Chapter 5
“Tetis.”
I had been trying to sneak up on him, but he noticed me after only a few steps.
Eon turned toward me and smiled with the perfect smile of a priest.
“Did you sleep well?”
Perhaps because of his position, whenever there were other people around, Eon not only wrapped himself in that strange, sacred aura but also spoke to me politely.
Feeling a little awkward, I scratched my cheek.
“Thanks to you.”
“But your complexion is rather pale. Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, I’m…”
“F-Father! Ahem… Lord Eon! The carriage is ready!”
I was about to wave my hands and tell him I was fine, but one of Eon’s attendants called for him.
My explanation was cut short, and Eon courteously escorted me into the carriage.
After climbing in behind me, he immediately closed the curtains again.
“Titi, are you really not sick?”
The moment the outside was blocked from view, he dropped the sacred aura that he apparently put on for appearances and looked at me carefully.
The way he stared at me with his lips tightly pressed together was completely different from how he’d acted just moments ago.
I couldn’t help smiling.
“I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well.”
I added a small lie because if I admitted I’d had a nightmare, I felt like I’d have to explain everything.
Fortunately, Eon didn’t seem to notice.
“…Your hand.”
Suddenly, he held out his palm.
“Why?”
For some reason, it felt like a dog owner asking their pet to do a trick.
Still, I placed my hand on top of his.
Eon quietly stared at it for a moment before gently wrapping his hand around mine.
Then—
“…!”
A pure white light began overflowing from where our hands touched.
It was purity itself.
It was the brightest light I had ever seen in my life.
Yet it didn’t hurt my eyes.
It simply filled me with awe.
I stared blankly at the owner of that light.
The glow settled softly over his calm face as though it belonged there.
He looked like an angel from a masterpiece painting.
At that moment, my childhood friend seemed as though he belonged to a completely different world.
He was unimaginably beautiful.
Yet strangely…
Looking at him made me feel sad.
Why?
Before I could find an answer, the light slowly flowed into me and faded away.
Warmth returned to my fingertips, which had been cold only moments before.
“Ah…”
All my fatigue disappeared.
It truly felt as though I had only just awakened from my dream.
“Thank you.”
My voice came out a little dazed.
The exhaustion from earlier had completely vanished.
Eon must have noticed too.
He smiled brightly at me.
“Do you feel better now?”
“Completely. Yeah.”
“I’m glad.”
Looking relieved, he leaned back against the seat.
Then he slowly slid down until he was resting his head on my shoulder.
Isn’t that uncomfortable?
“Titi, we’ll reach the capital this afternoon.”
“Already?”
“We’ve barely stopped to rest the whole trip.”
“I thought it’d take at least a week.”
Joining a group of priests who could restore their stamina with divine power really had been an incredible stroke of luck.
Still…
Part of me felt disappointed.
We were finally meeting again after several years, yet we hadn’t really been able to catch up because there were always people watching.
“Titi.”
“Yeah?”
“If I go straight back to the temple after this…”
“I think I’ll regret it.”
“Then why don’t you quit being a priest and become my tour guide? It’s my first time in the capital, so I don’t know anything.”
“Maybe I should.”
“…I was joking. Why are you taking that so seriously?”
Just as he always had whenever something displeased him, Eon stubbornly pressed his lips together.
I couldn’t help giggling.
At the same time, though…
I remembered how naturally he had accepted the devoted service of the priests and attendants over the past few days.
The same sense of distance I’d felt while receiving his divine power quietly resurfaced.
I was still just Tetis from Oligo.
But Eon was no longer the scruffy apprentice of an old monk.
We had met again.
Even so…
I couldn’t shake the feeling that things could never be the same as before.
Feeling the warmth of his head resting against my shoulder, I quietly asked,
“Can we… meet again?”
Surely asking that much was okay.
I wanted it to be.
Eon had been my first friend my own age who existed outside the story of the novel.
Because of him, this world had always felt real.
For some reason, the air inside the carriage suddenly felt heavy.
I lowered my gaze.
Eon remained silent for a long time.
Just as the silence began to feel unbearable…
He lifted his head from my shoulder.
When I turned toward him, his face was right in front of mine.
His deep green eyes, like a forest during the rainy season, clearly reflected my flustered expression.
“If that’s what you want…”
“I will.”
The words sounded almost like a solemn vow.
For some reason, they tugged painfully at my heart.
Eon wasn’t finished yet.
He reached into his robes and pulled something out.
“And this.”
“What is it?”
“A star map of the Southern Hemisphere.”
“You said you wanted to know.”
“…”
“…Actually, I don’t know much about stars, so I just drew what I saw.”
“Is that okay?”
