Chapter 32 : Aftermath (3)

I took Reina’s hand and stepped outside amidst the quiet group.

Holding her hand tightly, we were greeted by a breeze that was neither hot nor cold—just pleasantly cool.

Perhaps because it was nighttime? It was the perfect weather for a walk in the fresh air.

With the delightful breeze accompanying us, we began strolling through the streets at night.

I had expected the streets to be silent and empty at this hour, imagining everyone would be heading to bed by now.

But, well… it was nothing like I imagined.

The night streets of Viln were lively, almost like a bustling night market.

In this world, there’s a device called a “luminary stone,” invented by the Tower of Magic, which emits light.

Thanks to these luminary stones lighting up the darkness, the streets were alive with activity—some were selling goods, others selling food.

Merchants shouted at the top of their lungs to sell their wares.

Customers haggled fiercely to buy at lower prices.

People strolled through the streets, chatting casually with one another.

A cacophony of sounds filled the air, as if bringing the street itself to life, infusing it with vibrant energy.

We, too, stepped into the lively streets, silently taking in the sights for a while.

This wasn’t my first time seeing a night market in this world—I had seen one in Slaine. But it seemed that Reina hadn’t.

Her sparkling eyes darted around as she marveled at the sights, her exclamations of awe making her seem like a child visiting a market for the first time.

Come to think of it, I realized that in Slaine, I had rarely taken Reina outside the church. There were night markets in Slaine too, and seeing how much she enjoyed this one, I regretted not taking her to one before.

“Wow…”

Reina’s pure joy made me smile without even realizing it.

Judging from her reaction, she must not have seen this kind of market before. Likely because she was a princess.

After all, areas near castles rarely have places like this.

But that didn’t matter now.

To be honest, I found the market fascinating too—it was my first time seeing a night market in Viln. So, like Reina, I also took the time to explore and enjoy the sights.

We wandered through the market, seeing people selling pets, fresh fruits, and exotic goods.

We admired colorful clothes and had a great time exploring.

-Clap, clap, clap!

A street magician finished their performance with a flourish, bowing to the applause of the crowd. We clapped along before I gently tugged Reina’s hand to move on to the next spot.

But Reina stopped in her tracks.

‘What’s going on?’

Curious, I turned to look at her. Reina’s gaze was fixed on something.

She was so transfixed it was as if she had been frozen in place. Following her line of sight, I quickly realized what had caught her attention.

‘Snacks…?’

Candy. Her gaze was locked onto a stall with brightly colored candy.

I turned back to look at Reina.

She was still holding my hand with one of hers, staring intently at the candy as if nothing else existed.

It was clear now—she wanted that candy.

‘Should I buy her one?’

Reina hadn’t said anything directly, but her longing gaze made her feelings more than apparent.

It reminded me of how I used to pester my parents for snacks at markets when I was little.

Of course, Reina wasn’t pestering me, but still.

Looking at her staring so intently, I reached into the small bag I always carried when I went out. Feeling the coins inside, I made my decision.

Alright, I’ll buy her one. I’m usually frugal, but spending a little on candy should be fine.

Besides, who could resist after seeing that face?

“Do you want one of those?” I asked.

“Huh? N-no…” Reina shook her head quickly, startled. But her eyes kept drifting back to the candy.

Her adorable reaction made me smile. I asked again.

“It’s okay to be honest. Do you want it?”

“Yes…” she finally answered in a small voice, nodding her head.

Such a cute kid.

“Alright, I’ll get you one.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“Yay~”

As I responded, Reina’s face lit up with excitement.

Smiling at her enthusiasm, I led her to the candy stall. We soon arrived in front of a display filled with colorful candy.

The candy came in a single shape—round and flat, just like the lollipops you’d imagine. But there were multiple colors, suggesting different flavors.

“Which color do you want?”

“Um…”

Reina pondered for a moment before pointing at a blue one.

“The blue one!”

Blue, huh? It’s hard to guess what flavor that might be.

