Chapter 3

02. Titi and Eon

After passing through the town and several villages, I could see the regional checkpoint in the distance.

Instead of heading straight there, I pulled on the reins and changed direction.

I was going to the temple that every region had.

I left Maximus with the stable keeper and went inside.

An elderly priest sitting near the entrance walked over to me, clasped his hands together, and gave a slight bow.

“May the stars guide you.”

“May the stars guide you.”

When I returned the greeting, the priest smiled warmly and asked the purpose of my visit.

I handed him a pouch hanging from my waist.

The clinking sound of coins came from inside.

“I’d like to make a donation.”

“May Lord Mitev’s blessings be with you. This way, please.”

The priest accepted the pouch, his face brightening as he led me into the chapel.

“If you would like me to pray for anything in particular, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“That’s all right. I’ll just pray by myself for a little while.”

“Very well. May the stars guide you.”

The priest took a key from his sleeve, unlocked the chapel doors, and left.

I had never followed a religion in my previous life, so I wasn’t very familiar with these customs.

But in the Church of Mitev, if someone made an offering on a weekday when there wasn’t a worship service, it was customary for a priest to offer a prayer for them.

Personally, I hadn’t wanted to come.

But Pell, who was a devoted believer, insisted that I pray before setting out on this journey and even gave me the money for the offering.

That was why I’d ended up here.

…Maybe I should just leave.

The thought crossed my mind for a moment.

But in the end, I went inside the chapel.

Pell was close with the priests here.

Even pretending to pray seemed like the wiser choice.

Thunk.

The heavy doors closed behind me.

Slowly, I raised my head.

At the far end of the great hall, a massive relief sculpture covered the wall.

It depicted a woman with both hands clasped in prayer as she gazed toward the heavens.

Without much interest, I looked around the interior before sitting in an empty pew.

Out of courtesy, I clasped my hands together and simply stared at the dust drifting through the air.

I planned to waste a little time like this before leaving.

I’d probably counted about fifty floating specks of dust.

That should be enough to make it look like I’ve actually been praying.

I’d been absentmindedly zoning out for quite a while when—

“Hello.”

A low but gentle voice spoke from right beside me.

Goosebumps instantly ran down my spine.

I’d been so distracted that I hadn’t noticed anyone approaching.

A curtain of long white hair had somehow entered my field of vision.

White hair?

If it’s white hair…

I slowly lifted my head.

…Good heavens.

If I hadn’t been so startled that I nearly bit my tongue, those words would have escaped my mouth.

What is with that face…?

The man standing before me, haloed by the light filtering through the stained-glass windows, was the most beautiful person I had ever seen in my life.

His silky white hair flowed over his shoulders, brushing lightly against my cheek.

His clear green eyes, as fresh as a midsummer forest, were so transparent that I could see my own dumbfounded reflection in them.

For the first time in my life, I realized that beauty taken to its absolute limit could feel sacred.

Only after my initial shock faded did I notice what he was wearing.

He had on a priest’s robe intricately embroidered with golden thread.

I wasn’t particularly surprised.

I’d already suspected it the moment I saw his white hair.

Sometimes, people with exceptionally strong divine power had their hair bleached white because of it.

“Are you all right?”

When I just stared at him speechlessly, the priest asked with concern.

I hurriedly stood up and greeted him.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Father. May the stars guide you.”

“May the stars guide you.”

As he returned my greeting, his eyes curved gently into a smile.

I almost lost myself staring again.

But I quickly pulled myself together.

At a glance, he looked like someone of very high rank.

I didn’t want to offend him.

He silently looked at me, a faint smile still lingering on his face.

As the silence stretched on, the smile gradually faded.

Meanwhile, the look in his eyes grew deeper.

Even that expression is beautiful.

Just as I secretly found myself admiring him again, he finally spoke.

“I saw you last week.”

“…What?”

That couldn’t be right.

If I’d ever seen a face like his before, there was no way I’d have forgotten it.

I studied him once again.

His lips were pressed together so tightly that not a single tooth showed.

His eyes slanted gently upward, making him appear kind rather than sharp.