On the well-worn sheet of paper, circles had been drawn around the South Star.
The brighter stars were drawn larger.
The dimmer ones were smaller.
It was an amateur’s sketch, one that would be difficult to use for any serious study.
But I could clearly see how much effort he’d put into it.
My nose stung.
If you do something like this…
Then all those thoughts I had about feeling distant from you… about how our circumstances have changed… just make me seem so pathetic.
“…It’s more precious than any gift I’ve ever received in my life, Eon.”
“Thank you.”
I squeezed the hand I was still holding.
It was only a clumsy gesture.
But I hoped my feelings would reach him.
Eon quietly looked into my smiling face.
After a moment, his long white eyelashes trembled slightly.
A faint smile spread across his face.
He carefully gathered a small lock of my dark blue hair in his hand.
“The one who should be thankful…”
“…is me, Titi.”
Then he gently kissed the top of my hair.
My eyes widened.
“The words you said to me…”
“…are the reason I’ve been able to keep going until now.”
“Oh… I-I see.”
“I’m glad.”
Wait… what exactly did I say to him?
Still dazed, I stared into his green eyes before quickly turning my head away.
The atmosphere had suddenly become… strange.
My eyes wandered aimlessly around the carriage.
Trying to distract myself, I opened the carriage window just a little.
A cool breeze drifted inside.
As Eon sat back upright, I faintly heard him chuckle.
* * *
After passing through two more checkpoints, we finally reached the capital.
Millet.
Because of Eon’s position, we’d already said our goodbyes inside the carriage.
After dropping me off, the temple party hurried toward their own destination.
“I finally made it…”
The first thing I did was leave Maximus at the stable recommended by one of Eon’s attendants.
Only then did I finally have time to take in the enormous plaza before me.
I unconsciously straightened my shoulders.
“First, I should find a place to stay.”
The conference would begin tomorrow.
The telescope demonstration I wanted to see wouldn’t take place until the evening of the conference’s second day.
And since I’d come all the way to the capital, there was no way I was going to leave after attending only that.
I needed to find a room where I could stay for at least a week.
“Oh dear… what terrible timing.”
“The last room was taken just a few dozen seconds ago!”
Is finding an inn really this difficult?
That made fifteen rejections already.
I couldn’t hide the disappointment on my face.
“Miss, is this your first time in Millet?”
“…Yes.”
“I should’ve done more research before coming.”
I smiled bitterly.
The innkeeper let out a sympathetic sigh.
“This time of year there are always lots of events going on, so rooms are hard to find.”
“I doubt there are any vacancies left on the main streets.”
“Should I try somewhere farther out?”
“No!”
“Do you know how dangerous the capital can be?”
“Just wait a moment.”
The innkeeper took out a sheet of paper and a pen from beneath the counter and began drawing something.
Standing on my tiptoes, I peeked over.
It was a map.
“Look here.”
“This is our inn.”
“If you follow this road, you’ll reach the Millet branch of the Philia Trading Company.”
“Ask one of the employees there to guide you to Renaso.”
“…Renaso?”
I didn’t ask because I’d never heard the name.
I already knew it.
The Philia Trading Company.
Renaso.
Both names were very familiar.
Not only because the Philia Trading Company had risen to become the largest trading company in the Empire within just a few years.
Its owner was also the protagonist’s greatest supporter in the novel.
As someone who had read the story, there was no way I wouldn’t recognize the name.
“Maybe you don’t know because it’s your first time in the capital.”
“The Philia Trading Company recently started a new business.”
“It’s called Renaso.”
“As long as it isn’t anything illegal, they’ll do practically anything if you’re willing to pay.”
“…I see.”
“That’s right!”
“So instead of wearing yourself out searching everywhere, just ask them to find you a safe place to stay.”
“Paying the brokerage fee will be much easier.”
Renaso…
It was the Empire’s first legal investigation and request agency.
It was also where the novel’s protagonist had worked in exchange for helping people.
Maybe it was because I’d spent so long living far away from the story’s main stage.
But hearing the innkeeper mention it made everything suddenly feel very real.
“But they close whenever they feel like it, so you’d better hurry.”
“The sun’s already setting.”
His words snapped me back to reality.
I’d completely forgotten that finding somewhere to sleep was my most urgent problem.
“You’re right.”
“Thank you very much for your kindness.”
I took out a silver coin and quietly slid it across the counter.
He’d even drawn me a map by hand.
It was the least I could do.
Apparently surprised, his eyes widened before curving into a warm smile.
“Oh my, thank you.”
“May Lord Mitev bless your journey.”
Receiving the innkeeper’s blessing as he escorted me to the door, I once again set off down the road.
