A heavy shadow crept back across her face.
"What if... what if it's only temporary...?"
"What is? Being fine around people?"
"...Yes."
"Ah, don't scare me like that. I thought it was something serious." Grinning, I reached out and patted her head. "I happen to be an extraordinary physician, you see. Curing an ailment like yours was a walk in the park."
"Really...? You're a doctor?"
"Well, I dabble in it."
After all, I was the man who had rescued Court Count Arwell's son from the clutches of premature baldness. No one had the right to complain if I claimed the title of doctor for that alone.
"So, little lady, what's your name?"
I already knew, of course, but I asked anyway. The girl whispered the exact answer I was waiting for.
"Tina... It's Tina."
"All right, Tina. My name is Harte. And..."
I gave Yurian a silent nudge to step closer. And just like that, the momentous occasion arrived where this world's male and female leads gathered in the very same room.
"This is Yurian."
"I am Yurian. It is a pleasure."
"...Mm."
It seemed Yurian's stiff, regal speech had raised her guard. Tapping his shoulder, I playfully scolded him.
"Hey now, you need to speak a little more gently to a girl your age."
"Hmph. A lifetime's habit is not easily discarded in a single breath. I shall strive to improve over time, Director."
"Well, you've got a point there."
Just having an Imperial Prince readily follow instructions was something to be immensely grateful for. I couldn't help but feel a swell of pride at how open-minded he was being.
Tina tilted her head. "Director...?"
"Ah, this place is actually an orphanage."
"And this man is its director," Yurian chimed in.
At Yurian's introduction, Tina narrowed her eyes in confusion. "You aren't a doctor...?"
"Of course I do that too."
"Oh..."
Tina nodded along, seemingly satisfied with that answer.
After a pleasant lull settled over the room, I rose to my feet and addressed the two children.
"First, let's get some food in you. All three of us will eat here... Yurian, you keep Tina company for a bit."
"Understood, Director. However, for Tina's sake—having only just awakened—I request that you avoid anything overly seasoned or stimulating."
"Will do."
Look at this rascal, already doting on his future leading lady with such careful consideration. Suppressing a fond grin at the heartwarming sight, I slipped out of the room. Part of me wanted to linger by the door and eavesdrop on their murmurs, but that was hardly conduct befitting an adult, so I cast the thought aside without a second glance.
I can practically hear the original plot shattering to pieces right from the start.
But what did it matter?
As long as the kids were happy, that was all that counted. Back then, that was the naive, easygoing attitude I held.
Mealtime passed peacefully. Thankfully, neither Yurian nor Tina were picky eaters, dutifully shoveling the food past their small lips without complaint. Both of them were so impossibly gorgeous they put sculpted marble to shame; just watching them was enough to make my heart feel full. Mind you, Yurian kept shooting me wary side-glances as if my staring was creeping him out...
Either way, Yurian seemed to have caught eighth-grader syndrome or puberty far too early. With our smooth meal behind us, what was the next essential ingredient for growing children's health? Running around outside, obviously.
And so...
"Yu-ri-an's! Fa-vor-ite! Ran-dom! Gaaaame!"
"Ahem! W-What... game...?!"
"Tag!"
Per Tina's bright, cheerful suggestion, 'Yurian's Favorite Random Game' was unanimously decided to be tag.
"I have never once played such a thing as tag...? Nor do I particularly care for it."
"Ah... Ah-uu... Then we don't have to play... Forcing you to do something you don't like is bad... I-I just... I've never played with anyone before... So I always envied kids who played tag..."
When Tina sorrowfully bowed her head at his cold rejection, I seized the golden opportunity to boo Yurian.
"Booo. You absolute scoundrel."
"...I have decided that I shall learn to like it, starting now."
"Really? Yay!"
Tina clapped her hands together and bounced on her heels. Really, who could ever say no to a little girl overjoyed with such pure innocence?
"Then I'll be 'it' first! I'll count to ten before I come hunt you down, got it? By the way, stepping outside the orphanage yard is an automatic out. Run as fast as you can!"
"Understood."
"Yes!"
"All right then... One, two, three..."
Ten seconds. Honing my senses to track the kids' presence, I finally concluded the countdown.