His head tilted ever so slightly to the left.

Then…

For just a moment…

An inexplicable sense of familiarity washed over me.

That’s strange.

I’m sure I’ve never met him before…

Then why does that expression feel so familiar?

As if I’d known him a long, long time ago.

Still, I was certain.

I’d never seen him last week.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t remember you.”

At my words, his almost expressionless face softened into a smile.

My gaze was immediately drawn to the elegant curve of his lips.

“That’s understandable.”

“I was the only one who saw you.”

His smile deepened.

“Mapel.”

This time, I didn’t notice his smile at all.

My heart dropped.

“I happened to witness you secretly giving supplies to a child from Mapel.”

My heartbeat instantly became erratic.

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

Mapel was the city said to be cursed by God.

And this…

…was the temple of Mitev, the Empire’s one and only god.

I swallowed hard.

I’d explained it briefly before, but the prejudice against Mapel within the Baros Empire was far worse than anyone could imagine.

And standing before me now was a priest of considerable rank.

If his hair had turned that white, it meant his divine power was extraordinarily strong.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Without hesitation, I dropped to my knees.

My trembling hands clasped together in prayer, and I lowered my forehead onto them.

“I selfishly offered charity far beyond my place. Please forgive—”

I stopped mid-sentence and bit my lip.

I didn’t even believe I’d done anything wrong.

Yet here I was, forced to beg for forgiveness.

The thought suddenly made me feel utterly miserable.

My body trembled.

Whether from fear or anger, I couldn’t tell.

I kept my forehead pressed against my hands, staring only at the floor.

Then I sensed him crouching down in front of me.

“Please lift your head.”

“But…”

“It’s all right. Go on.”

There was an indescribable power hidden within his gentle tone.

At the same time, the turbulent emotions inside me gradually calmed.

It wasn’t something I did myself.

Is this… what they call divine power?

Slowly, I raised my head.

He was much closer than I’d expected.

He was resting his weight on one knee and leaning toward me.

Startled, I instinctively leaned back.

He looked deeply into my eyes once more.

Then, all of a sudden—

He smiled brightly.

“…?”

At that same moment, the strange dignity he’d carried until now completely disappeared.

Without it, the man who had seemed almost untouchable a moment ago now simply looked like an exceptionally handsome person.

“You’re exactly the same as ever.”

“…Huh?”

No response could have expressed my feelings better than that completely blank one.

My mind was racing.

The strange sense of familiarity I’d forgotten in my fear slowly resurfaced.

Did I… actually know this person?

He leaned even closer, bending his upper body until he was looking up at me from below.

That angle felt strangely familiar too, making me even more confused.

Watching my bewilderment, his eyes curved happily.

Apparently, he found my reaction amusing.

“I wonder if this will help you remember.”

“How…?”

“Titi.”

In an incredibly affectionate voice, he called me by the nickname the children in our village always used.

At that moment…

A face from my memories overlapped with his.

Messy brown hair the color of a wheat field under the midday sun.

A thin, scrawny body.

A priest’s robe that looked at least one size too big.

The habit of staring straight at me before suddenly breaking into a shy smile for reasons only he understood.

“…That’s impossible.”

A tremendous shock hit me like a blow to the back of my head.

I sprang to my feet and pointed straight at him.

(My hand was fully open, all five fingers stretched out.)

“You!”

The man grinned happily at my reaction.

Not a trace of that earlier dignity remained.

That made it even easier to recognize him.

My dear friend.

The one I’d met during my awkward teenage years.

We had only known each other for three or four months…

Yet we had formed an incredibly deep bond.

“Eon!”

At the sound of his name, his smile became even brighter.

He strode over and wrapped me in a hug.

The friend who had been fifteen years old and smaller than I was…

…had grown enough to completely envelop me in his arms.

Eon clung tightly to me.

Resting his forehead against the side of my neck, he let out a quiet sigh.

“I’m here, Titi…”

Before I could even think, the words we’d once promised to say to each other when we met again came out of my mouth.

“I’ve been waiting.”

Only then did I lift my arms and hug him back.

The memories I’d forgotten came rushing over us like the incoming tide.