Thinking that, I turned to the woman selling the candy and asked.

“How much is this?”

“One Dowa,” she replied.

One Dowa. The price seemed fair for its size.

I decided to buy one for Reina and one for myself.

“Alright, I’ll take a blue one and a red one, please.”

“Got it.”

The woman took my coins and began preparing the candy.

“By the way… you seem like a nun. What’s your faith?” she asked with a polite smile.

“I follow the Church of Origin,” I replied with a smile of my own.

But the moment I answered, her expression darkened.

The warmth disappeared from her face, replaced by a sharp glare.

“Church of Origin? Ugh, of course. Why didn’t you say so earlier? That’ll be two more Dowa—this is three Dowa now.”

“What? You just said it was one Dowa.”

“You’re from the Church of Origin, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but why does that matter?”

“For you Origin followers, it’s three Dowa.”

“What? Why…?”

Before I could finish my question, she cut me off, raising her voice.

“Why? Because of your god, our crops are failing! Because of your god, I have to sell things like this to survive!”

What?

So this is what Bliss meant when he talked about people losing faith?

But why is she blaming me for something Naias did?

“But that’s not…”

“Don’t want to pay? Then I’m not selling. Take your money back!” she shouted, cutting me off again and pushing the coins back at me.

I hesitated, unsure of what to do.

‘Should I just leave it? But Reina would be disappointed…’

I glanced at Reina.

She was beaming, clearly excited about the candy. It seemed she hadn’t overheard the argument.

If I told her she couldn’t have the candy now, she’d definitely be disappointed. I could already imagine the look on her face.

The current situation would likely leave a bad memory for Reina for a long time. Especially since today had been filled with good experiences so far.

And in that memory, I would undoubtedly be remembered as a liar.

I don’t want that. I don’t want Reina to remember me as a liar, and more than anything, I want her to only have happy memories.

Today was probably Reina’s first time visiting a night market. On such a good day, I didn’t want to leave a stain on it.

Alright, fine. Let’s just buy it. As unpleasant as it feels… it’s not like I can’t afford it.

Sighing, I reached into my bag and pulled out exactly six coins.

“Alright, I’ll just buy it. Here are six Dowa.”

Reluctantly, I handed over the coins, and the woman snatched them from me roughly.

“Tch! You should be grateful I’m even selling to you! There are so many people who wouldn’t even bother!”

Damn it.

I felt an overwhelming urge to flatten her face into a round, flat shape like the candy she sold, but knowing that doing so would land me in jail, I let the thought remain a fantasy.

“Here, take it!” she snapped, handing over the candy.

“Thank you,” I replied, forcing my lips into a polite smile as I accepted it.

Feeling that eating the candy in front of her might lead to further trouble, I quickly grabbed Reina’s hand and walked away.

Once I ensured the woman was no longer in sight, I handed the candy to Reina.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you!” Reina said brightly, her cheerful voice brimming with gratitude.

Seeing her happy smile, I unwrapped my own red candy and took a bite.

The candy was delicious. Of course, it’s hard for candy to taste bad, but given the unpleasant incident earlier, I’d worried it might sour the experience.

Fortunately, my worries were unfounded—the candy tasted fine. If it hadn’t, and Reina had looked disappointed, I might have gotten quite upset.

I looked at Reina, who was happily enjoying her candy, and asked her, “Is it good?”

“Yes!” she replied enthusiastically.

“That’s a relief.”

Reina’s joyful expression answered my question more than her words did. Just by looking at her face, I could tell how much she was enjoying it.

“By the way, why did you choose the blue one? There were so many other colors.”

“Because this color looks just like Ruina’s eyes.”

Reina looked up at me with her innocent gaze as she answered.

“And you? Why did you choose red?”

Ah… so that’s what she was thinking.

Seeing the expectation in her eyes, I couldn’t tell her the truth—that I simply wanted to try the strawberry-flavored one.

Scrambling for a suitable response, I gently patted her head and said, “I chose it for the same reason. Guess we think alike!”

