“But I’m not angry at all, you know? I’m definitely not the kind of nagging wife who would sulk and complain for months over something so trivial.”
“You must have your own reasons for not telling me, right? I can understand that.”
“After all, in the end, I’m just a strange woman who forcibly barged into your life… But even so, I’ll always be behind you…”
Sailuulu spoke as she walked toward Loki, her bangs hanging low and covering her eyes, each step heavy as if a giant were approaching.
“W-wait, hold on, just wait a moment.”
Loki hurriedly raised both hands to explain.
Ever since reuniting with Sailuulu, he felt like his skill in surrendering had leveled up—and it was a unique skill that only worked on her.
Only with her could Loki not maintain the calm demeanor he had when facing Christine.
Moreover, her overly familiar behavior instinctively triggered Loki’s resistance—mentally.
“I actually wanted to tell you on the way, but I didn’t expect that scene just now…”
“Is that so? But you didn’t say a single word, neither in the carriage nor here in this castle, right?”
“Uh… I thought the matter was temporarily resolved, so…”
“You forgot?”
Sailuulu smiled.
Loki stiffly nodded.
“After all, it’s not something important…”
Though sincerity was a killer move, sometimes it’s better not to be too sincere.
After all, which husband would openly admit to his wife that he’s been secretly saving money?
The moment he said it, Loki immediately regretted it, but Sailuulu didn’t seem angry. She just showed an expression like, “So that’s how it is, I really can’t help you,” and passed by Loki.
“Like the time you left me alone on the ground and went away by yourself… I still remember asking you why you didn’t take me with you, but instead returned alone to that cold underground.”
She glanced left and right, then sat without any courtesy in the seat that originally belonged to the lady of the room—Christine’s desk chair.
“Your answer back then was also ‘it’s not something important’… but then you completely disappeared and never showed up again.”
…Hey, that’s cheating, don’t keep torturing me with the past!
Logically, the one who should be embarrassed when their dark history is brought up is the heroine, right? So why is it reversed here?
Loki scratched his head irritably.
Just like even the most serious people have unknown quirks, Loki’s second childhood and adolescence had some slight letting loose, as he realized the existence of transmigration and all sorts of supernatural things.
But he hadn’t done anything strange in front of others. It was just that he occasionally said some lines fulfilling his role-playing desires to Sailuulu, who was still a little girl.
In the almost maddening environment within the Hand of Truth, if it weren’t for Sailuulu’s presence, Loki probably wouldn’t have been able to endure until the day he could destroy the Hand of Truth. He might have perished alongside the chief long ago.
What made him most despairing back then was that he simply couldn’t be a truly cold-hearted villain.
Fortunately, with Christine’s help, he no longer had to live behind a cold mask but could become his familiar self again.
“Um… I’m sorry.”
“Pfft… That’s not what I want to hear. You didn’t do anything wrong. I know you left me behind because you were buried under the ruins, badly injured… barely able to survive yourself, you had no energy left to care about a little girl who could escape on her own.”
Sailuulu looked at the spotless desk and spoke cheerfully.
The only thing Sailuulu didn’t dislike about Christine was probably that she saved Loki.
“I don’t want you to feel guilty, Loki. I just want you to look at me properly… nothing more.”
“…”
Loki was at a loss for how to respond.
However, Sailuulu didn’t pause to wait for him and quickly shifted the topic.
“So, that vice-captain called Loserun, he’s actually ‘one of us’?”
“…You could say that.”
Loki was stunned for a moment, then realizing he needed to explain the recent events to Sailuulu, he immediately answered.
He pulled a chair over to the desk.
“Christine said he’s someone we can trust. Although he seemed to come with Part, who was causing trouble, he actually helped us escape.”
“I kind of guessed… Given Part’s weird reaction, Loserun definitely isn’t on his side.”
Sailuulu stretched.
After raising her hands, her strikingly ample figure became even more prominent, making Loki unsure whether he should dare look directly at her proud silhouette.
At the very least, he ought to stay alert… Such an unguarded posture was practically like a wild fruit by the roadside with a sign saying ‘Welcome to pick’.
“I thought everyone in the Kaisania Knights didn’t like the ‘Black Sword’ or you.”
“…That’s intel you already knew?”
“Of course, I prepared thoroughly before coming to see you.”
Sailuulu leaned on the desk, temporarily letting the heavy burden be supported by external force.
No matter how hard Loki thought, he couldn’t figure out how that barren, skinny little girl evolved into her current form.
This was already on the level of crossing species…
“You said before that the Holy City suspects Bishop Part has connections with the Hand of Truth… What exactly is going on?”
“Do you know? There’s only a fine line between fanaticism and blasphemy, Loki.”
Sailuulu blinked.
“Even though the god we worship is comparatively gentler, kinder, and orderly, He still exists as a great lord in the Sea of Souls. Once the desire for Him exceeds a certain limit, corruption follows.”
“Mutation, madness, starting to communicate with the Sea of Souls in unruly ways, attempting to sacrifice the entire world just to win the favor of their faith’s deity—”
“Then, they fall and become ‘Blasphemers’.”
“But fortunately, the doctrine of the Holy Church always places human survival first, and with the oversight of the Inquisitors, true fallen monks have never been numerous throughout history.”
“You’re implying Bishop Part is already…”
“It’s just suspicion. After all, there are things underground in this city more valuable than artifacts. Do you know how many factions are fighting to get tickets into Kaisania, battling fiercely around it?”
“A bunch of lunatics…”
Loki scoffed disdainfully.
If even a figure at the bishop’s level was treading the edge of corruption, obsessed with rituals to create a ‘God Kingdom on Earth’…
How many high-ranking members aware of the Hand of Truth’s secrets could resist such a huge temptation?
Loki couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.
It seemed humanity and the gods were rushing toward each other.
He couldn’t just stand by.
Just to save the good people in this city, he had to do something.
Moreover, he had a share of ‘credit’ in the birth of that ‘legacy’.
With that in mind, it became clear.
Bishop Part’s purpose was to restrict Loki’s actions.
Perhaps seeing him as a troublemaker or competitor.
Meanwhile, Christine, Loki’s backing, was temporarily tangled up in troublesome matters and hard to extricate herself.
Thus, the two most unstable factors in Kaisania City could no longer stir up too much trouble.
But Bishop Part was mistaken about one thing.
Christine, as the Champion Knight of the Empire, still needed to live within the framework of human society… and Loki, bound by contract to Christine, should be the same.
But in reality, Loki only lived within the framework Christine had set.
He had no need to worry about anything.
After all, a “Soulless One” was, by nature, an alien monster.
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