"Let the games begin."
At that exact instant, moving at a speed that a ten-year-old's stubby little legs could never dream of matching, I tagged Yurian right on the shoulder. Having sprinted away with all his might, Yurian stared at me in dumbfounded despair.
"Pfft—Bwahaha! Yurian's it!"
"C-Cowardly, Director! Is it acceptable for an adult to commit such tyranny in a children's game without so much as a handicap?!"
"A lion gives its all even when hunting a rabbit. Face it, Yurian, you're the weakest one among us. That's just how the world works."
To be frank, that was entirely an excuse; teasing Yurian was the greatest entertainment known to mankind. When I first met him, I wrote him off as an uptight bore, but poking at him yielded surprisingly delightful results. There was an irresistible charm in peeling away the mature facade of a kid trying so hard to act like a grown-up.
"Urrrgh..."
Look at him. Clenching his tiny fists, fuming with indignation. Yes, this was pure, unadulterated schadenfreude.
Shouldering the karmic burden of being 'it', Yurian gave up arguing and counted to ten. And so began round two.
"Ngh...!"
"Come on now, give it your best shot!"
Swish, swish!
With effortless, dancing steps, I toyed with him, fluttering just beyond his fingertips. Missing by a hairbreadth every single time, Yurian's eyes blazed with sheer stubbornness.
Did I tease him too much? If he gets fixated on me, Tina will be left out...
I intentionally steered Yurian toward Tina. Sensing the danger of the chaser drawing near, Tina began scampering about with innocent glee.
"Oh my, Tina is awfully close, isn't she?"
"...!"
I feigned an offhand remark, directing his attention to Tina. Concluding that this shameless adult would never give him an opening, Yurian's eyes flashed toward Tina.
The distance between them was a mere three or four steps. Without warning, Yurian wheeled around and lunged straight for her.
"Eek!"
Tina let out a sharp squeal. It looked for all the world as though the role of 'it' was about to change hands, their joy and panic crossing paths—or so it seemed, right up until the deafening boom.
BOOM!
The ground shook. A cloud of billowing dust kicked up, momentarily obscuring our vision. The cause was singular and simple: sensing impending doom, Tina had merely kicked off the dirt in a panic. A basic standing long jump, essentially. Except, of course, executed with the superhuman physical prowess of a half-dragon.
"Hehe..."
Tina giggled from the opposite corner of the yard, miles away from the chaser.
Yurian stared at the prey that had vanished in the blink of an eye, then turned a thoroughly despondent look toward me.
What? Why look at me like that?
I shrugged innocently. "I told you earlier, didn't I? You're the weakest one among us, Yurian."
"T-That is impossible! In that case... this is nothing more than blatant bullying!"
Yurian trembled from head to toe, utterly despondent now that he realized he was the undisputed bottom of the food chain. Sure, he would eventually grow into the overpowered protagonist fitting for a romance fantasy novel... but right now, he was still just a child. Even so, looking pathetic wasn't going to earn him any mercy from me.
"Tina! Yurian's crying!"
"C-Crying...? I'm sorry! Please don't cry-y-y..."
"I am not crying!!!"
Yurian roared at the top of his lungs. His face flushed bright crimson, though there were indeed no tears in his eyes. Still, it felt like pushing him even a fraction further might actually summon a damp sparkle.
That was probably enough. He was bound to be sulking soon, so it was time to coax him out of it.
Better wrap up this game of tag.
Yurian enjoyed strolling through bustling city streets. Perhaps because it was the Count's domain, it felt safe to him, or maybe he simply liked being surrounded by vibrant crowds of people.
"Hey kids, let's head into town."
"Into town?"
"Yeah."
"Wah..."
Just walking among people was bound to be an immense blessing for Tina. Her soft gasp spoke volumes of her feelings.
"You too, Yurian... Let's stay in town until evening. We can have dinner there, too."
"...Promise me."
"Sure. It's a promise."
Only then did the sting in Yurian's pride seem to ease. Kids really were just kids. Looking at them now, we still had a very long road ahead.
I really wish things could stay peaceful like this forever...
Yet for some reason, dark, heavy clouds were gathering beyond the mountain ridges.