Usher said,
“Is it… okay to do this…?”
Then, Bersia replied,
“What’s wrong with it now? Since it’s already like this, let’s just do what the Pirate Empress would do.”
“…It’s not that simple, is it? And I’m not a woman! So, calling me ‘Empress’ is also impossible!”
“Despite saying that, you still look like a woman…”
“I’m the body of the saint!”
Bersia shrugged her shoulders.
Lately, Usher had been wondering if this person even had any intention of going back to how things used to be.
Though it seemed like a joke, sometimes Bersia acted as if she didn’t care at all, living as though she wouldn’t mind spending her whole life like this.
A sharp look appeared in Usher’s eyes at the thought.
Maybe Bersia noticed it, as she smirked and said,
“What does it matter what the body is like? What’s important is who’s inside.”
“I think the body is important, too…”
“I don’t really care much about that. I’m the kind of person who can accept any knight.”
Usher flinched and shook his shoulder.
For some reason, it felt like he was becoming a bad person who judged people by their appearance.
“I, I also think the inner qualities are important.”
“You’ve changed your words.”
“I haven’t changed! This is different, isn’t it?”
“You’re being unreasonable. Hmm… Ah, come to think of it, soon the day will come…”
“Ah!”
Usher immediately cut her off.
His eyes, filled with panic, shot a glare.
But somehow, Bersia wasn’t bothered at all and continued with her bombshell statement.
“You should start remembering your cycle now. I can’t keep telling you every time.”
“Ugh…!”
Usher shot a resentful glare with a red face.
However, no matter how much he glared, what was coming would happen anyway.
In the end, a sigh escaped his lips. He didn’t know how the conversation had veered off course, but it was creating a whole new problem for him.
He had already been through it a few times, but ‘that cycle’ was awful.
Especially in situations where battle was expected, it was even worse.
Having to endure that stomach ache when a fight could happen at any time—was it even possible for the timing to overlap like this so awkwardly?
“…This is a complete mess.”
“We have to think positively. The best-case scenario is that the knight never has to go into battle.”
Bersia looked out the window.
Since the house was built on the highlands of the island, she could see the ocean from beyond the window.
Her gaze grew distant.
“It should be resolved soon.”
Usher also looked at the sea beyond with a serious expression, pressing his lips together.
They still hadn’t signed an agreement with the last archipelago.
And yet, the cruel sea was covered in dark clouds.
Rumble
The sky rumbled.
The wind and rain were terribly fierce, and the trees swayed violently, making the noise all the more ominous.
“Let’s stop the plan until the storm passes! Launching the ship on a day like this is suicide!”
Felik shouted at the pirates.
“Tie the ship! Put everything in the storage! Food! We have to protect the food!!!”
“Hey! Protect the fruits! If we don’t have those, we’ll all die!!!”
“AAAH! Someone go to the field and block the way!”
The pirates were in a hurry as the storm approached.
However, they worked with such precision, it was clear they had been through this many times before.
Usher watched this scene from the window, then quickly closed the curtains and entered the room.
There, he was met with an unexpected sight.
“That…”
“…It’s noisy. I know, so don’t say anything.”
He almost said, “I haven’t said anything yet,” but held it back.
Cold sweat ran down Usher’s cheek.
It wasn’t anything else, but Bersia was sitting in the middle of the bed, wrapped in blankets.
She had a furrowed brow.
‘Is she afraid of lightning?’
That was rather cute… No, what was she even thinking?
Usher shook his head and walked toward the bed.
She had looked uneasy since the storm clouds started to gather, and now this.
Still, worried, he sat at the edge of the bed, and Bersia spoke,
“I’m not afraid of lightning like kids. I just don’t like storms.”
“Ah, yes…”
“It brings back bad memories.”
It was at that moment.
Usher realized that cold sweat was flowing across her entire body.
Her breathing was also irregular.
Usher’s expression grew even more worried.
‘Bad memories.’
Come to think of it, Usher didn’t remember ever hearing about how Bersia had lived, or what her life was like before entering the order as the saintess.
There was no information about that.
The only thing Usher knew was one thing.
Bersia’s family name, Astalion, referred to a small kingdom in the Western Kingdom Alliance.
In other words, she was born into royalty and was called to serve the church.
It was odd that there was no information about someone from the royal family, but no one knew the details about it.
While it could have been investigated, it was also a dangerous thing to do.
It wasn’t because she was royalty, but because any information regarding the saintess was heavily restricted, making such an inquiry impossible.
It seemed like she had no intention of sharing what those bad memories were.
Usher understood that feeling.
He himself wasn’t fond of talking about his past to others.
It was a good thing, wasn’t it?
At least with this shared trait, he could give Bersia something she might need.
“Saintess.”
“…What?”
“May I excuse myself for a moment?”
Bersia’s gaze turned toward Usher.
Usher smiled gently, extended his arm, and softly pulled her into an embrace.
Then, he gently patted her back.
“…?”
Bersia, startled, looked up at Usher.
Usher gave a mischievous smile and continued.
“Did I ever tell you I grew up with mercenaries?”
“…Yes.”