“Hehe,” Reina giggled brightly, seemingly delighted by my answer.

Even though I felt a twinge of guilt for lying, seeing her so happy made it feel like a small price to pay.

Now that we’ve seen most of what the market has to offer and the mood has lightened up, it might be a good time to ask Reina about what happened earlier today.

I cautiously broached the topic.

“Reina, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Relieved by her willingness, I started recalling the events of the day.

“You remember the big worm we saw earlier today, right?”

“Yes.”

“Did anything strange happen at that time?”

“Strange…?”

My question seemed to confuse her as she tilted her head slightly, looking puzzled.

Maybe I should be more specific.

“Like… did the worm talk to you or something?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Even something small is fine. Did your head hurt? Or did you hear any strange voices from somewhere?”

“No, I didn’t.”

I tried giving multiple examples, but none of them seemed to ring a bell for Reina.

“Really? Nothing at all?”

“…”

Hmm. Then what was that earlier? Judging by the circumstances, it was likely Reina who stopped the sandworm from attacking us. But she claims to know nothing about it.

Or… am I wrong? No, I don’t think so.

I clearly felt it for a brief moment back then—that distinct sensation I recognized from when the Demon King used his powers.

Reina’s expression also resembled the Demon King’s in that instant: lifeless eyes and an eerily blank face.

The atmosphere was so similar that, for a moment, I genuinely thought the Demon King had reappeared. They say parents and children resemble each other, and in this case, it really seemed true.

Looking at all these clues, it’s clear something is going on with her. But what, exactly, I have no idea.

The most plausible explanation is that she inherited the Demon King’s ability to control monsters. If not, there’s no reason the sandworm would have stopped.

I remember seeing the Demon King act as if he could understand the monsters’ words when using his powers. I thought Reina might have a similar ability, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Ugh… I don’t know. I’ll never figure it out just by thinking about it.

Maybe it’s because Reina is still young. She might not even realize what her abilities are yet.

That makes sense—Reina is just eight years old.

If that’s the case, will her abilities develop naturally as she grows? Or are there specific conditions? And if so, what are they? Could her powers be exactly like the Demon King’s?

Frustrated, I ruffled my hair roughly.

Forget it! Thinking about it now won’t solve anything—it’ll just give me a headache.

For now, I’ll focus on what I can do: protecting Reina. That’s my priority, and I’ll handle her abilities as they come to light over time.

I concluded my thoughts, crunching down the now-small piece of candy, and resolved to think about how we’d spend tomorrow instead.

As I was lost in thought, Reina’s voice called up to me from below.

“Ruina… did I do something wrong?”

Her voice was weak and hesitant. Turning to look at her, I saw that her earlier bright smile was gone, replaced with a downcast expression.

What? She was laughing just a moment ago—why the sudden change? And why would she ask if she did something wrong?

I began piecing together her reasoning. Could she think my earlier questions were because she had done something bad?

Realizing this, I quickly waved my hands in reassurance.

“No, not at all. I was just curious about something, that’s all. You didn’t do anything wrong, so don’t worry.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“That’s a relief…” Reina sighed softly, her expression easing.

Seeing this, I decided to shift the mood back to something lighter. Pointing to another part of the market, I said, “Why don’t we go explore somewhere else? I think there are still places we haven’t seen.”

“Okay!”

“Then let’s go!”

As soon as she agreed, I grabbed her hand and led her off.

Until Bliss came to find us later, Reina and I wandered the market, exploring all kinds of sights and enjoying the lively atmosphere once more.

After Bliss located us, he mentioned that the others had something they wanted to tell me. I brought Reina with me back to the group.

When we returned, I was met with words of encouragement, apologies for the past, and promises to do their best to support me moving forward.

After that, we discussed how to begin investigating the End Church starting the next day.

Fortunately, the discussion didn’t take long. Once it was over, we returned to the lord’s castle to rest in our respective rooms.

And the next day, the investigation began—an effort to determine whether the End Church was truly a heretical group and to curb their growing influence.