Chapter 53
It’s Okay Now
“By the way, Miss, do you remember this pendant?”
“Oh my.”
Sophia came closer and held out the pendant with the demon’s gem.
Veronica’s eyes widened when she saw it.
“So it was here? I thought I lost it in the North and spent a long time looking for it.”
“I only realized it was here today too. The little lady found it tucked in a corner.”
“I guess so, hehe.”
“Does she have good taste in gems because she looks like me?”
They laughed together, joking lightly.
“Come to think of it, this originally belonged to Brother Vincent, right? I should apologize and return it, even if it’s late.”
“Miss… well… actually, the little lady wanted to keep it.”
“Dia?”
“Yes.”
Veronica looked surprised. I smiled at her as we faced each other.
“The gem is pretty!”
“Oh my.”
Veronica, looking a little embarrassed, touched her cheek with one hand and tilted her head. She muttered softly:
“I should ask my brother about this.”
“If it’s Lord Torren, he would probably give it to the little lady right away.”
“Most likely. He probably forgot he even had the pendant.”
I nodded to myself, listening to their conversation. With this, all of Winston’s gems had now safely come into my hands. I had worried about collecting all five gems, but it had been faster and easier than expected.
I’ll have to think slowly about who to give each gem to.
And I still haven’t decided what to do about Nathaniel.
I watched the two of them laughing and thought deeply.
At night, when everyone was asleep, I sneaked out of Veronica’s room with the help of the demons.
From a corner, a gray mist slowly rose.
“Ooh…”
[Why call me…]
It was hard for a child’s body to resist sleep.
“I wanted to praise you for doing well.”
With Vivi’s help, I forced my body awake, but it was still difficult. Claudia was young, so her mana supply was limited.
[Ugh… what time is it now…]
“You couldn’t come during the day anyway.”
I shook my head at Ilness, who was grumbling. He sighed and floated closer.
“Really?”
[Even so, Master, you have much more mana than other kids!]
[Yes! Actually, it’s your huge mana that makes your body ache.]
“Hm.”
[Why did you call me again?]
“I said I wanted to praise you.”
[Hmm, you worked hard despite the trouble.]
Maybe it was because I inherited the Sword Master and Winston’s blood.
Haha, Ilness flew around the room with an energy I had never seen before.
Even though the body is normal, the mana is too much. Maybe that’s why the body was weak.
Watching him, Desmond clicked his tongue.
I remembered the original Claudia who had died young and tilted my head.
[Tsk, still a foolish one.]
Soon, we arrived where Nathaniel was.
[What, Desmond, you were here too?]
[You notice quickly.]
“…..Nathaniel?”
Desmond shook his head, and Vivi didn’t care at all. The other demons didn’t get along well either, but Ilness was on a completely different level of annoyance.
The room was silent. Darkness filled the space, making it hard to see a thing.
It seemed the demons didn’t care about each other at all.
Since this room wasn’t used by anyone, there was only a single bed in the corner. It was empty.
I raised my vision with the demons’ help and tilted my head.
Desmond and Vivi fighting loudly seemed friendlier than this.
I clicked my tongue and looked around. Nathaniel was still crouched on the floor.
Then I saw him awkwardly leaning against the bed.
“Nathaniel, it’s okay, come here.”
“Nathaniel, what are you doing here?”
“Nathaniel?”
Why was he sitting like that?
Was he still not himself?
I clicked my tongue at Nathaniel, who just stared at me blankly. Tilting my head and looking at him seriously, his lips slowly opened.
“Come here. Sleep on this bed.”
“Is that… my name?”
“What?”
“Nata…niel?”
Luckily, he was awake. I tapped the hard bed with my hand and motioned him over.
I glanced around. Fortunately, Ilness had already done his work. Plates with bread and soup were on the floor, all clean.
He didn’t even remember his own name.
“Ilness?”
A shock ran through me. He hadn’t answered because he forgot.
[…..]
“Hey, Ilness!”
He nodded slightly with a small sigh.
Then I softly called his name again since he had been missing from sight.
“Yes, that’s your name. Nathaniel.”
“Oh… I see…”
“I’m Claudia.”
“It’s okay now.”
“Clau…Dia.”
“Call me Dia.”
“Okay, Dia.”
Nathaniel stopped trembling and stared at me gently. Then he smiled.
Like a child learning to speak for the first time, he whispered softly:
“Yes.”
He was bigger than current Claudia, but still a child in my eyes.
He could even smile. This was the first time I had seen him like this.
Seeing him follow me purely, without suspicion, made me feel pity.
His doll-like face suited the smile perfectly.
Maybe it’s because of his hair… he looks like a tiny bird.
I felt my face grow hot and cleared my throat. Feeling silly for acting this way toward a child, I carefully covered him with a blanket.
“Hmm, for now, you’ll stay here.”
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“No.”
“Okay…”
“I’ll prepare a proper room soon…”
“Are you sleepy?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Nathaniel shook his head but stared at me with clear eyes.
He seemed to answer mindlessly, but I realized he was at least somewhat aware now.
After meeting him with blank, unfocused eyes before, this was surprising.
I frowned at Nathaniel, who only nodded without listening fully. He tilted his head in confusion.
At least he wasn’t babbling like during the day, so he seemed a bit more conscious.
Phew, that’s good.
I asked hesitantly, still unsure.
He had lost most of his memory and was almost like a blank child. I had to treat him carefully for now.
“Do you remember anything?”
“How’s your body? Can you move?”
“Yes…”
Nathaniel, still crouched on the bed, opened his eyes wide.
Ilness had removed the spells and divine power, but weak restraints likely remained in his body.
“Also, you had so much divine power in you, more than a normal person could handle. Some aftereffects are natural.”
“Right, you know you were at the temple until now?”
Nathaniel only nodded. His movements seemed a little unsteady.
His clear face clouded over for a moment. Seeing the sudden darkness, guilt rushed through me. I quickly shook my hand.
“Ilness.”
[Again?]
“No, he doesn’t need to remember everything.”
“Just watch over him for a while, okay?”
“Mm.”
[Hoo… alright, alright.]
“It’s okay. He won’t go back there again.”
I raised an eyebrow at Ilness, who surprisingly accepted it easily.
Nathaniel’s hand trembled slightly on my lap.
Thinking back, all the demons I had met before begged for a contract immediately, but Ilness was fine without it.
He probably still feared the temple so much that even hearing the word made him shiver.
I wondered and carefully reached out, gently holding Nathaniel’s shaking hand.
“But you don’t need to make a contract, right?”