“They were troublesome people. They loved making boastful and nasty jokes, and when I was a child, I believed that on days when lightning struck, a rotten cheese dragon would appear and take children. It was a prank led by our leader.”
“Rotten… Ha.”
“So, whenever there was lightning, I would cry. I wondered, ‘What if I get taken?’ I asked the leader for help, and he said this.”
Usher let out a small laugh.
“Crying doesn’t solve anything. To save yourself, courage is needed to take a step forward in the face of despair. That’s what he said, kid.”
“…He answered like that?”
“Yes, he was serious about the rotten cheese dragon. The leader was like that.”
“What a nasty adult.”
“Yes, he was a nasty person. Anyway, whenever there was lightning, someone who felt like a mother to me would pat my back all night long. Her name was Hwaran, and she was the martial artist from the East who taught me the martial arts I use.”
Hwaran was the only woman in their mercenary group of about ten.
She was the one who particularly adored Usher and treated her like a child.
“She used to tell me stories from Eastern fairy tales on nights like that. Do you know? In the East, dragons don’t have wings. They’re long serpents with whiskers, and they breathe divine breath into the clouds to ride them through the sky.”
“……”
“Hwaran said that when they passed by, a storm would occur. The dragons from the East were auspicious beings, and when lightning struck during a drought, the people would welcome the dragon, thinking it came to save them.”
The story went on for a while.
Usher paused after saying that and delivered his message.
“On that day, lightning took on a different meaning for me. Instead of the rotten cheese dragon, it became the day I met the divine beings of the East.”
“Something like ‘depending on how you think, it changes,’ right?”
“Well, if you think about it like that, it wouldn’t be so difficult.”
So, Usher, in embarrassment, added one more thing.
“Or, think of me.”
Bersia’s eyes widened with surprise.
Usher tried to ignore the heat rising in his ears and continued.
“Bad memories are covered by good ones. So, why not think of the day we’re spending together like this… Of course, I mean if this day turns out to be a good memory!”
“…….”
“Huh… I, uh, I personally think the time I spend with you, Saintess, is a good time…”
Usher shrank back.
The more he spoke, the more je felt like he was falling into a contradiction.
Why, when he interpreted his own words, wasn’t it like that?
Being with me means this is a good time.
Whenever things get hard, think of me.
It felt like something a person obsessed with self-love would say.
He wasn’t used to comforting others.
Usher had always been the type to remove the cause, not to comfort.
Bersia, looking up at him without saying anything, made Usher feel uncomfortable.
So, he slowly avoided her gaze.
“Puuh…”
Bersia let out a small laugh.
Then, she buried her head into Usher’s chest.
“Ugh…!”
When Usher was startled, Bersia mumbled.
“I think so too.”
“Eh…?”
“I like being with you, Sir.”
It was probably her way of saying “I’m having fun.”
Usher became slightly flustered because of the words she chose, which were so confusing.
That’s why his heart skipped a beat.
“You can hear my heartbeat.”
“…It’s obvious since it’s beating.”
“This… is pretty calming.”
It was hot.
The fact that she could hear the heartbeat made Usher feel strangely embarrassed, and it stirred a sense of heat in him.
In the meantime, Bersia’s cold sweat gradually stopped. The tense muscles also began to loosen up.
It happened right after.
“…Nice.”
Bersia, speaking in a languid tone, began to nod off.
Usher, unable to do anything about it, just let her rest in his arms.
So,
“…Saintess?”
It became awkward to change positions.
The next morning, the storm had passed.
The place where the rain and wind had passed was now clear skies with not a cloud in sight.
The sailors stepped out to catch their breath.
Usher also stepped outside with Bersia.
Usher had a grumpy expression, while Bersia wore a cheeky look.
“I’m sorry. No, should I even be sorry? Now that I think about it, it was my chest, wasn’t it?”
“Good, now I understand why men are so obsessed with chests…”
“Only at times like this, is it your own body!”
“Ah, stop!”
“Can I touch it?”
“No, you can’t!”
The night before had been awkward.
While Bersia slept, it was unclear whether she was sleep-talking or not, but she burrowed further into Usher’s arms, holding on tight so he couldn’t move.
So, they both ended up falling asleep in the same bed.
Usher couldn’t sleep properly.
Because of the breath and pressure he felt on his chest, he spent the whole night tense, twisting his body in discomfort.
That much could be expected.
After all, what could you say to someone who is sleeping?
The problem came after Bersia woke up.
Ah, my chest.
The first words she muttered with a half-conscious look were those.
Usher let out a hollow laugh, as the absurdity of the situation struck him.
As a result, his irritation grew, and now he was giving Bersia a sour glare.
This happened the moment they stepped out toward the harbor.
A situation arose where no more playful atmosphere could be maintained.
“Ugh, it moved! It’s alive!”
Somewhere in the harbor, a group of pirates was surrounding something.
It was something that seemed to be half-human, half-fish, and Captain Felik looked down at it with a serious expression before speaking.
“…It’s human. This one, it’s human. It’s cursed.”
The atmosphere froze instantly.
It couldn’t be helped.
The ship that this creature arrived on, and the flag it carried, were clear indicators.
“The northern archipelago has been taken. We need to move immediately!”
Since the pirate flag of the northern archipelago was hanging on that ship.